I Travel And Stuff

The last two days here were absolutely beautiful. So I took advantage and got outside to walk around a little bit.

On Saturday I walked for about three hours. Down into the CBD area and then out towards the main harbor. It was eerie honestly. Basically a ghost town in the downtown area. I saw buses and trams going by with nobody in them. I might have bumped into three or four people in a thirty-minute stretch.

By the harbor there were more people exercising and just laying out in the park. Observing social distancing measures of course. I found a really great spot to take pictures of the Opera House and I hung out there and soaked up the sun for a bit too.

I walked under the bridge and out the other side of the peninsula to another part that I really enjoyed. There was a park there and it wasn’t crowded at all. The bay is so large here and there are so many trails along the water. Especially where I’m situated now.

It’s turning to fall here and the trees are starting to change color. And I expect the weather to cool down a bit too. If I do go back to the United States it won’t be so bad. I’ll be trading the middle of fall for the middle of spring. Not such a bad deal.

While I was sitting down having coffee yesterday an idea popped into my head. I had been mulling over my options moving forward and I thought it could be possible to convert my Tourist Visa here in Australia to a Working Visa.

It seems Australia has extended the term of Working Visas for a large group of people that chose to stay in the country during this time. As expected, many people went home to be with their families and wait this thing out. This left fewer people to work the menial jobs that the Australian economy relies on We’re talking farmhands, construction, and factory workers.

I did some research and it doesn’t seem like the Tourist Visa can be directly converted into a Working Holiday Visa. I’ll have to apply again for a separate visa. But under normal circumstances the visa application must be submitted when the person is outside of Australia. And it normally takes a month and a half to process.

Obviously right now is not a normal time. So I am going to email the state department here just to see if anything has changed. Perhaps they are in dire need of workers and they are willing to bend the rules.

I am thinking about my ability to make money over the next few months. I have more than enough savings to carry me through this time. But I’d like to have something to do, for financial as well as sanity purposes.

If I come back to the United States I will probably stay with my sister. Thankfully I have that type of safety net. I am very grateful for that. I think it could be possible to work as a seasonal worker over the summer for PwC. But I will have to talk with some of my former colleagues over there.

Due to the economic downturn, they might have put a freeze on bringing in new people. But if I know anything it’s that my former work group is in dire need for knowledgeable help. I think it would be hard for them to turn me down. I won’t know until I have those conversations.

If you told me two months ago that I could be working for PwC again this year I would have told you that you were crazy. But here we are. Strange times indeed.

So I took a further look into the 1918 flu epidemic (aka Spanish Flu). Can you believe that 50 million people died of this influenza virus over a two year period!? Also, I learned that the epidemic lasted for almost two years. Hopefully, we aren’t locked inside for that long this time around or I might go insane.

Nineteen-eighteen must have been a really shitty year for everyone. Imagine the amount of stress people were under. Not only did Europe and a large amount of the world just come out of a war that claimed 40 million lives. But then the next two years after that, another 50 million people died of disease.

I’m not trying to downplay the situation we’re currently in. Just trying to put things in perspective. Of course, I’m not happy with my current lot. I want to be traveling and putting my money to good use. But compared to the situation our grandparents and our great-grandparents found themselves in we have it a bit easy. Plus, we have the internet and Netflix to distract us while we’re hibernating.

Things are going to get better. After the Spanish Flu ran its course the Roaring Twenties began. A time known for economic growth and a radical change to previous social norms. I’m not saying that history will repeat itself. But big idea shifts usually occur after times of crisis. And I expect that to hold true in this situation.

For the majority of my life, I didn’t give healthcare a second thought. Up until the time I graduated college I was covered under my parent’s insurance plan. When I started working at PwC health insurance was included in my benefits package.

The money came straight out of my paycheck every month and to be honest, I didn’t check to see how much I was paying for it. All I knew was that I had coverage. And if I ever got sick I wouldn’t be stuck with a huge bill to pay.

Obviously, affordable healthcare has been a huge topic of debate in American politics for a while now. I never really got caught up in the discussion because I wasn’t adversely affected. I’ve always had medical insurance and it just wasn’t an issue I thought about much. But now I am understanding why it matters.

