Home again, second full day, after arriving back in Janesville October 17 at 11:30 p.m. (Landlord) Gary picked up (sis-in-law) Julie and me from the Van Galder depot. Still recouping from jet lag from 27 hours on airplanes, in airports, and the final two-hour bus ride. Crossing the International Date Line and gaining a day also took its toll on messing up my internal clock!
But to back up, let's pick up where we left off
Sunday October 15
Picking up from where I left off on the last blog entry, we did indeed have later-night tapas from the Point Brisbane Hotel restaurant (Lambert's) following our museum outing. Julie and I shared an order of freshly roasted mixed nuts, a club sandwich, and freshly fried doughnut balls with chocolate and raspberry sauces. All delicious. Yeah, I can hear some of you chuckle: We had nuts and balls for dinner. OK, settle down.
Monday October 16
Our final full day in Australia! Another rainy day in Brisbane. Except for the half day on Saturday when we went to the Koala preserve, our stay in Brisbane has been a total rainout, but we continue to make the best of it. We woke around 7 a.m. and had another delicious breakfast buffet in the hotel's restaurant, all included with our room charge. We decided to do another museum day and were advised at the front desk about the free water taxi (the "City Hopper") that makes various stops in the Central Business District (CBD) and has a stop just a couple blocks from the hotel.
We borrowed a couple of umbrellas from the hotel, and set out to visit City Hall to tour the Brisbane Museum and its clock tower. Admission to both were free. This was an attraction recommended to us by a couple from Brisbane who were on the cruise ship. We are slated to have dinner with them later today, so we partly wanted to do this so we would have a conversation point over dinner. But the museum and clock tower did prove to be interesting and worth our time. The city hall is unusual in that it is one of the few such government buildings (that I'm aware of) that also contains a performance auditorium. This one is no small deal. It seats 1,595 people (including 419 balcony seats) complete with concert pipe organ. It has a beautiful ceiling with 23-meter diameter dome, which is copper on the outside, and is custom-lighted on the inside during performances.
We toured the museum, which has interesting artifacts documenting the city's recorded history starting at its founding in 1799, though aboriginal tribes were here long before that. The city was originally established as a penal colony for British convicts sent from Sydney. Today, Brisbane, or Brissie (pronounced brizzy) as it's affectionately nicknamed by the locals, is Australia's third largest city and the capital of the state of Queensland. It is famous for its amazing climate that is near perfect all year round (except when we were there!), and its proximity to many of Queensland's major tourist destinations.
We took an elevator ride to the clock tower's observation platform, at 250 feet above street level, and then lower to the actual clock, which has dials on all four sides. The clock mechanism runs off an electrical master clock imported from England. The clock has Westminster chimes (same as "Big Ben" in London) which are silenced on the weekends per the request of citizens and local churches.
To its apex (topped by the beacon to warn aircraft) the tower is 298 feet high, and until the 1960s was the tallest building in Brisbane. Today, it is dwarfed by surrounding skyscrapers and the view from the observation platform is fairly limited.
The city hall has served numerous purposes since its completion in 1928, including the basement designated as an official bomb shelter during WWII. It was also the headquarters of the Red Cross during the war, serving to help many of the thousands of Aussies that served who "mustered out" through the city hall. A cafeteria in the basement is still designated the "Red Cross Cafe," though run now by a for-profit entity. The city hall building also houses the "Shingle Inn," Brisbane's most famous tea room.
It still has it original fixtures. We poked our heads in, but unfortunately didn't have time for lunch/tea there. It will give me an excuse to revisit Brissie at a later date! So all in all, a very interesting and beautiful city hall. Most city halls are drab and sterile, with the only purpose of visiting to pay a traffic fine or obtain a building permit. This city hall in Brisbane is a vibrant hub of commerce and culture that draws locals and tourists alike.
