Melbourne's Great!

Melbourne's great.. that is if you can stand not shopping after 6. It is difficult for someone like me who came from a city where people complain the shops close at 9 and not 11 or 12 like Hong Kong. BUT in Melbourne, the atmosphere is relaxed and unhurried, the people are generally more friendly, the air is fresher, weather is cool. The people believe in living a quality life balanced with after work enjoyment, hanging out with friends and family and exercising.

There are no impatient honkings from rude drivers. In fact, the cars will almost always stop to let you pass even if the pedestrain light is RED. People have time to stop and greet each other. And there are so many asians in the city like Hongkies, Singaporeans, Malaysians and Indonesians that as an asian I dont feel left out at all.

And what is worthy to mention is the glorious seafood! Oh my! Fat succulent prawns, clams that spew juice when you buy on them, a burst of flavours. When you taste seafood there, it will never be the same again. But then again food is generally more expensive than in Singapore. There is no concept of hawker there, the cheapest hot dog roll or sandwich will set u back at AUD $6-10! A plate of noodles from an eatery will cost $10+ which is cheap for their standards. An average meal cost $30 per person and a very good meal cost $50-$60 Per person. And the tramcar colonial restaurant which I went (and which I will talk about late) is a whopping $70 Per person! Oh well, but at least they dont have service or entertainment tax. What u see on the menu is what u pay.

But oh well, people are paid high there. One of the sales assistant told me the average retail pay is $20+ per hour, and $35/hr on sundays! But most prefer to work only 4 days a week. Imagine if you are a hardworking chap, you can earn over $2500
just being a store assistant-a far cry from here.

Now for the transport. You dont pay by fare per trip. You either buy 2 hours pass ($3.50)or 24 hours pass ($6.50) and you can take as many rides as you want. So no matter you take only 2 rides or 10 rides within 24 hours, is still $6.50. Flinders Street Station is the main train interchange. And it has 14 platforms! A good workout for me trying to run up and down to find which platform goes to the destination I want.


Except for the closing early part, the city is lovely with its intricate shops, charming laneways, you can see lotsa of effort goes into decorating every nook and crannny of the shop. Every small little lane has a treasure trove of shops. There is no cookie cutter shops and every shop is unique. The sales staff are smiley and not pesky. Their opening line is a booming" Hello! How are you today!" It is ok if you dont buy after trying, it is not a problem for them. But they dont have concept of giving discounts. It is either you buy or dont buy. Try haggling and they will probably think you are weird.