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Published: March 22nd 2016
APPARENTLY YOU NEED A VISA TO VISIT AUSTRALIA, I learned at the airport check-in desk. "Do I have my what now?" I replied to the woman's query as she took my passport to look up my flight. So, TURNS OUT, you need to apply for a visa a few days ahead of time to even just visit Australia. No visas on arrival. I realize this is entirely my fault, and I am still kicking myself for not looking it up ahead of time. But people in the travel community talk. Everyone knows you need a visa ahead of time for Vietnam. If someone says, "yeah, I'm going to Vietnam," the correct response is, "make sure you get it ahead of time and it'll cost $45." The thing about Australia is that most people are going to Australia on a working holiday visa or they're citizens already. So at no point in any conversation I had ("I'm traveling around Southeast Asia and Australia before heading to New Zealand") did anyone say, "make sure you get a visa for Australia."
Fast forward to 11:30pm at the airport after I've waited in line already for 25 minutes just to get INTO the airport
(Bali has new security measures and don't know how to handle them yet) only to be told at the check-in desk that I don't have a visa and should have applied for one a few days ago. Cue my stress level rising up to my nose (I don't have a place to stay, I don't know how to get in touch with my friend on the other side, I don't want to go back to Kuta, What if I can't get into Australia at all, etc.) I calmly (probably not) asked the woman what my options were. I could change my flight ($$$$$$ probably) or apply for a visa RIGHT NOW and see if it works. So I desperately tried to connect to the airport internet but since there were about 1000 people waiting in line for security/getting into the airport, my wifi wasn't connecting (stress level: eyeballs). The ANGEL sitting behind the counter gave me her phone and allowed me to use her data. I desperately started filling out information on her phone, and when it came time to pay my debit card didn't work but my credit card did. MEANWHILE (yes, it gets better), an Aussie man in
his 50s with the smell of beer on his breath and everywhere was checking into his flight for Melbourne (thank God not Sydney). By now the line was gone because the flight was only about an hour out. He asked me what I was doing and I stressfully explained my situation. His responses were as follows: "Well that's just stupid of you, isn't it? I couldn't get into your country without a visa, what makes you think you can get into my country without one? They're never going to let you in. It's 11:30 on a Saturday night. Even if you got it, they're not going to let you on the plane. I'm not trying to be rude, I'm just being honest." Stress level: hairline. I thanked him in a way where I really meant "shut the f@#k up" and kept my eyes on my task until he left. Finally I got everything done and the payment went through. I handed the woman back her phone and she told me to look for an email. I stared at my phone willing it to connect for about 2 minutes until she said, "ok! You're all set!" and handed me my passport
and boarding pass. It went through and was approved because I'm not a criminal! I told her that if it wasn't completely inappropriate, I would hug her. I settled for a profuse handshake and ran off toward my gate. Except the Bali airport sucks, so I stressfully stood in the security and immigration lines for about 30 minutes and then I got through and it was last call for my flight so I started walking fast and saw on all the signs that my gate was in fact the furthest gate from security and would take me 8 minutes to get there so I ran most of it and made my flight and got to Sydney. Phew.
Immigration in Australia doesn't give you passport stamps if you have an electronic thingy like all new US passports do. You don't even interact with a human. Con: no passport stamp. Pro: quick and I'm also running out of room in my passport, so I'm kind of grateful for the lack of stamp. My friend Aaron had given me really good directions to his area of Sydney called Turramurra and I took two trains to get there (the second over the Sydney
Harbor Bridge!)
Here's how I know Aaron. Back in 2014 I was on my Eurotrip and was in Granada, Spain. I was sitting in my hostel, and this guy was trying to bandage his own blistered hands (monkey bars incident). I started helping him and we started talking and he mentioned he was going to Sziget. I told him I was too and invited him to stay with me during the festival. He agreed and then we introduced ourselves. I met him back in Budapest and we spent the week at Sziget where Nic from the States met up with us. Nic and I went to Berlin the next week while Aaron stayed at my flat by himself because it was August and he had been traveling/not had his own space since January. After Berlin, Nic and Aaron lived with me until the first day of school happened and I kicked them out. I love both of them to death. Nic is now engaged in Utah. Aaron is going to school in, you guessed it, Sydney!
Aaron met me on the train platform and we reunited and it was crazy to see him and be at the bottom
of the world. And in a first world country again. So much English! We went back to his house where he showed me my room (MY OWN ROOM) and cooked me up some stir fry before realizing that I had just spent 4 months in Asia (it was delicious nonetheless). His mom came home and she and her boyfriend took me to a shopping mall where I bought a SIM card for my weird phone and new clothes (mostly underwear) at Kmart (basically Walmart for Aussies). When we got home, Aaron and I took a train into the city. We went to this dingy dive bar where he was one of the opening acts for his friends' band, Bermuda Bloom. He was amazing! He makes electronic music and his name is Nowhere Society. Look him up on Soundcloud. After Aaron's set, we went out for dinner with the main band. All really cool guys. We got burritos. BURRITOS. I almost cried from happiness. And then ate an entire burrito. Aaron and I wandered around the city for a bit and found a really cool bar where we stopped for a glass of wine. Then we went back to the original
bar where the band was now on and the bar was packed. It was SUCH a fun night. The band was fantastic and everyone was dancing like crazy. They all referred to me as "the international guest." After the train ride home, I fell asleep so fast. I had a combination of jet lag and lack of sleep from a plane. But what a great start to Sydney.
