Spring is here

All this time I was worried about winter and when it will go away. I have friends who have lived in Germany and Switzerland who say that Melbourne's winter bites more than European winters though the latter are colder.

Melbourne's weather bites too much due to the winds and also the fact that not once does the temperature go over 17 deg C. And the official announcement of Spring (for me) is when it hits 20 plus, which it did today. My colleague terms it as non-jumper weather. If you don't have to wear a jumper when you are going outside then it is good enough. Not wearing a coat or a jacket outdoors truly feels so good. But it remains foggy in the mornings. I was probably suffering from Winter Depression.

Who cares what it is termed, it is Spring and I am happy.

A New Blog

I have started this blog to highlight my unique experiences as a visitor to Australia. While there is much to say about Australia and my life here. I think that this blog is not really a personal blog and as such I will refrain from writing my personal experiences on this blog.

I am too chicken to say that I got a new personal blog at http://gyaniblog.blogspot.com see you there.

Desi News

Any news impacting desi's does not come out of Melbourne, this place being down under and mostly ignored by news, both Indian and international. So, whenever such information or news comes up, I will try and post them in this blog.

On Aug 9th, an Indian taxi driver died due to injuries sustained when pushed out of his moving cab by a person who wanted to take over the cab. The said person was running away from the police and was picked up by the cab driver as a passenger.

Rajneesh Joga, the victim, was from Hyderabad, was doing his Masters in Accountancy was only 27 and worked part time as a taxi driver, he used to send money to his parents and also pay for his fees.

This has evoked cries from the taxi drivers of Melbourne to raise security in cabs to prevent further violence against them. Last night they held a vigil on the streets of Melbourne in front of Flinders Street Station (the main train station for suburban trains), stopping all tram and vehicle traffic. This is the third such vigil they held in two days. The transport minister of Victoria is speaking to the taxi association to come to an agreement.

I was there at Flinders Street last night, most of the taxi drivers who were striking looked as they are from the sub-continent. Didnt think anyone else would care..

Links: http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,20076200-2862,00.html

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Phillip Island

Mother Nature at her best at Phillip Island, Victoria about an hour and half journey from Melbourne. I was speechless then as I am now.

Mount Dandenong

If one has been on the internet for long (and I mean more than 5 years) then One of the stupid one-liner internet jokes that used to go around were something on the lines of, "Why do people go on top of buildings and look down?", something very suspect of the jokester's sense of humour there.

People ride up bicycles to this mount, others walk, I just drove. Mount Dandenong is about 40 km from the city, city being the buidings or what we call the Central Business District (CBD).