itravelnet.com Travel Blog

April 30 in the Netherlands is known as Queen's Day (Koninginnedag in Dutch). The day is a public holiday to celebrate the Queens birthday. It's actually the birthday of the last queen (Juliana), but it is said that the current Queen (Beatrix) kept it in honour of her mother, and also because her birthday is in January, too chilly to be celebrating outdoors.

Queen's Day is the biggest party of the year in the Netherlands, and on the day the streets resemble a huge market (vrijmarkt, or freemarket) as anyone can sell anything in the streets. Further info at Queen's Day: The World's Biggest Street Party.

Today I stumbled upon Dutch Orange Day, a little celebration the local Dutch community put on to celebrate Queen's Day in Melbourne.





Seeing the Dutch celebrating in Melbourne got me thinking what might have been. Not many people outside of Australia know that this continent was once known as New Holland (in fact probably not many Australians know that either).



When New York was still New Amsterdam (in 1644) the Dutch seafarer Abel Tasman christened the continent Nova Hollandia. It wasn't until 1824 that New Holland officially became Australia.

The first recorded European sighting of the Great Southern Land was by the Dutch explorer Dirk Hartog, who landed at what is now known as Cape Inscription, Dirk Hartog Island, on 26 October 1616.

Probably the most famous contact the Dutch had with Western Australia was when the Batavia struck a reef off the coast. It is a classic story of mutiny and survival, which can be read in detail at the Batavia Story.

British ships also sighted the coast but as the Western Australian coast is a vast waterless expanse it was never colonised.

Labels: australia, holiday, melbourne, netherlands

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

Location: Melbourne - Australia Date: 25 April 2008

April 25 in Australia and New Zealand is Anzac Day. The day commemorates Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who landed at Gallipoli in Turkey on April 25 1915 during World War I.



The day is a public holiday and it has since come to represent a memorial day for all war veterans.

Labels: anzac day, australia, melbourne

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

The State Library of Victoria on Swanston Street in Melbourne and its Domed Reading Room.



Behind the library is an apartment block and the headquarters of BHP-Billiton, world's largest mining company.











The library was renovated between 1999 and 2003. Before then the skylights were covered up as the roof was leaking. Without the Australian sun pouring in through the skylights the library had a more Gothic Northern European feel to it. Or maybe that's just my memory of it when studying the in my school years.

Labels: australia, books, melbourne

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

On display at the State Library of Victoria in Melbourne is The Medieval Imagination - Illuminated manuscripts from Cambridge, Australia and New Zealand.

There are over 90 manuscripts are on display, dating from the 8th to the 16th centuries.

It's an amazing collection of work, and to top it off, it is free. I have found myself wandering into the library whenever I am in the city to have another look.

It's worth a visit to the State Library just to see the Domed Reading Room. It was opened in 1913 and it was the largest of its type in the world on completion. The reading room was built to hold over a million books and up to 500 readers.

The exhibition is on from 28 March to 15 June 2008.

Labels: australia, books, melbourne

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

Location: Melbourne - Australia Date: 13 April 2008

A large film set was on location in Collins St Melbourne today. While filming on location in the city on the weekend is nothing unusual, the shoot was for a film set in New York. The plaza in front of the AXA building was transformed into Lafayette St New York.


The shoot involved subway passengers emerging from a smoking Lafayette St subway station. There were so many little details attended to, from a US and New York flag hanging in the plaza to US mail boxes as well as renamed street signs.

Labels: australia, film shoot, melbourne, new york

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

Location: Melbourne - Australia Date: 28 Feb 2008

Tiger Airways Australia has its home base at Melbourne Tullamarine Airport. A budget airline like Tiger would seemingly be more suitable for Melbourne's other airport, Avalon, which is operating as a secondary low cost airport on the European model. Tiger have their own budget terminal at Tullamarine (terminal 4), separate from the main 3 terminals.



The Tiger terminal is set up to save costs rather than to pamper flyers. An airport spokesperson described the terminal as more like a railway station.

There are no aerobridges at this terminal so pasengers have to walk across the tarmac to and from the plane. When my flight landed the plane went to the end of the building then turned around so as the nose was pointing away from the terminal building. I presume they did this to save the cost of having the aircraft towed out from the terminal.



