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Going to Australia
Bwah?
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hello fellow PA'ers..
At the end of the month I will be departing to Sydney, Australia:winky: for a 1 month study abroad program. Although I have heard many suggestions on activities, they have all been quite redundant (Climb the bridge, Skydive, Art museum, Opera house, Shopping, Bar Crawls?). I've googled/pa searched further and found out about some additional ideas, IE rugby games, seeing wildlife. However, I still feel like I need more ideas of things to do in my spare time.
Additionally, if anyone has personal experience with cultural norms (how not to offend people on accident/etc), tips, etc. I would greatly appreciate it. I've gotten many vague answers when asking individuals who have visited prior.
Lastly, I have been able to find the exact voltage difference between USA and Australia, but still haven't figured out how my appliances need to be converted, and with type of converter/charger. For example I am looking to bring my Laptop, Electric Shaver, Possibly an Ipod dock?
p.s. any advice for a 26 hour flight? Gahhh:?
Any and all answers/advice are appreciated! Thanks for your time guys/gals.
TL;DR Going to Australia and need input on ...everything.
At the end of the month I will be departing to Sydney, Australia:winky: for a 1 month study abroad program. Although I have heard many suggestions on activities, they have all been quite redundant (Climb the bridge, Skydive, Art museum, Opera house, Shopping, Bar Crawls?). I've googled/pa searched further and found out about some additional ideas, IE rugby games, seeing wildlife. However, I still feel like I need more ideas of things to do in my spare time.
Additionally, if anyone has personal experience with cultural norms (how not to offend people on accident/etc), tips, etc. I would greatly appreciate it. I've gotten many vague answers when asking individuals who have visited prior.
Lastly, I have been able to find the exact voltage difference between USA and Australia, but still haven't figured out how my appliances need to be converted, and with type of converter/charger. For example I am looking to bring my Laptop, Electric Shaver, Possibly an Ipod dock?
p.s. any advice for a 26 hour flight? Gahhh:?
Any and all answers/advice are appreciated! Thanks for your time guys/gals.
TL;DR Going to Australia and need input on ...everything.
Bwah? on
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Where in sydney are you staying? Australian cities are fairly sprawling things, so knowing what areas you'll be living in will help people find you useful things to do (if you're lucky, you're somewhere around newtown/redfern which has plenty of hang-out-able places).
Cultural norm-wise, Australians are fairly difficult to offend, so don't worry much in that regard. We're not that different from the yanks - probably closer to canadian city folk.
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take a look at the chargers for your devices, if it says 100-240v ~ 50/60hz than your good, if it doesn't than you'll need a transformer. but you'll definitely need a plug shape converter.
as for appliances, they usually have voltage information printed somewhere - if they say something like "110 ~ 220V (or 240V)" then at most you'll need a cheap plug adapter. but if they're 110V only it's best not to even bother. step-up converters are bulky and very expensive. for what you've mentioned - certainly a laptop and a basic ipod charger - you should be sweet
as for things to do i wrote up some things for a previous thread that might be handy
In terms of Australian norms and not offending people, be a nice person and Aussies will generally be nice people back. Nothing special really. Also don't offer to play knifey-spooney with anybody.
But honestly, be polite to us, and we are polite back.
Sydney zoo is pretty damn cool, every time I head to sydney I go have a look.
Talk to the people you are studying with, and they will help you find the cool out of the way stuff.
EDIT: +1 for no tipping. Most places might have a coffee cup or something near the register that a few people throw some silver (aka cents) into. I earn a pretty good living so if it was good service and the bill is say $15.40, Ill throw 60c in. But it is in no way expected. Wait staff over here are on a min of $15 an hour.
Great zoo, haven't been there for a while though :<
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Sydney might be a bit different to Darwin where I'm from, but I've never tipped anyone except a taxi driver in Sydney because I was told to by a friend. Apparently you tip taxi drivers in Australia, who knew?
But no, if you go to pubs, no bartender is going to be snarky and water down your drinks because you didn't tip. Honestly, a huge percentage of the time they wouldn't expect a tip, and if you do you'll probably get it back as change unless you specify otherwise, of course then they'll be happy to take it
Service staff in Australia make WAY more than they do in America, which is why we don't tip. It seriously isn't any skin off their teeth if you don't tip. So don't feel obligated to, they'll still be able to eat.
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I do understand that tipping is expected in America because waiters and waitresses have a low salary, but I wouldn't see myself doing it on a regular basis. I've actually read about people tipping +100% which is just crazy.
