Melbourne Menagerie I: X Doesn't Mark The Spot

Melbourne200904
Swiped from williamnyk.

My sister planned this trip to Melbourne and it was supposed to be in the warmer month of April. But as things were at work, I requested that it be postponed to May. Unfortunately, even in May, my work schedule did not go as planned. Be that as it may, with a MYR1070 Air Asia X ticket purchased, I upped and left anyway to see an autumn-y Melbourne. Air Asia X is really no frills. The seats were so bloody narrow (3 in a row). Even the more expensive XL seats (2 in a row) did not look comfortable. Each seat had its own monitor, but to access any entertainment, you must first pay MYR30. Feeling cold? Purchase a comfort kit for another MYR30. 8 hours of that. And the best part was that the seats could not be reclined. You're only given a pseudo-recline, where your cushion actually slides down and forward giving you the impression of a recline. Sad. I spent most of the time in the free chat rooms. And even that software was buggy. One had to continuously refresh the screen or exit the room to see the messages properly. >_<". Managed to chat up some locals and get some info on Melbourne. When I got sick of that, I turned to my PSP-- "God of War: Chains of Olympus". So ironic that while I was chatting with my Persian neighbour Ari (a semi-cute Iranian boy of 18 with a thick mop of hair), I was busy bashing in the skull of Persian soldiers in the game. I did not sleep a wink.



Arriving at Melbourne Airport, one gets a very un-welcome feeling. At the immigration counter, officers herd you like cattle and they handle your passports with latex gloves. After clearing immigration, I was briefly interrogated by an officer. I had a feeling he thought I was looking for illegal employment in Melbourne. Customs was worse. Everyone had to go through the baggage check. I guess it's better to declare every little thing than to risk being found guilty of not declaring. The officer checked my mum's knapsack and just found my nephew's potty and some knickers. That made her look no further. Outside, the weather was freezing. For the first time, I could see my breath fog up in the chilly air. While waiting for a cab, I managed to spy a whole busload of cute Japanese students on a study trip. Yum! Not long after, we boarded a large cab (complete with pneumatic baggage lift) for Punt Hill Apartments at Flinders Lane. Quite a nice place for AUD250 a night in the Central Business District (CBD). The only complaint was the creaky floor boards. Upon unloading our luggage, the first order of business was grocery shopping at the nearby 24-Hour Coles for my nephew's porridge supplies and the next day's breakfast. Found that most products had a cheaper in-house brand alternative. Didn't get much of an impression of Melbourne at that ungodly hour (except for the several peep show places nearby and the majestic Flinders Street Station). Zzzzz....