The arrivals hall is basically a shed built in a carpark and most of the walls are wire fencing. I don't have a problem with that if it's saving costs, but it does have an air of temporariness about it, which is not the message to be sending when trying to establish a new airline.

The most peculiar feature of the arrivals hall is the baggage carousel. The wall between the carousel and where the bags are unloaded is a wire fence, so you get to see the bags being unloaded from the trolley. There are some things in life you should never see, and seeing your bags being unloaded by baggage handlers is one of them. I prefer the mystery of waiting at the baggage belt, looking at each bag coming out of the hole. Instead here we get to see a couple of guys chucking the bags onto the belt. It is worse if you can actually see that your bag is on the bottom of the pile. I don't mind the budget hall, just please brick up or put a tarpaulin up to cover the baggage unloading.



Melbourne Airport was recently voted in the world's top five best airports for its size. This voted would not have included the new budget terminal. Other than the baggage carousel, I'm all for this terminal. It is good for Australia to at last have more than two domestic airlines operating on the continent (counting Jetstar and Qantas as one and the same).

Labels: airport, melbourne, tiger airways

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

Flight: Tiger Airways TR 702 Date: 27 Feb 2008
Flight: Tiger Airways TT 7567 Date: 28 Feb 2008

Tiger Airways is a low cost airline based in Singapore, with its primary hub at Singapore Changi Airport. Tiger Airways began operations in 2004 and has since set up Tiger Airways Australia in Melbourne and plan to launch Incheon Tiger Airways based in Seoul in 2009.



Tiger Airways fly from Singapore to Melbourne via Darwin. The flight is with Tiger Airways and Tiger Airways Australia on separate aircraft. Unlike other low cost airlines Tiger facilitate the booking of these separate flight segments in the one booking.

Go to Flight Combo on the Tiger Airways website and you can book two segments in one go. It is important to note that this is two separate flights so your bags are not checked through to the final destination.

Another good feature of the Tiger Airways booking procedure is that you can pick your seat when you book your flight. Oh how I loath the mad scramble for a seat that occurs on low cost airline flights with unallocated seats.

Singapore to Darwin

The entire Tiger Airways fleet consists of Airbus A320 aircraft, thus Tiger only fly within a five-hour radius around Singapore. The flight time from Singapore to Darwin is approximately 4 hours 20 minutes.

As Tiger Airways is a bare minimum no frills airline the onus is on you to keep yourself entertained. There is no TV entertainment and no complimentary meal and drink service.



Darwin Airport

In Darwin you must claim your bags and clear Australian customs. Then you must check in again for the Tiger Airways Australia flight from Darwin to Melbourne. Darwin Airport is small enough to make this a simple transfer and there is about 2 hours between the Singapore arrival and the Melbourne departure.

With a population of just over 110,000 people Darwin is a small capital city, even by Australian standards. When you look at a map though of Australia and Southeast Asia Darwin is well situated to be a major hub of air traffic between Australia and Asia. Jetstar have floated this idea recently with a plan to make Darwin a springboard into Asia, and I will revisit this idea in another post.




Darwin to Melbourne

The second leg of this flight is with Tiger Airways Australia. Flight time from Darwin to Melbourne is just over 4 hours, leaving Darwin at 2.20am and arriving at Melbourne Tullamarine at 8am. I always forget what a big and empty continent Australia is. Asia seems so far away and exotic to us Aussies. Exotic certainly, but Darwin is much closer to many Asian cities than most other Australian capitals.

Like the flight from Singapore this is a no frills service. Drinks and snacks are available to purchase. Here is a price sample (in Australian Dollars):

Muffins $3
Pot Noodles $4
Coke(250ml) $2.5
Coffee $3
Beer (VB/Hahn) $6

At the moment Tiger Airways Australia only operate in and out of their Melbourne base. They are scouting around for new Australian hubs which should be known sometime in 2008.

Labels: airlines, australia, darwin, flight review, melbourne, singapore, tiger airways

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

Flight: Jetstar JQ 29 Date: 27 Jan 2008

Jetstar is the low cost airline brand of Qantas. They operate flights from Australia to popular destinations in Asia as well as New Zealand and Hawaii.



