Aussie Trip

Lovely Melbourne

I'm a bit slow getting things posted, so this trip actually happened before the BYU game. I spent a week in Melbourne and then 2 days in Singapore. It was quite an adventure. I'd never been anywhere on that side of the world.

Thanks to the amount of travel I've done this year I was Platinum status on American and Gold-Plated Status at Hilton (or some other precious jewel/metal level). So, I got a free upgrade to 1st class from Nashville to LAX. Lana already posted my thoughts on that- it was nice as expected.

Quantas in Premium Economy for 16 1/2 hours from LAX to Melbourne wasn't bad. Premium gave about 6 inches more leg room and was a wider seat and made a huge difference. It was odd to leave home on Friday night and arrive Sunday morning in Australia. That date line really throws you off.

I spent the day walking around the city. I knew I'd sleep if I went to the room. It was fabulous weather, sunny and 70. Compared to the endless 90+ days in Nashville it was a nice break. We had great weather (warm for their winter) almost all week- so everyone was glad I brought the sun.

The largest market of any city I've seen, and I've been to a lot throughout Europe.

Flinders Station

Street performer.

St Patrick's Cathedral. I found it interesting they built a baptismal font in 1912 for those that wanted immersion style baptism.

I had one free day at the end of the week and my host took me to Melbourne Cricket Grounds. It is in the distance right next to the Australian Open venues.

After Melbourne, I had 2 days in Singapore. It has 4 million people in an area about the size of Barron County (or Williamson, TN or Tazewell, IL if those are better references for you).

The Chinese mid-Autumn festival was on, and the river was full of these floats. They got lit up at night. I happened to be there for the opening and caught a glimpse of the Prime Minister.

The Merlion is the official symbol of Singapore.

This was my favorite building in the city. Although it ended up being a hotel with casino on top.

I bought 5 of these in 2 days. They have blocks of various ice cream flavors and cut off a chunk and will wrap it in 2 wafer cookies, or this lovely sweet bread. The vendor assured me the bread choice was more authentic. I can see why. It was absolutely fabulous. And for $1 (at the right vendor) it was hard to pass up.

The Wongs- our friends from England- took me around on one free day. It was great to reconnect and get an inside scoop on the city. A fun fact for you. To own a car, you need a permit. The going rate for a 10 year "right to own" permit is about $60,000. A new car has a 300% tax on it. To buy a new Toyota Camry, it would cost roughly $200,000.