Well, here I is in Australia! Presently I’m sitting on my bed in ‘The Maze’, a hostel in the centre of Sydney, while waiting for the shops to open in a couple of hours so I can go pick up some photos I took of the Sydney Harbour and Opera House yesterday.
It’s been a while since I last wrote a Travel Blog Post cus I’ve had to do tons to get where I currently am, not to mention get over some bitching jetlag.
My last post said that I was just getting ready to get on the plane to come here. Well I made it OK, except I had to pay 90 fukken quid for 2 pieces of checked luggage cus I packed my liquids in the wrong bloody bag and, as I say, got a serious case of jetlag from sitting on a bloody plane for about a day.
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I decided to pay for a Taxi to my hostel cus I was too fried to work out which bus I needed at 6am so that cost me around 25 quid but it was worth it.
My room was nice (the ensuite shower was like a pressure washer) so I decided to stay there four more days to get on my feet.
After a lot of maths and some tips from a receptionist in Westend called ‘Allen’ I found out that it was cheaper to book my room online and then pay at the desk.
This is dam stupid in my book cus you would think it would cost less to book at the location than go through a travel agent and then the company and then the specific hostel. Go figure.
At any rate the desk price for where I was cost about 80 dollars (about 40 quid), online it was 50ish AU and then when I changed to ‘The Maze’ it dropped again to about 40 a night so at 20 UK it works out at 140-150 a week which is perfectly acceptable on my budget, and to be honest this place is quite nice.
Rooms and showers are clean, kitchens nice and tidy (tidier in The Maze then Westend), the staff are friendly and everything (food shops, travel goods like plugs and cables etc) are in close range so I would personally recommend it if you don’t know anywhere better.
The only real complaint is that I can’t keep track of my fucking key! I try to put it in my left hand pocket, like I always did with my house keys for the last, like, 10 years but I keep putting down in places and in other pockets. It’s bloody infuriating.
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Over the last week and a half I’ve been putting together my CV and applying for Games Jobs.
Unfortunately there isn’t much industry here for games (I haven’t seen 1 games shop while looking around yet) and, although there are some companies, no one has even requested an interview yet.
This one company called Conkerberry (a AU games recruitment company) did email details about a junior games designer position but that was a couple of days ago now so I’m not sure about it.
See http://siolis.squarespace.com/Curriculum vitae for the newest copy of my CV.
On my current budget, I can afford to stay here for a good three or four months without any kind of job, so long as I don’t waste my money, but today I plan to go hunting for a bar job cus, since seeing the sights yesterday, I’m burning to me that camcorder I want.
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I’m having fun with the girls of this place though. It’s enough to turn a guy’s head right. In Westend they kept on sneaking looks at me, in The Maze kitchen they keep on trying to catch my eye and when I went to the harbour yesterday some chick followed me half way along the bloody pier, apparently too shy to say anything to me but determined to catch my eye.
On the one hand, I’m male and very straight so I’m enjoying the attention of course but it’s like, why doesn’t any one of them actually say anything to me. I mean, it’s like watching peacocks strut around showing off their feathers in the hopes of being noticed. I like strong women right, so what kinda message do you think you’re sending?
On the other hand it’s sorta creepy. Like ‘The Children’ kinda creepy where you turn around and there’s this, albeit usually attractive, women standing there smiling at ya, but in a predatory sorta way. I mean ok, you’re attracted to me, but I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t taste nice!
Frankly the only person who has matched my personal interest of ‘strong women’ is a receptionist in The Maze called Laura who emanates confidence like a small sun. I hesitate there though cus those guys are hired for being nice and helpful so it could be professional demeanour rather than attraction.
I’m not too bothered about it at the moment to be honest. Not till I’m sure if I’m sticking around town for long anyway.
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On a connected note, I heard a couple of days ago about the Swine Flu thing.
Talk about panic! I checked up on some details and, except for the Mexicans, it’s not quite as bad as it seems.
As it turns out some pigs got infected by Swine, Bird and Human influenza all at once and the things melded together to form the new strain.
What the news papers and online reports are saying in small print under the banner headlines of ‘PIG FLU PANDEMIC SWEEPS GLOBE!’ is that there is a drug course treatment which was stockpiled after the Bird Flu out brake, it’s no worse than any other flu and ppl in 1st world countries have even recovered from it without even being hospitalized.
The reason ppl are going nuts over it is that its hit Mexico hard, although they don’t have the health care we do. The 100 or so that have died from it have been young, it’s true, but what they don’t report is what kind of healthcare they received. There’s a massive gap from ‘100 Mexicans die of pig flu in their beds’ to ‘100 New Yorkers die of pig flu while in hospital quarantine’.
