TBC after work this afternoon. Unimpressed by the Extrasensory event so far from the responses to my inquiries.
Friday 9th August 2019 - after work I boarded the usual overnight 1980's XPT train from Central Station to Southern Cross Station. First class "sale" tickets are sold out way in advance so I had to make do with return Economy class tickets Seats 26 G & 28 G - yes Car G!!!!! right at the end of the train. No visiting the buffet car this trip as it is 2 carriages down. As usual the train is fully booked both directions - it does not help as most flights between Sydney & Melbourne were cancelled due to extreme weather conditions ( extremely high winds snow rain hail and freezing conditions) .
My work collegue was stuck in Melbourne and rang advising her Jetstar flight back to Sydney was cancelled on Friday and asking me if there was any other way to get back to Sydney by Saturday - she still had time to ring and see if NSW Trainlink had any seats left for the overnight train on Friday night arriving Saturday morning. I didn't like her chances though and everything was fully booked I later found out and she was on a waitlist for a Saturday flight and had to spend another night in Melbourne while her husband managed to get a Qantas flight back to Sydney however with no seat allocation.
On the train I hate it when there is very little luggage storage space in the very last carriage ( middle carriage first class is the best) and people just move your suitcase to get their heavy oversized one in - they should really have checked these in - don't people read the conditions of travel on their tickets?? There are carry on luggage restrictions just like there are on airlines!
One passenger that night was refused boarding as he was heavily intoxicated - he was told he could come back tomorrow but he would not be able to board the train tonight - thank goodness as he was travelling in Car G. He apparently reeked of alcohol and told if he did not leave the platform the train officers and paramedics would call the police to take him away.
Another passenger just realised he was in the incorrect seat when the train officer began checking tickets in car G. That same passenger asked if anyone knew what the wifi password was on the train - I felt like yelling out that there is no wifi. This is a 1980's train there is no wifi and no charging points!!! ( unlike the trains overseas I am used to or he may be used to in the UK where he is from).
The train was over an hour late ( no surprise!) arriving in Melbourne at 8.30 am approximately - who cares anymore this train is always late!!!! Just as well I had nothing else on during the day except shopping & eating at my leisure.
First stop after a toliet stop ( where someone had dropped a 20 cent piece down the toliet - no I did not try to fish it out that is something my boss would do!) and grabbing some breakfast and groceries was a shower and I was able to check in really early this trip at Melbourne Central YHA in a 6 share female dorm ( last top bunk - not so fussed this trip as it is only 1 night). I stopped off at Hungry Jacks at the top end of Southern Cross Station above Woolworths for a breakfast pit stop and not the other one near the coach terminal this time - a lot better except there are birds flying around you and the non functioning large screen looks as if it is a birds nest with bird poop all over it. Health hazard possibly. If I needed a quick hot breakfast I would probably get a grill order of a sausage & egg muffin sans fromage avec lettuce & a slice of tomato from Hungry Jacks over Mcdonalds if there is one around although I am unconvinced of what's in the Hungry Jacks sausage patty. I can definitely taste the difference in fat content between a Mcdonalds and Hungry Jacks muffins. Very little or no butter in the Hungry Jack's breakfast muffins.
Next off to Woolworths Metro below for some water orange juice blueberries a packet of rocket and some pastries - I love the savoury and sweet pastries here we don't get these at Woolworths in Sydney. I choose a cheese and spinach danish and something a little unusual - an apple cake ( I do love my apple desserts!) This was either a mistake ie an apple pie gone wrong so they turned it upside down and iced the top like a donut except without a hole (domed base) making it look like a flying saucer or someone got creative. It tasted ok although the short crust pastry was a little thick - needed more apple filling so it needed the icing to balance it out. Photo below.
After checking in, having a shower and dumping my bags in my room, it was onto do some exploring around Melbourne CBD and some shopping. I tried to catch the next free city circle tram but the door slammed shut in my face before I could even get on. How rude! So rude I swore. Don't rely on the free city circle tram it is always full and a very infrequent service often not running a full city circle route!
