[Trip Report] Melbourne, VIC, AU for work, October 2022
Last year, I got to attend an incredible engineering-wide event for my company in Melbourne, Australia. While I can't go into too much detail about the purpose of the trip, I hope it suffices to say that I got to attend a truly extraordinary event. Shout-outs to all the people who worked so hard to make it possible, and I'm hoping we can do it again in the future.
Even though the organizational circumstances around the trip were sad, and we spent the event focused on action, we got to enjoy this event in beautiful Melbourne. What follows is a light trip report detailing my time there and experience getting to and from. Just like my Atlanta report, I spent most of my time working, so this will be another report that's sparser on details.
After this report, I'll work through my 2023 backlog, including our Mt. Rainier weekend getaway, my recent team offsite in Portland, and our trip to visit Ryan's mom in Arizona. If time allows before our next trips occur, I'll write a bit about trip planning, and how I landed on a cruise with Virgin Voyages for my birthday trip this year. That said, I'm off to NYC very soon for my next work trip! I know some folks have been waiting a long time to read this one - please enjoy my report on my time in Melbourne! You can see all the photos in this album.
Saturday and Monday, Getting There
I was nervous leading up to my departure; it would be the longest flight I had ever taken by far. I had never traveled on a trans-oceanic flight before, and I took the potential threat of deep vein thrombosis seriously.
This event came together quickly, in the space of a couple of months. Which meant that the price of business class flights had risen high enough to be out of policy. I snagged a premium economy round trip for just below the limit. I put in a bid of about $1400 AUD each way for a potential upgrade to business class - neither bid was accepted. I couldn't find direct flights to and from Melbourne and Seattle (not on a OneWorld partner airline, at least) so I connected via LAX. In retrospect, I would have liked to connect through SFO.
My flight to LAX from Seattle was entirely smooth. I arrived early at Alaska’s behest - they sent a text notifying me that security lines were long. However, the TSA PreCheck line was a walk-through. I flew out of the remote N gates at SeaTac in the middle of the afternoon. While Skillet is delicious, it's usually a bit of a cluster (not to mention pricey), so I opted for a light lunch and a drink at the nearly empty Sports Tavern before taking the tram to my gate. I entertained myself with a book and a podcast - Serious Cryptography and How2HBK.
I arrived in LAX and ended up leaving security to grab my gate-checked bag. I wasn't able to check in for my Qantas flights online, so I headed for their desk, which sadly didn't open for another 40 minutes. I waited in line while they spun up for the day, after which I was able to check in and go back through security.
I posted up at Vino Volo to write some slides and eat and drink, then I grabbed a coffee and the largest bottle of water I could find from a Starbucks. I had strategically chosen an aisle seat, and I was planning to use the restroom on the plane as much as I needed.
Eventually I boarded my Qantas flight to Melbourne, where a flight attendant greeted me with my choice of water or champagne in a real glass. Premium Economy turned out to be pretty comparable to first class on a domestic Alaska flight in terms of comfort and service. The chairs were stacked with a pillow, blanket, water bottle, headphones for their TVs, and an amenity kit. We got two meals - for dinner, I ordered the Irish beef stew, which was clearly a suboptimal choice (everyone else got chicken or the plant-based meal). The beef was a little tough, but the rest of the food on the plate was tasty enough. I set myself a strict sleeping itinerary: no sleep for the first 6 hours, and as much sleep as possible for the remainder of the flight. I enjoyed a little reading and the second part of How2HBK before forcing myself to get my snooze on. My seatmate, a young Australian guy, seemed to have no trouble catching some zzz’s on the flight.
We eventually disembarked, and after quite a long wait for our bags, we went through customs. The system felt quite state of the art, with facial recognition in addition to passport scanning. I had not brought any food or traces of mud that could include invasive creatures, so I was allowed through.
I grabbed a taxi from the ranks outside the airport. It was early and I got confused by the (lack of) queue, where only a large family was bundling into a shuttle in front of me. The driver took me straight to my hotel in the Central Business District (CBD), along the way passing beautiful historic façades alongside modern glass buildings, as well as a waterfront and a ferris wheel. If you read the description of “lush green spaces, nature, beaches” in the airport, you might be fooled into thinking that Melbourne looks like Seattle. Even the shape of the greenery is vastly different, and the prairie (savanna?) outside of the airport threw me for a loop.
