While Matt Was Away...

Sydney NYE

2012-03-08T07:57:00.000-05:00

Just as this year was my first Christmas away from home, it was also my first New Year’s Eve. Having taken up my buddy Rob’s offer of a place to crash I decided to spend NYE in Sydney. Everyone has seen what the Sydney NYE fireworks look like on TV, they’re mighty spectacular. Turns out that Sydney’s NYE is actually the world’s biggest New Year’s party attracting crowds of 1.5 million people. To put things in perspective, Times Square in NYC attracts approximately 1 million people. So obviously it is a BIG deal! Normally I end up in a club on NYE, but I didn’t come half way across the world to do exactly what I do back home, I came here to see the big show.

View Larger Map

The day started off with me and Rob plotting our journey, which park to go to etc. See, being NYE obviously we want to have some drinks. For NYE there are alcohol-permitted parks and dry parks, and anywhere with a good view is obviously dry. The only alcohol permitted park we could find that was remotely close to the Harbour Bridge was Bicentennial Park. Before we set off, we mixed a bottle of champagne with some OJ, and put it in a backpack. And so our journey started... We got to Bicentennial park and realized that the view was shit, there was another bridge blocking the view of the Harbour Bridge. Thankfully with our smartphones we plotted a course to the Balmain East Wharf which was not listed as a vantage point in the Sydney NYE website, so it should be alcohol permitted right? So after our 6.8 Km trek ON FOOT we got to Balmain East Wharf to discover that it’s a dry zone and cop central. F@#$!!

So at the park it was really busy, and unfortunately dry. We were able to get primo seats for the fireworks, but unfortunately there was at least 5 hours until they started. A lot of the evening was spent watching the cat and mouse game going on between the cops and the kids next to us drinking goon and smoking weed. We also witnessed a couple enter a port-o-potty together, and a guy get arrested which erupted in the crowd cheering (must’ve really been a dick). As the evening passed, police presence increased and they started searching bags. Thankfully being well dressed and minding our own business, we were left alone (and didn’t have our mimosa bottle confiscated/poured out).

AWESOME!!

There are two fireworks shows over the course of the evening. The first one is around 10:00pm and is the family show. This is catered to those with small children who might not last the wait till midnight. It was nice as it was starting to get long waiting till midnight. When the countdown finally began, sadly we got it wrong a few times. Since our vantage point was behind the Harbour Bridge, the numbers on the screen were backward. Also what threw us off was that the countdown started at 90 seconds. Finally the new year came and I saw what was one of the best fireworks shows ever! Overall the trek was well worth it! Both me and Rob were completely drained when we got home, especially as it was 2:30am by the time we walked back. We walked almost 14k, and I was wearing my dress shoes... Me feet were thoroughly blistered! If you’re in this part of the world during the holiday season, you’d be a fool to miss out!

The Art Of Being Cheap

2012-03-06T08:53:00.001-05:00

Being cheap (or frugal if you prefer to sugar it up) is an art. Obviously like anything else practice makes perfect. Australia is an expensive place, and I’ve already gone over how to stretch that Aussie dollar. Last week I also covered getting some cheap eats while in St. Kilda which although not really “on a shoestring,” it’s an affordable luxury while on that budget! I’ve had a learning curve here as well, having realized that you can’t necessarily be cheap with everything. Honestly sometimes it’s worth paying the extra 25 cents! At the same time however, if you see a good deal there’s no shame in jumping on it. I’ll give you an example of both extremes where I messed up and succeeded.

sigh...

#27 of my 50 things I’ve learned in Australia was that ALDI is a lifesaver if you’re on a shoestring budget. Seriously this place is the shit, with cheap everything! Even the $8.99 six packs of beer aren’t bad at all. But here’s where I made the mistake... I went cheap while at ALDI! I needed sandwich bags to pack a lunch to go volunteering. Here I had the choice of the 99 cent pack or the 69 cent pack of plastic bags. Of course, why pay 99 when you can pay 69 right? What’s the difference? Well it turns out that the 69 cent bags are “snack” bags, and hence you get the result from the picture above... I’ve succeeded in making myself look like an anal-retentive dork packing my sandwiches individually. In retrospect, I should have just spend the damn 30 cents, it would have made my life a whole lot easier! Thankfully I’m almost done this set of bags...

This is the most amazing thing I've discovered!

Recently, now that I’m working, I’ve decided to cut down on my coffee expenses as they add up quickly here in Melbourne. It’s particularly expensive since you can’t get the regular stuff at a coffee shop. This past weekend I bought a travel mug at Coles in the hopes of making my own coffee in the morning and saving the $3 for a small coffee that I pay every morning. While at the grocery store I came to the realization that I need both milk and sugar on top of getting coffee... This was getting get bulky, expensive and inconvenient. Like magic I saw the following product on the shelf which was an answer to my prayers. That’s right folks, instant coffee with milk and sugar in a toothpaste tube! Just add water! It looks ridiculous but I’ll vouch for it. This is probably the closest I’ve gotten to the taste of a double-double since I left Canada. Instead of $3/day it’s now $3/week yeaaah!

As you can see, the art of being cheap is one learned through trial and error. I got greedy with those sandwich wrappers and I pay for it every day... (and no I won’t let them go to waste either! - see article title!). Then again on the flip side I had the coffee which was a BIG risk as I’ve never seen such an invention. Like every other skill, practice makes perfect. Although far from perfect I have become much better at the art of frugality.

St. Kilda Cheap Eats

2012-03-01T08:39:00.001-05:00

Another way to stretch that Australian dollar is to take advantage of daily and happy hour specials. As I explained in my post My City, St. Kilda has plenty of bars and restaurants with daily specials. Thanks to some friends who’ve pointed me in the right direction I’ve been able to come across some amazing cheap eats in my neighborhood. There’s two particular cheap eats I want to focus on in this post, parmas and steak. Both make fantastic meals and are a great treat to have for cheap on certain days of the week. When on the noodle diet these two meals are a luxury you can treat yourself to as it won’t break the bank.

Village Belle Hotel - 202 Barkly St. Saint Kilda, VIC, 3182

Lets start off with parmas. What’s a parma you ask? Don’t be embarassed as I had to ask my friends when they first brought me out. Parma is short for chicken parmigiana, but unlike back home they don’t serve it with pasta. Here parmas are more of a pub meal with many offering specials of $10 pot and a parma. The best so far has to be at the Village Belle Hotel located at Barkly & Acland. On Thursday nights the special of the day is $13 parmas which seems like a rip off compared to the $10 pot and parma specials, but boy oh boy you get your meals worth! Upon entering you go to the kitchen counter and you have the choice of 5 different parmas: Traditional, Hawaiian, Bolognese, Hot Mexican, and Aussie. I’ve had the chance to enjoy 2 of these, the Hot Mexican (topped with ham, mild chili sauce, jalapenos and cheese) - pictured above, and the Aussie parma (topped with bacon, grilled egg, cheese and gravy. The parmas themselves are gigantic, but that’s not all you get! Your meal is complete with two sides, fries and salad. It’s definitely a massive meal so only come if you’re hungry. Regular prices on these range from $19-$21 so at $13 a pop you’re saving a bundle!

The St. Kilda Branch - 204 Barkly St., Saint Kilda, VIC, 3182

Steak is a meal that’s usually reserved for a fancy night out. Back home a steak dinner is average $25. Here in St. Kilda there are plenty of places that offer $12 steak night on different nights of the week. Of these, the best I’ve had so far is at The St. Kilda Branch which funny enough is located across the street from the Village Belle Hotel. Now you’d think that you’d be getting some sort of cheap bottom-of-the-barrel steak but no, you’re getting a porterhouse which here in Oz is a Striploin for you North Americans. You also get your choice of 3 sauces to go with the steak: garlic butter, peppercorn, and mushroom. Your meal comes complete once again with both fries and a salad. Now drinks are a little pricier considering they’ve hooked you in with the cheap steaks, but $16 jugs aren’t so bad, there are worse prices in the neighborhood. With this deal, despite the more expensive drinks you can have a steak dinner and be travelling on a shoestring budget. I highly recommend you give this steak a shot!

Thanks to these deals you can enjoy great meals at low prices. These were a godsend when I was running out of money not too long ago. I hate the noodle diet so thankfully I was able to take a break and have a decent feed with meat, veggies and beer. Even though the meals are at low prices, you’re definitely getting a high quality plate. Whether you’re craving for a parma or a steak, while in St. Kilda be sure to drop by either of these bars for a fantastic meal.

My Trip To Sydney

2012-02-28T08:44:00.001-05:00

I just came to the realization this week that I’ve been here in Oz for over two months and I’ve barely written anything about Sydney. You may have read about my spending Christmas in Sydney, but I barely touched on what I did or saw. I had a great time in Sydney, and I reckon it reminds me a lot of a big city in North America. The city itself is very easy to get around. Just a tip to get a weekly pass if you intend on using the ferries and public transport more than 2 days in a row as a day pass with ferries is over $20! The city itself is also very safe as long as you’re streetsmart. I’ll start off by going over some of the tourist sites in the city, then go a little bit in detail on two sites that touch both extremes of good and bad. Lastly I can’t have an article on Sydney without touching on its beaches.

Be jealous of this shot, it'll be a tough one to match!

So lets start off with the site of all sites here in Australia, The Opera House. This is THE site that all the tourists want to get a picture with, next to the Harbour Bridge. I probably picked the best day of all to go there which was Christmas Day as there were almost NO tourists and I was able to get an amazing shot at the Opera House with no tourists in the background (also thanks to my buddy Rob’s photo skills!). I didn’t do the Harbour Bridge walk as it was >$200 which is a little hard on the unemployed man’s budget. There’s also a group of sites where you can get a discount if you purchase admission to all of them at once (you get like 30 days to go to all the sites). These include the Sydney Tower (ok but so not worth the wait!), Wild Life Sydney (as my friend Tor called it: pure rubbish!), Oceanworld Manly (never been), and the Sydney Aquarium which was totally worth it! (Thanks Rob!).

Lazy, lazy roos

I’ll elaborate a little more on Wildlife Sydney and the Sydney Aquarium as some of you may be curious on the extremely polar views on these two tourist sites. Lets start off with Wildlife Sydney... This is where you go if you’re ONLY going to Sydney and you’re dying to see a koala or a kangaroo. It’s pretty much a miniature zoo with a few kangaroos lying there, crocs, and some koalas you can take a picture with. While it’s cool to see the animals, if you’re visiting more than Sydney then you’re wasting your time (and money). The Aquarium on the other hand is full of exhibits ranging from crabs, jellyfish, to sharks! There are two massive tanks that are built with glass tunnels underneath which allow you to see all the action. The views from those tunnels were really cool, especially for the sharks exhibit.