I then waited for any tram that went up Flinders Street. I got off at Elizabeth Street and walked and walked until I found my intended destination Hardware Lane. There is actually 2 sides to Hardware Lane full of cafes and restaurants however I was only looking for one cafe in particular to have some brunch at and that was HASH Cafe which apparently serves duck pancakes recommended by one of my bus buddies. I walked up and down both sides of Hardware Lane trying to find HASH cafe without success only to be stopped constantly by cafe and restaurant hosts standing outside the countless restaurants and cafes spruking them and attempting to hustle or is that hassle you inside each of them constantly. No thanks! It reminds me of Chinatown in Haymarket's old part of Dixon Street. I finally found HASH cafe which was actually in Hardware Street across the road from a main cross street Lonsdale Street and it was even smaller then Hardware Lane with one side the street closed off to pedestrians due to a derelict building occupying one side of Hardware Street. I ended up not eating at HASH cafe as there was a queue of people lined up outside of it waiting to get into this slightly larger then hole in the wall cafe for brunch. Photos below
I retraced my footsteps and stopped off at several adventure stores selling backpacks hoping to find a smaller more manageable one to purchase to take to tonight's event. Unsuccessful I continued to explore some more of Melbourne's CBD.
I walked back to Bourke Street Mall one of the main shopping precincts in Melbourne city and stopped of at the flagship H & M store housed in the old Melbourne GPO building - a must visit for tourist even if you are not shopping there. It is a magnificent building with 3 or 4 levels. Old steel beams can be seen in some parts of the building which has been restored, high ceilings and arches with some bits of art and painted walls. The view of the interior of the GPO is a photographer's paradise from the top level housing hidden H & M homewares section and Mensware section. Photos below
Next onto the Myer department store also on Bourke Street Mall. I haven't been into a Myer store since last November for their annual AGM - I walk through them to get to other parts of shopping Centres but not to stop and look around. I ventured across the air bridge as Myer Melbourne is split between 2 buildings then up to the top 2 levels of Emporium - what a shock these top 2 levels are almost empty apparently part of the plan to reduce its "rent" by having another tenant occupy the top 2 levels of the Emporium. I was disappointed with its travel goods range - what no backpacks? I wonder where they will hold their annual AGM this year or their Christmas Gift Emporium and kids Santa train. The view of the city bee hives on the roof top of the adjacent building was an interesting sight though. Photo below
Back to Spencer Street Outlet for some general bargain shopping where I found my $5 clear plastic "event" backpack - perfect for a visit to Parliament , a replacement blue satin triple compartment cosmetic bag for $5 some antihistamine eye drops from Chemist Warehouse and some more groceries from Coles cheese slices pita bread vanilla yoghart. Then back to Woolworths for some chicken which I almost forgot to purchase to make up a pita sandwich for a late lunch/early dinner and breakfast the next morning.
No time for dinner - will have some when I get back. I only had a single mini spring roll at the Extrasensory event all night as I was too busy going around and finding as many activities talks etc as possible.
Quickest way to Parliament was the number 11 tram from bottom of Collins Street to Spring Street - just within the border of the free city tram zone. On my way back I caught the train from Parliament Station to Southern Cross Station which was just as quick however I needed to tap on and off with my myki card even if it was within the free city circle zone. I used my virtual Myki card not my real one as I left it behind in Sydney - unsure how to top up my virtual myki card though. I was also unaware how seriously Melbournians took their football getting caught up in the huge crowds at Southern Cross Station after a game. ( so seriously a guy from Sydney travelled on an overnight train on Saturday night arriving in Melbourne on Sunday morning and back from Melbourne to Sydney on the overnight train Sunday night arriving Monday morning) . Photos below
Extrasensory is a one night only event held by Parliament of Victoria between 6 pm and 10 pm on Saturday 10th August 2019 as part of National Science Week. It was 4 full hours of adult science fun. In the entire time I was at the event I only saw 1 kid with his parents and he was not a kid but almost a teenager although still too young to drink at one of the Champagne Science sessions I attended. ( more about this later)
I arrived at 6.30 pm as per my ticket and there was already a crowd lining up to get inside Parliament House. Whilst I was waiting in line I saw a group of people scoffing down their burgers as fast as they could as no outside food was allowed. Snacks were provided by the event organisers once inside and drinks could be purchased as well.
In front of me in the queue was a couple who looked as if they had been waiting in the queue for some time. When they saw me upload my electronic ticket onto my phone screen they asked me if this was the queue for the free tour of the Parliament building. I had to tell them no and that this was for the Extrasensory event tonight and that you had to prepurchase tickets online which were probably sold out by now so the couple left.
I was unable to get a ticket online to the 6 pm entry session so 6.30 pm session it was. I therefore missed the first talk on the main stage but after passing through the security screening made my way to the main Queen's Hall stage for a sit down and plan what I wanted to see and do for the evening of the Extrasensory event. I am so unfamiliar being my first visit there with the layout of the Parliament building with all its hidden stairs and rooms. An amazing piece of architecture inside and out . Photos below
So much to see listen to and do during the 4 hours or so at Extrasensory. First thing was pick up a map and list of talks displays and interactives.
