Australia |
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Accommodation
Internet
Mobile phones
Clothes
Supermarkets and food
Restaurants and eating out
Water
Pubs
Services
Books
Newspapers
Accommodation is cheap in Australia. Hostels are also cheap but if you would rather live in a flat, house or apartment, there are many ways of looking for it. In Sydney, there is a place called Sleeping with the Enemy and they organise accommodation for you. There is a high price - the cost is the same as hostels. There are always flyers pasted on lampposts, signs, windows etc for accommodation.
Internet cafes are plentiful in Sydney city and there is strong competition. Costs vary from $0.50 for five minutes to $4 for unlimited time (cheaper if more than two hours). The cheaper it is, the slower the speed may be. Unlimited internet is better in that you need not worry about speed as the cost will be the same the longer you stay on. Internet is very expensive elsewhere, such as $6 in Alice Springs. If you are a member of Backpackers World/WorldWideWorkers, you would have free internet for 30 minutes (or unlimited if there is no queue). If you are a member of Global Gossip, you can use points for free internet at a later time. A lot of public libraries offer internet, but you may need to be a member for some libraries. Also, you need to book in advance. Many hostels have internet kiosks. You should have an email account. If you do not, you can sign up for one here
There were 4 networks at the start of my travels: Optus, Vodafone, Telstra and One.Tel. The last one went bankrupt and closed down, though it is starting up again. Costs of SMS are expensive and prices went up twice within twelve months. Initially, they were $0.20, later they went up to $0.22 and now it is $0.25 per message. I was with Optus. The network coverage is sparse in the country areas so when you are travelling, don't expect your phone to work. If you want to be able to text overseas, you can text to Digifone or Meteor numbers. You can text to Vodafone but don't expect a reply as text messages from Vodafone numbers won't come through. $50 is the highest recharge credit available which does not go far for 25¢ a message compared to Ireland where Eur50 goes a long way for 9c a message.
Due to the hot weather, shorts and t-shirts are commonly worn. Wearing jeans or trousers can leave your legs sweating: there are short trousers available which is longer than knee length. You may think wearing this would make you appear gay but they are worn by many men whether gay or not. They are cooler as it allows air to circulate. When you are going to the pub, you do not have to dress smartly though smart dress may be required in some places. I have been to a lot of places wearing skateboarding shoes and have not been stopped. In Queensland, I wore long shorts (not beach shorts) and was allowed in. A lot of pubs allow you in even if you wear t-shirts and shorts as long as they are not of the beach type (standards vary from one place to another - please check them out). If you like surf shops, Surf Dive n Ski is found in NSW and Victoria. You would find many independent or other chains of surf shops around Australia
Australian food is similar to the western world. You could have kangaroo
and emu meat.
There are four large chains: Woolworths, Coles, Bi-Lo and Franklins. Woolworths
has different names in each state, such as Safeway, Purity and Roelf Vos.
Opening hours vary statewide: in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra, some stores
are open 24 hours, while in Tasmania they are closed on Sundays and are closed
around 6pm each day. Customer services are poor in these supermarkets - there
is no one on hand for only customer queries, complaints, etc. as the staff
work as checkout staff at the same time, so you could be waiting a long time,
and there is quite an emphasis on low staff rates, given that floors are dirty
and boxes may be cluttered on the ground. Supermarkets are not backpacker
friendly as most products are in large sizes. Also, if you want a certain
amount of meat, it may be hard to get it as beef are not given at meat counters.
Prepacked meat may be too large for one person if you are cooking for yourself.
If you want a smaller portion, ask a member of the staff and they may give
you a smaller portion but only if you are there before the meat dept staff
go home - morning to early afternoon are the best times.
Beware of express supermarkets such as Woolworths Metro and Coles Express. They are very small and the prices are more expensive there than supermarkets of the same name
There is also IGA: Independent Grocers of Australia. This is a chain of independent supermarkets. Though they are expensive, the staff are friendly - it is more of a local shop.
Some foods are expensive while others are cheap. Chocolate and bread costs twice as much as Ireland and Cadburys chocolate do not taste the same as Ireland. The reason is that an ingredient is added to prevent or lessen the melting due to Australia's hot weather.
There is a lot of cafes and few pubs. The prices are quite reasonable in some places, while others are quite expensive. Eating out can be cheap in many places. In Chinatown in Melbourne, there is a few good places in the food court which gives good value - a big heaped meal for only $6 which consists of rice or noodles and three varieties you choose. One place in Clovelly cannot make lasagne properly. Fish and chips are available in some places, but cannot be found in the city. When you find them in the suburbs, you will find they are not the same. Due to Australia's close proximity to Asia, there is a lot of places offering Asian foods: Chinese, Thai, Malaysian and many more. Check them out in Chinatowns in the cities.
Water is safe to drink in many hostels and houses. If you are in doubt, please check beforehand or boil it for at least ten minutes. Bottled water is available cheaply in supermarkets for around 70¢ for 1.5 litres
There are very few pubs, but there are many cafes to make up for the lack of pubs. Australians meet in the cafes while Irish culture tends to have people meeting up in the pub. In Ireland there is a lot of pubs but few cafes, though this is changing now. Pubs are not very nice here, as there are pokies (gambling machines) in one part of the pub and TAB betting agency in the other part. The atmosphere is quite weak, and pubs are rarely full. Irish pubs in Australia are nicer and have a higher proportion of people, and some may not have pokies. Pubs in Ireland have better atmosphere as they are always packed. Irish pubs are Paddy Maguires (formerly Bridie O'Reillys) which is found in major cities. Some pubs in Sydney are Cock and Bull in Bondi Junction and the Three Wise Monkeys pub Sydney city.
The post office at St Kilda Road and High Street Junction has a staff member who can use sign language.
Post boxes can be bought from Post Office if you want a permanent address for one year. However you can buy an address from Travellers Contact Point for $50 for one year. You would be given a number which you must include in your new address. Post is forwarded to anywhere in Australia free of charge but you should give at least four days notice when moving or stopping forwarding. You can contact them by phone but if you cannot use the phone, you can email them to ask if you have any post (not forgetting to mention your postal number). It is convienent to have a fixed address so as to avoid losing post when you move
Before leaving home, I bought two books: Australia by The Lonely Planet, and also another one for reading on the plane which was written by Bill Bryson. I've forgotten the title of the book. According to the back of the book, it was funny, but I did not find it so. The author wrote about his travels in America, and actually complained a lot, with only a few good things. I was only halfway through the book when I gave it to my sister. The book made me sleepy as it's so boring.
My second book was bought in a fete in Glebe. Tom Clancy wrote it; its title is Op Centre. It was better than the last one, and I found it confusing in places as there were chapters on each location. It was not too boring.
While in a house in Prahran, I came across Sophie's World, written by Jostein Gaarder. I decided to give it a try, and found it much better. It's about a young girl who started facing the world of philosophy, after finding envelopes in the mail box containing two questions: "who are you?" and "where do you come from?". Sophie is then given notes on philosophy, which are delivered into the mailbox, which she reads and learns with enthusiasm.
Other books included The Breaker by Minette Walters which is a crime thriller. There is an extra short story included.
Victoria - there are two free daily papers, which contain interesting articles. The morning paper is express, the evening paper is MX. Other papers are Herald Sun and The Age. The Age is similar to Irish Times while Herald Sun is similar to Evening Herald.
Sydney - Sydney Morning Herald, Daily Telegraph
Tasmania - The Mercury and The Tasmanian - both the same paper but with different names.
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