Travel Guides and Stories

In 2020, I, a girl who had never left the country before, set out alone for the Southern Hemisphere for a certain reason. My passport’s very first stamp was for an Australian tourist visa... Let’s just say the past is a bit hard to revisit, so I’ll slowly update more photos. When I started the visa process, I used CYTS for assistance. About a week later, I got a call from the embassy to verify my documents. Looking back, my answers feel a bit silly now. They asked how my English was, and I answered, “I’m an English major, what do you think?” Luckily, the visa officer was in a good mood; if it had been a typical Chinese official, I’d have been doomed. Thanks to my crazy good luck, my visa was approved! Later my friends said it was super rare for someone like me—first time abroad, single, under 30, and traveling solo—to get an Australian tourist visa so easily. Honestly, I think I just got really lucky too... hehe. The visa arrived in the mail about a week later. Since my decision to go abroad was so sudden, time was tight. About a week after I got my visa, I started frantically searching for flights from China to Australia.    
   My destination was Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, so I chose Cathay (Dragonair) for a round-trip flight: Shanghai to Hong Kong, then Hong Kong to Brisbane. The total, including taxes, was about 7000 RMB, which I thought was a good deal (the price went up the next day, as my ticket was still considered off-season, but the next day was peak season—so remember to look for off-season flight deals! Some friends say you can get even cheaper tickets if you book months in advance. But since my trip was last minute, I think I did okay.)    
   I have to mention that I happened to be traveling to Australia during a hurricane—or was it something else?—so due to weather, the plane couldn’t take off on time. You could feel the plane shaking in the wind while you sat there... I kept thinking, “Surely I won’t be the unlucky one to hit that one-in-a-million chance.” The whole flight experience on Dragonair was great—especially compared to the “small” Air China planes I took later to Europe. (Actually, Air China’s “small” planes aren’t that small, but you can’t even stretch your legs. Tall guys really suffer. Many people on that Europe trip complained the seats were way too cramped. I never felt that way on Dragonair—it was relaxing the whole time.)    
   For someone like me, Hong Kong Airport felt huge, but the signs for arrivals and departures were all clear. The boarding pass for Hong Kong to Australia was printed by me at a self-service kiosk (super convenient!). The gate number wasn’t listed, but with a mix of English and Mandarin, I found my way without issue. Near Brisbane, the crew handed out arrival cards. With my limited English, I muddled through filling it out... but here’s where I made a “serious” mistake: there was a section asking if you were carrying any medication. I agonized over it and finally checked “YES” just to be safe... which led to a funny scene at customs. It was really late when we landed, and customs wasn’t busy. I saw a tiny sniffer dog—so cute, but I didn’t dare take a photo. There were signs everywhere warning not to bring seeds, veggies, meat, etc.—I had none of that. When it was my turn, the customs officer asked to check the medicine I’d declared on my card. So... I pulled out my little bottle of Rohto eye drops. The two inspectors paused, then laughed and waved me through, telling me I didn’t need to declare that. At least it wasn’t too embarrassing. And so, my 15-day Australia adventure began... To be continued... Brisbane River

Along the Brisbane River—opposite is the city center

           Brisbane River

On the other side of the Brisbane River—the side with the ferris wheel is a popular spot for people to relax and sunbathe. You see all kinds of people here just chilling. There’s also a university—Griffith University—which was one of my reasons for coming here!

After a few days in Brisbane, I was persuaded by someone to head to the Gold Coast. We arrived in the afternoon, and it was drizzling. "Seagulls at sunset"

The ocean at sunset has an indescribable beauty... The beach was really clean, but because it was a cloudy day, it didn’t have that “golden” Gold Coast look.

We had booked a standard room at the Holiday Inn on the Gold Coast in advance... For someone as broke as me, thank goodness we only stayed two days—any longer and I’d be bankrupt... The plan was to get up early and watch the sunrise, but the next morning, someone opened the curtains and said... “We can keep sleeping.” Why? It was pouring rain outside—absolutely buckets. So my sunrise dream ended there. To be continued...