Melbourne: City of Culture

The first chapter of our trip is over. The greater part is just beginning. We have reached Melbourne, our stopping destination for God Knows how long and wonderful city of culture and cool.
The train journey was fun, a very confortable train, lots of nice food. We booked into a tiny little budget hotel and hauled our bags the flight of stairs.
We came at the wrong weekend, we really did. This particular weekend Melbourne was host to: The Grand Prix, Tennis competitions, the World Swimming competitions, some sort of football tournament and St. Patricks day!!! So, as you might imagine accommodation was hard to find.
Our first task was finding somewhere to live. Paddy also had to find a job, I was lucky I got an international transfer (go Cybertrust!!!, thanks a billion Steve, world’s best boss), so all I had to do was show up in my tailored suit from Vietnam and hope they liked me.

I was really nervous all week about working, its scary to start off in a new place on the other side of the world. Its been exhilerating, but scary. I think you have to do the things you're scared of, makes life a little bit more fluid, it means that you are always growing and developing as a person. I’m scared of lots of things so I get lots of opportunities to do that.

Our trip has changed us in someways. We have faced the fear and panic of being lost in new places where no one speaks English (we are so insulated in Ireland), we have faced the dissapointment of ending up in crappy accomodation, the paranoia of booking inter-country trips with dodgy tour operators, we have seen the poverty of Asia, especially Cambodia, and faced the con-artistry that is so prevelent in Vietnam.
As a couple, it challenged us. There were a few times when we found it difficult not to kill each other.

On the other hand, we found the wonder of the unknown, we were awed and entrigued by mysterious cultures, we wandered streets that are a million miles from home, talked to people of almost every race, language and creed. We visited Hindu and Buddhist monuments and temples, watched to anti-capitalist videos in Vietnam, splashed around in the wonderful islands of Thailand, wandered through the thought-provoking temples of Ankor, visited the intriguing cities of Vietnam, saw its fun trashy sea-side towns, basked in its rejuvinating mud paths and hydro-spas. We drank 10c beer in Hanoi on street corners and ate 50c Pad Thai from street venders in Bangkok. Mostly we felt a wonderful sense of one-ness with the world, we weren't afraid of the different cultures of the foreignness or strangeness that we encountered anymore, we were amazed by it and felt as if we were part of it.
Now Melbourne waits with her new challenges, the new mission, the new quest is not just to backpack or holiday, but to live as ordinary working folk in Melbourne and feel as if it is our home. Is that The Cat Empire I hear on the radio…?