Life in Australia

                             Things you should remember when you go to Australia....

            Before I went to Australia, nobody told me that I needed to bring the adapter. I thought Australian adapter is the same like American, but the truth is it was not. Australian adapter is different, as you can see in the photo.

                                                                    1. Australian adapter.

            So before you depart, DON’T FORGET TO BRING YOUR ADAPTOR or you can’t charge your phone or laptop when you arrive. Moreover, if you forget, you can buy one in JB HI-FI, Dick Smith, or any electricity store in Robina Shopping Centre or Pacific Fair in Gold Coast.

            For cell phone plan, Australia has a lot of mobile plan like Telstra, Vodafone or Optus, but I choose AMALAYSIM - website: www.amalaysim.com.au, which is not popular brand. I choose to buy the sim card at AMALAYSIM because it is the cheapest plan for mobile in Australia.  

            For example:

·      $30 prepaid in Vodafone, they only give you 1.5 GB Internet, its only last for 28 days and they do not give you any credit to call international.

            But

·      $30 prepaid in AMALAYSIM, they give you 2 GB Internet, the plan lasts for 30 days, give you some amount to call international, text and call unlimited.

            You can order the sim online and choose the number that you like on their website. After that, they will deliver to your home address within 3-5 days. If not, you can buy the sim in Seven- Elven Store and it costs $2. After that, you have to pay and choose the plan that you want, but the important thing is that you cannot choose the number.

            I prefer to go on their website and buy the sim and plan because you can save $2 and you can choose your favorite phone number, too. Sometimes, they have a promotion, which is, they will discount 50% for first month.

            For transportation, Australia transportation is much more expensive than Hawaii. They don’t give student UPASS like our Hawaii. Even if they still have student bus pass but it is still very expensive. For the bus pass, you can buy it in Seven- Eleven Store or in your school bookstore. I refer to buy it in Seven-Eleven Store because you can use your credit card.

            In Australia, the bus pass calls GO CARD. You can use it for bus, tram, or ferry. The different here is that, you have to put money into the card. For students, the GO CARD is green and it cost $5. You have to put money into it in order to use the services. Whenever you go on the bus, you have to touch on and touch off when you get off the bus. You touch on when you get on to see the amount of money you have on the GO CARD. You touch off to see how much the fare costs you and how much you have left. It is very expensive because the first week of school costs me about $30 AUD for the bus. 

                                                              2. Go Card for College Students

            One thing you should remember when you use the tram is that: Even if when you get one the tram, nobody check your Go Card, but they still have a machine outside of the tram, you have to touch on before you go on the tram because sometimes, the operators may come and check your card surprisingly. If they did not see it through their devices, you will have to pay the fine, which is $250.

            So whenever you use the public transportation, please CHECK ON and CHECK OFF.

            About supermarket, Australia has 3 biggest supermarkets, that is: Coles, Woolworth, and Aldi. I think Aldi is the cheapest supermarket because they always have a lot of items on sale, but sometimes, you cannot find anything you need in Aldi. When you go to Aldi, do not forget to bring your own bag because Aldi does not give us free plastic bag. If you want one, it may cost you $0.05 cents.

            I think food in Australia is very cheap. Milk, bread and meat is cheaper than Hawaii. Fruits and seafood are kind of expensive.