Which direction is North in Australia?

A post about misconceptions and other such stuff.

For

 KriStine  whose comment [on the last post] inspired me to stay home and write this on a rare sunny summer's day when I could be out cavorting with The Dog.

&

Pamela   who taught me that, horror of horrors, summer doesn't really actually start till 21st December.

***

In the 6 months since Mr Thumper left us [yes, already], we've been on 2 trips [3 for me], and to tell you the truth, my feet are still not back on the ground.

I don't know if we're good travellers. Like so many, we have certain preconceived notions about other countries. These notions mostly come from such trustworthy sources as telly, movies, Lonely Planet and, of course, Tourist Boards.

They have a lot to answer for.

Rumour has it that many Brits over the last 2 decades have given up perfectly good jobs, packed up a lifetime of memories, said "see ya later!" to best friends, Uncle Bertie and Aunty Meg, and dragged their families 17,000km to Australia...

This pic from here.

...based entirely on episodes from Neighbours.

[Hmmm. Doesn't she look familiar.]

Many people know exactly what the average Australian looks like.

This pic taken from here.

That's right. You can be jealous if you like.

Others think we look like this.

This pic from here.

The man in the funny hat, not the man with the funny bandanna.

The truth, of course, is a little more mundane.

We're not all bums [though we give it a good go].

We don't all carry bowies [just some crims and teenagers].

We don't even usually wear akubras [unless you live in the outback, have lived in the outback, or are a tourist passing through, in which case, you'll be wearing your akubra with a drizabone while walking down George Street in Sydney].

Now, many would-be travellers to Stryliah have very reasonable and pertinent questions about us. And so they should, because things can be very different here.

Here's an example of a question sent to the Tourist Board some years back [which may or may not be authentic]. 

Q: Which direction is North in Australia? (USA)

For the answers to this and many more riveting questions, I'm afraid you'll have to click here.

***

Why should I be dumbfounded at such gullibility? Before we went to Brazil, I had some preconceptions of my own.

I was afraid all Brasileiras would look like this.
This pic from here.

This pic from here. 

[I suspect The Other Half was counting on it.]

And, of course, I was hoping all Brasileiros would look like this.

This pic from here.

[Yeah right.]

***

Anyone googling a holiday in Brazil will, at some point, be confronted with The Many Dangers And Annoyances associated with travelling in that country.  

For example, as part of my homework, I read some cautionary notes from our extremely cautious [some might say paranoid] Travel Advisory Board.

An excerpt -
If you are robbed you should cooperate and not resist as these situations can quickly turn violent. Victims have been seriously injured or killed when resisting perpetrators.

I got more useful advice from Lonely Planet Brazil.

Another excerpt -
You’re walking down the street or standing in some public place, when someone surreptitiously sprays a substance on your shoulder, your daypack or anything else connected with you. The substance can be anything from mustard to chocolate or even excrement.

Best of all [if you have absolutely nothing to do today but read this post], have a look at this warning from the Salvador section of Lonely Planet Brazil. I'm sorry I couldn't find it online and you may need a magnifying glass to actually read it.

On the other hand, it may suffice to see that I was worried enough to highlight A Lot of areas the whole section.   

Sometimes, I wonder how we ever made it on the plane.

***

p>s> Here's something I found by accident, also from the Lonely Planet Brazil online site. I include it here, specially for The Other Half.


Cash & Traveler’s Checks
Even if you are relying mainly on credit or debit cards as your source of funds, it’s not a bad idea to take some cash and traveler’s checks in reserve. You can change these in banks or in casas de câmbio (exchange offices). Banks have slower, more bureaucratic procedures but on the whole give better exchange rates (an exception being Banco do Brasil which charges R$40 commission for every traveler’s check transaction). You’ll usually get a 1% or 2% better exchange rate for cash than for traveler’s checks. Checks, of course, have the advantage of being replaceable if lost or stolen.

Both cash and traveler’s checks should be either in US dollars or euros, and Amex is easily the most recognized traveler’s check. Thomas Cook, Barclays and Citibank traveler’s checks are less widely accepted, but you should be able to cash them in large cities.

Given the many warnings I had read from various reputable sources, was it any wonder I insisted on taking traveller's cheques with us?

Hah. I'm not stupid.

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MEANWHILE...in our summery city, it's started to bucket down again, the temperature has plunged to under 15 and I'm back in my uggies. It looks like Pamela may be right after all.

Back to bed then.