As we flew on my birthday, in middle of the flight the captain came on with a ‘special announcement’ wishing me a happy birthday. I was presented with a homemade card with birthday wishes from the entire crew in their native languages. I thought that was a nice touch. (HT: Mrs. Moish)
We all pretty much slept the entire flight (kids included!, to the delight of the other first class passengers) and was the best (and most comfortable) flying experience I’ve ever had to date. If the opportunity ever presents itself, I highly recommend splurging for this wonderful experience.
As a first class passenger, Etihad arranged a complimentary chauffeur who met us at the airport and drove us to our hotel, the Park Hyatt Melbourne. I had tried to arrange one in Abu Dhabi to bring us to the airport, but since technically our stay in Abu Dhabi was a connection, they refused my request.
The Park Hyatt Melbourne is located a few blocks away from the Chabad house, so if one was to be eating at Chabad on Shabbos, the PH would be an excellent choice.
Since I was in Melbourne during the Grand Prix, the hotel was pretty booked so they didn’t give me a suite, even though I’m diamond, but I did get a nice sized room.
However, the hotel was able to get me kosher breakfast, although the offering was small. I think they must’ve ordered breakfast for one.
On Friday morning, we made our way to the main street to pick up a local prepaid SIM card for my unlocked Blackberry. Optus was the only company that offered prepaid Blackberry service so that’s what I got ($50). I also bought a prepaid wireless modem from Telstra for $80. After that we continued on to Federation Square, which is a nice place to hang out. There is a wonderful tourist info center there, where we picked up some maps of the Great Ocean Road as well as had all our questions answered by the knowledgeable staff.
We then continued on to the Eureka Skydeck 88 for some wonderful views of the city. From the observation deck’s telescopes, we were able to get a real good view of the Grand Prix that was taking place. They also have a “ride” called the ‘Edge Experience’, which is a room you go into that protrudes out of the building and then all of a sudden the floor becomes clear and you realize that the only thing between you and the sidewalk 300 meters below, is a measly piece of glass. All the while a cracking glass soundtrack is played. Some of the people with us were scared, but it didn’t really do anything for me. Still a cool experience though. There’s usually a line for the Edge Experience, so as soon as you get off the elevator, you should first buy the tickets and be placed on the queue before you start going to the observation deck. They give you a small black device that buzzes when it’s your turn.
Afterwards, we went back to the main street where we bought souvenirs from the many souvenir shops, for our family back home. Although I didn’t know it at the time, the prices there were the best that we saw in Australia. We then headed back to the Park Hyatt to get ready for Shabbos…
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