We Weren’t Born to Follow

My trip is going way too fast!! And I still have to catch you up on everything I did before I left Australia. Work was pretty quiet during the last few weeks, and I didn’t even get work during my last week there. On the day after I wrote my last blog, I did another photoshoot. This was for a local

company who would be selling their t-shirts on Amazon, and the photographer who did my graffiti shots a few months ago asked if I’d be interested in being a model. Of course I said yes, cause when else would I be a model on Amazon? The pictures were posted a week later, and I even got a couple of free t-shirts as a thank you! The next day, I didn’t get work either so I did some shopping and then Sarah and Sabriena came over to help me make some chocolate chip cookies.

When everyone else finished work, Nathan, Alexa, As, and Jessica came over to have cookies and Nanaimo bars on the patio before we met up with Kitty and Ryan for taco night at Saint Lucia. After

dinner, we all went back to my house again for a short visit before everyone went home. That Saturday was Bon Jovi!! It was such a warm day so I walked to Big W to do some shopping for my trip, and then I met up with Alexa in Richmond for a drink and dinner before I went to the concert. The concert was so good, and he kept everyone entertained!! I decided to avoid the train station after the concert since it was so crowded and instead, I walked about 20 minutes to try to catch the

tram. However, I JUST missed it and the next one wouldn’t be for 20 more minutes. I decided I would start walking until the next one arrived but an hour and a half went by and no tram came. Before I knew it, I was already home with some fresh blisters on my feet. The next day was my last day with Alexa since she’d be leaving to go on a trip to New Zealand. A group of us met up at Town Hall to get a picture taken with Santa since it would be the last time we’d be all together for awhile. Then, we went out for lunch before a smaller group of us went ice skating. Air Canada made the first summer skating rink in Melbourne and lucky for us, it was cooler that day so we still got to skate (as they had to close down the rink many other days since it was too hot). It was just As, Alexa, Kitty, and I so it was a smaller group and surprisingly, the Aussie was the best skater out of all of us! I think the last time I went skating was likely when I was about 15... We all made the entire 45 minutes without falling, so we were quite proud! Unfortunately, the poutine stand was closed by the time we finished so we went to an ice cream shop called Dex2rose and sat there for a couple of hours, visiting and enjoying our ice cream. We then went for dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant and then decided to head back home. On the way to the tram, As suggested that we go to the Myers windows since they do a Christmas display every year. In front of the windows, there was a fire truck and as I jokingly said I should hop on, one of the firemen waved us over and let us sit in the front and try on the uniforms. They were so heavy! We even got to carry the oxygen tanks and hold the tools that they would have to carry in a fire situation, so we had a ton of extra weight added on. I was sweating even though it was a cold day that day! After about 45 minutes of talking with the firemen, we finally took a look at the Myers display. This year, it was an Alice in Wonderland theme but it was actually pretty creepy. Then it was goodbye for me and Alexa, who has become one of my closest friends in Melbourne so it was tough knowing it would be a full four months until we’d see each other again.  

The next week, I got work Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Little did I know, Wednesday would be the very last day that I’d ever get work. On Monday night, I went to Rent: The Musical, which was pretty good. It was nice that it was Christmas-themed, as it’s been extremely difficult for me to get into the Christmas spirit this year, which is actually quite surprising. Anyone who knows me knows that I’m the most Christmas-y person ever. I’ll start playing Christmas carols in November (or sometimes October), and I’ll always bake up a storm. This year, it just hasn’t felt like Christmas for me. I was actually more upset in June and July and started feeling sorry for myself because everyone would be celebrating Christmas without me. And then I’d remember that it’s June. So I think next year, I’m just going to celebrate Christmas in July because the weather is cold and gloomy, and it just feels more like Christmas. It’s been so weird seeing Christmas trees and hearing Christmas carols everywhere I go.. That weekend, I spent the entire day in bed on Friday night and on Saturday because I was feeling sorry for myself that I was leaving Melbourne. Yes, I was upset because I’d be going on a 4-month trip. I really didn’t want to leave my life in Melbourne. On Sunday, I spent half the day in bed and when I FaceTimed my parents and they said I better go out and do something, I decided to meet up with Ryan for drinks. We met at an Irish pub on Chapel Street and stayed for a few hours and then walked to a Japanese restaurant for dinner. We had this weird poutine-like dish, which was fries with fried chicken, gravy, mayo, and sriracha, and we had to eat it with chopsticks. The cool thing about this place was they had a board game room, a Nintendo room, and a karaoke room. Since it was Sunday, we got to do everything for free so we played a few rounds of Mario Kart, and then sung some karaoke. It was a fun day! 

