I’ve been getting quite a lot of inquiries about how to apply for an Australian visa so after a year of this post being in the draft, I’m finally writing it (with hopes of finishing it within 2 hours).

1. Download and read the necessary forms and documents for your visa class.

Everything you need to know about Australian visas are in the official Australian Immigration website at www.immi.gov.au. If you’re just going to visit Australia as a tourist, you fall under Tourist Visa (Subclass 676). The corresponding documents for this visa subclass are:

• Infosheet 20
• Form 48R
• Application document checklist

All files are in PDF format and would require Adobe Reader to open.

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship of Australia regularly review and update their visa-related documents and requirements. It’s important that you have the latest edition for your reference, as well as the forms you will fill in.

2. Collect the documents needed and make copies of each.

The documents needed for every tourist visa application are listed in the forms. Once you have completed the documents, start filling in the forms. When filling out the form, carefully read the instructions and questions.

The Australian visa application requires you to pay a visa application fee of AU$100. There is an online conversion tool in the immigration website that shows the rate in your currency. The fee must be paid with a manager’s or cashier’s check issued by your bank for the Australian Embassy. Once you have completed your documents, filled in the form and acquired the manager’s check, make copies of everything. Seperate the originals and the copies.

3. Call the Australian Embassy hotline.

The hotline numbers to call for visa application pick up in the Philippines are as follows:

For PLDT/Smart/Touchcard Subscribers 1 (909) 362 – 2779
For Globe/Innove/Touchmobile Subscribers 1 (900) 362 – 2779
For Bayantel Subscribers 1 (903) 362 – 2779

Source: Visitor Information and Application Australia

This is considered a long-distance call, so brace yourself for the ginormous phone bill (Php 32 per minute). The hotline is available Mondays to Fridays, 6am – 8pm, and Saturdays, 8am to 6pm. If you are just calling to inquire about the visa application process, you can call the free hotline at (02) 845-9200.

Schedule for a visa pick up. The agent will ask you questions about your application, so better have your documents with you for reference. After the question and answer portion, the agent will then give you instructions regarding the pick-up and return of your documents. You are encouraged to be there when the FedEx guy picks up the documents. By the way, the courier fee is not included in the Australian visa application fee, so be ready to fork out around Php 300 for Mr. FedEx. This fee covers both the pick up and return delivery.

4. Start the agonizing wait for denial or approval.

Visa processing can take from three days to one month. The shortest visa processing we had was three days, I think, and the longest was one month. That one month was due to the high influx of visa applications, as my sister applied on the last week of November. Apparently, a lot of Filipinos are applying for visas during this time (probably hoping to spend Christmas in Australia with their families).

So there you have it! I hope this is helpful in someways. If you have any questions, just post them in the comments area, and I’ll try to answer as best as I can

Originally published at Justwandering.org

We went to the nearby beach and I saw this rock covered in what I thought was black pebbles. They turned out to be baby mussels.

 
Hobart, Tasmania’s capital, is the second city founded in Australia, next to Sydney. It is the island’s main gateway to the rest of Australia and the world. It is also one of the main port for ships headed to Antarctica, and recently, regular flight service.

Bob the dog loves going to the beach.

 
When people hear that I planned on heading over to Tasmania, they all gushed at how beautiful the place was, and how Hobart has such beautiful buildings. After hearding all their praises, I couldn’t wait to go to Tasmania.

If this is the view you wake up to everyday, would you ever have a bad day?

 
I was supposed to go by myself, as a birthday present. I got the hot air balloon ride instead, and I thought I would have to kiss my Tasmanian trip goodbye. There was something else planned for me, it seemed. My brother-in-law received an invitation from an old client and friends to spend Christmas in Tasmania. With careful juggling of our busy schedule, we finally booked our flights in and out of Hobart.

Flying kites on a clear day

 
We didn’t really stay in Hobart. From the airport, we just made a quick stop to pick up supplies from the city and headed an hour and a half out of Hobart and into Police Point, where our host have a farm. Upon seeing the gorgeous plot of land (and my equally wonderful room), I was glad I didn’t go to Hobart alone.

This is one of the plants that is pretty abundant in the beaches and the mountain.

