The Festival of Erk 2013

[erkpod]

Leaving the ground, I saw that a frog can play banjo...



... and that times are tough if a Saint needs to catch a train.





I then went to Flinders St to head to Blue Train.

 

[erkpod]

So how did I get to Blue Train?


A - Divvy van?


B - Horse & carriage?


C - Tram?


D - Walk?

Hopefully I'm at the correct Blue Train!

 

[erkpod]

The trip to Blue Train was well worth it. Considering that it was my first trip to Melbourne as an AFF member, I had no idea if anyone would show up to greet me but JessicaTam & hvr did which was awesome.

There were pints at the bar while waiting for a table as the sun set. There was lots of good conversation & travel war stories. It was also good to hear about the SIN lounge trip which sounded like a lot of fun.

Somehow, the staff forgot about us despite being right in front of them the whole time at the bar. Eventually we decided that we should eat. Being offered an outdoor table, we had a roof above us & a good view across the river to Flinders St station.

Food followed which was nice & then I made my compulsory visit to the washroom. Wow. Was so not expecting that.

Deciding to forgo the after party, the 3 of us navigated our way to the Cheese Grater with success.

Good time had by all. AAA+++ will buy again.

 

[erkpod]

Day 7, Melbourne

Woke up to another good morning looking over Victoria Harbour from the Cheese Grater.



Caught a train or 2 on the City Loop before deciding to head out to the Puffing Billy Railway. It has been a while since I'd been out there.

On the way to Belgrave, I read a discarded newspaper. The Melbourne Wheel of Doom was front page news (slow news day?) & someone had added a doodle to the headline. I later saw on the news that nearby businesses are complaining that a lack of a wheel is bad for their trade. If you are reliant on a wheel as part of your business model, that's not good business, surely.





It was starting to look ugly in the sky as I got closer to Belgrave.



I worked out that my head was a pretty good fit in the Metro network map where Port Phillip Bay is. Later, I worked out that I didn't clean my forward facing camera properly after the ice cream incident the other night.

 

[erkpod]

Arriving at the Puffing Billy station, I found I had gone back in time to the 1920s. The train departure for Emerald was well over an hour away so I had time for lunch.

 

[erkpod]

Soon enough. the train arrived from the previous trip. Before the next trip. the loco had to go to the depot for some more coal.



In a case of modern day meets the 1920s, a front end loader filled the loco with coal once again.





Soon enough, the loco arrived back to the platform with many people from various countries around the world were waiting for the train. There were lots of accents for me to listen to!

 

[erkpod]

Just after the timetabled time of 2.30pm, we steamed off. With a top speed of around 20mph, the 100+ year old loco 6A (a favourite of some of the drivers) was working hard.





We passed the site of the 1953 landslide that closed the line in the pre-tourist era. One of the conductors told me that some of the track formation is still buried - a small diversion was built later to re-open the line.



We were held outside Menzies Creek for a brief moment & then we arrived to see a train heading back to Belgrave on the other platform.





It was interesting to hear announcements refering to "the black train" (heading back to Belgrave) & "the green train" (my train, heading to Emerald).

 

[erkpod]

Various people were getting their photos taken (or doing it themselves) in front of the loco. Some even had a chance to go onto the loco footplate.







I heard this woman's accent & could not pick where she is from. The language sounded German but she looked Swedish. One of the conductors asked where she was from & she said she was Russian. Right ball park, I guess!

But it was soon time to go.

 

[erkpod]

Arriving at Emerald, it was the end of this trip. It was time to give the loco a drink of water before running the train & attaching it at the other end.





During much of the trip, I spoke at length to a couple of the conductors. They figured out that I like trains & one of them made me an Assistant Conductor which was a nice touch. It was a nice touch. Yes, it's a novelty thing & something I wasn't expecting but it was fun.







I then returned on the steam train to Belgrave, the Metro train to Southern Cross & the tram back to the Cheese Grater for my final night.

It was really good to go back in time on the Puffing Billy Railway. When you see that, you can understand how far we have come. All credit to the staff & (mostly) volunteers who run trains year round except Xmas Day.

 

[erkpod]

Day 8, Melbourne - Sydney

A sleep in this morning & a very leisurely breakfast of ice cream left over from the ice cream incident the other night.



Then it was time to pack & leave the Cheese Grater for the final time but not before some tomfoolery with some signs.

