Melbourne continued...

Well Melbourne seems a pretty cool place, I can completely understand Kate and Obi wanting to live here. You can get a tram to a sandy beach with palm trees, there are loads of cool restaurants, lots of interesting things going on in the city, the weathers great - it's generally pretty awesome. It's like it has all the good things about London and Brighton combined, then put in a warmer climate and made a little more affordable!

Yesterday we went to a place with a beach by the bay called St Kilda. It was very chilled out and we just sat out and had lunch looking out over the water. It was ideal sailing weather - sunny, but with some good wind - alas I haven't hired a boat yet. Afterwards we went to the botanical gardens which were pretty incredible, lots of exotic plants that just grow here without assistance - no need for hot houses!

Today we went to some hills that are on the outskirts of Melbourne, they were a bit boring and disappointing though. Although there were some great views into the city and of the surrounding land.

Everyone here is incredibly friendly. A number of times we have been looking at a map trying to decide where to go and people will just stop and ask if we need any help. Generally, people here seem very chatty and kind.

Tomorrow it is supposed to be in the mid-thirties, so hopefully we're going to the coast and might do some snorkeling. Then on the weekend we're going to drive along the great ocean road which will hopefully have some spectacular scenery.

Bye for now,


Ali

From Malaysia to Melbourne

Greetings from sunny Australia!

Penang was amazing, it was so entirely different to anything I've experienced before. Many temples of different faiths: Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim all incredible, with pagodas, statues, domes, lanterns - just amazing. The amount of colour is also fantastic, from the buildings to the plants and flowers it's a huge contrast to the relatively plain palette of England.

The weather in Malaysia was roasting: 35+ C and very humid. I enjoyed it though, as there is air con when you need it. The food was fantastic with lots of new tastes, fruits,and spices. The shopping is great - some really huge malls. To top it off - everything is really cheap!

We arrived in Melbourne yesterday after three days in Penang. It is also very fun here, but much more western than Malaysia. At a glance, the roads and cars look more like North America than Europe. However it soon reveals it's own individual character. It certainly seems a very cosmopolitan and interesting city, and I'm off to do a more thorough exploration now.

Over and out,


Ali

Off to Australia (plus 'the facebook' reaches Oxford)

Hi,

Sorry for a complete lack of updates recently. I've been mentally queuing up many things to write, but I'm too rubbish to get round to writing them. Anyway, in a little over five hours I leave to go to Australia for three weeks. I'm going to try to put a few bits of news on here whilst I travel, as that's probably better than trying to email everyone individually and then emailing no one! So watch this space.

Meanwhile, in other news....

The facebook is an awesome website where you can upload a photo and some personal details and then link to your other friends at university or who have recently graduated. It's good because you can message each other, even if you lose touch, and you can (or at least used to be able to) plot these awesome webs of which of your friends knew each other. It's really big in the states and it has finally made it across the pond. For people still at Oxford it's really easy to register as you just put in your herald email address (I think you need to put it in .oxford format c.f. .ox). As for alumni, play around and see how to register.

OK, must go and get some sleep.

Cheers,


Ali