After the city hall, we got back on the "City Hopper" and went to the Maritime Museum. This is an often overlooked museum in the city, but completely awesome, and the admission is only $16. There is an extra charge for an audio device that narrates the tour by punching in number corresponding to those posted on various exhibits. We declined this because we knew that our time here would be fairly limited. They have many exhibits and artifacts there, but perhaps the centerpiece is the Diamantina, a Royal Australian Navy frigate built in Queensland and commissioned in 1945 and now the last remaining World War II River Class frigate in the world. Its four decks (bridge to engine room) are all open for inspection and exploration. And at 301 feet long, there is a lot to explore. The ship saw active service from 1945-46, then was recommissioned as a research vehicle until 1980 when it was earmarked for the scrapyard. Through a series of events, the ship was instead donated to the maritime museum, and placed in a drydock at the museum's location, which was an active drydock built in the 1880s and used for repair of ships and submarines.
My friend, Gene, who served in the U.S. Coast Guard, would know more about frigates, but it's my understanding that by WWII, the term "frigate" had come to mean naval vessels whose primary purpose was to serve as "escorts" to fleets of ships crossing open water. They were not as heavily armed as, say, a battleship or destroyer, though they packed enough "punch" to defend themselves where necessary. Their primary purpose was to keep an eye out for enemy submarines and aircraft by means of surface and air radar, both of which were new technologies at the time and were considered some of the navy's highest of all its "top secret" secrets. To take out submarines, frigates also typically carried a huge payload of depth charges and something called "Hedgehogs" which threw a cluster of grenades forward of the ship to cripple or destroy subs that were surfaced or shallow submerged.
After the museums, it was back to the hotel via the "City Hopper" for a shower and quick nap before dinner out with Kerry and Shelley (last name omitted for privacy), a couple from Brisbane that we had met on the cruise. Julie, in particular, formed a bond with them, and they offered to hook up with us when we reached Brisbane on our journeys.
They picked us up from our hotel and said they would be taking us to the "suburban" parts of the city to see sights that we would probably miss otherwise. Our first stop was a Max Brenner chocolate shop, which was a welcome sight because we had been looking for another shop since our first and chance encounter with Max Brenner at Manly Beach in Sydney. Kerry and Shelley (K&S) treated us to hot chocolates, and we had a nice chat. Julie bought a set of the "Hug Mugs" to take back as a souvenir.
From there, we went to a restaurant/fish market called "The Fishmonger's Wife," which consistently earns rave reviews as one of the best and most creative seafood restaurants in Brisbane. I had Australian King Snapper marinated in lime and coconut with chili lime sauce for dipping, and served with an Asian salad on the side, and "chips" which is Aussie speak for French fries.
K&S brought a bottle of white wine, which the restaurant allows with a "corking charge." For dessert, a warm flourless chocolate cake served with vanilla ice cream, and coffee. Julie had Barramundi (a white fish) batter fried, with chips. All delicious and oh-so fresh. K&S picked up the entire tab for the four of us, which was unexpected and very generous.
From there, K&S drove us to Mount Coot-tha, which is a very famous and popular spot to look out over the city of Brisbane. It's especially popular at night when you can look at the city all lit up. They have a cafe and mini convenience store there, as well as bathrooms, and it is all very nice and well maintained. They even cater special events there, such as weddings and so forth. Despite the continued rain, we were treated to a clear and beautiful view of the Brisbane skyline. Here is a view of the park during the day, and also a night-time skyline view:
From there, K&S drove us back to the Point Brisbane Hotel, where we said our goodbyes, and exchanged email addresses. All in all, a very pleasant evening, and a fine example of Australian hospitality. Every Aussie we met aboard ship was very pleasant, and the Aussies we encountered in the cities we visited were polite and approachable. One thing I noticed in Sydney, which many say is comparable to New York City in size and function (i.e., financial capital of each respective country), is that you don't have the constant horn honking in Sydney as you do in New York. I'm sure there are grumpy Australians. But to a person, every Aussie we met was nice and easy to talk to.
Anyway, we arrived at our hotel pretty much exhausted, having done two museums, and a full evening out with new friends. Despite the almost constant rain in Brisbane, I think we made the most of our visit here. When it rains, you simply look for indoor activities. We missed the city's botanical gardens, which was one reason I chose the hotel's location but, hey, you must make adjustments when the weather does not cooperate, and I think Julie and I did pretty good in that regard. We did get to visit the Koala preserve (Lone Pine) in dry weather, so that was a plus.