A cool sight at the Aquarium

Now Sydney’s advantage over Melbourne is it’s stunning beaches. Sydney has Bondi and Manly while Melbourne has St. Kilda beach... While I love St. Kilda, the beach is a dump... Only beach ever that you’ll have trash blowing in the wind (a burger wrapper or two have rolled up my way while I was tanning). Manly and Bondi are both incredible beaches, big, clean and inviting. Be sure to always swim between the flags or you could end up on Bondi rescue. Seriously folks, I just went waist deep and could feel the water sucking me in. While Bondi is really nice, the area surrounding it is really posh and personally I find it has a sort of snobby feel to it. Manly was much nicer, with more of a mix of affordable (but not dodgy) restaurants and bars surrounding it. The only thing about Manly is that you have to take the ferry to get to it, so be sure to plan your trip ahead of time and possibly go for the weekly pass rather than the $21 day pass...

Me at Bondi

So there you have it folks, my first article on Sydney! It’s taken a long time for me to write about it, as I was there over the Christmas and New Years holidays. Don’t be intimidated by the fact that it’s a big city as it’s safe and easy to get around. My best advice is to plan your holiday ahead of time so you can save some money on public transit as well as maybe get one of those combo packs. No matter what people from Melbourne say, it’s not THAT bad! (Yeah I said it!)

The Many Flavours of Poutine

2012-02-23T09:26:00.000-05:00

Yeah so I wrote an article a few weeks ago about how to integrate into a foreign society. While I make some great recommendations on how to set some roots down in another country, there’s nothing wrong with indulging in a little nostalgia of your motherland. Be it watching a taped hockey game at a bar, reading my hometown’s news, or indulging in some dishes from back home, there’s nothing wrong with that. While travelling my curiosity is always aroused when I see poutine on the menu. From personal experience, any poutine made outside of the general French Canadian area of Canada is garbage. Lets take a look at some of the poutines made outside this area:

Vancouver Poutine

This was my first ever experience having poutine outside of the safe zone. After an evening of watching the HSBC Festival of Light and walking back to realize that there was a bazillion people waiting at Granville Skytrain station, me and my friends made our way down the street and saw that the Roxy was quiet and still serving food. Low and behold “Genuine Montreal Poutine” was on the menu, how can you screw that up? Well folks what I got was not poutine, more like fries swimming in gravy with a token piece of cheese here and there. The amount of gravy I ingested made me sick. Hence a precedent was set, poutine outside of French Canada sucks. Took me years to be brave enough to try it again outside the poutine safe-zone. Strike 1.

Seoul Poutine

My Korean poutine

Heh yeah you read that right, I had poutine in Seoul! I thought I’d save this story when I wrote Seoul Food. I found a Canadian bar in the Itaewon district. Itaewon is the foreigner district, better known for it’s seedier elements such as hooker hill and American GI’s starting trouble. This is also where you’ll find bars/clubs/restaurants that cater specifically to foreigners. Over here I found the Rocky Mountain Tavern, a bar catering specifically to Canadians. There was hockey on TV, Canadian beer, and poutine on the menu. Made my order of a Moosehead and poutine. I got this weird metal pot with a concoction that looked NOTHING like poutine. There were chives, chicken (yellow) gravy, and the cheese just wasn’t right. I couldn’t finish this abomination, I seriously thought I was gonna puke. Also throw in the fact that in Seoul in wintertime, Koreans love their heat, so it was like being in front of a hair dryer as well. Strike 2!

Melbourne Poutine

Doesn't look right, but does it taste right?

So the precedent had been set, poutine sucks outside of French Canada and had been pretty much wiped from my mind after the Korean experience. Once day at work, my manager brought up the topic of poutine and mentioned that there is a place that will do it out here. Well obviously there’s a story in it for me so I just HAD to go and try it. I made my way over to Lord of the Fries after work and ordered myself some fries with “French Canadian” topping aka poutine. What I got looked almost like the real thing! It had the right gravy, the cheese was ok, but shredded not in curds. Despite that, it was definitely a hit which surprised me. For $4.95 for a medium it was quite a deal (at least by Australian standards) for a meal. So if you’re around and wanna have a taste of home go check ‘em out!

In the end, I learned that I was wrong. Sometimes poutine can be done right outside of French Canada. Had it of not of been for the hit here in Melbourne, the world would have struck out when it comes to my opinion of their poutine making. It’s also nice to indulge a little in a taste from back home every now and then. Just be sure to try some local grub as well!

Travel Apps

2012-02-21T08:43:00.000-05:00

Hands down my smartphone is probably the one most useful tool that I’ve brought with me travelling. The phone’s done everything from keep me into contact with friends, provide me with countless hours of wifi and skype, as well as guide me to destinations. For example tonight the closest grocery store was closed by the time I got home from work (late aka after 6pm shopping is only on Fridays here in Oz). Thankfully I whipped my phone out and found the next closest Coles. One of the great uses was using my phone to guide me using public transport, and there are plenty of apps to help! Here are three apps available on the Android market that have helped me get around certain cities.

Seoul Subway

Seoul’s subway is renown worldwide for its ease of use and tourist friendliness. Despite these titles and awards, once you’re on the ground it can be confusing...very confusing. Seoul’s subway system looks like someone dropped spaghetti on a piece of paper. Lines criss-cross all over the place and there are so many of them. The other source of possible frustration is that at some stations they’ve installed the turnstiles at the actual entrance to the subway platform and not in a more general area. This means that if you go through the wrong turnstiles you’re either taking that subway to a station with a middle platform, or use hand signs and bad Korean to get the station manager to let you through to the other side. Seoul Subway will help you map your journey, telling you which station to transfer at and more importantly which direction your new train is going. This app was so helpful getting me to the tourist sites all over Seoul as it’s a MASSIVE city! Also one of the greatest tools would be to learn a little hanggul. Also from firsthand experience I highly recommend you AVOID the last train of the night!

Tram Hunter (Melbourne)

Melbourne has an extensive tram (streetcars for you Torontonians) network that can get you all over the city. While they can be a little slow and extremely cramped during rush hour, they’ve gotten me to many of the tourist spots throughout the city. There’s even a free tourist city-circle tram which can be extremely useful for a newbie to get a feel for the CBD. Tram Hunter is an app that will let you know which trams come to your stop and how long till they pass. An extremely useful feature is the GPS functionality which will allow the app to locate the nearest stop. This app has ensured that I’m always at work on time as I always know when the next tram is passing, with pretty darn good accuracy!

Train Trapper (Melbourne)

More recently I’ve been using Melbourne’s train network as I’m staying a little further out of the city. The thing about trains during weekdays is that there are express trains that don’t necessarily stop at all stations. While the express trains have been a blessing for me since I go from one extremity of the line to another, for those that are going to a not so busy station at rush hour could be in for a surprise. Train Trapper will help you find out what time the next train is passing at your nearest station (thanks to GPS). The app will also go into detail as to which stops the train will make and how much travel time you’ll endure. This app has been quite useful over the last few days, I highly recommend it!

As you can see, these apps can make your life much easier. Especially as a tourist and being new to the city and its public transit system. Having a pocket guide can be a priceless tool. if you can, be sure to pack your unlocked smartphone when you leave the country. That way you can pick up a local SIM and use these apps to their full potential. If you don’t want to unlock your phone, you can still use the wi-fi functionality but just keep in mind that free wi-fi is not necessarily as prevalent as back home!

My City

2012-02-16T08:23:00.002-05:00

So I’ve been lying to you all when it comes to the city I live in... I actually live in the city of Port Phillip just south of Melbourne in an area called St. Kilda. While my pants aren’t necessarily on fire, I did manage to have a hole ripped through my fav jeans...To be quite honest I have it quite good here. I’m within walking distance of 3 supermarkets, have a tram that takes me from door-to-door to work (in under 10min), and loads of nightlife. Oh and not to forget the beach a short 10min walk away. Over the weekend we had the St. Kilda festival main day which is the main event of the 9 day festival and inspired me to write about my neighborhood. Almost half a million people descended upon my neighborhood for a wild party! While I could go into specifics about the different tourist gems around here, today I want to cover the very basics. First we’ll talk a bit about the underbelly here, next the general areas and lastly I’ll touch a bit on the nightlife.

Liar liar pants on fire!

St. Kilda is well known for it`s underbelly. I`ll always remember when I first moved here, I was quite shocked at the levels of prostitution. Having grown up on the mean streets of Vanier I`m used to seeing a hooker or two... Here however you can see 4-5 in a one block radius ON A SUNDAY AFTERNOON. I`ve gotten used to them now, and they`re pretty harmless so long as you don`t taunt or provoke them. A friend of mine witnessed a couple insult one and she (maybe a he) apparently went into a drug induced rage... not smart folks! At the same time you need to remember that the hookers on the streets here are mostly drug addicts. Prostitution (in brothels) is LEGAL and regulated here in Australia which means that the girls on the street are there because a) they can`t get hired in a brothel (drugs, STDs, etc.) or b) they`re hiding something of the penis variety (buyer beware!) Most of my friends here would laugh when I complained about the hookers, as it wouldn`t be St. Kilda without them. I now make a game of counting how many I see, most shocking was 3 on a Monday at noon!

Guess what's for sale... and no it's not someone's brother...

There are two general areas that I hang out in, Acland street and Fitzroy street. Acland street is a fairly small street lined with restaurants, shops and small bars. It does cater mostly to tourists so prices may be a little inflated, but like Fitzroy street, the bars all have specials every night to attract the backpackers travelling on a shoestring budget. Walking along Acland street, you know you’re close to the beach, and it gives off a sort of small town feel to it. Fitzroy street on the other hand feels much more urban, full of nightclubs and restaurants. There’s definitely much more selection for food, drinks, and shops along Fitzroy. Along Fitzroy you also have access to Albert Park and some great views of the CBD’s (downtown for you Canadians) skyline.

Acland st. during the St. Kilda festival

Lastly this neighborhood is well known for it’s nightlife, and I must say my weekends have been pretty action packed. All the bars in the area have at least one night that caters to backpackers as we make up a sizable portion of the potential clientele here in St. Kilda. You’ll often see Happy Hours advertised with $5 pints and $4 mixed drinks. My favorite so far has to be the Barkly Hotel which on Fridays offers buckets of vodka (2 shots) redbull for $10 (basically $5 per shot). Now you also have the other end of the spectrum over at the Espy which sells jugs(think a pitcher minus a pint) for $18... ouch! But don’t get me wrong it’s one of my favorite bars.

The oh so dangerous $10 buckets!

Hopefully this gives you a very general idea of my hood, and I hope to tell you a little more about it in the coming weeks. I’m sure you guys are curious about some of the places I’ve mentioned and some of the tourist sites around here. At least you all have a general feel for the area and what it has to offer (apart from the hookers). I actually love my new hood. Funny enough back home in Ottawa I’d be downtown every day, here I haven’t been to the CBD in well over a week! I was quite surprised when I realized this...

Hostel Life...

