Karennella

What about booking on a local site instead of the hotel site and pre-paying?

But you should be able to pay by electronic transfer without a surcharge but I suppose there is a fee for doing that from an overseas account.

It used to be illegal and I cannot remember the justification for changing the law. I used to pay most things by credit card and got many frequent flyer points. Now it is not worth it because there is usually a surcharge on bills like electricity, rates etc. The surcharge often works out costing more than the gains.

I just googled Tony Abbott wearing speedos. There is my proof!

I hope someone is telling our current Australian Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, to leave his Speedos at home when he is heading to Europe. Some of the photos of him swimming and also in his cycling gear are not for the faint hearted!

Currently the dollar has risen to over 94cents, apparently following the release today of surprisingly good employment figures. The media give a lot of publicity to job losses concerning large corporations and give little publicity to employment created by small businesses. A lot of the increase in employment was in part-time positions but I have to say that many women here actually choose and prefer working part-time so this is not necessarily negative.

Not sure whether to buy my US dollars yet!!

The Alilaguna is only a viable option if you have an afternoon flight, it just takes too long to get there by water for a morning flight. Venice is one of those airports where you really need to be there three hours in advance of your flight as it's very disorganized.

Let me second that: the only airport that I have been to which is more chaotic than Venice is Naples. Allow lots of time and muster lots of patience.

It is certainly now above the preferred level of the Reserve Bank. But I am not sure how they would act to manipulate it, especially as it depends so much on off-shore factors beyond the control of the government.

i am thinking of stocking up on some US dollars for future use!

I find it humerous people complaining to Aussies about how long the flight is to get here, try living here and having the 15 hour flight to LA one of the quickest international flights we do! :D. Outside of New Zealand every other country is a minimum of 6 hour flight from Melbourne or Sydney, it takes 24 hours of flight time to reach Europe. This year will be the first year in about 6 years I haven't done one of these flights, and only one of those has been business class as we cashed in all our Amex points and flew return to Milan 2 years ago.

 

I just suck it up and keep myself entertained, at the end of the day it's a single day of being a bit uncomfortable and tired, compared to being able to spend a few weeks in an amazing location. I certainly wouldn't not go somewhere just because I had to spend half a day in economy.

I agree; our daughters were living in London for years and we always went economy.

Re comments on prices in Australia; it is purely a function of the currently high level of the Aussie dollar and the fact that tourists generally eat in high priced areas in most countries. We have just been in Sabah in Malaysia and the differential between local prices and prices in the resorts was far higher than in Sydney. Our overall level of tax in Australia is average.

My apologies for pitching in with some possibly irrelevant info on Australia. But as my husband is Italian we have travelled with many Italians in Italy and observed their tipping habits. If anything, they seem to tip less than Aussies and very much less than Americans.

Americans might need to keep in mind that your custom of tipping the housekeeper does not exist in many parts of the world. If you choose to do it that is your choice but do not think it is the norm.

We own a holiday apartment at an island in Australia. They have had a different procedure for American guests on check-in. Local guests arrive at their room to find their bags in the foyer already so there is no opportunity to tip. Americans, apparently, like to have someone show them the features of the apartment so it is organised that the bags will travel at the same time as the guests. Often the guests will give a generous tip so I imagine the staff love visiting Americans.

In this country housekeepers are paid similar amounts to aged care workers, chid care workers, supermarket staff etc etc who do not get tips.

My husband is Italian so I know that tipping there is even less the norm than here in oz.

We believe that Italian drivers are very skilled and my husband finds it easy to drive there even though we normally drive on the other side of the road.

But we did get a fine for driving in the wrong zone in Rome and it turned up a full year later. I challenged it (long story), they dismissed the challenge but when I went to pay the fine I was told the case was closed and the money wouldn't be taken!

Being an Aussie, used to our strict regime, I have been amazed whenever I enter Italy. They seem to have minimal interest in who enters their country and what they bring.

I don't know how much the difference is from the US, but from Australia to Asia or Europe, business class is generally around four times the price of discount economy. Getting my husband to cough up with the extra $12000 for a return to London is my long-term ambition, but I fear it wont be while he is alive!!

Business may not be a rip-off but it is a lot more costly. Unless you work for an airline!

I have eaten many times in a great variety of places in Hong Kong without any health problems. It seems there have been five reported cases of cholera in there in the past three years; not what I would call a hazard.

Hong Kong has one of the highest life expectancies in the world; years higher than the US.

We went on a harbour cruise on Australia Day and it was very pleasant watching the ferry boat race and other activity.

Wherever you stay in Sydney there will be numerous restaurants etc.

I appreciate your honest answer and even though I have lived in Sydney all my life, I would agree with you. NZ is so much more compact, very beautiful and tourist friendly. However we revisited the South Island two years ago and found it quite expensive even with the exchange rate being more in our favour than now.

Re the Tasman, my 87 year old mother went to NZ by sea about 60 years ago and barely got out of her cabin the whole way as she was so dreadfully seasick. I imagine the ships were much smaller and less stable than now.

Maybe I will have to get to Kangaroo Island though I can actually see quite a lot of examples of the natural features right here in my garden.

Where are you going next, Terry? Have you been to Turkey? Cappadoccia is one of my all time favourites!

So glad you enjoyed this trip as it is certainly a long way. One thing is we get used to the flights and we are thinking our eight and a half hour flight to Malaysia next week is a nice short one.

Love the photos! Did you have a preference for Australia or New Zealand?

I'm not sure how it will be done but cruises will have to cater to people from many more countries with very varied needs and wants.

I just love my possum jumper which I got in a small town in the Sth Island. So light and warm! I will splurge and get another one here in Sydney if I can find one. I do not buy clothes online as even when I pick them to try on in a store, about 4 out of 5 are all wrong!

We live on the outskirts of Sydney but even here Vodaphone and Optus are not very good. Unfortunately Telstra has the best all round coverage and the highest prices. I have an Aldi sim with Telstra 3G coverage; bought from Aldi of course.

Hard to believe that less than two weeks ago we were in Melbourne and the restaurants at Southbank had on their outside heaters.

I am afraid that the Australian weather is changeable and you need to be prepared for a range of conditions.

Are cheques still commonly used in the US? Here in OZ the use is rapidly declining and our kids who are mid-thirties have never used them.

Yes check. My husband was in China for ten days and the debit/credit card he normally uses wouldn't work. So he got ATM money as a cash advance with a Westpac card I did not expect him to use; got $353 Australian, fees were $20! It is not surprising that our Aussie banks are highly profitable.

Interesting articles. A beautiful country but we did find it surprisingly expensive last year, even by Sydney standards.

Hope you are buying your Aussie dollars while the rate is going your way. (Haven't been tracking the NZ dollar)