Australians Travelling
Overseas
The Australian government
has a website that features
all the information a
traveller is likely to need
www.smarttraveller.gov.au
However here
are some tips to make your
trip run smoothly...
‘Forewarned
is forearmed’ a little bit
of research can save you
from embarrassing or
dangerous situations. The
best ways of finding out
about your destination are:
●
Travel Guide Books
which contain useful
information on weather,
attractions, transport,
accommodation, restaurants
and safety.
●
Information
sessions - some travel
agencies and tour operators
host information sessions on
particular countries, where
you can listen to travel
experts, and call on their
expertise by asking
questions.
●
Internet - possibly
the most extensive source of
travel information, from
discount hotels to
government tourist bureaus,
every destination will have
some kind of site in which
useful information can be
found
●
Government
representatives - either
a consulate or government
tourism authority.
Gather some
knowledge about the culture,
laws, customs and climate of
your destination. It is
important to remember that
travellers are subject to
the laws of the country in
which they are travelling
and ignorance of the law is
no defence. Penalties for
seemingly innocuous offences
can be severe in some
countries
Try and
learn a few useful words and
get a good phrase book, one
that is easy to understand
and use.
The
Department of Foreign
Affairs and Trade (
www.dfat.gov.au ) has
compiled the smart traveller
website mentioned earlier,
which gives listings of
travel advisories indicating
global trouble spots – it
also features a list of
embassies and consulate
offices in other counties,
contact details for the
relevant government
representative in the
country you are visiting can
be useful.
Passport
You will
need a current passport to
travel overseas, for
identification, for
exchanging travellers
cheques, and applying for
visas. Some countries
require that your passport
has at least 6 months
validity, so even if your
passport has not yet
expired, you may wish to
renew it.
Application
forms can be obtained from
Australia post offices, and
may be submitted to
authorised post offices, or
you can do it all at state
passport offices. In
addition to a completed
passport application form,
you will need two recent
photographs, one of which is
endorsed by an identifier,
an original document that
proves you are an Australian
citizen, documents that
explain any name change, a
document that shows your
current name and address,
and fee payment. You will
also have to attend an
interview, where all the
details of the documents are
confirmed.
Visas
A visa is an
official stamp of a
government or country,
imprinted in your passport,
evidencing your ability to
enter into that country, for
a specified time and
purpose. Not all countries
require visas, so check
carefully whether you
require one for your
destination. The issue of a
visa usually requires the
payment of a fee, and
sometimes requires photos,
copies of tickets and other
documentation. Call the
consulate of the countries
you plan to visit for visa
information, or your travel
agent may be able to help.
It is always
useful to have a few spare
passport photos with you
when you are travelling, for
visas, student travel cards,
some train or bus passes,
and in case you lose your
passport and need to have it
reissued overseas.
Travel
insurance is essential for
all travellers. Medical
costs in other countries can
be astronomical, and even
fit and healthy travellers
sometimes need medical
attention. Unfortunately,
luggage and valuables do
sometimes get lost or
stolen, and insurance will
help compensate you for your
loss.
In cases
where victims are not
covered by travel insurance,
personal tragedies are
further compounded by a
long-term financial burden.
Hospitalisation, medical
evacuations, or even the
return of the deceased's
remains to Australia, can be
very expensive. Daily
hospitalisation costs in
southeast Asia regularly
exceed $800; return of
remains from Europe in
excess of $10,000. The cost
of medical evacuations from
the united states regularly
range from $75,000 to
$95,000 and sometimes up to
$300,000. The department has
handled medical evacuations
from nearby Bali in which
costs have exceeded $60,000.
Travellers
who are not covered by
insurance are personally
liable for covering incurred
medical and associated costs
Travel
agents can assist with
arranging travel insurance
and it essential that
travellers understand what
the insurance covers.
At least 6
weeks before departure, see
your local doctor or a
medical clinic that
specializes in travel
medicine, to get advice
about health risks in your
destinations. You may need
to be immunized or commence
anti-malarial medication up
to 4 weeks before departure.
Take a first aid kit with
you to treat minor injuries
and ailments, and include
medication to treat vomiting
and diarrhoea. While away,
use mosquito repellent, and
drink only bottled, boiled
or otherwise treated water
and only eat fruit and
vegetables that you can
peel. If you get very sick
on your trip, contact your
travel insurance company or
representative or the
Australian consul or embassy
for assistance. It is a good
idea to visit your dentist
prior to departure, and many
travellers pack an emergency
dental kit.
You should
also obtain and take with
you spare prescriptions for
glasses, contact lenses and
medicines.
If you are
unwell after you return from
your trip (even many weeks
later) you should remember
to tell your doctor all of
the destinations to which
you have travelled.
If you use
prescription medicines do
not just assume that they
will be OK to use and
available in other
countries, you should always
carry a medical
practitioners report if you
have prescription medicines.