Of course that I don't usually tip when I'm visiting a foreign country, specially because I'll be saving money to visit places and do awesome stuff.
For the OP's sake I wouldn't say its an exception to the 'we dont tip in Australia' rule.
I'm a noob when it comes to taxis. I have my own car in Darwin and we only took a taxi once when I was in Sydney, I think we tipped him because he got us there fast (sped). I don't think taxi drivers would take issue if they weren't tipped.
[QUOTE=Bwah?;15262851
Additionally, if anyone has personal experience with cultural norms (how not to offend people on accident/etc), tips, etc. I would greatly appreciate it. I've gotten many vague answers when asking individuals who have visited prior.
[/QUOTE]
I can't think of anything off the top of my head. Maybe if you give us an example of the vague answers you get, we can elaborate on, or confirm/deny their validity.
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Here's a few thing I was told, but have not verified.
"Fanny" is a word for female genitalia on par with "cunt."
You do not "root" for a sports team, as it is slang for "fucking." You "barrack" for a team.
Two fingers up (peace sign) with your palm towards you is the equivalent of giving someone the finger.
That's all I can think of just now.
Otherwise - if you have time, and the weather is cooperating, try and get out to some of the national parks. They are lovely places.
If you mean, "Is there a rule for tipping in America," yes, there basically is. Not tipping wait staff at all is the equivalent of flipping them the bird and spitting on their car on your way out. Except they're also out of some money now.
Fannypacks.
lol no.
There isn't any huge cultural differences I can think of that will offend people...We're not that backwards to you guys.
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As an Australian I'd like to think e are a fairly friendly bunch. Don't worry about offending people with anything tricky, and don't be offended when you are made fun of for being an american. We take the piss constantly. Don't be worried when you find a bunch who turn EVERYTHING into innuendo.
You can root for a team, barracking for a team sounds silly
Take it easy, get a map of the CBD and walk around
I went down to melbourne for a week by myself and just wandered through the city center. Since you are study abroad you'll likely pick up some friends fairly quickly.
Also, one of the reasons we tip in the US is that our food isn't so goddamn expensive. I've rarely eaten for less than $20 here, and the exchange rate is close to even. That plus our wait staff earn like $6 an hour.
Also, Australian coins are in a dumb opposite format. Huge ones are less money, $2 ones are tiny. Get on the Loonie Toonie boat you fools!
Also having been in Sydney for a week and a half, I can say that my favorite touristy thing so far was going to explore Cockatoo Island. It's a cross between Alcatraz and a modern art museum, and it's both free and unfettered. I spent 5 hours just running around looking at crazy art and seeing the sights of a really cool old place.
Other than that, I'd take a bunch of long walks through places. The botanical gardens, the markets, Darling Harbour, the city in general. I've had a great time seeing everything I can of the city. The zoo at the moment is under construction and as such a crappier place than normal, but I did see awesome lions.
The Bondi to Coogee walk is also pretty impressively cool. You just need to go to a ticket window and ask what you need for a complete rail/bus round trip, then get off the bus at the Bondi stop and walk 5k to Coogee and back. It's some of the most beautiful city coastline I've ever seen.
Also the most important thing about interacting with Australians is nodding and smiling politely when they talk about how different they are and how totally not like Ugly Americans they are.
Some places to eat I've enjoyed:
The Nepalese Kitchen
Kilamanjaro (Note: for lunch is probably better because it's not busy, the staff is all bitches about people staying too long, and they seem to basically hit you until you leave)
Viet Maison
Maggie's Thai (run by the actual for-real Maggie, who is a nice lady)
Martini (Good breakfast stuff, like honey motherfucking bacon. So delicious. Also pretty good coffee)
The end of Chinatown has a little underground food court that had pretty good stuff in huge portions for very little cash.
Bars in Sydney, also known as "Hotels" because of the way Australian minds aren't as good as ours, are generally pretty awful through no fault of their own. They've been obligated to sell food until just a little while ago, so most of them are pretty samey pubs with decent but overpriced beer and okay but uniteresting food. My favorite ones so far have been The Hive Bar and The Cricketer's Arms. Don't bother with the pub food. It's what you could get elsewhere, only shittier and more expensive.
I've had much more luck with cafes, which tend to be either decent to good breakfast places or decent to good pastry shops.
And don't forget to hit the markets. There's a great food one by the Carriageworks that you can basically go to breakfast on samples.
Overall I am a pretty big fan of the city! It is nice and walkable, generally pretty, and fun. It's a bit pricey, though!
Also the city rail sucks immense balls compared to the Boston T. It's confusing, inefficient, and basically you will constantly break the rules on it because it's so dumb. Luckily, it's also a very walkable city.