I stepped out into the stunning, fully-covered porte cochere at the W Melbourne. I was able to check in right away (even though it was before 8 AM), and my room had been upgraded from “cozy” to “fabulous.” The decor was modern and playful, the adjustable lighting very handy for getting myself in the mood for a nap, and the snazzy closet, bathtub, and toilet with bidet seat all unexpected surprises. After a phone call with Ryan back home (where it was still Sunday afternoon), I settled down for a nap.
Once again being strict about sleep to force myself to overcome jet lag (I succeeded, perhaps too well), I got up from my nap around 11:30 and headed out for a mission: get a little lunch and find some allergy meds, since I was strongly discouraged from bringing any over-the-counter medicine whatsoever. I wandered over to Chinatown, snapping pictures along the way, in hopes of finding a top-rated izakaya that apparently no longer existed. After puttering about through various arcades (accomplishing my allergy meds side quest, despite the fact that all of the OTC meds had funny, uncanny names like “Claratyne” and “Flixonase”), I gave up and settled on hot pot. I found a place that offered individual hot pots, but all of the ingredients were sized for a large party. It was delicious and surprisingly cost-effective anyway, given the exchange rate.
I headed back towards the hotel, stopping by Australian confectioner Koko Black to buy souvenirs for the family (”I'll just get a couple things,” I said, “surely they ship internationally.” What hubris!), poking around the shops and sights of a historic arcade, and scoping out the office for the week ahead. I landed back in the hotel coffee shop to drink some tea and juice while I waited for my pilates class I had scheduled for myself.
Once again, in hopes of declaring victory over jet lag, I planned to carry on the twice-a-week pilates classes I had been doing at home. JD Pilates was about a block away in the Rialto complex, which was admittedly so confusing that I got lost and had to ask for help from a kind and understanding receptionist. Jade put me through my paces in an intense reformer routine - mercifully, I was the only attendee in that class.
I ran back for a quick shower and chat with Ryan before dinner at Supernormal. The walk to the restaurant was very pleasant and gave me the opportunity to admire some sleek storefronts and cool street art. Supernormal was doing a roaring trade, due in part to the fact that few other restaurants are open on Mondays. The kitchen and bar were pretty backed up, so it took me about two hours to get all of my dishes. My server recommended that I get half portions of just about anything on the menu so I could try more things. I had a Coffin Bay oyster, tuna tartare, king prawns, and cold Sichuan noodles. I very clearly ordered incorrectly, judging by the many, many plates of potstickers and duck bao leaving the kitchen. The oyster and noodles were fine, but the tuna tartare had a dab too much mayonnaise and the king prawns had a bit of a “cat food” aroma and not much flavor at all. I didn't end up sticking around for dessert, but I hear the peanut butter and chocolate parfait is worth the trip.
I ended my night with a little Australian TV (a cooking show involving a dinner party?) and went to bed early.
Tuesday
The next day was almost entirely work-focused for me. I got up bright and early at 7 AM to scope out the office and get settled in. Of course, badging in and getting up the elevator was less than straightforward, and serendipitously I was able to tailgate a friend inside until I could get my visitor's badge. We had some lovely breakfast catering, including mini eggs Benedict, bagels with cream cheese and smoked salmon, and açai and grain bowls. I enjoyed the morning's content, then I enjoyed a "speed date" with a new friend, where she whisked me away to get ramen. I spent the rest of the day at work, even huddling into a corner to catch up on Slack and PRs, until a manager gently shamed me into coming to happy hour at Diksteins Corner Bar. I sat outside with some new friends. We enjoyed our wine and cider under the clouds until we got rained on and headed inside. I hung out until I realized I needed to give Ryan a call before he went to sleep.
I took myself out for a pleasant dinner alone at hotel restaurant Lollo, where the portions were huge and they made me sign a waiver to have my leftovers boxed up! The server said it was something that was generally done in Melbourne, but that was the only restaurant where I had to sign a waiver for takeaway. I got bored of Serious Cryptography and set it down in favor of Waltzing with Bears. I enjoyed a lovely cocktail with Okar, an Australian aperitif liqueur; as well as burrata on toast and rigatoni in vodka sauce. TV wasn't particularly appealing, so I popped open Disney+ to watch Moana. I was surprised by the region-specific content! Luckily, everything I had downloaded to watch on my trip was still available. I had a nice bath and a restful night's sleep.
