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General Travel Tips and Advice Have you traveled before?- Please share your tips and advice with fellow Tpunks!

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Old 10-24-2003, 07:42 AM   #1
Hayley210
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Well, after 2 years of wondering what it would be like to travel Oz, I've finally got off my rear end and have got it organised. I'm leaving my friends and family in just 10 days, and I have never been so scared in all my life! I have no idea what to expect and no idea what I need. I have my working visa (although its a E-visa, I heard something about having to stand in Brisbaine for hours to get a valid visa?), I'm a member of YHA, I have my backpack and my boots. Thats it. I seriously need some help! ANY information or tips would be greatly appreciated!
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Old 10-24-2003, 12:58 PM   #2
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To the Family Hayley!!!

Its great to hear you taking the plunge into the great unknown, we were all there so don't think yor alone.

What your feeeling is what all of us went through the second we bought the ticket to our first trip ( or in WWM case his first day on the job )

The trip itself is what you make it, this is your time and no one can tell you what to do over there...If you wanna party, than you party, if you wanna relax, than relax..if your anything like I used to be then I appreciated both. But for me now its more of the adventure than the party.

Do not let the stress get to you to much, once you set food on Australia soil, the adventure for you begins and there is no turning back.

I had the pleasure of makeing the trek to Australia, and its was a great time..I met some pretty amazing people, and the things to see are endless, hospitality is top notch.

If for some reason you start to get second thoughts about what you are about to do, post again, and someone here will re-assure you that what you are about to do will change the way you feel about yourself and your out look on the world...they don't call it the Travel Bug for noth'n!!!
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Old 10-24-2003, 03:05 PM   #3
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Hayley210, WELCOME TO THE BOARDS!

Believe you me, EVERY travelers gets the willies before heading off on there first trip(or every trip for that matter, just not as much as the very first time)!
Shaking up your comfort zone is not easy to do, which is why most of your friends(generally speaking) never leave the country. When it really comes down to it, it's not really money or time that keeps us domesticated. It's being too comfortable in our complacency. The moment that's disturbed, things can feel uneasy, but exciting if it's towards an ultimate goal.

You've spent 2 years dreaming about it, and now it's going to become a reality. I can assure you (99%) that the moment you step foot there, the fear vanishes ! I think it's the fact that you say good bye to the family and friends, the whole airport thing, the plane ride, etc...but once you're wherever you're supposed to be, your mindset just does a 180, you're in disbelief that you are actually there, the excitement is crazy-sexy-cool, you wanna kiss the ground, and then you just set out to just live it up, meet the people, and MAKE IT HAPPEN! It's yo birthday, we gonna party like, it's yo birthday

Your friends and family will all be fine and will be wishing that they were with you enjoying life and accomplishing a goal. Life goes on and doesn't seem to change much when you come back.

If you were known as being person that is all talk....that is all going to change in 10 days as you will become a "do-er." Someone who says that they're going to do something, then does it. If you aren't already, you will become a source of inspiration to those who know you and your bravery (especially shown by taking this trip) will be highly regarded.

Also, you'll be in an english speaking country, and as long as you're always alert, your trip should be a walk in the park B)
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Old 10-24-2003, 03:41 PM   #4
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TP, this sounds like a speach in Braveheart! 'And dying in your beds, many years from now...' Soooooo inspiring! What would you do without FREEDOM!?

Hayley, follow your dreams!
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Old 10-24-2003, 03:53 PM   #5
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Hey Heyley
Congrats on going through with your trip
Im gonna go to Aussie in September, and thats gonna be my first pack trip ever, I know what your feelin and its crazy scary, like I dont even know what to do when I get there (Find a hostel I guess) But I do know this will make us grow as a person, so just get over there and wing it, so live life for what is it and giver! Good luck have fun, keep us updated (especially me :P) See ya
~newbie
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Old 10-24-2003, 05:04 PM   #6
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hey hayley, that's the same time i'm going to Oz too! it's my first trip abroad too. I leave on Nov.2!!! 9 days and counting!!!
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Old 10-24-2003, 05:06 PM   #7
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Unite the clans!



Hey Hayley, check out this member's post (WorlWideMike). It was from last week. WorldWideMike is probably our most seasoned traveler and he still gets butterflies!