I think my next thing will be Manly on the ferry, then maybe taking a train to further north for a day or two.
may i suggest terrigal/wamberal, or avoca? i grew up on that part of the central coast and it's really a great spot, and while it's relatively touristy, it is for a reason - they're beautiful beaches. they really leave sydney beaches (at least bondi and coogee) for dead, and there's a lot around to eat and even a few not-completely-devoid-of-character pubs. you'll have to get a bus or cab from the train line, but that's okay because nothing on the train line north of sydney is really worth seeing anyway
though it is a gorgeous journey from hornsby to gosford.
And the only people who wear them are the intellectually differently abled and tourists who we may then mistake for such
(don't wear a bumbag they're terrible)
As for tipping v no tipping, I prefer to pay for the actual meal and not subsidise the staff. People should earn a living wage no matter what they do, without having to beg for scraps, and the overall cost works out similar in the end once you compensate for the different price of raw foodstuffs here (a lot of US foodstuffs are heavily subsidised, and import costs are lower there).
That said, the staff at fancier cocktail bars here (Bowery and Zuri in Brisbane for example) seem to now expect your change as a tip (so, like, $2-5 per transaction), but this seems to be largely because they're entirely too impressed with themselves and/or are deliberately seeking a clientele flush enough to throw away change like unwanted candy. I'm kind of neutral on the idea because such bartenders have fancy skills, but it seems pretty snobby and I don't want it spreading from the swanky joints to my local sandwich bar.
Anyway, definitely go up to the northern beaches some time, even if it will be winter its very pretty. I used to live near Dee Why Beach/Long Reef, and at Long Reef headland there's an enormous section of rock flats and pools and such. Its fun to muck about on at low tide, if you like sea critters and such. Time Out may also be of use, for gigs and whatnot.
Canadian coins are so nice. I could just feel my pocket for a second and know basically my exact change. With these it's like "Well, either I have like $2 or $20, depending on how many chiclet-sized ones and twos snuck in there".
Also I got drop bear repellant and haven't been bear-dropped since, so it's obviously at least as effective as the tiger repellant I bought back home!
PS - You'd think for all their heavy, strangely-shaped coins the designs would at least be cool, but they all have the exact same image of the queen on them. Worst coins ever.
well hell it probably all comes from the same factory in china anyway
I'm pretty sure that the coinage thing is a deliberate plot by the hospitality industry to encourage tipping. Who wants to carry all that crap around?
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As for location I will be in the area of Dunmore Lang college/ Macquarie university.
I'd love to outreach into the communities around Sydney, however I am not sure what travel is available to me.
I was told to try kangaroo..but it sounds so wrong.
Do not worry about it so much.
Make some friends while your there and get them to take you places.
Satans..... hints.....
macquarie university is a fair way out of the city, but the recently completed train line makes it a fairly quick, easy journey so you should be sweet for transport
i like macquarie, i studied there for five years and it's a cool uni. there's not much nearby other than a massive shopping centre though, so the sooner you get comfortable with the trains the sooner you'll be able to get the most of sydney
They're not farmed, the entire industry is wild harvest. Its game, so don't expect it to taste like farmed meat. It is very healthy though, and frankly no more or less dangerous than any other meat product. The main thing is that it desperately needs to be either properly marinated or slowcooked, and it needs strong flavours to accompany it, or the meat taste overwhelms everything else.
Crocodile, on the other hand, is delicious.
Really? I didn't realize they weren't farmed. It was definitely tasty, but yeah we did a slow roast with vegetables and marinade so it was pretty delicious.
I really should look for crocodile, I've heard good things.
Enjoy the coastline, its one of the most beautiful spots planet earth has.
If you get the opportunity to travel north - basically anything north of Brisbane - Go see the Great Barrier Reef.
No Seriously...go see the Barrier Reef. Theres tons of scuba and snorkling services in those areas and even if you have no experience, you'll have an amazing time.
The girls seemed to really like my accent.
The dudes were mostly cool as long as you weren't a toolbag and weren't being hit on by their lady.
Do not ask for a Fosters beer - no one drinks that nasty shit.
If you're looking for a burger king - they renamed it, its called Hungry Jack.
haha, exactly :P Also, they really like the relatively open, grassy environments we've set up for sheep and cows and football players, so they basically just rock up and hang out alongside them - to the point where they actually hit plague proportions in some places, unfortunately. They're also pretty common in peri-urban areas (check photo #2 in the first gallery - I've been there, and those roos are not photoshopped