12 Things After 1 Month in Australia

Unbelievably I’ve been in Australia for 1 month, but it feels like I just left California yesterday. Time is flying by! I’ve done so much and already made many great friends. I’m starting to get used to life on the road, but a month isn’t long enough to get used to everything. Minor differences between California and Australia still pop up and surprise me.

I say “California” because the US is huge and I’m not going to group all of it into my judgments. The same goes for Australia. The country is as big as the US and I’ve only been to a few parts of it. So I thought it would be fun to go over the differences I’ve noticed so far, and perhaps update my list as the months go by.

Taken from “gostudyinaustralia”

Smoking – This was the first thing that stuck out to me when I arrived. I went to a fairly nice restaurant for lunch and sat on the patio. I was happily enjoying my meal when a server came up to me and said I could not eat where I was. It was a smoking area. In my defense nobody was smoking at the time, so I had no idea. I happily moved but then noticed the ashtrays around me.

After doing some research I discovered that smoking is not allowed in areas that serve food. So restaurants have “smoking areas” where eating is not allowed, and now I see designated smoking areas everywhere. It doesn’t really make sense to me to have an area in a restaurant where you can’t eat, but that’s how it is.

In general more people smoke in Australia. Now I’m not sure if this is accurate, or if I just don’t see the smokers in California because of the strict rules we have. In Australia I’ll walk by a group of people and regularly get a good whiff of cigarette smell. Unlike California where I regularly get a whiff of pot, and rarely smell a cigarette.

Food Service

I recently had some Australians at my bar who raved about American service.

“No country gives service like the US, especially not Australia. I don’t understand the tipping policy here, but people definitely make a greater effort to give good service when they depend on tips. Australian’s don’t tip so servers don’t care what kind of service they give you.”

This is obviously a passionate topic for me because I’ve been in the service industry for a long time. I won’t say service is terrible in Australia (though it doesn’t compare to the US), but I will say it’s very inconsistent. Some places you order at the table. Some places you order at the counter. Some places you pay at your table. Some you pay the counter. Some places will give you your bill at the table but you have to get up and pay at the counter. It’s not mostly one way and sometimes the other. You just never know how it’s going to be and you have to guess.

I went to a very nice steak restaurant in Darwin where the host pulled out my chair and put the napkin on my lap. I thought I was going to enjoy some good service until my server took 15 minutes just to greet me. I also had to pay at the counter. You have crystal wine glasses and I have to pay at the counter? For some reason that doesn’t make sense to me.

One fellow traveler said she did a 4 month bartending gig in Perth and made $34/hr. To an American, $34/hr for a bartending job is damn good pay, but she didn’t get any tips. My $10/hr +tips gave me more money at the end of the day. I guess there are pros and cons to both. As a server in the US you have to give great service to make great money, and in Australia you don’t have to give any kind of service, and you still make a secure wage.

Music

Music is international. As I’m typing this someone is playing “California Knows How To Party” on their bluetooth speaker. On my tour through The Kimberley we belted out Queen, Adele, Tracy Chapman, Bon Jovi, Journey, and so many more. Good music is universal, and I’m happy everyone likes the same stuff. It bonds people together. A funny side note is that there is a ton of American Country on the radio here. Who knew?!

Bars – I’m not sure if I’m an idiot (which is a possibility), or if it’s just not a thing here. I can’t find a bar where I can sit down and have a drink and a meal. In California a single person typically sits at the bar so they don’t look like a lonely sod sitting by themselves at a table. Not the case in Australia. There are bars but you cannot sit at them. You can only order at them.

Thankfully I have my Kindle so I don’t look like a completely awkward loner when I’m sitting in the middle of a full dining room. However I was looking forward to mingling with bartenders every now and then. It’s a great way to get to know people and get local advice. Sadly the people who serve you here don’t care and certainly don’t want to hold a conversation (see “Food Service”).

Everybody is Silly – I’ve met people from all over the world this last month. They’re all a bunch of dorks, just like my friends back home. We all laugh at stupid things, make up lyrics to songs, and give each other crap. Sure, there are people that take their lives more seriously, but from what I’ve seen everybody has that moment that gets a face-palm. Like when someone on my recent tour asked where her sunglasses were when they were on her head.

Seasons – This is something that is specifically coming from a Californian, because I have seen it in other parts of the US but is still alien to me. Yes, in San Diego we have a tourist season. There’s are a ton of tourists in the summer and some in the winter. This part of Australia has a “Wet” and a “Dry” season. “Wet” meaning monsoon, meaning nobody ever visits during that time of year. I recently checked into a hostel and was told “We disconnected the internet because the season is almost over.” This was disappointing considering that was the main reason I had booked this hostel.

Internet and Reception – I have Optus as a cell phone carrier, which is like Sprint in the US. Decent but not the best. I was in Broome, a popular tourist town, and the reception was non-existent. Otherwise it’s give-or-take.

