Having spent a couple of hours at the Antarctic Experience, which is very conveniently sited near the airport in Christchurch, it was time to check-in and board the flight back to Melbourne. It’s a city I like and I knew I would enjoy it even more than usual when I heard that Dianne and John were coming to join me for the weekend.
This time the accommodation was booked as, once again, I had been able to take advantage of the Accor Hotels sale – just as well as prices rose steeply for the tennis season and I was glad not to be paying full price. The Ibis is well placed near the Queen Victoria Markets and was also very near John and Dianne’s chosen hotel. That meant we even had dinner together within hours of my arrival in town, despite the heavy rain which was already causing chaos in so many parts of the country. Even today (February 5th), I saw a photo on the ABC Australia website which I’m sure was taken from the coffee shop in Camberwell where a friend works and where I had spent a few happy hours in October. At that time, though, central Melbourne was OK. The rain lasted just into the next day which made it easy to decide that the morning be spent discovering the city on the free City Circle tram before going to one of the museums. Although I had stayed in Melbourne three or four times, it was something I had never done and, as the service runs every fifteen minutes, it was easy to jump on and off if we felt the need: in the rain, we didn’t, but later we walked through the gardens to Melbourne Museum where we enjoyed a variety of exhibitions. Both The Melbourne Story and Two Laws were very well done, the former illustrating the development of the city with interactive displays and life size scenes including a ’50s home that really took me back to childhood and the first small screen TV I ever saw. The second gave me greater insight into the issues surrounding aboriginal land rights and the law. Both of these are permanent exhibitions. Oh – and for the first time I got a ‘senior’ benefit: free admission. I’m beginning to appreciate the benefits of age!!
We were quite sad to be told to leave when closing time came: there was still a lot more to see! But we made the most of the opportunity to walk to Lygon Street, famed for its Italian restaurants and had great fun walking along with John being offered great deals by every restauranteur who wanted to be seen with customers early in the evening. We walked both sides of the road before deciding where to eat. The choice was a good one and we spent a pleasant evening there before walking back to the hotel for coffee.
Next day we visited Melbourne Central and the Queen Vic Markets and enjoyed looking for good deals everywhere, but bought very little. The others had already checked out so we had a late lunch and went our separate ways, their parting words being ‘See you in the UK!’ I hope they come! I was ready for a lazy evening but walked the long way back to the hotel first. I had already bought fruit to eat and would not need anything else.
My plan for Sunday was to visit the Craft Markets near the Arts Centre and then make sure that I knew how to get to Melbourne Park as I had a ticket for the first session of the Australian Open on the Rod Laver Arena. I didn’t want to be late!! There was also the thought of attending the Rally for Relief that was being staged by the Open contestants in support of the Queensland flood victims. Many of the players had just come from Brisbane and, at the time, the devastation there was headline news. When I enquired I was told that the tickets were sold out days ago, but I’d only just heard it was happening. I made a quick visit to the markets, had some lunch and headed back to watch the event on TV. It was great! Players fooling around on the court and Djokovic even getting into the press box and stealing a camera to use. Lovely atmosphere which put me in exactly the right mood for the next day.
Monday was not the brightest of days, which was probably quite good for the players and for those spectators in the heat of the sun. Gates were to open at 10.00a.m. for the 11.00a.m. session so I set off bright and early and walked the kilometre or so to Melbourne Park. Then there was the queue, complete with entertainment – jugglers and hula hoopers keeping both old and young amused as they waited to enter the grounds. My seat was easy to find and I was there, hot coffee in hand, by about 10.30. There were people practising on the court and when I looked the second time I realised, just at the same time as someone sitting nearby, that the tall, slender young woman with long blonde hair was Maria Sharapova who was to play (and win convincingly) the second match of the session. Her opponent was Tamarind Tanasugarn, the most successful women’s singles player from Thailand.
I had chosen the day session when buying the ticket as I was pretty certain it would involve the previous year’s champions and I was keen to see both Caroline Wozniacki and Roger Federer play live. I was not disappointed. The Danish number one, who was also the number one seed for the ladies’ singles played with skill and style and won easily against Gisela Dulko of Argentina. For both of the ladies’ matches the arena was full yet quite quiet, but the mood changed noticeably when it was announced that Federer and Lukas Lacko were coming on to the court. It was as if the whole arena was energised, with many of the Swiss star’s supporters decked out in red and wearing the instantly recognised RF logo on tshirts or earrings or caps or all three and the Swiss flag painted on their cheeks or carried as banners. Federer was the star that day! A real winner whether on or off the court seemingly. His unassuming manner and quiet humility an example to all. Indeed, tennis is fortunate to have Federer and Nadal showing such sportsmanship whether in tight-fought games, in defeat or in victory. Others who follow them have hard acts to follow.