On Tuesday night, I met up with Jess, Kitty, and a couple new girls for taco night. It was actually in a hostel but the deal was if you buy a drink, you get free tacos until they run out of ingredients. We ended up getting two each, which was more than enough! On Wednesday, I ended up doing another photoshoot. The photographer wanted to do one more with me just for fun, and as a thank you for doing the t-shirt shoot. As soon as I realised I wouldn’t get work that day, I texted him and then went home to get ready. We met after lunch and went to the botanical gardens, where we took a bunch of shots. We were approached a couple of times asking if we had a permit (which I didn’t realise we would need) but since it wasn’t a paid shoot, they let it go. After the photoshoot, I quickly went home and heated up dinner, then headed over to Ryan’s to have a couple of drinks before going to Shania Twain! I had bought my ticket a loooooong time ago, and spent $110 to sit in the fourth-last row of the stadium, nearly as far away as you could get from Shania. Ryan had wanted to go but by that time, tickets were about $250. I got an email from Groupon a few weeks ago saying that there’d be a discount on Shania Twain tickets so I sent it to him and he ended up spending about $80 and got a seat in the first level. I wasn’t too happy about my ticket! We decided that we’d try to sit together, so I sat in the seat next to his and then when those people came, we’d move to the row behind and then when THOSE people came, we’d move to the row behind. By the time we moved three times, I was like, “Okay, I think I should just go to my seat,” but the people around us were like, “No, keep going! This is entertaining for us too!” So we tried one more time. And we made it through at least half of the concert! But then at about 9:30, the people came to take their seats :( I moved back to my seat for the rest of the concert. Shania did a really good show and did a ton of outfit changes! However, she didn’t do an encore and she didn’t sing some of the classics cause she was singing too much of her newer stuff. But it was still a great concert! On Thursday, I had to move all of my stuff out of my flat. I had booked a car from Car Next Door, which is essentially what it’s called - if your neighbour is at work and not using their car, you can go use it and pay by the hour or the day. I paid for two hours, which was $7 per hour and then I had to pay for kilometres on top of it, so it ended up costing less than $20. I woke up and got ready, hauled all of my stuff downstairs, went to pick up the car at 10am, transferred everything into the car, drove to Nathan and Sabriena’s house, and Nathan and I unloaded the car. I stayed for a bit to visit, then left with a half hour to spare before realising that the car didn’t have a quarter tank of gas in it (which is required when you return the car) so I frantically searched for a gas station, added ten dollars, and drove it back just in time. Unluckily for me, that day was the first day in a long time with rain. Not only that but they said that we got a month’s worth of rain in that one day. So you can imagine how soaked I was by the time I got home. That afternoon, I went to get a haircut and then I met up with Jess for all-you-can-eat hotpot. We only ordered food once, but we ordered so much and couldn’t even eat it all! That night was Jess’ last night before going back to Canada for the holidays, so it was nice to spend one last night with her. 

The next day was my last full day in Melbourne! I spent the morning getting my bag ready for my trip and packing up the last of my things (which I left at my flat). Then, I had to go pick up my travel card, which is a story on its own. You see, if I want to use my Aussie bank card while travelling, I’ll get charged $5 every time I withdraw money at an ATM. I researched other travel cards and found one that wouldn’t charge me at all but when I went to that bank, they said they’d have to make me a profile and in order to do that, I’d have to prove that I’d be in the country for at least six months. When I explained that I wouldn’t be able to do that until AFTER my trip, they said that they wouldn’t be able to give me a card. My bank has a travel card which still charges $2.50 per withdrawal, but at least it’s better than 5. I ordered that card online and they told me to pick it up at the Balaclava branch in five business days. However, when I went to the Balaclava branch the next week, there was a sign on the door saying that the bank was permanently closed. I called the bank and was on the line with them for at least an hour before they finally resent another travel card to a different location in central Melbourne, on Collins Street, but I’d have to wait another five business days. So on the fifth business day (right before my haircut), I went to the bank to pick up my card. I had to wait about 10 minutes for them to check and then they asked, “Are you sure it’s at this location?” “Yes, they said on Collins Street...” “We have three locations on Collins Street.” So then, since I had to go to my hair appointment, I called the travel card centre on the way there and asked which location. The next day, I went to go pick it up and they had no idea about my card. The branch was supposed to close in the next hour and luckily one of the bank tellers sat down with me to take all of my details. “When do you leave for your trip?” “Tomorrow morning...” He called the travel card company, who confirmed that the card was sent there so he said he’d have to issue me a new one. However, I’d have to put $200 onto the card in order to get it (even though I had already put $500 on it when I ordered it). I FINALLY got my card so I left in the pouring rain (it was literally another month’s worth of rain in 15 minutes) and met up with Ryan in the closest coffee shop we could find, just so we could get out of the rain. Once the rain died down, we headed back towards my train station, where we stayed until they closed. Kitty joined us for dinner, and then Sarah came later after she finished work. Then, I had to say my goodbyes, go home, and get up a few hours later for my flight, which I’ll write about in another post. Hope everyone had a great Christmas! Love always