Tomorrow, we bid farewell not only to Brisbane, but Australia.
Tuesday October 17
We awoke at about 6:30, finished packing, and then had our final buffet breakfast at the hotel. We settled our room bill, then hailed an Uber ride to the Brisbane airport. This turned out to be our most expensive Uber ride, at $88 Australian, or about $69 U.S. Part of this is because we went through two major tunnels, with a combined toll of about $25. The Uber app doesn't mention this, but any tolls encountered in your ride are added to the basic charge. We didn't do the tunnels on the arrival Uber ride from the airport, but that's because we arrived on a Saturday when the surface streets are not clogged with traffic. Leaving Brisbane on a week day, our driver explained that going via the tunnels would save us about an hour getting to the airport.
We arrived at the International terminal, and checked in with New Zealand Air. Though our checked luggage was marked all the way through to Chicago, we were told we must pick up the bags upon our arrival to the U.S. in San Francisco, and transfer them after clearing customs to another conveyor belt for United Airlines, which is handling the last leg of our journey.
I still had $30 and some change leftover in Australian money, so I bought a copy of "Tools of Titans" by Timothy Ferriss at a bookstore, because the currency exchange thieves at the airport were offering 68 cents on the dollar. (Full conversion would be $1.20 for every Australian dollar.) The leftover change I used in a vending machine to purchase a package of plain M&Ms for $3.20.
Our first leg was Brisbane to Aukland, New Zealand aboard a fairly new Boeing 777 wide body. The three hour flight was pleasant enough, though I noticed (unhappily) that this new aircraft dispensed with the overhead air vents, and it was too hot in the cabin for my tastes.
In Aukland, we had to pass through a "connecting flight passageway" where once again we had to present our carry-on bags for inspection through an X-ray machine, and also pass ourselves through a metal detector. This I though kind of weird, since we never left the "sterile" portion of the airport since our departure at Sydney. But, hey, I don't make the rules. At least we did not have to go through customs for our very short visit to New Zealand. I assume the two countries must have some sort of reciprocal agreement for travelers merely "transiting through" the airports en route to their ultimate destination.
Anyway, we got to our new gate for boarding the next plane on what would be the longest flight -- just over 12 hours, flying over the International Date Line and arriving in San Francisco on the same day we departed Aukland, New Zealand... October 17! Our plane again was the Boeing 777 and again the cabin was hot. Even Julie was hot, so you know it was hot! A major design flaw in the aircraft, if you ask me. I slept maybe one hour, and my T-shirt was completely "pitted out" by the time we arrived. We got two meals on the trip ... a dinner (the flight departed approx. 7:30 p.m. local time), and a breakfast approximately 10 hours later. Each seat was outfitted with a flatscreen video panel where we could listen to music and watch movies with our provided headphones. This provided some level of distraction, but absolutely no relief from the heat, nor the discomfort from the plane seats, which I swear were designed for people with scoliosis. The only relief from the latter was the occasional walk down the aisle to the toilets. But it is what it is. If you are going to visit a country half way around the world, this is the price you pay. We didn't have to endure this torture on the way TO Australia, of course, because we cruised there, and arrived in Sydney fresh as a daisy with no jet lag. If I ever return to Australia by air, I will seriously consider an overnight "half-way point" stay in Honolulu.
We arrived San Francisco about 11:30 local time, and the first order of business was clearing customs, which I have to say was a massive cluster fuck. Honest to God, it was easier getting into Australia than it was getting back into our own country of citizenship! The whole flow of events was anti-intuitive (not even counter-intuitive, which a lot of times you can figure out). We were essentially herded into a line where we ended up at self-service kiosks to print out some type of "express entry ticket" if the U.S. Customs' computer system deemed you "clean." From there, herded into another queue where you had to present this ticket to a customs agent for a manual inspection and official "stamp" on the ticket's reverse side. To handle about 80 U.S. citizen passengers from our flight, we had a grand total of two customs agents. Our government tax dollars at work. And all this had to be done before we could pick up our checked bags at the baggage carousel. And all the while, an announcer over the PA system was telling us we had to claim our checked bags before clearing customs! But there was no way we could GET to our bags until we got past this point. So what the hell is this line we're in and, why, in the name of Zuess's butthole, did we even need to be here when supposedly we had obtained this express entry ticket? There is nothing "express" about it! I guess this is merely the "customs-agent-gets-to-look-at-and-stamp-your-express-entry-ticket" line. Next, we claimed our checked baggage, and got in yet another line which split into two lines at the end, each attended by a customs official, who glanced at your stamped express ticket, and said, "OK, you're clear."
