Touch Down

Here I am, at Melbourne.

Everything went on pretty smooth. I received the electronic boarding pass from Jetstar in the morning (barely 3 hours before departure time, what efficiency!), took the 10 bucks bus (which arrived a tiny bit late) to the airport (thanks Nancy), and watched half of “L change the world” in the airport while waiting for the delayed flight.

The scenery during the flight was amazing. I looked out of the window and saw a widespread area of altocumulus just beneath the airplane slowly unravelling a lower layer of thin, veil-like altostratus. For a moment the sea of altocumulus looked like the great ocean, another moment the whole scene looked as if the land is a reflection- the puffy altocumulus turned into soil, while the paper thin layer of altostratus, now undulating, looked like a pond of water. The calm water, area which I can see the land beneath, looked like the reflection of world built upside-down on the ceiling of the sky. The cloud performance was so captivating, majestic, and almost magical.

After an hour or so, I was above Melbourne. I peeked through the window and saw the metropolitan city spawning across an immeasurable area of land, with many high rises concentrated at its CBD. Much like a normal graph, I thought.

The first thing I did after touching down is go to China Town and have some authentic Malaysian curry chicken nasi lemak. Well, not exactly authentic, but I’m not that picky to distinct between the basically same taste. Still, not enough spice! Where’s that tongue-burning sensation from Malaysia that I remember? More chilli in the sambal please.

After eating I went and walked around the city. I’m staying in a hotel right at the heart of the city and it’s really convenient. As I walked along I have this elated feeling about Melbourne. Melbourne is actually a city (unlike Hobart where city= town). Just observe: the shops, the people, the streets, the sound, the liveliness, the atmosphere… Isn’t this a city boy’s dream? I say, yes.

But still, the fact that I am stuck at Hobart for 60 months is still, the fact.