The National Centre for
Infectious Diseases (www.cdc.gov/travel)
has a section dedicated to
health advice for travellers
and provides a comprehensive
information service on all
issues of interest to
travellers as well as
vaccination advice and
current health alerts around
the world .
security at home
Don't forget
to cancel newspapers and
lock all doors and windows.
Inform neighbours of your
absence and arrange for them
to clear your letterbox of
junk mail, and keep an eye
on your home. If you are
travelling for any length of
time you will also want to
defrost your refrigerator
and freezer, turn off
electricity, gas and water.
Get a
neighbour or friend to move
your car and visit your
house at irregular intervals
– the regular pattern of
timer switches can be an
indication to thieves that
the home owner is on
Holidays eg. Lights going on
and off with-out associated
movement of car from the
driveway is a dead giveaway.
security when way
Luggage will
be more secure if locked and
identified. Use key or
combination locks to secure
all zips on luggage, and a
luggage strap to help
identify your luggage, and
to keep it closed in case of
broken zips or handles.
Place luggage tags on all
items, and specify name,
address and telephone number
on the tags and on stick-on
labels inside the bags. Take
care in carrying valuable
documents, cash, travellers
cheques and credit cards.
Carry your wallet in your
front pocket, and if
carrying a bag, hold it
tightly with the straps
close to your body. Don't
carry too much cash, and
beware of pickpockets and
bag snatchers in crowded
areas. You should consider
money belts and pouches to
keep these items secure. Use
the hotel security box or
in-room safe to store
valuables, and never leave
them out in your room. Keep
copies of tickets, passports
etc, and leave a set of
copies, together with a copy
of your itinerary with
someone at home.
Electrical
wall outlets (sockets and
plugs) and power (voltage)
vary around the world. If
you take electrical items
with you when you travel, it
is important that you
understand these variations.
Sockets & plugs
Around the
world, there are many
different ways in which the
shape, number and
arrangement of plug pins and
socket holes are configured.
Korjo adaptor plugs allow
the plug configurations to
be altered from one style to
another, enabling you to
plug your appliance into the
wall socket wherever you
are. Please note that the
adaptor plug does not
convert voltage - you must
make sure that your
appliance and the power
supply are compatible.
Voltage
There are
basically two main systems
that are used -
110 volt
(actually 100-120 volt) -
used in U.S.A., Canada,
Spain, Japan
220volt
(actually 200-250 volt) -
the rest of the world.
In simple
terms, the power supply
available at the socket is
roughly twice as powerful in
240 volt countries as in 110
volt countries.
Electrical
appliances are manufactured
to be used at 110 volts, or
220 volts or both (they may
have a 110-220v switch, or
work automatically on
either).
If you have
a 220 volt appliance, and
you plug it into a 110v
source, the product will not
receive as much power as it
was designed to use -
therefore it will work
slowly or not at all.
If you have
a 110 volt appliance and
plug it into a 220 volt
power source, the product
will receive more power than
it was designed to use -
this will cause damage to
the product, the protective
fuse and/or the power
source!!
It is a good
idea to travel with dual
voltage appliances - i.e.
Those that can work on 110
or 220 v systems.
There are
several varieties of multi
use power plug adaptors that
can be bought cheaply – be
aware that these products
will not transform the
voltage, they are useful
only for allowing your plug
to fit into the local socket
You should
carefully plan your budget
and how you are going to
take money with you on your
trip. The three main options
are:
●
Cash - very
convenient, easily
exchanged, but can be lost
or stolen with no recourse
or protection.;
●
Travellers Cheques -
expensive (although some
banks and cards offer
discounted or free
travellers cheques) and
bulky, but can be bought in
most major currencies, and
you will be reimbursed for
lost or stolen cheques;
●
Credit or Debit Cards
- very convenient and light
to carry, and some may
enable you to withdraw cash
from ATM's overseas,
although they may not be
widely accepted in some
countries, particularly in
Africa. Beware of additional
charges for using the cards
overseas, and the exchange
rate at which your purchases
are converted to Australian
dollars for your account.
You should also check with
your credit card company
that a replacement card can
be issued overseas in the
event your card is lost or
stolen while away. Make sure
your card does not expire
while you are away.
It is also
worth taking with you a
small amount of the currency
of the country to which you
are going, to pay for taxis,
tips and small items, etc
when you first arrive.
Beware, different currencies
can be confusing
(particularly those with
lots of 0s on the end), and
it is not difficult to
miscalculate the conversion,
leaving you paying 10 or 100
times what you really
should. Also keep in mind
that hotels often charge a
fee for cashing travellers
cheques or exchanging money,
and often do not offer a
very competitive rate of
exchange, so seek out banks
or reputable money exchange
offices.
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Fax:
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