 
After the busy couple of weeks we’ve had, it was great to be able to relax in Tasmania. The views from the house was splendid: fields of hay, towering trees, the sparkling blue Huon, and the mountains of Cygnet across the river. It rained a lot during our stay there, and for once I didn’t really mind it. The rains keep Tasmania fertile, and it leaves us with spectacular rainbows.

They stick to your shoes and pants, so better wear your trainers and pants when you go hiking in Tasmania.

 
In my previous post, I said Tasmania was the most beautiful place I’ve been to in Australia. I guess I said that because it was so unlike the rest of Australia. Where as the mainland is mostly dry and barren, in Tasmania you’re never far from water.

There are no chestnuts, but there is a fire. Perfect for warming up on a chilly night.

 
While standing on Recherche Bay, soaking in the beauty we see before us, my sister turns to me and said it reminds her of our parent’s hometown, Bulusan. I then realize what it is about Tasmania that charmed me most. If you’re like me who grew up in Manila, one of the reasons you’d like Melbourne and Sydney is because it’s so different from Manila. The charm of Tasmania on the otherhand, is that it reminds you of the Philippines.

The most memorable toilet I have encountered in 2007. Yes, that is sawdust you see inside the toilet. Absolutely no water in this potty.

Then again, it may have just been the homesickness and the excitement about going home that’s talking. But given the chance, Tasmania ranks high on the places I’d always go back to.

It’s been quite memorable, these two Australian trips. I was able to live in a different country for almost 6 months. On the first trip, I was so excited about being overseas once again. Homesickness set in about after a month after my arrival. On this trip though, the homesickness set in nearer to my departure date. It was Christmas you see, and Christmas is usually spent with family and friends. I did get to spend Christmas with family and friends in Tasmania (and had a blast, actually), but it’s still diffferent. Not that it’s bad, but Christmas in Manila is something I really missed.

I feel my heart racing with anticipation; in less than 10 hours I will be back to the city I so love. I am looking forward to seeing her again, to discovering the changes that happened while I was away. And maybe see how the Manila Peninsula looks now.

I also feel a twinge of sadness though. Melbourne has been good to me. I spent my last two days in Melbourne buying bilins and pasalubongs. Coming home from overseas without gifts is a big no-no. Though while I was in a hurry to complete my errands, I didn’t run. I want to savor every last moment that I spend walking through Melbourne’s streets.

I don’t know when I will see Melbourne again. A part of me wishes it to be soon, yet another part yearns for Manila. I would like to see more of the Philippines, so Melbourne will have to wait. But I know I will come back.

As you probably know by now (if you’ve been reading my blog long enough), I am computer dependent. Make that Internet dependent. My main source of income is made through the Internet, and much of my free time is spent on the Internet. The same can be said for my sister and her brother-in-law, though they have more productive things to do in their spare time (if they have any). Doing research online is second nature to me. I hardly ever go anywhere without Googling it first, and reading all I can about it. One of my biggest frustrations was finding a place for us to stay in Horsham.

Unlike Ballarat, where I quickly found a site with a listing and links to various caravan parks in the area, there was none in Horsham. When I did find a handful though, none were as close to the venue where brother-in-law will be teaching, as Horsham Caravan Park. And they don’t have a website. Not knowing the facilities they have or amenities they offer or even how the park look like, we made the call and booked ahead.

We were lucky we did because when we got there, the place was full. Not surprising, because for AU$75 per night, we got a cabin that can fit 3 adults and 2 small kids, a refrigerator, a grill and stove, airconditioning, heater, and an ensuite toilet and bath. What they don’t have are sheets for the beds, blankets for the cold nights, not even pillows! We were adviced to bring the beddings when we called, but weren’t told about the pillows. For a small fee, we were able to “rent” 5 VERY thin pillows.

The Horsham Caravan Park is run by the local YMCA. Apart from the cabins, there are also numerous powered and unpowered sites for caravans, as well as camping sites. The caravan park was very rustic, a complete opposite of Lake Wendouree Tourist Park, which looked and feel like the gated villages back in Manila. The upside though, is that apart from the great price, it is sandwiched between the Wimmera River and the Horsham Botanical Garden. Since the park personnel knew we had kids with us, they gave is the cabin nearest the Botanical Garden’s barbeque area and playground.

