My 2008 Australia VacationMy 2008 Australia VacationAustralian Vacation Planning: Help me plan my vacation, and learn from my planning approach. I am going to Australia in early 2008, and am building this blog as a resource both for myself and for other travellers. Sydney, Melbourne, Tasmania Articles
Internet Explorer users - sidebar at the bottom
2008-01-03 22:25:00 For some of you using Internet Explorer with lower screen resolutions, the various links that are supposed to be at the right side of the screen are showing up at the very bottom of the page instead. I’m not sure why it’s happening; it’s happening on my laptop but it wasn’t when I was using ... More About: Internet Explorer , Sidebar , Users
End of Day 1
2008-01-03 08:37:00 Greetings from Sydney . It’s 6:30pm local time, and I’m trying to stay awake for another 90 minutes before calling it a night. I will write more tomorrow when I have a more stable internet connection. But: The flights were uneventful, which is how I like it. I got 3 hours of sleep about 1/4 way through the ... More About: Food and Drink , Sightseeing
Welcome to Sacramento?
2008-01-02 03:20:00 Yes, you read that correctly. I called United to find out how long my Chicago-LA flight was really going to be delayed, and they offered me a routing Chicago-Sacramento -LA, same plane both legs, leaving at 3pm instead of 6:30pm. With an exit row. Needless to say, I took it. I managed to get upgraded at ... More About: Amen , Cram
Good thing I was not leaving last night
2008-01-01 16:01:00 The snowstorm was pretty harsh last night, and it was right around 6:30pm. Last night’s version of my flight left 3 hours late, but the flight to get to Sydney via San Francisco left on time. What a crapshoot. Tonight’s flight is already half an hour late. Share This More About: Night , Good , Thing , Leaving
On days like today, I hate United Airlines
2007-12-31 21:41:00 If you live in Chicago, you’ve probably heard that United had to cancel something on the order of 400 flights this week because they did not have enough crew. Crew can only fly so many hours in a month (and for pilots, in a year), and with the snowstorms that hit in early December, a ... More About: Airlines , Hate , Today , Days
All Packed!
2007-12-30 21:34:00 It took a little longer than I expected, but I am finally completely packed. The amazing thing is that I actually have a little extra room. My 27″ suitcase weights in at 49 pounds, well under the 32kg limit for international trips and Qantas domestic business class. My 22″ rollaboard has four days of clothes ...
Link to RSS Feed
2007-12-28 02:46:00 Would you like to receive this blog via RSS? Click here for a RSS feed. Share This More About: Link , Feed
Life was simpler with less electronics, but not as much fun.
2007-12-27 10:09:00 I think I need one bag just for my electronics… Plug adapters; Laptop, extra laptop battery, power supply, airplane adapter, RSA device for a client’s virtual private network; DVDs for the flights - mostly TV comedy series episodes such as “30 Rock” and “Sports Night” Unlocked GSM cell phone, charger, Bluetooth headset, headset charger; IPod Nano, USB cable, and wall ... More About: Life , Electronics , Packing
Chicko Roll
2007-12-26 00:20:00 After reading about it, I now have a craving for a Chiko Roll , even though it has to be terrible for my system in the manner of a Jalepeno Cheeseburger from White Castle. Share This
A few older posts buried on the back pages
2007-12-25 18:44:00 While I’ve spent most of the summer and early fall procrastinating about trip blogging, I did spend some time on the blog this spring. Those posts have fallen to the back page, so I’ll link to a few of them here: Spending 28 hours in coach is not an option Adjusting to Jet Lag Travel with ... More About: Back , Posts , Pages , Ages
Running out of space? A simple tip - Australia Post
2007-12-25 15:40:00 One of the things I’m concerned about is how to get everything back home. I have bigger luggage allowances for my international flights than I do for my domestic ones. But the solution is actually pretty simple… Pack an extra duffel bag in your suitcase Take advantage of Australia Post My 22″ Costco rollaboard weighs 28 pounds (13kg) ... More About: Running , Space , Simple
Planning Out Sydney Sightseeing
2007-12-24 07:38:00 If you go to the “mainstream travel guides” such as Frommer’s or Fodor’s, they really don’t rate very many sights in Sydney that highly. Of course, I learned a long time ago to ignore the mainstream travel guides! I do miss not having a Michelin Green Guide, however, as that for me is ... More About: Planning , Sightseeing
Queen Victoria Market?s Foodies Tour
2007-12-24 00:18:00 I’m going to miss it as it’s only on Wednesday nights and I won’t get into Melbourne in time, but the Suzuki Night Market in Melbourne at the Queen Victoria Market looks absolutely astounding. Thanks to happy_stomach on my favorite Chicago food forum, who is in the process of writing a great log of dining ... More About: Tour
Packing: where is it all going to go?
2007-12-23 15:17:00 One of the most difficult things for me is to pack. My clothes are bigger, my shoes are bigger, none of it fits that well, and I don’t feel like lugging (or paying for) four suitcases. My goal is to take the following with me on the trip: 12 days of clothes (clean everything ... More About: Packing , Goin
January 1 weather forecasts
2007-12-23 10:11:00 January 1 weather forecasts: Chicago, 30% chance of sleet, 32/25. Sydney, scattered clouds, 82/67. Share This More About: Weather , January , Forecasts , Forecast
United Airlines is putting me into a mild panic
2007-12-22 19:07:00 One of the unfortunate side stories of this trip is getting to Sydney. Specifically, getting to Sydney on the flight on which I’m ticketed. Unit ed Airlines ’ fleet of 747s is old. They appear to be falling apart. And unlike a 737 or a regional jet, a 747 is not something you can just swap off ... More About: Putting , Panic
Ten Days!!!
