My Melbourne
Abhay Mehta studied in Melbourne and his family now lives there. He loves the place and spends nine months of the year in the city. He thinks it has been in the news in India for all the wrong reasons and that the brouhaha over the attacks on Indian students is overdone.
Favourite Hotel
I now have a home there, but when I did stay in hotels, I had two favourites. The Westin Melbourne is a beautiful hotel, right next to Flinders station and close to lots of restaurants and shops. The bathrooms — for people who like their bathrooms — are the best in any hotel in Australia. The Crown Promenade is also beautifully located, on the banks of the Yarra river. The Crown casino complex is next door; besides, it has lots of nightclubs, restaurants, bars, and a multiplex.
Getting Around
Public transport is quite good. In the CBD area, walking is great, or you can hop in and out of trams. If you travel to the suburbs, trains or taxi would be a good option. Taxis can be a bit expensive.
For business meetings
One of the cafés on the Yarra’s south bank.
Where to Eat
Melbourne is a great city for food. You get all types of cuisines. I love a good steak, and my favourite is Charcoal Grill on the Hill in Kew.
Time Out
A walk along the Yarra or in the beautiful Botanical Gardens. A game in one of the city’s 84 golf courses. The night life is great: numerous night clubs and bars in Chapel Street or in and around the King Street. Or the Crown casino complex, which has everything under one roof. A wine-tasting trip to one of the many wineries around Melbourne. A drive to Dandenong’s for tea and scones, or to Philip Island to see the penguins or a drive along the picturesque Great Ocean Road.
Shopping
Chapel Street or Collins Street for all the expensive. well known brands. Bourke Street in the City, and of course Chadstone, arguable the biggest shopping Mall in the Southern Hemisphere.
Racism?
It’s a sports-crazy city. Melbourne has been nominated as the most liveable city in the world more than once in the last 20 years. It’s multicultural.
The recent attacks on Indian students [are] very unfortunate. Those who committed these crimes should be punished. However, the media has blown things out of proportion. It’s not that bad.
Abhay Mehta CEO, Sporting Frontiers India
(Co-ordinated by Angshumitra Chakraborty)
(This story appears in the 03 July, 2009 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)
