Melbourne Day 5

The final day!

And what to do? Shop, of course. We'd been itching to try out Emporium for a while and do a bit of shopping around the area in general. So with the morning call, we headed straight out to H&M and a small Asian Beauty store.

Brunch rolled around soon, and we had all agreed to dine at Chin Chin, because it was already on our list of potential eateries, and a friend's sister had recommended it.

It was an appealing restaurant, to say the least, and very much full.

The fusion of South-Asian cuisine was one which we were all familiar with, and so we dined out on exotic Fried rice, Pad thai, and Pad see ew between the three of us.

This was a bad idea. We couldn't finish the meal (I was sitting with friends JW and DL), and had to leave it unfinished (noooo! That's number one 'do not do' rule).

The food was good though, and not too pricey. The taste really was strong. Like, quite strong. Like OOMPH and it hits you all at once; all the flavours and tastes rolling around in your mouth, fighting to grab your tastebuds' attentions.

To be honest, it was a bit too strong for my liking, and I found myself gulping down a lot of water. But, was still a nice final brunch.

On our way leaving, DL and JW wanted to stop at Hosier Lane again, since they hadn't had a proper chance to look at it. So, we did, and managed to coincidentally pass a group of street-artists working on a piece at the same time.

I also noticed this massive mural on the back of a building that I seemed to have passed by unaware previously. It was stunning.

We headed back to shop a bit more, and wandered around Melbourne Central too, promptly getting sucked into buying clothes at Grandma Funk (upselling, upselling, upselling).

I tried to appreciate the area a bit more than usual, since it was the last day. Looked up and saw the dome, and it was a stunning piece of architecture.

"Meet you under the dome"

Back to Emporium we also went, and more shopping ensued.

I ended up bagging two pairs of shoes (which were on sale; finally found some summer-shoes), a poster (of the Skeletal System! Eeek love it so much), and a long-sleeved shirt.

With 5PM rolling around, we realised we ought to have dinner soon, in order to have plenty of time to meet at the airport for our 8:40PM flight.

For a simpler (and more digestable... and cheaper) meal, we stopped by this dumpling place (I never learnt the name of the place, sorry. I just referred to it as 'The Dumpling Place') that was just near our hotel. We had passed it previously on several occasions, and seen it fully packed, so we thought to give it a try.

We ordered fried and boiled dumplings, and xiaolongbao.

Perhaps it because of my predominantly Chinese cuisine, or the many times I've had brunch at Yum Cha, but let's just say that I'm fairly accustomed to the taste of dumplings, and so it wasn't anything too special in my opinion.

Don't get me wrong, they weren't bad dumplings -- in fact, they were of quite a high caliber! But I get the same food at home, so it probably won't be one I'll go back to. (I eat dumplings far too often for my own good).

Anyway, it was time to collect our luggage, head off to Southern Cross Station, and say goodbye to the city that I love. With a (slightly sad) "Till next time, neighbour", we waved goodbye to my dear friend JH, and boarded the skybus back to the airport. It's an in-joke that we call each other 'neighbour', even though we're 9-hours-drive away from each other. He's the one that's made me realise that distance doesn't mean anything, really. Sure, I can count the number of times we've been in the same city on one hand (five), but so what? "See you soon, neighbour."

Watching the city go past, we sat in silence. I tried to soak in as much as I could of the city one more time. It's art, it's colour, and it's energy.

Sometimes I can't even tell where 'home' is. I love travelling, I really do, and I've done it so much in recent times (the last 1.5 years have been a whirlwind of travelling, venturing to many cities of the world) that it's started to change how I see things.

'Home' isn't a place anymore. It's a feeling. It's the state of being comfortable, and of loving a place for how it is, no matter how imperfect it is. I'm from Sydney, yes, but that's not my only home. 

I've never been one to 'stay put'. I can't see it in me, and I don't think it's something I'll do for my life. I get restless. Travelling to new places, seeing new sights, meeting new people, and gaining new experiences -- that's what keeps me going in life -- not staying put in one comfortable place. I'd much rather travel and go through a little discomfort than stay put and not know anything else.

From the moment I traveled outside my 'comfort zone', i.e., without my parents, I realised all of this.

And like I said in July last year, "I fell in love with the world".

Now that that's done and dusted, I've gotta save up funds for the next trip!

Melbourne, it's been good. I'll be back soon, I promise!