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Published: November 16th 2007
Our trip to Austrailia didnt have the best of starts......... when trying to leave indonesia we got collared by Immigration for overstaying our visa. Okay....so it was my fault i guess......i had counted the number of days we had been there, and rebooked the flights out after 30 days, only to find out the visa started at 11.50pm the day we arrived, and therefore faced a fine! We were a bit peeved aswell as we got collared with he international departure tax that had doubled overnight, and as we had no currency, and no ATM nearby, had to change cash at some poor rate in some dodgy Kiosk!! FLEECED BIG TIME!!
Things started looking up on the flight, when the hostesses started handing us lots of free stuff we’d apparently paid for..........including the nice twin set of blankets that Bex took with her after the flight!!
We had to wait ages to clear immigration, then get our visa’s, then have some power hungry food border control woman have a fit on me!! Whilst waiting in the food control queue, Bex had got asked 3 questions about where she had been, whether she’d been near any farm animals, and whether
she had any food or wooden objects in her bag, and then got this immigration card stamped. I was off asking an official if we were queuing in the right place.....and didn’t get stamped. Then when I asked the woman if I could have a stamp.......she stomped over to Bex and grabbed her card off her and turned back sharply at me. I was informed that it was a privilege and not a right to have this stamp, and that Bex was privileged to have the stamp as she’d answered a series of specific detailed questions. After no sleep for over 24 hours, I looked blankly at her, and then to the giggling Bex as if to say what is going on? The woman continued to ask me why i looked confused at the situation.......that i didnt get what my rights were, and kept aggressively repeating what my rights were. I ended up just saying i wanted to go to sleep, and then found out i didn’t need this stamp in the first place, which then wound me up even more as her job was pointless. Not the funniest story....but will make me n Bex smile when we read this
again!
Bex had sorted us out a place to stay over the internet - a serviced studio apartment apparently.....in he UK......it would be called a bedsit. It consists of a bed....a TV....a couch, and a kitchenette (1 microwave, 1 kettle, a fridge, a toaster and 1 spoon!).....which immediately gave us a challenge........how to prepare a meal using just the microwave!
Since weve been here weve both been hitting he job and housing markets hard to get set up asap..... with mixed results as there are so many people doing the same thing coming up to the Ozzy Summer. We found a great apartment the other day in a fairly nice area close to the city.....which had the most amazing views of the bridge and Opera house....perfect for new years eve! After spending quite a while chatting/finding out details about the lease with the agent....and deliberating over a coffee we decided to take the apartment, and rung up the estate agent to confirm. On route with cash and the paperwork we got pipped to the post by another person (he was 2 mins ahead of us!) and we were gutted all weekend.....hoping that we still had a chance of
getting the apartment. After finding out we’d not been successful....the agent must have felt bad for us and rung round a few contacts....and ended up finding another place in the same apartment block, only higher up with better views and $75 a week cheaper!! It always works out in the end!! Will post the pics of the view when we move in next weekend......
As for the job front.....we are both still looking....... and very keen to get some cash in and start sampling all of the wine over here!!
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Paul and Kirstie
Paul and Kirstie
Sydney
Hey Guys! I'm glad things are working out for you in Sydney. The Flat sounds great, good luck with the move in! Paul and I are in Adelaide at the mo after a mamoth journey through the outback - it was incredible though! We're looking forward to catching up again and telling you all about it soon! Lots of love, Kirstie xxx