Day 233-235 - St Kilda & Erinsborough!

Day 233 (Wednesday 4th) - Busted!

I got up from my surprisingly comfortable bed of cushions and blankets, spent a while (far too long in fact) faffing about in Dave's flat, then went out and caught the tram to town. I had $2.50 in change on me, and reasoned that this should be enough for at least a single, and most ticket machines in Australia take notes anyway. Sadly I was mistaken - the only ticket I could afford was a concession, and the machine didn't take notes. I reasoned that if I was inspected, lacking a concession card I would be in just as much trouble as if I had no ticket at all, so I decided to risk it. As luck would have it, about 2 minutes down the road a couple of Yarra Trams inspectors came on board, inspected everyone else, and for a moment I thought I might get away with it - until the woman standing in the doorway gestured at me, saying "check that lad." Her colleague did so, and as I explained my predicament (first day in town, thought they'd take notes, hoped I could pay at the other end etc. - all true) he nodded along sympathetically, then the git got out his notebook and proceeded to write me up. He asked for my name and date of birth, which I idiotically gave to him - why didn't I just lie? he asked where I was staying, so I told him as much as I could remember. He then requested Dave's number, rang him to confirm that I was staying with him. I told the guy I was only going to be here for a week, at which he responded "well, do you intend to return to Australia?" Apparently if this doesn't get processed in a week, and then I don't respond to any letters as I've left the country, then it'll be taken as a refusal to pay, which could lead to a criminal record in Australia and possible refusal of entry in the future. He marked it as urgent, but I doubt it'll be sorted in time. He said they might just ring up, hear my side, believe me and drop it - something which he could easily have done, thereby avoiding all this nonsense. Anyway, they asked where I was going, gave me a map of the tram lines with all the fare information on it, and then buggered off.

After this ridiculous journey I got off at the impressive and wonky Federation Square, and immediately was attracted by the signs for the Game On exhibition in the ACMI - this was an exhibition all about the history and evolution of gaming over the last few decades, featuring loads of free (well, sort of - it was $15 to get in) arcade games and consoles to play on. I discovered that I suck at the original Pong, as well as Locoroco and Guitar Hero (the last of which I knew already). I spent a good three hours or so wandering around in there, so long in fact that it was dark when I got out, so I headed back to Dave's via the bottle shop. Dave, Pip and I watched some Trailer Park Boys, followed by My Neighbour Tottoro and Heat - none of which I had ever seen before. Tottoro is an awesome film, I had wanted to see it since Japan - Tottoro World was near where I was staying, and I was intrigued to see what the fuss was about. Heat was really intense and incredible too, but I'm sure you already knew that.

Day 234 (Thursday 5th) - Wandering Round The City

Today I planned to go on the Neighbours tour, but failed - I went to the Coffee Palace Backpackers to sign up around one o'clock, but I had just missed the bus and it was full anyway. Thwarted, I walked down to St. Kilda beach for a read. There were a few people swimming, even though it was freezing (I later discovered that they were part of a group called The Icebergers) - the beach is nice enough, if a little narrow, and it's always odd to see container ships in the distance when you're lying on the sand. For lunch I went for sushi and then headed into town - with a ticket this time. I planned to do a walking tour I had found in a guide book - well, not a tour so much as a vague wandering loop around the centre. However, on the way in I espied the Eureka Tower, apparently the world's tallest residential building (at 92 floors/297 m) with the highest observation deck in the southern hemisphere. It was pretty impressive, and as it was a perfectly clear day I could see for miles in every direction, and took far too many pictures of the views.

Having had my fill of stunning Melburnian vistas, and noticing the sun was rather low in the sky, I started my walk around the CBD, via Collins St, a few cool little laneways, an awesome bakery in Chinatown, and Mrs. Parma's pub. Before I knew it it was 1900, so I headed back and consulted with Dave about dinner - while Dave went to the gym, I ended up buying and cooking a chicken Panang curry with rice - it was actually really delicious, although I screwed up the rice somehow, so it was a wee bit gooey. This bothers me, as I've managed to screw up the rice in the same way the last few times I've cooked, and I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. Anyway, Dave got out Princess Mononoke from the video shop, which was really good - I'd heard it was the best Ghibli film, and I'm inclined to agree. Great artwork, feudal Japan, giant beast forest gods, and a fair amount of violence too - what more could you want in a film? Awesome.

Day 235 (Friday 6th) - Ramsay Street!

Right, so I was booked onto the 0810 tour bus, for which I nearly overslept. I caught it and we were ferried to the Neighbours centre on Flinders Street. The second we walked in I identified the Wurlitzer from the cafe, to the amusement and mild derision of some girls from the bus. Before too long we were put onto the official Neighbours bus, where we watched a classic episode (I chose Jim's death) while the driver told us facts about various sets we were driving past. First stop was Erinsborough High - well, the building they use for outside shots. the driver got the Erinsborough High sign out of the back of the bus and hung it on the fence for people to take pictures. Next stop was the Global Television studios, where we would get to meet our 'star', as advertised. We drove in and parked between Carpenter's Mechanics and Grease Monkeys, and awaited the arrival of... Kim Valentine aka Libby Kennedy! After signing some stuff and posing for photos - including a Ben Bruce onto which she tagged the words "...best shag ever!"- we had a bit of a question and answer session. She seemed really cool, very friendly, smiley, chatty and slightly smutty (as well as really hot too). Next up was Ramsay Street itself - or Pin Oak Court, to give it its proper name. There is a security guard on duty 24 hours a day to prevent drunken locals coming and looking for Harold, apparently. The driver/guide got a Ramsay Street sign out of the bus and passed it around for photos. It was very odd being there, it looks quite a lot bigger on TV, but also wierdly familiar. I immediately recognised the Robinson house, Harold's house, the old Sculley house, and of course the House Of Trouser next door to Karl and Susan's. Many photos later, we were back on the bus for the trip back into Melbourne. This time we watched Libby and Drew's wedding, and Helen Daniels' death. That was a spiggin' awesome morning.