When Cricket takes me to Melbourne..!!!

I have always fancied about visiting Australia specially it’s capital and the most populous city in
the state of Victoria, Melbourne.

But I didn’t know that my wish will come true so early.

Australian cricket team had come to India for Border-Gavaskar trophy.
Being a huge fan of cricket I didn’t wanted to miss a chance to watch the two biggies of Cricket Fraternity, fight hard to win one of the most prestigious series in cricket world.

Though it was in Mumbai unfortunately I was not able to watch it live in stadium because of my office.
But I decided to watch it live on TV whenever I got time.

There was a contest running online in which we had to predict the man of match, result of each test and finally the man of series.
Top prize was 4D/5N stay in Melbourne for two persons inclusive of all expenses.

Though luck never favored me in such contests, but I thought to give it a chance, as it was free…:P

Next few days till the tournament continued, the first thing I did was to make an analysis of the players performance and accordingly make my next prediction.
Finally the tournament ended with India winning the series 1-0.

I had mixed feelings, though I was happy for the Indian win but I was also nervous as results for the contest were going to be declared the next day.
I had done well with my predictions and had a chance to win atleast the consolation price.

Next day I woke up early to check the website for results, but to my dismay they were not available.
In office too I was busy pressing the F5 key N no of times, until I got stares from people around.

Finally in the evening when I was about to leave for home, I refreshed the page last time and EUREKA..!!!, the link for winner list was flashing right in front of my eyes.

Without wasting any time, I clicked it twice, thrice and kept on clicking till it didn’t open on one go..:P
Amazed, Astonished, Surprised are the words which could explain my emotions at that moment of time.
My name was flashing at the top of the list, Wow.!! I was on cloud 9.

This was the moment I was waiting for years; quickly I called my mother to tell her this gr88 news.
Mom we are going to Melbourne, pack your bags..:)

Soon we flew to Melbourne on 16^th July and had an experience of lifetime there.

I am not going to bore you guys by narrating the complete story of Melbourne trip but will tell you some of the most interesting places that I visited and the experience that I had there which I would love to cherish again.

First thing we did was to board the free tram which is the most convenient way of traveling to all the popular locations of Melbourne. Here goes the list.

1       MCG ground

Though Lords is the most popular cricket venue in world, Melbourne cricket ground charm is no less.As I am a big cricket fan, I was damn excited to visit MCG. It is full of memorabilia, a treasure trove of artifacts. I loved exploring the ground and buildings. If I get a chance, I would definitely like to watch a match here.

                      

Once we were done with my cricket craziness, we headed towards the 2nd most exciting place in Melbourne…The Melbourne Zoo.

2       Melbourne Zoo
Australia is known to be the home of some of the most strange and amazing creatures in the world and what can be a better place than a zoo to find all of them under a single roof.

                            

Melbourne zoo has all the animals you can think of right from jumping Kangaroos, Cute Koala bears to the 2nd largest bird in the world Emus. 

                       

I was really amazed to find all of them just at a distance of 10m.

Now it was time to explore the culture and history of Melbourne so our next stop was Melbourne Museum.

3       Melbourne Museum
This place is full of interactive displays. There are lot of interesting things to see and learn such as rain forest, dinosaurs, mind and body gallery and the aboriginal culture. We really enjoyed the experience and would love to explore more.

                                

Now Mom insisted on going to some park or garden where she can find lots of natural beauty, so we headed to Royal Botanic Garden.

4       Royal Botanic Gardens
There are some beautiful gardens and immaculate lawns to visit here. It’s a relaxing experience strolling through acres of native and exotic plants and flowers.

                                 

Local’s say, just wear your runners, take a book, take photos, lie on the grass and relax.

I agree with each word said above, truly an amazing place to visit and relax.

After the relaxation mode, we again became active. Let’s go shopping mom ordered. So Block Arcade became our next destination. As I was also feeling hungry I didn’t protested, anyways I didn’t have an option.

5       Block Arcade

Block Arcade was what locals suggested us for shopping and I bet they were right.

It is full of Winding Laneways, lovely little cafes and nice quaint shops. We had the best of cakes, chocolates and coffee here. 

Mom did some shopping, donno what, as I was busy eating chocolates. In all we had a great experience.

                                      

After the shopping spree now it was time for the next spot, Melbourne Aquarium.

6       Melbourne Aquarium
Marine life has always fascinated me and what better place can be to watch them live than an Aquarium. There were many beautiful creatures here including sharks, sting rays, giant jelly fish and the main attraction Penguins. 

                           

     The staff there was also very helpful and explained everything especially to mom. I loved everything there and had an incredible experience.

Australia is known to be the home of many athletes, who have excelled in all sorts of sport competitions specially Olympics. I was really excited to visit the National Sports Museum which has world class exhibitions of famous sporting artifacts, so next in line was National Sports Museum.

7       National Sports Museum

The museum covers Australia sporting history through pictures, videos, memorabilia and interactive displays. The highlight is the range of interactive activities which test your sporting abilities. 

                       

As I am damn crazy about cricket, it was really thrilling to find the description of complete Australian Cricket era there. It was really a life time experience for me.

                       

I was specially advised by my friends to visit this place called Eureka Skydeck 88.

The awe inspiring view of Melbourne from this highest vintage point can never be missed by any tourist. So our next spot was Eureka Skydeck 88

8       Eureka Skydeck 88

Visit to this skyscraper can be called the highlight of our trip. As it is located on the 88 storey of the building, hence the name Eureka Skydeck 88. It was night time and the panoramic view of Melbourne from this point was breathtaking. 

We took some fab pics and finally made our way to the last our destination.. St. Kilda Beach.

9       St. Kilda Beach
There were many reasons for which I preferred this place. Firstly it was time for dinner and we had some gr88 cafes and eateries here. Secondly I was really dying to go to a beach and have a sand walk. 

                              

     And thirdly there were lot of penguins to see on the rocks at the night time.

Finally we took off to our hotel and boarded the flight in the morning for India. The overall experience of Melbourne was superb…I would definitely want to visit this place again and again. 

Melbourne, an incredible place indeed.

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