15 hours! 15 hours to go from San Francisco to Melbourne
seriously threatened my sanity, as I flipped aimlessly through the 100 movies I
had to chose from. Nature came to my rescue at the crucial moment, forcing me
to fall asleep by the time I finished seeing movies 1 and 2 (Captain Marvel and
A Year Living in Danger—with a very young Mel Gibson and an even younger Sigourny
Weaver), and then again between movies 3 and 4 (Red Dog and Mary Poppins Returns).
My all time favorite? Red Dog! This is the story of a red dog, who adopts a whole
mining camp in Western Australia. It is funny, it is sad, and it is brilliant!
We landed in Melbourne at 7:30 am, and I quickly sailed through
immigration (Grrr, I had to buy a $50 Australian visa at the San Francisco airport),
had nothing to declare, and by 8:00 am was comfortably ensconced in the special
bus that connects airport and city (AUS$20), a bit frustrated at not being able
to connect to the wi-fi of the bus.
Half an hour later I was in downtown, and spent the next 5
hours in a tourist bus, meandering through the different interesting spots the
city has to offer. It is a very handsome city, clearly in the midst of a growth
spurt. Skyscrapers are going up all over the place, which contrast with some of
the old Victorian buildings, such as the train station and the Melbourne museum.
They are also excavating the tunnels for what will be the first line of the
underground metro (I am not sure why they need yet another line, since the system
of trains and trams is excellent as far as moving people is concerned).
Melbourne grew in a very similar setting as San Francisco.
The estuary of the Yarra River formed a narrow peninsula between itself and Port
Phillip Bay, and the city now extends from the ocean, across the estuary, and
into the inland hills. Again, just like San Francisco the city owes its origin
to a gold rush that took place in the 1850’s! Tough hombres and tons of Chinese
immigrants labored to form a prosperous commercial hub, which today boasts
fancy districts with narrow but tall houses (everyone wanted a view of the bay),
a beautiful beach, and a very handsome ocean boulevard and fancy shoreline houses.
Because of its origins, the city proudly opens its arms to immigrants, so you see
all sorts of folks from the South Pacific islands, India, the Arabian
Peninsula, and Southeast Asia (I have so far seen no African-Australian folks).
I have a 12-hour delay with respect to California, so my
energy petered out around 2 pm, when I stopped being a tourist and boldly
navigated the train system to get to my hostel. I chose on purpose lodging west
of the city, at Newport, because it is close to the place where I have to pick
up my camping van tomorrow morning. My host, a rather imposing Fijian, welcomed
me warmly, pointed out a nice walking and shopping area, and suggested meeting
at the pub later tonight. I had to pass on that one, both in terms of being
tired and afraid he could well drink me under the table!
I did go for a walk in a very nice residential area, somehow
reminiscent of the varied and beautifully landscaped houses of Los Angeles in
the 1950’s. For dinner I chose a very Australian Fish-n-Chips, and later
stopped at a thrift store to buy a plate, a cup, and some utensils. I may come
back tomorrow, after picking up the van to buy a small ice chest and some pots
and pans. The Australian dollar is 80 cents to one dollar, so things are less
expensive than they seem. Nonetheless I am a bit alarmed at having spent AUS$200
in the first day!
No comments:
Post a Comment