As Jetstar is a low cost airline it doesn't have the usual frills of a full service airline such as free food and drink and personal entertainment units.

If you are used to flying long haul flights with full servive airlines like Qantas or Thai Airways then flying with a low cost is a step down in the travel experience. What you need to remember is that you are paying for the service of a cheaper flight.


Before you Fly

If you want extra frills onboard you can pre-purchase the following items online when you buy your ticket:

- Buy before you fly and drink free $30 (2 meals and unlimited drink)
- Blanket and amenity pack $7
- Video on demand with headsets $10

If you want to save money on the flight come prepared before you fly. Have a big meal before you go and bring some snacks and you wont need to buy anything onboard.

Onboard

If you didn't pre-purchase you can buy onboard. A selection of prices include:

- Cadbury Chocolate $3
- Sandwiches $6
- Light meal $10
- Full meal $15
- Beer (375m) $6
- Coffee $3

For entertainment there are video screens onboard that show tv programs and a movie during the flight for free. If you want your own personal video screen with movies on demand then you can still rent it onboard if you didn't pre-order it online.

Labels: airlines, bangkok, jetstar, melbourne

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

Work of British graffiti artist Banksy, "the little diver". Found at the back of the Nicholas Building on the corner of Swanston Street and Flinders Lane, Melbourne.

Labels: art, australia, banksy, melbourne

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

The Australian Open is on in Melbourne and for $20 AUD you can get an evening outside courts pass, which gets you into all courts except the largest two.



Not only do you see tournament games, but you can watch players practicing on side courts. I found one small court with more people surrounding it than at some of the games in progress. It could only mean one thing - that Federer was there. The world's number one tennis player is such a popular figure that he could have practiced on one of the show courts and filled it.

Labels: australia, melbourne, sport

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

This billboard in Melbourne is promoting 167 flights a week to Sydney with Virgin Blue. If you think that sounds like a lot, that's because it is. According to OAG the Sydney to Melbourne air route is the fourth busiest in the world. In 2007 there were 851 flights per week between the two biggest cities in Australia.



For the record, here is the top 10.

Top 10 Busiest Routes Worldwide by Weekly Number of Flights

Barcelona (BCN) <> Madrid (MAD)
Sao Paulo Congonhas (CGH) <> Rio de Janeiro Santos Dumont (SDU)
Jeju (CJU) <> Seoul (GMP)
Melbourne (MEL) <> Sydney (SYD)
Cape Town (CPT) <> Johannesburg (JNB)
Mumbai (BOM) <> Delhi (DEL)
Sapporo Chitose (CTS) <> Tokyo Haneda (HND)
Jakarta Soekamo (CGK) <> Hatta Surabaya (SUB)
Honolulu (HNL) <> Kahului (OGG)
Fukuoka (FUK) <> Tokyo Haneda (HND)

It will be interesting to to see the changes in list for 2008. A high speed train line has just been built between Barcelona and Madrid, so they may drop from the top spot eventually. Also watch the rise of the Mumbai and Delhi route.

Labels: airlines, australia, melbourne, sydney

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

The Boxing Day test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground is an institution on the Australian sporting calendar. The first Boxing Day test was in 1950, and it has been played every year since 1980.

Boxing Day Test

Labels: australia, cricket, india, melbourne

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

I visited The Amazing Human Body Exhibition this week. Using the word amazing in a show is usually reserved for circus acts that aren't that amazing, but this was really amazing.

The show is a display of real human bodies that have undergone plastination. Basically water is replaced with plastic at death, with willing donors of course, preserving the body forever.

The Amazing Human Body Exhibition is on at Melbourne Docklands from 30 June to 1 October 2007. I have seen similar show advertised around the world ( a similar exhibition featured in the latest Bond movie Casino Royale), so highly recommended if this circus comes to your town.

amazinghumanbody.com.au

Labels: australia, melbourne, the amazing human body

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

Visiting Melbourne this week is the Sea Shepherd, the ship of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

seashepherd.org

Labels: australia, melbourne, sea shepherd

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

Apparently Melbourne has an official day, Melbourne Day. Who knew? I didn't anyway. I think Melbourne Cup day is our unofficial day. We get a day off for that one at least.