By this time, it was 12:30 p.m. local time, and our final United Airlines flight to Chicago started boarding at about 1:30. We got a "Smart Cart" for the luggage and hastily walked through a series of corridors marked "To Connecting Flights." Along the way, we found the United Airlines dropoff point for our checked luggage and put them on the conveyor belt. More corridors, until we finally found an overhead departures monitor to find out our departing gate. It was a haul, and yes, once again, we had to go through security, even though to my mind we had never left the "sterile" portion of the airport. We finally arrived at our gate with about 15 minutes to spare. Just enough time for me to stop at a Peet's Coffee kiosk for a cup of brew and a muffin!
The 4 hour and 20 minute flight had us into O'Hare airport about 7:45 p.m. local time, where we picked up our checked bags and headed for the bus/shuttle terminal. We struck it lucky and boarded a waiting Van Galder motor coach, and we were on the road by about 9:30 for the two-hour bus ride to the Janesville bus terminal. I phoned my landlord, Gary, to advise him of our arrival, where he was waiting for us. We got home at 11:45, so technically it was still Tuesday, October 17, the same as our date of departure! Boy, if that isn't enough to screw up your internal clock, I don't know what is. By my reckoning, we had been on our journey 27 hours (give or take) and awake for 32 hour if you count from the time we woke up at our hotel in Brisbane. Julie stayed at my place for the night, and took off for Stevens Point the next morning after we had breakfast at Citrus, one of my favorite cafes here in Janesville.
So here are some final thoughts on the trip. Overall, awesome. I still have a hard time believing that all of the arrangements I made -- 6 flights, 5 hotels, and numerous attractions including the Harbour Bridge Climb, Sydney Opera House, etc., etc, went off without a hitch. The only thing that happened that could have grown into a big problem was that I neglected to fill out the visa forms for Julie and I, and thankfully someone on the Royal Caribbean staff took care of that, so kudos to RC.
Some of the events on the trip, the Harbour Bridge Climb in particular, tested the limits of my physical abilities. So I think the trip was a real testament to "do it now" rather than "wait 'til later."
The sheer length of trip alone -- at 35 days -- felt trying as well. It was actually three trips in one ... Hawaii, the 18-day trans-Pacific cruise, and Australia. I think Julie and I did a good job of avoiding getting on each others' nerves by having some "alone time" as well as "together time." Julie is a great travel partner, don't get me wrong. But even the best of "couples" (whether married or just travel buddies) can get into trouble if joined at the hip, especially for such a length of time. So I think this is something for all to keep in mind when contemplating a trip, especially one of this length.
Australia is expensive. Even factoring the conversion rate of $1 Australian into 80 cents U.S. stuff is expensive there. Part of that is the fact that Australia pays its service people a minimum wage of $16.50 an hour, about triple what waiters and waitresses earn as their "base salary" here in the states. For that reason, tipping is not only NOT expected, but actually considered rude. So it is little wonder that a typical lunch out in Australia runs about $25, and a full course dinner can run you $50-$60, and more if you have a bar bill. Even a Big Mac at a McDonald's costs about $6.50. But here's the thing: almost every restaurant we visited in Australia was busy. Restaurant owners here in America claim that if the minimum wage was raise to, say, $10 per hour, they would go out of business. I don't think so. Patrons would adjust. The whole stigma about tipping would no longer be an issue. And waiters, busboys, bartenders, etc., wouldn't have to work three jobs to survive.