According to the program and map given out all activities were as follows :
First on my agenda on the Queen's Hall Main Stage 6.40 pm - 7 pm Deceptology: the neuroscience of magic a demonstration and talk by Nicholas J Johnson. First he asks his audience to point their fingers and thumbs with a co ordination test then he demonstrates how to make his head appear smaller then bigger then what it actually is to the audience by starring into a spinning black and white optical illusion wheel. Finally he demonstrates a popular card trick with the help of an audience member - you know the one " pick a card any card" magic trick. However magicians don't usually reveal how they perform their tricks. Johnson explains that his card trick is all about where the audience's vision is focused during a magic trick - in his case its all in the movement and placement sequences of his hands. Very entertaining. ( refer my YouTube video uploaded)
7.00 pm - 7. 15 pm now I start to explore . Being a former Chemical Technologist I naturally have an interest in the Sciences however there is one stream of Science that icks me and that I avoided studying and wasn't really good at and that was the Biosciences - yep I hated biology. By mistake I ventured into my first interactive display of the night Immersion Immunity Rossjohn Infection & Immunity Lab ( Monash University) This was where you could see touch and smell models of various viruses and infectous diseases such the Rhinovirus, Ebola and my favourite Smallpox made with the addition of durian ( that fruit that tastes like heaven but smells like hell) to simulate the smell of rotting flesh. Who knew that you could be so creative with whatever you could find such as a bit of macaroni or pasta, styofoam balls, fabric or string , pom poms, glitter, glue, lots of paint, a truck load of coloured slim and the odd hidden bits of food?! Your trash is their treasure. This room would have been a heap of fun to lets the kids loose in! I didn't continue with my exploration of Bioscience after this to Journey Inside A Cell CBNS ( Monash University).
Photos below
Instead it was onto a brief visit to the Tactile Treasure Maps SensiLab (Monash University) - there was a queue for each of these activities therefore I skipped this and watched what others were doing - it was a mystery to me - there were bags with different tiles in them all with different textures and colours. Was it a puzzle of some sort? Moving on to find my next activity.
7.15 pm - 8 pm Another one of my favourite Sciences - Food Technology , Food/Culinary Sciences, Molecular Gastronomy ( maybe not that far tonight!) Can You taste It? The Art of Sensory Marketing CASS (Deakin University) The Sound of Sweetness Tara Storey (Food Scientist) & The Digital Human Dr Simon Harrison (CSIRO Data61) inside Sessions Cafe. There were several activities using at least 4 of your senses - taste smell hearing and sight to participate in. Taste 3 samples of chocolate custard and guess which sample contained the highest fat content - I selected sample B and was correct. Why? because it was sweeter then the other 2 samples. Usually when a product is "low fat or no fat" it is really bland and sometimes watered down therefore to boost its paletability an amount of flavour enhancer ( not necessarily MSG) is added which could be either a sweetener or a savoury additive however this did not explain why I made the above choice. Maybe it was the texture of the chocolate custard samples that I tasted that influenced my choice? Onto the next taste test - never trust anyone that hands you a piece of blotting paper and asks to to place it on your tongue or lick it - ok so I did and what did I taste? Well it wasn't the lickable wall paper from Willy Wonker & The Chocolate Factory - it tasted like battery acid ( not that I have ever tasted battery acid!). At first you did not taste anything then the taste became increasingly bitter - now you know why it was 4 hours of ADULT science fun - definitely not an activity for well behaved kids! Onto some more pleasant culinary science. What it's like when you lose your sense of smell and how it affects your sense of taste - just like a blocked nose when you have a cold you just can't taste anything. The experiment was to block your nose close your eyes and sip 2 samples of tea and coffee. You then had to identify which one was coffee and which one was tea. I guessed the second one was coffee and the first one was tea - correct again! Finally it was the gummy bear taste test. Again block your nose and chew on a gummy bear then unblock your nose - the flavour is so much more intense. There were 2 other activities which I did not participate in as there were queues - the sound and taste challenge and the VR activity - I saw a demonstration of this and was not keen to participate in tbis experiment as the participant was fed something whilst wearing and watching something through a VR headset ie they had no sight no sound awareness of their surroundings.
