After eight torturing and cramping hours on Air Asia X for 8 hours, we have reached the Gold Coast airport, the Coolongata. I could feel that i suffered from some kind of jet leg even if it is only two hours of time zone difference.
First lesson of the day: Never let the sunshine fooled you.
The moment i stepped out from the plane i almost freezed my balls off. Thanks to a friend of mine who told me at this months of the year, Australia's weather will be very warm. Of course it never crossed my mind to bring along some winter clothing just in case. How stupid i was.
Before the trip my dad did advised me that i should "declare everything down to your underwear" before entering the country.
But my main concern was my laptop.
I was worried if they went through my laptop and found some nasty stuff (i didn't say it is porn ok) then i could be kissing the kangaroo ass goodbye in the prison.
Foods need to be declared. Currency need to be declared (if more than 10,000). Basically everything. Once i was told by a friend who used to travel to Australia that he was fined a total AUD 250 over a piece of chocolate.
As ridiculous as it may sounds, it was enough to ring some alarm bells for me to be extra cautious. But nothing could prepare us for the immigration questioning.
We were held by an immigration officer (ironically, he is a black) and were asked all sort of questions such as why were we there, what work we do, how many cash we had and heck even how many credit cards i possesed.
We managed to walked away unscatched only after we shown him our theme park entrance ticket. (This may be a good tips for you guys).
So the next time if the immigration conduct an interview with you, you may show them the ticket and tell them to "F*** off". They will let you free.
(The writer would bear no responsibility on the consequence that may arise).
Anyway. Whenever you travelled the first thing that came to your mind will be the mode of transportation.
In Gold Coast, take the bus. Cheap and convenient.
Their bus network is just so convenient and you have no worried of missing them, as every fifteen minute, you will have a bus whereby it will take you to any destination that you wanted to.
(So long that you knew how to read the map and understand English).
We took the initiative to book a "return ticket" between the place we stayed and airport, so we would not have to worried about the transport later on. It costed around AUD 39 per head. Sounds like a decent amount, but cheaper if you compared with the taxi fare anyway.
The booking of the bus for return to the airport will required a 24hrs advanced calling to their call center. And heck, they are so efficient that if you tell them the wrong flight number or flight time, they will inform you right away as they have all the plane schedule coming in and out from the airport.
I would advice that during your holiday you may want to get hold of this card with you too.
The equivalent of touch and go card in Malaysia. Every bus in Gold Coast uses it, and all you need to pay is an AUD 5 as a deposit (Refundable) + Desired amount. For a 7 days trip, just for reference, you may top up around AUD 30 that should be more than enough.
No worries about if you still have balance during the end of your holiday. Just grab the card to the nearest convenient store and beat the crap our of the cashier for a refund.
(Ok i was just joking).
For this trip we have decided to leave the backpacker's inn out from our option. Call me a mummy's boy but i would prefer to stay in a nice and comfortable place during holiday, not some backpacker's inn whereby i need to share toilets with strangers.
Let me introduce you this place.
The Sierra Grand Apartment.
The Interior.
The Balcony.
And the handsome boy.
In Gold Coast, accomodation can really kill you especially for hotels. Probably a couple of hundred Aussie Dollar per night.
Visit Youstay.com. You may book this apartment online with the so called agent and there you go.
Welcome to the mansion that cost you only AUD 95 per night.
(When i say only AUD 95, i didn't mean Aussie dollar is made of toilet roll. It is just because i believe that it is a real bargain).
Do not worry if the reception does not recognize your booking number or your name. Because under this Youstay.com, we dealed DIRECTLY with the agent. They will bring you the keys and upon checking out, just leave the door key on the dining table and off you go. As simple as that.
Well, you have landed, checked in to the hotel, all you need to do is take a rest first.
I will go into more details on the trip on where we went and what is the famous tourist attraction that you wouldn't want to miss.
So stay tuned.
First lesson of the day: Never let the sunshine fooled you.
The moment i stepped out from the plane i almost freezed my balls off. Thanks to a friend of mine who told me at this months of the year, Australia's weather will be very warm. Of course it never crossed my mind to bring along some winter clothing just in case. How stupid i was.
Before the trip my dad did advised me that i should "declare everything down to your underwear" before entering the country.
But my main concern was my laptop.
I was worried if they went through my laptop and found some nasty stuff (i didn't say it is porn ok) then i could be kissing the kangaroo ass goodbye in the prison.
Foods need to be declared. Currency need to be declared (if more than 10,000). Basically everything. Once i was told by a friend who used to travel to Australia that he was fined a total AUD 250 over a piece of chocolate.
As ridiculous as it may sounds, it was enough to ring some alarm bells for me to be extra cautious. But nothing could prepare us for the immigration questioning.
We were held by an immigration officer (ironically, he is a black) and were asked all sort of questions such as why were we there, what work we do, how many cash we had and heck even how many credit cards i possesed.
We managed to walked away unscatched only after we shown him our theme park entrance ticket. (This may be a good tips for you guys).
So the next time if the immigration conduct an interview with you, you may show them the ticket and tell them to "F*** off". They will let you free.
(The writer would bear no responsibility on the consequence that may arise).
Anyway. Whenever you travelled the first thing that came to your mind will be the mode of transportation.
In Gold Coast, take the bus. Cheap and convenient.
Their bus network is just so convenient and you have no worried of missing them, as every fifteen minute, you will have a bus whereby it will take you to any destination that you wanted to.
(So long that you knew how to read the map and understand English).
We took the initiative to book a "return ticket" between the place we stayed and airport, so we would not have to worried about the transport later on. It costed around AUD 39 per head. Sounds like a decent amount, but cheaper if you compared with the taxi fare anyway.
The booking of the bus for return to the airport will required a 24hrs advanced calling to their call center. And heck, they are so efficient that if you tell them the wrong flight number or flight time, they will inform you right away as they have all the plane schedule coming in and out from the airport.
I would advice that during your holiday you may want to get hold of this card with you too.
The equivalent of touch and go card in Malaysia. Every bus in Gold Coast uses it, and all you need to pay is an AUD 5 as a deposit (Refundable) + Desired amount. For a 7 days trip, just for reference, you may top up around AUD 30 that should be more than enough.
No worries about if you still have balance during the end of your holiday. Just grab the card to the nearest convenient store and beat the crap our of the cashier for a refund.
(Ok i was just joking).
For this trip we have decided to leave the backpacker's inn out from our option. Call me a mummy's boy but i would prefer to stay in a nice and comfortable place during holiday, not some backpacker's inn whereby i need to share toilets with strangers.
Let me introduce you this place.
The Sierra Grand Apartment.
The Interior.
The Balcony.
And the handsome boy.
In Gold Coast, accomodation can really kill you especially for hotels. Probably a couple of hundred Aussie Dollar per night.
Visit Youstay.com. You may book this apartment online with the so called agent and there you go.
Welcome to the mansion that cost you only AUD 95 per night.
(When i say only AUD 95, i didn't mean Aussie dollar is made of toilet roll. It is just because i believe that it is a real bargain).
Do not worry if the reception does not recognize your booking number or your name. Because under this Youstay.com, we dealed DIRECTLY with the agent. They will bring you the keys and upon checking out, just leave the door key on the dining table and off you go. As simple as that.
Well, you have landed, checked in to the hotel, all you need to do is take a rest first.
I will go into more details on the trip on where we went and what is the famous tourist attraction that you wouldn't want to miss.
So stay tuned.
