Exhausted from my bus journey, I arrived at Melbourne Connections Travellers Hostel only to see that reception doesn’t open until 8 am. I thought about going over to King St Backpackers across the road, but luckily a German man offered to let me in where I sat in a chair outside of reception. Not going to lie, the chair arm probably contains some of my drool as I slept waiting for 8 am.
Once reception opened, I paid $30 for a bed in a 6 bed female dorm, as well as $20 key deposit. Technically, check-in wasn’t until 2 pm, but seeing how exhausted I was reception let me go to the empty bed early. As I entered an older woman said I couldn’t be in there since she had to wait until 10 am because of policy. Not arguing with her, I returned to reception and relayed the message to them. The guy at reception jumped up, went to the room and told her I can stay, said she was fucking crazy and then told me if she gives me anymore hassle that he will call the police. I don’t know what the situation was with the woman before, but she complained about myself and another girl Stacy to housekeeping outside of our room. Personally, I didn’t care since I had a bed to sleep in.
After a very short nap, I met up with my British friend Callum and his new German friend Mia who wanted to do some sightseeing for the day. Heading out to do some quick shopping before going on a free 3 hour walking tour of Melbourne. We walked to the library for the walking tour at 2:30 pm, and good thing we showed up early as they have a cap on the amount of people they take on the tour. However, you could easily just jump in without a ticket if you really wanted to. Honestly, I wouldn’t be able to recite where we exactly went on the tour, but I did gain some historical knowledge of Melbourne during the first 1.5 hours, after that it was more about modern Melbourne. The only interesting thing about the last 1.5 hours were the graffiti laneways which I love how each week they change and they are legal graffiti laneways (meaning you won’t get in trouble). It’s honestly a great way to inspire creativity and show another form of art.
By the end of the tour, all three of us were exhausted and ready to stop listening. Actually, I tuned out when he started talking about what the red stripe on a tower was supposed to represent. Having heard live music before, we decided to go watch the talent at Federation Square and grab dinner from Flinders Station. Overall, it was a great way to see Melbourne for the first time.
At the end of the night, we bought a box of wine aka goon where I met the Irish people in the basement for the first time, for what is now forever known as Goon O’Clock – more about that in another blog post.
I think Melbourne is by far and away the most interesting place in Australia, and I thought if I ever wrote a novel or crime novel of any kind, I had to set it here. – Peter Temple
Total Cost = $63 AUD
- Walking Tour $5 AUD
- Sweet Potato Fries $8 AUD
- Accommodation $30 AUD
- Key Deposit $20 AUD
