Destination: Sydney

The original plan to spend my holidays in the East coast of Australia has been changed because the embassy decided to deny my tourist visa due to my profile as a yuppy single dude with no strong ties to the home country. Bottomline is, I obtained a tourist Visa for New Zealand instead and applied for an Australian transit visa which allows me to stay in Oz for a maximum of three days each entry.

I did my research and have been warned by several friends that it will be very cold as it is winter in Oz and NZ. As a tropical person who hasn't experienced temperature less than 10°, I had to learn the art of layering and have to pack the required clothes for winter. The best decision I made was to buy water resistant shoes solely dedicated for this trip.

First Transit

Australia is very strict when it comes to Bio Security so I had to make sure I'm not carrying any food or water when I go through the Immigration and Customs check points. I also made sure I have the hard copy version of the flight itineraries and visa grant notice for backup. My interview through the immigration went smooth as they have electronic verification system and the only question asked was about my accommodation address and the immigration officer stamped my passport before I could even answer.

 

Since it's a Saturday, my good friend picked me up from the airport and the first thing I needed was food. My friend took me to the weekend market in Kings Cross for breaky. Australia doesn't have any signature food other than Fish and Chips which origated from England so we decided to have Bacon and Egg Rolls instead.

 

TIP: To avoid conversion fees, I preactivated my ATM card for International use before traveling and used ANZ ATM to withdraw cash.

 

The plan was to visit the Darling Harbour, Sydney Opera House, and walk around the streets of Sydney. The idea of being in a different country did not come up to me instantly. The clean, cool air was the main thing that made me realise I'm not in Manila anymore. Oh, I had to search for my head gear as well.

 

Checked Out Asian Goodies in Market City

So I was looking for a Russian fluffy hat (Ushanka) which protects my head and ears from the extreme cold during my winter travel. I found one in the Market City also known as the China Town in Sydney. 

Seagulls are Everywhere

I've never seen so many Seagulls, Cockatoos, and other fowls in my life.

Koala Teddies

These teddies are so fluffy and cute, but they're not cheap. So just feast your eyes on their fluffiness until you realise you don't want them. 

Circular Quay (Pronounced "Key")

The wind is pretty cold although the sun is not covered in clouds. The best things in life are free and the fresh air without pollution is one of them. 

Dahling Hahbah

It's a proven fact that I can adjust my accent when I'm talking to someone with a different accent. Aussie accent is pretty easy since the tense, lax, and liaison of the words are similar to the British accent. (And oh, there are lots of Darlings in Sydney - Darling Harbour, Darlington, Darlinghurst). 

Sydney Opera House

The Sydney Opera House is the most remarkable structure in Australia. It's packed with people everywhere but I still managed to crop them out of my pictures. 

Take a Pic

Royal Botanic Gardens

Observing the sunset in the Royal Botanic Gardens is a spectacular experience. I got to see the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge fade into shadows backlit by the setting sun. I'm lovin' this city! 

 

Visa for Philippine Passport Holders: Australia

Australian Visa Application

 

 

Philippine passport holders can apply for Visa online via www.immi.gov.au website. This article will guide you on how to apply for a Visa subclass 600 tourist stream. 

Disclaimer: I am not a migration agent nor do I represent any agency that provide visa processing services. This post is based on my experience and visa processing depends on your intention and circumstance. This is my first Visa application to enter an OECD country but I have traveled a number of times to Visa-free countries granted by the power of my Philippine passport.

Here are the things to consider when applying for an Australian Visa (or any Visa in general):

• Research, Read, Be Resourceful - You need to have the right and updated information about the rules of the immigration office. So better use the internet to obtain the proper knowledge to enter the country. As a tourist, you need to know the places you are visiting and and all other information specific for your case. 
• Be Honest - Do not submit any falsified documents. You will be questioned and it will lead to bad things and worse, you could be banned from the country. 
• Travel to Visa-Free Countries Prior - If you have a blank passport and you have never been to another country, chances are high you will be denied.  Being a frequent traveler has its perks but it is not an assurance. Providing proof that you return to your home country (Philippines) will increase your chances of getting approved. 
• Gather More Than Enough Funds - Australia is an expensive country. If you're staying with a friend or family, you can save a lot of $$ and spend it on other things. 

