Australian Blog #3

Tuesday, March 5

The tram system is extensive and efficient, but not cheap in Melbourne. The best idea, if you are going to be here for an extended period, is a weekly or 20-hour pass. They run about A$28. The 2-hour pass is A$3.50 while a daily is A$6.50. Connections are easy and the trams run on time. There are also trains that serve other purposes and have different routes, and you can catch on to the system quickly with just a little practice. Like other cities, the system looks like an “honor system” as there is nobody enforcing payment of fares—all the time.

When the “Enforcers” do board a train, they will ask for your ticket and check the time to see if you have any left. Woe betide the rider who has an out-of-date ticket! The other tip is to carry a map of the city streets or memorize your stops as there is little warning. You can always ask the tram conductor to give you a holler when you are coming to yours.

We had tickets for a rowdy and fun Australian musical, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, so ate out on Little Collins Street. You will not lack great eating opportunities in Melbourne though, again, things can get pricey very quickly. Tipping is expected in restaurants but anything over 15% is looked on as showing off. Everyplace else, no tipping is expected.

We hear that Priscilla is coming to Broadway but I’m not sure how it will translate to anybody who is not up on Australian culture and humour. The theatre, the Regents, is ornate 19th century and has the most comfortable theatre seats I can imagine. Like the English, however, the Aussie theatres present no printed programs—you can buy one for A$20 but other than that, you’re on your own as far as cast and credits are concerned.

Wednesday, March 6
TV ratings in Australia are interesting: #1= RSPCA Animal Rescue #2=Australian-Indian cricket #3=The Force #4=Border Security #5= Seven News Sunday. Desperate Housewives ranks #13 and House is #16.

The Green Guide is an incredible weekly 56-page supplement jammed with TV, radio and film news with focuses on personalities in local programming. It’s more informative about the media in Australia in one week than we get in a month of media writing.
This morning we trammed to the National Gallery of Australia to see the Sidney Nolan exhibit. He was a fascinating artist who featured the bushranger Ned Kelly in a lot of his works.

While buying a Ned Kelly print by Nolan we ran into a woman from Appleton, Wisconsin, and told her about Brett Favre’s retirement. She was as distressed as I was. Her first visit and she and her husband are already planning another trip. Australia tends to do that to first-timers and veteran visitors alike. It was hot afterward so I zipped off my pants. A great purchase from a travel clothier, the pants convert to shorts in a jiffy and as it neared 90 I was glad I had chosen them.

Melbourne, though looking more like DC in terms of ethnic diversity, is still startling for its almost total absence of aborigines. It is a colorful and flamboyant city and a joy to walk through as we’ll find out when we go to “Moomba,” a uniquely Melbournian festival of madness, food and frivolity