Melbourne reminds me of Brussels: lots of rain, old building facades, trams... I spent ages waiting on the wrong side of the tracks for a tram (they go in the left-hand drive direction like the traffic - I hadn't twigged) and then when I did get on one I tried to buy a ticket from the driver like you do at home. He either didn't speak English or wouldn't deign to comment, but just shook his head and pointed behind me. I hopped off the tram and started to look all around the stop for a ticket machine until I became aware that the tram was still there, waiting for me. I got back on through the rear doors and was told that the ticket machine was on board. I made my way over to it then realised it wouldn't take notes and I didn't have any change. So I ended up having to slink off the tram again, having made it wait about 5 minutes for me and my faffing. Not an auspicious start, but I'm sure it was just down to tiredness from the bus trip. Right...

The bus takes 15 hours from Sydney, and it wasn't until we stopped in Parramatta and I had a look at the timetable that it dawned on me that I'd taken the all-stops route. If I'd waited a couple of hours in Sydney I could have taken the express bus and arrived in Melbourne earlier. Nice one, Rowena. I had lunch and some beers with Rob before I left, and he saw me off at the bus station. We sussed out the other passengers and played "who would you least want to sit next to?" I reckon I got a pretty raw deal when I ended up next to a lady with a moustache who was in training for the Iron Man competition.

Got to Melbourne at about 6.30 in the morning feeling ratty and daggy in the way that only long bus journeys can make you feel. I staggered over to the nearest cafe and got some caffeine into my system before heading to the YHA in North Melbourne. It was a good place to stay and I met some cool people, though it was weird to be sleeping in dorms again. I was woken up on my first night by Paula - a nurse from Cronulla - falling out of the top bunk opposite. She thought she was in the bottom bed and just sort of stepped out and landed on all fours. I can't believe she was ok, but she sprung up immediately.

I mooched around the city for a few days, checking out the different neighbourhoods and sights. I liked Fitzroy, especially Brunswick Street, and St. Kildas. I was impressed by the Immigration Museum and the State Parliament, where I went on a tour with a totally irreverant and funny guide. Normally in those kind of places, the people showing you around are painfully earnest and respectful, but this chick took the mick out of the politicians and the building and pretty much everything. I looked around the art gallery in Federation Square and the Royal Botanical Gardens. Yesterday evening I met up with Penny, Duncan's sister, for a great Thai meal.

Am off to the airport now to catch a flight to Tassie!