Melbourne, Day 1

Tuesday, 31 August 2010

[NOTE: The photos will be added later. For now, just the Blog.]

Well, those 5 hours went by quickly. They turned the lights back on at about 3am to help everyone wake up and to give us a last chance at food since there will be none to purchase on the coach. I opted for Raisin Toast and a Coke. Did I mention the Coke here has cane sugar? 8-) Bless the non-USA Coca-Cola bottlers for using "The Real Thing".

* * * * *

On the bus now. I had to get the stupid suitcase and take it to the bus myself. It fell over twice in the not-even-50-yards it needed to travel. I really do hate the thing, and now I think it knows it, and it's messing with me.

Not many folks were willing to let me share a row w/ them, but I got one near the back, and a window so I can see the dark countryside go by. ;-) The over-head bins on the bus are tiny, and my 19" carrying doesn't fit, so now it's uncomfortably wedged between my feet. Ugh.

By the time we got to The Southern Cross station in Melbourne I could barely walk since my legs were on pins and needles.

I retrieved my suitcase from where they'd extracted them from under the bus. It, of course, saw fit to fall over no less than six times from the bus into the bus station. Oh, it's really getting on my last nerve now!

Inside the bus station, which I find out is also a CountryLink and local train station as well, I headed for the Traveler's Aid office to get a local map, and info on local hotels.

Turns out that the Traveler's Aid office has showers to rent, as well as beds to rent by the hour if you need to nap while waiting on your (next) train. I bet the Central Station in Sydney has the same. I'll have to check when I return.

I got a few numbers of hotels, sat down with my Aussie mobile phone and started making calls. The Crowne Plaza could  give me a room for the wonderful rate of $245/night. YIKES!! No thanks. Next I phoned the Holiday Inn, which could get me a better deal at $185/night. I said I would take the room, figuring that at least I'd have a place for the first night, and could make calls searching for something better later in the day. Turns out that even thought the map makes it look farther away, the Holiday Inn is really only about 2 blocks down the street, which I could see down the road to my right when I exited the Southern Cross station. Down the street I go, with the stupid suitcase fighting me the whole way. I tried hooking it to the carry-on suitcase and pulling it straight behind me, thinking that would help, but it did not. I wound up dragging the suitcase through two intersections on its side. I didn't have time to stop and make it stand on its wheels again. Oh, I am SO going to replace this suitcase.

Right as I was about to turn the corner to the Holiday Inn, I saw the sign for the Penzione Hotel. This is also one of the convention hotels, and I remember their convention rates were more reasonable than those for the Holiday Inn, so I decided to pop in to see if they had rooms available. They weren't on the list of hotels I got at the train station, or I would have called them first. Yes, they have a room! I can stay there all week, though the room rates fluctuate, none of them are as high as what the Holiday Inn quoted me. I got signed into a room on the third floor, gladly deposited my belongings, then phoned the Holiday Inn to cancel the reservation. Oh, yes, the Penzione accepts credit cards for payment without charging extra, while the Holiday Inn wanted to charge a 1.5% fee to accept a credit card. Boo Hiss Holiday Inn.

The room in the Penzione is small, but very functional. The bathroom is the smallest I have EVER seen, though. The sink is maybe 14" wide. When you sit on the toilet, your knees touch the small cabinet that the sink is in. The shower is square, and there is no light, and no door or shower curtain. But it has good water pressure, and load of hot water.

I unpacked everything, hanging up clothes, etc. Then I had a chance to really examine the stupid suitcase. Somewhere along the way, it's refusal to roll properly resulted in three of the five wheels developing large flat spots. I'm sure the flat spots also contributed to more problems getting the suitcase to roll properly. And, because it fell over on its side so many times, two of the zippers around the bottom, the ones that let the suitcase expand, are now damaged and will not open or close due to the broken teeth. Plus, there are now several holes in the suitcase: two small ones, and a large one that's big enough to let clothes work their way out.

Time for a shower, then off to explore Melbourne.

* * * * *

I asked at the front desk about nearby places where I could purchase a suitcase, and find out that there is an Outlet Mall just past the convention center where Worldcon will be. This is like a double-bonus. I get to scope out the trek from the hotel to the convention center, and check out a shopping mall as well. Off I go on foot, turning left out the door of the hotel, and down the street to go under a railroad bridge, and over another bridge which crosses the Yarra River. Now I can see the outside of the MCEC (Melbourne Convention and Expo Center). It's about a 5 minute walk from the hotel so far. Now I have to cross the street, and walk down the river front, past the front of the convention center, down toward the Hilton hotel (another of the Worldcon hotels), in search of South Wharf, which I finally find. It was another 5-10 minute walk from the street just to get to it. It appears they have some enormous blocks in this city.

* * * * *

I finally found the outlet mall portion of the building, which was one floor below street level, and I wound up entering via the food court entrance. This was great since I was starving, having last ate at 3:30 am on the train. The food court is tiny, with only four restaurants: Subway, Genki Sushi, a bakery, and Health Express where I had Turkey, Cheese, Spinich, Cranberry jam, and Avocado spread sandwich on multi-grain bread. Yum! I wouldn't have thought to put all of that on the same sandwich, but it really was good.

I looked at the mall map during lunch, marking places likely to have suitcases, and finally found a large one at a discount luggage store for $79 that only weighs about 4.5 pounds. Considering that the previous stores in the mall where I found suitcases had them for no less than $180, I thought $79 was a bargain. I got it in burnt orange. At least it will be easier to spot on luggage carousels than just another black suitcase.

I also shopped around for a medium weight fleece jacket, but all of their sale prices I could find were $60-$100, which I didn't think was much of a sale, so I didn't buy a jacket.

* * * * *

I took the tram back to the hotel, only it didn't stop at the stop in front of my hotel, and I wound up having to get off at the stop in front of the Southern Cross station, and walk the two blocks back down the hill. I have to figure out where the "request stop" buttons are in the tram as I didn't see a pull wire. By the way, I am happy to report that the new suitcase rolls perfectly well. Hurray!

* * * * *

I dropped the suitcase off in the room, and took the now dead one downstairs to inquire about the rubbish bin to throw it in. They helped with that. I also signed up for Internet access in the hotel. They gave me a deal for $10/day since I bought it for my whole stay at once.

I asked about places to go and things to do in Melbourne in the evening, and the guy at the front desk suggested that I go to see Mary Poppins, and directed me to the Half Price Ticket booth on Bourke street.

First, I went to the 7-Eleven on the corner (yes, just like the ones in the US), and purchased a tram pass. Then I caught the tram in front of the hotel, going to Bourke Street. I walked for two blocks in both directions from where Hotel Guy said the ticket booth was, and never found it. I gave up trying to find it, and just looked all around at the various shops and stores that were still open. Then I just started walking, and it turned out that I made it almost all the way back to my hotel, but I didn't realize that when I jumped on a tram headed back. So, at this point I was really hungry again, and since I was near the hotel I stopped back in to ask for nearby places that were still open. I was directed back across the Yarra River, across the street from the Convention Center, to the Crown Casino.

So, off I went on foot again, and found the Lucky Dragon Chinese Seafood restaurant. It was okay food, but not great, and was hideously expensive! My dinner cose $50, and that was without alcohol. That was a cup of corn chowder soup, and the combo fried seafood with vegetables. I'll not bother to go there again, and I'll be sure to tell fellow fans to give it a skip as well, unless they want to spend a lot of money for dinner.

* * * * *

Since it's a real casino next door, I decided to go in and have a look around. I played a couple of slot machines, and was ultimately down $40 by then end of the time I spent in there, and decided to call it a night, and walked back to my hotel.