Coffee and Malaysian?

01-02-06

Left for Melbourne at 5 AM, which wasn’t the most fun part of the trip to date. The flight was uneventful – just like I like my flights. The hostel picked us up from the airport. I’m happy to report that I am becoming a more well-rounded and flexible person every second that I spend in Hotel Bakpak. I should be as round as a golf ball and as flexible as a rubber band after five nights! Originally, I opted for a four bed dorm when I am alone on Friday night. I think I’ll upgrade to the private room to keep from becoming too worldly.

Seriously though, the hostel isn’t bad. The amenities are nice – travel agent, bar, restaurant, free breakfast. So what if the breakfast consists of two slices of bread that you must stand in line to receive. Australia is a big fan of instant coffee. I took the “stand by and watch the guy in front of you” approach to learning how to make it. It’s not nearly as gross as I expected. I’m not particularly good at it, but other people seem to be successful.

I can’t share a ton on Monday since we really just walked around to get our bearings. Pam and I both felt that Melbourne feels much different from Sydney. Melbourne is considerably smaller and more artsy. The city is also home to the second largest Greek population outside of Greece, so our Greek lunch was fantastic. We napped in the afternoon and then I took a walk down to an Indian/ Malaysian restaurant while Pam slept. Everyone says Australia is a relatively safe town and I’m not typically nervous about walking around alone in a big city after dark, but I will admit to being a little nervous. I didn’t tell Pam that I was leaving the hostel because I didn’t want to wake her, but on my walk it occurred to me that situations like the one I was in leads to girls going missing and ending up on some sordid black market. Regardless, I’m not going to live in fear of anyone. I will tell Pam that I’m leaving the hostel if I go out alone again, though.