Becoming a Backpacker

I've never really travelled much, but I've always wanted to see the world. I've done little trips here and there with friends and family, but they were more like vacations. In the past 20 years I've only visited my home country Taiwan three times, and as a Vancouverite I've never even been to the east coast of Canada! Working as a waitress barely getting enough hours just doesn't help with my travel funds, and I was getting too comfortable with my job to go and find something better. I've been talking to a colleague of mine, Kyra, and she mentioned something about working holiday which she did for 6 months in Australia and she absolutely loved it. I had to simmer on that idea for some time, and after 2 years and a shitty restaurant I finally had the courage to quit my job, pick up my bags and go see the world.

I've never heard of working holiday where you get to work to support your travel expenses. I started to do some research, as well as looking up people's blogs about travelling and backpacking. I never thought I could be a backpacker, because at home I always thought I was quite high maintenance and OCD, although I could always go cheap on accommodation. Also I wasn't sure where I'd want to do my working holiday, but since I'm pushing 30 that kind of narrowed it down to Australia, New Zealand, or Ireland. Australia came up top because I just fucking love the cute Aussie accent, the outback experience, and the warm climate, especially Christmas in the summertime! Also it was the furthest from home, just making the trip worth-while. One thing I didn't realize when I decided to do working holiday in OZ was how many things could kill you, especially them eight legged freaks!! But we all gotta overcome our fears, right?

So with the working holiday visa, I could stay in OZ for up to a year, and if I do 3 months of farm work I could extend for another year before I turn 31. Also this is a once in a life time thing, so right off the bat I've decided that I want to do my second year, not wanting to waste anymore opportunities. I started looking up about getting the visa and came upon an agency called SWAP. They're affiliated with TravelCuts, and with a certain cost they help you get your WHV (working holiday visa), bank account, sim card, TFN (tax file number), and get settled down on your first couple days in the foreign country. After much contemplation I decided to go with SWAP because it's a Canadian agency, and there are several other sites that do the same, only to discover later on that several people have found SWAP to be useless... but it was still a mixed review, and I looked at it as a security for my first big travel to have someone there if I ever needed help. I was able to get the visa on my own though and saved me some money, and it was really easy!! I just went on the Australian Government website, applied online and answered some pretty straight forward questions, and was granted the visa within a couple days! I guess as long as you don't have a criminal record or anything serious like that you'd have no problem getting it, but you do need to have certain support funds in your bank account before you leave home. If you have a return flight the support fund was 5000AUD, I decided to go with a one-way ticket so I don't have that time restrain which would make my travel plans harder, and the support fund for that was 7000AUD.

Once I got my visa I had a year to leave home before it'll expire, that gave me plenty of time to plan. I've read some people's blogs about travelling to OZ and jotted down some notes on where to stay and not to stay, and places I should see. Facebook is a good place to start as there are several groups where you could ask for advise and everyone there has been really helpful. I also got myself a Hostel International membership as it gives me discounts on accom staying at YHA's and certain travels. I booked my flight close to the end of year, just before my visa would expire so I'd be able to spend Christmas in OZ. SWAP has set me up with a couple nights at Wake Up! in Sydney, but I also booked 2 weeks at YHA Railway Square to give myself some time to look for work.

I finally told my family and friends about my trip Down Under after everything's booked and I won't be able to change my mind. My mom didn't take it too well, my sister was alright but she was still worried about me getting myself into trouble. It took my mom some time to finally come to terms that this is what I really want to do, then she started worrying about whether I've got everything I needed and making sure that I've got all the numbers down, and just being a mom. Most of my friends were excited about me travelling on my own, some of them were still quite worried though. My colleagues held a goodbye party for me, and my good friend Andy held 2 goodbye parties for me because one just wasn't enough! Some of them also got me some souvenirs, including a TARDIS and a sonic screwdriver because they know how much I love Doctor Who! By the way, I planned to save up 14000AUD for my trip but that never happened after all the drinking with my friends...

So I was pretty much set. I've got a mid-sized luggage and a travel backpack that my dear friend Peter was kind enough to lend me. I've packed up my room into boxes, cancelled my FIDO and had my phone unlocked, put a bunch of music and movies into my Mac, got the adapter, organized my PC and had my necessary documents set aside just in case my family might need them. Oh, and also made sure that my cat Baby would be looked after. Poor thing she had no idea that I'll be gone for a year, if not longer. I just hope that she won't hate me when I come back! Everything was going as planned, then a week before my flight, I was out drinking with one of my colleagues Darren, and I managed to forget my wallet at a skytrain station in a doggy area with all my bank cards and ID's!!!! I quickly cancelled my bank cards and got replacements sent to me ASAP, but it wasn't guaranteed that I'd get them on time, I did tell them to put a rush on it. The worst was losing my SIN and my citizenship card. I put a flag on my SIN and declared my citizenship card stolen, hoping no one has stolen my identity yet.

My bank card never got to me on time, but it's alright because I didn't plan on using it overseas anyway. My flight was at noon, and luckily my bank called me in the morning to tell me that my visa card has arrived!!! Off to the airport I go, my sister and her hubby dropped me off, and my best friend PO surprised me at the send off. To be honest, I didn't feel sad or nervous at all, I guess I didn't know that to expect, just going with the flow. Here's to smooth flying!! Australia here I come!