Get'n butterflies
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Old 10-25-2003, 03:23 AM   #8
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Well, what can I say?! Thanks you lot, you have all been a GREAT help! I was but now I'm :D, well actually more like :D :D !!!!!!! I just wanna get over there now, get the whole leaving the airport fing out the way and start having some serious fun! I cant wait to get out there! But, in the mean time, this site is keeping me well amused! Its addictive! I keep having to drop what I'm doing to c whats new, or if I have any replies! Thanks guys, you are making me a wiser woman!!!
Keep em coming........ while I'm busy on this site all my fears fly straight out the window (they were flying straight out my backside!) Its great to talk to peeps who have been there, done that and can give me a helping hand, and just as great to talk to those who are in the same situation as me, we can hold hands and panic together!!!!
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Old 10-25-2003, 12:16 PM   #9
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omigod your SOOOOOO not alone in that department. I've travelled alone before (2 trips alone, 1 trip with friends) and now i'm planning to leave again in the spring. Going to aus, nz, fiji mabye thailand. I'm planning to be gone for up to a year, just depends on the $$. But anyways guess what!?
Dio (miss independant) is getting scared! me! I can hardly believe it myself. But this is going to be the farthest i've ever been away from home. Eight hour flight to europenothing,but 17 hours to aus. The length of time i'll be away is really freaking me out. It's so long. I don't know how i'll handle not seeing my family for that long. And for the most part it's leaving that is freaking me out. My grandparents are elderly and ya never know. I just will feel so hopeless being far from home. But after all those worries i'm still gonna go damnit. I think the worst thing someone can do is to stop doing something because of fear. Like TP said the worst part about it is saying goodbye and the airplane ride. Once you've landed then it will be smooth sailing. it's funny though because when i went on my first trip alone I wasn't scared at all. nada nothing, and now look at me. I'm a quivering little girl! so don't worry hayley we all feel this way at some point in our lives! and yup ain't the TP.com crew awesome. glad to have ya aboard~!
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Where to Next? Iceland!
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Old 10-26-2003, 03:26 AM   #10
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Dio, you have just described exactly how I feel! I'm worried about missing my family 2, never been away from them for longer than 3 weeks! I'm gonna be the complete other side of the world to them! I've got a nasty flight, I arrive in Oz 2 DAYS after leaving the UK! Just hope I meet some people on the plane or that is gonna be one long, boring flight! My Mummy is my bestest friend in the whole wide world , proper little Mummy's girl me! I'm gonna be lost without her for a year! But, amid all my fears, I'm bursting with excitment inside! I just wanna run round the room singing, screaming, crying, laughing, but so far, I've held back from temptation!!! Great to talk to ya, hope to hear from u soon.
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Old 10-27-2003, 01:44 AM   #11
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One more think I've just thought of, I wear contact Lenses, I can take a load with me, but that would mean carrying all the solution around with me, which is really gonna weigh me down. Does anyone know if it would be easier to just join an Optician over there?
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Old 10-27-2003, 01:40 PM   #12
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Hate to break it to ya, but that could cost some $$$, Maybe you can get a copy of the prescription at home ( where ever that is ) and bring it with you..hopefully an eye dr. will honor it.

My opinion on that if you wanna wear you contacts instead of glasses, then bite the bullet and bring the solution, i think it will avoid any hastle for you while you are there.

Or
Ask your Dr. if there is any travel sizes you can buy

Or

Dr. get samples for products all the time..maybe he can hook you up with some of those, prob less bulky in your pack.
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Old 10-27-2003, 03:47 PM   #13
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Just buy the solution there. :D I'm helpful ain't i!
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I have been to: Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, New Zealand , Australia, Fiji, Costa Rica, United States, England, Ireland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland , France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Vatican, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Panama, Colombia, Mexico, India, Nepal.

Where to Next? Iceland!
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Old 10-28-2003, 06:23 AM   #14
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Right, I'm gonna do a bit of everything! I'm gonna take some with me, plus some samples, then see if maybe I could buy some over there! Phwoa! 6 days to go now!!!! I'm not actually feeling nervous anymore! Its wierd! Cant wait to go now! Not lookin 4ward to leaving my boyf behind tho. Oh well, if we're supposed to be then I'm sure he'll still be around when I get back, right? Does that sound heartless?!
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Old 10-28-2003, 07:01 PM   #15
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hey hayley

i just bought some daily contact lenses for my trip, just throw them away every day, no solution!
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I made it through the wilderness
Somehow I made it through
Didn't know how lost I was
Until I found youuuuu

I was beat. Incomplete
I'd been had, I was sad and blue
But you made me feel
Yeah, you maaaade me feel
Shiny and neeeeew
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Old 10-29-2003, 03:59 AM   #16
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Thats what I thought Kat, but I'm gonna be travelling 4 a year and that would cost me major bucks!!!
Anyway, you cant have long until you leave now? 4 days right? Scared?! Or just !!!! Have a grrrrreat time!!! Dont forget to keep me posted!!! :D
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