I landed in Melbourne airport on the 31st of March at 12am,
With no transport nor friends to come and pick me up, so I unpacked and sat on the floor to access the slow but free wifi in the arrival hall.
With nothing but newly bought tim tam balls to fill my tummy. I have not eaten dinner since departure.
I managed to go online and locate Stuart, a traveler whom I have met more than once or twice, first got acquainted with him in Cambodia, then in Gold Coast, then in Sydney, a true globe trekker unlike myself, he has then recently landed in Melbourne (I heard) securing a job as a fish monger.
That's him.
So at around 3am (I was intending to spend the night at the airport surfing the net), I packed my things and boarded the bus to the city, having nothing but an address and an all too brief direction to his house from the station.
149 Peel St
North Melbourne VIC 3051
Australia
Right. Where the heck was peel street?
It was pitch dark when I hailed a cab to get me to the said address. Now the good thing about every cab in Melbourne was that they're all equipped with GPS, so as long as you have the full address, you're safe to assure to arrive at your destination. Just be sure your wallet is loaded.
I came up to a street where the Indian? Bangladesh? (it was all too dark to identify, no racism here) dropped me off in front of a corner town house with 149 golden number plated to the front door.
According to Stuart, who was at that time working overnight shift (like everyday), he left a key in the mail box for me to collect and help myself in. With a note: fiddle around with the knob, it needs a bit of kink to get it open but you'll figure it out on your own.
And he was right. I was standing in cold dark morning spring outside tweaking and turning and twisting the key around the door knob for a full 20 minutes before the stubborn door decided to budge and let me enter.
"Go up a flight of stairs and you'll come to my room. Help yourself inside. The room is yours." said Stuart on Facebook.
And up I lulled my luggage slowly and painfully before I came to a notice at the door.
AWE~~~~!! What nice friend I have. *meltz*
Instantly I felt more comforted and not so lonely anymore, I pushed inside and was welcome with the cutest setting of a room, or a bed-room.
It was really more bed than room.
Exhausted, I slumped on to the bed and saw the look of myself in the mirror. Thought it funny, I whipped out my camera and snapped my first photo in Melbourne.
A tired Nicolekiss
Then feeling thrilled, relieved and everything in between, I got a bit funky and started doing all sorts of weird poses with my camera.
Woi! Flying Kick! This is what you do when a guy try to hit on you on bed.
And err... this is what you do when someone try to force enter you? wtf
"How do I look when I tilt my head like this?"
Then finally, feeling the warmth, I took off my jacket and continued on.
It was about 4:30am and almost a million photos later before I cut it quit and changed into my PJ, washed up and slept.
It was SUCH a nice sleep that I didn't wake up till near noon, when I heard someone scuffling outside the room, probably around the house.
Stuart has returned.
I was to leave at around 6pm for the airport again (I know, so soon!). So Stuart brought me about town for a look see before my departure.
He brought me to a small busy alley in Melbourne bursting with coffee shops and one booth cafe for lunch.
Does anyone know what this street/alley is called?
We settled for a nice looking coffee shop and ordered some bread and salads.
It was nice to finally have something decent to eat after 24 hours of constant moving about.
I realised whenever I do this kink pout, my right eye (left on the pic) tend to be smaller than the other.
During my day in Melbourne, I also paid a visit to Haigh's, one of my favourite chocolate shops in Australia.
It was Easter season so chocolate eggs were everywhere!
God I missed Easter. The festival back in England was a big thing. And I've always loved going for Easter shopping!
Big Chocolate Easter Egg!!
"Mommy, can I have this?! purlease??"
Chocolate fish and easter duck!
So damn cute I was so tempted to buy them back.
"Happy Easter Everyone! from Stuart and Me"
I know, this greeting is like, 4 months too late! lol
Finally, before I leave Melbourne behind for good, there's one final thing I have to do.
Have a drink at Kokoblack!
They only served like the BEST ICE CHOCOLATE in Australia!
Me and Stuart sharing a drink. Still pretty full from lunch.
Also we met up Tee Hiong, Malaysian student in Melbourne, whom I met last year during my Melbourne leg on my Australian trip.
And so it marked the end of my one very short day visit in Melbourne.
My plane to Adelaide was about to board, time to head back and get back on the bus.
Till then,
"Happy Belated Easter, Everyone! :p"