We Weren’t Born to Follow - Bon Jovi

Preparing for Southeast Asia

Flights, Visas, and Travel Insurance

Planning a trip is a great amount of work, especially for a planner like myself. No, I’m not just going to show up and “wing it.” No, I’m not just going to look at someone else’s itinerary and do every single thing that they do. I’m going to research. I’m going to look at TripAdvisor, Google, Pinterest, Facebook, read blogs, read multiple itineraries, and I’m going to choose the best locations for me. Over ten people have already asked me, “Oh, are you going to Koh Phi Phi in Thailand?” No, I’m not. I don’t want to go somewhere just because everyone else is going/has went. I want to find some less travelled places that are even more stunning! I had my Southeast Asia trip planned within my first two months of living in Australia. Back when I was doing my farmwork and living on a farm with nothing to do, I got the sudden urge to plan a trip. And since I had unlimited hours of free time, I spent it all researching about places to go to. I already had a rough itinerary planned before I moved out of my first house. It was when I moved into my second house (in April) that I booked my flights. The most expensive flight (in comparison to the others) was to go to Taiwan, but because I had made so many new Taiwanese friends at the tomato farm, I knew it would be worth going. In my opinion, I did a pretty good job when it came to my flight prices:

Roundtrip Melbourne to Bangkok - $763

Roundtrip Bangkok to Krabi (Thailand) - $103

Roundtrip Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) - $124

Roundtrip Kuala Lumpur to Taipei (Taiwan) - $310

=$1300

Quite a few months later, I really started thinking that I should visit my sister, brother-in-law, and two nephews in Shanghai. I had pondered it before, but the price of the flights made me decide not to buy a ticket. However, I realized that I hadn’t seen my brother-in-law since he visited me in London over a year and a half ago, I hadn’t seen my sister and nephew since my 25th birthday, which was almost four years ago, and I haven’t even MET my other nephew, who turns two years old in January. I figured I should leave Melbourne a week earlier so that I could spend a week with the family in Shanghai before Christmas. So adding that (more expensive) flight into the equation:

Roundtrip Bangkok to Shanghai - $463.74 (with baggage)

=$1763.74 total,

which honestly isn’t that bad for a 4.5-month trip. On top of my flights, I also had to apply for a couple of visas ahead of time:

Visa for China - $148

Visa for Vietnam - $100 (plus postage and postal insurance).

I’ll also have to pay for my visas in Laos and Cambodia, but won’t have to pay until I arrive.  Then, I also had to look into travel insurance. I decided to go with the usual backpackers’ insurance, World Nomads. I went with the Standard Plan since I’m only travelling with a backpack and therefore the chance of me losing luggage/getting thousands of dollars worth of stuff stolen is pretty low. Plus hopefully emergency medical costs in Asia would be lower compared to other countries. I paid $395.01 CAD (or $425.04 AUD) for my 130-day trip (plus added 7 extra days when I arrive back in Australia until I get my Medicare re-sorted). Therefore, it comes to about $2.90 CAD (or $3.10 AUD) per day.

Packing

In terms of packing, I wasn’t sure whether I should go with the carry-on route or try to check in a bag. After doing a trip to Tasmania and a trip to Byron Bay/Brisbane in September, I realized that it would be a huge challenge to try to do a 4-month trip with only 7 kg. I decided that I’d probably have to check in a bag but upon looking at the prices and finding out that it would cost me 78 dollars EACH WAY for my flight from Melbourne to Bangkok alone, I knew I wasn’t going to pay over 300 dollars just to carry a heavier bag around. Therefore, the 7kg challenge was a challenge that I was going to have to accept. Since most bags weigh about 2-3kg on their own, my first step was to find the lightest bag that I could. After tons of research, I ordered a Cabin Zero bag from the UK, which cost me $110 AUD. This 44L bag is awesome because it only weighs 0.76kg, which leaves me a lot of weight to add. It has a ten year warranty, and it has a unique lost-and-found tag so I can trace my bag if it gets lost. It opens like a suitcase would, which makes finding items a lot easier.

