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Melbourne Non-Ashes Sports Day 29th December 2006

This was supposed to be the day we went to see the 4^th day of the 4^th Ashes test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It was not to be. Australia routed England for the 4^th time in the series and the match was over on the 3^rd day itself. Bummer!

 

With the whole day free, it was decided that we’ll go play Squash as we’ve got a few budding Squash players and a few regular Squashers (if that’s even a proper word). Everyone one got up really late and I guess lazed around and achieved nothing for a greater part of the day. We didn’t even take too many photographs!

 

Anyway, we finally reached the Sports Centre at Monash University’s Clayton campus late in the afternoon. Some of us were not properly dressed for the occasion but that was not going to dampen the spirit. Vasu and Chinx headed towards the tennis court and the rest of us preferred the indoor comfort of the Squash Court. Chinx gave Vasu the runaround with the tennis ball and I suppose they were on the verge of getting a sunstroke after like 15 mins. We were happy to welcome them in the squash courts with sweaty arms.

 

At the squash courts, everyone took to the courts. Some without shoes. It was Ridhi’s homecourt. Rishabh and Tanu gave each other a good game. Katrix showed a lot of potential and Shanu had enough powershots in his quiver. The rest of us kinda enjoyed ourselves a lot without taking it too seriously.

 

Some of us drove home while the rest of us tried to gatecrash the MCG in vain. Ridhi , poor girl, had a minor tragedy at home when the washing machine at home went bonkers and water overflow caused havoc on the carpet. Ridhi’s roommate Julia was a little distressed but Ridhi helped in bringing the situation under control. According to the latest reports, the carpet is dry and there are no smells (at least no new ones).

 

Girls dressed up and Boys tried to dress up for an evening on Lygon Street. It’s a popular street in Melbourne for Italian food. We planned to make a big night out of it, but ended up making a medium sized night. Had a quick stop for drinks at a bar before ending up at some Italian place (of course). Rishabh and I were really keen on Indian but the rest of the group dismissed us as if we were flies. The food was okay and I guess the only memorable highlight was that we playing Mafia in public. How ironic to play a game called Mafia at an Italian restaurant by 10 indians. We had a short pit stop at a Gelataria before heading home via another stop for Internet and Refueling.

 

We were due to fly to Sydney early next morning so everyone was requested to sleep early and wake up at 4AM. Some of us slept at 2:30 AM. What happened in the morning is well..the next post.  

Dandenong, Healsville and Philip Island in a day

28th December 2006 was destined to be a long and tiring day. We were all forewarned to wake up early and be prepared to sleep really late.

I dont know how we managed but i think most of us were out and about by 11 (which was good considering there were only 2 bathrooms between the 10 of us, slept really late). Our first stop was the Dandenong Ranges. These are beautiful mountains , kind of south east of Melbourne. We drove there in good time. Katrix and Shreyans were both in my car and I think Katrix got bugged cos i was talking to Shreyans about business and software and stuff. He probably heaved a sigh of relief when we came to our first stop, but i think he was mistaken cos there was going to be no end to serious talks when i'm in the car. Makes it easier for others to sleep as i see it.

Anyway, Ridhi led us to this stop ( i think ) and we decided we might as well have a token "Trek" and decided to walk 1.6 kms to Shrebrooke Falls. The trek was easy and fun for the guys while the girls (here i must digress and let you know that i mean all girls except Ridhi, cos although she's a girl she almost invariably sides with the guys and takes very little bathroom time) were whinging a tad. Once we reached the falls, it was unremarkable cos the falls had shrunk to a piss stream. Anyway, we got a few photo-ops.

Healsville Sanctuary was apparently way out on the map, but since we were doing quite good with traffic and directions and time, decided that we should head there next.

On the way, we would stop at Lilydale park for a bar-be-cue, and after Healsville, head to Philip Island.

So, after a drive that seemed short, we arrived at Lilydale park and it was lovely. There was a pond and plenty of space. We found a very convenient barbie and it lit for free at the press of a button. It was clean and we mostly had to cook veggie burgers. Barbie was a first for Katrix and i think he was keen to flip some burgers.

I'm not sure how many people loved it but it was all quite a lot of fun for me. Wish we had more time to spend there but we didnt. We headed to Healsville from there. This was specifically put in the trip for the local fauna experience. It was not bad but certainly not as good as a similar experience later in Queensland. Everywent went gaga over the Koalas and Tanu and I were satisfied by our Photo taking prowess. Pictures turn out nice if you've got a steady hand, a good camera and the right amount of light. There were other highlights during this stop and probably someone else should expand on it. About this time, I think we realised that the Boxing Day Ashes Test was going to be over before the end of the day and our 4th day tickets were n

We headed straight towards Philip Island for the Pengiun Parade. It was a long drive from there and it almost took us 2 hours or more.

