IT IS up a little alleyway that I begin to discover the secrets of Melbourne.
The walls of the narrow lane are covered with artistic graffiti and the inconspicuous entrance to a bar, St Jerome in Caledonian Street, beckons as the sound of the crowd on the streets on a Saturday night, slowly fade into oblivion.
Inside, the bar is small, L-shaped and dimly lit. There are young, trendy-looking Aussies milling around, taking swigs of their beer.
My companions and I order some Aussie favourites - Victoria Bitter, Little Creatures, Pure Blonde - and make our way to the back.
It's a weird world out there: a small courtyard is hemmed in by four-storey-high walls decked with fairy lights strung on pipes running along them. In a corner, a deejay is spinning some alternative house music on neon-lit decks.
The atmosphere is friendly and unpretentious, laughter punctuates the chilly night and people are starting to dance along to the grunge-y music. It is a world apart from the plush, squeaky clean modern bar - The Precinct (Little Lonsdale Street) - we were at just minutes earlier.
That was a perfectly nice place to get a drink. But this place has character.
It's the case with this city, where pockets of character surprise you at almost every street corner.
Melbourne's unpredictability is mirrored in the weather, which is schizophrenic. One minute it's sunny, and the next cold and grey. Layering is the way to go, so you can shed or pile on the clothes depending on the mood of the skies.
After two weekends in Marvellous Melbourne - as famously dubbed by English journalist George Augustus Henry Sala during a visit in 1885 - it's easy to see why it consistently ranks as one of the world's most liveable cities.
The sprawling metropolis, which has almost four million inhabitants. It might be highly built-up, especially in the Central Business District, but it balances downtown frenzy with a good dose of laid-back surburbia, such as in Melbourne's well-known beachside surburb of St Kilda.
The extensive tram network - A$6.50 (S$8.50) for rides all day - makes it easy to go anywhere and wide pavements encourage walking. The city has a huge multicultural population so you don't feel too much like a stranger.
ANGMOH DRAGON DANCE: Australians enjoying the Moomba festival which celebrates Melbourne's historical and cultural diversity
The architecture impresses and is varied. There is a mix of old and new - grand colonial dames such as the Melbourne Town Hall and Parliament House are juxtaposed with modern, radical-looking structures such as Federation Square and the residential towers at the Docklands.
Closer to the south of the CBD is the Yarra River where you get a good view of the city skyline.
Trendy bars and restaurants line the banks, and street performers entertain passers-by on a sunny spring afternoon.
This is also the nexus of the city's glitziest hang-out - the Crown Casino. Everything from luxury-brand shops, live performances and the flashiest casino you've ever seen is housed in this big complex that is intimidating but simultaneously exhilarating at first sight.
Rows and rows of slot machines are crammed with thousands of people dressed to the nines, trying their luck. At some tables, you can even smell desperation. It was fascinating to watch, but also kind of ugly.
After some late-night gambling, food can always be found in Australia's oldest Chinatown (Little Bourke Street), where there is the cheap, greasy Chinese fare, the cheapest souvenirs such as soft toy koala bears and kangaroos, and all kinds of flavoured nougat.
The city is a cultural hub, with its own share of international attractions such as the Formula One Grand Prix and the Melbourne Comedy Festival.
If you ever need to escape from the rat race, St Kilda beach is only a tram ride away. It is extremely popular with youngsters, drawn there by endless stretches of cafes, bars, restaurants, cake shops and high-street fashion.
The Vineyard at St Kilda accurately captures the zeitgeist of the surburb. It's a restaurant and cafe by day, bar and spontaneous club by night, the 'coolest' place to be seen on a weekend night.
Even on Sundays, it is packed with people dancing outside by patio heaters.
One big plus of living in Melbourne is that you can do great drives - cars can be rented for about A$70 a day - and there is none better than the famous Great Ocean Road.
Although I feel the 12 Apostles (now only seven rocks left) are a little overrated, the cliff-level walks at the Port Campbell National Park, overlooking the coast with nothing but kilometres of bush, the biting wind and the magnificent roar of the crashing waves for company, are great.
As you keep driving, Australia's vastness is really felt in the endless landscape looming on the horizon. Houses are sparsely located and are mostly single-storey, wooden structures, looking very 1960s.
After about six hours on the road, with a few stops thrown in, we arrive at Port Campbell, a very small town with just 350 people, and chance on a bed-and-breakfast called Sounds Of The Sea.
It is modest-looking on the outside and, inside, a nice woman greets us thus: 'G'day, I've had a bit too much to drink last night and will retire early, but you guys make yourselves at home.'
It is a nice contrast to life in the city and couldn't be more different from St Jerome's. But her home also has character, a real log-fed fire and two comfy rocking chairs. We are sold.