For the first time in my life, I am without medical insurance in the United States. If I were to come back to the United States I would have to purchase insurance on my own. I’ve done some research and I’ll admit, it’s a bit startling. I’m not going to go into the details but the average cost per month of healthcare in the United States is over five hundred dollars. And that doesn’t even include any deductibles!

To put it in perspective, I spent roughly half that for six months of coverage through a travel medical insurance company. And we’re talking internationally here. So basically any country that I plan on traveling to. I don’t have a deductible and I can go to a doctor or hospital outside of the provider network.

It’s funny though. Because based on the plan I have I can’t receive medical services in my country of residence. The United States is out. Which is fine. It’s travel insurance anyway. I get it.

But if you’re from somewhere else, let’s say Australia, and you travel to the United States you aren’t covered to the extent you are covered elsewhere in the world either! This must mean that health care in the United States is so unreasonably expensive when compared to other countries.

I’ve met various people while in Australia that flew home before the borders shut. They did this with the knowledge that home was the only place they were guaranteed quality medical coverage. They knew if they ever got sick they would be taken care of, no questions asked.

But I’m in the opposite boat. I know I have to stay abroad because I don’t have medical insurance back at home. And I know coverage will be unreasonably expensive if I do decide to return. Is it me or is there something wrong with this situation?

I decided to book another Airbnb in Sydney. I figure the situation is not going to be solved until the end of April at the earliest. Maybe even that is wishful thinking. But I have hope.

The apartment that I rented looks a whole lot better (and cheaper) than the apartment that I’m currently in. Where I’m staying right now isn’t horrible. It would definitely do for a four or five day trip to Sydney in which you were out and about most of the time. But definitely not the greatest place to be stuck inside.

I have been getting out more the last few days because the weather has cleared up. I’ve been walking around the city for two or three hours at a time in the afternoon, visiting areas I haven’t seen before. If I’m going to be here for a month I might as well see all of the city.

So today I decided to walk to Darling Harbour, the area where I will be staying next. It took about an hour to make the walk there and I’m pretty happy with the neighborhood. It’s right by the water and there are a few fairly sized parks in the area. That’ll be a welcome relief. There aren’t too many parks nearby to where I am staying now.

The new place has a balcony as well. Another blessing. I will be able to get some fresh air whenever I like. It’s the little things like this that make a whole lot of difference. I am excited to get over to this new place. I’m excited to get through this and get back on the road again. I think everyone is ready to get back to their lives at this point.

It’s been a few days since I started distancing myself and I’ll have to admit, I’m getting pretty bored. I am probably sleeping a bit too much but at the same time, I am grateful. When all of this passes and I am back on the road I don’t know when I’ll be able to get good sleep again.

I am trying to get myself into a rhythm while I’m here. For the most part, I have been doing all the things I’ve wanted to do. I’ve been exercising every other day and that’s something I’m happy about. It’s amazing how stiff my body feels. Even though I moved my body a lot while I was in New Zealand I still feel a lack of flexibility. Trekking up and down mountains is difficult but it’s just not the same as traditional exercise.

I’ve been meditating twice a day and that has helped me stay level headed as well. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed when I was staying at the hostel last week. It’s great to be around people in a time like this. Everyone wants the be social, it’s a human need. But the situation was developing so rapidly in Australia and around the world. And that’s all anyone ever wanted to speak about. My mind was not in a calm place at that moment. I was distracted and admittedly feeling a bit afraid.

I think it’s necessary to be mindful of how much attention you give the news at a time like this. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in every minor detail. It’s easy to get absorbed in all the different opinions. You begin to think that each opinion is a fact. But they aren’t. No one knows what is going to happen in the next week or the next month. All you’re likely to do is drive yourself crazy.

Of course, I am getting a bit impatient. I want to move on when my time at this AirBnB comes to an end. But I know that I am going to go insane if I try to predict what the situation is going to look like in ten days. Whatever the situation is I will have to accept it.

The best I can do is remain patient. Stay away from the news and the speculation and just focus on what I can control. When it is time to make a decision I will see where things are and make the best possible choice at that time.

I’ve decided to stay in Sydney for two more weeks (minimum) and wait this thing out. I don’t think life will get back to normal within this time. But I think I will have more information to understand what the next move should be. Right now so many different opinions are being thrown around it’s hard to know what to think.

The Australian government closed it’s borders to all non-citizens last week. And now each of the states in Australia are starting to require a self-quarantine. Visitors to most of the states in Australia will have to distance themselves regardless if they are sick or not.

