21 FEBRUARY 2007. WED. 11:19PM.

Back home with a heatwave tan, slightly deaf and a serious hole burnt in my pocket. Chinese new year in Melbourne was a complete blast. It helps that the Lord Mayor is one of us. We stayed in a very comfortable luxe apartment, right next to major departmental stores and just a minute away from Chinatown. It was unintentionally perfect. We spent our days exploring the city (complete with blisters to boot) buying anything that takes our fancy (leaving sound reasoning behind) and soaking in the new year festivities (minus the ang pows ... dang it). We had fish on the eve, peking duck on the first day and in between, sampled Melbourne's fine cuisines. We strolled the stretch of the Yarra, walked thru all the hidden arcades, tried our luck at the casino, soaked in the cafe scene at St Kilda's, shopped thru Chapel Street and spotted a couple of B-list celebs somewhere in there. We came home 4 kilos heavier (thankfully not in body weight) and on a post-holiday salad detox. The flight back was turbulent and nerve-wrecking for a pansy flier like me but the 24 Krispy Kreme treats survived the airborne ordeal but didn't last very long once grounded. Happy Golden Pig Year to all celebrating and watch out for the massive photo post straight ahead. PHOTO POST HERE.