comparisons

I like how without even living your own city you can do all these comparisons between the cities. Potentially between your current city and the city you want to be in in the near future.
So yea I compared TO and Mel and well they're not that much different=)

so this is more statistical based and compares living costs which are updated pretty regularly
http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/comparison.jsp

and this one just compares some random facts that seem to be out of date in some points
still a fun read=)
http://www.versus.com/en/toronto-vs-melbourne

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Medicine infused week

I'm going in full-speed in preparation for THE trip. This week can get archived under folder - Medical checks.
On Monday I got lucky when called my family doctor in the morning: I got my appointment with her immediately on the same day. I told her about the trip and since she couldn't really provide any consultation regarding vaccinations I might need she directed me to 3 travel clinics and warned me that I have very little time for some vaccinations to take place and it's sometimes hard to get appt with a travel clinic doctor right away.
That got me immediately stressed so I sat down in the lobby of the clinic center and called the first travel clinic on the list right away. I guess it's the name of the doctor that played the charm here - it was Dr. Gamble=) ahaha! He later told me that he is not related to the Gamble of P&G =)
Anyway I got the appointment for the very next day which is today. After the consultation with the above mentioned doctor I was appointed to take booster tetanus/diphtheria/polio shots but no vaccinations.
He told me to use mosquito repellent to make sure I don't get malaria or dengue.... scary

He also made a funny note on my vaccination travel report:

Travel Details/Itinerary: Going to Australia but will also be travelling to Bali while in Australia and that is a good place because there is no malaria in the resort areas - day trips outside of the resort.

I guess Bali is a good place=)

On a side note: I learned that some vaccination shots are extremely expensive. E.g. Japanese encephalitis $230 per shot (series of 2), Rabies - $220 per shot (series of 3), Meningococcal Meningitis - $140 per shot, Yellow Fever - $130 per shot...
man.....

This clinic also has a very good site with vaccinations needs listed per country http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/list

And to end the story of this medical labeled week - on thur I have my dental cleaning and on monday 21st and 28th I have porcelain crown installation on my tooth that was broken a while back in Vancouver.

phew. and after all that is done I'll be ready to go as a new born human with new immunity and new clean teeth=)

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IT ARRIVED

IT ARRIVED!!!! Came home today to face a fat brown envelope, stuffed with my medical/travel insurance policy, tickets booking confirmation, an Australia magnet and Australia bookmark and a thank you card from my travel agent Ryan=)
IT IS HAPPENING!!!! ta-da-da-da!

Few words about the travel agency. At some point of my Oz research I found this website that connects you with country specilized travel agencies near you. If you pick TO there are only two agencies that are located here and specialize in Downunder. I contacted both, but the quote sent by Downunder Travel was considerably cheaper.

Here is the list of agencies I contacted and round trip fare offered to me with a one week stopover in LA:
Downunder Travel $1845.34 + $75 service fee + $250 fee for a date change on the return ticket*
Vision 2000 Travel Group $1756.94 + $25 ticketing fee + $425  fee for a date change on the return ticket
Aspire Downunder  $1753.43 +$300 fee for a date change on the return ticket
TravelCuts  $2196.51 (didn't even ask about the fees... too expensive as is)

*Note from the travel agent: Now since you are flying with Qantas and we have a great relationship with them there is a very good chance that we can get the $250.00 waived and you would only have to pay the $75.00 (plus any change in fare/upgrade).

So if I'm actually going to have the date change fee waived (all saved in emails and I'll fight for this!) then I got myself the cheapest possible option flying Quantas both ways!

And then there were of course all these amazing search engines:
Google Flights
Kayak
Skyscanner
Fly.com
and bazillion of others but I decided that it's just less stressful to organize all the tickets with the stopover via one agent and also easier that way to change the return date so it will be them working out all the connection routes for me.

Oh yeah, I also got medical insurance with the same travel agent. All of the above offered approximately same price for medical+travel insurance for a year - of about $700-750.

I feel very poor now

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Getting prepared....

so what have I been reading for the past few days? oh many interesting books. and all of them are about Australia, Oz, DownUnder=)
these travel guides are full of useful information. Most of them I took from the library. and one I borrowed from a good friend.
So here is what I am reading:
1.
Australia gap pack : all the facts and expert advice for gap working in Australia. 2006 
2.
Gap years for grown ups New ed., rev. & updated. 2006 by Susan Griffith
3.
Work your way around the world 15th ed. 2011 by Susan Griffith 
4.
Lonely Planet Guide: Australia 15th ed 2011
5.
Rough Guide Special: First time around the world

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