What I expected in Australia
I just want to clarify one thing before delving into this post. This is by NO MEANS is a knock against Australia. In fact, I loved the 2 months I spent traveling up the east coast. I even wrote an article for Backpacking Matt about all the cool places I visited while traveling up the east coast.
That said, Australia can be a major buzz kill when coming from Asia. And the following are the reasons why.
1. Weather
I expected sun and this is what I got
Of course this depends on the time of year. Australia can be very warm, but at certain times of the year, it can be quite cool.
Coming from Southeast Asia, you get used to the warm weather. There isn’t much difference in temperature from season to season, but there are huge differences in rainfall from the dry and wet season. Thus, you probably want to go to SE Asia in the dry season.
Being the ignorant traveler that I was, I assumed Australia was much of the same. Warm weather, long spanning beaches, and eternal summer.
Not so much.
Surprisingly, I found that Australia experiences cool winters. I discovered this first hand as I departed my plane from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in my board shorts and tank top. I froze “my knackers off” as my English friends put it.
I received some pretty funny looks as I walked to my hostel in the middle of the night in Melbourne, Australia.
As the locals stumbled home from the bars, I’m pretty sure some of them thought they were seeing things as I marched down the street in my summer gear.
So, if coming from SE Asia to Australia, be sure to be doing it during the right part of the year. Otherwise, you might find yourself holed up in your hotel/hostel vs. out on the gorgeous beaches.
2. Expenses
$5 a night in Thailand
For me, the biggest buzz kill of them all was the hit I took in my wallet when arriving to OZ.
Quite literally, I spent $3,000 over three months in SE Asia. In OZ, I spent $6,000-$8,000 in just two months. Not very good for a budget conscious backpacker like myself.
In SE Asia, you can buy beer for 20 cents a bottle in some areas and get a fairly comfortable room for no more than $10 a night. In Australia, that’s a pipe dream.
After arriving in Melbourne, my buddy and I decided to walk the city to get a feel for it. We came across an English pub and couldn’t resist the opportunity to have our first beer in Australia.
What we weren’t prepared for was the price we would pay. I went from buying a beer for 20 cents in Vietnam to buying a pint of Guinness in Australia for $8!
And to find a room anywhere close to $20 a night is a bargain.
It took me a while to accept that things aren’t the same in Australia and much more expensive. However, the first few days I just couldn’t get over it and it left me in a very foul mood.
On the other hand, if you came from Australia to SE Asia, I think you’d be buzzing and thinking you just hit the lottery!
3. Too Many Rules
Good luck keeping a crew this size in check
In Asia, I did what I wanted, when I wanted, how I wanted and had no problems. In Australia, it’s quite different.
First off, they have fairly strict drinking laws. If you show signs of intoxication before getting in the bar or while in the bar, then the bouncers will boot you out so quickly it will make your head spin.
One time before entering a bar, I stumbled before getting in the door and was refused being let in. I hadn’t even had a drink yet! The bouncer didn’t want to hear it and I was forced to wait outside until my friends realized I wasn’t in the bar with them.
When I was traveling with 5 guys, I don’t think there was a single night where one of us wasn’t denied entry or booted out of a bar for suspicions of being intoxicated.
Isn’t that the point of a bar? To get your drink on? Maybe that’s just me.
Again, it just took me a while to realize I was playing by different rules than that of Southeast Asia.
4. Eastern Australia Is All Very Similar
I found that while traveling up the east coast of Australia, there wasn’t a whole lot of variety. It was just one similar town and/or city after another on the beach.
As a westerner, Australia was very familiar in culture. They speak the same language, have similar food, and have a similar lifestyle.
However, when I travel, I want to experience something new and be put out of my comfort zone. Simply put, Southeast Asia supplied that new environment and Australia didn’t.
Don’t get me wrong, Australia is great. It just isn’t that different from home and after a while, traveling there was monotonous.
It’s sorta like how that saying goes, “You don’t know how good you got it until it’s gone.”
That was the case for me with Southeast Asia. I took for granted the lax attitude, insanely cheap prices, and beautiful weather and when that was taken away from me, I was pissed!
So just be aware that if you are fortunate enough to be traveling long term and are coming from Southeast Asia to Australia, things are much, much different.
Or better yet, take my advice and go to OZ first then SE Asia. I assure you, you’ll be riding cloud 9.