Gather Your Documents

Knowing the purpose of your trip and the details of your trip will help you gather the required documents for your Visa application. As a tourist, you will need to know the hotels you're staying in and your tour information. If you are an employee, you will need proof that you have approved leaves and you have the right to come back to work after your holidays. Strong evidence that you are coming back to your home country is the key to having a high chance of getting approved.

The following are the documents I attached in my application:

- Cover Letter (Optional)
- Travel Itinerary
- Credit Card Statement
- Personal Bank Certificate
- Certificate of Employment
- Approved Annual Leave Certification
- Tenancy Statement of Account
- Invitation Letter from a Friend (Optional)
- Travel Insurance
- Passport with Proof of Travels
- Certificate of Live Birth
- Latest Photograph
All of the above attachments are in PDF format except the photograph which is in JPG.

Applying for the Visa

Step 1:
Create you IMMI account via https://online.immi.gov.au/lusc/login.

Step 2:
Start a new application.

NOTE:  You can save your application and go back whenever you log back in to your account.  Ensure that your entries are as truthful as possible.

Step 3:
After filling out your application, review your entries thoroughly before submitting.

Step 4:
Pay the Application Fee.

Step 5:

Attach your documents.

The Waiting Game

Normal processing time for a "high-risk" country like the Philippines is one month. An email notification will be sent to the registered correspondence when there's changes in the status of your application. The pain of waiting can be too much so just be patient. Depending on the number of applications they have, processing times may vary.

Side Trip: Singapore

When I booked my tickets to Indonesia, I was happy to have a long layover in Singapore on my way back from Surabaya. The first time I went is just a 1-hour episode of running and trying to catch the next airplane miles away from my arrival gate. Anyway, I nearly had to book another flight from Surabaya to Singapore because I thought I already missed my flight. Good thing is that the flight was delayed for hours and fate was on my favor.

I arrived exactly 2100h and Louis is already waiting for me at the airport. My highschool classmate Dhayan is also waiting at the Makansutra Gluttons Bay and the three of us are very hungry. 

A Taste of Singapore

Selfie with Dhayan and Louis

The Backpacker

Cheers

Marina Bay Sands at the Back

I had to stay at the airport for a couple of more hours before my flight back to Manila. Energy is starting to drain since my last few days have been more active than a toddler fed with 7 cups of coffee. Singapore is kinda chill in a way and it lacks the thrill of the exotic countries I've visited prior. I couldn't feel the sense of adventure and everything is expensive too.

The airport security is a little bit scary. I've heard stories of people being planted with illegal drugs and eventually get executed in the country. My backpack contains some carved stones from Borobudur and fridge magnets which delayed my entrance to the airport. I was trembling when the security lady told me to open my backpack to check the suspicious items in it. She smiled when she saw it was just harmless objects from my trip.

Back to reality, back to Manila, back to work as well. My Indonesia adventure will remain a good memory and a good story to tell. It was a fast paced adventure. I couldn't believe that I still had the energy of a youngster that I was able to do many things in such a short trip. 

Read More: 

Destination: Java, Indonesia 

Destination: Java (Part II)

Destination: Java (Part III)

Destination: Java (Part III)

Day 4 - Surabaya - Bromo

Bromo National Park

The downside of having a short holiday trip is that the pace of each journey is fast. I didn't have much time absorbing the experience in Borobudur and there's so much to take. I've always been a moving traveler and no lazy day since every minute of the holiday away from work counts.

My flight to Surabaya from Yogya is only one hour. I had to call the hostel reservation first so they'll expect me to arrive anytime soon. The taxi booking Surabaya is also organized. You know it's not a rip off since you pay to the booking agent in the airport based on their system price estimator.

