We didn’t do too badly for non-world-travelers, but there were definitely things we wish we’d known. In no particular order:
- Currency– Did you know you can obtain foreign currency from your bank? I didn’t know this until it was too late; it must be ordered several days in advance. Don’t buy currency from those currency exchanges at the airport–there’s a reason they’re not crowded, and it has to do with crummy exchange rates. What’s worse, our conceptual understanding of the cost of everything was based on our unfortunate currency exchange, so we thought things were much more expensive than they turned out to be when we got our credit card statement.
- Cell phones– We contacted our cell carrier, Verizon, and arranged for international coverage. What we didn’t realize is that Verizon doesn’t have any cell towers in Australia, nor, apparently, do they have any agreements with major cell carriers there like Telstra. Danny and Zoe did the smart thing, but then again they are seasoned travelers. Upon arrival, they quickly visited the local Vodaphone store and got “burner” sim cards for their phones for the incredibly low price of $25 (AU) each (so like, USD $15) FOR THE WHOLE MONTH. This gave them local phone numbers and 5G coverage all over the country. Zoe was even smarter– she carries 2 phones when traveling. One for “international use” that she can put the burner sim card in, and one for taking pictures (her Chinese phone, it takes great photos.) I’m not sure Danny’s way (new sim card) would have worked for us, as we needed to be able to be reached by our travel agent and our house- and pet-sitter. So my recommendation to others is to take 2 phones if you can, one for a burner sim card and one with your international coverage from your home carrier.
- Passports– Although we didn’t need it, I put a scanned copy of my passport front page in my suitcase, along with a copy of our names, address, and flight itinerary with the trip code in case of lost or misplaced luggage. US passports have chips in them, which is great because it makes obtaining an Australian visa super-simple. Also, it greatly simplifies getting through customs and immigration in Australia. I still haven’t figured out all this “declarations” stuff, though. Do prescription medications have to be declared? And on the way home, no one ever asked us about declarations. So …. what happened there? Did we just get mercy from being in the wrong line and having a pressing connection (I mean, that does NOT sound like customs and immigration)?
- Voltage– Australia, like much of the world, uses 220 V as its basic house wiring voltage. In the US we use 115 V. Your cell phone, laptop, or tablet charger doesn’t care (check the wall wart), it just needs an adapter (buy several from Amazon). But if you need a high-wattage item (curling iron! electric shaver!), you cannot just use an adapter. And the adapter/transformer device I bought from Amazon was supposed to have a transformer in it, but it absolutely did not work and my curling iron started getting very hot and smelling overheated (in the handle!) when I tried to use it. So I ended up buying a curling iron in Melbourne that was made for 220 V. Fortunately my curling iron was undamaged from its experience, but my best advice is to be prepared to just buy what you need in this department when you get there. Oh, and the coolest thing is that each outlet has an on-off switch built into the outlet.
- Hotel– We stayed at hotel apartments that had sitting rooms and a shared kitchen so that we could be a family together. These accommodations were not the most luxurious, but they were just right for us. The Adina on Flinders Street in Melbourne was quiet, comfortable (except the pillows were meh), and roomy. It had a great kitchen with a full fridge, range, and dishwasher. Both hotels had in-suite laundry facilities; Fraser Suites had separate washer and dryer units (that works better than an all-in-one.) It had the coolest dishwasher *drawer* that was like a half-size unit — why isn’t this a thing in the US?
- Coffee– Coffee is espresso, everything else is espresso-based. Coffee provided by the hotels was instant, and they also provided electric kettles. They provided whole milk in aseptic boxes, but there was no Coffee-mate anywhere, even at the market. I did not find half-and-half but I did find cream. Danny brought coffee from China that were individual pour-over packets. In retrospect I wish I’d taken a picture, they were amazing. I bought some coffee bags (like teabags) that worked well also. The mugs were very small, so I was delighted to buy a Melbourne souvenir mug that holds 12 oz.