The Smartphone proved to be a lifesaver, and I don't know we ever survived before its invention. It was our link to the world, and proved especially useful in procuring inner-city transportation at a reasonable cost. Our total Uber expenditures were $312 U.S. I believe had we relied on taxis, that amount would have been $500. Also, Internet in Australia is hit or miss, and many times the phone was my only means of staying in touch with events here in the states and keeping in touch with family and friends. And Internet in French Polynesia was, for all intent and purposes, nonexistent. Boy, if you want to completely disconnect with the world, move to Tahiti or Bora Bora!
Expenses: We (Julie and I) were each $7,629 into this trip for pre-arranged bookings. This included the cruise, all airline reservations, all hotels, and booked attractions. Incidental expenses (food and beverage, inner-city transportation, petty cash, and a few other misc. expenses) ran me about $1,500, so I figure I am into the trip for $9,129 or thereabouts. I figured the trip would run me about $10K, so I was pretty close. Money well spent.
'Til next trip,
Bruce
They picked us up from our hotel and said they would be taking us to the "suburban" parts of the city to see sights that we would probably miss otherwise. Our first stop was a Max Brenner chocolate shop, which was a welcome sight because we had been looking for another shop since our first and chance encounter with Max Brenner at Manly Beach in Sydney. Kerry and Shelley (K&S) treated us to hot chocolates, and we had a nice chat. Julie bought a set of the "Hug Mugs" to take back as a souvenir.
From there, we went to a restaurant/fish market called "The Fishmonger's Wife," which consistently earns rave reviews as one of the best and most creative seafood restaurants in Brisbane. I had Australian King Snapper marinated in lime and coconut with chili lime sauce for dipping, and served with an Asian salad on the side, and "chips" which is Aussie speak for French fries.
K&S brought a bottle of white wine, which the restaurant allows with a "corking charge." For dessert, a warm flourless chocolate cake served with vanilla ice cream, and coffee. Julie had Barramundi (a white fish) batter fried, with chips. All delicious and oh-so fresh. K&S picked up the entire tab for the four of us, which was unexpected and very generous.
From there, K&S drove us to Mount Coot-tha, which is a very famous and popular spot to look out over the city of Brisbane. It's especially popular at night when you can look at the city all lit up. They have a cafe and mini convenience store there, as well as bathrooms, and it is all very nice and well maintained. They even cater special events there, such as weddings and so forth. Despite the continued rain, we were treated to a clear and beautiful view of the Brisbane skyline. Here is a view of the park during the day, and also a night-time skyline view:
From there, K&S drove us back to the Point Brisbane Hotel, where we said our goodbyes, and exchanged email addresses. All in all, a very pleasant evening, and a fine example of Australian hospitality. Every Aussie we met aboard ship was very pleasant, and the Aussies we encountered in the cities we visited were polite and approachable. One thing I noticed in Sydney, which many say is comparable to New York City in size and function (i.e., financial capital of each respective country), is that you don't have the constant horn honking in Sydney as you do in New York. I'm sure there are grumpy Australians. But to a person, every Aussie we met was nice and easy to talk to.
Anyway, we arrived at our hotel pretty much exhausted, having done two museums, and a full evening out with new friends. Despite the almost constant rain in Brisbane, I think we made the most of our visit here. When it rains, you simply look for indoor activities. We missed the city's botanical gardens, which was one reason I chose the hotel's location but, hey, you must make adjustments when the weather does not cooperate, and I think Julie and I did pretty good in that regard. We did get to visit the Koala preserve (Lone Pine) in dry weather, so that was a plus.
Tomorrow, we bid farewell not only to Brisbane, but Australia.
Tuesday October 17
We awoke at about 6:30, finished packing, and then had our final buffet breakfast at the hotel. We settled our room bill, then hailed an Uber ride to the Brisbane airport. This turned out to be our most expensive Uber ride, at $88 Australian, or about $69 U.S. Part of this is because we went through two major tunnels, with a combined toll of about $25. The Uber app doesn't mention this, but any tolls encountered in your ride are added to the basic charge. We didn't do the tunnels on the arrival Uber ride from the airport, but that's because we arrived on a Saturday when the surface streets are not clogged with traffic. Leaving Brisbane on a week day, our driver explained that going via the tunnels would save us about an hour getting to the airport.