Photos below
8 pm - 8.20 pm I waited 30 minutes to attend this session of The Science of Champagne a Culinary Science workshop ( ages 18+ obviously!) in the Side Dining Room. This was my absolute favourite activity of the night and I don't drink well I love to drink but can't as I have the unfortunately non recessive "Asians can't hold their alcohol" gene!I waited on the comfy lounges with a queue of other people not knowing what they were waiting around for for 30 minutes to attend tbis workshop. It was Champagne now or Beer Science at 8.45 pm. I queued for the correct workshop as I hate beer unless it is a chocolate one! So what did I learn in the 20 minute workshop which was limited to 24 people but ended up full house - I was lucky to get a seat near the front of the oval table set up with wine glasses pitchers of water and of course champagne flutes filled with at this stage a mystery bubbly. We passed them around . Our host advises it was a glass of Mum the well known French champagne - yes and before we tasted it we listened to a very interesting workshop on champagne. We all know unless it is not produced in the French region of Champagne it cannot be called champagne and we all know that glasses have to be ultra clean ie no grease or soap film residue as this will affect the quality and appearance of your champagne. However did you know there are physicists dedicated to measuring the thermal images of champagne when drank from different shaped glasses? That there are actually 3 types of glasses champagne is drunk out of ? or that the maximum number of bubbles given off from the champagne that form in a cluster before they pop is only 5 at a time? or that you should only twist 6 times before popping the cork (away from the eyes obviously!) About half way through the workshop we were invited to observe what was happening visually with our glass of champagne and take a slip - our host did not judge how we drank our champagne whether we guzzled it down or just sipped and left some unfinished. I have not had many glasses of "Champagne" but this was absolutely delicious - could have polished it off if it was not for the feeling that my ears and face were heating up rapidly and turning a red flushed colour ! I could see the guy sitting next to me turning slightly red in the face too - no surprise Asian! Quick have a sip of water. As quickly as the session started it ended. Question time - I didn't ask but my question would have been how do I improve my alcoholic tolerance to champagne?
8.30 pm - 9 pm Another participation in an interactive activity and experiment - Try The Virtual Balance Challenge with Dr Dominic Orth from Swinburne University. I texted my boss about this activity after attending The Science of Champagne workshop. I was already scared of heights but determined to do this challenge without falling off or over - VR plays tricks on your mind - I should have told my mind to get over it as it is not real. After passing the second walk the beam challenge I decided not to take another bigger challenge but to step back and do an obstacle challenge which was stepping over mini hurdles down a slight slope. I survived! PS I did not in anyway plan to do this balancing activity after the Science of Champagne workshop.
9.05 pm - 9.15 pm Next onto find another favourite activity The Sewer Soaperie by Science Gallery Melbourne. Washed my hands with soap made from 2 sources - fatbergs and grease trap oils eg collected used from restaurants and cafes both sterilized. Who knew the soaponification process could be so much fun. Just looked and felt like normal cakes of soap to me - no putrid smell at all - in fact very organic - that's because it is! What is a fatberg? it is the wipes and other waste products mixed with cooking oils that people have either poured down their kitchen sink or flushed down the toliet which has solidified and formed a gigantic rock hard solid mass blocking the sewage system that has to be broken up mechanically taking hours even days of manpower. Some of the cakes of sewer soap were so white. Unforunately I was unable to obtain a sample of the sewer soap to take back with me to Sydney as a souvenir.
9.20 pm - 9.40 pm final performance of the night on the Queen's Hall stage It's getting dark - music of the Mars Rover by Sam Colcheedas a piano composition written and played by him. By now Extrasensory is almost to it's end and feeling tired this was a nice activity to end the evening on. I found the piece very relaxing and a little haunting and it did actually captivate the last moments of the Mars Rover before it was switched off. Photos below
9.40 pm - 10 pm One final walk around the Extrasensory event. A brief visit to interatives I missed such as creating your own constellation Star stories, can you find the pattern? Dr Simon Cooper (University of Melbourne) - it was nice to find an activity at the end of the evening where I could sit down in a deck chair in a dark quiet room and relax and just look up at the night sky. Photos below
Black and White to Colour the effects of polarisation
Sunday 11th August 2019 - just got a text message from NSW Trainlink that tonight's train back to Sydney has been replaced by a coach service from Melbourne to Albury due to an earlier technical issue - as if yesterday's signal issues causing the train to arrive in Melbourne over an hour later wasn't bad enough! So that means we arrive in Albury around 11 pm tonight in the dark cold and wet conditions to change onto a train service.
I make my way down to Southern Cross Station to find out what is going on and am advised it was due to storm damage. So we are to go to bays 71 and 72 tonight were they will try to start boarding coaches a little earlier so be there 30 minutes prior to departure time ie around 7 pm tonight.
On my way back from Southern Cross Station it starts to pour with rain suddenly then as I arrive back at Melbourne YHA the sun comes out again and the rain stops - 15 minutes and its 4 seasons in one day! I sure dressed well today! Some people were not so lucky caught out in the sudden downpour!
There will be no exploring Melbourne outside the city today in the event I can't get back especially train travel!!