2012-02-14T08:23:00.000-05:00

Heh, while I was definitely living the high life getting here to Australia... more recently I’ve been living a more humbler lifestyle after I got here. While you’re on vacation, hostel life is great as there’s always a party going on and people to have a drink with and stay up half the night. However when you’re running out of money, looking for work and taking life a bit more seriously, it can be a source of anger. Hostel life is what you make of it, remember YOU chose to live here... by no means are you forced to stay. Here are a few interesting tidbits of my daily life living in a hostel.

Sleep hard... or buy earplugs!

Notice those towels? That's the only way to get privacy... Why a bottom bunk is prized!

Many people would argue that it’s an Olympic sport to wake me up in the morning. Thankfully that’s a good thing here in a hostel. Depending where you are, noise levels can be pretty high, so it’s a good skill to have to sleep like a rock. The only problem however is getting to sleep... It can be a little frustrating when the bongo drums start a drummin or there’s an impromptu Oasis singalong at 1 or 2 am, but that’s just a fact of life here. Thankfully my brain could tune those out! What’s a little harder is when the couple sleeping in the bunk next to you (or god help you the bunk beneath you) are a shaggin’. I’ll always remember at one hostel there was a couple going at it next to me, as uncomfortable as it was I couldn’t help but laugh as all the girl could do was whine. Bravo Romeo... lol! Now some would recommend earplugs, but those are a double edged sword as if you have an alarm clock well guess what... your ears are plugged! Nightshades can be useful as well. It can be a little frustrating adjusting to living with 6-12 other people in the room, but you get used to it.

Kitchen Frenzy!

Try finding your bag in here...

As I’ve mentionned in my article Stretch That Australian Dollar, cooking food will save you A LOT of money. Only thing is that EVERYONE DOES IT, so sometimes space is an issue... the worst is if you have something like beer or goon which takes up a big chunk of space. The other thing is be sure to label everything! There’s always an opportunist waiting around the corner, and they WILL steal your beer or goon if they think they won’t get caught. Personally I recommend keeping your alcohol secure in your room and cooling it in the fridge in a cooler bag available from your grocer. For your goon, label both the box AND the bag that way you can try and catch the fool who stole your drink!

Friends, roommates, and unsavory characters

It might not stop a determined thief, it makes it inconvenient for the amateurs!

The people you meet at a hostel will vary, thankfully while travelling you learn a very important skill that will help you weed through the unsavory characters. I’ve met tons of great people during my stays (you’re probably reading this right now!), and I’ve also met some unsavory characters as well. There’s always a few bad ones staying in the hostel, usually you can easily tell who they are and avoid them, but other times you’re stuck with them in your room. I’ll always remember one fellow in Halifax, he seemed really nice but something was off about him, we later found out he was kicked out for supposedly stealing laptops... I do recommend getting a security device for your backpack, but I recommend only using it when you REALLY feel sketch about the people you’re staying with. Otherwise a) you’re announcing to everyone you have something really valuable and b) you’re basically accusing everyone of being a potential thief, so exercise some restraint on using it in first world countries, third world...LOCK IT UP!

To be quite honest I never expected to be living the hostel life this long! While it’s been a challenge at times, and I can be caught cussing about it, deep down inside I do think it’s all right. I’m quite happy where I’m at right now... But don’t get me wrong, although I may complain about it from time to time, I still chose to live here. Sooner or later though, some privacy would be nice...

Alone for the holidays... maybe not!

2012-02-09T08:10:00.001-05:00

This is the first time I’ve ever been away from home for the holidays. Love ‘em or hate ‘em you do want to be around your family during the holidays. My trip began as Christmas season was in full swing which made it very weird saying goodbye. Most of my family gave me my gifts before I left and threw many goodbye dinners. It really was weird saying goodbye, but I did. Reminders were everywhere!

Christmas tree at Seoul City Hall

Funny enough reminders of Christmas were everywhere in Seoul. There were plenty of Christmas trees, some of which were quite spectacular. As well there were the traditional Christmas tunes playing in the shopping malls. The one that I really found cute was the k-pop version of Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, made me chuckle but a little sad at the same time as it reminded me that I’m on my own. I was also in town for Santacon, which is a global gathering of people dressed up as santa. As I was coming home, Hongik University station was overrun with people dressed up as santa singing carols. What was great was that it was all foreigners and they invaded the bar area. It was quite the night lol! I managed to survive the holiday season in Seoul, but that was just the beginning, as they hadn’t even happened yet.

SataCon @ Hongik Univ. Station - Seoul

One day surfing on facebook I somehow glanced at the people you may know... portion of the newsfeed and saw a name that I knew well many years ago. Funny enough... he was living in Sydney. Got in touch and found out he was going to be on his own for the holidays as well, so what better way to spend the holidays than together? Rob was nice enough to let me crash on his couch for both Christmas and NYE and every day in between, and a bit after. I got to have my first ever Filipino meal when a coworker of his graciously invited us both to spend Christmas Eve with their family. Christmas day I spent visiting the Opera House which gave me an amazing photo op as nobody was around, as well as stuffed my face with yakiniku, the Japanese BBQ. It was a lot of fun and definitely helped relieve some of those holiday blues being on the other side of the world. It was really odd Skyping with the family as I’m pretty much a day ahead, and the Christmas moment was done and it was Boxing day by the time we spoke.

Christmas with my mates in Sydney.

It’s definitely weird being surrounded by beaches and palm trees when you’re so used to snow and pine trees. I was a little shocked as well as the Christmas decorations weren’t as prevalent as they were in Seoul. In the end it just didn’t feel the same... but don’t get me wrong, it was still great to be on a beach on Boxing Day rather than freezing my butt off! I was very fortunate to be taken in by Rob and his friends at Christmas time. I had originally resigned myself to spending the day on Skype and watching Die Hard movies (truly a guy oriented Christmas movie series!) Sounds like fun doesn’t it... thankfully it didn’t come to that...

The #1 Skill You Learn While Travelling Solo

2012-02-07T07:07:00.001-05:00

Face it, travelling solo is not for everyone. If you’re socially retarded and unable to make friends I definitely wouldn’t recommend this as you’d be VERY lonely. One of the best coping mechanisms when travelling solo is making friendships, as nobody likes being completely alone... especially on the other side of the world. But you need to be cautious, as there are a lot of bad people out there! There are many cases of theft, cons etc. among the travelling community, be it cons preying on tourists, a bum in the hostel trying to score some booze/drug money, and just some general lowlifes. That’s why you’ll end up learning to be a great judge of character over time, and this skill will help you forge great friendships. Obviously you’ll also make some mistakes in the beginning, but you learn from them.

Good times in Greece!

A great example of this is my friend Nick who I had met in Greece. Imagine inviting someone you knew for a whole 2 days 3 years ago into your home. There’s a very big risk involved there but he chose to take a risk and offer me a place to stay my first weekend here in Australia. Who knew if I’d be some complete psycho. Same goes for me, choosing to stay over at some guy I knew for 2 days 3 years ago also had an element of risk. This is where the ability to judge character comes in handy as it turns the odds in your favor when it comes to this sort of risky element. Also without taking that risk I would have missed out on an amazing experience (camping on the great ocean road), as well I would have never ended up volunteering!
This was very late into the Oz Day festivities.
I must say that the friendships I’ve forged while travelling have fantastic, and certainly helpful in terms of integrating into the local culture. A great example would have been from a few weeks ago for Australia Day. While I could have joined the travellers here in the hostel and attend the festivities in the CBD and the fireworks on the Yarra River, instead I joined my Aussie friends for a BBQ. I also got to play cricket (more like hit the ball) which has given me more respect for the sport. It’s also something that I wouldn’t normally have tried anyways.

The friendships that you forge while travelling can certainly be some of the best. As well the skill of being able to judge a person’s character quickly helps tilt the odds in your favor. Nothings perfect and you WILL meet some bad people, but just take those as lessons learned and move on. These friendships that I’ve forged have helped me all over the world, from the Aussies who’ve adopted me as one of their own, to Stone Dogg in the Bay Area, even at home some of my Canadian friends who’ve shown me around their city. Pack your bags and get out there, you’ll learn a lot!

* Hehe you’re probably wondering... he’s talking about mistakes and bad shit happening, what happened? Those stories are boring really, seriously who wants to hear about bar brawls and Russian strippers? Didn’t think so ;)

Integrating Into A Foreign Society

2012-02-02T08:32:00.001-05:00

Being away from home can be tough... I’ve been away for almost 2 months now. Although it doesn’t seem like so long, I think the fact that I was gone over the holidays just kinda made it feel like I’ve been away for longer. My position is obviously a tough one as I’m here solo so I definitely have to milk my social skills and make some friends here otherwise I’d be a very bitter lonely traveller. Now I can’t really give many tips apart from being social and getting rid of your shyness, but I can definitely offer you some advice on what NOT to do if you want to integrateinto society.

YOU WILL NEVER INTEGRATE INTO ANOTHER SOCIETY IF YOU’RE ALWAYS IN CONSTANT CONTACT WITH BACK HOME.

Now don’t get me wrong, it’s cool and all to be on facebook or whatever your social network fancy is to keep in touch. You’ll only make your homesickness worse if you’re constantly chatting up, calling, skyping everyone from back home. I’m not advocating cutting your friends and family off, but if you’re talking to them daily I think that you’re overdoing it. Once or maybe twice a week at most is probably the best solution. As much as you will get homesick on some days, DO NOT clutch your smartphone and start skyping or facebooking back home. Instead you should be concentrating on making connections and expanding your social network LOCALLY. Unless you do that you will be alone and it’ll just be a vicious cycle where you’re constantly calling people from back home instead of making friends and conquering the lonely traveller blues.

YOU WILL NEVER INTEGRATE INTO ANOTHER SOCIETY IF YOU STAY IN A BACKPACKERS HOSTEL

Hostels definitely are a great place for a solo traveller like myself to stay as they kinda force you to be social and get out there and be with people. However here in Australia you will NOT meet many Australians while staying in a backpacker hostel. My current hostel is pretty much a European outpost here in Melbourne. I’ve mentioned in previous posts about the amount of French and Irish out here, and while most are great people... I didn’t come to Australia to meet French or Irish... I also love my neighborhood but as well it seems like all the nightlife is dominated by backpackers. Almost like a sort of foreigner ghetto. Once you get out of this sort of ghetto you’ll have a much easier time integrating yourself into your new society and culture.

YOU WILL NEVER INTEGRATE INTO A NEW SOCIETY IF YOU STICK WITH YOUR OWN

It’s great running into fellow Canadians. I love to have a quick chat about the happenings from back home. But as tempting as it is, you didn’t fly half way across the world to stick to your own. If you did you just wasted a lot of money and time! For example the French here really tend to stick to their own and keep things in their own language. Between each other they will stick with French and not attempt to socialize with those around them who might not understand them. You see this with many foreign cultures here. Best advice I have is just get out there and create a diverse social network. Don’t just gather and lament about your motherland, if you want to do that then just fly home!