Day 2 started out with eggs and bacon on crumpets. Aaron made me try vegemite. It is absolutely disgusting. We took the train into the city and wandered around the Rocks. It was a hot, gorgeous, sunny day. We went into the museum of contemporary art, which was way easier to understand than the Pompadou in Paris (Mom). Aaron had to leave for the start of the year at uni, so he pointed me towards a walk. I walked from the Rocks north to Barangaroo (yes, that is its name). I stopped for lunch right before I got there and had a sausage sizzle (look at me with all my Aussie words!) The Barangaroo walk took me along the harbor, past parks, through a lot of piers, and under the bridge
where I got a gorgeous view of the Opera House. I walked around that pier and past an enormous cruise ship that was ugly and looks like a city. A lot of old people around. I continued towards the opera house and treated myself to a glass of white wine with a view of the harbor and opera house along the way. I wandered around the opera house itself for a while, which was fascinating. I continued my walk through a park on the other side and all the way back downtown and through the QVB (Queen Victoria Building), which functions as a mall but also has a Dr. Seuss store! I chatted with a woman in the store, which houses original artwork. She said it was amazing working there because whenever people walk in, their faces light up and they reminisce about their childhoods. Or she gets to introduce them to the world of Dr. Seuss for the first time. The dream.
I bought pens in a shop (for coloring. duh) before getting the train back to Turramurra. Aaron met me and we drove to meet his friends at an Indian restaurant for dinner. Then we went to
Aaron's friend's house (getting froyo on the way. Oh, how I've missed Western food) for movie night and watched Waiting For Guffman. If you've seen Best In Show, it's a lot like that. Same cast, same directors. Hysterical mockumentary. Brilliant. We discussed and went home where I colored a bit and then fell asleep. So much walking.
The next day was much more casual. I went to the mall with Aaron and bought some new shoes and clothes. I hung out at the house for a long time (mostly coloring and being by myself in my own room because PRIVACY. WOW.) I went into the city to meet a friend for dinner. I was going to walk around Newtown at Aaron's suggestion and then meet Silke (a Belgian friend from Budapest) for dinner when she got off work. Unfortunately, work things happened and we couldn't get food. Sad. I walked to Newtown from Central station, which took me about 45 minutes. It was a beautiful walk through the city and a university campus. I finally made it to King Street, and I LOVED IT. Everything was design shops and bookshops and little boutiques. I went in almost every store
and my only complaint is that they closed too early. There was a bookstore with books wrapped in paper and they give you an idea of the genre and plot with bullet points, but the book is a mystery and it's called Blind Date With A Book. So cool. This is what the whole street was like. I took myself out to fish and chips and then took the train home.
My last day in Sydney, I walked forever. Dad had told me about a walk on Manly beach, so I headed that way. I had a burger with beetroot (beets), which is apparently an Aussie thing. Delicious. I then got on a ferry to Manly. It was a windy day, so leaving the harbor we found ourselves in the midst of a ton of sailboats having a blast zipping around and almost parallel with the water. We arrived at the beach, and I followed a path that said, "Manly to Spit walk." I realize how ridiculous those names are now. Anyway, I walked. For 10 kilometers. It took me about 3 hours. I walked along the water and cliffs. i walked in the bush and through woods and
on beaches. I saw some giant spiders, which I didn't get close to because it's Australia, so they were probably trying to kill me. I ran into a bush turkey and due to growing up in New England, my experience is that turkeys are MEAN, so I kind of stood there not knowing what to do until other people came down the path and it ran into the woods. i also saw a large lizard on a tree. While walking on the beach, I saw a pod of dolphins! That was the coolest thing. By the time I was done, I was exhausted and didn't know where the bus was. I found a restaurant and a super nice waitress pointed me to a bus stop and let me fill up my water bottle. While I was waiting at the bus stop as buses passed me by, a guy walked by, and I asked him if this was the right place. He said it was, but if a bus didn't come by the time he was off work, he could give me a ride into the city (not in a creepy way. In a friendly person kind of way. Don't worry).
I thanked him and hoped that wouldn't be the case because I was supposed to meet Aaron in Newtown for dinner. Lo and behold, a bus arrived and I met Aaron in Newtown. Unfortunately, most stores were closed, but we bopped around in an art store for a bit and then got sushi for dinner (nomnomnom). The train eventually slowed down so we got delicious gelato for dessert. I was exhausted from my walk so we took the train back home. I had to wake up at 4am to get a 4:30 train for a 7:00 flight to Melbourne the next morning.
The weather was warm and sunny and beautiful the whole time I was in Sydney. Lucky me!
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