The hostel is unbelievably barren and the "reception" girl is grumpy. She must have had a bad day. There are no other travelers to talk to so I decide to sleep. Early next day is my trip to Gunung Bromo 1-2 hours away from Surabaya proper.  The hostel lady booked my accommodation near the Bromo National Park for cheap and everything is included in the package.

During my land transportation I met two young french girls. There's also a group of cool chinese girls but they're staying in a different hostel. The night was very misty I could see little clouds forming on my face when I breathe. The french girls were planning their next travel destination while I savour the beer after dinner. After a few beers came an early night for us as we are having an early morning the next day.

Day 5 - Bromo National Park 

My alarm went off at 2:30 and I immediately changed clothes, forget the shower since I feel that the water would be as hard as ice. But that's just me and my imagination. The Sunrise part of the tour was a total fail. The entire area was covered with fog so we were not able to witness another epic sunrise. I met two new friends from Denmark and they're quite a friendly duo. Jonas also lent me his thick jacket since my attempt to protect myself from the cold is also a fail.

The Hike

There's a few meters of walk before the 200-flight stairs to the viewing point. I should have bought some chocolates for energy boost before the hike. It's not too bad though since the walking distance isn't too far.

Selfie With the Boyz

Bromo Cone

It took over an hour to walk around the majestic Bromo mountain. The smell of sulfur is like boiling rotten eggs and is quite suffocating if you really have a full blow of the stench cloud coming out of the volcano.

On my way back to the Yoschi Hotel the scenery was amazing. It's a gloomy day and I have to travel back to Surabaya to catch my flight to Singapore.  Before that, breakfast is the priority to start the day.

NEXT:

Side Trip: Singapore

Destination: Java (Part II)

If you haven't read the first part, see Destination: Java, Indonesia. 

Day 3 - Borobudur, Magelang, Yogyakarta

Captured Beauty of the Sunrise

0300 - My tour transport guy came to fetch me from the hostel. I woke up ready for the day with chocolate bars and water that I bought in preparation for the adventure. We had to pass by another hotel to fetch the other two people who was booked with me last night. It was a good one-hour trip to Magelang. The Indonesian couple were very friendly. They went to see the sunrise in a hotel somewhere in the west. I went to the east side of the temple.

Sunrise in Borobudur

It’s great to see people from all over the globe trying to witness a phenomenon that happens every single day (sunrise) but in Borobudur, Indonesia. The temple has four sides and is sort of Pyramidic surrounded with “stupa(s)” and Buddha statues. After the sunrise, I went around the temple and managed to create a timelapse video that looks like a real life Temple Run game.

Me Trying to Take a Selfie

Masami (Japan)

Me with the Stupa(s)

More Selfies

The Walls Telling Stories of the Hindu Gods

East Side of the Temple

Sunrise in Borobudur is the best event in my entire existence.  I have never appreciated the beauty of the rising sun more than my experience in a very beautiful historical monument. I've only heard this place in my History class when I was young and it's an amazing realization that I'm actually visiting it. On my way back to the car, I bought a nice stone Stupa and a head of a Buddha.

Our trip back to Yogyakarta took the same duration as to going to Borobudur in Magelang. I think I drifted while on our way. The driver was just supposed to take me to my hostel since he's running late for another schedule. To avoid complex English conversation, he took me to Malioboro anyway.

I looked for some goodies to bring back home in Jalan Malioboro Market. I also had to withdraw some money so I can survive the next few days on my journey to Surabaya.

Back in the hostel, I met two cool people from Tahiti and Germany. Too bad I have to leave for Surabaya. Just had a few chit chat and bye bye for Mr Dom. It's time to fly to Surabaya.

Johannes and My Twin

Adios wonderful land of Jogja!

