Life Down Under (Part 15): Meeting Friends, Animals, and Dragons in Melbourne

- September 26-October 1, 2022, Monday to Saturday.

- The week after my birthday was filled with a mix of interesting experiences (despite having to go back to research work). I met friends over dinner, and even attended the European night market, which was a month-long celebration of European food and culture on Wednesday nights at the Queen Victoria Market. 

I was in the mood for Keith Haring that day.

Dinner with Karin!

Coop's Shot Tower, built in 1888, incorporated in the Melbourne Central Shopping Centre.

Dinner with Megan the day after!

Enjoyed a Ukrainian dance performance during the European Night Market.

- I also finally had a chance to try Panda Hot Pot, a Chinese hot pot restaurant conveniently located near my flat. Standing at the corner of Victoria Street and Cardigan Street, this restaurant was only opened in 2019 after taking over a building once occupied by a Dracula cabaret restaurant (yes, you read that right.) Today, the restaurant is known for its 1.5-ton steel dragon hanging from its ceiling. While slightly costlier than the regular hot pot restaurants around the city, the food appears to be higher in quality, and not to mention the imperial feel of the place.

This restaurant looks like it's from a video game.

My student takes nice photos.

Making the most out of my time in Panda Hot Pot.

Hi Celline!

Changing-face masks!

- That Friday, I decided to go to the Melbourne Zoo (Tram 58, Royal Melbourne Zoo stop.) The zoo has been bringing joy to Melburnians and other visitors since 1862. Apart from the animals I really enjoyed with their art installations that people can play around with!

Baboons

Kokkaburra.

Sleeping koala.

Wombat!

Giraffes.

Platypus!

Philippine crocodile.

Surrealist. (And no, that ain't a real frog.)

Lions are forever majestic.

Snow leopard.

I'm not a cat person but this random "Cat Alley" just made me laugh. Took the opportunity to post like the disaster 2019 film, "Cats." I didn't have cat ears with me, but I guess the kangaroo ears I had in my bag was good enough.

Happy 160 years, Melbourne Zoo!

My first time in a (replica) tortoise shell.

The real tortoise.

Never been this close to a lemur before!

Elephants!

An impromptu dinner with Karin after my trip to the zoo, because we were both craving for Korean BBQ.

- To cap off my week, I had a surprising visit from friends Abigail and Leon all the way from Adelaide! They came to Melbourne for the long weekend to see friends and family. Abigail said she wanted to pray at the Taoist temple in Footscray, so we agreed to meet there. During my first trip to Footscray (see here), I didn't have time to visit the temple, so I was glad that I had an excuse to visit it. 

With the statue of Mazu.

Temple gate.

Main temple hall.

Another photo with the goddess Mazu.

- The Heavenly Queen Temple was opened in 2015, but only completed in 2020. It is named after the Heavenly Queen, the goddess Mazu. Mazu is known as the protector of fishermen and seafarers, and is partly why she has a big following among overseas Chinese. The statue of Mazu can often be seen from the trains passing by or going to Footscray. 

Entering one of the temple's newest halls.

From the outside.

With a wishing tree.

Every corner of this temple is fit for Instagram.

Abigail inside the main hall.

With Leon and Abi, straight from Adelaide!

- Abi, Leon, and I briefly went around the shops and restaurants of Footscray to look for something to bring to a friend's house for dinner that night. We all had a wonderful evening, with good food, stories, and laughter. These, and all my experiences in the past week, were good fuels for my next adventure in Australia!

Life Down Under (Part 14): Birthday with the Kangaroos and Penguins at Phillip Island

- September 25, 2022, Sunday.

- Knowing me, I will always find a way to do something special on my birthday. What better way than to do a day trip to Phillip Island? Phillip Island lies south of Melbourne and is frankly difficult to reach by public transport. I decided to book a day tour with Sightseeing Tours Australia since reviews were good (click here to directly go to the Phillip Island tours.)

- After my bus picked me up at one of the designated pick-up locations, we went straight to the Brighton Bathing Boxes. Although I have visited the bathing boxes before (click here), it was still nice to see the other side of the row of bathing boxes. It was midday, and we were only given around 30 minutes to just go around and take photos, so there were lots of people, and with little time. I feel happy that I was able to take my own photos previously, and in a more relaxed manner.

My family.

I don't think I saw this one when I went the last time.

- From the bathing boxes, our tour group traveled for maybe an hour southward until we reached Moonlit Sanctuary. The sanctuary opened in 2001 and features native American animals and plants. There are opportunities to meet and greet animals (with extra charge, and subject to availability.) The highlight of the trip was seeing kangaroos up close! They were quite tame; I guess they're used to people feeding them. I also had a light lunch at the sanctuary's cafe.

Moonlit Sanctuary entrance.

With a giant koala stuffed toy. I could hug it al day.

Another koala stuffed toy on a tree. It shows exactly what a real koala does all day. (See photo below.)

Didn't I tell you? Haha.

Kangaroo family.

Wombat.

This kangaroo hopped in front of me!

Tasmanian devil!

They're so cute!!

- An hour's drive away from the sanctuary is the Nobbies Ocean Discovery Centre, overlooking the rock formation known as the "Nobbies." The rocks were so called because they look like knobs sticking out of the water. It is also called the "Seal Rocks" because this is where one can find Australia's largest colony of fur seals. Unfortunately, I didn't see any fur seals when I got there. The view was a sight to behold though! The endless walkways gave people a stunning  angles of the various rock formations, as well as the seagull nests across the cliff.

Visitor centre.

Nobbies!

See that shore.

Seagull homes.

View of the Nobbies and the sun, almost setting.

Native geese.

Not the Nobies, but at one of the lookouts near the Nobbies. I mean....just look at that!

- Finally, we headed towards the penguin parade area. Everyday, penguins come out of the sea to go to their nests near the shore. Depending on the day, the number of penguins could go from hundreds to thousands! The numbers are bigger on nights that are darker, in order to avoid predators. That's why on really bright full moon nights, less penguins come out of the sea. Because light is a major factor in the number of penguins that appear, guests are asked not to use their cameras or phones as any light may scare off the penguins. However, live videos of the penguin parade can be found on Youtube, in the official Youtube channel of the Phillip Island Nature Parks (see here). - So sorry, no photos of the fluffy penguins. Despite that on the way back to the van, I noticed the sky looking more amazing than ever due to not having light pollution in Phillip Island. Not only did I see more stars than I could imagine, but it was also my first time to see the Milky Way galaxy!

Apart from the penguins, this was the best birthday gift nature could give me that day. If you see a faint streak of what looks like a could with colors, that's the Milky Way Galaxy. also, please appreciate the many, many stars.

No photos of the actual penguins but at least I can take photos of these are the Penguin Parade lobby. Also, the actual penguins do not have sweaters. They are around the size of the penguin models though.

Or these.

- I went home that night with so many well wishes from friends and surprises from nature. Although this is my first time to celebrate my birthday outside the country, away from many people I know, I was far from sad because of all the experiences I had on this special day!