While the advice in here does seem harsh, it is the best advice that I can giver to you in terms of killing the lonely travellers blues. On top of that, if you’re looking for the true local experience, you won’t get that living in a foreigner ghetto surrounded by any culture but the local one. The best bet is to try and balance everything such as contact with your friends and family back home as well as your social network locally. Don’t fall into the traps I’ve outlined in this article as they’re a sure road to the solo traveller blues!

On The Hunt...

2012-01-31T07:11:00.000-05:00

Being unemployed is great up until your cash starts to run out, then as every day goes by you start seeing dollar figures on everything. Thankfully my budgeting worked as I was able to survive on about $50/day in this bloody expensive country (not including accommodation which is on average $30/night). Nonetheless once I got back to Melbourne at the start of January I realized that I needed to start looking for a job as my cash was starting to dry up. So the hunt began...

As a traveller, your best bet on getting a job is mostly through employment agencies or in the hospitality industry. I decided to go the hard route and apply directly with companies (through seek.com.au) for higher positions than your typical backpacker jobs. This was definitely a harder route to take, and one that was making me a little bitter as well. Being here on a working holidaymaker visa limits you to 6 months with any employer. This limitation as well as a lot of bad apples out there have closed the doors to many of the better jobs. The agency that assists me down here has job listings but many are waiter, kitchen hand, and barista jobs that don’t necessarily pay well. Every day I would get calls from employers about jobs I had applied for, but as soon as my accent came out the question: “What’s your situation?” would come up, and then a prompt rejection from the job. I also got TONS of rejection letters through e-mail.

The best way I can sum up my view of job hunting, is like going to a nightclub. Obviously I want to hit on all the hottest girls (best jobs) first, but they’re also the ones with the most guys hitting on them (choice of candidates). As the night goes on, if I’m unsuccessful, I’ll start hitting on the more regular girls (reg. jobs). If things get REALLY bad, well... there’s always that ONE girl who will go home with anybody (think fast food!). But you wouldn’t want to be caught going after her now would you...

It's all part of the game...

The key to being successful is persistence. Now nobody likes to strike out... but if you never swing for the ball you’ll never hit it. If you just stand there and hope to be walked onto base, you’ll never get anywhere good. Thankfully my persistence and confidence payed off with an interview invitation, where like a boss I was confident and smooth about my skills and experience.

Many of my friends here have found work in restaurants and cafes quite easily. If you put yourself out there and visit every restaurant and confidently talk with the manager, you just might score yourself a try. This is usually a one hour session where you’re given a shot to prove yourself, because c’mon really what would a boardroom interview accomplish in a job where more practical skills are involved. Just don’t act a fool and say you’re something you’re not...like a bartender or barista, you WILL get busted at some point if not on your try, when you screw up your customer’s martini or espresso.

While you’re out here in Australia, the key to getting a great job is to remain confident and to not get bitter after all the rejections you’ll get. I did manage to remain cool and confident in myself and therefore managed to score an amazing job. I also kept my cool in the interview, but I can tell you that I was shaky beforehand. I now have an amazing opportunity to add international experience on my resume

50 Things I’ve Learned In Australia

2012-01-25T20:17:00.000-05:00

1. Melbourne is pronounced Melburn and not Mel-boorne. You WILL be corrected on that!

2. Bogan is slang for white trash/hillbillies.

3. There are heaps of Irish here!

4. On that note there are a lot of French as well.

5. Tomato sauce is ketchup, so it’s ok if someone offers to put some on your fries.

6. Rice Krispies are referred to as Rice Bubbles here.

7. They have drive through bottle shops (liquor stores) here which kicks ass.

8. Thongs go on your feet and not on your privates.

The Australian breakfast of champions!

9. Vegemite is meant to be spread on toast, not eaten by itself.

10. Goon refers to a 4L box of wine you can purchase for $10 here in Australia. It tastes like ass and will give you a nasty hangover!

11. NOBODY drinks fosters here... The commercials we saw in North America were lies!

12. The national colours are green and gold.

13. JB HI-FI is the equivalent of Future Shop/Best Buy.

14. Nobody here eats kangaroo, but it’s a nice lean meat and pretty tasty. It can be a little tough so make sure you cook it right!

15. The sun here is STRONG! Always wear sunscreen and try to wear a hat.

16. Green peppers are referred to as capsicum here. So when you order your pizza or pasta and you’re expecting something new and exotic, don’t get your hopes up!

17. If you’re a guy and you like short-shorts, you’ll LOVE Australia!

18. Women here actually like to dress up to go out (and by dress up I mean an actual dress and heels). Sadly it’s getting quite rare to see this back home.

19. I’ve spoken French every day here in Melbourne due to the number of Frenchmen here. On that note they HATE our accent and some seem to have trouble understanding it.

20. Don’t use Greyhounds here in Oz, find out why in The Australian Toilet Experience.

21. Coolers (the ones we stick beer and food in) are referred to as eskis here.

22. Dick Smith Electronics is the equivalent of Radio Shack/The Source.

23. Tomato sauce does NOT go on pasta... PASTA sauce goes on pasta.

24. Rock melons are cantaloupe.

25. Pints in this country are overpriced sitting around the $10 range. Schooners (473mL) are your best bet.

26. On that same note there’s no standardized beer size names so a schooner can mean a different thing in a different state.

27. ALDI is a lifesaver if you’re on a shoestring budget, cheap groceries and beer!

28. Bars here are referred to as hotels. So you’ll see a LOT of hotels when walking about the city, but not all of them necessarily have accommodation.

29. Brothels are LEGAL in Australia. There’s actually one up for sale down the road where I live with a BIG sign “BROTHEL FOR SALE.”

30. Never ask for a “bathroom,” ask for a “toilet.” Restaurants and bars might tell you they don’t have a “bathroom” as they’ll think you’re looking to take a bath/shower.

31. There’s no such thing as a double-double here in Australia.

32. The meat pies here are amazing!

33. For some reason it seems that the smaller the coin here in Australia the more it’s worth. The $2 coin is the smallest whereas the 50c coin is massive!

34. Just like traffic drives on the left, everyone walks on the left, stands on the escalator to the left etc. After being here a while you will be able to point out the tourists.

35. VB is bogan beer, don’t be caught drinking it!

36. The flies here are annoying as hell, they go straight for your mouth, eyes, or nostrils. You will at some point slap yourself if you’re staying out in the bush.

37. Australia has some really weird TV shows. For example: Please Marry My Boy where mums go on national TV to try and find their beta sons a wife.

38. Holden cars = GM cars

39. Porterhouse steaks here are striploin steaks in North America. Regardless you can find some $12 porterhouse steak specials at certain bars which is still a great deal.

40. You will barely meet any Australians if you’re doing the hostelling thing down here.

41. Almost every industry here is regulated to death, and if not has some government agency sticking it’s nose into it. I would probably never open a business here.

42. You will sign A LOT of waivers here. I had to sign one to go on a pub crawl with a hostel here once.

43. The Axe line of men’s products is called Lynx here.

44. Melbourne loves its footy while Sydney tends to prefer rugby.

45. They do have a basketball league here in Oz (The NBL) and it’s still pretty big.

46. A lot of downtown restaurants and cafes won’t have a toilet in them, be warned!

47. People here refer to downtown as the CBD (Central Business District).

48. They don’t do 12-packs of beer here in Australia.

49. Subway here offers guacamole and pineapple as toppings!

Happy Australia Day mates!

50. Happy Australia Day, January 26!

Melburnian Tourist Gems

2012-01-24T06:04:00.000-05:00

I think it’s about time that I write a little about the city that I live in, Melbourne. I’ve written plenty about the differences and quirks about Australia but I do need to give this city some credit as it is a great place to live despite my gripes! Melbourne unfortunately tends to fall off the tourist radar as it’s usually living in Sydney and the barrier reef’s shadow, but it does have some cool sights! Here are 3 different tourist activities that I’ve been to and can vouch are worth seeing.

Welcome to GAOL!

The Old Melbourne Gaol (Jail) is an interesting experience which offers both historical and entertainment value. To start off, if you are visiting this gem, be sure to add the watch-house tour. For a few dollars more you can experience what it was like to be arrested in the mid 90’s just before the jail closed. You start in front of the jail where you are arrested by a Victorian police officer and brought into the station for booking. Just before you’re booked, you’re given a card with your “name” and your crime, and other details which the officer will question you on. You’re then brought in for a search and locked in a cell. While at first I was a little skeptical as to why I’d pay to be arrested, the experience is quite fun! While you CAN get the experience for free, I highly recommend paying as you’re not forced into taking the criminal record and deportation experiences as add-ons to your tour.

The deathmask of Ned Kelly (a mould of his face after he died)

The other part of the museum is visiting the Old Gaol which holds an important place in Australian history. It’s here where you’ll learn a lot about Ned Kelly and his gang. Ned Kelly is a folk hero here in Australia where he and his gang took on the government and wanted to create a breakaway republic. The only sort of comparison I can give regarding Ned to a Canadian figure (and I do so loosely) is Louis Riel. Some love the guy, some hate what he stood for. Ned Kelly was held and later hung in the Gaol. For those who are interested there’s a whole exhibit on hanging, including actual ropes and gear that were used to hang inmates. Overall the jail is a great place where you can easily spend an afternoon, and at $23 dollars for both the jail and watch-house tour, it’s a pretty good deal.

Victorian Parliament Building

Next up we have a tour that might not be everyone’s cup of tea. Being a politics major in Uni, obviously I’m going to be interested in government houses and learning how things work in the country politically. Being in Melbourne my next stop was naturally the Victorian State Parliament. This Parliament was also the original Australian Parliament before they moved the capital to Canberra. It’s a really nice building from the outside, but boy is it ever great on the inside as well. I would say that the best incentive to check this tour out is that it’s FREE. The only downside is you do have to go through security before being allowed into the building.

In the State Senate with our guide in the centre.

Our tour guide was quite fantastic and knowledgeable about the workings of government in Australia but knew a little bit about Canada as well which was quite cool. Being a tour group of varied nationalities our guide tried to get us all to describe a little bit about our countries. I got to learn about South Africa, England, Indonesia, and Austria. We got to visit the House of Commons (green chamber), the State Senate (red chamber) as well as the Parliamentary Library which is really nice. Overall this tour was well worth the cost (FREE) as well as it was a great learning experience. If you have any interest in the workings of government I do highly recommend this tour.

You have to understand that it really is hard to sum up everything in one article. On top of that, I haven’t necessarily found all the gems that Melbourne has to offer. That means that this will be an ongoing series and I will share with you all the gems as I find them. As for these two gems, if you are in town, I highly recommend you go take a peek and guarantee that you won’t regret it.

Matt The Conservation Volunteer?!?

2012-01-19T07:33:00.001-05:00

Being unemployed has its perks. Every day is the weekend, I have next to no worries, and I get to taunt everyone back home where it’s -30C with pictures of the beach. Life is great, but we also need to take into account that I’m VERY far from home AND have no money coming in... I needed to find better ways of spending my days rather than be out and about spending money. Thankfully my good friends Nick and Heidi here in Melbourne were able to hook me up with Conservation Volunteers, an organization that works on important environmental and wildlife conservation projects. Looking for a more fulfilling way to spend my day, as well as a more economical way, I signed myself up.

