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Friday, December 27, 2013

Melbourne Part 4: Ungiven Gifts

Since I was staying really near Melbourne's CBD for my trip, I decided to head down to the city more often, so that I could take as many pics of the city as I could. This time, when I went, I noticed a new exhibition right outside the State Library of Victoria - the Ungiven Gifts exhibition. 

The Ungiven Gifts exhibition is a sombre reminder of the importance of road safety. 209 gifts have been displayed - all of them commemorate different individuals who were victims of road accidents. All gifts have been deliberately whitewashed.









The gifts came in all shapes and sizes - but all of them were meant to commemorate lives lost in road accidents. All of them also came with a reminder to drive safe and stay safe on roads. All the gifts, however, were special in their own ways.

Here are some of the gifts - these included photo frames, photo albums, flowers, ornaments, bags, shoes, weights, watches, jewellery and so on...the sad thing about it was that some of the gifts were actually meant for children...who never got to receive them.






















Household appliances formed part of the gift collection. These included a toolbox, rice cooker, pasta holder, plates, cutlery, and even a teapot...


















Spent some time walking around, taking pics of the Ungiven Gifts exhibition. The exhibition has definitely raised awareness about road safety...especially in the festive seasons where many people travel around and even out of the city to visit their loved ones. It's definitely an exhibition with lots of impact, and it's something which I'd never forget.

After the exhibition, I headed to the Night Noodle Markets with two buddies. The Night Noodle Markets had a collection of stalls - each selling food from different countries. Most of the food were Asian food, and of course, there was some alcohol provided. The place was super crowded...and it got a bit frustrating as we had to queue for ages...just to get our order!








Finally got our food after a long wait, and after trudging through the grass while braving the heat. We were all over-dressed for this weather!

Anyway here we go - roti canai, mee goreng and some Filipino kebabs! They were delicious!






It had been quite gloomy for the past couple of days, but the skies had cleared up by now, so we had a stroll around the city for a bit. Melbourne looks lovely in the evening...and since it doesn't get dark so early in summer, we had lots of time to kill!












Got back early, and spent some time with gorgeous Aggie...before heading off to bed. I just can't resist her...I actually saw her almost everyday when I was in Melbourne, sometimes twice a day. Just to hear her sweet meows and to cuddle her. She's a wonderful companion!

And for the record, I just HAD to post a pic of her. This is my current screensaver...and my favourite pic of her! 




More Aggie pics will surface, for sure. But for now, ciao!