australia
A travelogue from Melbourne...updated 26, January 2008...click on the pictures to see them full-size.
¤ Melbourne, Victoria - New Job, New Town
Friday June 15, 2007A new job and a new town...and it's the first time I've been to Melbourne. Arriving on Friday at eight in the morning meant I couldn't check into the hotel I had booked over the internet. I got a taxi to the hotel anyway to drop off my bags and start exploring. I was keen to find a place to live so after a bit of a wander around the area close to the hotel and an expensive breakfast, I hopped in another taxi to Southbank to visit the real estate agents I'd found on the Internet.
What I should have done was just relaxed and have a look around but it was an interesting time. The agent handed me several keys and security cards, and after a quick check of the map and I was off to check em out. Apartments (or condos as they like to call them) were really disappointing, small, grotty and expensive, especially since the prices advertised on the internet were low to lure you into talking to the agent. Actual prices are much higher, like double!
Southbank. This of the Yarra river is about 20 minutes walk from the CBD. Its slightly cheaper than the apartments I saw in the CBD. Maybe because there are less students competing for places, who knows. Still, all of them are more expensive than I had budgeted for.
By taking a taxi I had missed seeing half the town so I walked back into town this way to get my bearings. After getting lost a couple of times I found a Myers store and bought a map! OK, I was back on track and found my way to the shopping and cafes that Melbourne is famous for. Coffee is up to standard and I found Elizabeth Street where I'd be working. O my. The upper part of Elizabeth Street is lined with half a dozen motorcycle shops, all had heaps of new motorbikes parked on the footpath - O the temptation!
I got back to Nova Stargate Apartment Hotel at three in the afternooon and was pretty nackered after traipsing 'round town for seven hours! First impressions are that it is very much a student city - and most of them are Asian. Where are the locals? There are new ultra-modern buildings and old shabby buildings so contrasts are the order of the day.
Saturday June 16, 2007Got up late after the marathon yesterday and was planning on going back to the real estate agent until I found that I needed a local bank account to get a lease here, so I just had a look at some different areas that where offering apartments instead. Since I now knew where the hell I was going, I wandered up the road to find BP Head Office...went the wrong way and ended up in Queen Victoria market! Cool. It's just two blocks up Elizabeth street from the hotel and it just buzzes with activity.
The market is awash with every imaginable food. Home made pita breads and some weird-looking but tasty hummus and pesto dip was lunch and I was loving it! Several tourists were tempted by MacDonalds and Subway but once inside the markets, your saliva glands go into overdrive. This is more like it!
I wandered back down Elizabeth Street all the way down to the Yarra River to see how long it would take to walk to Southbank from work. It took about 30 minutes but I still needed to find the right tram but since they go in both directions North to South and East to West, I'll need a tram guide to work it out.
Southbank is a cool combination of riverside restaurants and shops, shrouded by mega-condos perched right next to the river. Apartments a bit further back are cheaper but they're still expensive. One real estate agent had to show me an $800,000 apartment that definitely had the wow factor, unbelieveable, it even came with an Aston Martin package that you could rent for $800 a day! Anyway, back in the real world...
Sunday June 17, 2007Got up late (again) and stepped out to get some lunch, check out the rest of the markets and ride the trams. It was wet and cold today so I didn't hang around and scuttled back to the apartment with lunch under my arm. It looks like the start date at work is delayed so I've got plenty of time to oranise things, at least for now.
Monday June 18, 2007Commonwealth Bank Account, an Aussy SIM card and I'm rolling. The city circle trams are free but are blocked off today after a shooting in downtown Melbourne. Nice. And the dude is still running around here somewhere.
Tuesday June 19, 2007Really cold and wet today so only managed to look at a couple of apartments but really disappointed. Might have to find something cheap for now and keep looking for something better. Most of them are looking for six month leases or more. Have found a few places around town that offer free Internet access so am searching 'em all out as they are unsurprisingly hogged by students all the time.
Wednesday June 20, 2007Friday and I found another real estate agent who seem very helpful but the apartments I'm looking at have more than 20 people looking at them and after applying for an apartment, no one is ringing back to say I missed out so a change of tactics requires applying for anything that moves.