We arrived at the International terminal, and checked in with New Zealand Air. Though our checked luggage was marked all the way through to Chicago, we were told we must pick up the bags upon our arrival to the U.S. in San Francisco, and transfer them after clearing customs to another conveyor belt for United Airlines, which is handling the last leg of our journey.
I still had $30 and some change leftover in Australian money, so I bought a copy of "Tools of Titans" by Timothy Ferriss at a bookstore, because the currency exchange thieves at the airport were offering 68 cents on the dollar. (Full conversion would be $1.20 for every Australian dollar.) The leftover change I used in a vending machine to purchase a package of plain M&Ms for $3.20.
Our first leg was Brisbane to Aukland, New Zealand aboard a fairly new Boeing 777 wide body. The three hour flight was pleasant enough, though I noticed (unhappily) that this new aircraft dispensed with the overhead air vents, and it was too hot in the cabin for my tastes.
In Aukland, we had to pass through a "connecting flight passageway" where once again we had to present our carry-on bags for inspection through an X-ray machine, and also pass ourselves through a metal detector. This I though kind of weird, since we never left the "sterile" portion of the airport since our departure at Sydney. But, hey, I don't make the rules. At least we did not have to go through customs for our very short visit to New Zealand. I assume the two countries must have some sort of reciprocal agreement for travelers merely "transiting through" the airports en route to their ultimate destination.
Anyway, we got to our new gate for boarding the next plane on what would be the longest flight -- just over 12 hours, flying over the International Date Line and arriving in San Francisco on the same day we departed Aukland, New Zealand... October 17! Our plane again was the Boeing 777 and again the cabin was hot. Even Julie was hot, so you know it was hot! A major design flaw in the aircraft, if you ask me. I slept maybe one hour, and my T-shirt was completely "pitted out" by the time we arrived. We got two meals on the trip ... a dinner (the flight departed approx. 7:30 p.m. local time), and a breakfast approximately 10 hours later. Each seat was outfitted with a flatscreen video panel where we could listen to music and watch movies with our provided headphones. This provided some level of distraction, but absolutely no relief from the heat, nor the discomfort from the plane seats, which I swear were designed for people with scoliosis. The only relief from the latter was the occasional walk down the aisle to the toilets. But it is what it is. If you are going to visit a country half way around the world, this is the price you pay. We didn't have to endure this torture on the way TO Australia, of course, because we cruised there, and arrived in Sydney fresh as a daisy with no jet lag. If I ever return to Australia by air, I will seriously consider an overnight "half-way point" stay in Honolulu.
We arrived San Francisco about 11:30 local time, and the first order of business was clearing customs, which I have to say was a massive cluster fuck. Honest to God, it was easier getting into Australia than it was getting back into our own country of citizenship! The whole flow of events was anti-intuitive (not even counter-intuitive, which a lot of times you can figure out). We were essentially herded into a line where we ended up at self-service kiosks to print out some type of "express entry ticket" if the U.S. Customs' computer system deemed you "clean." From there, herded into another queue where you had to present this ticket to a customs agent for a manual inspection and official "stamp" on the ticket's reverse side. To handle about 80 U.S. citizen passengers from our flight, we had a grand total of two customs agents. Our government tax dollars at work. And all this had to be done before we could pick up our checked bags at the baggage carousel. And all the while, an announcer over the PA system was telling us we had to claim our checked bags before clearing customs! But there was no way we could GET to our bags until we got past this point. So what the hell is this line we're in and, why, in the name of Zuess's butthole, did we even need to be here when supposedly we had obtained this express entry ticket? There is nothing "express" about it! I guess this is merely the "customs-agent-gets-to-look-at-and-stamp-your-express-entry-ticket" line. Next, we claimed our checked baggage, and got in yet another line which split into two lines at the end, each attended by a customs official, who glanced at your stamped express ticket, and said, "OK, you're clear."
