Where Did Prostitutes and Drug Addicts Hang Out?

The answer was St Kilda’s Beach – well, at least in the past. After many years of gentrification, the bayside resort area just south of Melbourne city has become a fashionable and swanky beach neighbourhood, attracting families, singles, seniors and anybody who wanted to spend a day at the beach. Other than the beach, the precinct also had a nice F&B and shopping belt along Acland Street, and a nifty little theme park (Luna Park). In a spirit of wanderlust, I decided to check it out last Sunday morning and bought a Sunday Saver tram pass (which cost AUD 3.10) and decided to explore this destination at the City of Port Philip.

Palm-lined roads greeted one along the ocean front, with festive carnival stalls on a Sunday peddling art souvenirs, T-shirts, and other wares.

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Here is one of such stalls, with plastic trinkets galore.

Worshippers of the sun baking themselves in the summer heat. Well, it wasn’t that hot actually with temperatures hovering at about 24 to 25 deg C or so in the balmy breeze.

Check out these lifeguards attired in yellow and red, which immediately reminded me of “Baywatch”, albeit in a slightly less glamorous mode.

This boy was having fun chasing seagulls away. It seem to be a common pastime here, and a great photo opportunity.

Kids can also have fun in this little playground by the beach.

Of course, the Luna Park at St Kilda’s Beach was the main draw for children of all ages.

See what I mean?

One could gain altitude in a ferris wheel like this one.

Or enjoy a high-thrill roller coaster ride. There are about three different roller coasters to choose from, depending on your appetite for adrenaline pumping fun.

These inverter rides were also popular, though I can’t imagine why people would want to suffer from the sheer vertigo and nausea from this dizzying encounter.

For the younger ones, there are more sedate experiences like this Thomas the choo choo train ride.

Or the ever popular bumper car ride.

Everybody loves a good scare, even in broad summer daylight.

After all that action, one needs to fuel up at these food and drink stalls.

The damage for all that theme park fun? Well, read it for yourselves.

On my way to Acland Street, I chanced upon this stretch limousine…

…and this quirky bearded dude playing electronic music on a ukelele and electronic digeridoo thingy.

Acland Street was full of savoury cake shops and mouth-watering F&B outlets offering all kinds of delicious calorie-rich delights.

There were also some funky shop fronts, like this one here…

…and another with psychedelic 70s-themed characters on a roof. Oh and the man in shades was pretty friendly too.