Another great thing about Horsham Caravan Park’s location is that it is in Firebrace street — Horsham’s main street. Though we are at the other end of the city centre, being at Firebrace made it easy for us to navigate through the small town (thanks in part to the map the tourist centre gave us). After dropping of brother-in-law at work, we drove around to see what Horsham had to offer. With the shopping centre properly scrutinized, we delved into the inner streets and made our way to Apex Island.

A map of Horsham shows this small island in the Wimmera River. Marked as Apex Adventure Island, it piqued our interest. With the map in my hands, I felt a frisson of excitement; I love maps. I love reading them, and I love navigating with them. Even if we ended up in streets we weren’t supposed to be in. But I still managed to get us to where we wanted to go. We spot a footbridge, parked and scrambled out of the car. Apex Island, here we come!

We crossed the wooden footbrige and came down on a small scrap of land. Is this it? The so-called adventure island? There was another bridge crossing over to the other side, and we went over that as well. It turned out that it wasn’t Apex island; it was just a small lagoon that wasn’t properly marked in the map. Our efforts wasn’t in vain though, as there were ducks in the water. As soon as we crossed the bridge, the ducks started paddling towards us. This must have been a favorite spot for tourists and locals alike, as the ducks seem to be expecting us to shower them with bread.

A few minutes passed, with us humans just cooing at how cute the ducks were, the ducks gave up and started paddling away. We took that as our cue to go as well, and made our way back to the bridge. As we were about to go up the first bridge, I noticed this one bird (a purple swamphen, I was told) who was following us. We got back to the little island, and he was still following us! Up over the second bridge, and he was still there.

“Mommy, it’s still following us,” said my niece. “Tell it to stop following us!”

“The bird doesn’t understand our language,” my sister replied. “It understands duck language. Maybe if we quack he’ll go away.” So my sister did this funny imitation of a duck, and with some wing flapping and some wild quacking, the bird finally went back to the lagoon. Probably thought we were loony.

Stalking birds aside, Horsham was a pleasant and very quiet town. After a day spent in the playgounds and the small shopping centre, we ended it with dinner at one of the local Chinese restaurants. We stumbled upon two Chinese restaurants, standing side by side in one of the smaller streets. Which one do we enter? The one where there are more people, of course.

Not a lot of people were dining inside, but there where plenty of people coming in an ordering food for take away. The dishes we ordered tasted good enough. Not quite like Chinatown, but passable for a place housing the only other Asian we saw in Horsham. This small sleepy town may not be near the top of your list of places to see in Victoria, but its has its charms (stalker birds included). Besides, how can you pass up a place that has a Chinese garden restaurant called “Toy’s” that has its own mini-golf course and a great wall of China within its complex?

The four-part series has ended with this post, and the contest for the Lonely Planet travel journal ends soon! Quick, you still have a couple of hours to whip up your winning entry!

We left Ballarat early. After a quick stop at the bank and stocking up on provisions at the nearest Aldi, we drove under the Arch of Victory, passing the elm trees planted along the road, commemorating all the soldiers from Ballarat, who died in the war.

Though Horham is less than 200 kilometers away from Ballarat (about 2 1/2 hour’s drive), it took us almost a whole day’s worth of driving to arrive at our new home for the night. You see, instead of driving directly to Horsham, we took a scenic drive that took us through the Wind farm, the small town of Ararat, and Halls Gap, where we were introduced to Gariwerd.

The Grampians is this rocky mountain range, whose peaks are made of sandstone. It was believed that 300 million years ago, the area east of the ranges were underwater. Hence the presence of sand on mountain ranges that are 250 miles inland. The Grampians was given its name by Sir Thomas Mitchell after the Grampian Mountains in his native Scotland. The native Aboriginals though, already had a name for it: Gariwerd.

Hall’s Gap is the town closest to Gariwerd. It is the starting point for many tourists who come to explore the Grampians. If and when you find yourself in Halls Gap, make the tourist information office your first stop. Here you can get a map of the various loookout points offering the best views of Gariwerd. Before driving up the long and winding mountain road though, there’s a couple more stops you need to do.

