I am taking the train into Melbourne
for my final day. I have been very clever with my myki card and,
after today's journeyings, it will have just two cents left on it.
But it's clear that there are considerable problems with Melbourne's
new transport technology. On several occasions, the card readers go
out of service and, at one point, my card simply refuses to open a
gate. There are currently a whole host of myki-uniformed staff
helping sort out the problems, but the scheme clearly has some
technological hurdles to overcome.
I have been having problems with my
cameras, so head into Michael's cameras in Elizabeth Street, where
the very helpful Trevor takes me to the technical department. There,
an incredulous member of staff points out that the card I thought was
64 Megabytes was only a 64 Kilobyte test card. No wonder I haven't
been getting too many shots on each of them. What a clot!
Michael's haven't got the new camera I
am interested in buying, so another Australian institution, Ted's, is
almost next door. There, Andreas, who is Aussie but was brought up in
Germany, turns out to be a very good salesman indeed and I leave with
a splendid new Sony which has an amazing 20 x optical zoom.
Incredible for such a compact camera. Even better, as I have spent
more than $300, I can claim back $40 in sales tax at the airport.
Further along Elizabeth Street are the
Block and Royal Arcades, two lovely Victorian shopping arcades which
remind me, once again, that much of Melbourne's architecture is so
alike that of the city of my birth, Glasgow.
In front of Flinders Street Station,
two very polite schoolboys from Mentone Grammar ask me to participate
in a survey on the myki card. They are using not a clipboard and
paper, but an iPad! I am most impressed!
I had intended visiting the Immigration
Museum and the Polly Woodside tall ship, but, as I am almost next
door, I am drawn back to the ACMI at Federation Square to spend some
more time in their excellent displays on the history of the moving
image.
Apart from anything, I am supposed to
be meeting Chloe, but she's been detained in a tutorial. I have to
revert to posting her the DVD in which she features in two TV
interviews at the time of the HMS Nottingham incident on Lord Howe
Island, which is where we first met.
The nearby Flinders Lane post office
has everything I need and the task is achieved with the minimum of
fuss. I am impressed with the layout of the place, but how quickly I
am served and also the 'self service' technology they have.
Myki is again problematic at Flinders
Street, refusing to recognise my card, but, even worse, when I get
back to Eltham, several of the machines are 'out of service' which
results in a train load of frustrated commuters having to queue to
'touch-off' their card.
It's my final night in Victoria, so I
am treating Diana and Malcolm to dinner. We had chosen to have an
Indian, but it's almost empty, which is nevera good sign, so we opt
for the packed Nongkhai Thai, which turns out to be excellent.
In the morning, Malcolm and Diana have
kindly offered to pick me up at 7am to take me to Melbourne Airport.
I have thought ahead and packed an extra bag for my weekend trip to
Sarawak.
Check in is almost instantaneous, but
the Express Lane for immigration is horribly slow. Even worse is the
queue for the TRS to claim back my sales tax. When, eventually, I
get to the counter, my transaction takes only moments, but John tells
me the hold up is being caused by a load of Chinese travellers who
have suitcases full of goodies and fistfuls of receipt to process.
Business Class in the Singapore
Airlines 777 is only half full, so I have the very spacious front row
to myself. The seating and the catering are excellent although
there's no attempt at any stage by the cabin crew to engage me in
conversation, which is most unusual in a premium cabin these days.
Arrival procedures at Singapore's
Changi airport are quick and efficient, my bags arrive quickly and I
am in a taxi speeding on my way within twenty minutes of landing.
It's only when we are nine kilometres
on our way when I realise that my third bag, packed especially for my
weekend trip, is still on the carousel. What a clot!
Luckily, it doesn't take too much time
to complete the paperwork to be allowed back inside to collect the
bag, so no harm done. But it just shows you, a slight change your
normal routine and things can so easily go wrong.
But at least I am in Singapore, two
thirds of the way round the world, and my bags have stayed with me
throughout.
Well almost.