All this demand for student accommodation is pushing the prices up hugely ...apparently the house market is going nuts too so Melbourne must be booming ecomony-wise and population-wise. According to the paper, along with the huge number of imports, Melbourne is having a bit of a population boom.
Thursday June 21, 2007Checked out the Docklands as I liked the sound of the place. It's advertised as a trendy new suburb built on the old , but it's just a hollow shell of nothing surrounded by apartment buildings in some kind of weird social experiment. This place will be cool, one day, especially in the summer but at the moment it's just weird.
Friday June 22, 2007Was going to go back to the first real estate agent I saw on the Friday that I arrived. Heck, I've been here a week!...since I haven't seen the docklands area yet so I jumped on the circle tram and had a look at some apartments out there. Really just a matter of wandering into the foyer and asking the conceirce about the deal and there is usually a reall estate agent lurking behind somewhere. Anyway, the rooms were tiny, had a view of the back of another building (not great for a harbour-facing building) and no sun. Did I mention tiny?
Saturday June 23, 2007Wandered back to Southbank looking for something halfway healthy to eat. Food-courts are underneath the river-side shopping mall, so there's a choice of, well, everything. It's real nice down there at lunchtime, so much choice you don't know where to start. After lunch I wandered along the river towards the MCG. This place is busy with street performers and arts and crafts stalls every weekend, even during Winter. It must be absolutely teaming with tourists during Summer.
Back to the Southbank real estate agents after seeing some advertising in the Sunday paper. Bit cynical now as the ads I have seen have mysteriously gone and "can we show you this much more expensive one?". Surprisingly, there were actual apartments to view this time so I had a look at a couple of one bedroom apartments and found they were real nice. So, keen as mustard after a week of knock-backs, I if I needed to apply there and then and they said no way as it wouldn't be processed until the Monday anyway. Back at the hotel, I filled out the application forms and asked if Tina would fax a whole bunch of different kinds of proof of identity. Thanks Tina.
Had a disappointing TXT conversation with the agency in the UK about a start date and still no news, this is not looking good.
Monday June 25, 2007Got to Southbank land agents around 9am to hand in my application. After wandering back into town, I got a phone call to say that the apartment I applied for had already been applied for by someone else. They said I didn't need to apply for it until Monday. Damn, the first half decent affordable place without 20 others competing for it and I'd missed out.
I had to walk back to the agent from the city coz the phone number they gave me didn't work. After viewing yet another unaffordable and crap apartment, I convinced them to allow my application and let the landlord decide. I was hoping that maybe apartment owner was a local and less inclined to let it to people straight off the boat...sounds bad, but it worked! They rang back a couple of hours later saying the application was approved. That's funny, they also said it normally takes two to three days. Woo hoo! Now, all I had to do was find $6000 for rent and bond in advance, insurance, power, water, gas and tv services. O my! Up one minute and down the next.
Southbank. This is a view of PWC and Eureka towers around the corner from the apartment.
Went to the Commonwealth Bank where I had just opened account and no, I couldn't transfer funds between bank accounts in two countries even if the two banks are in the same banking group. Tried internet banking but that was a no go, so I went back to the hotel rang asb to get account code, went to an internet cafe, no token, back to hotel rooom, found the secuirty token, rang ASB in NZ told to use internet banking so back to internet cafe but didn't have bank address so swapped sim card to an aussie one and rang real estate agent for bank street address - got transferred four times before I finally got it after answering the same questions everytime.
Swapped SIM cards back and called ASB who informed me that once the codes are entered they can release the transaction so...back into the web site, paraniod as anything and not recommended to do anything on a public terminal, but the web site requires a net bank code and I didn't have it! Rang asb who rang their treasury people and got the code, back into the web site and...it worked and I didn't need to have the transaction "released" since netcode does that automatically, dear o dear.
Printed off the receipt and hoped this was enough. Got lost on the way to leasing office but finally found it. OK, I'm there, no one was there. Had to wait for them to come back as they were late...typical. Right. Completed the paperwork for rent in advance, bond, eek! power and water used every form of proof of identity I had...it was sorted.
