More of Melbourne

Gosh, the N95 mask is really suffocating. I miss the fresh cool air in Australia. Today's my first day back to work, but the memories in melbourne stay fresh and clear, so please don't delete this mail as yet, won't you?

After my trip to the Great Ocean Road, I decided to take a short break from any long coach rides and continue my garden trips in the city of Melbourne. They were breathtaking.....the flowers, trees, monuments, lakes.......I could never have enough of them. I strolled down to the magnificent Shrine of Remembrance, which was built in the early 1900s to commemorate those who had served in army and fought in wars gallantly. It was a pleasant sight from the balcony of the building as we overlooked the stretch of Melbourne city from above. I noticed the trend of numerous war memorials being constructed in australia and the great emphasis they placed on these commemorations, having annual Anzac Days and Remembrance Days etc. Their interest is indeed commendable.

The second highlight of the trip would have to be the journey to the Phillips island. Not so much for the penguin parade, which was lacklustre otherwise, having to squint my eyes in the dim to witness small little penguins swimming up the shore from afar. But I met an "international alliance" while travelling and got to learn a bit about other cultures. Amongst them: Christian from Italy, Nibuhiro Matsuda from Japan, and Li Xin Rebecca from Tianjin China. We cliched almost instantly and stayed together throughout the trip. In particular, I happened to sit next to Christian in the coach, and he happened to be a fresh medical school graduate. Like me, he had been travelling at least twice a year, was planning to do family medicine and follow his dad's footstep, and he loved Australia, just like me! I'm sorry if I sound like I'm gushing, but he really charmed me off my feet, with his deep-seated eyes and well-mannered ettiquette. Hey, I did Singapore proud at least, being the most well-versed in the English language amonst them. They were certainly very impressed (especially Christian ). Life's truly worth living.......

My days in Melbourne eventually ended with a brief morning at Queen Victoria Market, which was a better version of Paddy's market I think, and the Crown Casino. But hey, no gambling for me!

Beautiful memories.....I'm still smiling right now......are you guys having chills and rigors now?