Things I did in Melbourne (Part 1)

This is a list of some of the things I did in Melbourne! Just like the list I did for Sydney, it focuses on things to do in the city centre. Day trips and other stuff I couldn't fit into top 10 would be covered in part 3.

I knew that I was going to be in Melbourne for only 5 days (not counting the sixth because it was just about checking out and getting to the airport) in March 2016, and as I was planning for the trip I realised that there were so many things I wanted to do! Obviously there wasn't enough time for everything so here are the places we visited in the end.

1. Brighton Beach 

Brighton Beach Bathing Boxes

And just like my post about Sydney, I start off with the beach. This was not planned! 

On our first day in Melbourne, my boyfriend John and I got ourselves some myki cards, hopped onto a train, and travelled to Brighton Beach Station. 

The wind was extremely strong and my hair was flying everywhere!

There were so many other tourists posing for pictures as well. A little overrated, but still worth a short visit.

2. St. Kilda Beach

We dropped by St. Kilda on the very same day, since it was on the way back. We were there on a Saturday so apparently we missed the St Kilda Esplanade Market that happens every Sunday. Strolled by Luna Park as we made our way to the pier.

This was such an amusing sight! I know this isn't a great shot, but the birds in the above picture were trying to fly against the wind -- and failing miserably. Although they were up in the air, flapping their wings and everything, they weren't moving forward at all! People were stopping to look at these funny seagulls.

We continued walking on until we reached the area where we could spot penguins. After admiring the lovely sunset, the penguins appeared! The swam ashore and climbed up the rocks. There were a few volunteers, or perhaps ecologists, who were there to ensure that the rules were followed. Glad to see that the penguins were being protected. I snapped quite a number of pictures (without using flash, of course) but they were mostly terrible since it was so dark. The ecologists used special torches to show us where the penguins were but the light was too faint for any good photos. So don't bother trying; just enjoy being in the presence of adorable creatures.

3. Immigration Museum

I would say that our visit to the Immigration Museum exceeded my expectations.

Political cartoons are great. They encapsulate the government's stand in a humorous way.

The museum explored Australia's immigration policies from the past (1830s) to present. It was quite detailed and I learnt so much about the various attitudes and concerns that people had. 

There was this interactive display, or computer screen thingy, which provided us with information such as the number of immigrants coming to Australia each year and which countries they came from. As a Singaporean, I was obviously interested in finding out about Singaporeans who emigrate to Australia. The results were as expected -- the number of males who emigrate to Australia used to be a lot higher than the number of females, but now there's a gender balance. And it's no surprise finding out that the number of people leaving Singapore to live in Australia has steadily been increasing. 

So many different passports!

There was also a ship-like structure in the middle of a room, showing visitors how it was like to travel to Australia back in the 1800s. I think I had a lot of fun with this interactive game, where you get to pretend to be an immigration officer. Based on the information presented to you about the applicant, as well as the government policy at that time, you get to decide whether to accept or reject the application. 

Another interesting bit was the part about the dictation test. At some point, applicants had to take a dictation test which was extremely unfair as it was intentionally confusing. There was even a notepad provided at the display for visitors to try it out. After hitting "play", I realised it was really difficult and we quickly gave up.

There were stamps of migratory shorebirds (so appropriate), circular pieces of paper, and string provided. Visitors are supposed to write about home, I guess. I didn't take it very seriously but I know that in the end, we are all just looking for a place where we belong.

4. State Library of Victoria

We popped into a beautiful church (St. Paul's Cathedral, I think) and we had lunch at Chinatown before getting to the library. I didn't know that the library contained exhibits and we ended up spending a few hours there.

I love how you can just chill on the grass. It's way too humid in Singapore.

People watching these two old men playing chess!

The library is so pretty and the shape ! I would love to study or just read a book here!

We mainly explored the upper floors where the exhibits were. There were sculptures, old books and newspaper articles, allowing visitors to learn more about Victoria and how it came to be. However, I was fascinated with the exhibit on Ned Kelly. He is sort of a mythical, Robin Hood type of character to some, but a criminal to others. Two historical artefacts on display are the Jerilderie Letter and his suit of armour.

The exhibit also covers the history of transportation in Victoria and even the history of Coles! I liked looking at the postcards from WWI, old travel advertisements, as well as women's rights posters.


5. Cat cafe

Looking back, I can't believe we did so many things on the second day. Okay, first of all, I know that Melbourne Cat Cafe has moved to another location. However, when I visited, it was at their old place along Queen Street. We had to make a reservation online first, and there was an entry fee. But it was totally worth it.

The front part of the cafe was more like a store, because they sold all kinds of products. I wished I was rich because I felt like buying everything. There were cat toys, clothes with cat prints, and even cat stickers. After making sure our hands were clean, we were led up the stairs to see the cats.

Feeding time!

And there were so many of them! It was more like a house than a cafe, really. There were various rooms and they were all so beautifully decorated. It was like cat paradise. 

There were comfy cat beds and cat trees. Not to worry though, there were sofas and bean bags for us humans too.

Of course, no cat cafe is complete without cat toys and books about cats.

Aww...

I was playing with this little one! It has black stripes on its head like eyebrows. This cat kept chasing the toy around and it was extremely active.

After a while, this one-eyed cat suddenly lunged at the toy from its hiding spot too!

I found out that the eyebrow cat was a male and his name is Sherlock. So fluffy! He's definitely my favourite because he kept playing with me. The others, being typical cats, simply ignored my presence.

Stay tuned for part 2, which would cover the next 5 things on this list!