So I just got back from playing Tour Guide for MyTGF as we spent a two week holiday together in Melbourne and surrounds. It was her first time overseas and the holiday couldn’t have been more perfect if we’d tried. Now she’s back in Thailand and I’m still working in Sydney, though hopefully for not much longer.

It was a shock to the system going from 35 degree weather in Thailand to 5 degress the first night we were in Melbourne, however slowly but surely the weather improved over the fortnight so that during the last few days it was all t-shirts and complaints about the hot weather. That’s Melbourne for you.

In the whirlwind two weeks, we managed to see snow (but not falling unfortunately as it was the tail end of the season), I lost to MyTGF in a fishing competition, saw wild koalas, kangaroos and AFL footy fans, as well as drinking our way through wineries, debating the best pies and pastries, and toured some truly fantastic scenery that lived up to the hype and more.

Did she have a good time? Definitely yes. Does she want to move here with me…not yet. Which is a shame in a way but I totally understand. At least now she knows how difficult it’s been for me living in a foreign environment away from friends and family and barely being able to speak the language. Still, that was my choice and certainly one not to be regretted.

High point of the trip? Hard to say. Seeing her meet and get on well with my parents was great. Maybe watching the sheer joy on her face at seeing snow for the first time and the child-like squeals coming from her lips as we threw snowballs and tried to force freezing hands under each others shirts. Or was it the wicked pleasure she derived from receiving the $10 I’d bet her as to who would catch the first fish. Perhaps it was discussing with my caffeine addict friends which coffee shop in Melbourne served the best around, a conversation which went something like:

YMOTG: Marios on Brunswick St, best coffee in the world.
Friend: No no, right next door at Don Vincenzos is better.
YMOTG: Bollocks. Marios. Best in the world.
MyTGF: Really? Better more than Starbucks?
Friend: [Silence and incredulous stare…]

No, the high point was watching her run for her life as she was “attacked” by a wild kangaroo that got a little too friendly and came right up close near our campsite trying to claw some bread from MyTGF’s hands. Screams of “Lobbie! Kanga-loo try to kill me!” rang through the trees as I tried to sooth her nerves while supressing massive fits of giggles. You’ve got to love a country where even the cute and cuddly can kill you. I didn’t have the heart to tell her about the nearby snakes and spiders, let alone the deadly drop-bears.

View all the action from the trip here.