It's been a while!

An evening in Melbourne – The Crown Towers

Since it was a bank holiday weekend (June 10^th) we went out to the casino on Sunday. It is not an ordinary casino! There are only four of these in the world. What a privilege! The purpose of visiting the place was actually not gambling but rather walking through the massive building and admiring the first class services that they offer. It is a huge complex made up of shops, restaurants, bars etc. It is more like a tourist attraction! You walk around in the premises and wonder how much money people have to spend on slot machines. Absolutely ridiculous how hundreds of dollars can disappear in seconds! We spent 20 bucks each and did not win anything. That was to be expected.

The entrance to the hotel is amazing. It looks something majestic. Next time I drop in there I better bring my camera and take some photos of this fabulous modern era castle :)

We had our coldest night here last night (June 20th). The temperature dropped down to +2.3 C. They said it was the lowest temperature in ten years! Apparently, the temperature was even -0.3 degrees in our area. Not surprised as the car’s windscreen was all icy.

Also, from 21st of June which is today, the days are going to get longer and brighter again. I have to say, I did not even notice the days were short and that it was getting dark early?! I thought the winter had just started.. The Aussies should go and try to live in Estonia during the winter when there is barely any daylight. They’re spoiled with the climate, weather and long sunny days!

I am slowly starting to avoid having conversations with certain people in the office as they always speak with me in their Aussie slang that I don’t understand exactly! For example, one guy asked me just recently: “Are you winning?”

Wtf!? How am I supposed to understand that he means whether I am doing good / ok. Always embarrassing moments! I feel like a retard sometimes when I have to ask again and still get the same thing what I had just heard and simply not understood...

I’ve got another few weeks (maybe 3-4) to go and then I’ll be finished with work here. I was supposed to finish by the end of this week but my contract has been extended further. They may need my help still (just in case). It’s a good opportunity to save a bit of extra money and then take some time off to travel somewhere nice. I was really looking forward to finishing work and going sightseeing already but from what it looks like I will have to survive another while of cold weather. Not that it’s all bad. I enjoy my evening walks along the Yarra river banks accompanied by beautiful views of Melbourne skyline and amazing sunrises in the mornings on the train! Can’t complain, can I?

Ryanair 1 - Tiger Airways 0

Talking about low cost airlines we have tried out the local low cost carrier. I was expecting something similar to Ryanair. The truth is that Ryanair is even better!
Firstly, the flight we took was a 2 hrs flight from Melbourne to Gold Coast. The departure was from Terminal 4. I had been warned beforehand by my colleagues that Tiger flights depart from the shed not from the "real" airport. I expected somewhat different terminal. Something like the backdoor of Dublin airport but I really did not expect a terminal that actually looked like a shed and had only one waiting area for everyone. Before getting on the plane we'd have to walk a mile (exaggeration) but it definitely feels like that when it is raining outside. The plane itself was not too bad, older than Ryanair fleet probably. So here goes one brownie point to RA.
Gold Coast is located in the South East of Queensland, about 80 km from Brisbane. It is famous for its sun and endless stretch of spectacular beach as far as the eye can see. It is modern, filled with fancy skyscrapers, bars, clubs etc. I would say a perfect place if a bunch of friends want to go out to party for a weekend. However, it caters more for younger people rather than older like me...Not that I am old but not that young any more! Mainly kinds in their twenties would go out there, get hammered and do it all weekend long. The ocean is amazing though! We stayed in a beachside resort, overlooking the ocean; so close to it that you could nearly jump out of your balcony straight into the ocean.
We were lucky with the weather. It was around 23-24 degrees all weekend. Pretty good to kick off the winter! What really surprised me was the temperature of the water. I went to cool my feet in the water and realised it must have been 20 degrees or so, whereas during the summer in Melbourne the ocean was freeeeeezing. I had to make an effort to get into the water to swim in MLB and here, there was no effort required. So weird. I did not go for a swim though! It must be around the same temperature all year round and there is never a bad time to go and enjoy the place. In the summer it would make more sense probably.
I do still wonder about the sharks around here though. Are people not afraid of getting into the water, far away from the shore and just sit there on their surf boards and wait for the waves? I'd be more concentrating on waiting for the sharks to bite off one of my limbs or even worse, just drag me under the water, never to be seen again!
Nearly forgot to mention that I met the first Estonian in Australia after 4 months! He was not really Estonian. He is Australian, born in Melbourne but his parents emigrated during the 70s. He works at the gym that I joined recently. It was a funny situation. I went to sign up and the girl in reception asked me where I was from and I said Estonia. She started shouting Anton! Anton! Come here, there is an Estonian girl here. He came over and was very excited to meet an Estonian. He had Estonian eyes but he was totally aussie :) So cool! He has two daughters and they are named Kaija and Merily or something like that. So sweet of him to name his kids after where his parents are from!

View from the room

Best breakie in Surfers

Normal park... looked more like a zooo!!