Our transport to and from sites.

My first day with Conservation Volunteers I was up at 5:55am as I had to get ready and take the 6:45am tram halfway across town. Thankfully I was able to do it without pressing snooze a bunch of times. Made it to the CV office on time for 8am with my Starbucks morning coffee in hand. Signed a waiver (Here in Oz you sign waivers for everything... srsly EVERYTHING) and was then on my way to the La Trobe wildlife sanctuary. This sanctuary was previously farmland and since 1965 has grown from 6.5 hectares to 28.8 hectares of wetlands. On this day we were a small team of 3 volunteers, plus our team leader Deb. Upon arriving we got straight to work on some rubbish pickup. Funny enough, I picked up several bongs made out of coke bottles and garden hose... wow! Next up we were collecting seeds from certain plants. This particular task was interesting as the seeds were tiny and made your fingers red. After lunch we went around uprooting weeds. We got to see some kangaroos and emus as well. Unfortunately the kangaroos were shy out in the wild and getting a picture of them was really tough.

If you look closely, the black things in the trees are all bats...LOTS of them!

After a hard days work, our team leader Deb had heard me make a comment about the flying foxes in Sydney and decided to take the group out to see some at Yarra Bend Park. Now in Sydney I had seen a few but there was waaaay more! Here in Yarra Bend park there is a colony of about 30 000. During the day time they’re all just hanging in the trees so they dominate all the trees around the river. The best allusion I can give to you is that when you go out onto the lookout point, you’ll feel like you’re on stage at a major concert with 30 000 spectators. Crazy!

The bandicoot reserve fence.

Day 2 of volunteering had me out to Woodlands Historic Park on the Eastern Barred Bandicoot Project. This project is to help add a new overhang to a fence that surrounds the habitat. Originally there was electric fencing at the top of the fenced however it’s proven ineffective at keeping predators out, especially foxes who kill for the thrill of the hunt alone. On this day we were a much larger team as we had a group from the Habitat HQ hostel where I was staying. Our day consisted of cutting the old electrical wire off and then rolling it up into small batches. Boy this really was hard work! As easy as it sounds, it can be quite difficult cutting down the wire. Also when I say “rolling it up into small batches” at some points it was more of a wrestling match. Our team leaders Travis and Matt were awesome and we got heaps done. At the end of the day I was completely exhausted and my clothes covered in rust residue.

The Habitat HQ Volunteer Crew

My third and last day was probably one of the most difficult. Once again up before 6:00am and off to the CVA office. I knew this day was going to be a real test as the forecast had a nice and warm 35C in store for us and I’m wearing long sleeves and long pants! We were off once again to the La Trobe Wildlife Sanctuary to water some recently planted vegetation. This involved filling up big buckets of water and then carrying them over and watering the plants. Later on in the afternoon we did a round of rubbish pickup. I got to meet a lot of the regular volunteers, some of whom had been helping for several years. Thankfully the day was cut early due to the very high temperatures. Since there were a few new volunteers, Deb took us once again to see the flying foxes at Yarra Bend Park. Today they were flying around and flapping their wings trying to keep cool. It was a pretty interesting sight!

Me hard at work @ La Trobe Wildlife Sanctuary.

Overall I had a lot of fun going out with Conservation Volunteers. They’re a great organization doing a lot of good work. It’s a great way to spend a day, meet some new people and see some cool wildlife. Never had I pictured myself doing volunteer work, especially while on vacation. It does have a fulfilling aspect to it and I certainly wouldn’t hesitate to go out with them again. Those who are interested can also do longer stints of volunteer work for a reasonable cost which covers your transportation and accomodation, otherwise day trips are free. It can be hard work but it’s definitely rewarding!

For those who want to get in touch and potentially volunteer, here's a link to their site: Conservation Volunteers

Australia - Quirky Things

2012-01-17T00:34:00.000-05:00

So I’ve been here in the land of Oz for just over a month now, and so far my stay here’s been great. I have however managed to have plenty of “foreigner moments” (one of which was my coffee experience) where something as simple as a different word or way of doing things causes loads of confusion. At the time I usually get frustrated but usually a few hours later I look back on it and laugh. Here are a few of the funny things I’ve noticed here in Australia as well as a few of my “foreigner moments”.

Does this look like spaghetti to you?

Not what I was expecting...

I had an interesting time one afternoon in Sydney where me and my friend Rob ordered some fish and chips at a restaurant by the beach. My food came out and as I started to eat, the waiter comes by and asks me if I would like tomato sauce with my meal. The question made no sense so I just give the waiter a weird look and ask him to repeat himself. “Would you like some tomato sauce with your meal?” Still didn’t compute, even though I understood what he said. At the tip of my tongue I was gonna ask him “Does this look like spaghetti to you?” but thankfully Rob butted in. “Yes he’ll take some” and low and behold a bottle of ketchup shows up at our table. After arriving back in Melbourne I met a girl from Perth who was staying in my dorm. After telling her this story I couldn’t help but ask... “What do you put on your pasta then?” “Pasta sauce silly!” Wow...

Where do I look?

Can't miss it!

Us foreigners arriving from North America are definitely not used to traffic that drives on the left. Thankfully places like Sydney expect that and have painted signs at each crosswalk telling us where to look so that we don’t get killed. Trust me, they are doing us a favor as looking RIGHT first just seems completely wrong and takes weeks to fully get used to. In Sydney I got a sort of vacation where I would just follow the sign’s directions. Here in Melbourne on the other hand, instead of signs on the road there’s a much more high tech system in place to help pedestrians like me adjust to my new surroundings. As I go to cross the street, should I happen to look the wrong way, a progressively loud honking noise will alert me that I looked the wrong way. Thanks to this system (and a few close calls!), my brain is now well trained to look RIGHT first.

Huh? Why’s it called that?

Well...at least I still got a whopper!

Some stuff that we have all around the world, unfortunately due to copyright and naming issues goes under different names here in Australia. I remembered researching fast food chains to see if there was maybe anything original here in Oz. Ta-da! Hungry Jack’s came up. I was excited to try this exciting new Australian fast food experience. Well... I got a little confused when I got to Hungry Jack’s as the logo looked kinda familiar...but no...couldn’t be! I was still optimistic as maybe somebody had just got to it first. Well I went inside and they were serving whoppers so nope...same ol’ BK! (Do they refer to it as HJ here? *giggity*) You’ll notice that as well when you go to the supermarket and walk down the grocery aisle. To my shock and dismay, Snap Crackle and Pop were NOT on a box of Rice Krispies but on a box of “Rice Bubbles.” *Sigh*

As you can see I’ve had some interesting moments as an outsider here in Australia. A sense of humour is key in these situations as it can be quite frustrating. Thankfully I can look back on these moments and laugh as otherwise I’d be very angry and bitter. The old motto “It’s not wrong, just different” applies when you’re immersing yourself in a new culture. As similar as both our countries are, there are still some differences, and it’s the subtle differences that are the hardest to adapt to.

The Australian Toilet Experience

2012-01-12T09:16:00.000-05:00

Everyone has seen the Simpsons episode where Bart visits Australia regarding the whole toilets flushing counter clockwise. I hate to say this but despite the massive amount of requests that I’ve received to film and post on Youtube a toilet flushing counter clockwise, it just won’t happen... But on that note, let’s talk about Australian toilets as they sure have been an experience for me since arriving here a month ago.

Your average plain Jane toilet here in Oz.

This my friends is your normal Aussie toilet. You’ll notice the two flush buttons on the top. Here in the land of Oz there’s a huge water conservation movement going on as this is the driest continent on the planet. One button is a half flush and the other is a full flush. The one thing about the toilets here is that they do not swirl. It’s basically as if somebody is dumping a bucket of water in the toilet to flush whatever it is you left in there down the drain. So when you do get here, don’t be expecting like the Simpsons and get a counterclockwise swirl.

Urinals here in Oz, it's just one big tub!

All right men, let’s talk urinals! Now I went through a lot of trouble to get this photo, as if anyone would have walked in I would have been on my way to the local hospital. This is actually a sort of luxury urinal as you’re not standing over a grill watching your urine go down the drain. You’ll also notice that unlike in North America, privacy is NOT guaranteed here. Back home we have individual urinals as the norm, in some cases we even place walls in between them, here they’re only in the fancy places. Those who have trouble going with others around might need to reconsider a trip here!

Flies everywhere!!!

Now let’s start talking about unconventional toilets here in Oz. Above we have a picture of my first outhouse toilet here in Australia which I had the pleasure of experiencing on my first weekend camping along the great ocean road. I really had to go the first time I visited this toilet, but as soon as I raised the lid I had an unpleasant surprise! All of a sudden all I heard was buzz buzz buzz which I thought was bees. I got laughed at when I asked about all the buzzing as I was terrified of getting stung. Turns out it was flies all along! The flies here are something else, but that’s a whole other blog post.

Ugh this was disgusting!

This my friends is the worst of the worst toilets I’ve ever been exposed to in my life. I had the pleasure of visiting this gem while on the greyhound bus from Melbourne to Sydney, which is a 12hr bus ride. This has to be the closest thing to a 3rd world toilet I’ve ever experienced. There is NO water to flush. The flush mechanism is basically a flap at the bottom that opens up. There was also no toilet paper for people to wipe themselves. I had a mixture of anger and pity for the girl who had explosive diarrhea 1 hr into the 12hr trip. While I was angry that she stank up the bus so early into the journey, she also couldn’t wipe herself till either Sydney or Canberra. This is by far the worst toilet I’ve ever visited...EVER!

As you can see, I’ve had some interesting experiences with the toilets down here in Oz. While my experience is nothing compared to the adventure in the Simpsons episode, it’s still pretty interesting. It can be a little bit of an adjustment from the luxurious North American toilets we’re almost all accustomed to, but easy enough it’s not that much work. Just be sure to remember that in the bush, that buzzing sound is probably flies, and avoid the greyhound toilet at all costs!

Stretch That Australian Dollar

2012-01-10T03:14:00.001-05:00

By far the number one complaint from fellow travellers that I meet has been that everything here is bloody expensive! Most of the world’s economies and currencies have tanked in the last year yet Australia’s has soared. The days of things balancing themselves out with the exchange rate are over... You’re just going to have to face it that things here can cost an arm and a leg. So here are a few tips to help you stretch that dollar to help make ends meet:

DON’T SMOKE

It will bleed your wallet dry I tell you!

Anything here that’s vice related is expensive and taxed beyond imagination. I’m not your mother so we’ll spare the health issues, but financially you will suffer here. I used to joke about how expensive cigarettes were in Canada when they were $10/pack... Folks here you can pay between $14 to over $20 for a pack! Plenty of people here have resorted to rolling their own but even then it’s still fairly expensive (and time consuming). Funny enough there is no shortage of smokers here in Australia, patios are PACKED... Honestly I’m shocked! If you can’t beat the habit, ask around your hostel as there’s bound to be some entrepreneurs who are taking advantage of selling off their goodies purchased at the duty-free stores.