By this time, it was 12:30 p.m. local time, and our final United Airlines flight to Chicago started boarding at about 1:30. We got a "Smart Cart" for the luggage and hastily walked through a series of corridors marked "To Connecting Flights." Along the way, we found the United Airlines dropoff point for our checked luggage and put them on the conveyor belt. More corridors, until we finally found an overhead departures monitor to find out our departing gate. It was a haul, and yes, once again, we had to go through security, even though to my mind we had never left the "sterile" portion of the airport. We finally arrived at our gate with about 15 minutes to spare. Just enough time for me to stop at a Peet's Coffee kiosk for a cup of brew and a muffin!
The 4 hour and 20 minute flight had us into O'Hare airport about 7:45 p.m. local time, where we picked up our checked bags and headed for the bus/shuttle terminal. We struck it lucky and boarded a waiting Van Galder motor coach, and we were on the road by about 9:30 for the two-hour bus ride to the Janesville bus terminal. I phoned my landlord, Gary, to advise him of our arrival, where he was waiting for us. We got home at 11:45, so technically it was still Tuesday, October 17, the same as our date of departure! Boy, if that isn't enough to screw up your internal clock, I don't know what is. By my reckoning, we had been on our journey 27 hours (give or take) and awake for 32 hour if you count from the time we woke up at our hotel in Brisbane. Julie stayed at my place for the night, and took off for Stevens Point the next morning after we had breakfast at Citrus, one of my favorite cafes here in Janesville.
So here are some final thoughts on the trip. Overall, awesome. I still have a hard time believing that all of the arrangements I made -- 6 flights, 5 hotels, and numerous attractions including the Harbour Bridge Climb, Sydney Opera House, etc., etc, went off without a hitch. The only thing that happened that could have grown into a big problem was that I neglected to fill out the visa forms for Julie and I, and thankfully someone on the Royal Caribbean staff took care of that, so kudos to RC.
Some of the events on the trip, the Harbour Bridge Climb in particular, tested the limits of my physical abilities. So I think the trip was a real testament to "do it now" rather than "wait 'til later."
The sheer length of trip alone -- at 35 days -- felt trying as well. It was actually three trips in one ... Hawaii, the 18-day trans-Pacific cruise, and Australia. I think Julie and I did a good job of avoiding getting on each others' nerves by having some "alone time" as well as "together time." Julie is a great travel partner, don't get me wrong. But even the best of "couples" (whether married or just travel buddies) can get into trouble if joined at the hip, especially for such a length of time. So I think this is something for all to keep in mind when contemplating a trip, especially one of this length.
Australia is expensive. Even factoring the conversion rate of $1 Australian into 80 cents U.S. stuff is expensive there. Part of that is the fact that Australia pays its service people a minimum wage of $16.50 an hour, about triple what waiters and waitresses earn as their "base salary" here in the states. For that reason, tipping is not only NOT expected, but actually considered rude. So it is little wonder that a typical lunch out in Australia runs about $25, and a full course dinner can run you $50-$60, and more if you have a bar bill. Even a Big Mac at a McDonald's costs about $6.50. But here's the thing: almost every restaurant we visited in Australia was busy. Restaurant owners here in America claim that if the minimum wage was raise to, say, $10 per hour, they would go out of business. I don't think so. Patrons would adjust. The whole stigma about tipping would no longer be an issue. And waiters, busboys, bartenders, etc., wouldn't have to work three jobs to survive.
The Smartphone proved to be a lifesaver, and I don't know we ever survived before its invention. It was our link to the world, and proved especially useful in procuring inner-city transportation at a reasonable cost. Our total Uber expenditures were $312 U.S. I believe had we relied on taxis, that amount would have been $500. Also, Internet in Australia is hit or miss, and many times the phone was my only means of staying in touch with events here in the states and keeping in touch with family and friends. And Internet in French Polynesia was, for all intent and purposes, nonexistent. Boy, if you want to completely disconnect with the world, move to Tahiti or Bora Bora!
Expenses: We (Julie and I) were each $7,629 into this trip for pre-arranged bookings. This included the cruise, all airline reservations, all hotels, and booked attractions. Incidental expenses (food and beverage, inner-city transportation, petty cash, and a few other misc. expenses) ran me about $1,500, so I figure I am into the trip for $9,129 or thereabouts. I figured the trip would run me about $10K, so I was pretty close. Money well spent.
'Til next trip,
Bruce
