Land of Oz - Melbourne

It was big, bustling and exciting.

The weather was warmer, it was more crowded, but hey, it was still nice anyways. I am back after 10 days in Oz, and I really loved it. Oz isn't the big bad neighbour I thought it might be.

True, it isn't half as green or beautiful as NZ. But it's got more markets, more things to do and see and more of everything else.

Melbourne roads are soo wide, with a tram line cutting across most main roads. Beaut! I wonder why on earth they got rid of the trams in good 'ol Wgn.

Did many of the usual things. Visited the aquarium, waterfront, looked at the huge Crown Casino and did some quickie shopping. Gawd, the market is huge enough to be a lot like being back home in India.

Also went along to the Penguin Parade and it was well worth the looooooooong ride (not that I was driving anyways). Got to see the penguins in close quarters as they swam back after a day's hard work, to rest for the night. These were tiny ones, smaller than ducks. But oh-so-cute, nevertheless and Nandita and Nandana were raving over how cute they were.

Went to the Dandenong ranges and on a steam engine, called Puffing Billy, which apparently is a bit of a legend there. But it was not a patch on our Ooty/Mettupalayam line, considering how expensive the tickets were. Still, the ride and the locale were nice enough.

I only missed going to the Great Ocean Road, where the brilliant natural rock formation called the twelve apostles (seen recently in umpteen Indian films) is. Saw pics of it and it looks fab. Maybe next time.

Of course, did go around looking at a few houses for sale, along with our friends, as they were looking for a house to buy.

Every bloody house there seems to have gas cooking and most things seem much cheaper there. Ooh, what wouldn't I give for a gas stove at home here instead of the ugly electric one that we have.....

Melb has a nice laid-back air about it, and is a bit like Wgn stretched lengthways and breadthways (a lot of stretching, if you can imagine). It's a huge city, but there's no sign of the palpable rush that you can feel in Sydney. More about that later.

People, do leave your comments. And here's one answer _ I haven't been able to put any pics on, but we did take many, so will try to upload them over a period of time. As to why it's taken me so long to put up a post, read my next.