What Melbourne Means to Me & touristy stuff

I recently went to Melbourne.

If u know me u'd know I studied there.

I'd been back since after my studies but it was always more as a stopover with not much time to myself or to wander around.

Going back to a place u know well is difficult. on 1 hand, u have all these memories of places u went to with ur friends, memories pop up everywhere...sometimes old haunts r still there n sometimes they're not which can b saddening. n even if u go to an old place, it's not quite the same. u can't really re-live the memories. u don't really miss a place so much as what the place meant to u.

It's also difficult going with a bunch of people who have never lived somewhere else before. They like to ask questions like 'Do you miss it?' or say 'It must be nice to be back again'. I really don't know how to respond.

Asking 'do you miss it' is sort of ludicrous to me. You miss anything that becomes a habit. So after living somewhere for 3.5 years, yes of course i miss it. But even as I was there I was missing it, even more than when I was at home in Malaysia.

And yes, it's nice to be back again but it's also sad and empty without my friends but how do i even start explaining myself? So my typical response was just a shrug and a lame attempt to change the topic or to either walk away.

It was also really hard being there with a huge bunch of people from work who see the place as just a tourist place or a place where they shld take as many photos as they can to upload on fb, in a place that means something to me. It was really horrible being with a bunch of ppl who I don't know well and having to behave a certain way somewhere I once felt comfortable and happy.

Anyway, i'm glad i got over it, n that we went to new places. also i could jst b myself when hanging out with my brother, cousin n Jas who were very nice, hanging out with me n going wherever i wanted. it was also nice catching up with old friends. i didn't bother too much going to old places for 'old times' sake' because there was no point in going there just for that.

i did lots of things i was interested in but never got around to when i was staying there because i was only mildly interested n thought i had plenty of time and that i could do them whenever i wanted.

 There's also this thing about Melbourne - people are so proud about being Melbournian that it's contagious. Stay there long enough n u feel proud to be staying there n that Melbourne belongs to u. And it's so lovely being there - It's been voted most livable city a few times - check this link. I really started seeing myself as a 'Melbournian' so I didn't see the point of doing touristy things except maybe when ppl came to visit.

Anyway, enough about all that. The rest of this post will be only on touristy things I did. I don't want to talk about what Melbourne is to me anymore or the places I went to just because. 1st tourist spot - James Cook's cottage:

 Honestly, it was kinda boring. But the ticket is quite cheap (relatively to other touristy stuff). I think we only spent about 15 minutes there.

The inside of the cottage shows how people at the time lived. They even played recordings of actors pretending to be James Cook's family. I found that a little scary, voices coming out of nowhere in an 'empty' room haha..

The amazing thing is they actually shipped this house from England haha..

The garden was really nice though the flowers were really pretty. The park this cottage is in (Fitzroy Park) is also really nice.

We also went to the parliament, they have FREE tours a few times a day. Please click on this link for more info because it may change.

 a statue of Queen Victoria.

 It was a really interesting feeling being in a room I'd seen on tv before

 It's really beautiful inside and our guide, Martin was really knowledgeable, funny and interesting.

 This is the library

I definitely recommend the tour. Just a tip though, although it said 20 minutes for the tour, give yourself maybe an hour because the tour may take longer than that. We gave ourselves 40 minutes for the parking but it wasn't enough because we had to walk there, go through security, and some people had questions after the tour so it took quite a while.

and we went on the Puffing Billy train ride!

 The ride itself is kinda slow but if u love trains i think u'll love the ride. The view's also pretty neat - u get to see a different side of Melbourne and houses in the Dandenong are pretty different from the city.

If I go next time n they still have it I want to go on the 'murder on the puffing billy express'

i loved it when the train let out steam and blew its horn. I also love the history behind this train and track - how everyone worked so hard together to keep it running. There are so many volunteers working to keep it running! Also I love how the conductor and the driver seem to love what they're doing and they're so happy and dressed so cute! :)