Study Trip to Australia

Australia, here I come!

My school has organised a ten(10)-day overseas study trip.
> The main objective: have an insight thru' lecture sit-ins in the universities.
A total of 18 students will be travelling to Australia from 8 to 17 May 2005 (Sun - Tues).

We will be at three (3) places: Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney.

We will be visiting

1. University of Melbourne,
   
2. Monash University,
   
3. Australian National University,
   
4. University of Sydney, and
   
5. University of New South Wales.

My objectives (what I want to get out of this study trip):
My main objective is to make this trip a learning experience to widen my horizon. (see the world)
I hope to have first-hand experience about Australia's culture,
their way of life,
and their way of doing businesses in their country.

I want to compare the teaching and learning methodology used in Australia.
I also want to know what are the things that the Universities offer that is unique or different from Singapore. - specifically Business Mgt.
Lastly, to have fun and be adventurous - take what unexpected things that comes to us along the way.

How I can achieve them:
Simply taking photographs and reflect what I see, hear and experience.

8 April 2005
Made booking and payment for the accommodation and travel insurance for the trip.
When booking for hostel accommodation,
it's best to select Ensuite room than Dormitory
('cos for dormitory, u've to share room with strangers!)
Make sure you are covered - Travel insurance.

15 April 2005
We've booked our air tickets from Singapore to Melbourne
and from Sydney back to Singapore.
Apply for the necessary visa.
Our passports has been through visa processing.
Make sure that the passport's validity period is at least 3 months before expiry.
If not, you have to extend the validity of your passport.

22 April 2005
Be Prepared for the trip
Planning of leisure activities / attractions to visit.
Study and research the destination
and its laws, customs and climate before departing.
We agreed upon which places we want to arrange to visit at this briefing, before the trip.
This will lessen the conflict of interest.
Organise appropriate clothing and learn some useful phrases.
This can make the travel experience more enjoyable.
Get some travel advice to be prepared for the experiences.

06 May 2005
Secure your personal information
Make two photocopies of your:
• itinerary
• visas
• passport details-a copy of the photo page will do.
phone card details
• travellers cheques and credit card numbers
• driver's licence or international driving permit
• insurance policy.
Leave one copy with your family or a friend
Pack your own copy of your travel documents and other details
separately from your handbag or wallet.

Label all your luggage clearly.

Look after your passport.

Money matters
Bring along cash, cheque or credit card.
Exchange the money currency.
Bring at least $200.

Mobile Phone International Roaming (for Starhub)

One of the things which I didn't do...

subscribe yr mobile phone plan for overseas roaming.

To retrieve your voice messages while roaming (for Starhub):
1. Dial +65 9850-1303.
2. Key in your StarHub Mobile number followed by #
3. Key in your password when prompted (default password is 8888).
4. You may now access your voice messages.

Know the currency exhange rate.
FXCheatSheet®: Travelers Currency Cheat Sheet - http://www.oanda.com/convert/cheatsheet

Bring lip balm/moisturer (cos of dry climate)

8 - 17 May 2005

~ Enjoying my time at Australia.
Day 1 - Depart S'pore, Arrive in Melbourne
Check into hotel and rest
Day 2 - Visit [University of Melbourne]
- lecture sit-ins
- demo of Library Resources
- Campus tour
- meet up with Academic staff of Degree prog. which has adv. standing.
Day 3 - Visit [University of Melbourne]
- seminar on Learning Expectations with staff from Learning & Teaching Unit
- lecture sit-ins
- wkshop on using multimedia for teaching and learning
- meeting with polytechnic alumni studying in this University

Day 4 - Arrive in { Canberra } by domestic flight.

Day 5 - Company Visits / Seminar

- City Tour
- Cultural performances

Day 6 - Visit [Australia National University]

- Campus tour

- lecture sit-ins
- seminar on Learning Expectations
- meeting with polytechnic alumni studying in this University
Day 7 - Arrive { Sydney }

Day 8 - R & R

Day 9 - Visit [University of Sydney]

- Campus tour

- lecture sit-ins
- meeting with polytechnic alumni studying in this University

Day 10 - 18 May 2005

Home sweet home: Arrived at Singapore.

After taking all those nice pics,
it's time to develop them.
Also uploaded some pics at this blog's photo album.

TIPS: Leave some days to rebuild, recover, settle down
after arriving back from travel.
Come back on thur or friday.
Spend time to prepare for monday...

Before leaving the country, change your loose coins into notes.

cos when u're back in S'pore, the money changer doesn't accept coins.

(e.g. 6 x $5 coins = 3 x $10 notes)

Note on check-in luggage at airport:
- your bags must not have any spoilt zips when check-in your luggage.

28 May 2005
Debrief and website presentation on our learning experience.

Travel information on individual cities (in .pdf)

http://en.ArrivalGuides.com/

www.FreeTravelTips.com

www.zuji.com.sg

www.kayak.com

- find cheap airfares

www.sidestep.com

www.farecast.com

CouchSurfing.com (travel accommodation)

Going.com (events in United States)

Look out for more updates about my trip here.

http://temasek.polytechnic.sg/australia/mainwebsite/index.html
http://temasek.polytechnic.sg/australia/mainwebsite/main.html

Celebrities' Travel Blog
http://www.asiaone.com.sg/asia1portal/2007/IA/hsbc_IA070307/
http://www.asiaone.com/asia1portal/2007/IA/dbstravelblog_IA070222/index.html

tag: australia, canberra, melbourne, sydney, travel