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Published: February 2nd 2013
So i got to the airport in one peice after my last blog and the check in desks were closed and so i got chatting to this scottish woman who now lives in Oz and two other travelers James from england and John from Ireland.
John was heading to Auckland first and then Oz and James had been traveling and then was going to Oz with a nursing job and a 4 year visa ahead of him. So check in eventually opened and i had fun and games as the check in guy kept making calls but did not tell me what the issue was and i had also asked for an upgrade or extra leg room and neither request was fullfilled, but it was worth a try.
The guys waited on me and i eventually got my baording pass and no departure tax to pay this time...yipheeeee, we headed through security and went straight to the bar and used our time drinking and playing cards and then at the departure gate i was kept behind and they changed my seat?????, no explanation but hey im use to that with LAN.....lol.
So i ended up with a window seat and a lovely aussie lady sat next to me who had been on a three week trip round south america, we both had knaps and in between we chatted and she also gave me her bread rolls and deserts at the meal breaks so she must have thought i needed fattening up...hehe. I watched the bucket list which was a great movie and p.s i love you which is a chick flick but made me emotional none the less.
We eventually got to Auckland and John headed off and few other travelers on the flight i had spoken to in passing and the aussie lady was going to melbourne and so we parted ways, at Auckland all the people on the flight going on to Sydney had to get off and go through Auckland security and then back on the plane?, at Auckland i met an aussie couple and some more travelers from our flight and this one aussie lad was heading home after 16 months on the road and to be honest i do not think i could cope with being away that long.
On the leg to Sydney a baby was crying so no use trying to sleep and then the guy in front knocked the seat and knocked over my glass of orange juice and so i was soaked in the trouser department and so not eaxctly a comforatbale ride to Sydney and no one sitting next to me so i could at least move seat.
Arrival to Sydney was at 6.45am and i was so knackered its untrue and Troy who i was going to stay with was not going to be home until 5.30pm...ouchhh, anyways i went through customs and got my visa and then went through qurantine and said my goodbyes to the aussie traveler and James and changed some money at the exchange counter and then purchased a weekly bus/train ticket for sydney and got a map and tried to work out how to get to the tax office to get a tax code and the info givern by immigration at the airport was shadey as i got to the address in market street and it was not there and so i eventually tracked it down to the other end of the main drag and meanwhile i felt dirty and sweaty from the plane and i was carrying both my bags. I found the office and you have to apply online for a tax number and so i did that and with troys ok, after phoning him, i used his address as a mailing address and then i went into a flight centre to find out about a chinese visa and they have been having issues and having to provide more and more info to get a visa, so im currently thinking of ditching china and rerouting my Bejing flight to Hong Kong and a few days there and bumping my asia flights and india flights up as my girlfriend is missing me and im missing home to be honest and i can do China and other places another time. To be honest im not sure how much longer my budget will last and best to use it wisely.
Also in flight centre i asked if the was a luggage store in one of the stations to store my rucksack and i was advised that central does and so i went there and dropped my bag off at the cost of nearly 5 dollars and then i went to find a bank and open an aussie bank account and it was easy to do compared to back in the UK, but the bank charges fees on a basic account, which is not so good and i went to the common wealth bank as an aussie recommended them and i have been told since they are crap....oh well you win some and lose some.
I went to a place called travelers contact point as recommened by the lonely planet reagrding getting work and i got a free 30 mins on the internet and checked my emails and had one from Arron and Ashley two lovely aussie guys i met in las Vegas and who i had contacted while in south america, they had some work for me at there office in Newcastle.
So after checking my emails i went to find a phone box to call them and i found a noisey one and heard nothing and so told Ashley id ring back and went down to darling harbour and found a phone in a shop and called back and Ashley explained they could give a bed and offer my a reception role for a couple of weeks while there receptionist was away and they wanted me to come that day and i said i was going to stay with troy that night and as id used his address as my mailing address for a few things that it would feel wrong not to stay with him that night and id come the following morning and ashley said he would email the details through.
I then wondered through darling harbour and china town and by the town hall and the queen Victoria building so as to get some sightseeing in Sydney under my belt. I then went and found the Qantas office to change some dates on my flights and it seems that Qantas charges for this as appose to my many American Airline vists in Latin American which were free and again the lady there said the had been issues with chinese visas and i could reroute my flight past china for a 200 dollar fee and i said id think on that and just change the dates for now, i asked if the was a cash machine in walking distance, as the money i had changed was down to 15 dollars after food,phone calls and my Sydney bus/train ticket and i tried three machines and no joy, so it appeared as per Brazil that my bank had put a stop on my card, so i had to put the 40 dollar fee on my credit card.....dohhh, after doing that i then went to find a internet cafe that had skype and eventually this task was done and the first person i spoke to at my bank after ten mins on hold said the was no hold on my card but then put me through to the fraud dept and they had put a fraud check on my account and so after some security questions they lifted it and i was able to pull out two hundred dollars and i then headed for Troys place on the bus and coogee bay seems nice although it was dark so no idea if its good in daylight.
I got to Troys street and the number was not so easy and i was knackered, i manged to find it and met Troy who is a cool guy and he foffered me a towel, thank the gods a hot shower and fresh clothes and Troy was heading out for takeway and asked what i wanted and i gave him cash and he came back with a veggie curry and gave me back my money and said it was his treat and i told him off my move to Newcastle the following day and then we watched rugby union and i said hi to his austrian roommate who spent most of the evening in her room.
I started falling asleep and so he got my bed out and i set my alram for 5.30am as i wanted to get to newcastle at a reasonable time for Aaron and Ashley, i did not sleep so well as i kept thinking i should have just ditched my Bejing flight and moved my flights forward and just not bothered get a few weeks work and just hit the hotspots in Oz and headed to Hong Kong nad then Asia, i woke up alot during the night and eventually got up at 5am and got me gear together and headed out for the bus and then got the 7.18am train to newcastle which kept breaking down and then had to change at Gosforth and then eventually got to Civic the suburb of Newcastle were Aaron and Ashleys office is based and i rang Ashley for directions and as per every other phone box in Oz it eat the money like it was going out of fashion.
I got to the office very knackered and met Ashley and Arron and it was great to see them again and we chatted about were id been up to now and were to next and they gave me a tour of the office and explained the duties and Ashley got me a coffee and then they said i got surf the web while on reception which is super great. So far on reception just an outgoing call and few incoming and tomorrow is suppose to be busier.
Well three days in the office and i have not be stretched and i have had great fun with Ashley and Aaron and they have looked after me and gort me lunch and cooked me dinner and at the weekend i will be going with them to an industry exclusive party at a Sydney club, so i have not really done much sightseeing, however i will be building up some cash and not stretching my budget and i have decided between the visa being difficult to get and the recent earthquake that im going to drop China and get to South East Asia earlier.
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