My Train Commute

After many years of working in the suburbs, it was most difficult to adjust to the long train commute to the city.

Seasoned commuters would argue that half hour or forty minutes on the train is not that long but hey, any journey more than twenty minutes is considered long for me these days. The last time I took the train to the city for a concert, I had back ache from sitting too long. 

I had almost forgotten what it was like squeezing with the crowd in a train, fighting for standing space next to a handrail because I am too short to reach the handles that hang from the top. Not to mention stepping over bags and feet during my hasty exit at my stop. 

These days, almost 90% of the people use some form of tablet and touch phone during their journey. The rest are sleepers, catching up on their sleep. No one reads a physical book anymore. So when I took out a book, the paper kind, the 90's kid sitting in front of me made no effort to hide her puzzlement. A book?! Which era are you from?!

Some things do not change though. Like the two trains which were cancelled last week, and causing a delay or more than 15 minutes to my journey. I also saw a familiar commuter. We never spoke but I have a strong memory of him because he and his girlfriend used to exchange their declarations of love very publicly in the station while waiting for the train. His girlfriend is nowhere to be seen, but he is still wearing the blue jacket he used to wear from years ago. 

Fat-a-Touille, Brunswick

Fat-a-Touille's slogan is 'Let's get fat together' but after our visit there, I have to ask why the accumulation of fat is all one sided - tipped in favour of the diners! 

We visited on a weekday, and was greeted by a friendly waitress who provided very good service throughout our meal. 

The menu is not extensive, only four or five items each in the entree, main, and salad category and two selections in dessert but to an indecisive person whose eyes are bigger than her tummy, it was wonderful!

As entree we ordered chicken momo. The dumplings were deep fried with sweet black bean sauce. There were also capsicums stir fried together with the sauce. The dish came out piping hot, and was very tasty. I liked how the dumplings were fried, it was crispy throughout, and if you liked it a bit softer then let the sauce do it's job before eating.

My choice of entree was the spicy lamb salad. There was a generous serving of lamb slices, maybe even more lamb than salad leaves in this dish!

My main of slow braised goat masala was delicious. Here, a funny thing happened. A diner next to me leaned across and asked me what dish it was, and after I told him what it was, and that it was delicious, it turns out that he did not order the dish! So, why would you ask what dish it was? Did he wanted to make sure what it was so he can ensure he doesn't order it? Or was it that he couldn't trust my taste when I told him it was delicious?

Main of crispy pork belly. It was served with potatoes, carrots, and apple pickled in balsamic vinegar to provide some acid to cut through the fat of the belly. The crackling on the pork was crispy, but the pork had been fried during the process to obtain the crispiness so the meat was not as juicy. Given the size and turnover of the restaurant, they had probably finished roasting the meat before dinner time and re-crisped it upon order, which seems the most logical thing to do.

We ordered both the desserts on the menu, and both of them were good! The crepes were thin, and delicious with maple syrup.

The panacotta was wobbly but held its shape. It was not too sweet, perfect!

We enjoyed the Eurasian flavours, and the generous servings in this restaurant.

Organ Pipes National Park

Organ Pipes National Park is located close to the airport. The driver of the family (read: Gaz) was consulted about going to the park about a year ago, but the idea was quickly shot down due to the distance.

This year, we finally decided to make a visit to the park en route to Bendigo. 

 The organ pipes were formed by cooled lava. It actually looks more impressive on camera because it fills up the whole frame, but not much in reality. As a Chinese saying goes, ' One eye sees all'.

This is the Rosette stone. It looks mossy and I dubbed it the monkey head mushroom. Doesn't it look similar and sound more interesting?

There are a few tracks to the few attractions in the park but nothing too difficult. The way out of the park is the most difficult as it is uphill the whole way.

It was good exercise, in fact we saw a couple in lycra gym gear making their way along the track while we were there. Perhaps it is the 1000 Steps of the north west.

There was a small creek with gushing waters which sounded very relaxing. I also enjoyed the area where there were cobble stones, only these were formed by cooled lava.

There are picnic tables and chairs in the park, two toilets and water fountain facilities in the park. A good place for a picnic then a walk uphill to burn off the calories.

Our Trip to Bendigo in Three Stories

It had been ages since we went anywhere for an overnight trip together, that is the reality for someone with a spouse who works on weekends. So my excitement was unbounded when we could make an overnight trip to Bendigo. Here are three stories from our trip.

Those are not fruits hanging from the trees, but bats. We were walking through Rosalind Park, a big park in the centre of the town when I heard some noises and wondered what sort of bird would be making such sounds. I looked up and saw so many bats on the trees! I had a Batman moment, specifically 'when he fell into a well full of bats when he was younger' Batman moment. I was terrified, and we avoided that area of the park after that.


Our visit to the Central Deborah Mine just minutes from the CBD was most educational. We paid $30 each to join a tour that took us to Level 7 (why don't they call it Level -7, that would have been more accurate!). I think the deepest is Level 22 in the mine. We learnt many things that day, among them were about the conditions the miners worked in, the dangers of working in a mine, and the astonishing fact that it only takes the discovery of a tablespoon of gold to break even for the whole mine. After the tour, we climbed up that tower in the picture where the combination of too much walking over the two days and my fear of heights made my legs cramp up. What's funny was a small child and her father was also climbing the tower, and they were looking at me with a mixture of pity and disbelief.

 This was the view of the centre of town from our table where we had lunch. We could see the Talking Tram waiting for the lights to turn, and the fountain which brought back memories of Europe for me. We were waiting quite a bit for our food, which was why I had plenty of time to snap randomly away. The waiter was probably feeling a bit resentful and frazzled at being the only staff on the floor on a public holiday. We heard cutlery banging away in the kitchen, our orders were mixed up, and when our orders were finally right, it was delivered to the wrong table before it landed on ours. We were as frustrated as the waiter, who banged on the counter without warning (probably beating himself up over his mistake) which made us both jump up in our seats. Penalty rates... aren't they great?

We met many tourists during our stay in Bendigo, who were there for the Easter parade and festivities. Bendigo has certainly transformed itself into a busy town. I hope it will continue to prosper and be even more exciting for tourists in the future.