First is a visit to the Brambuk the National Park and Cultural Centre. The area around Gariwerd has been home to the Djab Wurrung and the Jardwadjali tribe of Aboriginal Australians. The Brambuk cultural center preserves the history culture of is indegenous people in the centre through various exhibits. A must-watch before heading up the mountains are the two films shown at the centre’s Dreaming Theatre.

The ‘Gariwerd Creation Story’ depicts the Aboriginal legend of Tchingal the giant emu and War the crow and the formation of the Grampians/Gariwerd mountains.

‘Gariwerd a Cultural Landscape’ illustrates the geology, flora and fauna, Aboriginal and European history and the various uses of the Grampians.

Source: Brambuk – the national park and cultural centre

The two films gives you a better understanding (and hopefully, better appreciation) of the area. The AU$5 (adult) ticket is for both movies. The Dreaming Theatre is not just a theatre; there are displays and models on each side of the room, and giant emu. The giant emu was enough to freak out two adults (me and my sister). Imagine how my niece reacted while the movie was playing, and the emu’s red eyes started glowing. My niece didn’t want to finish the movie anymore, so I was left alone inside the small theatre with the giant emu. Luckily, the lights remained off during the 2nd movie.

With the giant emu behind us (but unfortunately, not forgotten), we hopped back into the car and drove back to Halls Gap’s centre for some ice cream. While enjoying my spearmint chocolate chip and Oreo cookie ice cream on waffle cone, I noticed the sign outside the ice cream shop. Now available, it says, are milk shakes, thick shakes and…spiders?! Noticing my apparent shock, my brother-in-law quickly explained that spiders is this drink wherein they put a scoop of ice cream on a glass of lemonade, much like a rootbeer float. Hmm, spiders. Must try that next time.

Suitably cooled off by the ice cream, we got into the car and started the drive up Gariwerd. Excuse the cliche, but it really was a long and winding road. And we only went to the two nearest lookout points. We have been driving since 9am, and it was already 4pm by then. All of us were tired and well on our way to cranky. The views were worth the long drive though. You get a clear view of the tops of the other mountain ranges and the surrounding countryside. Exhaustion seem to fade away as you take in the beauty of the Grampians.

Finishing with our day’s to-see list (and finishing off my camera’s battery), we drive on towards Horsham. As we were driving through the countryside, we have been seeing signs warning drivers of the presence of kangaroos in the area. I’ve never seen a kangaroo on the road, save for roadkill, so it was a bit of a thrill to see one standing off the side of the road. My brother-in-law slowed down the car to a full stop. The kangaroo, probably sensing that we were stopping to let him cross the road (maybe they’ve learned to stop, look, and listen before crossing the street?), hopped on to the otherside. It was the perfect shot: the asphalt running a straight line, and the kangaroo with its perfect jumping form. And me on the front passenger seat holding a camera with a dead battery. To make it worse, there was a second kangaroo who crossed the road after the first, ensuring that you get a decent picture. Bah!

Finally, we rolled into Horsham. We booked another cabin in a caravan park that I found online, but does not have a website. The caravan park was definitely much…rugged as our previous accomodation. Then again, there was a huge price discrepancy as well. Nevertheless, after a long day on the road, it was a welcome respite.

Only one day left in this series, and one day left until the travel journal contest ends! Have you sent in your entry yet?

We woke up fairly early, since my brother-in-law has to be at work by 8:30am. Thanks to Google Maps, the accomodation we picked was only 2 minutes away from the venue where he was set to conduct a seminar. This gave us time to have breakfast and spend some time in the playground, while waiting for the park administration office to open so we can borrow a flat iron.

After driving brother-in-law to work, we headed back to Cabin E14 at Lake Wendouree Tourist Park to plan our day. While the kids watch Angelina Ballerina, my sister and I studied the Ballarat map, familiarizing ourselves with the. High in our priority was to find a supermarket for additional provision, as well as the Rivers store. The kids played with the contents of their luggage before leaving Melbourne, and it left my niece without any shirt to wear. Armed with our map, we left the little house and set out for Ballarat’s city centre.

