Fighting Homesickness

When you’re travelling for so long you’re obviously going to get homesick at some point. Regardless of how “strong” you are, how determined you are, or hard-headed, at some point you’ll wish you were with your friends or family back home. Unfortunately there’s no real cure for homesickness other than getting a flight home, but there are some ways to cope. Obviously I’ve dealt with homesickness, mostly over holidays. Over time I’ve found ways of watching TV back home, getting food from back home, as well as meeting people from back home. These three things can definitely help you cope and get your home culture fix.

Getting a care package from home always helps as well - bug people to send you one!

Watching TV

Thanks to the internet I’ve been able to watch stuff like local/national news from back home, as well as sports. TV here in Oz is ok, has most shows that I would watch back home (all if you have Foxtel). Obviously there won’t be any NHL, CFL, or NBA, nor any news. It’s just a matter of searching online and finding a stream. Sadly local Canadian sites might not let you access live streams (CBC Hockey Night In Canada) if you’re outside of the country. Thankfully there will almost always be a stream (especially if it’s a major sporting event). Getting newscasts is a lot easier. I’ve had no issues finding local/national newscasts for Canada. Hopefully these links help you out if you’re on the road and want to watch some tv from home:

NHL & NBA: Use google to find a stream.

CFL:  http://watch.tsn.ca/cfl-games-on-demand/ *Games won’t be live but you can still watch

News:

Global News: http://www.globalnews.ca *Good for local news
Sun News Network: http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca *National News

Food

I’ve already done an article on poutine - you CAN get it here in Oz. But say you want something else like root beer, high sugar cereal, or some high powered hot sauce. Thankfully there are some shops here in Melbourne that do specialize in North American products. It did take me a while to find these but they are awesome. Just keep in mind that you will be paying a premium for these products such as $10 for a box of cereal or a box of pop tarts, or $20 for a 12 pack of A & W root beer. There are at least three places that I know of here in Melbourne where you can stock up on North American goods:

USA Foods - http://www.usafoods.com.au - 110 Cochranes Rd, Moorabin VIC

Amazing Savings - 162 Carlisle St, St Kilda VIC

Americandy - stall at Vic Market.

Meeting Fellow Canadians

Poutine on Canada Day

Nothing beats a bit of homesickness than getting together with some fellow people frome your home country. When you move away from home, try searching for clubs catered to your country. Here in Victoria Australia there is a Canada Club which puts on events throughout the year, usually coinciding with Canadian holidays. I had the pleasure of celebrating Canada Day with them at a bar in Melbourne’s CBD. It was a lot of fun as the bar served ceasars, poutine and beavertails. I also win a bag of goodies playing name that Canadian song buy guessing correctly Rush’s Closer To The Heart. So be on the lookout for local clubs near you!

My prize for guessing correctly at Name That Song.

Hopefully these tips help you fight your homesickness blues. It gets all of us as we travel the world - so you’re not alone. So just get online, search for TV, stores, or clubs near you. Also don’t forget to keep in touch with everyone back home.

30 Things I Miss About Canada

1. Harvey’s burgers - Oh so good!

2. Authentic poutine - even though I can get some around the world, it’s not the REAL thing...

3. Hooley’s Happy Hour - $4 pints and 1/2 price appetizers, just won’t happen out here

4. TV - Unless you have Foxtel (pay tv) you only get maybe 20 channels here in Australia, and 5ish of those are home shopping networks.

5. Late night shopping - everything here closes at 5:30 or 6 unless it’s a Thursday or Friday. Need to buy something like a gift or a suit after work on any other day? Forget about it!

6. Driving - I refuse to drive out here after getting a ridiculous speeding fine

7. Reasonable speeding thresholds - Here in Victoria if the speed limit is under 100km/h you get a 3km/h grace threshold for speeding, do 4 and it’s a fine! Over 100km/h it’s 10%.

8. Central heating - As far as I know houses here don’t have furnaces. We do get winter out here where the mercury drops to 1C or 2C so it does get cold!

