The Melbourne Reprise and Surprise (Part 8): Giant Balloon and Giant Hello Kitty

- May 22-24, 2025, Thursday to Saturday.

- One of the things I was most excited and anxious about for this trip to Melbourne was my first time to ride a hot air balloon. We booked this on Klook and the service was provided by Global Ballooning. I was supposed to have my first hot air balloon experience in Cappadocia, Turkey some years back, but there was sudden heavy snowfall so we didn't push through. Payment is often refunded to customers in the event of  unfavorable weather circumstances. Thankfully, this time, we were able to proceed this time. Melbourne, by the way, is the only city where hot air balloons are permitted to fly over the CBD. Flights are often done in big open areas.

- On the day of the flight we had to wake up really early and rode an Uber to our meeting place, the Pullman Hotel - On the Park. We were picked up around 6AM as scheduled; there were 11 of us not including our pilot (and two assistants). We were driven to an open field and we helped the crew set up the giant hot air balloon before taking up just before sunrise. Not only was it nice to see the sunrise from the hot air balloon, but more importantly, the wind is usually more stable in the morning when the air is still cool (hot air during the day causes motion and speeds up the wind.)

Holding the balloon while they're blowing wind into the balloon from the powerful fan.

Yes that is me.

After inflating the balloon, they need to blow hot air using the burner so the balloon will rise.

Fully inflated.

Needs more wind I guess.

There you go.

- As we ascended to the sky, I realized that what people say about hot air balloon flights is true - it is peaceful up in the air. The flight was so stable that I didn't realize we were already flying. During the whole flight, I also did not feel any kind of motion as the wind was so gentle. I just enjoyed the view of Melbourne from above the whole flight.  

This is our amazing pilot Eddie Saunders. How amazing is he? Based on what I found online, he's ranked number 1 in Australia and 18 worldwide. His dad is highly recognized hot air balloon pilot, Kiff Saunders, who also founded Global Ballooning. 

CBD from the sky.

My home Down Under.

Closer look of CBD.

It was hard to get this shot. Also, please don't underestimate how hot the burner is. And it's almost difficult to avoid it since the basket is small.

Fitzroy Gardens from above.

Malbourne Exhibition Hall and Melbourne Museum.

University of Melbourne.

- We flew for an hour before landing at Royal Park. The landing was barely noticeable too, by the way. The next fun part was helping the crew deflate and pack the balloon. But before that, we got to go inside the balloon before it completely deflated!      

Inside the balloon.

We had to step on the balloon to deflate it.

- To celebrate the successful flight we had breakfast at the Pullman (included in our package) and went to Queen Victoria Market to stroll around.

Vic Market seemed livelier today, I'm happy to see that.

Still an amazing market for anything you need.

- That afternoon I went to the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), Australia's oldest art museum; it was founded in 1861 (1, 3, 5,6, 16, 64, 67, or 72 Tram to the Arts Precinct/St. Kilda Rd. Stop). Since I've been to the NGV before, there wasn't anything in particular that I really wanted to see anymore, except perhaps the biggest stained glass ceiling at the Great Hall. But I guess I really just missed the vibe of the museum (and it was free) so I thought of paying it a visit.

Hello NGV, it's been a while!!

A special piece by Yayoi Kusama.

The biggest stained glass ceiling in the world.

A piece by Picasso.

One of my favorite parts of the museum.

Asian collection. (These ones are Gandhara sculptures from India.)

Italian fashion.

Another peek at the Great Hall before leaving.

- That evening I had dinner in the city and had dessert at San Churro in QV Mall along Swanston Street. It was the perfect way to warm up from the cold evening.

I love my churros and hot chocolate.

- My last day in Melbourne was a slow day, just so I can take in Melbourne's vibe before I flew back home early morning the next day. I began the morning by riding the 19 Tram to the University of Melbourne because I heard much about how nice the campus looked. It was built in 1853 and is the second oldest university in Australia (the oldest being the University of Sydney).

This is the Old Quad, the original building of UniMelb.

UniMelb has many beautiful buildings but some of them were off limits as I didn't have a UniMelb ID.

It was a bit difficult taking a photo of the Old Quad as there were many passersby.

It has a bit of that Harry Potter feel, no?

Just to prove that I was in UniMelb. And obviously this is one of their more modern buildings.

- I later met my friend Jose for lunch. Good thing he caught be because I didn't know he was in Melbourne. It was nice catching up with each other after a long time. 

Had Vietnamese for lunch.

And another round of churros for dessert.