Plan your meals

Fast food (just like pretty much everything) here is expensive. One gimmick that will catch you off-guard here is the way the combos work. Here the price you’ll see on the menu is usually for a small combo, and who wants a small drink and fry with their burger? So you’ll need to clarify if you want a small, medium or large combo. Your average combo price will usually be around $10-$12, can be $7ish if you go when there’s a lunch or dinner special. Most places I’ve been to, people weren’t big on buying food at the grocery stores and cooking at the hostel. Well here it’s the thing to do! I purchased a meal, snack and 2L bottle of water to last me the day while out volunteering, cost me $12. Definitely beats any fast food combo. Doing this will definitely help you stretch that dollar.

Find that HAPPY HOUR!

Ugh, honestly do I ever wish for those Hooley’s $4.50 pints right now! Prices for alcohol can be pretty ridiculous out here (being a vice and all!). Here pints aren’t generally served in bars, and if they are they’ll be around $10-12. More often you’ll have pots (285mL) and schooners (425mL) available at lower prices. Also, pitchers here are referred to as jugs and are smaller at 1125mL of beer. Happy hours have some good deals, especially here in Melbourne where you can get $10 jugs. If you see pitchers on the menu, avoid the place at all costs! Once at dinner in Sydney we indulged in 2 normal size pitchers... at $35 each... that hurt the wallet for sure!

Accomodation

Hostels here in Melbourne usually hover around the $30 range, and can move up to a whopping $42/night during special events. You can forget about hotel rooms as the cheaper places range around the $150 range in the CBD. Hostels also offer private rooms which can range from $60-$120/night but you might need to sacrifice a private bathroom. You can also look at offering a hand around the hostel, in many cases for 3hrs of work you can get the night free. Also go directly on the hostel/hotels website as there might be better rates or even negotiable weekly rates available to you.

As you can see, things here are pretty pricey! It’s funny how people will warn you ahead of time, but it only ever hits you when you land in the country. I’ve already complained about the $4 medium coffees, but as well the $10 pints, $20 cigarettes and crazy hostel prices make this an incredibly expensive country. Had I not carefully planned ahead I would have been in serious trouble by now. Be warned, this is definitely not the land for penny pinchers!

Asiana Airlines Business Class Experience

2012-01-05T07:45:00.000-05:00

The first half of my flight from Seoul to Melbourne was with Asiana Airlines. Funny enough, before this trip I've never heard of Asiana, After flying with Air Canada all the way to Seoul, I thought that I had seen what business class is like...oh boy was I wrong. According to Skytrax rating agency Air Canada is only a 3 star airline, Asiana is a 5 star airline! This trip was bound to be an upgrade.

Maybe not a suite, but even better!

With Asiana there’s a clear separation between business/first and economy class including separate entrances to the plane. Upon boarding I’m greeted by the flight attendant offering me the usual glass of champagne and a copy of the Korea Herald which is a good but awkward newspaper in terms of its shape. Now unlike Air Canada, the seats aren’t “suites” but they do recline almost fully. I also preferred this over the suites as I don’t feel like I’m cramped in a cubicle. Also if you REALLY don’t like the person next to you, there’s a “privacy screen” you can pull out. However, like I said in the Air Canada review, you’re not just paying for the seat, it’s the food that makes the difference.

Duck anyone?

My appetizer started off with some roasted duck, garden salad and whatever that dark stuff is on the side of the plate. The duck had some sort of fruit topping and went down amazingly. As for the salad, well it’s really hard to screw up a salad now isn’t it! You’ll also notice the REAL silverware on the side of my plate. To drink I chose a Merlot wine. I don’t normally do red as it gives me terrible heartburn, but I do make a special exception when I have what I chose for my main course.

Mmmmm filet mignon!

The picture above is a pretty sight now isn’t it! Beef tenderloin served with asparagus wrapped in pork belly (bacon) and potato wedges. When I saw this on the menu, there was no way I could refuse. The steak was so tender and juicy, the complete opposite of what you’d expect on an airplane. I had also chosen the Merlot as I tend to prefer red wine when I have steak. It was also nice to have the pork belly/bacon as you don’t see that kind of bacon often in this part of the world.

The grapes had seeds in them, yuck!

After my wonderful dinner, we had a course of cheese, crackers, nuts, and fruit. The cheeses were great. It was a nice addition to my meal but unfortunately the grapes had seeds in them... yeah that’s my biggest/only complaint. It’s a tough life I live, thankfully the real dessert was up next and completely made up for the seeded grapes.

Nobody can say no to ice cream!

That’s right folks, Haagen Daaz and coffee, the best way to finish a four course meal! Someway somehow I enjoyed this quite a bit more than the pie that was served on Air Canada’s flight. Can’t say much else other than it was vanilla and amazing!

Overall the business class experience with Asiana was definitely an upgrade over the experience with Air Canada. There’s a very significant difference in the 3-star and 5-star treatment with the airlines. From the separate entrances to the plane, the upgrade in cutlery to the fantastic choice of wines and champagne on the plane, Asiana certainly makes rtheir business class a 5-star experience. I highly recommend if you can, try the business class with Asiana you won’t regret it...especially for the price I paid!

My Arrival in Australia (Lessons Learned)

2012-01-03T04:37:00.000-05:00

My arrival into the country was pretty fast paced and through this I learned an important lesson regarding arriving in a new country (for more than just a holiday). Moving to another country is never just as easy as arriving and you’re set. Upon landing I decided that I was Superman and was going to get everything done ASAP. Boy did I ever pay for it! Here’s how my first few days went down:

Here I am!

My flight to Australia was somewhat of an oddity. The reason I say that is because I slept like a baby on the flight. This worked out great as it was an overnight flight as I left Singapore around 1:00am to arrive in Melbourne sometime after 10:00am. My arrival formalities were standard and uneventful, and I made my way over from the airport to the hostel and freshened myself up. Nothing beats a nice warm shower after a LONG flight!

I really hit the ground running after arriving. My next two days were full in terms of administrative duties and getting myself set up. After my shower I made my way to the CBD (downtown) to go to the bank and identify myself (show my passport) so that I can get access to my bank account. Everything went smoothly except I’d have to wait a week before getting my debit card, which was no problem as thankfully I had just enough money leftover on my travel debit to cover me until then. The banker joked that I didn’t waste time when looking at my passport as my stamp showed I just arrived the same day.

Once done at the bank, I crossed the street and got myself a SIM card for my phone. Optus here in Australia has a great pre-paid plan where for $2/day you get pretty much unlimited everything (including data). Free wi-fi is a rarity here in Australia, most places try to charge you a ridiculous fee such as $5.95 for 30min and 150MB bandwidth. The only place so far where I’ve found free access is McDonalds. Thankfully my phone functions as it’s own wi-fi hotspot and so I always have my own personal connection. That $2/day really does go a long way!

The next day I had a meeting and arrival seminar at the WorknHoliday agency office. Funny enough I had a Frenchman who was giving the seminar and I was the only attendee. One of us made a joke of doing the seminar in French, and why not? The seminar was great and all, but very long. In all it lasted about 4 hours with one break where I had my first experience ordering coffee. We covered how to use public transit, jobs, touristy stuff in Melbourne and Victoria, pretty much all the bases.

Didn't all this sound fun? All my administrative tasks were all done, but sadly I was completely spent. When you spend days sitting in waiting rooms waiting for your number to be called, or seminars on how to use the bus, you can’t help but feel a little frustrated. My best advice is to give yourself a little bit more time to arrive, adjust, and see the city (you’re on holiday anyways right?). Thankfully after a nice weekend camping with some local friends I got myself out of that rut and started being a tourist again and saw the city. So do yourself a favor and relax... Shouldn’t you be on holiday?

Seoul - Reminders of War

2011-12-29T07:00:00.000-05:00

Seoul was absolutely amazing, probably the best city I've ever visited so far. Crime is very low, public transit is dirt cheap and impeccable, everything tourism related is in 4 languages (Korean, English, Japanese and Mandarin), great food, and the nightlife kicks ass. I also mentioned in a post some of the weird quirky things that I had noticed while travelling. There was however one thing I noticed in particular, even more so after visiting the DMZ, that the city is ready for any attack!

I'm not gonna give you a full historical background on the Korean War as that's what textbooks and teachers are for, but to quickly sum it up, the two sides are technically at war. The North and South never actually signed a peace agreement, only an armistice. The DMZ border area is probably one of the most armed areas in the world. Interestingly enough, the long time North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il died which has sent the peninsula into a sort of red-alert status. I was quite privileged to have visited the DMZ when I did as for now visits are probably heavily restricted if not cancelled due to the heightened tensions.

Had the guide not said anything I'd never have noticed...

On the way to the DMZ was my first point of realization of how "ready" the city is. Our tour bus coming along the freeway was passing under this massive underpass which had a huge billboard on it. The underpass was under this massive block of cement (say 30ft high, 30 feet deep, and long enough to cover 4 freeway lanes). Our tour guide explained that this was no ordinary billboard/underpass but a tank trap to help delay the North's army from reaching Seoul. Our guide went on to explain (in a surprisingly non-chalant way) that there were 10 of these traps and that each trap would slow the North down by 9 minutes, giving them a 90min head start to evacuate the city.

Sign pointing to shelter.

Another interesting reminder of Seoul's readiness for an attack lies in its subways and underground networks which also double as bomb shelters. The symbol above denotes that whatever building/station you're entering is an actual bomb shelter. There are quite a few of these as the city is still within range of a Northern mortar attack. Eight months out of the year, on the 15th of the month they hold drills where the air raid sirens go off and everyone needs to go to the nearest shelter. Thankfully a) I knew this before going and b) this didn't happen while I was there as I would have crapped myself!

Gas mask anyone?

Finally, the last and personally most disturbing reminder of the state of affairs on the peninsula, is the fact that there are boxes like the above in all subway stations. It’s a little disturbing looking over and seeing a gas mask dispenser while waiting for the subway. These are there in case of a similar attack as in the nerve gas attack in Tokyo, or a fire. These could be perpetrated by Northern infiltrators/spies. Even worse is you have videos while on the subway instructing you on how to wear the gas mask and escape. Not the sort of thing I want to think about while on my way sightseeing!

Seoul is an amazing place, fantastically fun, but sadly next to the most schizophrenic nation on the planet. You can’t help but sympathize with them for going to such lengths to ensure the security of their people. As an outsider looking in I can’t help but be made a little uneasy when seeng all this, but for the Koreans, this is everyday life. Seriously folks, don’t let this put you off, this city is an absolute treasure with so much to offer. I’d maybe just wait a bit until things cool off before going back!

Before you go...