Ballarat was an old gold mining town; its prosperous past evident in the sprawling estates fronting Lake Wendouree and the magnificent buildings, carefully preserved lining up Ballarat’s main roads. Ballaraat, as it is also known, is derived from an Aboriginal words “balla” and “arat” that translated to camping or resting place. True enough, Ballarat did become a place where everybody, from other parts of Australia and other parts of the world, came to rest — and pan for gold — in the 1850′s, when gold was discovered in Ballarat’s soil. Soon, there were 20,000 diggers in the shafts and goldfields, all searching for the metal that would bring them prosperity.

And prosper they did. Approximately 200,000 ounces of gold were found in Ballarat’s goldfields, including the Welcome Stranger, one of the world’s biggest gold nugget ever found. Weighing 2316 troy ounces or 72.04 kg and measuring measuring 61 cm by 31 cm (24in x 12in), the Welcome Stranger was discovered by John Deason and Richard Oates just a mere 5 centimeters (2 inches) under the ground. Deason and Oates took the nugget to the London Chartered Bank (Dunolly), where they were paid a whopping £19,068.

Of course, as history would tell us, good things almost always come to an end. With the rise of diggers coming in from all over the world, the government imposed regulations and licences for all the miners. This led to the Eureka stockade, the miner’s rebellion againts the government.

The gold rush and the Eureka rebellion is an important part of Ballarat’s history, and they preserved it in the best museum I have ever been to: Sovereign Hill. Unlike other stuffy museums, where all the pieces are behind glass or cordoned off, far from the visitor’s dirty hands, Sovereign Hill encourages you to be a part of the museum, and experience history. An interactive museum, once you have entered Sovereign Hill, you are quickly transported to the 1850′s. The 25-hectare museum is made to depict life in the 1850′s, when gold was found in Ballarat. Here you will see the houses where the miners and their families live, the equipment they use for mining, and the kind of life they had. You are encouraged to pan for fold in the small stream, go down a mine shaft with the Cornish brothers who discovered the Welcme Nugget, join a carriage ride around the town, practice your calligraphy at the one-room school, or have your picture taken wearing period clothing. To complete the experience, costumed volunteers are scattered around various attractions, ready to answer your questions about Ballarat’s history.

Loaded with 2 big shopping bags filled with shoes (don’t ask), we head back to the cabin to unload our loot and prepare some snacks for a picnic. After picking up brother-in-law, we head to the Botanical Garden. The Botanical Garden is right on the bank of Lake Wendouree, which (according to the Ballarat website), “covers 40 hectares divided into three distinct zones – the central Botanical Gardens which preserves the ‘gardenesque’ style of the Victorian pleasure garden, and open parkland buffers on either side are known as the North and South Gardens.” The best part of the garden for me though, is the playground. Unlike most playground where the activities are limited to small children, this playground is for kids from age 2 to 62.

Another thing I have been looking forward to in Ballarat was seeing Lake Wendouree. To be precise, to see whether Lake Wendouree has water. When we first visited last February, the lake was completely dried up. When they went back last June, the lake was almost full of water. As summer starts, the Lake as started to dry up again. The picture on the left was taken last February, the one on the right taken this December:

After an hour in the playground and a round of ‘ccinos (mochaccino for me and my sister, cappucino for brother-in-law, babyccinos for the kids), we head back to our “little house” for a much needed rest — we have a long day of driving tomorrow.

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We started out late, leaving Melbourne at 6 o’clock in the afternoon on Sunday. Ballarat is a little over 100 kilometers from Melbourne, and driving there takes about an hour and a half via the Western Highway. Though it was a Sunday, there were plenty of people on the road. Probably families headed for their country homes or students enjoying their holidays (and their new licenses).

I’ve always loved driving (or in my case, riding) around Melbourne and the outlying countryside because of the great condition of the roads, and the seemingly lack of traffic. Australia is almost the same size as mainland USA, but unlike the United States, the population of the entire country is only at 21 million (Metro Manila has about 11 million residents). This means less people in the streets, less people on the roads, just less people, period. When I first came here, I told my sister I’d love to drive in Australia, since the roads are pretty empty. She was quick to refute my argument, saying that it’s much more dangerous here. Emptier roads meant people tend to drive faster. The higher the speed, the higher the chances of a car crash, which in Manila would just mean bumping the car in front of you. I realized what she meant, when I saw a car grazing the rear bumper of another on the road to Ballarat, during the first trip we made there last February.