9. Canadian beer - I miss my Alexander Keith’s!

10. Breakfast restaurant chains - There’s no such thing as Perkin’s, Cora’s, or IHOP out here... bloody shame!

11. North American sports - While I love my footy, I miss being able to catch baseball and hockey on TV here.

12. Fiery political debates about CANADIAN issues - boy did they ever get fiery!

13. 24hr News media - We do have ABC News 24, but unless you have Foxtel you won’t get CNN, Fox News or Sky News.

14. Reasonable fast food breakfast prices - I miss paying $4.02 for a McD’s BLT Bagel, 2 hashbrowns and a large coffee. Here I can pay $7.50 for a coffee and a donut

15. Urban music - Not popular here, miss hearing rap/hip-hop on a regular basis in the clubs.

16. Canadian holidays - While I’ve had the chance to celebrate Canada Day here in Oz and had the opportunity for a Thanksgiving lunch, just not the same as being back home.

17. Bacon - You can get bacon on your burger or parma but it’s back bacon and not the strips

18. Wal-Mart - The one stop shop for anything you could ever need.

19. Ketchup - Feels weird calling it tomato sauce...

20. My videogames - They’re gathering dust...

21. Tim Horton’s coffee - Oh how I miss paying $1.50 for an amazing large double-double, here a large coffee will set you back $4-$5.

22. Being able to plug all my toys in - I only have one power adapter for Oz so I have to balance out charging my toys

23. Coins - I still get frustrated with the fact that the smaller the coin the more valuable it is. Our $2 coin is the largest and easiest to find when you’re fiddling around for change. Also we don’t roll our coin here, we bag it!

24. Table service/running a tab - The honor system is a rarity here, usually you have to pay everything up front, including food.

25. My birthday during SUMMER! - I’m a winter baby here, was 2C on my b-day... :(

26. A White Christmas - Feels absolutely wrong slapping sunscreen on and walking around on a 32C Christmas day... totally wrong!

27. Cinnabon - Terrible yet so delicious! No such thing here in Oz.

28. Quizno’s - My main meal for years at work! Only Subway and their terrible toasting oven here.

29. Country music - BARELY exists here - not on the radio, tv, nor in concert unless it’s Keith Urban...

30. Last but not least, my friends, family and loved ones!

Melbourne Nightlife Guide Part 2

As I’ve mentioned in part 1 of my Melbourne Nightlife Guide, having a full-on night out here can be quite expensive. You’re definitely looking at $100+ for a good night (dinner, drinks, and cab). Here in part 2 I’ll be covering two different districts where you can hang out the first being the Brunswick St./Smith St. areas as well as the CBD/Southbank. As covered before each district has it’s own culture and as such the dress codes or the way people dress can vary wildly depending on where you go. Let’s start off with the more accessible CBD/Southbank area as if you’re visiting this is the second most likely area you’re going to be staying in.

CBD/Southbank

The CBD (downtown) and Southbank to its south has probably the second largest concentration of hostels in the city as well as where all the major hotels are located. The nightlife in these areas cater to pretty much everyone due to the wide variety of budgets and crowds that flock here. A lot of people from the suburbs come out here as the trains run well into the night with the last ones being around 1:30am on weekends. There are plenty of different areas here with concentrations on different bars. The most notorious area you’ll probably hear about is King St. where there’s a large concentration of strip clubs and warnings of fights etc. Haven’t been there myself yet and really can’t be bothered with that scene. The Southbank area, home to the Crown Casino, is much more posh with bars and clubs that cater to the more well-off. If you’re planning on heading there I do recommend dressing up to avoid disappointment.

Section 8, 27-29 Tattersalls Lane, Melbourne CBD
This bar can be a bit tricky to find as it’s tucked away in an alley, but it’s well worth it once you get there. This bar is essentially made up of shipping containers and is completely open-air. While it can be a bit chilly in wintertime they have tons of heaters to keep you warm. The vibe here is very chill as there’s no dress code considering you’re outside anyway. From what I’ve experienced here, the music is mostly hip-hop, dancehall, reggaeton which is great as I haven’t found many places that cater to this style of music. Great place to chill but not a place to be wearing your dancing shoes.

