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We've finally finished writing up what we did on our trip away.  I've tagged everything with 'Thailand', so you can click on the 'Thailand' tag below, to bring everything up, or just

click here.

You'll need to 'go back in time' to the Day 1 to follow the journey (backwards) day by day - if you follow what I mean. 

It's been a while between drinks regarding our opposition towards the tunnel... mainly because http://savehollandpark.org.au has been the focus of my energies.

However, I've felt the need to post this, as it's a quite horrific confirmation of all of our fears regarding the park, Kensington, and the State Government's pro-car direction for solving Melbourne's transport problems. This one, particularly, is of great concern "That the private sector "had no appetite" for investment in public transport and that this would have to be done by Government.  The private sector would invest in roads and would have a strong influence over road alignment and access. "

Here are some highlights of the email :

On 25 June our local member Bronwyn Pike invited executive members Richard Reilly (Chair), David Ettershank (Secretary) and Tony Dare (Treasurer) to a meeting at Parliament House to discuss the Eddington Report and the potential impact of its recommendations. 

The meeting was also attended by the Minister for Roads, Tim Pallas who is probably the Minister most responsible for the carriage of the Eddington recommendations.

The discussion extended for over an hour and a half ...

Tim Pallas advised that

*  The Government retains an open mind on the Eddington Report and that in fact "things have moved on" in many areas (such as petrol prices and public transport utilisation) since the Report was commissioned.

*  That Bronwyn has expressed her concerns strongly within government but that for her to do so publicly would be a breach of Cabinet solidarity and reduce her capacity for advocacy.

*  That after submissions on the Report close (15 July) an Issues Paper will be produced for public discussion and representatives of business and the community will be invited to a "roundtable" meeting to discuss the paper in August.

*  Concurrently, the Government is commissioning a number of wider studies to assist in an overall traffic and transport plan for Melbourne (however these will not be subject to release to the public).

*  That he personally believed the current dependence on the Westgate Bridge is unsustainable and that an alternate road route had to be developed. 

*  That it was not possible to construct major infrastructure without impacts, and that some had to be tolerated for the wider good.  However, he also indicated that if the tollway did extend through JJ Holland Park, the Government would be vigilant to minimise any negative impact.

*  That the private sector "had no appetite" for investment in public transport and that this would have to be done by Government.  The private sector would invest in roads and would have a strong influence over road alignment and access.

*  That the Government would decide its position on implementation by the end of the year.

So what does this all mean?

At the end of the meeting we formed a number of views about the meeting and the way forward:

*  Our fears about

The use of JJ Holland Park as a 'staging point' and construction site.

A possible permanent 'open cut' through the Park.

An interchange at Kensington-Dynon Road allowing traffic into Kensington.

An elevated truck link across Newell Wetlands.

Vent stacks and related environmental degradation.

are entirely well founded.

*  Formal public consultation will end on July 15^th.  After that there is only the "roundtable discussion" in August and we will not see a preferred government proposal (including route) until December.

*  Once Government announces its preferred position there will be an extended period while they line up constructors, financiers and the like. This is the first opportunity the community will have to enter the debate in the context of a concrete proposal and no consultation with the community is proposed.

This could be long battle so we need to be prepared.

Actions to take

Please  get your submissions in to eastwestyoursay@doi.vic.gov.au by 15 July.

Also, to your local Member of State Parliament:  bronwyn.pike@parliament.vic.gov.au

And to your local Member of Federal Parliament:  Lindsay.Tanner.MP@aph.gov.au

If you wish to respond to this email, feel free to contact us at info@kensingtonassociation.org.au or better still, attend our regular general meetings of members on the first Monday of every month, 7.30 pm at the Holy Rosary Primary School in Gower Street. (Next meeting July 7) 

Got the customary SMS that Harry was headed for the park, so we headed down, as did Syl and Amber.  It was chilly, but they were rugged up and had fun!

Vievey and Narnar were at the playground.

"My climb up the slide" says Vievey.

"No, I climb up the slide" corrects Narnar.

"No Narnar.  You too BIG to climb up the slide" responds Vievey.

...just around the streets near us, and took a few pix.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26670541@N07/show/

...as shown on the TV news.  (Channels 2, 9 and some of 7 until my battery ran out).

You can see Nai and VV towards the end of the ch 2 footage).

And here's some pix.

It's had over 400 views, and I've received a few letters back from the politicians I sent it to.  It's also had a few supportive comments posted on YouTube.

There a huge public meeting scheduled for 2pm this Saturday at Kensington Pool (well.. the hall in the Community Centre in which the pool resides).  It's entitled "DEFEND KENSINGTON" and has been set up by the Kensington Association.  So, I've been out sticking up nice posters (colour ones, printed by KA) and Nai and I will be handing out flyers at the train station on Thursday.  Oh... and I have chalk on my hands again - there's a few footpath scrawls about the streets ;)

To jump straight to Day 1, click here.

After such a long day, and such a long trip, Genevieve was pretty excited to be going on a plane again, and going home to see Nanna and Benny.

This time around, Naomi had managed to do the online check-in thing.  But we got there, and there wasn't any obvious signage at one of the stations to take advantage of it.  A few quick questions and we jumped the line!  Woohoo!