We were driving along the side road, looking for a fish and chips shop to buy our picnic lunch. As we wait at the intersection for a break in the traffic to go back into the main road, one car going over 100km/h grazed the left rear end bumper of another car going over 90km/h. The first car only swerved a bit, but the second car tipped to the side. Luckily for the driver, the car didn’t topple over and soon righted itself. The driver only got some minor bruises and possibly some broken bones.

Now on our second trip to Ballarat, there was another accident along the freeway. We didn’t actually see it, but it was a bit unnerving to hear about it, seeing as we passed the same stretch of road just minutes before. According to the reports, four teens were inside the car that careened of the highway, hitting a tree by the side of the road. The car burst into flames upon impact. Police and witnesses says that the car must have been travelling at 160km/h.

Road accidents aside, it was great to drive back into Ballarat. I greatly enjoyed the time whe spent there last February, albiet a short one. There were no concrete plans for this Ballarat trip, just a stop at the local Rivers branch, where we went shop crazy and bought a trunkload of shoes (well, just half, really) during our last trip. Another highlight was to check whether Lake Wendouree has dried up again (it was completely dry last February and almost full at the end of July).

After a drive around the city, we emerged from one side street, right across our home for the next two days, Lake Wendouree Tourist Park.

Coming up next: our day in Ballarat, review of Lake Wendouree Tourist Park, and driving off to our next destination.

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There are three or so companies offering balloon rides over Melbourne and the surrounding countryside in Victoria. My brother-in-law picked Global Ballooning. The starting and ending point of the balloon ride was at the Hilton Hotel (Hilton on the Park). We met up at the foyer around 4:30 in the morning. Passengers were asked to fill in a form and sign a waiver. Afterwards, we were broken into groups, and assigned to a pilot. We boarded an SUV, towing the basket, balloon and propane tanks.

We drove to a field 15-minutes away from the Hilton. We were told that the take off and landing fields change every flight, as it is dependent on the direction of the wind. As stated in their website, hot-air ballooning is a hands-on activity. Passengers are asked to help with setting up the balloons for flight and packing it up afterwards.

There were six balloons in the field that morning, three of which are from Global Balloons. It was amazing to watch as the balloons inflate, and eventually lift off the ground. Nick, our pilot, said that ballooning is all about the landing. Landing requires concentration and precision in managing the hot and cold air to get the balloon to land in the target landing field. Taking off, on the other hand, was so gentle, we hardly noticed that we were already off the ground.

Once you get over the initial excitement of being several hundred feet above the ground (and several hundred pictures), you find yourself just taking it all in: the view, the experience and just drifting wherever the wind takes you. Unless you have a terrible fear of height (why go on a hot-air balloon ride if you’re scared of heights?), ballooning is quite relaxing when you’re up in the air.

We flew high and we flew low. On the highest ascent, we reached about 4,000 feet (I would guess what’s when my ears started hurting a bit). We dropped altitude a couple of times, low enough to shout greetings to people on the ground, and hear their response.

After one-hour, we were instructed to go into our landing position. The landing position kept us balanced, preventing us from toppling all over the basket. The basket absorbed most of the impact, but you still feel it as the basket touches the ground. Once we have scrambled out of the basket, we were given new directions on how we can help pack up the balloon. First, the basket was lifted unto the trailer while there was still enough hot air inside. Then the pilot opens a flap to release all the air inside, deflating the balloon. We take up position along the lenght of the balloon, squeezing out the air and folding it in. Once the air is all out, we line up again, carrying the balloon and stuffing it back to its bag. Once everything was packed up, we head back to the Hilton for breakfast and champagne.

The balloon ride costs AU$350 for adults and AU$245 for children ages 6-12 years. It includes the ride and the champagne breakfast. It’s pricey, yes, but it well worth it.

More pictures after the jump, or if you can’t get enough, head on to my flickr.

David Beckham says he is been surprised by the reaction to his trip to Australia.

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid player is in Sydney for an exhibition match with his team LA Galaxy.

The game at Sydney’s Olympic stadium will be played in front of a sell-out crowd of 80,000.