Southbank. Here's a shot of Eureka Towers in the evening. I walk past this everyday on my way into town. Underneath is an Aston Martin dealer and a Rolls Royce dealer, mmm.
Right, now I've got a grouse furnished apartment in a new building, in a great area, close to the river, with a gym, lap pool and tennis court in the building and no job. Some of the places I looked at were smaller, crappier, no furniture, no air conditioning and swarmed by hourds of students...and they were way more expensive!
What a day. Been walking for hours, literally, an extreme mobile phone bill, the people in the Internet cafe are looking at me funny and I still don't have a start date for work, bloody hell!
It's all a bit of a risk, but they assure me it is all go...sometime (crossed fingers). If it all falls through now I'm kinda screwed a few thousand bucks.
Southbank. Here are the views from the apartment. The photo on the left looks south across the Westgate Freeway, over Albert Park towards St. Kilda beach. The photo on the right looks between two towers towards Port Melbourne.
Tuesday June 26, 2007Lordy, lordy, its the second week of the same old story and patience is beginning to wear very thin. No news is bad news. Off to see St. Kilda beach and shops as there is a decent internet cafe there.
St. Kilda. This is the historic amusement park gates of Luna Park (left) and across the road, the Palais Theatre (right). Alice Cooper played at the Palais in July 07 and Suzie Quattro, of all people, is playing in August. Next door used to be the infamous Palace Night Club which infamously burned down recently.
Wednesday June 27, 2007It's freezing but I get out and about to check out the place while I'm here but really just treading water for the rest of the week, at least until we get started.
St. Kilda. This is a shot of the Esplanade along from Acland Street in St. Kilda. Lots of palm trees and blue sky but its about 8 degrees! You can see the tram lines...I should've waited for a tram to come to make this a better shot.
Friday June 29, 2007It's midnight on Friday, patience ran out and daily phone calls have got to the point where I would not take no for an answer. put the pressure on. The deal is off. Gutted.
Monday July 2, 2007What a mess, the agency are just pathetic. They really have no idea how much effort it has taken to get to this point. And they don't care. It wouldn't be so bad but they really don't give a shit. Simon and I are marooned here with no job. I can't believe this. Maybe I've been too optimistic about the risks, but this is just ridiculous.
Monday July 9, 2007Spent this week just trying to contact the agency in the UK and BP in the States. Having a few beers with Simon helped. Having a lot more beers with Simon helped some more. Found the historic shot tower that is now enclosed in a glass pyramid.
Didn't really start looking for work properly until now. I've decided to get serious about checking things out now that I've got over myself. Plenty of things to apply for. Just hope the money doesn't run out before I find a job. I've got a regular routine now. Watch the Tour de France till 2am, get up late, get to the nearest internet cafe for a browse of the job markets, apply for a few jobs, phone people back that I applied to the previous day, rinse and repeat.
Monday July 23, 2007Thought it was just another week but Paul rang me to say that our good friend Lewis Wilson had died suddenly. I don't think I'd been that freaked out before, this really affected me. I guess I've never been so down.
Friday July 27, 2007Flying back to Wellington for a birthday weekend. Will be a great change of pace.
Sunday July 29, 2007Great weekend. It was awesome to see friends and family and reset the clock on the whole deal. Now, it's back to Melbourne, this feels weird. Back on the job search. No return ticket. Oh my. Assembled me bike. Will be great to get out and explore.
Monday July 30, 2007Full-bore on the job search this week and probably the best week yet for getting new contacts and interviews. At least the ball is rolling now. Went for a ride out to St. Kilda and along the beach road down the coast around the harbour. Excellent.
Monday August 6, 2007Things are starting to get busy now and the interviews are starting to happen. Been riding everyday and have taken a few wrong turns but have explored the Yarra River trail and been down the coast to Black Rock and back a few times. Very windy, just like home!
Friday August 10, 2007Score! Telstra will offer me a six-month contract and I'm on my way. I'll still chase the other opportunities but this really takes the load off.
Tuesday August 21, 2007Signing the contract today and the wording has changed to a twelve month contract...typical. This place is starting to feel like when I was in Asia. Nothing is as it seems, everyone is trying to get one over on you and every experience seems to be tainted to some degree by some kind of rip-off or half-truth. That's life in the big city, I guess.
