Australia Day 5

 Day 5 of #raustraliatravelog. It's time to explore Melbourne.

One thing that I did notice when arriving here, that it's noticeably colder than Sydney. Perhaps because geographically it's more southern (or more south? whatever).

First place that we went to was the Federation Square. Why? since it's located on the city center. Federation Square is a venue for arts, culture and public events on the edge of the Melbourne central business district. It covers an area of 3.2 ha (7.9 acres) at the intersection of Flinders and Swanston Streets.

At that time, in October 2018, many parts of the Federation Square was under renovation, so the view wasn't at its best. However, there were many landmarks nearby, such as the town hall, St. Paul Cathedral, and so on. And no, we didn't enter any of them.

In my personal opinion, the Fed Square was quite mumbo jumbo at that time. Well, I thought because of the ongoing construction. But after having a look at the wiki, it seems I'm not alone. Quite many people disliked(s) it, lol. Altho I'm pretty sure it's a grower if you get used to it. .

Nope, we didn't enter this large exhibition building. Since, well, it seemed too quiet (altho not sure whether we came from the correct entrance or not xD)

Well, apparently it's the first building in Australia to be awarded UNESCO World Heritage status, being one of the last remaining major 19th-century exhibition buildings in the world.

It is the world's most complete surviving site from the International Exhibition movement 1851–1914.

Well, I should say that the exterior of this museum perhaps not photogenic. It could have been taken from a better angle but..

Located adjacent to the Royal Exhibition Building, it is the largest museum in the Southern Hemisphere.

The world's largest IMAX Theatre screen, which is also part of the museum complex, shows movies and documentary films in large-screen 3-D format.

With $15 entrance fee, actually it's not that expensive come to think of it.

Then we went to Melbourne Uni. Well, my friends who studied here had already graduated, so no "tour guide".

The campus is so pretty, and the weather was nice too. .

Hmm, after posting this, I just realized that the cropping on below right is soo :/.

It's apparently the largest open air market in the Southern Hemisphere. With the high ceiling and large space, and of course good hygiene, strolling inside the market was enjoyable.

However, if you want to find souvenirs, Haymarket @ Sydney still has better price I think.

The market is also known for the hot doughnut van which has operated for over half a century and become part of local tradition, being known for its jam donuts (dan saya baru tau sekarang).

Next destination was the State Library Victoria. It's Australia's oldest public library and one of the first free libraries in the world.

It is also Australia's busiest library and, as of 2018, the fourth most-visited library in the world.

Unfortunately, the famous The Dome and its La Trobe Reading Room was under construction, so we could only see the less picturesque parts of the library (ini niatnya mo ngapain sih?).

Well, apparently visiting library could be fun! I mean, if you're in the mood of reading. Well, I prefer to read with greens around me actually. Hmm, it depends.

So, in the afternoon, we went to the outskirt of Melbourne by train. Arriving at the station, it looked pretty cool! I mean, different than modern type, it had old-town-ish vibe.

Well, from the station, we ought to walk to reach our destination. and we didn't see any public transport around.

After quite a long walk, finally we arrived at the spot that we were aiming to. Not.

Well, the place we wanted to reach actually was already in sight. You may see the little dots on the right side on the far away coast. .
This spot is nearby the parking lot. and not crowded at all.

Intersection. Actually we had no idea which way that we should take. Alhamdulillah the weather was good, so that's fine. Just keep walking.

Arrived! Finally those famous colorful mini houses are in sight!

Fishing by the beach

Feeling the breeze of the sea, watching the birds flying above the water and occasionally swooping down catching the fishes. A lovely afternoon.

(3/3)The bathing boxes may only be purchased by residents paying local council rates, and as of 2008 were selling for prices in the range of A$200,000 (wow!) with annual council rates of around A$500, despite their lack of amenities.

(2/3)Do you know what bathing box is? A bathing box, or beach hut (also known as a beach cabin) is a small, usually wooden and often brightly coloured, box above the high tide mark on popular bathing beaches. They are generally used as a shelter from the sun or wind, changing into and out of swimming costumes and for the safe storing of some personal belongings.

The famous bathing boxes in Brighton are known to have existed as far back as 1862. The boxes share a uniformity of size and build, and a regular arrangement along the beach, and are the only surviving such structures close to the Melbourne CBD.

(1/3) Brighton is named after Brighton in England. Brighton is also well known for its Dendy Street Beach with its 82 colourful beach boxes.

So, sans the first photo, they are the pics of the place where we stayed at. It's a 1886 Victorian Guesthouse, so yes, please expect no elevator. So we ought to bring our luggages to our third floor by ourselves.

Overall, it's a nice place providing nice reading room and simple breakfast. I think I kinda miss various of oats and cereals that it served, that unfortunately difficult to find here. Well, apparently light breakfast affect how's your body feels throughout the day. It feels light too!