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
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
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
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
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
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
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
Sunday, October 5, 2008
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
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
Sunday, September 28, 2008
From Ireland to Lightning Ridge
Met an Irish couple on their way to NZ who had spent most of the time in Australia well off the beaten tourist track. They had one night in Dubbo and then the rest of their stay in Lightning Ridge, a small outback NSW town known mainly for its opal mining. It turned out their daughter was living and working as a nurse there and had already started a family after meeting an Aussie guy on her travels around Australia. The reason for their vist to NZ was to visit another daughter who had settled there. I suspect they'll be making a few more trips Down Under in the future.
Among others I spoke to this week were a Singapore woman who had been holidaying with her husband in Coffs Harbour and a Sri Lankan lass who had come for her cousins wedding in Sydney.
I also interviewed a young Thai student who had been studying hospitality at Uni in Armidale and was soon to be working under a major Australian chef in Brisbane. She was very excited about that.
Want to know more about Lightning Ridge? Find it here.
Talk again soon. Don't forget I'd love to hear your comments or stories about overseas travellers you have come across in Australia.
Peter
Souvenirs Australia Warehouse
Among others I spoke to this week were a Singapore woman who had been holidaying with her husband in Coffs Harbour and a Sri Lankan lass who had come for her cousins wedding in Sydney.
I also interviewed a young Thai student who had been studying hospitality at Uni in Armidale and was soon to be working under a major Australian chef in Brisbane. She was very excited about that.
Want to know more about Lightning Ridge? Find it here.
Talk again soon. Don't forget I'd love to hear your comments or stories about overseas travellers you have come across in Australia.
Peter
Souvenirs Australia Warehouse
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
The Wrong Sydney and Russian & Kiwi Family Visits
As per usual I met some nice friendly visitors to the land of OZ in this last week but also a few more people than normal that weren't keen on talking.
There were quite a few family gatherings that included a Russian lady from Petersburg who had just spent 6 months with her daughter in Canberra and a very sociable Kiwi who had been babysitting the grandchildren in Sydney while the parents were holidaying in Europe. I also spoke to an Irish woman who had come a long way to see her sick sister in Sydney.
I sometimes get some very interesting passport/nationality/ethnic/residency mixes. One this week was a Thai who was travelling on a Swedish passport and came to visit a friend in Sydney. She had been married to a Swede but was now separated and back in Thailand while her children were still at school in Sweden.
Other friendly chats I had included one with a student from Saudi Arabia studying in Sydney and a Canadian guy in the hotel business who had been in Sydney for work for a few days and was on his way to Beijing also for business. While we have large numbers of Asian students now studying in Australia, I hadn't come across any from Saudi before.
One person I didn't get to talk to was an Argentine tourist who ended up in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada instead of Sydney, Australia. Read about it here. She booked the flights online so maybe she should use a good travel agent next time!
Till next time.
Peter
Souvenirs Australia Warehouse
There were quite a few family gatherings that included a Russian lady from Petersburg who had just spent 6 months with her daughter in Canberra and a very sociable Kiwi who had been babysitting the grandchildren in Sydney while the parents were holidaying in Europe. I also spoke to an Irish woman who had come a long way to see her sick sister in Sydney.
I sometimes get some very interesting passport/nationality/ethnic/residency mixes. One this week was a Thai who was travelling on a Swedish passport and came to visit a friend in Sydney. She had been married to a Swede but was now separated and back in Thailand while her children were still at school in Sweden.
Other friendly chats I had included one with a student from Saudi Arabia studying in Sydney and a Canadian guy in the hotel business who had been in Sydney for work for a few days and was on his way to Beijing also for business. While we have large numbers of Asian students now studying in Australia, I hadn't come across any from Saudi before.
One person I didn't get to talk to was an Argentine tourist who ended up in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada instead of Sydney, Australia. Read about it here. She booked the flights online so maybe she should use a good travel agent next time!
Till next time.
Peter
Souvenirs Australia Warehouse
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Life in Zimbabwe and Stories about God
Came across a friendly Italian guy last week who was working in Oz for a few weeks. Turned out he was a technician for aluminium manufacturing machines and for the past 8 years has spent 3 weeks out of every 4 travelling the world fixing these machines. I didn't ask him how many frequent flyer points he had!! He was due to go to Iran next month and wasn't particularly looking forward to that visit.
I also interviewed a young Irish guy heading to NZ last weekend. The book he was reading caught my attention - the title was 'God Is Not Great'. I made a comment about it and he then showed me the card he was using as a bookmark. It was given to him by someone who saw him reading the book in a Maccas somewhere up on the North Coast of NSW. I'm trying to remember the exact wording but it was along the lines of 'The cost of sin is death'. The interesting part though was that when you turned the card around the other way you could read the wording 'the belief of faith is life'.
Vicki has passed on some details of memorable people she has interviewed in recent times which I have included here.
* Some time ago I spoke to a very nice New Zealand woman who had been to Australia to deliver her very sick daughter to a live-in eating disorder clinic as they don't have any in NZ. The daughters illness was at the life threatening stage and I often wonder how the story ended.
* Also a while ago, I chatted to a very quietly spoken American who was part of the US navy and also part of the team that rescued the Russian sub off the bottom of the ocean. He was very interesting.
* I think my most enthralling interview to date was a young white woman from Zimbabwe who shared with me just what it is like to live over there. No power for at least 15 hours a day, no running or hot water and living off the blackmarket. She had a well paid job as a school teacher and earnt just $US160 per month. It certainly made me appreciate our lifestyle here!!
I also interviewed a young Irish guy heading to NZ last weekend. The book he was reading caught my attention - the title was 'God Is Not Great'. I made a comment about it and he then showed me the card he was using as a bookmark. It was given to him by someone who saw him reading the book in a Maccas somewhere up on the North Coast of NSW. I'm trying to remember the exact wording but it was along the lines of 'The cost of sin is death'. The interesting part though was that when you turned the card around the other way you could read the wording 'the belief of faith is life'.
Vicki has passed on some details of memorable people she has interviewed in recent times which I have included here.
* Some time ago I spoke to a very nice New Zealand woman who had been to Australia to deliver her very sick daughter to a live-in eating disorder clinic as they don't have any in NZ. The daughters illness was at the life threatening stage and I often wonder how the story ended.
* Also a while ago, I chatted to a very quietly spoken American who was part of the US navy and also part of the team that rescued the Russian sub off the bottom of the ocean. He was very interesting.
* I think my most enthralling interview to date was a young white woman from Zimbabwe who shared with me just what it is like to live over there. No power for at least 15 hours a day, no running or hot water and living off the blackmarket. She had a well paid job as a school teacher and earnt just $US160 per month. It certainly made me appreciate our lifestyle here!!
Till next week.
Peter
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