Source: ABC.net.au

LIKE countless millions of others, soccer star David Beckham got off a 22-hour flight from London to Sydney worn out, red-eyed and in trakkie daks.

Having your own Lear jet apparently does not shield you entirely from the ghastly effects of circling half the globe in a single bound.

Beckham managed to avoid some of the paparazzi at Sydney airport when a fake “Posh” lured the cameras in the wrong direction while he made good his escape.

However there was no avoiding the glare at his first Australian press conference, where 16 television cameras followed his every eye-rub and neck-stretch, and the flashguns popped like fireworks every time his mouth creased into that shy smile.

Like anyone else who’s flown that far, he looked like he wanted nothing more than a cup of tea and a good lie down.

Source: Herald Sun via News.com.au

Crap. And I was having such a lovely day! Why did I have to miss Becks?! Gaddamit! *shakes fist*

Le sigh. I guess it just wasn’t meant to be. Oh well, I just have to keep on reminding myself I have an awesome birthday gift waiting to be redeemed. It’s not as cool as seeing David Beckham, but awesome, nonetheless. Yep, keep on telling yourself that Nina… Awesome gift…awesome gift… awesome gift… *cries*

We try to cram everything in a day or three, because we don’t want to miss anything. After all, who know when you’ll be back in that place again?

Unfortunately, there are times when you’ll miss something — a concert of your favorite artist, performing just before you arrived; a festival that wouldn’t start until after you’ve left; or in my case, missing the chance to see Marcus Schenkenberg in person gah

That’s why this time, I made sure I know what’s happening in Melbourne, and I take careful notes to the events I want to join. I purposely gave the Melbourne Cup a miss because even though it’s the biggest event here, I find that I’m not really interested in it (the Flemington Racecourse is just 10 minutes away, whereas I flew 800 kilometers for the Mardi Gras). One thing I didn’t pass on was the chance to attend the WordCamp Melbourne, and a chance to meet my favorite travel writer, Peter Moore.

Initially, I planned on attending the formal launching of his latest book, Vroom by the Sea, but schedule conflicts meant I’d have to stay home that night. Luckily, Peter invited his readers to join him for drinks at the Espy, along with fellow travel writer, Brian Thacker.

I was actually hesitant to go at first, fearing that I’d feel ill at ease, but Peter and Brian were a couple of really nice guys. They both have travelled to the Philippines, and I am so ashamed to admit that they’ve travelled to more places around Luzon and the Visayas than I have. I was glad that I went to the Espy instead of the book launch, because it was more informal and I was able to chat with my favorite travel writer.

I remember my friends lining up, just so Neil Gaiman can sign their books last year. This year, Anna found out that he’s coming back, but the book signing this time would be at Subic, and it would only be limited to a hundred or something. And me? I just went for a chat over drinks and steak burger. Now, don’t you wish more author-reader interactions are like this?

WordCamp is a gathering of WordPress users talking about (you guessed it) WordPress and blogging. Among the speakers were Alex Shiels of Automattic (who quite succinctly told us how big WordPress is), James Farmer of Edublogs (who organized WCM07 and quite a jolly person), Darren Rowse of Problogger.net (how can this be a blogging event without Mr. Rowse? He’s a very nice, down to earth guy, by the way, and he even granted my odd request of posing with my Pinky St doll), Christine Davis of Neato.co.nz (developer of the Ultimate Tag Warrior, which I’m currently using), and Alister Cameron, the self-proclaimed blogologist (who was wearing a TinTin in Vietnam t-shirt, which had me racking my brains whether TinTin ever went to Vietnam).

Darren Rowse mentioned in passing that Melbourne bloggers have been talking about having one of these gatherings for a long time, and this is the first time it has pushed through. Also, when I asked him if he gives talks on blogging a lot, he said he gets invited to talk overseas, but hardly in Australia.

Apart from the talks given by the speakers, there were also round table discussions, where in participants get to talk among themselves regarding a topics pertaining to WordPress or blogging. Topics like choosing a blogging platform, selling plugins, online reputation management, themes, and blogging as new media. I joined the plugins table, reputation management and new media.

The online reputation management discussion was facilitated by Gerry McCusker, a Public Relations Analyst. We discussed how organizations can optimize blogs for better public relations. I found myself drifting off at certain points, thinking of how certain individuals can hurt their reputation through online self-publishing.