2011-12-27T00:30:00.000-05:00

You’d think planning for a long vacation is all fun and games, sadly it’s far from it. There’s plenty of stuff you need to look into before getting on that plane. Here are some examples from my experience:

Medical/Dental checkups:

I’m not a fan of doctors, and I try to avoid them at all costs. Dentists even more so! Well, after some arm-twisting from the family I buckled under pressure and got everything done. Folks let me tell you, go to your dentist regularly as after my 5 year hiatus I had over $1600 of work that needed to be done... That’s almost my airfare! Also good to go get a checkup, make sure you’re not dying before you leave.

Government red-tape:

If you’re Canadian and leaving your province for more than 7 months, you’ll need to look into making sure you don’t lose your provincial health coverage. Otherwise travel insurers here won’t touch you with a 10 foot pole. Ontario luckily has a special exemption that lets you leave for 2 years if you’ve met the residency requirements for the last 5 years (7 months out of 12). You’ll still need to go to the government office, line up and get a letter saying you’re good for 2 years. Otherwise, you can look into International Health Insurance, which is the stuff diplomats get, but at upwards of $3000/year the first option is definitely lighter on the wallet.

Legal stuff:

I wasn’t too big on getting a will done, in the big picture I’d be dead anyways so why would I care? Well in the BIGGER picture, if you make life difficult for your family and loved ones, it might make a difference in terms of whether they bury you in a nice plot at a cemetery, or toss you out to sea.

Tax stuff:

Make sure you’ve got all your papers in order at home. If you can, scan all the important stuff and put it up on a cloud server. Also make sure there’s someone at your address you can trust to open up your T4s, scan them and send them to you. That way you can do your taxes online rather than ship everything back and forth to an accountant overseas. Be sure to have everything in order and check your country’s tax agency about guidelines on filing taxes from overseas etc.

Travel Doctor:

Self explanatory. Pay money, get poked by sharp metal objects... Lots of fun!

Overall the 2 months before my trip were pretty hectic getting everything in order. My days off consisted of sitting in govt. waiting rooms or in a doctors/dentists office getting poked with needles. I swear I felt like a pin-cushion in the end! A trip like this involves a lot of planning and preparation, and the last thing you want is to get dinged for something you could have totally prevented.

Bon voyage!

Air Canada Business Class Experience

2011-12-22T00:50:00.000-05:00

Recently, on my way to Seoul, I had the pleasure of sitting in business class (thanks to this) the whole way from Toronto to Seoul. This was definitely a step up from economy. Now regardless of where you are on the plane... you’re still ON THE PLANE for >12hrs. It is nice having a bigger seat, or one that fully extends to a bed, but it doesn’t change the fact that you’re not going anywhere for lord knows how many hours. The biggest upgrade I would say would be the food. Nothing makes a long flight whizz by than be served multi-course meals complete with alcohol (except for breakfast!).

I hadn't had grapefruit in a while, forgotten how fantastic it is.

On my first flight from Toronto to Vancouver I was served breakfast starting with a first course of fresh fruit, a croissant (served after I took my photo) and yogurt with coffee. Later I was served nice hot pancakes with fruit and maple syrup topped off with more coffee. Breakfast was quite fantastic and certainly ate up a good chunk of the 5 hour flight from TO to Vancouver. Our flight finished off with some fresh chocolate-chip cookies baked on board the plane

Me and salmon don't normally mix, but this time it was great.

The next leg of my journey was from Vancouver to Seoul. This was the behemoth of all flights being about 11 hours. Since this flight was in the afternoon, I was served some champagne before takeoff and a beer shortly after. The airline crew then proceeded to serve us a 3-course lunch. The first course was smoked salmon with a dill mustard sauce pictured above accompanied by a fresh garden salad. Now those who know me well, know that I almost never eat seafood and that I’m very picky. Surprisingly enough this was magnificent! I guess I’ll have to put some more salmon in my diet.

Eww mushrooms...

Next up was the main course which was some spicy marinated beef, rice seasoned with sesame seeds and black mushrooms. While the dish wasn’t really spicy, it was pretty good. I can’t comment on the mushrooms as I’m not a fan. Personally I believe fungus belongs on your foot and not on your plate.

Great way to end the meal...maybe the coffee was a bad idea though...

Last course of this meal was a mixed berry pie with was really good served with a top up of your wine glass and coffee or tea. This is a great way to finish up a large meal and put you off to sleep. After dessert lights on the plane are turned off and passengers are encouraged to shut their window flaps to keep the cabin dark. Time to sleep...

Now you’d think that that was it for food on the flight...well it is a very LONG one >10hrs. You can only do so much in 10-12hrs. Obviously I had exhausted everything watchable on the media system and sleeping didn’t really work out for me. Thankfully there’s one last light meal served 2hrs before. It was quite a pleasant surprise!

You call this light?

I find it quite hard to describe this last meal as light. Here you have a serving of fresh fruit and bread to start off with. The main course is beef ribs served with mashed potatoes and veggies (asparagus and tomatoes). Finally for dessert you have a box of Lindor chocolates to help finish you off. For this meal I chose not to go for wine, as you don’t want to be tanked going through immigration and customs, ESPECIALLY when you marked UNEMPLOYED on your landing card.

There you have it folks, business class certainly ensures that you’re well fed. While the seating is certainly a step up from economy, the biggest seller I would say is the food. This ensures that you’re not dying of starvation by the time you land. Is it worth the full fare price? Maybe not. But it’s certainly worth the price I paid.

A Regular Coffee - Is It That Complicated?

2011-12-20T06:10:00.000-05:00

So I’ve made it here in Australia which is fantastic. It is nice being in a country where I understand everything around me. While in Korea for example I needed moisturizer BADLY for my hands (no gloves and winter cold dried them up to a nice red cracked color) I was scared away from going into the pharmacy as all the products were in Korean. That’s one of the wonders of being here in an English speaking country. But don’t be fooled, everything is not like it is back home! Simple things such as crossing the street were a struggle for me after arriving as cars here drive on the left. It took so much work just to make sure I look right first THEN left. It’s some of the small things like these that kind of get to you at first. You get frustrated when simple things such as crossing the road feel like university level calculus to get used to. I’m sure when I get behind the wheel it’ll probably be as bad as rocket science.

The biggest gripe I have right now here in Melbs is coffee. Honestly I just want a regular cup of joe like back home served double-double, is that too hard to ask? Ordering coffee here is a pain in the ass as whenever I get up to the counter and ask for a coffee it seems like we have to go through this complex mathematical equation just to get something remotely good.

My first experience here in Melbs was last Thursday. I was at my orientation meeting for my working holiday program which was fantastic, also got to do it in French as it was a Frenchman giving it to me and I was the only one (Francophonie en Australie? Moi je dit oui!). At break time I went downstairs to get myself a coffee as I was dying for one. I get down there and it’s a mildly fancy coffee shop. I go up to the counter and ask for a small coffee. “What kind of coffee?” Ok fine Americano. “You sure about that?” Yeah. “Milk or Cream?” I can’t do that myself? “We do it for you” 2 sugars too? (gives me a dirty look). “Takeaway or for here” Takeaway. 5min later I finally get my coffee, which to be honest wasn’t that great and for $4 this is ridiculous.

Fast forward to yesterday, I step into McD’s for breakfast and all I want with my hotcakes is a damn coffee double-double. My order was going fine up until coffee was mentionned... I want a Medium coffee with that. “Will that be a cappucino?” No just a regular coffee “A black coffee sir?” Yeah sure but could I get 2 creams and 2 sugars with that? “Sorry sir we don’t have cream here” Fine milk will do. My coffee comes back all full of froth on top, sigh...

My Medium flat white, which cost me AUD$3.70

I’ve made it over to another McD’s (Macca’s here - pronounced Mackers) and I’m having a cappucino as I didn’t feel like struggling again. People look at me like a mad man when I order my coffee. Honestly forget about regular North American coffee over here, even 7-Eleven has a F@!#ing barista in it. No joke there. My Canadian friends here have recommended that I go for a flat white, saying that it's as close as I'll get to what was back home. It's ok but there's still milk froth on the top which I hate! Hopefully at some point I’ll be able to get a regular cup of coffee, in the mean time I guess I’ll put up with all this pretentious coffee...

Seoul Food

2011-12-15T04:25:00.001-05:00

If I were to have to choose just one of the many great aspects of Seoul, I would have to say that it's the food. The food here has simply been terrific and there's definitely something for everyone's taste. I thought I'd share with you a few of the dishes I've had while here in Seoul, both local and foreign.

One of the few dishes that made me throw in the towel.

This first dish is dakgalbi a chicken dish, but we took the extra spicy version. Now everyone who knows me well, know that I have a tongue of steel and can handle spicy food like it's child's play. Well folks, this dish got me! The dish is made of marinated chicken, jalapenos, bok choi (or some asian lettuce). The dish is cooked in a big pan that's on your table. Like most Korean food this was very inexpensive as we were able to get this for 8000 won per person ($8/person).

Now why would you cut a burger in half?

Next stop was Kraze Burger in the Dongdaemun district of Seoul, where I picked myself up a spicy mexican burger for lunch. Western food in Seoul is EXPENSIVE. This tends to give you more incentive to get out there and try some of the local stuff. The burger itself was nothing special. The only thing notable about it was that it was cut in half! Oh and that it cost me about 13-14k won! ($13-14).

Korean fast food @ Lotteria

Now if you really want your fast-food, going local is the way to go. Here are two options that I was able to sample. First one is Lotteria, owned by the Lotte group which is one of the biggest companies in Korea. This is basically the Korean version of McDonalds (which is surprisingly absent from the landscape as I only saw 2 and one of those was just a McCafe at the airport!), and funny enough their menus look quite similar. The food itself is your standard fast food fare, but much cheaper than the western outlets such as BK or KFC.

Tteokbokki, a fish skewer and some fishy water

Pork and kimchi dumplings

Secondly there's the street meat which is surprisingly very good. Along busy streets in Seoul you're going to find plenty of stalls selling various different foods. I had the chance to sample the food at one of the stalls. Here I was served a cup with some sort of fishy water which was being used to cook some other stuff. I was also served some Tteokbokki which is a sort of pasta-ish (the stuff that looks like penne) kinda texture food and is very very good, next up got some dumplings, 4 pork and 4 kimchi dumplings. All of this food was incredibly cheap costing only 5500 won (or $5.50) and that served two of us!

Galbi, oh so delicious!

Lastly, one night a guest at the hostel invited me to join him for some galbi. This is a Korean delicacy which is marinated pork ribs which you cook on a grill at your table. You then place the meat on a leaf of lettuce and stuff it pretty much like a fajita. There's plenty of sauces and veggies you can stick in there with the pork. We had a table full of food and a bottle of soju and our bill was 14000 won per person ($14). This was probably one of my best meals in the country!

As you can see, there's definitely something for everyone when it comes to food. Just keep in mind that I've barely scratched the surface when it comes to the amazing food culture over here. The main lesson learned here is go local, it tastes great and goes very easy on the wallet.