So for example, someone arriving in Sydney (New South Wales) from Melbourne (Victoria) will have to stay off the streets for two weeks. I’m not subject to this quarantine but it will restrict my ability to travel anywhere outside New South Wales for the time being. So I’ll have to stay in the state for a while.

I reserved an Airbnb in the same area that the hostel I was staying is in. So that made the transition quite simple. I packed up my stuff, hung around the hostel for a few hours, and walked the ten minutes to the apartment building.

The apartment will suffice for the next two weeks. Nothing fancy but I have a kitchen and a full-size bed. The kitchen was the most important thing to me. If I am going to be on my own then I need to be able to cook for myself. Eating take out would get awfully expensive. I want to stick to my budget as best I can.

A part of me is pleased that I will have my own apartment for a few weeks. After six weeks of living in dorm rooms and having to share a kitchen with other backpackers, it feels nice to have my own space.

I want to use this time to cultivate healthier habits. I think it’s a matter of perspective. We can all use this time in a productive way if we choose to do so. There are few times in your life where you are handed two weeks to do whatever you please.

I will have some time and space to exercise if only push-ups and bodyweight squats. That’s something I have been missing in the last few weeks. I was exercising a lot in New Zealand because I was hiking so much. Since I arrived in Australia I’ve been more sedentary.

I’d also like to take care of my mind while I’m distancing myself. It’s very easy to get bored and fall into poor habits. So this means reading and meditating. It’ll be nice to have my own space to meditate again.

I’m trying to stay optimistic as this situation develops. I don’t think that this situation will be resolved in the next two weeks but I am hoping that if I bunker down I will still have a chance to continue my travels at some point in the future. Very few people could have imagined how fast the disease was going to spread. So maybe we will be surprised by how fast the disease can be contained.

Saturday happened to be an absolutely beautiful day. Eighty-five degrees and not a cloud in the sky. I jumped on a bus towards Coogee Beach which is southwest of the city center. Only a thirty-minute bus ride from the place I’m staying in. It was a fairly easy trip.

The first thing that I did was find a quiet place in the shade to meditate. I’ve still been meditating since I arrived in Sydney last week but it is difficult to find a quiet place to sit. Staying in a hostel will make finding a tranquil place to meditate difficult. I am trying my best under the circumstances.

Afterward, I started on the coastal walk from Coogee to Bondi Beach. In total the walk is about seven kilometers, mostly along the coast. Over cliff ridges and through small beaches and bays. The landscape really reminded me of the San Diego and La Jolla area.

The beaches here are much smaller though. There really isn’t a long stretch of beach on this side of Sydney. I suppose Bondi is the longest stretch that I saw while I was doing the walk. A few of the alcoves don’t even have a beach. Just a bay with enough boulders for people to hang out on.

I stopped at Gordon’s Bay and which was one of the bigger inlets that wasn’t really a beach. I found a nice boulder away from the crowds of people, read a bit in the sun, and took a dip in the water.

The whole walk took about three hours. I stopped at various places to rest and had some lunch about halfway through the walk. I finally got to Bondi around 4 o’clock and I was surprised by how busy it was. The government here released social distancing advice but the beach was still filled with people. It doesn’t seem like many people are taking the situation seriously.

Yesterday was a rest day for me. I have been thinking about what my plan will look like moving forward. Right now I have a bus pass from Sydney to Brisbane, with stops in Byron Bay and the Gold Coast. I am unsure if I want to get on public transportation and I’m strongly considering staying in Sydney for a few more weeks.

I’ve also been looking into renting a car or a campervan. It’d be a good way to distance myself and get out of the cities for a bit. But renting a campervan, at least by myself, is going to be fairly expensive. I’ve come to the conclusion that living on a budget is not going to be reasonable for the next few weeks. I have some thinking to do.

It’s been a busy and yet relaxing couple of days. I have a few to catch up on so I’m just going to get straight into it.

On Wednesday I met up with my German friend Svea. We met through some friends while I was in Melbourne and we reconnected when I arrived in Sydney. She had already been to Bondi Beach, which is the most famous of the beaches here. So I decided to join her on her trip to Manly Beach which is a neighborhood about a thirty-minute ferry ride from the city center.