Strange how both at the beginning and at the end of this trip tennis has been a feature. Hunting for some good reading material as I left Thailand, I had picked up Andre Agassi’s autobiography Open in Chiangmai Airport’s Bookazine. It was a book I had been looking out for for some time and I was pleased to find something I really wanted to read. Too often, I have picked up some ‘light’ reading for a journey only to be bored with it within five minutes.
Agassi had been castigated by some for the admission that he had taken drugs, knowingly, and had deliberately lied to the APT officials who declared a failed drugs test. Yes, he was wrong to do what he did….but was he wrong to admit it now? The story of his life is well-told and well-written. A seemingly honest, genuinely open, account of his failures and his triumphs and of his love for Stefanie (as he cals her) and their children, as well as his desire to help other young people avoid the mistakes he made. And he accepts responsibility for what he has done. At one of the lowest points of his life, Agassi and his then wife, Brooke Shields, journeyed to South Africa to meet Nelson Mandela. The effect this amazing man had on the young tennis star was enormous: he gave him courage, it seemed, to be the best he could be, challenging some of the old attitudes, indicating that every human being faces difficulties and that every human being also has the power to overcome. Agassi describes his reaction to Mandela’s speech thus,
‘Mandela talks about the road he’s travelled. He talks about the difficulty of all human journeys – and yet, he says, there is clarity and nobility in just being a journeyer. When he stops speaking and takes his chair I know that my journey, compared to his, is nothing, and yet, that’s not his point. Mandela is saying that every journey is important and that no journey is impossible.’
The young tennis star felt that the older man was speaking just to him: seeing into the darkest corners of his heart and mind. And he changed as a result. It’s good to see him acknowledge that. Writing his story and going public with his feelings must have been a big step for him. A third example for tennis fans.
So it was that my last few days in Melbourne centred around the tennis in the afternoons and evenings and more trips to discover as yet unknown parts of Melbourne each morning. It was a delight to be in the same time zone as the tennis for once. I look forward to being in the UK for Wimbledon this year, though my guess is that tickets will be much more expensive than they are for the Australian OPen: the country is really trying to bring sport to the people and have everyone involved. While I was there I experienced the fanaticism of cricket fans during the Ashes and the 20-20 games as well as the tennis and, of course, the unsuccessful bid to hold a World Cup. All were major news focuses with a whole TV channel’s programming being taken over by the tennis.
My last evening, though, was not spent watching tennis. I took the opportunity to catch up with the young bride whose wedding had brought me to Melbourne in the first place way back in October and we had Chinese dumplings in a favourite teashop of hers, ‘The Red Door’. It is an antique shop which also serves the best Chinese dumplings I’ve ever had! A lovely, relaxed evening and then back for a final night’s sleep -and packing! – before boarding the flight to Sydney.
I got to the airport earlier than necessary but was glad I had done so as the queues were poorly signed and many people joined the wrong one. It was dealt with quite easily and there was no additional delay. The Qantas flight to Sydney was uneventful and we landed early, making it possible for me to see the evening’s tennis after acquainting myself with the area around the hotel.
The two days spent in Sydney were as uneventful as the flight there, but they provided an opportunity to relax before returning to Thailand. I had felt it important to revisit the city but was really only interested in the areas around Circular Quay as I’d done most of the touristy things on earlier visits. So I spent some time at the Rocks and as much watching the tennis – still only Week One, so lots to enjoy.
One morning I walked to the Rocks and, at Circular Quay, had the best milkshake ever! I also saw the amazing sight of a cruise ship dwarfing both Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. I enjoyed wandering the markets there and seeing what had changed since our last visit two years ago.
The next day I boarded the airport shuttle at 13.45 to be in good time for my flight. I was so glad I had left early because we got later and later as we drove around different hotels. The driver had eyes only for the attractive young lady in the passenger seat and seemed unperturbed when some his his other clients became concerned about the traffic and the length of time that it was taking to make the journey. It was one of the few examples of poor service I had seen in the whole trip. A shame it was our last impression of the country. The BA flight to Bangkok was a different story – service with a smile all the way!
Check-in was easy and I was pleased to discover that there was room to put a couple of the heavier things I had in the camera bag into the suitcase. We were off just about on time and arrived at Suvarnabhumi about forty minutes early, sadly not early enough for me to catch the last flight to Chiangmai. So I spent the night hours in the departures area before checking-in at 4.30a.m. for the 6.15a.m flight to Chiangmai and my temporary home. Fortunately, I had a good book (Joanna Trollope’s Marrying the Mistress) to keep me awake and was able to by a simcard for the iPad so could check email and the like.
Almost two weeks later, I’m still catching up with myself, looking forward to a trip to Nakhon Nayok for New’s graduation from the pre-Cadet College this month and a trip to either Vietnam or Malaysia in April before flying to the UK in the middle of the month to organise my life there. A quick trip to the California for a wedding in June will be my first foray into the USofA: maybe the first of many!
Watch this space, there will be more……
Living the Journey 