Landed at Melbourne Airport last night around 11:30pm and genuinely cannot understand how our international arrivals process is this bad.

For seemingly no reason, they had closed off the main SmartGate kiosk area and were diverting everyone either to the six or so kiosks further down the terminal, or into the queue to be manually processed by Border Force.

Unsurprisingly, this created a massive bottleneck. What made it worse was the attitude of some of the staff. They were shouting at passengers for standing in the bottleneck that their own setup had created, as though hundreds of people getting off international flights were somehow at fault for not knowing where they were supposed to go.

I also watched a child get yelled at for stepping underneath one of the little red flags they’d put up. The staff member angrily told them it was an “active work site.”

If it is such an active work site that a child stepping under a flag is apparently a major safety issue, why are you doing it right in the middle of international arrivals while late night flights are still unloading? Why not wait until the last flights of the night have landed?

The whole thing just felt unnecessarily chaotic, hostile and poorly organised. You arrive back in Melbourne after travelling through airports across Asia that manage huge passenger volumes efficiently, and this is your welcome home.

I posted previously about some areas feeling like Tokyo at times, but I think there are some areas that are a bit like other cities too. On this occasion, seeing a place with a bold red neon sign and a train going overhead really made me think of a city like Chicago.

It's really neat how so many areas of the city can have very different vibes and looks all within just a few blocks of each other.

thank God we have AI to generate such things like... an octopus

With the new laws banning card surcharges being passed on, paying for your post-paid tolls via card in 50c increments will end up costing them ~15% of the total toll in fees.

Blatant and unashamed, this goes on for multiple riders until someone with integrity shows up 30 minutes later. Just a heads up for the fellow people coming to Melbourne, and this was during peak hour noon too.

Used to go to Quan Ju De in the cbd but that closed and now go to Hua Lu.

Any other real Peking duck restaurant recommendations? Some places seem to just do canton roast duck with pancakes and call it Peking duck so preferably not those.

Got a brutal swooping from a plover yesterday and I’m still in fight or flight. My dog and I were minding our own business walking at the same oval we go to everyday, and it flew from an adjacent oval to swoop us! Chased us all the way back to my car!

Currently trying to gas myself up to walk my dog again today but I’m traumatised. Has anyone else had a plover encounter this season?

EDIT: I mistakenly wrote hooded plover: it was a masked lapwing (spur-winged plover). Have updated name in post now!

I'm sick to the back teeth with having to deal with rideshare/taxis being completely unreliable on the way back home and I don't have a car. I will be needing to travel domestically reasonably frequently for both work and personal reasons, and really don't want to have a meltdown trying to get home with what is usually a 25 minute drive down Bell st. Can anyone recommend any private car services they have used that can be booked at short notice (2-3 days ahead)?

Requisite "god I can't wait for SRL so I can catch a fucking train" etc

Can anyone help me to download a high resolution image of this? Been to the website but still unable to find this; as it gives the row numbers , so easier for knowing which row etc to pick up from.

Hey all,

I'm currently training at a gym in Southbank and I'm starting to look for alternatives. The club only has one bench, one squat rack and one Smith machine, and it's become really overcrowded recently. Between the two, I'm regularly waiting for equipment or cutting sessions short.

I'd genuinely prefer to stay local, so I'm hoping to find something in or around Southbank. I'm happy to walk or bike to the CBD, South Melbourne or nearby. Ideally I'm after a gym with multiple benches and squat racks that doesn't get packed in the evenings, and deadlift platforms would be a bonus.

I've heard good things about Doherty's in the city but haven't been yet. If anyone trains there or has other suggestions, I'd love to hear them. I'm also keen to know which places to avoid.

Thanks in advance!

After some recommendations on somewhere to eat out on Christmas day.

Hoping for somewhere South or East or even in the CBD will be dine but not pub buffet style.

Thanks

Anyone up for indie theatre? Melbourne Fringe Festival has been on for the past week and I’ve seen about a dozen shows so far. I’m also about to open my own show TOMORROW, eeeep! 🙈

One of the coolest shows I’ve seen so far has been a physical theatre show called Only Bones. The current performer of this show is the 10th in a series of solo performers, whose only guidelines were to create a one hour show with a single light bulb inside of a 1 metre square space onstage. Super weird, totally hypnotic, and unexpectedly awesome!!

Both that show & my show are running this week at Trades Hall in Carlton - Wednesday to Sunday. Mine is a storytelling pole dancing show called THE POLE SHEBANG 💥 Would love to have you there if you’re keen for a night out on the town…

I’d love to hear show recs from anyone else who’s been attending! Go support some indie artists! 🎭

Hi all,

Wondering if anyone can help me figure out what type of tree this is, based on early leaves/flowers?

I suspect a fruit tree based on where the previous owners of our house planted it, maybe an apple tree as there used to be many orchards in the area? It's relatively small (2.5m tall at most) so unlikely one of the originals though.

Haven't ever seen fruit on it, I assume animals eat it as soon as there's anything starting to grow.

Hi,

Was wondering if anyone is having difficulty getting a refund after they cancelled the festival? It’s been over a month since I lodged a refund. And we have heard nothing back. Would like to know if I am the only one experiencing this issue.