The Long Way to Vanuatu, Stevie Wonder Concert in Sydney & Another Prospective Emigrant

This week I chatted to a fellow who was travelling from Fiji to Vanuatu via Sydney. He'd arrived in Sydney in the morning from Fiji and was off to Vanuatu in the evening and hadn't left Sydney airport. That's what you call the 'real long way round'. Well there are direct flights, unfortunately there were none on this particular day of the week.

Then there was another UK guy living in Berlin who had only 2 nights in Sydney to visit a friend after a stay in New Zealand. He ended up going to the Stevie Wonder concert after purchasing the ticket at the last minute on the recommendation of his friends partner who went to the concert 2 nights in a row. He was in New Zealand checking out job options and had to decide in the next few days whether to take a position and move his family from Germany to New Zealand.

I came across a few others here for short term business or work trips. One was an American who had worked on a new water desalination plant currently being built on the Gold Coast. There were also quite a few visitors here to catch up with family including a 16 year old German girl who travelled here on her own to visit family in Sydney.

Other memorable travellers included a couple of young Swiss girls who rented a car and drove from Brisbane to Cairns and a German woman who really hated Cairns but loved Port Douglas.

I often come across people who are considering emigrating Down Under. This week I talked to a guy from Qatar who had visited most of the major Australian capitals to determine where he liked best. He had done some sort of qualifying immigration test while he was in Melbourne. His overall verdict was that he liked Perth best so we just might be soon welcoming him as a new resident over in the West.

Till next time.

Peter

Souvenirs Australia Warehouse

Honeymooners, A Wet Wedding and R & R from Iraq

I continue to meet a lot of honeymooners who have chosen our country for their special holiday. This week I talked to an Italian couple and UK couple who both had a great time 'Down Under'.

There was also the UK lass who had come with friends to attend a wedding in Noosa and a few days in Byron Bay. Unfortunately they struck the wettest few days there in some time so the wedding had to be brought indoors. But a good time still had by all.

I also came across a US soldier who was in Sydney on an 'R and R' break from his term of duty in Iraq and a Swiss women and her daughter who raved about their great travel experience in Broome and the Kimberleys region. It reminds me of so many parts of this huge country that overseas visitors explore but most of us locals have never been near.

There are students from all over the place in NSW these days. I met a couple from Saudi Arabia at the weekend. Other visitors of note were a fellow from Vanuatu who had a couple of nights in Sydney in order to obtain his Swiss visa, the young Italian backpacker who had been in Central Australia and Sydney and was so sad to leave and a nice elderly UK lady who was here to visit her son and 5 week old grandson.

Till next time.

Peter

Souvenirs Australia Warehouse

A Brand New Lawyer, A Tourism Teacher and Canberra Property

There was another good mix of people leaving Sydney last weekend. I came across a pleasant young Singapore lady who came here with her mum for her official admittance to law practice. She had studied at Uni here for 5 years but was only here for a week this time and already had a job lined up back in Singapore.

Another friendly respondent was a New Zealander who also came here with her mum for a holiday just in Central Australia. It turned out she teaches tourism in New Zealand so this made her quite interested in be questioned about her stay in Australia.

Then there was the Aussie guy, travelling on an Indian passport, who has been living and working in Bahrain with his family for the last 10 years. He had come back to purchase property in Canberra and had formerly lived in the same suburb (and only a few streets away) as I had in Canberra back in the 80's and 90's. It's a small world......

I also spoke to a young Indonesian lady who had spent her whole 3 months in Australia with a friend in Coffs Harbour and a New Zealander who was here for only 4 days sadly for a funeral.

Till next time.

Peter

Souvenirs Australia Warehouse

Thai Honeymooners, a Russian in Bangkok and a very young Italian backpacker

Came across plenty of the regular NZ businessmen heading home for the weekend but also some other friendly people such as a young Vietnamese lady visiting her cousin who lives in New Zealand. She had a good few hours in transit in Sydney so went into the city and fulfilled her main desire of seeing the Opera House close up (and of course the Bridge and our great harbour). I also met a New Zealander of Chinese origin who is currently working in Hong Kong. She chose to spend her day in transit with some friends here.

On a Thai flight I met a Thai honeymooning couple who had spent 10 days in Melbourne and Sydney and the husband had listed virtually all expenses by listing them on a sheet of paper. This careful accounting even included items of less than $5. Maybe the Thai tax office allows deductions for honeymoon expenses????

Another Thai flight included a Russian who was currently living in Thailand. She works for an online hotel reservation businesss and was here to try and sign up some hotels for their web sites.

Yet another passenger flying Thai was a very young Italian backpacker travelling on her own. She was only 17 and was as confident as an experienced traveller many years older. She had spent 3 months in Australia, then off to Fiji to get another Aussie visa for her second stay here. And of course she had a great time down under!!!

Leaving on SQ was an Aussie who had been living in China for 9 years and came back to spend a week with the family and to literally just 'hang out on the back verandah' of the family home.

Other visitors heading out included Indians studying and working in Oz, a Japanese businessman here for a few days and a Thai who attended a conference in Cairns.

Till next week.

Peter

Souvenirs Australia Warehouse