Wednesday
The next day, I prepared for the talk I finished at the airport. I felt it went over well - it was the first serious, in-person talk I had given since the pandemic! I brought a new friend to pilates class with me that evening, where Jade kicked both of our asses (or hamstrings, in my case). After class, I showered up and tried to find restaurant Makan for a dinner alone. Of course it started pouring rain as soon as I was at my most lost. I went up to the building I thought it was in and got stopped by a security guard. I almost walked away in annoyance, remembering the apparently nonexistent izakaya, but the security guard eventually let me in and after a few minutes I was sat without a reservation. The pineapple cocktail was outstanding, as were the sausage (recommended by the server, since they had just run out of pork belly skewers) and duck fried rice. I loafed around after dinner in preparation for the brainstorming session I was on deck to facilitate the next day.
Thursday
Thursday morning greeted me with a dizzying array of local donuts - featuring both familiar and adventurous flavors (I love a cookie I haven't seen before!) as well as bagels with sweet pepper cream cheese. Of course, I dropped half of my bagel on the floor in my haste to help a friend with her A/V setup. Thursday evening we had a happy hour in the "rose garden" area of the Garden State Hotel. A few of us had planned to grab dinner afterwards, but we found ourselves full of beer and wine ("savvy b" for me!) and canapés. I flopped back to the hotel, finding a friend to walk with on the way, and shoved all my stuff into my suitcase and ordered a little room service spaghetti for a late night meal.
Friday - Departure Day
Friday was October 28 and I decided to dress up for Halloween, despite it being "not really a thing" in Australia (children don't go trick-or-treating, for example). I got several compliments and appreciative stares and waves, even though I was the only person I saw dressed up. After sitting on a highly vulnerable, emotional, and hopefully inspiring panel of senior engineers, my work obligations were done for the week. I closed the loop with my pilates pal on some obligations we had chatted about earlier in the week, talked electric bikes and the future of cities with some other friends, got in my final selfies, and said goodbye to everyone at the event.
My last task was to treat myself to afternoon tea at Collins Coffee House. The server there was so kind - helping me out with photos of me and my outfit with my tea trays. I'm sure it didn't hurt that I was the only customer there for afternoon tea. He said he was going to his first Halloween party that weekend! His costume was "just a onesie, but next year I'd love to do something high-effort." Kudos to you, friend! Tea included bottomless prosecco (with a 90 minute time limit), plus savories, a scone with cream and jam, and sweets. Totally tasty, it hit the spot! There were at least 2 other afternoon tea options within a stone's throw of the office, so I'm excited to come back and see how they stack up to Collins Coffee House.
I grabbed my bags from the W, where they helpfully gave me a key to the 14th floor where I could change in the pool locker rooms. I attempted the humiliating exercise of summoning an Uber, couldn't tell which street I was facing, and quickly gave up and asked the concierge desk for help. They called me a taxi that arrived within minutes. The driver was friendly and asked how I liked Melbourne (especially the coffee), and lamented how the US was badly saturated with Starbucks coffee.
Once again, I was at the Qantas desk too early to check in, so I lounged around the AFL Kitchen with some fries and a pint of a local IPA. I checked in to my flight and made it through security without incident, with plenty of time to wander around the terminal in search of last-minute souvenirs. I settled on a sleeve of dark chocolate Tim Tams and a Cadbury Cherry Ripe bar as well as the biggest water bottle I could find. I wanted to buy Ryan a t-shirt (or some exotic jerky) but decided to pass (lots of t-shirts for children, though). Eating one last mini-meal of spicy noodles and finding a place to charge my phone, I resigned myself to the long flight ahead, which was just as easy and pleasant as the first leg.
I was anticipating a snafu at LAX customs, but I actually made it through so quickly that I could switch to a flight back to Seattle that was about 2 hours earlier. Cheers to everyone who encouraged me to pack a carry-on bag only! (I was glad I managed to squeeze my rain boots in.) One more uneventful flight later and I was back on the ground at home in time to celebrate Halloween with friends and family. I was so successful at adjusting to AEST that I found myself waking up at 7 AM Melbourne time for the next two days (that's 1 PM Pacific - oops).
Next time, I'd love to visit the Fitzroy fashion district, among other things. I barely scratched the surface of Melbourne! I found it a beautiful, cosmopolitan city, with lots of culture and fun, but above all, great food and hospitality wherever you look. I'd definitely encourage people in the US to visit Melbourne - aside from flights, the exchange rate makes it a rather affordable destination. I certainly felt like my dollars went far, whether I spent them on dinner, a treat, or an exercise class.
Have you been to Melbourne? Anywhere in Australia? How did you like it? What other cities do you recommend others visit? Drop me a line with your recommendations!