The ferry ride was quite spectacular. It offered views of the entire skyline and I grabbed a few nice pictures of the opera house as well. We chilled by the beach for about an hour or so. We couldn’t stay much longer after 4 o’clock because of how the pine trees were planted. After that time the sun begins to set behind them and there is no longer any direct sunlight on the beach.

We walked around for a while, up and down the neighborhood and we discovered some pretty cool spots. The best by far was the walk along the boardwalk area south of the beach. There was a certain point where you could watch the surfers and it was amazing how close to the rocks they were surfing. All the way at the end of the boardwalk was this little, almost secret, beach and it offered some great views of the town and the main stretch of Manly.

I got off to a little bit of a late start on Thursday but still managed to have an eventful day. I walked down to this neighborhood called “The Rocks” which is where the Sydney Harbour Bridge starts off. I decided to walk over the bridge and it was a great idea. The views of the city and the opera house were fantastic. I arrived in North Sydney, bought some lunch, and ate in the park tucked underneath the bridge.

Afterward, I took the train back into the city center and walked around a neighborhood called Surry Hills. A nice little area with a ton of little restaurants and cafes along Crown Street. I really wanted to make an effort to explore the different areas around Sydney. It’s not something I felt I pushed myself to do when I was in Melbourne.

Eventually, I made it to Centennial Park, which was not as nice as I expected but still a relaxing time. I stayed there for a bit, read some of the science fiction novel I’ve been getting into and made a beeline back to the hostel for dinner. I’ve been walking a ton around the city and I don’t hate it. Not only is it good exercise but it’s a better way to explore a city. You can really take in the energy of each area as you walk through it – something you can’t do on public transportation.

About a week and a half ago I was pretty damn happy to be out of the United States. New York seemed to be in a state of panic and Australia seemed so far away. I didn’t think it would be touched by the virus anytime soon. But just like most people I underestimated how fast this thing was going to spread.

It doesn’t seem that Australia is panicking nearly as much as Europe and the United States have been. The Australian government has closed down most of the sporting events and other public gatherings. From my understanding schools and most places of work are still open. But it might be a matter of time before they are also closed.

Understandably a hostel might not be the best place to be during the outbreak of a contagious disease. I am not scared of catching the virus but every day it gets a bit scarier. Everyone I meet has something to say about it. I’m talking about it all the time, understanding how other people’s plans are being affected.

It’s been a mess for some of the people that I’ve met. They’ve been on a work visa in Australia and they are finding it extremely difficult to find a job. Since tourism has been brought to a standstill there isn’t as much hospitality related work available. Not all of them have the savings to survive overseas without a job. So if they can’t work it out they’ll have to leave.

I’ve been frustrated by the way things how gone down in the past week. It’s hard not to feel frustrated. But when I see things from another person’s perspective I can’t help but feel that I am lucky. Imagine planning a year abroad and having to go home a few weeks into the trip? That is the reality for some people over here.

I have a three-month tourist visa here in Australia. So worst case scenario I can stay here and do more traveling. My original plan was to do the east coast all the way up to Darwin and fly out to Bali after roughly six weeks in Australia. But if things develop in the wrong direction I’ll be able to take my time and explore the west coast as well. Not the worst thing in the world.

Anyway, I arrived in Sydney today from Melbourne. I was seriously considering staying in Melbourne for another week just to see how things developed. But after thinking more about it I felt that if I was to stay in Melbourne I would be committing to at least another month there. And I wasn’t ready to do that. I’ll do the week here and then move on to smaller towns along the east coast. I think that is a good plan.

I didn’t really do all that much today. Got into the city around eleven o’clock and dropped my bags off at the hostel. Then I decided to take a walk around just to get familiar with the layout of the city. I started off in the Botanical Gardens and got all the way to the harbor after maybe an hour. I look to my left and without knowing it I ended up right by the famous Sydney Opera House.

Unfortunately, it is closed due to the coronavirus fears but at least I can take pictures of it from the outside. The harbor area around the opera house and the bridge is extremely cool. It reminds me of a nicer Southstreet Seaport.

Afterward, I just walked around the downtown area with no particular plan in mind. It definitely has a bit of a New York feel to it. The city reminds me way more of an American city than a European city. But on first impressions, I definitely feel that I will like Melbourne more when all is said and done. We will see what happens over the next week.