Seoul - Quirky Things

2011-12-13T00:30:00.000-05:00

Seoul is an amazing city with plenty to offer. Also, being my first time here in Asia there is a little bit of culture shock/weird things to get used to. For the most part these are little things, nothing like stray dogs. But here’s a few things that caught my eye while here:

Hear hear for beer!

People here (men for the most part) love to get rip roarin’ smashed, any night of the week! It’s quite normal on the subway to see a guy in a suit passed out. But what really got me was when I had the pleasure of taking the last train of the night. It was completely stainless steel inside, no upholstery and with good reason! The stench of booze was incredibly strong... Thankfully nobody got sick on the train, but there were a few puddles on the steps coming out of the subway, gross!

Also when it comes to nightlife, there are some really good deals to get YOU rip-roarin’ smashed. One of my nights I went clubbing, walking around I was bombarded by touts trying to get me into their club. The one who was successful was advertising 15,000won cover, admission to 3 clubs, free drinks from 11-12am. It was a fun night :)

This can't be good...

Foreigners tend to stick together

One of the interesting things I’ve experienced here while in Seoul is that it seems when walking down the street and seeing another white guy, there will almost always be a smile/nod/wave. While I’d say the culture shock rating for this country is pretty low, the one thing you’ll realize shortly after getting off your flight is that you’re the minority. If you feel homesick, you can always head over to Itaewon which is the foreigner district. While on the subway approaching Itaewon, you’ll notice more and more foreigners boarding the train. The best way to sum up the feeling of walking around the main street of Itaewon (the side streets are scuzzy, notably hooker hill and its gay counterpart) is that you’ll feel like you’re in a Chinatown in North America. You’re still outnumbered, but not as much as before.

Bad...bad...drivers

Yeah I said it... But to be perfectly honest it’s true. While here I’ve seem many close calls, luckily none of them involved me. It seems as though there are no rules against using your mobile device while driving and I’ve seen countless drivers yaking on their phone. The best example is while in Myeong-dong, a very busy shopping district, you have a street which is pretty much a pedestrian walkway as there are thousands of people walking on the street and there are drivers making their way through them...while talking on their damn phone! No wonder this country has a ridiculous traffic mortality rate... Always remember to look both ways before you cross the road! For some of the bigger roads in busy areas, look for underpasses as there are plenty of them as the main big roads have gates separating traffic.

A busy street in Myeong-dong.

Subway Merchants

One of the weirdest things that I noticed is that there seems to be no rules here in Seoul regarding soliciting passengers on the trains. At any point some guy might come on the train and start yelling about his products. He’ll then start walking around and showing off his trinkets to other passengers. I’ve never seen anything like this and am sure that they’d be kicked off if we were in North America.

A subway merchant doing his thing.

As I said earlier, the culture shock rating for this country is low. Everyone speaks a basic form of English, and most info is available to you in English as well. Most stuff that we have in the west is available here. There’s gonna be plenty of things you’ll notice that are different, but for the most part nothing major. Have you been here? I’d love to hear your observations.

Prepping for a trip to Korea

2011-12-08T00:00:00.001-05:00

A few years back while travelling Greece, I learned that travelling while ill-equipped/prepared is a really stupid thing to do. I had travelled to the northern part of the country with no map, grasp of the language, and while I knew which sites I wanted to see...I had no idea where they were... smart eh? I have no idea what I was thinking as barely anyone spoke English, I got lost frequently, and got the worst bout of homesickness.

First stop!

The first leg of my journey is South Korea, but more specifically Seoul. While this wasn’t necessarily the first place on my list due to the winter weather, Bangkok got flooded. As I didn’t want a repeat of Greece, here are a few recommendations in terms of prep and packing:

Cellphone (in this case, a smartphone):

First things first, your foreign cellphone will be useless here. Korea uses CDMA networks and so it’s not as simple as popping in a SIM card. Depending on how long you’re staying, you can actually rent a phone (even a smartphone) at Incheon International Airport. For a short stay there’s no point. Your smartphone will still come in handy though. If you have either an Android or Iphone you can pick up a great app called Jibigo. It’s a translation app that is fantastic compared to Google Translate, and the best thing is that it requires no internet connection! As of now the Korean language pack is going for 4.95 on the Android Market which is an amazing deal.

Learning Hangul Writing:

Hangul is the Korean alphabet. It’s surprisingly simple to learn. Learning this alphabet will help you immensely when trying to orient yourself as well as finding stores or services. Now you don’t need to actually understand the language, but being able to decipher Hangul will help you read street names, or recognize different meats on a menu. Give yourself maybe a week to digest it and you’ll become an expert! I found the following site to have a good breakdown of the alphabet. Keep in mind you just need the basics, you don’t need to learn grammar or what the words mean (for the most part).

Volunteer Tour Guides:

Surprisingly enough, through the Korea Tourism Organization, they have a service where you can sign up for your very own personal FREE tour guide. There’s no catch, but obviously you’re expected to pay their transportation, admission, food etc. This is a pretty cool service which is easy to sign up for: Just visit www.visitkorea.or.kr and sign up for an account. You can then submit your application for a guide from 10-30 days in advance of your trip. The volunteer guides come from all walks of life: students, housewives, businessmen, retirees.

Sadly my request for a volunteer tour guide was rejected. Key thing here is don’t expect to get one even if you book way in advance. Nevertheless it’s still a fantastic service. Apart from that there’s always couchsurfing!

Mapping/scheduling which sites you want to see:

While I’m no fan of micromanaging my days down to the minute, I’ve learned that playing it by ear is really never a good idea. Build a basic structure for your days by looking at a map and grouping different sites you want to see by day. This will add basic structure to your day. For example, I know that for Panmunjeom (DMZ) I’ll need a good portion of the day, also the tours start very early in the morning so I know not to schedule it after a big night out.

These 4 tips for preparation/packing are things I came up with to help avoid my trip to Korea a disaster like Greece was. If you follow this you’ll have a wonderful pocket translator, be able to orient yourself, have a free tour guide, and not waste your days trying to figure out what you’re gonna do. By following these tips you’ll definitely be travelling smart.

Tips On Saving Up For A LONG Trip

2011-12-06T00:00:00.001-05:00

For a LONG trip you need a LOT of money. This involves sacrifice... you won’t make it anytime soon without any. Trust me -- I had to get my shit together to make sure this trip happens. Here are six examples of sacrifices I’ve made to make this trip possible.

Let me start off by saying, if you don’t currently have a job...get one, you can’t save money if you’re not making money.

1) Move back in with your parents: It ain’t glamorous, and not a hit with the ladies. But you save on rent (and potentially food), and who said you had to bring that chick from the club back to your place? Do you want this potentially crazy person knowing where YOU live? Probably not... and even though you’re on your way out, you don’t want her stalking your parents now do you...

2) Bring your own lunch to work: I spent on average $6-7 on fast food for lunch every day at work. That’s $30-35/week and well over $100/month. You’ll save money and have better food. (And potentially lose weight!)

3) Make your own coffee: On a normal day I order about 2 large coffees which is almost $4/day. By using an old coffee maker, I managed to scratch that out of my daily expenses.

4) Quit smoking...cold turkey: Yeah this one sucks! But if you can do it, it will pay off in many ways. I managed to save $80/month. I say cold turkey too because those quit smoking aids are more expensive than smoking itself... Also, none of this “smoke when I drink” bullshit either, save that mistake for when you’re on vacation.

5) Cut down on your partying: Host parties at your place, go to house parties, chill with friends. Avoid clubs and lounges like the plague! Clubs and bars tend to tack on expenses to your night where you’re essentially paying for nothing. Cover charges and bartender tips tend to fall into that category (then again I wish I could get paid to bend over and get a beer out of a fridge!). Go on student nights, find the happy hours. Trust me, this tip right here cut down a huge chunk of my expenses!

6) Save your pocket-change: We use our pocket change for the most frivolous expenses. My tip is to not spend anything under a $2 coin. Those quarters and loonies add up fast. In 3 months I’ve gathered almost $200 in coin... save those pennies!

$193.50 in coin...it was heavy...

Overall, by following these tips you’ll be smarter with your money and you’ll be able to save up big time! Also, the skills you learn to save your money for your trip will help you manage your money while on your trip.

How to book a flight...like a boss

2011-12-01T00:00:00.000-05:00

Flying... some love it, some hate it. Personally I’m not a fan. But I’m sure we can all agree that we hate being stuck next to annoying passengers:

Be it the bitch who stole my aisle seat (which I specifically chose on check-in) because she didn’t want to sit next to her husband, then claims MY ticket is wrong. I had downed quite a few drinks to make my takeoff easy so making a scene or getting the flight crew’s attention with my booze breath wasn’t an option. Her and her husband proceeded to yell at each other most of the 9 hr flight.

The oversized man with the oversized suitcase both of which shouldn’t have made it on the flight.

The breastfeeding mother who was placed next to me making it so that I couldn't look to my left the whole flight. Awkward...

We all have stories like these to share, and the one thing they all have in common is that they all took place in the economy class cabin.

Time for an upgrade!

Recently I became aware of a special sale on US Airways Dividend Miles. These are US Airways’ frequent flyer miles which to our benefit are also valid for any Star Alliance flight. The special is for every 10 000 you buy, you get 10 000 free, up to 50 000. So basically if you buy 50k, you get 50k totalling 100k which gives you enough to go almost anywhere in the world economy, and many places business class. 50k miles at the time would set you back $1325 plus a 7% tax recovery fee, plus 13% HST for Canadians like me.

My flight required 110k miles for business class, so add another $400-some to my total.

Now booking a star alliance flight with US Airways is a little tricky. You’re forced to call in to book it, which means that you’re at the mercy of your call-centre agent’s intelligence. You can make the whole process much easier if you do all your research before hand. You can then call in with all your flight segments.

For this you can use the ANA award flight search tool. ANA has tried to curb people from abusing this tool this by restricting Star Alliance searches to people with a certain minimum miles. To get around this, make an initial ANA International Flight Awards search with any two cities, then on the results screen at the bottom you’ll see a button “Use Star Alliance Member Airlines.” YOU’RE IN! Now you can search throughout Star Alliance. Search longer flight segments first, as those are usually the toughest ones to get.

Gather all your flight segments, with a few alternates and phone in. I called at 2am, worked out well for me. Now I’m booking a flight from North America to the South Pacific so the total cost should be 110k miles (There’s no difference in cost for one way or round trip). The way I routed my flight, I would have a 5-day stopover in Korea which is considered the “North Asia” zone. My delightful phone agent put this in as a round trip to North Asia. North Asia - North America is 90k miles, North Asia - South Pacific is 90k miles. So counted as a round trip I save 20k miles which I can use for a round trip flight to Fiji :)

All in all, the flights cost me about $2300. Did I save money? Last I checked, economy class lowest fare one-way was $3261. Hell yeah!

Like a boss!

Coming Soon...

2011-11-01T22:35:00.000-04:00

Check back soon for all the latest on my travels through Asia and the South Pacific.

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