The Carlton, 193 Bourke St., Melbourne CBD
This is a cool bar that spans multiple levels. The first floor looks more like a pub with tons of stuffed (like real/dead not plush) animals on display on the walls, gives it a sort of fancy vibe. There’s also the Palmz rooftop bar which is a tiki themed rooftop patio. This is an awesome place to spend an afternoon on in late spring/summer. This is a pricier venue and be forewarned that there is a dress code at night - collared shirts guys!

Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex, 8 Whiteman St., Southbank
This place truly offers everything in one big nicely wrapped package! Bars, casino gambling, nightclubs, pubs, restaurants, shopping and even a movie theatre. This place also caters to all budgets as well, with 5-star restaurants as well a food court. I haven’t had a chance to explore the nightclubs here but do know that it is very strict for guys - nice shoes and a collared shirt are a must. Also guys, I suggest bringing some female friends along to boost your chances at getting in as groups of guys are always last on the priority list to gain entry. There are plenty of bars on the gambling floor and it seems to run pretty much 24hrs. I’ve stumbled in here a few times at 4-5am. While it’s nice that there’s a place where you can keep your night going - by that point it’s almost ALWAYS a BAD idea. I do suggest dressing nicely and don’t gamble your trip/life savings away!

Fitzroy/Brunswick St.

Fitzroy, or more specifically Brunswick St. offers a more casual atmosphere also more catered to those who fancy the hipster/alternative scene. Funny enough this is the area closest to home yet the one I go to the least. The neighborhood is easily accessible via the 112 tram, or the 86 tram if you fancy visiting the bars on Smith St. nearby. The crowd around here is definitely more hipster so expect to see a lot of stubble and ironic t-shirts on guys and sadly more skrillex shaves on girls (they look good on NO ONE...NONE WHATSOEVER). That being said it’s still a fun and funky neighborhood to explore the nightlife in.

Palookaville, 416 Brunswick St., Fitzroy
This is an awesome place to grab dinner and drinks. The menu here is pretty good and most if not all meals are under $20. Drink prices are ok - pints range for about $8-$9. There’s also a pool table if you fancy playing a few rounds as well as nice leather couches if you just wanna chill. While it isn’t the busiest place on Brunswick St. it’s definitely a good place to start. No worries about dress codes here, it’s more of a restaurant than anything else.

Bimbo Deluxe, 376 Brunswick St., Fitzroy
If you’re looking to wear your dancing shoes on Brunswick St., this is the place to be. The main floor is home to the restaurant and dance floor/lounge area. The restaurant is awesome and shares the same menu as Lucky Coq on Chapel St. (same owner). The crowd here is more hipsterish but not overrun with them. There’s some cool couches by the dance floor as well as a really nice rooftop patio. This place definitely has a more relaxed dress code but I wouldn’t necessarily show up in a singlet and thongs.

The Provincial Hotel, 299 Brunswick St., Fitzroy
This is a fun place and seems to have DJs over the weekends. I can definitely say that this bar has some of the best looking crowd on Brunswick St. Drink prices are average, with $8-$9 pints and the music seems to be your regular top 40s mix. This is usually a stop along the way on a Brunswick St. bar crawl. Not sure of any dress code, but it usually is a good looking crowd. Worth checking out.

Well hopefully my guides help you out if you’re planning a night out here in Melbourne. The nightlife is definitely varied here depending on where you go. Just be sure to bring lots of money as your bar tab will add up FAST here!

Melbourne Nightlife Guide: Part One

One of the things I love to do when travelling is checking out the local nightlife. It’s always interesting looking at the way people act, dress and drink compared to home. Having lived here in Melbourne now for 10 months I’ve had the chance to check out plenty of different nightlife areas. The one thing I can say is that generally Australia’s nightlife if pricey compared to other parts of the world. If you’re looking to have a full on night expect to drop $150+ for dinner drinks and cab (and that’s being conservative!) If you’re planning to drop by, here’s a small guide on some of the different areas and my fav bars.