Personally I’m not worried. I’ve got premium health insurance designed for ppl going diving and surfing in waters filled with sharks and box jellyfish and walking in the Australian outback where there are taipan snakes and even worse spiders. I think I’ll be ok if I catch a dose of strong flu and get some of the stockpiled drugs in one of the nation’s biggest cities. Assuming of course the virus can brake though and disable the biological systems of a 130 kilo muscle bound 24 year old that is.
Proper hygienics is what you need to practise anyway. I haven’t actually been ill in years, partly due to my good living and exercise and partly due to my personal sanitation rituals. I mean, how hard is it to clean your hands after the toilet and before cooking food, wiping surfaces down, covering your nose and mouse when you sneeze etc. Flu viruses are of the nature of bacteria and viruses which don’t hold up well against basic sanitation. Plus I don’t often have physical contact with anything except meself so less chance there too.
Anyway, I’m safe in my mind and that’s all I care about personally. There are other ppl to treat the Mexicans and as memory serves, the avian flu hit farms around Oxfordshire and that but it was contained.
The important thing is not to panic.
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On a lighter note, I’ve started up a bit of a dialogue with my Sister to report my activities back to my parents.
I was going to email them but obviously they had troubles with their email so this was simply easier.
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As I said, I visited the Sydney Harbour and Opera House yesterday and had a look around, which was nice.
I thought it was a bit cheap that they wouldn’t let me take any pictures of the Opera House’s interior cus the thing is copyrighted but what can ya do?
I got some nice pics of the outside and this nearby bridge which looked quite picturesque. I should have just posted them up along with this so do have a look.
When I got a job of some sort I’m gonna get this camera I want and then take a proper look around and get some footage.
I wouldn’t mind finding a way to get paid to do that actually; go to places and get footage of the locations.
If I can get some nice shots I might get a deviantArt account or something and post them up proper.
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Bit miffed about the price of stuff over here though.
I thought that things would be cheaper than at home, given that my currency is worth twice as much as AU dollars. But as it turns out, stuff here is twice the price in AU, so stuff which costs 100 at home is 200 here, or worse. Checked the cost of Red Bull for example and the stuff is 3 dollars so that’s about 1.50 a bloody can. Total rip off.
Given the exchange, I could have saved myself about a grand and gone to London and probably lived better for less, although I couldn’t have known that I suppose.
Half the trouble is that this place isn’t so much a tourist resort than a tourist country, so things are bound to be more expensive.
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Think that’s about it.
The flight was horrible, the acom’s grand, the games industry here sucks, the girls of awesome/creepy, I isn’t worried about Swine Flu, I’m mailing my Sister a lot, the scenery is nice, I gotta buy a camcorder and, although the living is cheap, most shopping isn’t.
Oh and I’m bloody knackered after all the running/walking/climbing I did yesterday so I’m going to take it easy and go find me a pub to work in so I can buys me camera.
Toodles.
/Ollie
]]>Well, this is it; I have packed all my things, bought my ticket, insurance, first night acom and gotten some travelers cheques and UK/AU cash.
I leave this country at 10pm on Sunday night and arrive in AU about 24 hours later, WOOHOO! =D
At the moment I’m just organizing the last few little details like assembling and disseminating my itinerary and inventory documents to various locations in case of theft or accident.
The company I bought all my stuff from is called STA Travel. It’s designed for students and young ppl under the age of 26 (I’m 24 although technically no longer a student) and I’ve received a few recommendations from ppl about it.
So, the details; I’m flying with Qantas, I got premium insurance so, baring actually being dead, I got about 5 mil cover in case of just about thing happening (which knowing me – the owner of 2 head scars, a tarmac blasted arm, a clicking wrist and knees which look like they’ve been mauled by tiny bears – anything just might happen) and finally I’m staying in ‘Footprints’ apparently, for the first night.
According to Hannah Summers (which I find exceptionally ironic considering I just spent the last few days reading Questionable Content and loving reading the OCD exploits of Hanners, lol) Legend Has It is right near several notable things to see including the Sydney Opera House and the beach, tho I’m just hoping for a good bicycle shop and lots of road (ye gods yes).
I nearly forgot (nearly while booking and here it would seem) about my visa...yeah, I had to buy 2 considering the short time between my booking my flights and that and actually leaving (about 6 days in total) so I got a ETA/Tourist visa and a working visa on route which permits me to wander the country for 3 months and work in the country for 12, but only 6 for one employer...less of course I get another anyway although I doubt I will want to stop, but you never know.