- Food– Pub food was our mainstay, and maybe that was our problem, but I ate way too many French fries in way too short a time period, and now I don’t care if I don’t see another for a year. EVERYTHING came with fries (chips). That said, there were a zillion little restaurants, mostly Asian (mostly Chinese) and Asian fusion, if you wanted something ethnic. They said there were many Greek places but I saw very few.
- Public transportation– I wish we’d bought the Myki cards upon arrival and loaded them up with $20 or so; then we would have ridden trams more. OK so the thing is, the trams are FREE throughout the Central Business District (CBD), but that district is pretty small, and as soon as you leave it, you owe money. Having the cards with a little money on them would have allowed us peace of mind about traveling on the trams. And they are SO convenient. Go to the website and find the routes so you will know at least some of the possibilities.
- What to see– While we were delighted with the excursions our travel agent arranged, we didn’t have a good idea what *else* there was to see or do. I’m super-glad Zoe suggested staying in the city center, it made everything within walking distance. I’d recommend that if you want to shop, that you familiarize yourself with the Queen Victoria Market, Arcade, Burke Street, and the Direct Factory Outlets, all in or close to the CBD. For museums, know what there is and what they cost. One place we had hoped to go was the Melbourne Planetarium, to see the “What’s in the Sky Tonight” show on Friday night (an adults-only presentation with alcoholic beverages available). We ended up not going because the price was $25 p/p PLUS the train fare ($10.50 p/p) and it was a 28 minute show with an hour each way in transportation time. And it’s not like you could see the stars from the city. But the Old Treasury Building was free and the Immigration Museum was $15, great bargains. The Royal Exhibition Building was appointment-only, and we weren’t familiar with the modern Exhibition Hall next door, or what was on show, so we missed those. I wish we had done a Yarra River cruise. The architecture of the city is intriguing, with many Victorian-era buildings cheek-by-jowl with modern high-rises. One thing I’m glad for is that we spent enough time in Melbourne to learn the lay of the land, such that any subsequent visit will be much smarter. Also I’m so glad we found Errol Street and the Fisk (TV show) set for Gruber and Associates. That just feels special. With Sydney, we were not there as long, but we gained a lot of “Australia wisdom” just from being in Melbourne, so I feel we were wiser with our time there.
- Beer & wine– I’m laughing to myself because apparently Foster’s is NOT Australian for beer, mate. I never saw Foster’s, anywhere. Coopers and Carlton are the two big breweries. I’m an IPA girl, so I was not crazy about the popular pale ales available, and the IPAs were not like the ones I’m used to (except for Pirate Life California Pale Ale, it was good!) Jim likes red ales and brown ales, but the only one of these he found that he liked was White Rabbit brown ale. For wines, we only bought Australian wines and they were uniformly good. As red lovers, Shiraz or Pinot Noir were our choices. One thing I loved about Australian wine is that it tends to be lower in alcohol content than American wines. Yay! More wine, less buzz! Seriously though, the wine is quite good, and that from a certified California Wine Snob.
- Sunscreen– OMG nobody told me Australia has no ozone layer. Bring sunscreen and use it.
- Travel agent– We didn’t know much about Australia, especially Melbourne, before this trip presented itself. It wasn’t on our bucket list or anything. Our son and daughter-in-law wanted to go there for their Lunar New Year holiday, and they wanted us to join them. So after setting some time parameters, we used a local travel agent (Tracy Hughes at Stellar Travel in Seattle), a specialist in Australia travel, to help us plan. The fact is, I couldn’t even imagine us planning this trip without help. The excursions were excellent– Phillip Island, Yarra Valley Wine Tour, and Grampians/Great Ocean Road in Melbourne, and Sydney Opera House and a Sydney Harbor dinner cruise in Sydney. She made all arrangements: flights, accommodations, transfers, excursions, and provided an app with the details that also pinged us with reminders. She wasn’t free like the old days, but at $800 p/p (out of a $30,000+ total for the trip) we thought this was a worthwhile expense.
And a propos of nothing, perhaps, the wallpaper in the Adina Hotel on Flinders Street was just eye-poppingly beautiful and amazing.
Safe travels to you!
ramblinriterblog 