The Year of the Rat - Night 123

I woke up in time to check out at 10am, probably smelling like a goddamn bar rag. Still drunk, I showered, stored my belongings in a locker and then retired to the upstairs lounge to nap for a bit on an outdoor swing. As luck would have, this, my last in Melbourne, was finally a pleasant day. The extra few hours of sleep and the fresh air didn’t really seem to help so I changed tactics and decided to walk it off.

Downtown was an absolute melee as today

Chinese New Year Celebration

was the celebration of the Chinese New Year. A true glutton for punishment, I headed right for the mass of parading dragons and firecrackers in search of decent Asian food. Along a back alley I found a bustling little place called the Kum Den. Strictly for the name novelty I had to eat here. The manager who was seating people was an absolute prick, another sign that the food would be good. As they were very busy and only had large tables I ended up being seated with an elderly Chinese couple and two guys who looked like they had just broken out of the asylum. Good company can always make a meal better, or at least more

The Kum Den

memorable. My honey pepper chicken on fried noodles was nothing short of amazing. If you are even in Melbourne I highly recommend the Kum Den. The rest of the afternoon was spent enjoying the various street acts and market all about the city. Some were related to the Chinese New Year, most

Amazing Street Art

were not. Sundays in Melbourne are quite eventful. On the way back to the hostel to claim my backpack, I was drawn into Stalactites by the memories of the world’s greatest kabob I had had just days earlier. I switched up my order to the filet kebab and was highly disappointed as it didn’t approach the succulent lamb variety of days before.

My overnight 10 hour bus bound for

Leaving Melbourne

Adelaide left the Southern Cross Station at 8:30pm. As we cruised out of town over the harbor bridge the sun was setting on the beautiful day while a sliver of the moon hung low in the sky. By the time we had made our first stop at 1 am I was beginning to question my decision to take the bus.

What I Re-Learned Today: The best way to beat a hangover is too attack it straight on. Lying around, feeling sorry for yourself and trying to remember what it is you did the night before only makes it worse. The only way to cure it is to get up and walk it off. Oh yeah, Chinese food helps too.

written by

exumenius on February 10, 2008 from Melbourne, Australia

from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos

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