Wednesday August 22, 2007First day on the job today. Telstras' a big place so first tasks are coming to grips with how things work. There are almost 3000 people in the building I'm in
Saturday August 25, 2007Bunch ride to Black Rock was awesome. Lots of different clubs and thousands of people just out for a ride, leave from St. Kilda and other parts of the city to ride to Black Rock (and some a lot further afield). This is on every weekend and some of the larger bunches of riders have made the news due to some massive accidents. Collectively the event is called the Hell Ride. Was a helluva ride at the front, that's for sure!
The traffic has been good at not running us over but it's usually the builders utes that beep their horns and cut you off since we are not priviledged to ride on their roads.
Sunday August 26, 2007Saturday bunch ride was so much fun I thought I'd go out again. After the ride yesterday, I went out to get a paper and coffee and my legs were not coooperating so I was hoping that another ride would lossen em up a bit. I can cruise at 30kph quite comfortably on the flat, a short stint a the front of the bunch at 40kph is not a problem for a few minutes but the larger bunches are flying along at 50kph. Things get real busy at that speed so a few seconds at the front and I'm maxxed out with a huge rush...of lactic acid.
Friday August 31, 2007Completed my first full week at work and I can see the amount of work coming down the pipeline is massive. There are literally hundreds of projects running. I'm working with a project manager to facilitate Telstra's infrastructure transformation projects so there will not be boring.
Friday September 28, 2007Its Friday night and I'm was just walking home from a few beers after work and listening to the some great music on the radio. I remembered that I was listening to Heavy Metal in Frankfurt, Techno in Hong Kong, now I'm listensing to TripleJJJ FM, with a lot of really excellent local music being played but not much Heavy Metal or Techno, must go and get some new music, I think.
Friday October 26, 2007Saw an old black bike the other day with Penrose tyres, heavy steel rims and big old welded frame lugs. Man, that really brought back memories of getting a new bike for Christmas. The Raliegh Sports bikes my brother and I got were the best Xmas presents ever. We rode those bikes thousands of miles every year, literally.
Well, it's the end of October and only now are people starting to visit the empty beaches, hard to believe. A couple of days when temperatures get into the thirties people get out on the sand but if it's only 20 degrees there's not a soul out there.
Tina and Mark came over for a weekend so we try and see the whole town in one weekend. So tired now. It was awesome folks, you gotta come back over to see the rest.
I'm still cycling every weekend and a couple of times during the week. Fast bunch riding is keeping me interested, something I haven't done for twenty years! The week before last, a speed skater was doing 40-something kph behind the bunch and some dudes were motor-pacing behind a motorcycle.
Cycling is so popular here, there are races every weekend and triathalons every month or so - always people out training.
January 2008The other day I'd been out training for about an hour so I turned around and headed for home and was promptly overtaken by a fast bunch. Alright! Thought I'd jump on the back but was barely able to keep up, they were doing 44-45kph and not slowing much for the small hills around here.
Most of them had South Australia jerseys and I figured they were just some cycling club. There's always heaps of riders in club jerseys out for rides so didn't give it a second thought. Half an hour of fast riding and I was thinking these guys were doing it easy. But one by one, riders start dropping off the back so now I'm thinking, hey I'm hanging on here!
Eventually, I got dropped when the whole bunch sprinted past another huge bunch of riders who were doing over 50kph. By the time I got home, I was wrecked. The following week, I was reading Cycling Australia magazine and there they were, the Australian Institute of Sport team! I've got a long way to go if that was a training ride.
February 2008Here's a link to my training route along Beach Road, great beaches and always something to look at :-)
June 2008
While in Sydney for work, I spent the day completing an audit in the data centre at Broadway. The systems running there supoprt a variety of services and the site has an interesting history. The building was the point where the Overseas Telecommunications Commission international undersea cable terminated and subsequently housed some of the first digital exchange equipment. More interestingly, I had time to take these night shots of Darling Harbour while I was there.
October 2008
Attended the fantastic Melbourne Auto Salon where I saw the new Nissan GTR fo the first time. Ugly, but very nice!.
Rich