Next:

Day 4 - Surabaya

Destination: Java, Indonesia

Borobudur, Yogyakarta

Bromo, Borobudur, Prambanan

The Plan

Starbucks Planner: Imagination on paper

The Papal visit was all over the news when I started to plan the trip to Indonesia.
Planning a trip is a serious business. It's the most exciting stage of the entire process. When I plan trips, I use the combined force of the imagination and technology. I like to use my journals, iOS apps (Hostelworld, TripIt, TripAdvisor, etc.), and lots of Google searches. The idea of discovering new places is such a bliss. But not to spoil the excitement, I keep it minimum since some plans are not always perfect. The holiday is so short that I need to be very efficient and and make decisions of the places to visit.
I grabbed my planner and plotted the flight schedules, hotels, and tours. The first step was to choose the perfect holiday location. I chose Indonesia this time since I haven't really seen much of it the first time I went there. The list of places to go were Borobudur in Yogyakarta and the famous Mount Bromo in Surabaya.

Day 1 - Manila - Jakarta

1700h - Roads are closed. Oh no! But nothing could stop me after all the preparation I have done. I arrived at the airport on-time. The traffic was extra horrible. I also had to withraw some cash in Philippine pesos. I remember the time when I went to Kuala Lumpur and found out that my ATM card is not activated to work internationally. So this time, I had to make sure I have enough. Indonesia might not be credit card friendly.
My flight to Jakarta was smooth sailing. We arrived 5 minutes earlier than expected. So basically, I had to wait 5 hours and 5 minutes in the airport for my next flight. I had to change my Philippine money to Indonesian rupiah so that is the first priority within that period. It's literally after midnight so it took me approximately 2 hours to find the Filipino-friendly Indonesian dude who hooked me up to a money changer guy. There's a slight rip off in his exchange rates but it's the only best one I could compare with the rates on Google.

Day 2 - Jakarta - Yogyakarta

0500h - Time to fly to Yogyakarta. I met this very friendly man who lives in Yogya. He advised me to go to Candi Prambanan, one of the other World Heritage sites in the city which is close to the airport. When we landed, I immediately took the opportunity to go to the recommended place.

Candi Prambanan

One of the largest Hindu Temples in South East Asia. Candi Prambanan is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
It's a sunny day. Perfect for selfies and anything involving cameras and old structures. I took not less than 240 pictures in this place. There were hundreds of visitors since I got lucky and Indonesian schools took a tour the same time I am visiting the temples. I met Indonesian teachers trying to immerse their students to foreigners who speak English. I became one of the subjects when the students queued and ask basic questions in English. Of course, I don't know if they were really paying attention to the words I was saying because most of them were trembling like scared kittens.

Rani's Students

Rani Utomo, Local English Teacher

Eating Bakpia with Rani, Yoma, and Sam (UK)

Posing for Pictures with Sam in Plaosan Temple

The Hunt for the Hostel

Retra's Hostel

I booked my accomodation a a few weeks ago. Retra's Hostel was the number one on the list and rated clean and safe in the comments section of HostelWorld.
The bus system of Yogya is very neat and organized. YogyaTrans has stations which takes you anywhere in the city. You don't have to pay even when you need to transit from one bus to the other. Maybe they did not want to complicate things because they're scared to speak English with foreigners like me. I had to take a taxi because the hostel was a few blocks away from the main road. When I arrived, I was so tired to do anything else but shower and sleep.

Selfie - Tired and Sleepy

When I woke up, I had to eat something so there's one restaurant nearby called Parsley. There was nothing special in the menu and I didn't know what to order. I just got myself a nice Nasi Goreng and Indonesian Latte.

My Latte

Jammed with the Band

The next step is to book my tour to Borobudur in Magelang. I tried Google and the hostel attendant contacted tour companies to hook me up. The problem is that I'm alone and the minimum tour package is for two. So I had to pay double if I booked alone. The hostel attendant found another way by booking me with other guests from another hostel. Alas! I'm booked for tomorrow's adventure and I have to wake up at 2:30am. I'm done for the day. Borobudur here I come.

Next: 

Day 3 - Borobudur