travelling allrite

I'm on my way home. If this train is one time then it is less than one and a half hours until I get off this daylight XPT service from Melbourne to Sydney.  Only it's not daylight any longer. There is nothing to see out the window but blackness.  I should have flown, had tickets to fly. The sky seemed calm, a day between the fierce fronts past and future. Contrails show the way.  But it was a late night, a too early morning, and the train was already at the station, no further effort required. Also it is a chance to relax. I snooze, listen to the soundtracks to the Star Wars prequels, watch Solo on my phone.  Unlike the journey down I do not attempt to connect to the Internet bar a brief check now and then.  All the while the countryside rolls past. The outskirts of Melbourne, the country towns and cities, rolling fields and clouds drifting past beneath a silver sky of ice crystals.  This time I do not force myself to absorb all the details. Now and then I ...

Travel is a series of quests for us. They give it structure and purpose even if the quests themselves are no more than a MacGuffin. The theme running through our Melbourne trip has been Malaysian food and, on our final day, I wanted to ensure we tried some more interesting dishes. For me it was Sarawak laksa. Then B asked about bak kut teh. Google seemed to know what we were thinking for it quickly autocompleted "best bak kut teh in Melbourne" and provided an answer: Bak Kut Teh King in Box Hill. Box Hill has the advantage of being accessible via public transport. We are sick of walking and a rail ride into the suburbs is just what we need. We catch a tram from the casino up the Stop 58: Box Hill Interchange. It's quite an interesting ride, out of the CBD past a fire station I suddenly recalled visiting on a school excursion, though multicultural Richmond and into wealthy old Kew. The ride takes an hour.  Box Hill is a very Asian area with lots of ...

Melbourne is supposed to be a foodies' paradise, but what would be open on Good Friday? We walk along the south bank of the Yarra from our hotel until the Princes Bridge. Past the casino and the celebrity chef restaurants that exist outside our price range. Crossing the Yarra, we head to Federation Square where the Moon exhibition is on display in the Atrium. By exhibition, I mean an inflated realistic Moon suspended from the ceiling with some electronic soundtrack. We cross the road near the remarkable Forum and walk down graffited Hosier Lane with all the other tourists taking selfies with the art. Back down to Swanston Street where the other two buy sushi from a chain store for their brunch. I save my stomach for later. The chain stores disappear to be reached by interesting Asian eateries. We turn left at Little Lonsdale Street and keep walking until we reach where I was looking for: Puff House, hidden next to an Asian grocery. Oh, the light ...

I gripped the steering wheel tightly and swore. "I told you I didn't want to drive in the city, but you guys insisted!" I've just missed the turn to the hotel, after previously being stuck on parts of the motorway that the November 2021 GPS update doesn't know and now I have to go on a long detour through the centre of Melbourne. I knew my city navigation luck would run out and I knew it would be on this trip. Now I'm fuming. Already I miss the quiet and simplicity of the beach towns. No pressure, no crowds, no rush. We packed up this morning shortly before checkout time and drove up to the bluff. Fortunately the walking trail was open today. We watch the waves roll in, razor edges exploding with spray and white foam, stirring the sands below as surfers ride their crests. The crashing of the waves is white noise against the breath of the air.  I feel like I could watch this for eternity, but we have to go.  We set off to Gee...

"Anger, fear, aggression; the Dark Side of the Force are they. " - Yoda Last night I just wanted a holiday from the holiday. Exhausted by the tension of the fires and the trips out into the dark dusty air to allow Kita to excuse himself, last night I needed sleep. I put Kita in the laundry, which unfortunately includes access to the toilet and asked Alex not to disturb him in the night. Unable to go to the toilet, shortly afterwards Alex comes out and floods the bathroom sink with brown spaghetti and chocolate pudding vomit. It blocks the sink, it spills over everything. He is so apologetic and does his best to clean it up, but it is the last thing I need and B cannot help without adding to the mess, such is her reaction to sick. Eventually it is all cleaned up and Alex returns to bed. I turn out the lights and hope to sleep myself. Then Kita starts crying. I tell him to be quiet. He is quiet for a short time, then the yaps start again. I'm losing my temper. I...