Well I took the flight down to Melbourne on the 25th. Firstly i found the streets of Sydney very nearly deserted. The people celebrate here differently than in India. Back home we go out and celebrate festivals, here they stay home and celebrate. A friend was supposed to take the flight with me, but he slept off and missed the flight and took the next flight. I landed in the Avalon airport in outskirts of Melbourne. It was a small airport with just one terminal. And in the following five days i had more fun than i have had in the three months in Sydney. Thanks to Sibi, Deepak and Prashant.
On the evening of 25th, we went to a temple outside melbourne, had laddus there. Then we went out to an Indian restaurant and ate good. Following which we hit the sack. Next day, we went out to see the city. Before that we went to "the National treasure, book of secrets". It was an alright movie. Then we went to the so-called Eureka towers, which has more than 95 floors. The 88th floor is dedicated to tourists. The lift was amazing. It did 88 floors in just 40 seconds!! We got nice view of the city from up there. Then we came down and visited the much famed Crown casino. Was it huge?? It seems it is the second biggest following the Vegas ones. Then after walking around for some more, we hit the sack.
The following day, we got up at 5 a.m. and left for the Great Ocean Drive!! It is about 350kms out of which 200kms is along the coast line. It was a beautiful drive, with beautiful beaches and forests on the way. The whole drive took about 7 hours and more. The great ocean drive leads to a major tourist attaction called the 12 Apostles. These are 12 huge rock formations along the coast line. We took a helicopter and had a good aerial view of the 12 apostles. On the way back, though, we were greeted with bad Indian batting. That night we went for a night show of "Aliens VS Predator". Although they liked the movie, i slept through it. After the tiring day, we slept the next morning, but managed to go to another temple and eat in the canteen there. I had my first Idli in the aussie soil. The next day, we went to the MCG for the fourth day of the first test. I had wished to see all the Indians bat that day, and was my wish granted!! The best thing that day was that Saurav was looking good. He hit lovely boundaries in the off-side. He was in good nick.
That night we went home and I packed my stuff, and took the bus back to sydney. Deepak was coming here with me. The Bus was nothing like those I have seen before. It looked just like a flight from inside, with more leg-space. It even had restrooms in it. The drive was about 14 hours and here i am in Sydney now.
We took some good clips there. Will post them soon.
