Sunday, March 23, 2008

Melbourne Trip - Day Four

15 March 2008

Our original plan for this day was to rent a car and drive to Geelong and the Great Ocean Road. Despite my health not being in tip top condition since I was still coughing and sneezing, I was kind of looking forward to the drive since I thought it would be a day where I can just sit back in the car and admire the view along the journey as my hubby drives. I was looking forward to taking some breathtaking photos along the journey when I saw some lovely photos in the tourist guide book.

However, when my hubby woke up that day, he changed his mind about renting the car altogether when he inquired at the Tourist Information Center at Federation Square the day before that it is going to be a long 4 hour journey. He was also feeling intimidated by the road system and the toll charges. He was also concerned about my health which doesn't seem to improve very much since our arrival in Melbourne. I wished he had known how much I had actually wanted to go on the journey before he actually made up his mind. *sigh*

I guess, considering my poor health, he didn't expect that I was actually looking forward to the trip. Even when I persuaded him that we could just rent out the car for the day instead of up till the day we will be leaving for home, he had already made up his mind, and that was that.

So, Day Four in Melbourne turned into a trip into town instead, to scout around for some souvenires to bring home. As I had not actually seen much of the town yet since arriving in Melbourne, except for the ride on the City Loop, it would be a day for me to venture into town further. It would also give me a chance to check out Lincraft in the city! *grin*



We took the train from South Yarra to the Southern Cross Station, which is similar to KL Sentral in the sense that it is a public transport hub come shopping center. However, we did not stop to do any shopping there as I was eager to locate Australia on Collins, a shopping complex that houses Lincraft - a craft shop, what else! LOL!


It was a long walk from the Southern Cross Station, along Collins Street before we got to 303, Little Collins Street, where the shopping complex was located. We stopped several times along the way to take photos of the beautiful architecture of the buildings along the road leading to Australia on Collins. My sister-in-law, Eina, would go "Yeah, an architect can't go travelling without taking photos of buildings!" LOL! Hey, we have to kill two birds with one stone, right? *grin* And, what better way to understand the history of the city, but through the architecture of the buildings as it evolves through the various times.


I was excited when we finally got to Australia on Collins to find a huge signboard advertising Lincraft. However, after visiting the Melbourne Stitches and Craft Show the day before, the Lincraft shop pales by comparison. *grin*


Nevertheless, I was still excited to be there, and I went around to see if there is anything that I might like, but I found only some scrapbook papers which I thought would be so appropriate for me to use as scrapbook pages on the Melbourne Trip.


I paid for my purchases and we headed on to Little Bourke Street and Swanston Road, as my hubby said that there are some good bargain shops along both roads to buy souvenires. I simply love the wide pedestrian path lining both sides of the streets along the shops, something I wish Kuala Lumpur has. But, even if Kuala Lumpur does have wide pedestrain walkways, it will most probably be occupied by errant motocyclists and hawker stalls, who couldn't care less for the comfort of the pedestrians. *sigh* I think our other main problem is the lack of enforcement by the local authorities to keep the pedestrian walkway free of all these `nuisance'.

We moved from shop to shop, in between taking snapshots of any places or buildings which we find of interest. Many of my friends, siblings and mum find it surprising that I can go travelling without shopping for things like hangbags, clothes, shoes and other `usual' things bought by people who goes travelling. Instead, whenever I come back from my travels, people are more likely to find craft items and craft books, or stash, as we call it among our craft friends, but which my mum calls trash! LOL! *wink* among the things that I bought, other than souvenires to give away. *grin*

I think I am just different in that way, but I think my craft friends can appreciate that. My hubby is thankful that I don't go crazy buying leather stuffs like handbags and shoes and clothes when we go on our travels. What he doesn't know is that how crazy I can go buying craft things though! LOL! *wink* Sssshhhhhhh..........

Since arriving in Melbourne, I have been having trouble holding down any food. I would throw out each time I take in anything. I have tried felafel at a middle eastern restaurant near our apartment, though it was good, my tummy still rejected it. The fish and chips my hubby bought also did not go down well with me.

So, since we were in town, my hubby suggested we try Little Malaysia on Liverpool Street, which is owned by a Malaysian. My son's eyes lit up when he saw the menu. It serves his favourite dish - fried kuay teow! He must have missed the dish so much. *grin* I, too, miss rice. Aahh! I am still very much a Malaysian at heart. LOL! *grin*

I ordered the Chef Special which is seafood Tom Yam soup, rice and pak choy with garlic. My hubby ordered Vegetarian Fried Rice, and Aiman, of course, ordered Fried Kuay Teow. Though the menu may sound very simple, but, after 4 days in Melbourne, this was probably my best meal so far. LOL! *grin* And, I finally managed to hold my food down! I think all of us enjoyed the meal tremendously. Yup, definitely Malaysians at heart! LOL!


It's great to know that, no matter how far we travel and where we go, we are still able to find food that suits our asian tummies. *smile*

After the delicious lunch, we decided to venture back to Swanston Street. We stopped awhile to take photos in front of the public library, before heading to Melbourne Central, another shopping complex.


We could never travel anywhere without dropping by at a bookshop, us being such avid readers, including my son. So, when we found out that Melbourne Central houses BORDERS, we made a beeline to the bookshop.


We spent sometime there, and I bought quite a lot of craft magazines, them being very cheap there. Most of the craft magazines there are sold in packs of two or three for the price of one. I wondered why the ones that are sold in Malaysia don't come in that packaging. To say that they are new issues and have not arrived yet in Malaysia, I did find a few that are already being sold in Malaysia, but sold individually, and not in packs of two or three.


Before heading back to our apartment, I took this snapshot of the stall selling fresh flowers along the street to the train station. I think it is such a cute stall, and with the wide pedestrian walk, this stall stands out along the walk.

BTW, that's my hubby in orange sitting on the bench, trying not to be seen in the photo. LOL! *grin*

End of Day Four

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Glad to see you in pictures ;-) btw, you didn't look sick in those pictures... heheh.

yup we are Malaysians at heart too. aiman's kuay teow looks so delicious!

kak nun, I've completed my xs, please visit my blog, entry on march 21st.

take care!

Za said...

Yeah, I don't look too bad, huh? LOL! Actually I was already feeling much better on that day, though my cough just wouldn't go away, and my tummy could not hold any food, until we ate at Little Malaysia, that is.

For your info, this is the first time ever that I posted a photo of myself in my blog. I am usually shy *wink*, but, since I am wearing dark glasses, I thought, OK, I am not that recognizable! LOL! *grin*

BTW, great work on your stitching piece! Congrats on finsihing it within your set dateline. I have some projects which I started some 2 years ago, and it is still not completed. Too many distractions, mah! LOL! *grin*

Emily said...

Hi Nik, You look in the pink of health! Thanks for sharing your trip with us!

Anonymous said...

Don't forget to post the pics I took when I went running on day 3 or 4 thru the botanic garden: What I like about Melbourne are the nice parks and open green spaces that dot the city, even downtown.

You would walk a few meters and the noise of the city wiuld disappear and you feel at peace...

(As u can see, we r so bz that we communicate on line now!)

Ying Pang, said...

am enjoying reading your travel report, thanks for sharing for us, did you go to their botanical garden? I love them, Melbourne has so many garden:-)