Back at the YHA in the dining room area I eat the rest of my apple cake with a a nice hot flask of tea whilst I continue to blog. I don't really want to head to the markets this time round at this stage whilst is is raining.
I still had a few hours left but didn't want to venture far so headed by foot to DFO next to the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre . As I started walking along the wharf near the MCEC it started to pour with rain again! I continue and when I reach the DFO it looks like thousands of other people had the same idea to stay indoors shopping and eating. I did the entire circuit of the DFO looking for a plain black skivvie. Unable to find any I settled on a white long sleeved fitness top from Cotton On. Time to head back to Melbourne Central YHA to have a final snack and retrieve my luggage from the pay locker and my mini cooler bag with my train snacks in it from the fridge. The pay locker for the day cost me $9 in total part cash part card paid. I went searching for my mini cooler bag I had left on the top shelf of one of the fridges in the common kutchen at the YHA however when I retrieved my mini cooler bag I was really annoyed that someone had taken it out of the fridge so they could fit their 2 oversuzed bags of groceries on the top shelf of the fridge where my mini cooler bag was and left it on the bench - I am concerned how long it had been sitting out of the fridge for so ended up not eating the pita I made containing cheese rocket and chicken in it on the train.
Around 6.30 pm I make my way to bays 71 and 72 of the coach terminal at Southern Cross Station where replacement coaches departing at 7 pm will be waiting to take us to Albury Station. The scheduled direct overnight train service departing at 7.50 pm from Southern Cross to Sydney Central was cancelled due to an earlier technical issue probably caused by the severe weather conditions delaying the previous Sydney to Melbourne train today. NSW Trainlink decided it would be better time efficiency for a replacement coach from Melbourne to Albury to meet the train which will then travel directly back to Sydney.
Because I arrived half an hour earlier ie 7 pm as recommended by the staff at the NSW Trainlink office at Southern Cross station, I was able to get my name marked off on the manifest and join the queue of people on the first of a series of 4 coaches travelling directly from Southern Cross station to Albury Station. I did a quick mental calculation of the number of passengers to number of coaches required to get everyone to Sydney via Albury - there are usually 5 carriages on a typical XPT Melbourne/Sydney train - 2 Economy, 2 First class & 1 Sleeper carriage. Usually 50 passengers in each of the Economy and First class carriages and about 16 passengers in the Sleeper carriage making a total of 216 passengers on a fully booked train ( as this was) - each coach has a maximum passenger capacity of 56 therefore 216/56 = 3.85 ie 4 coaches give or take a few spare seats on each coach.
After boarding the first coach which was full. I was able to get some sleep on the way to Albury. The lady sitting next to me was really annoying not using headphones to watch her homemade videos which were so loud. I had to tell her how loud her videos were. She said she kept clicking the incorrect button. The lady I was talking to in the queue waiting to get on the coach fell asleep almost immediately after boarding the coach with one of the few spare seats next to her - I think she had taken something beforehand to make her a bit drowsy. We reached Albury around 12 pm and it wasn't a bad ride on the coach considering how little room we had compared to a train even in Economy class.
I boarded the awating train at Albury however it was still at least another hour or so before the train would depart Albury for Sydney as there were still another 3 coaches full of passengers to arrive at Albury.
Onboard the train I stow my luggage, find my seat and try to sleep before being woken by whoever arrives to sit in the window seat next to me. A few families had already settles into their seats on the train asnd fallen asleep - unsure if they were on the coach or just boarded the awaiting train at Albury independently.
The last coach arrives at Albury from Melbourne and the person sitying next to throws his blanket over the back of his srat and climbs into his seat he pulls the blankets fully over his head covering him top to toe and remains asleep under it until we reach Sydney Central station. I slept with my mask on the entire journey as there were dome very germy coughing people on board the train who never covered their mouths including a child behind me who had a constant nasty cough all nigh. I did not eat or visit the buffet carriage at all and only took off my mask to take a drink of water. One toliet break was all I took as well.
Finally after midnight we departed Albury and arrived in Sydney finally on
Monday morning over an hour late again - so much for the coach transfer to make up time between Melbourne and Albury!
NEVER BOOK ANY CONNECTING SERVICE FOR THE SAME MORNING OF ARRIVAL INTO SYDNEY OR MELBOURNR IF YOU ARE TRAVELLING BY THIS XPT 1980S TRAIN SERVICE IT HAS NEVER BEEN ON TIME ON ANY OF THE COUNTLESS TRIPS I HAVE MADE ON IT!!!!!
Stay tuned for next weekend's activities events and places to interest to visit - so much on I will have to be selective on which to attend and see!!!
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