I just found out about Melbourne Day as they have been advertising the fact that the replica tall ship Enterprize will be at the Melbourne Docklands and open to the public.

The Enterprize was the original schooner that brought the first European settlers to Melbourne in 1835. This Enterprize is a replica and was launched in 1997.

Labels: enterprize, melbourne

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

The City of Melbourne are sponsoring art installations in the laneways of Melbourne. The Laneway Commissions 2007.

Gates of Hell
Heather B. Swann
Degraves Place (off Degraves Street between Flinders Street and Flinders Lane)
20 July - 9 March 2008

Labels: art, melbourne

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

Melbourne in Australia was named after the British Prime Minister of the day, William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, who resided in the village of Melbourne in Derbyshire.

Sometimes I wonder though what might have been if Melbourne was named after one of the first European exploroers to land on the Yarra river, John Batman.

Us Melburnians could have been be saying that "I'm from Batman". We might have been known as "Batmaniacs".

As it stands I'm happy with the name Melbourne, and I'm grateful that we were founded in his time. Melbourne just as easily could have been called Peel or Disraeli. "I'm from Peel" or "I'm from Disraeli" just doesn't roll off the tongue as eloquently as Melbourne.

Labels: australia, batman, melbourne

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

Melbourne in winter - something I haven't done since 2001. If you tell a Queenslander you are spending the winter in Melbourne they will take pity on you. After spending a few winters in Northern Europe and North East USA though, I will never complain about Melbourne winters again.

Labels: australia, melbourne

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

In train stations across Europe you will find Relay newsagencies. Whenever I'm on the rails in Europe I usually find myself scanning over the papers in the international section to see what is going on in the world.

Relay have now come to Melbourne at the magnificent Southern Cross Station. Whenever I walk past this shop I am reminded of train stations of Europe.

Labels: europe, melbourne, train station

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

I am flying to Mumbai tomorrow with Australia's flag carrier Qantas. I fly to Sydney first then connect 2 hours later for a 14 and a half hour direct flight to Mumbai.

The Age today had an article about the hubbing of international Qantas flights out of Sydney. It is a fair enough business decision to do this, but I would have thought Melbourne is big enough for more direct flights. It seems that Indian Airlines thinks so as they will soon be operating direct flights from New Delhi to Melbourne.

Labels: india, indian airlines, melbourne, mumbai, qantas

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

In Melbourne this week is a man on a stopover travelling around the world on his motorbike. Vladimir A. Yarets from Minsk, Belarus is aiming to be commemorated in the Guinness Book of world records as the first deaf person to travel round-the-world on a motorbike.

If you are in Melbourne around Swanston Walk you can meet him and his well travelled bike, or follow his progress on his website: yarets.com

Labels: belarus, melbourne, minsk, motorbike, vladimir yarets

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

Amma, AKA the hugging saint is on a tour of Australia. I went to her Melbourne appearance out of curiosity, and thus became one of her 24 million hugees to date.

Labels: amma, hugging saint, melbourne

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

The W-11 is the name of the bus route in Karachi, Pakistan, where the buses are ornately decorated by the bus owners.

As part of Festival Melbourne2006, which is running during the Commonwealth Games, a team of Karachi vehicle decorators have transformed a regular Melbourne tram into a W-11 Karachi style mini-bus. The W-11 is running along the city circle route in the CBD of Melbourne. The tram ride is free.



The tram is decked out in flowers and layers of cut out vibrant vinyl patterns and covered in flashing LCD lighting. Then there is the music. Loud popular music from Pakistan complement this amazing project to complete the W-11 experience.



W-11 Karachi to Melbourne

Labels: australia, melbourne, sport, tram

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

In the spirit of Cow Parade, now comes Kangaroo Karnival, an urban art project in aid of the Royal Children's Hospital Foundation.

Labels: australia, cow parade, kangaroo karnival, melbourne

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

Labels: australia, melbourne, spiegeltent

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email