People were really hungry by this time again. We raided a chocolate factory soon after entering Philip Island. It was run by Malaysian based Indians and there was some okie-dokie food. We were really really lucky that we can called ahead and booked (an idea proposed by me ahem ahem) for the Penguin Parade earlier in the day when we were at Lilydale.

There were thousands of people at Philip Island and people who hadnt booked were being turned away. The car in which I wasnt there almost didnt make it thanks to the pesky guard who didnt understand the fact that we had a booking. He had understood it when I said the same thing earlier. So, the most fabulous part of the experience almost didnt happen. It was really cold in Melboure and hopefully we were all well dressed for the night ahead.

So, this place was built like an amphitheatre but straight and facing the beach. We waited patiently for a short while and then the little penguins appeared. Slowly they all appeared from the cold sea and made their way under us to their nests and burrows. It was all quite a touching experience. We dont have pictures of this as these penguins dont like it. So then we spent sometime watching them tumble and walk in a line. They are the smallest penguins but they make up with the noise (and fearlessness). We all wished we could pick one for home. They were easy enough to steal if one was criminally inclined. After an longish interruption at the souvenir shop we headed home. It was dark and late. Katrix had vowed not to sit in the same car as me, lest he be subjected to conversation relating to business or anything remotely intellectual once we were home. We were home by 1:30 am.

The other car went ahead to shop for food (Tanu has his final meal of the day between 1-2 AM every single day of his life!). I think we found the energy to play a round of Mafia or two.

Slept late and slept tight. Slightly disappointed because we werent going for cricket the next day.

Melbourne Darshan 27th December 2006

Vasu who is then ringleader (with Ridhi playing the part of trusted lieutenent) had kept this day light on activities in their immense wisdom. And they were right in case you were wondering if i'm being a tad sarky.

Ridhi, Rishabh and I drove into town to pick up the other rental car and picked up a stupid parking ticket as well since the Avis counter was busy and it took us 21 minutes while we were paid up for 20 minutes. A$50 down the gutter you might say. We decided on picking up the new Holden Commodore instead of a Santa Fe/Tucsan. The reason was that we didnt need to carry around a lot of luggage until the drive to the airport when we were leaving and it was cheaper. In effect it was a cool decision, since it actually turned out to have more boot space anyway plus it was a new car. It was fun taking out a brand spanking shiny light blue coloured car. I'm having fun just writing this. Our other car was a red Corolla (ho-hum).

So we went home, packed the jamboree in the cars and drove downtown for our first Melbourne darshan.

First stop, Fed Square car park. We took our time taking lovely pictures here and the evidence will be attached. From there we walked the city, up and down, swanston and bourke, you know getting lost and taking pictures etc etc. After roaming purposelessly for a while and frankly not having any better ideas, we consulted Ridhi since she's a kinda like a local. Her bright idea was Rialto Tower's Observatory Deck. So onwards and upwards to Rialto.

So this Rialto Tower is allegedly the tallest tower in Melbourne, but to me another new building seemed a worthy contender.

Anyway, we watched 20 minutes of video on Melbourne sightseeing before we went up there. I promised Katrix before the lights were dimmed that there wont be any song and dance so there is no need of popcorn. I was wrong, it was 20 minutes of music and there was a dance in it too.

The view from top was top. I've been to these towers a few times in a few different cities and my opinion is that unless you live in that city, the experience is always forgettable. This one had an outer pen so you could feel the air, which was cool. I used my new DSLR camera to zoom in on the screen in MCG to read the score and see Flintoff bowl. That was quite amazing actually.

On the way down we got stuck at the souvenir shop. It was only later we realized that this trip was going to be underscored by many many such distractions. However this distraction allowed us to take assorted pictures around escalators etc.

Our next destination was Crown Casino. By the time we walked there, it finally dawned on us, that we had'nt eaten the whole day and were craving for food. So, we raided the food court. There was no chance to into the casino since Katrix is underage. He did beg to be allowed to the bar (so he could see the score of the India SA Test match). We made a futile attempt to watch a movie and finally took a poll and decided to head home.

The walk back was tiring but necessary. The upside (for me at least) was the sunset light, allowing for some nice pictures.

I dont remember where we ate that night but it wasnt memorable enough for me to comment.

I suppose we played Mafia that night, that is after Rishabh explained it in detail with Rashmi proving to be the other other lead.

