Onward to Melbourne!

I took the overnight train to Melbourne. It's an 11 hour train-ride that leaves at 9pm, and arrives at 8am. I took the economy student seats, that cost $65 one way. It wasn't comfortable at all, as I was sitting upright the entire time, but it was cheap, and I got to see Melbourne.

Overall, I think I like the city. My first day there I saw a pair of Scottish bagpipers in full regalia, standing on the side of the road, piping. I also saw a fake protest (something about using diesel fuel), a real protest (save the Burmese!), and a marathon.

There is a Pixar exhibit at the film museum, which basically chronicles 20 years of Pixar animations. Quite possibly the neatest thing at the exhibit is a Toy Story 2 zoetrope, "inspired by the one at the Ghibli Museum". While not quite as neat as the Totoro one (among other things, they don't bring the lights up and stop the spinning at the Pixar one,) it was still a very nifty display.

In a bit of local culture, I've seen people making hook turns. Because Melbourne generally has trams instead of buses, almost every street downtown has a light rail line running down the middle of the street. As streets are sometimes one lane in each direction, this makes turning right somewhat annoying for those behind you who want to go straight. So the solution is to pull into the four-way intersection and turn to the left first, to wait for a clearing. Once it's clear (i.e. there are no cars coming at you in the opposite direction, nor cars coming behind you and going straight, nor trams going in either direction), you're allowed to turn across all lanes of traffic. It's a maneuver so bizarre it has its own Wikipedia page.

On Sunday, I took advantage of the $2.50 "Sunday Saver" fare, that allows for riding on all trains and trams around Melbourne. Based on advice from someone at the hostel, I took a train to Belgrave, an hour and a half from the city center. Once there, I took a ride on Puffing Billy, the 1900-era narrow-gauge steam train. With lovely views of the Victoria countryside, along with energetic kids and crisp mountain air, the ride was certainly a pleasant one. I ended up at an appropriately-named stop called Lakeside, that I can imagine, during summers when the weather is warmer, would be a nice place to go for a picnic.