Return to Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Jan 8, 2015
6 min read

With the last few months being a rollercoaster for more reasons than one, myself and Jason use to daydream about Melbourne while on the farm. Now the day has come. Us and Melbourne are about to be reunited at long last. With only a short flight in the way of us, we will be there in no time. Of course, a trip to Melbourne wouldn’t be complete without a stay in ‘Urban Central Accommodation.’ This place is by far one of the nicest hostels we have stayed in, and to be fair, we have stayed in a lot. The big question you will want to know, ‘Is Melbourne as amazing as we remembered it, or have we simply placed it on a large pedestal?’ Apart from not having a farm insight, the answer is ‘we love this city!’ With the wonderful Jason being as thoughtful as ever, a trip to the ‘Melbourne Ice Bar’ was on the cards. It was definitely a good experience, probably a bit overpriced, but we enjoyed it. After nearly a year without being able to properly feel the cold, it felt like I was back home going for a walk on a crisp winters morning. So refreshing! I could have stayed longer, but poor Jason was getting a bit cold. Bless him! I can’t complain, the two of us really enjoyed it. While this time of year is a really good time to visit Melbourne, accommodation prices tend to shoot up occasionally. With the two of us on a strict budget, we had no choice but to leave Urban Central and see another side to the city down in the famous ‘St Kida.’ Even though it’s supposed to be a relatively short journey, the two of us got off at the wrong stop where a long walk greeted us. I don’t mind walking but when you are carting all your life’s possessions, then it’s simply not pleasant. A while later, we finally arrived at ‘Pint on Punt.’ We have never been happier to see a place! Just because we found the hostel, doesn’t mean our nightmare was over. Our luck was not in as the hostel put our booking on the system for the wrong day and unfortunately for us, there were no beds free. A goodwill gesture, the hostel agreed to pay for our nights’ accommodation elsewhere. We can’t complain too much as ‘The Ritz for Backpackers’ was only around the corner, and we got a private room. No bunk beds for us! Happy snappy days! It’s a nice place to crash. The room was comfortable and the facilities seemed good. With not much time to get ready, we simply dumped our stuff in our room and went in search of my ‘All I Can Eat Chicken Wings.’ At one point, we thought we wouldn’t make it, so I guess it meant enjoying them all the more rewarding. In the end I managed to eat a whopping 43 wings. Jason only managed 23! He’s simply half the man I am! We only spent one night at the Ritz so we didn’t get to fully enjoy it. The next day, we checked out and checked in to the famous Irish hostel, Pint on Punt. We heard good things about this place so we were keen to see what it was like. The hostel itself was ok. To be honest, the facilities weren’t the best, but we did manage to get a private room which was nice, however it was very stuffy. I thought having a TV to ourselves would be good. When you’re with someone that’s obsessed with sports and the ‘Australian Tennis Open’ is on, a private TV is not a good thing! On an up, the bar downstairs does an amazing ‘Irish Sew.’ It’s mouth-wateringly delicious! Even though we had a private room to ourselves, we decided it would be better if we went back to Urban Central, after all, it is one of our favourite hostels. Going back here always feels like returning home. The rooms are nice and airy and everyone always greets you with a smile. And while we have been here, we have met some really nice people, of course, there have been some rather strange ones to. I think the highlight for Jason was seeing Tennis Champion, Serena Williams at a PR event. It made his day! She is as tall as everyone says. Perfect for me! Having gone through a lot of money over Christmas, it was apparent the holiday was over and it was time to get a job. Preferably one that paid really well! After all, were not millionaires! After endless applications, we both found something. Jason’s job was a lot better than mine. His was an hourly paid one. All he has to do is work in a large vault processing files. The guys there have nicknamed him ‘The Machine’ due to the speed he gets the work done with. I told him to slow down, but I don’t think he will adhere to my advice. While I was in employment also, my job was in a sales role working with the events team. We had to go stand all day in shopping centres selling electricity. The worst part of all was that it was entirely commission based. On an up, the team of girls I was with were all lovely and they made going to work all the more easier. Of course, we always made sure we had a certain element of fun, which is crucial considering all the sour faces you meet every day. Talking about the public, we did meet this Asian guy who came up to each of us trying to curse us all. It was such a creepy experience. For my birthday, they surprised me with a cake which was really nice. Back at the hostel, Jay made a fuss of me by going in search of all my favourite treats. Everyone made me feel really special. As the hostel was booked up for one night, we had to find somewhere else to crash. While ‘Flinders Station Backpackers’ was more central, it was very hard to sleep with the constant noise of all the trains during the night. Also, the hostel was like fort knox with locks on every door including the toilets. Definitely OTT! The following day we were happy to be leaving and returning once again to Urban Central! After two weeks selling electricity I said to myself, enough is enough. The money from the first week was really good, but after that, it was not so good considering the hours I had to put in! My search for my fortune continues! Summer in Melbourne is a great time to visit with lots of cool events on most weeks. There has been ‘The Midsumma Festival’ which celebrates the LGBTI community and ‘White Night’ which runs through the night turning the whole city into a huge playground with live animation lighting up some of the more famous Melbourne buildings and performances by some really talented people. Definitely two really good festivals. We also got to enjoy our first ‘Australia Day’ by meeting up with the lovely Lucy and Liam whom we met in Thailand and a friend of theirs. All five of us had a really good day. We started off chilling in St Kida and finished the day taking in a stunning fireworks show at the docklands, which were spectacular. Valentine’s Day down under was as special as always with some lovely food, drinks and most importantly, amazing company. When we found out Katharina was returning to Melbourne for the final leg of her trip, where it all began, we were naturally excited. We both really enjoyed seeing her. Anna was there also but she has gone very strange so we didn’t see much of her! When she left, she didn’t even say goodbye. To be honest, Katharina is a far better friend and person! Luckily for us, we both managed to get work in the hostel working in the kitchen and doing events in the bar which covered our accommodation. After weeks looking for work, I noticed an ad in the hostel from someone looking for fruit pickers. Of course it turned out to be a scam, but I did manage to find another working hostel in the same area which seems a lot more above board than the last place! For Christmas I booked a day trip for Jason in the ‘Mornington Peninsula.’ It took us a few hours to get there, but once we did, it was worth it. Getting to swim with seals and dolphins is such an amazing experience. Jason who already swam with dolphins in Florida said swimming with wild ones was much better. It was without doubt such a surreal experience. If you ever get the chance to do it, don’t hesitate, just do it! We can’t wait to do it again! It was a nice way to spend our last day together for three weeks as the next day I will be leaving Jason and Melbourne for rural Victoria. So depressing!

By Andrew