- That afternoon I stopped by the State Library of Victoria (1, 3, 5,6, 16, 64, 67, or 72 Tram to Melbourne Central / State Library of Victoria Stop). People don't just go to the library to read or study, but most visitors, tourists that is, like seeing the dome, which is the central part of the library.

One of the prettiest libraries I've seen.

The Dome.

I'm really just here for the photos.

Taking as many as I could.

- I spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out at the new Hello Kitty Cafe. It has a large inflatable Hello Kitty at the seating area in the middle of the mall so it's not hard to miss.  They did not only have Hello-Kitty themed food, but they also had a lot of merch for sale.

HELLO.

Hello Kitty cake and My Melody matcha.

GIANT HELLO KITTY OMG.

I'm not really a Hello Kitty fan, but I just thought these kinds of themed cafes are cute and interesting.

Hello Kitty drinks.

It's just so fitting that one of the last photos I have of Melbourne for this trip is Coop's Shot Tower and the giant glass cone sheltering it.

- For my last dinner in Melbourne, I went to Nelayan, an Indonesian restaurant at Swanston Street, which was one of the comfort foods I had when I stayed in Melbourne in 2022. It was a simple restaurant but had the heartiest meals (and one of the most affordable ones too!) I'm so glad the restaurant is still here.

Comfort food.

One of the many restaurants I got to visit again (and many others I wasn't able to!)

- I flew back home the following day, on the 24th, early morning. Since the Sky Bus wasn't operating yet at that hour, we rode an Uber to the airport. This Melbourne trip was honestly one of the most hectic trips I've had to prepare for since my graduation schedule was only announced a couple of weeks prior, while I was about to go on my Sri Lanka trip. Lots of things in this trip were pretty much just me winging it save for a few activities that I had reserved beforehand. I also wasn't able to inform all my Melburnian/Victorian friends about my arrival and I feel a bad for not being able to meet everyone -- but I did my best to meet those that I could. Despite these I felt elated to be back in Melbourne and relive a temporary life I once had years back. A lot of things changed, but a lot of things didn't as well. I don't know when I'll be back in Melbourne (or Australia) again, but I hope that when I do get the chance to go back, I'll still have the same kind of love and excitement for it as I had for this trip. Melbourne is one of the places I call home in this world.

** Check out my other adventures in Melbourne/Victoria here!

Part 1: Revisiting Melbourne's Central Business District (CBD) - here

Part 2: La Trobe University Graduation - here

Part 3: Werribee - here

Part 4: Geelong - here 

Part 5: Melbourne Central and Titanic VR - here

Part 6: Bendigo - here

Part 7:  The Lume and Dax Centre - here

Life Down Under (Part 28): Melbourne, It's Been Good!

- November 9-20, 2022, Wednesday to Sunday.

- After a fantastic journey to the island-state of Tasmania, it has started to sink in that my days in Melbourne are numbered. (It sounds ominous, but allow me to be dramatic.) Because of who I am as a person, I spent the remaining days visiting the places I haven't, doing a ton of errands, and trying my best to meet up as many people as I could (I wasn't able to meet everyone, but if you're one of those I should've met but didn't, do know that I tried huhu.)

- I started my "countdown" by finally watching The Phantom of the Opera at the State Theatre in the Arts Precinct. As expected, it was a wonderful show! I avoided watching Phantom on stage for so long simply because I was sick and tired of it for a while (I saw the 2004 movie, talked about it in school, everyone talking about it as if it was the only musical that existed, you get the point.)

State Theatre.

The theatre itself looks perfect for Phantom!

I was bored.

Of course I had to! (And yes, the mask was expensive but I really wanted one huhu.)

Inside!

The chandelier.

After the show!

Yarra at night.

- The following day I visited The Lume Melbourne at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) (Tram 12, 29, or 160 to MCEC / Casino / or Clarendon stop). Opened in 2021, the Lume is the Southern Hemisphere's "first permanent digital arts experience" (according to its website here). It is a mix of a large-scale audio-visual presentation, an immersive experience, and an art workshop. The Lume features a different artist/set of artists after a certain time. When I went, they were featuring Money and his impressionist artist friends, as well as impressionist music.  

Entrance.

This was at the mezzanine level.

I think this is one of Monet's many water lily paintings.

An immersive experience, pretend you're part of Monet's water lily paintings.

Yes, I maximized my time there.

With Renoir's ladies.

Inside the main hall at the Lume.

Gold.

Feeling the cold of Monet's "The Magpie."