When the time came for the last round table, I eagerly headed to the table set for the new media discussion. Disappointingly, there were only three of us there. Hmmm, as I told Gerry, who was also at the table, this table would’ve been full had it been in Manila.

Overall, it was a great, enlightening event. I was able to see the “blog culture” in Melbourne, and how people are utilizing it. It was great to meet people with such passion for blogging. Oh, and Lucio, too bad you left early…you could’ve won a WordPress shirt :P

Pictures from WordCamp Melbourne

Darren Rowse talking about how to make money by blogging

Alister Cameron telling us about all the fun to be had with Sandbox

James Farmer sharing his trick for increasing your multi-user blog from 1 to 1,000

Christine Davis differentiating between tags and categories

The panel of speakers with Alex Shiels answering question from the audience

Apart from clothes for men, women and children, Savers also sell accessories like bags, scarves and shoes. There are household items like cups and saucers, plates and serving dishes, couches and chairs, even draperies for your windows. Inside the bins at the cashier’s booth are DVDs and videos in VHS. There’s also a number of music CDs available for sale, starting at 0.99 cents each.

My favorite section at Savers though, is the corner where all the books are. I’ve bought more than a couple of books from Savers, priced usually at $2.99 or $3.99 each. Today was no exception. Amongst a stack of coffee table books, I see one Loney Planet title:

Time and Tide by Peter Bennetts and Tony Wheeler, like new.

Inside are a beautiful collection of pictures, and quite possibly, a nice collection of words as well (I’ve yet to start reading it). On the title page though, I find this:

The best bit? The price.

Oh yes, only $2.99.

It’s still technically spring here in Melbourne, but summer is starting to make its presence felt. Last week, these figures were certainly different. I think the highest maximum forecast for the week was 26C. And now, we’re looking to have a 30C weekend.

Odd that a person used to living in constant 30C+ weather is complaining about a mere 30C, eh? Dang it, I am beginning go get used to the cold! Bring the cold weather back!

I suppose I would regret it later on, but Melbourne’s weather shifts so often. It could be sweltering hot one moment, then dropping after 10 minutes. The air can feel so warm, but a sudden gust of wind from the Antarctic can leave you shivering.

Now I’m getting why they say Melbourne have 4 seasons in one day.

While the whole of Melbourne was looking forward to the Melbourne cup last November 6, I was looking forward to the day after: the day I watch Priscilla on stage.

Priscilla Queen of the Desert Musical was in everyway the opposite of Avenue Q, a Broadway musical I saw before I left Manila. Where Avenue Q has a very simple set and a handful of cast, Priscilla was a grand affair. The stage was filled with lights, with towering speakers on the sides. An orchestra plays at the foot of the stage, and while there were only 3 major characters, there are several minor characters and a dozen or so extras.

Avenue Q in Manila and Priscilla in Melbourne is the same in one aspect though: they’re both great. The songs, the choreography, the acting… all superb!

Priscilla is the story of three gender illusionists, Tick (Mitzi), Bernadette and Adam (Felicia), who drove from Sydney to Alice Springs to perform. Tick went on this journey to meet his son for the first time, Bernadette to get over the death of her partner (asphyxiated on peroxide), and Adam went because… well, it was his dream to be a cock in a frock on a rock

Here’s what you can expect to see on stage when you watch Priscilla the musical:

If you’re in Melbourne, why not watch Priscilla on stage? The musical will run until Janaury 27, 2008 at Melbourne’s Regent Theatre.

Okay, so it’s big. It’s not as humongous as I thought it would be. Or maybe it would be more impressive if I was closer to it :P I don’t think there wouldn’t be any problems with the A380 landing in Manila. Vince (haha, feeling close), pointed out that bigger planes have already landed in NAIA before.

The MSN009 test aircraft will be in Melbourne until it leaves tomorrow at around 8:00 am, bound for Manila. Melbourne Airport’s observation deck at Terminal 2 will be open to the public on Wednesday, October 10 (9 am – 8:30 pm) and Thursday, October 11 (7 am – 10 am).

Now that I’ve seen the A380, my next target is the Beluga. Haha, wishful thinking.