I also decided to buy some packing cubes in order to keep my bag more organised. I had bought some cheap packing cubes for my Africa trip but the zippers already broke after opening them a few times, so this time I paid $20 for a 7-piece Waterproof set. Everything is the perfect size to fit in my backpack, and there's even some space leftover!

Travel Essentials

In terms of items that I bought specifically for my travels, the first thing I needed to find was a new camera. I got my previous camera (Canon PowerShot S95) in 2012 for my Europe trip but a few months ago, I ended up dropping it and the lens stopped opening. I wanted to find another DSLR that would take amazing pictures so after doing a ton of research (as usual), I finally decided to go with a Canon PowerShot SX730. This camera is awesome because it connects to both Wi-fi and Bluetooth, so I can control the camera using my phone if I’m using a tripod. I can also instantly transfer all of the photos to my phone, which will then automatically upload all of my pictures to iCloud AND Google Photos so that if my camera ever gets stolen (knock on wood), I won’t have to worry about my biggest fear happening when travelling, which is losing all of my pictures (I ALWAYS try to back up my pictures at least three times). This camera also has a flip screen for easy-to-take selfies, and it also has an AMAZING zoom!! I’ll attach pictures of the Bon Jovi concert that I went to - one picture uses no zoom at all and one picture is using full zoom. The results are unbelievable! This camera set me back by $399 AUD, which is definitely worth it!

No zoom

With zoom

To go with my new camera, I also finally decided to cave and get a selfie-stick. I’ve never had one before and find them quite annoying when in high-tourist areas, but I also realized that they come in handy when doing solo travel. The selfie-stick that I got is also a tripod, and it comes with a remote for easy picture-taking. It has a two different attachments - one 1/4 screw head for my camera and one phone holder, so I can use it with both my camera and my phone. The BlitzWolf Selfie Stick cost me $27.99AUD.

Another travel essential is a portable charging pod. I had already gotten my Poweradd Pilot X7 before, and I use it almost everyday when my phone is about to die when I'm coming home from work. It states that it can charge an iPhone 7 six times and with my iPhone 6s, I can definitely get at least ten charges out of it. Perfect when you don’t know the next time you’ll be around a power outlet! 

And speaking of power outlets, it’s also important to have a good adapter. I got my universal adapter a couple of years ago when I was living in London and I take it on all of my trips (and now use it everyday for all of my Canadian items in Australia). While it’s a bit bulky, it has every outlet option to plug into, plus it has 2 USB ports and 1 plug-in, so I can charge three items at one time (whether it be my camera, phone, pedometer, selfie stick, charging pod, etc.) - so handy!

The last electronic device that’s not necessarily an essential, but is nice to have is my new Mi Band3, which is like a FitBit but a different brand. It has the time, the weather, counts my steps, tracks my light and deep sleep, and will update me of any messages I get on Facebook, WhatsApp, WeChat, etc (obviously only if I’m on data or Wifi).

Thank goodness it was just Black Friday because I was able to take advantage of travel deals last week! I was on the search for hiking shoes and a waterproof jacket, and stopped at the DFO (designer fashion outlet) to find the best deals. I made all of my purchases at Adventure Megastore, which is the only store (that I know of) in Australia that sells Columbia products. I found some waterproof hiking shoes, which out of all of the shoes I tried on at DFO, I liked the best because they were less bulky than all of the other waterproof shoes (as in they just felt like regular running shoes). I got the Columbia Peakfreak XCRSN II Xcel shoe for $149 (originally $250). I then found a waterproof Columbia Arcadia II rain jacket for $99 (originally $180).

The last essential item that I got is a type of travel belt, but it’s not your typical ugly travel belt that your mom makes you wear on your first flight to Europe. I love these ones because they are made for people who run (not me), so they can put in their phones, keys, etc. It’s a stretchy piece of fabric that goes around your entire body so you have to put it over your head or your legs in order to take it off - no one will be able to clip or cut it off. It fits tightly against your skin so if you’re wearing a shirt overtop, you can’t even tell that it’s there (and you usually forget that you have it on). I bought one from a company called Stashbandz for my Africa trip and loved it - I’d always put it on when we went through border control. I tried to get the same one for this trip but after having to wait over a month for it to come from the US (it still hasn’t arrived), I found a similar one from an Australia-based company called FlipBelt.

So now, I have less than 24 hours to make sure my bag is 7kg or smaller. Right now, I'm hovering around 7.3kg, but I'd like to stay on the safe side, especially because I'll be taking multiple flights and I'll probably accumulate some stuff on my trip. Wish me luck!