The internet here baffles me. What I wouldn’t give for some crappy Starbucks Wifi! You really have to look around if you want to find free wifi here. I’ve managed to find one cafe in Darwin, but have had little success elsewhere. Usually wifi is offered in coffee houses, but it’s terrible and there is a 1 hour time limit.

Wifi at the hostels I’ve stayed in has been a joke. In Broome we had to go down to reception every day and get a new wifi code. I’m not sure why they took such pains with their wifi, because other than checking email you couldn’t do anything productive. It wasn’t just my connection either because people around me had similar complaints. My hostel in Port Douglas had the best wifi so far, and during a Facetime conversation I could hear about ¾ of what the other person was saying.

KB makes fun of me and says “It’s like you’re in a 3^rd world country.” It really is. I didn’t think it was going to take this much effort to find wifi here in Australia. However, I haven’t made it down to the more populated areas of the country yet, and I’m hoping once I reach Melbourne free wifi will be more common.

Security – Theft is always a concern when you travel. I frequently have people leave laptops, phones, and entire purses on my bar as they wander up to their rooms or go to the bathroom. I’ll admit I’m guilty of leaving my personal belongings in the hands of strangers too. “Can you watch this for me while I use the bathroom?”

In South America I was extra careful with my stuff but still had a few things stolen. I would always hear horror stories about fellow travelers being mugged, backpacks being stolen on long-distance bus rides, and pickpockets.

This is absolutely not a concern in Australia. In every one of my hostels people haven’t bothered to lock their rooms. They also leave their laptops lying around while they go off and do other things. At the hostel I’m at now someone has left their laptop on the table across from me for about 2 hours. I’m not saying nothing ever gets stolen here, but theft isn’t a huge concern. This was a pleasant surprise for me.

Closing Times – This may be more of a San Diego thing than a California thing, because I recently made fun of my brother for living in a suburb of the Bay Area that rolled up its streets at 9pm. If you’re not open till at least 10pm in San Diego you’re probably not that “in.” Late dinner is very common and restaurants are usually open till at least 11pm.

I haven’t figured out Australia’s opening and closing times yet. Cafe’s are open from about 7am-2pm. Lunch is from 11:30-2pm. Dinner is 5-9pm. Nothing is ever open when I expect it to be. Unless you’re specifically labeled as a breakfast place, I automatically assume you will be open from 11am-11pm. Not the case here.

Bugs and Mosquitoes – In the Queensland rainforest I scoffed at the mosquitoes. I am usually popular with mosquitoes but didn’t get a single bite while I was there.  Darwin was the same. Even at the start of my tour through The Kimberley I seemed immune. Others put on their bug spray religiously while I had a little chuckle to myself. It was great!

Somewhere that changed. When we got to the Bungle Bungles it was like a mosquito flew up, examined if I was good enough for eating, checked a little box, and sent a letter to all the other mosquitoes in Australia. Now I have mosquito bites everywhere. I’m back in Darwin and this time they find me irresistible. I’m not sure what happened, but I prefer being invisible to them.

There are so many bugs! I went to the park earlier and sat down to read. I huge beetle flew on my leg. I shook it off and it came back. I just let it sit there until (what I was afraid of), it bit me. I moved across the park to another bench. This bench was apparently reserved for a mosquito party, so I moved again. On my third try everything seemed safe but I realized that there were green ants everywhere. These little guys hurt when they bite, so I didn’t stay. You can’t get away from bugs here.

Flavors of Snacks – Cheeseburger pringles, chicken rice crackers, roast chicken potato chips, BBQ lays that are ridiculously sweet, pizza crackers that taste like marinara. Now I know why my cousin goes crazy when she comes to The States and wanders down the chip isle.

Americans and Germans – Where are you fellow Americans? There were 6 Californians on my SCUBA trip and I was told by the skipper “Californians are always here. They love their diving.” Since then I haven’t met one.

Germans are everywhere! Are they everywhere else too, or just Australia? There are about 20 people in my hostel courtyard right now and I’d guess 15 of them are German. No exaggeration. I am sharing a room with 3 other Germans. The 4 people in the pool are German. A few people on my Kimberley tour were German. Are there any Germans left in Germany?

Conclusions – The whole reason I chose Australia was because this is my first time traveling completely by myself. I wanted to go to a country where they spoke English and where everything would be relatively the same. I made the right decision. Australia did not present any sort of culture shock. I have had no issues communicating or getting around. There are a few things that throw me off, but nothing that has completely baffled me. I’ll update again 1 month from now!

So far I’ve been to Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef, the Daintree, Darwin, Purnululu,the  Gibb River Road, and Broome. The map below shows exactly where I’ve been. Although I plan to head South to the bigger cities, October should be just as exciting as September. If I follow my itinerary I will hit Uluru (the big red rock), Adelaide, and Melbourne. I can’t wait!

Where I’ve been since Sept 1, 2016