St Kilda:

If you’re backpacking, you’re more than likely going to end up here in St Kilda. Here you have a plethora of bars that cater to backpackers with relaxed dress codes and usually offering at least one night of cheap drinks. As a result, the crowds at certain bars and clubs will be largely backpackers. Singlets, thongs (not the good kind... flip-flops here in Oz), and shorts will be the dress style. I hate seeing flip-flops in a club, and singlets are just as bad - they look good on NO ONE!

Anyways, while you’re here be sure to check these places out:

La Roche Cafe - 185 Acland St, St Kilda
This place offers some of the best prices on pints in town. During happy hours (usually 4-6 then 9-close) you can get $5 pints last I checked. Great place to sit and hand with your mates, maybe even pre-drink before heading somewhere else.

Barkly Hotel - 109 Barkly St, St Kilda
This place is both a bar and club. The club is located on the rooftop of a lowrise building and best known for it’s Friday nights which cater to the backpacker crowd. Fridays they have no cover charge and $10 buckets of vodka red bull. As far as I know, no overt dress code.

The Espy - 11 The Esplanade, St Kilda
This bar is legendary and caters more to a live music crowd. Many acts play here on all nights of the week and is definitely a must visit while in the area. More of a rocker bar, dress code is relaxed but I wouldn’t wear thongs or a singlet. I love this bar but the only downside is that it’s a lot pricier than the surrounding bars ($18 for a jug, which is smaller than a North American pitcher).

Chapel Street

Chapel Street is probably THE place to see and be seen here in Melbourne. This area is easily accessible via public transit, but be sure to have cab fare home. Dress codes here can be quite strict as it is the IN place. Guys be sure to have a pair of dress shoes and a collared shirt, girls I suggest a dress and heels. While there are a few places that have cheaper food & drinks, expect to pay top dollar in a lot of the bars and clubs here.

Lucky Coq - Corner of Chapel and High St, Windsor
If you’re looking for a good cheap feed this is the place. You can get $4 pizzas and hot dogs here which is a great deal. This bar is a lot more lax than the others in the area and has a more sort of hipster vibe. Great place to lounge and have dinner as there are a lot of couches, a few retro arcade machines and a pool table. Drink prices are average, $7 schooners - nothing fancy.

Temperance Hotel - 426 Chapel St.
I’ve stumbled into this place randomly one night and had a great time. The crowd here is dressed really well, saw a lot of suits and dresses. Music is top 40s but with an accent on techno/electro beats as this is the norm for clubs out here. No cover charge, nice dance floor and plenty of room to sit. Can’t remember too much about drink prices as it was a messy night but I still highly recommend this place if you’re looking for a posh night out with some dancing.

Electric Ladyland - 1/265-267 Chapel St, Prahran
If you’re looking for a place to lounge, this is it. This bar has plenty of red leather couches all over the bar and provides a really cool atmosphere. This is a more posh venue, so be sure to dress accordingly - especially you guys as they are strict on shoes and shirts. They play awesome music here, mostly top 40s but also rocked some classic hip-hop which pleasantly surprised me. Drinks here are top dollar, beers are decently priced $6-$11/bottle but martinis can be over $20. No dance floor here as it’s not really a dancing venue but on the plus side there’s no cover.

Revolver - 229 Chapel St, Prahran
If after all the other bars close you’re still looking to party, this is the place to go to. There are 2 rooms (from what I can remember) one lounge area and another dance room. As with most afterhours techno is the music in the dance room. Dress code here is lax, arrived wearing a shirt and tie as I was at an awards ceremony earlier in the night and was told by the doorman to remove the tie for my own safety. He even went to great lengths to show me how my tie could be used against me. Had a laugh but he was serious! Cover is $10-$20 and this place only gets busy after 2am.

This covers part one of my nightlife guide to Melbourne. As you can see there are big contrasts to the clientele and prices depending on the district, but that’s what makes this city so great is that you have so many options. Be sure to tune in next week when I cover Fitzroy/Brunswick St and the CBD/Southbank.

The Art Of Being Cheap

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

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.

The Many Flavours of Poutine

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!

Stretch That Australian Dollar

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

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!

Air Canada Business Class Experience

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.

Seoul Food

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.