 

[erkpod]

Waving goodbye to the Cheese Grater. Great location, great facilities, great price - just look past the fugly exterior.


Even the building across the road in Merchant St can't escape looking like the Cheese Grater!

 

[erkpod]

Catching the tram from the Cheese Grater to Southern Cross was a lot better than doing the walk with luggage.

After a quick gunzel around Southern Cross & some lunch, it's time to head out to MEL on the Skybus & some quality Vlounging before flying home.

 

[erkpod]

I'm not sure how this works, but there was a bin at the Skybus departure gate while allows people to "donate their unwanted Myki to charity."






From the Skybus, I finally saw the Melbourne Wheel of Doom & some "art".

 

[erkpod]

After checking in "You're very early, do you want to fly ahead?" (no), I went over to International departures. I can't recall this big red thing near the doors nor the amount of (presumably) Chinese characters around before.







Then I headed off to Vlounge. Not full but not quiet, either. I went to the loo & saw the lady that people have spoken about cleaning the male loos.

I went & got a Coke from the fountain. Water came out. I showed a lounge serving lady & she tried it for herself (my word & showing you my Cokeless glass isn't enough?) and worked out the machine was out of Coke.

Now plane spotting from the windows.

 

[erkpod]

VH-XFE just about to head off to PER on VA865.

 

[erkpod]

*waves to Straitman who Vlounged with me for a while*



I also spotted one of the most talked about VA planes, VH-XFB aka Broken arriving to the gate. It is alongside Straitman's plane.



So now I can say that I've met an AFFer in their natural habitat.

 

[erkpod]

Date: 27/8/13
Origin: MEL
Destination: SYD
Check in: Early. Easy. Via J desk.
Luggage: 1 bag, 1 carry on
Security check: Easy. PB.
Vlounge: Busy. Met up with Straitman.
Flight Number: VA869
Plane Rego: VH-ZPA
Plane Colour: White
Boarding process: Easy. PB. Was paged.
Seat: 1A.
Shadow: No. (E190, 1 + 2)
Seat belt status: Good
CSM: Gillian
Safety demo: Recorded
Galaxy Tab offerred: No
Live To Air available: No.
Wireless IFE available: Yes (Promoted pre take off twice & while climbing).
VFF promoted: Yes
Delays: Nil
What I mainly did on the flight: Watched & ate CHIPS

 

[Lowjhg]

... spotted one of the most talked about VA planes, VH-XFB aka Broken arriving...

and i thought the most talked about plane pre/post systemwide rollout of WIFI IFE was VH-YID

 

[erkpod]

After Vlounging, I headed to my gate pretty much after hearing the flight called in the Vlounge.

Straight through priority screening & by the time I got near the gate, I was being paged.

My final flight was in J, seat 1A in an E190. The pax in 2B was upgraded but otherwise. I had J to myself. It was my first time in E190 J. I was pleased with 1A even though I was offered the other side of the aisle. Rather than 2 x 2 in a 737, this was 1 x 2. This meant that for the whole trip, I had no seat mate.





The CSM was Gillian & she was really nice. She told us twice on the ground & once in the air while climbing about the WIFE. I'd left my iPad in my checked bag but I tried the WIFE. After obtaining some headphones (I'd left mine in my jacket pocket), I watched most of an episode of the old TV show CHIPS. There was no buffering. But because the WIFE isn't gate to gate, I didn't see the end of the episode.

 

[erkpod]

Before long, it was time to land. The night approach confused me until I saw the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Then I knew where I was.



A nice landing & then I was back in Sydney. I would have been first off the plane but the CSM didn't know that the FA had hung my jacket up.

I celebrated reaching VFF SG (pending SC credit & status review) with a photo near the PB sign in Sydney, just like I did when I hit silver (as you can see in my avatar).



Getting my bags (1 backpack & a suitcase) was a failure. My backpack arrived in p20 & my bag was about p40. Not good enough for priority boarding.



Back to reality at Domestic station with the oldest fleet type in my network (based at my depot) arriving to pick me up. But it had a new sticker of the new brand.



Thank you to serfty, JessicaTam, hvr & Straitman for your company & if you've made it this far, thank you for reading. I had a great time & I am so glad I've done the trip. There was little problem with the flights, the VA crews were nice & I loved my accommodation.

Eventually, all the photos will be on Flickr, user ID erkpod.

Thank you & good evening.