And that’s about it except that I’m getting annoyed by my family’s behavior (naturally).
My mother is doing the ‘Worried Parent’ act which is starting to piss me off cus, as thoughs who think they know me (as in how do you really know, heh) will say, they treat me more like an object than a person. This is to say that they are worried about their investment abandoning them rather than their son going off to a strange country on the other side of the planet.
Notably, all three of them (Mother, Father and Brother) are complaining cus I’m going this weekend rather than waiting two weeks cus they need a dog walker while M+D are in jersey visiting my Sister.
Oh I’m so sorry that I can’t wait 2 MORE weeks for your convenience cus I want to go get started with MY life. It might be 2 weeks to you but its 2 more weeks to the 6 months or so I’ve been sitting around waiting for you to clear the bloody inheritance (which still isn’t really sorted yet tbh). I mean hell, why not 2 more weeks wait; I may murder them out of sheer cabin fever in 1 and then I wouldn’t have to put up with their bs anymore. Granted this may be in prison but one step at a time, lol.
Frankly I think they think I will fail. They always do you know. A few years back before I went off to college we went out for dinner for some reason and I remember them all laughing when I said I wanted to go to University. 5 years later and here I am, done college, done University (to a point but frankly that wasn’t my fault) and now I’m off to a foreign country for kicks. I’m now of the opinion that they don’t know shit. I can’t wait to be shot of them.
Some people when they go 10,000 miles away from ‘Home’ may get home sick and miss their family. I will miss my dog Charlie more than these fuckers who never believed in me or treated me like a person in my entire life.
This isn’t to say that I won’t keep in contact, they are useful for some things (storage if nothing else) and I’m still owed 20 grand inheritance so a grand gesture isn’t advisable.
Moving on; I’m currently wondering if I’ve got enough luggage. The massive red bag that I got for Christmas is straining at the seams and, with my laptop, my rucksack is gonna be pretty full. Thank gods for combat trousers is all I’m gonna say cus it looks as though 24 hours food (I am not eating plane food) is gonna be lodged in my pockets at this rate.
That’s something I’m still a little confused on though...*makes note to ring Hannah*...how long is my stopover in HK (Hong Kong) going to be cus I didn’t want to stop at all but I think it’s like a day’s stop or something. I know it’s supposed to be a nice place and everything but I don’t want to see it yet.
...yeah so that’s about it I think.
The lack of net access may prevent my access to my website (I know its URL isn’t working btw) so an update may not be forth coming but, after a place to spend nights 2 onwards in Sydney, I will try to find somewhere to jack-in.
The update may be in video too cus I plan on buying a video camera to film my trip (hello uTube) but I gotta work out a lot of stuff like file formats and lowering the quality of the movie down a bit from HD to something which can be uploaded.
So, with any luck, barring engine failure, terrorist attack or getting anally violated at the airport cus some pillock things the shaved muscled man is a terrorist or some other form of criminal (were talking my kinda luck here), you’ll be seeing me on the other side of the world in a week.
G’day! ;)
/Ollie
]]>Since my passport arrived, my inheritance has come though (or part of it anyway). Now that I have it I’ve spent the intervening time from getting it sorting my possessions, collecting information regarding what arrangements need to be made before I leave, what I will be doing when I arrive in Australia and packing.
Presently I’m just working though a list of stuff left to do which includes;
I’ve written an inventory of everything I’m taking and a lose itinerary (basically point three below plus travel details). As a precaution I’ve also made a note of all important documents – my passport details, debit/credit cards and accounts, NI number etc – and stored it in a few safe places so if anyone plays silly buggers they won’t get away with it, assuming they already escaped a really pissed English weight lifter with the mercy of a deranged ferret.
The travel insurance is getting on my nerves a bit cus I can’t find a long term policy suitable for my variable duration trip – the plan is to explore until I find something fun to do so I may stop in Melbourne for a month or two years, all depends and what I find.
Packing my inventory is a bit tiresome too as things like graphic novels and games (cant copy game discs half as easily as my DVD collection which is now sitting on my External HDD) have a half life of my interest in them so anything I take will be rendered dead weight in my luggage. One thing to note about things you take with you travelling is that anything you bring you will have to carry from location to location so you need to think about the utility value of items rather than your favor of them.
I did however pack an inflatable sofa, partly because if I find a small flat sans furnishing I will need something to sleep on and partly because my laptop can serve as a TV with the right hardware addons so even if a bed is present the inflatable can serve as a passable sofa.