2007-12-22 18:43:00 I have no idea what happened to December. It’s been a jumble of work, travel, and illness. I can’t believe that in ten days, I’ll be leaving for Sydney. So much to do…. I’m barely prepared. One of the things I know is that a long trip goes MUCH better if ... More About: Blogging , Days
The Draft Tasmanian Itinerary
2007-11-17 00:24:00 One of the most intriguing parts of the trip to me is the ability to go to Tasmania . Somehow just the word evokes a sense of something exotic… Tas-MANIA! Now, saying you’re going to “see Tasmania” is like saying you’re going to “see California,” but I have 106 hours to make the most of it. ... More About: Draft
Everywhere Internet
2007-11-12 18:33:00 Everywhere Internet is a growing chain of Internet cafes and kiosks in Sydney . They have some signficant investors, including a 20 percent stake by a division of Macquarie Bank. You prepay and get a voucher good at any of their locations, and access is A$2-A$3/hour. They claim to have games, ... More About: Melbourne
Sydney Mass Transit: The most ridiculous pricing scheme ever developed
2007-11-10 20:04:00 In over 20 years of travelling on my own, I have never seen a more messed up scheme of mass transit pricing than Sydney ’s. There are so many options and exclusions, that it is barely comprehnsible. After over an hour online, this is what I have figured out: Share This More About: Ridiculous , Mass , Chem , Tran
Sydney Opera House Guided Tour
2007-11-07 14:02:00 The Sydney Opera House has developed a new guided tour called “the essential tour.” Since their backstage tour costs A$150, I had pretty much written it off. The essential tour, however, only costs A$27.50, or A$25 if you’re willing to go between 9-10AM. At that price, I’ll definitely go on the ... More About: Tour , Guid
Bumpzee update
2007-11-06 03:39:00 Over the last six months, about 50 people submitted requests to join my Bumpzee group. Most of them were spam, but about a quarter were solid travellers, and a few more were single-region blogs written by somebody living there. I’ve approved about 20 total, and they can be found by following this link. Share This More About: Update
Getting Around by Air
2007-11-04 12:37:00 I’ve been to Europe probably fifteen times over the years, and I have never used airplanes to move from one part of the vacation to the next. It’s always been trains, using Europe’s incredible rail network to maneuver about the continent. But for Australia, train travel was just not practical for my ... More About: Sydney , Melbourne , Tasmania
Search optimization is an interesting thing
2007-11-03 18:30:00 Amazingly, after six months of silence, this blog is still the #1 result in Google for “three week Australia vacation” and #2 for “week Australia vacation.” That is one of the goals I have for this site, that people will be able to find it as a reference even after I get back ... More About: Interesting , Search , Optimization , Thing , Eres
The revised high-level itinerary
2007-11-03 17:37:00 With a bit of poking around, some contingency planning, and the emergence of insane redemptions deals at the Four Points Darling Harbour in Sydney and the Park Hyatt in Melbourne, here is the revised itinerary: Sydney: 4 days, 4 nights Ayers Rock: 2 days, 2 nights Melbourne: 4 days, 5 nights Tassie: 5 days, 4 nights Melbourne: 2 days, ... More About: Places , High
Hey there! Remember me?
2007-11-03 17:30:00 Yes, I’m back. Really. All of a sudden, I just stopped posting… why? A long story short, life got in the way for a while. Lots of work, mostly. Plus work made some firewall changes with the effect of making it more difficult for me to manage the blog over lunch. Then a little bit of ... More About: Motivation , Remember Me
City of Sydney?s Self-Guided Walking Tours
2007-04-19 11:17:00 The city of Sydney has developed a set of eight self-guided walking tours with various themes. Each tour is designed to take less than two hours. Some of the topics are on the silly side, but the Colony, Heritage, and Community walks seem interesting. The Heritage tour is a candidate for my first afternoon in ... More About: Tours , Self , Tour , Walking
Did you know I was in Manhattan on Saturday?
2007-04-17 06:11:00 You would have known that if you had subscribed to my RSS feed. Who knows what else I might stick in there, maybe even a contest announcement. Also, I was surprised to learn that I’ve already hit the front page of Google for the search term “three week australia vacation.” This site is still PR0, ... More About: Hat , Turd , Saturday , Know , Manhattan
Photography Accessory Recommendation: Hakuba CT-8 Tripod
2007-04-14 23:10:00 My Hakuba CT-8 Tripod is one of the accessories I could not travel without when visiting photo-rich locations. It weighs only 19.4 ounces, folds up to 11 x 2.5 x 2.5, and easily fits in my backpack. It extends to 44 inches tall, and I use it with the ten-second delay on my ... More About: Photo , Pod , Photography , Ipod , Men
Something to bemuse you while I am sightseeing in Manhattan today
More articles from this author:2007-04-14 16:05:00 Did you know that if you were to start in Perth, and dig a hole all the way through the center of the earth, you’d end up just off the coast of Bermuda? Discover how I figured that out. It’s good for at least three mintues of bemusement. Share This More About: Sights , Today , Hat , Methi , Muse 1, 2, 3, 4 |
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