We went through customs to Bangkok Airport's HUGE duty free shopping mall.  The problem was, we couldn't really take much advantage of it, as they won't let you take large bottles of liquids on the flight.  So we found a place that was offering sandwiches, so VV could eat something.  We then spent ages seeing if we could find anywhere selling milk.  It was getting late, and we were mindful that the little girl may turn cranky-pants very soon, very quickly. After what seemed a futile 45 minutes, we finally found a place, only to (almost) be denied taking it through at one of the security checkpoints. 

After waiting at the gate, watching the scores of stereotypical Australian tourists lining up (sunburn, hairbraids, t-shirts written in Thai), we boarded.  We pretty-much had the same seats as last time.  Genevieve had a minor cry or three on the flight, but nothing like the meltdown on the way over.  She did sleep quite a lot of the time.

Landing in Melbourne was fine.  We picked up our 42 Below, South Gin and a few other things, picked up our bags and headed for customs.  We had declared our wooden purchases, so there was a slight delay, but it was all good, and my Crocs got a free wash as I'd indicated they had some dirt/mud on them.

Then, it was up to the departure level (much easier there!) to meet Nanna, head to her place for a debrief, and then pick up Benny and head home.

A most enjoyable holiday for all of us - and some amazing experiences for Genevieve.

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Today was our last day in Bangkok, and so, our last day in Thailand.  Checkout was at noon, so we used every bit of that.  We ate a nice sedate breakfast and relaxed and made sure we could pack everything away easily.  We picked out some clothes for the plane flight and kept them separate.

Our bags could be stored downstairs, so we headed out with just a few bags... the requisite back-pack and the camera bag (that doesn't look like a camera bag).

Next to the night-market was a huge park.  So, after breakfast and a coffee, we checked out the park.  It was quite well appointed, with meandering paths and roadway, and plenty of playground equipment.  Near every playground, there was also free exercise equipment.  Recumbent bicycles, sit-up benches, a peck-deck thing that used your own weight in the seat for resistance.  Pretty cool.  We'd been there about 45 minutes when we saw something swimming in a small water channel.  It sort of looked like a small crocodile.  After rubbing our eyes and having a second look, it proved to be a 2.5m dragon.  HUGE!  Over the course of the afternoon we saw around 10 of them, walking in the park or swimming in the lakes.  Astounding!  We couldn't find a toilet that was open, so instead, we headed for a shopping centre. 

The proved to be a little more difficult than we first expected, but it ended up ok.  We wandered around the shopping centre trying to get Vievey to drop off to sleep in the stroller.  That didn't work so we went outside to the rough cobblestones and she was asleep in minutes.  It was about dinner time, so after a bit of frantic searching, we found a nice Japanese restaurant in, what appeared to be a foodcourt mainly comprised of Japanese restaurants.  Genevieve woke up so we headed back to the apartment building, through the park.  By that stage it was full of people jogging, exercising and playing various sports, include a curious volleyball played entirely by kicking only, with a wicker ball.  Amazing to watch.

When we got back, they let us all have a shower in the gym, and then we bid our farewells and cabbed it to the airport.  Again, the freeways were pretty amazing and the cab driver was a leadfoot, which didn't help. 

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So today it was take two for the Palace and reclining Buddha.  (Yes, we double-checked with the reception desk, as well as voicing our disappointment that we weren't informed about yesterday).

Again, we took an Express Ferry up the river.  Today, I noticed a few workers unloading barges full of water hyacinth - pretty futile, but had to be done I guess.

We thought we'd hit the reclining Buddha first, and then the palace.  The location of the reclining Buddha has many, many temples and other structures in its grounds.  In some ways, it eclipses the Royal Palace grounds in splendour - but particularly in detail and adournment. There were plenty of tourists, and plenty of schoolkids checking them out.  (The schoolkids seemed to give an indication of the money that's in Bangkok - although all dressed the same, the keen eye could see some money in shoes, watches, jewellery, backpacks, iPods, cameras and other bling).

So, after checking out a few, we ventured to the reclining Buddha. As with all other temples we visited, there were racks where you could doff and store your shoes, which we did.  You enter at the head end, and slowly file down past to the feet.  The thing is... gotta say... fahreekin huge.  I mean... literally enourmous.  It's nigh-on-impossible to get it in one camera shot.  Alongside the corridor next to the buddha were hundreds of metal pots.  You could pay a small fee, and get a cup of coins so that you could place a coin in each pot, as you walked down.  This kept Genevieve amused... well... at least for 2 minutes anyway!  (The reverence and meaning of putting the coins in was diminshed slightly when a woman with a big trolley came up behind us, emptying all of the pots again, so that the cups could be filled to go around again).

We looked at a few other things, but really, we thought we'd keep moving and check out the Palace.

After a 15 min walk (VV in the stroller) we were at the gates, and then, in the Palace.  They didn't seem to be too stringent on the dresscode, however we showed our reverence by having sleeves and long pants. The grounds were pristine and there were soldiers in the finest all over the place.  Many of the buildings you could go inside did not allow photographs, but that didn't matter, as there was enough beauty outside to satisfy.  Gold, especially, was all over the place, as well as moziacs, monkey-gods and even a huge belfry with a gold bell at the top.  There was also one temple being refurbished, which was interesting to watch. We saw the Jade Buddha, which is tiny, seated atop a huge platform adorned with all sorts of designs and carvings.  This is one of the most holy places in Thailand.

After the palace, we grabbed a cab and went to Pantip Plaza, which is the 'technology' marketplace.  Basically, heap and heaps and heaps of crap again and again, and a few good shops/bargains scattered here and there.  I got some batteries, memory and a few accesories for the cameras.  Naomi is very happy to leave.

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