I bought a couple of disposable cameras to take with me on the plane as I won’t be buying my digital HD video camera until I get there. Personally I’m just waiting for some little tit in an airport to get it into his head that the strong looking skin head is a terrorist so I can snap a few pics and fry him. I only say this cus I lost my train ticket once and the fuckers charged me close to 50 quid to leave the fucking station after calling me a criminal, and if similar happens again I’m going to make sure that guy gets sacked.
And on that note the exchange rate, much to my profit, has been going up which is all the better for me cus my home currency is gaining value. I may have to do some transfers and get some of it changed into Euros given the closeness of the transfer rates at the moment but if I do make anything while traveling it will be turned into Sterling.
I sorted out my music at last btw. Hadn’t updated my iPod in 2 years and it took me 3 solid days and 20 quid for a iPod file exporter to organize my collection but eventually I got all my music and audiobooks arranged perfectly. 40 odd Discworld books and the entire Harry Potter series are now sitting on my 60 Gig iPod Generation 5. When I get to AU I’m going to get an iPod Touch (2nd Gen) and perhaps an iPhone too along with a PSP and a DSi perhaps.
It seemed like a good idea to check out vaccinations too. I can’t say I wasn’t entirely not surprised when I was told that AU required me to have no vaccinations what so ever but I guess when the fish, the lizards, the snakes and the insects etc, etc can all kill you in 1 hour or less with toxic poisons then there is little worry regard pansy things like viral and bacterial infections. The US obviously doesn’t require me to have any jabs either which is nice.
...RIGHT! That’s about it I think. For the moment anyway. My travelers cheques should arrive in 2 days so tomorrow I can search again for some insurance and a first night hotel. Post Thursday I can book my ticket, buy some AU$’s and then just tidy up loose ends here (like sorting computer files and posting portfolio work) till I go.
I may post again just before I go or just after I’ve arrived and then I’ll be posting regularly as I want to keep this stuff separate from my personal blog.
=0)
/Ollie
]]>Got up 2 hours late cus of the weights I did last night which fried my batteries (I can barely move my arms cus I did my biceps).
Caught the S1 bus and got off at Oxford train station. Went about a mile in the wrong direction, on foot cus the Multimap I printed off pointed me to the centre of Oxford and not Bedbrook house which is where I needed to go. Luckily some guy named Dave (lol, classic) was in a Oxford Uni shop where I stopped to ask for directions and he gave me a lift (proving that there are nice random people in the world). Apparently he was miffed about the road works in Oxford city centre and was having a slow day.
By the time I reached the passport office I was wheezing like an old set of bellows after having ran the first leg of my journey at sprinting speed and caught my breath in the second. Thanks to Dave the friendly Courier I was about a 5 minutes late.
I answered the interviewers questions like a machine (e.g. please spell your name and then pronounce it - O, L, I, V, E, R, Oliver etc etc). Problem was that I couldn’t remember my parents birthdays beyond details like "July...maybe June" and "ah I know that one, he's 60 cus it was last weekend" which made me look a right fucking monkie. It didn’t seem to matter though cus I was well clued up on meself and the guy could see I just didn’t remember. I asked him if it did anyway but he said that it was based more on background checks than parent’s birthdays so I think I’ll be fine. Kinda funny though cus we was both loling at one point.
Just gotta wait a week now and then, with luck, I will have me passport. ^^
]]>I thought it was about time I got around to posting my Travel Blog. Granted I haven’t actually gone anywhere yet but I thought some people might get a kick outta the elongated saga of actually getting away and I thought my travels deserved an introduction too.
To start with, read this. Read it? No? Okay Ill wait...done? Good.
Right, now that’s outta the way:
I'm currently still waiting for my Passport which, presently, I sent off about a week or so ago although I got this letter back requesting that I go for an interview to prove my identity. I have not as of yet booked this but will do so tomorrow. If what I was told was accurate, I would be seeing my passport in 5 or so weeks.
Today I looked at what exactly a visa is and what I would need to do to get one. I passed all the requirements (I'm a good boy so no criminal record and I haven’t been seriously ill since I was a very little laddy) bar one; I don’t have my passport yet. The thing apparently is gonna take 8 weeks to process after I apply and, on top of my Passport, that makes 13/14 weeks total. Given my starting capital (a large quantity of inheritance) this isn’t much of a problem though and I think I can probably just go there and get a working holiday visa after to make some dough along the way.
Outside of that I'm still waiting on the bloody probate for my money but I got my luggage all ready and I’m just reading a travel book at nights about the place, although I think the writers are a little biased in its favour.
Ill post again when something of relevance happens, most likely this will be probate news (I bloody hope) or my passport interview (more probably). Although I can tell you I will be starting in Canberra, the capital city.
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