"The Water Lily Pond."

Apparently Monet had around 250 of these water lily paintings.

There was an area where people can learn how to make a simplified version of Monet's water lily pond with the Japanese bridge.

A small museum.

- After visiting the Lume I headed to the Museum of Chinese Australian History (also known as the Chinese Museum) (closest tram is Tram 86 or 96 to Russell Street / Bourke Street, then walk up to Cohen Place near Little Bourke Street). The museum has existed since 1985, but was renovated in 2010. Although small, the museum was comprehensive and it exceeded my expectations a lot. My favorite part of the museum was seeing the Millennium Dragon, the world's largest processional dragon in the world!

Museum entrance.

Qing-Dynasty garb.

Jade burial suit.

Of course, a terracotta warrior!

A peek into Melbourne's Gold-Rush-Era Chinese life.

A walk through the "streets."

Chinese opera.

The Millennium Dragon!!

- Just a short walk from the Chinese Museum is the Old Melbourne Gaol (Tram 12, 20, 35, 39 to Russell Street / La Trobe Street stop is the closest). The gaol (or "jail" in its modern spelling) was used from 1845 to 1924. The main mauseum/jail was not too big but definitely one of the creepiest I've ever visited. The actual area of the whole prison is big, but some buildings either don't exist anymore, or were repurposed by RMIT University.

It has this lingering....coldness that made me feel uneasy.

A prison cell.

Many of these cells also feature a famous prisoner in the gaol.

Gallow.

The upper levels gave a more unsettling feeling since there were less/no people.

At the courtyard.

- To shrug off the creepiness of the prison, I spent that evening and the following days meeting up with more people. The most special person I met that weekend was none other than Santa Claus! Myer Bourke Street opened Santaland to allow people to have a chance to meet and greet Santa Claus. Pre-bookings were highly encouraged, although they also took in walk-in customers. I made sure to dress up for Santa of course! Also, I think the last time I "met Santa" was when I was....5 maybe?....so it was nice to "see Santa again" this year!

Inside the "train ride" to see Santa.

I dressed as a good boy. (See my propeller hat?)

The "train" to see Santa. (The train doesn't actually move.)

- The day after my Santa visit, I also had a short visit to the National Gallery of Victoria (NGC) just so I can visit the Great Hall at the ground floor. I realized that I wasn't able to visit the Great Hall during my first visit to NGV in July. The Great Hall is known for its stained-glass ceilings. The hall serves as the museums' function hall, so there are times when museum visitors wouldn't be able to enter the hall. The museum staff told me that the hall is often used during weekends and evenings, so the best time to visit it is during weekday mornings.   

The Great Hall's ceiling.

It was a miracle I had the hall empty for a short while. There were lots of visitors that morning!

- On my last full day in Melbourne, I decided to go back to Footscray just so I can eat. I love how multicultural Footscray was and I wasn't able to maximize my time during my first visit there. I took the train to Footscray from Southern Cross Station and was in Footscray in 10 minutes. I had traditional Ethiopian food at Taste of Ethiopia at Nicholson Street, and later had Vietnamese food at Sapa Hills at Hopkins Street. I did walk around between meals, even getting myself another Ethiopian shirt while I was at it.

Wakanda Forever!

With my key wot (beef stew), injera, and Ethiopian coffee set. (I shared this with a colleague by the way.) 

Ethiopian coffee likes giving people the whole experience! Apart from the coffee in the pot, there is sugar, a bowl of popcorn as a snack, and the most surprising of all (at least to me as it was my fist time,) a pot with hot coal meant to burn incense.  

Ethiopian coffee anyone?

- I arrived in Manila on the 20th of November, after a stressful airport experience concerning my overweight luggage. How can you pack 4 months of your life in a single suitcase anyway? The overweight luggage charges were worth the money since I knew that I'd be taking home everything I had to. 

A final look at my room, my home for 4 months.

Mabuhay!

- 4 months in Australia was the longest time that I was away from home. I was glad that my academic work has allowed me to have this (sponsored!) once in a life opportunity. As much as it appears to be a 4-month vacation, it was not. A lot of hard work and frustrations were involved in my everyday non-touring life. (Of course I wouldn't show you photos of me looking miserable in front of a computer, right?) I was also happy to meet new people, and catch up with old friends from the Philippines. I guess this was a good "revenge travel" experience after the long lockdowns due to the pandemic. It will take a while to recover from this journey, but I just hope that life will get better from here. I really hope to visit Australia again one day, but for now, thank you Australia, and "cheers"!