Boxing Day 2006

I could start blabbering about this from a prior date but Boxing day seems appropos. Anything before that would be too vague to pinpoint.

It all began with an idea that Ridhi, Vasu and I had a thought when we were in Noosa back in the May of 2006. "Wouldnt it be cool if all of us cousins could get together for a wild holiday here in Australia?" quipped one of us. After talking about the parameters for the trip for about 10 minutes, the matter was laid to rest until after Tanu's wedding. The idea may have been discussed in passing while some of us met in Jaipur for the wedding. However, in all earnestness the whole thing kicked off one fatefull evening (13th August from my records) when Ridhi took the initiative and emailed a one liner asking for discussion.

What transpired between that email and Boxing Day 2006 is stuff of another blogpost. This post however will serve to journal the trip (post the trip's happening).

Boxing Day (as 26th of December each year is called for those who didnt know) is a major major shopping day in Australia. Apart from that, it is also the day that the Boxing Day cricket test begins in Melbourne each year. And for those interested in sports, there is also the Sydney to Hobart Yatch Race (or is it Hobart to Sydney, but i digress). Just setting the scene. Ridhi and Vasu and I went to Chadstone shopping centre on Boxing Day and the place was chock a bloc full of shoppers. A Kumbh Mela of shoppers if you may. Frankly it was hard to find anything nice to buy despite the huge discounts. The checkout places had huge queues and the changing rooms were being guarded by bouncers. It was a tiring and exhausting experience, and I guess the only saving grace was that we found a parking spot, almost immediately. The advantage was nullified at the end of shopping cause we finished at the opposite end of the mall and had to cart everything back thru millions of dazed shoppers. After being Chadstonified, we found our way to our booked accommodation at South Yarra Mews, 1 Park Lane @ South Yarra (really it was on Punt Road). To our delight it turned out to be a quaint church. The unit was split on 3 levels. Vasu seemed pleased with the kitchen i think. Rest assured, the 3 of us made ourselves comfortable (Vasu made herself confortable on her throne in the kitchen and began cooking Rajma Chawal for the arriving party).

A bit late but the dramatis personae :
1. Sunny (Real Name: Aditya Sanghi), the eldest of them all, me the blog writer, eager photographer.
2. Vasu (Real Name: Vasudha Sanghi nee Chandra), my lovely wife, the chief, the ringleader, the big kahuna, the booker, the planner, chief convincing officer.
3. Tanu (Real Name: Shantanu Sanghi), my younger brother, kinda Newlywed, takes nice pictures, eats after midnight every night.
4. Smita (Real Name: Smita Sanghi nee Chemburkar), Tanu's wife, the newest member of the family, also kinda Newlywed, candle maker, loves souvenirs.
5. Rishabh (Real Name: Rishabh Kasliwal), my cousin, my bua's oldest son, californian, stanford graduate, engineer, lovely chap, first half of RishRush.
6. Rush (Real Name: Rashmi Kasliwal nee Bothra), Rish's wife, my bua's bhahu if you may, californian, childhood sweetheart of Rishabh, built on duracells, really lovely, better half of RishRush.
7. Shanu (Real Name: Shreyans Kasliwal), Rish's younger brother, my bua's second son, lawyer and hence very argumentative, Katrix's pain in the neck, lovely chap.
8. Chinx (Real Name: Ritika Sanghi), my cousin, my first chacha's firstborn, Californian, self-confessed Mellonite, works for Google, most changed since childhood.
9. Katrix (Real Name: Kartik Sanghi), my cousin, my first chacha's lastborn, simple, still in school, easy picking target, lovely chap.
10. Ridhi (Real Name: Pritika Sanghi), my cousin, my second chacha's firstborn, PhD Student in Monash, impossible to take bad photos of, Squash player, and generally quite amazing at everything.
11. Sonam (Real Name: Sonam Sanghi), my cousin, my second chacha's lastborn, studying in UK, food scientest, MISSING IN ACTION during the trip, really very sweet.

So, we were to receive two travelling parties on this night. The party travelling from India were flying in from Kuala Lumpur and the other party was RishRush flying via Nadi, Fiji. We couldnt receive the first party at the airport since they were one too many with probably one too many bags. However, Ridhi and I took the car to pick up RishRush and save them the hassle of public transport. To cut a long story short, we bought them home and had a great family milan.

It was amazing. All together at the same place at the same time since I dont know when. Definitely a first for the wives i'm sure. There was much excitement and nobody wanted to sleep, which was good since the next day was light on things to do. There are some pix of this night and some videos of this somewhere.

Well then, next day, next post.