ooo
ya ..well wait me in a few days time; i`ll be back also skool starts
tm net shits like hell

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR to everyone in australia and back home in malaysia

btw. quite boring here in australia~

hahaa! Gong xi fa choi; dont be bored
go china town
got dragon dance!

maybe u will be able to see leng luis also

how much u paid for your ticket?

boring in aus, first time away from home for cny T.T anyway, so quiet, and still got study lagi. sien leh...

s373n : do u have a full malaysian license? if you do, you just have to walk in to any licensing center, get a number, wait, and take the theory test on the spot on a computer. 30 questions, 24 needed to pass. after passing it, you will get to book a date for your practical test, of which after you pass, will get you a full WA license without having to go through P plates, hazard test, or the 25 hour sign off by an experienced driver. cost me around a total of 200 aud i think for the whole process, and a license valid for 5 years

any unsw students here? what the difference between feb intake and july intake? do they end the course at the same time? do the july intake students make uo for their sem 1 lessons during the hols or what? im really blur bout that, the differences between feb intake and july intake i mean, tried searching the web but couldnt get any answers.

I don't have a M'sian license, but M'sian license is not recognized isn't it?
They made my dad to go for theory and practical test,
and the practical test bookings are always full ...

not recognised for licence conversion but recognised for temporary usage

No major differences. July intake is usually for those in the 2nd or late round applications (less competition for mid-year entry). Not all programs (degrees) have mid-year entry, so you need to check if the one you're applying to does. Some core courses (subjects) may not be offered in the 2nd session, so your subjects may get shuffled slightly from those in the session 1 intake.

This post has been edited by chris_c28: Feb 7 2008, 10:35 PM

not recognized as in not being able to transfer just like that. in fact, the majority of countries are not recognized nowadays after the legislation changes, but if you have a malaysian license, like i said you just have to do the theory n practical, not the hazard test, plus P plates are skipped. practicals are always full, i always hear that, but when i walked in for the theory test one fine wednesday, i walked out with a reservation the next morning. got my license 3 days later. maybe it depends on how much the person likes u i tried to suck up to the girl which desk i was assigned to heh

China town haha... went there last year, the lion dance was crap while the dragon dance wasn't even performed. They just carried the dragon and paraded along Little Bourke St.

Melb Motor Show at the end of this month would interest me much more hehe... Got Nissan GTR on display this time, woot !!

RM 3300.

I got it around August last year, compared to my friend who paid approx RM 3700 when he got it in Dec.

Then again, getting it online might be cheaper if you can get special promotion offers although you can't opt for the students' 40kg I presume.

This post has been edited by StarGhazzer: Feb 8 2008, 02:00 PM

really..ya i did notice about it also
okay
bila motorshow?
i want to go.

Hi guys, just wanted to ask a quick question.

Im back from Australia for the holidays and will be heading back around the end of Feb. I have just renewed my passport therefore the number has changed. How do I go about updating my passport number on my student eVisa? Do I have to head down to the Australian High Commission?

Thanks in advance

I have to carry 2 passports all the time.

I have a question here, if I plan to go on a short trip to NZ during winter holidays, departing from Australia, do I have to apply for a visa? If yes, from whom should I submit my application to? NZ embassy in Australia or the one in KL?
FYI, I'm on a student visa in Australia and not a PR in any of the 2 countries.

Ah, I went to the high commission and they asked me to email the department instead, the students.helpdesk something something (read on ur e-visa document)... you can either scan and email to the department or fax.

Am not sure about bringing both passports but.

hey everyone!!!
happy chinese new year ya!!
huuuu.... four more days im flying to aussie...
by the way, ive got something to ask you all...
if my luggage has been excess 30kg...
will i get charged??

i think excessive baggages policy differs from one state to another:)
anyone knows if melbourne is good?

Here's my contribution to Livng in Brisbane. For accomodation, vintec has done a very good one.

Transportation
All Australian cities have better public transportation than Malaysia, and Brisbane is no exception. Getting around is easy, with one shot ticketing.

All you need for public transport (bus, train and ferry) can be found at www.translink.com.au

Brisbane's public transport charges by "zones". An overview of which zone is where can be seen at (http://www.translink.com.au/qt/translin.nsf/index/ti_zone). Usually Brisbane city ends at about Zone 5. And for some useless information, Robina (Gold Coast) is Zone 24. All bus stops/train stations have a label on them to indicate which zone you are in. You buy a ticket based on where you want to go. For example, if you are heaading from the City Centre to SunnyBank (the Chinatown), you need a zone 1-4 ticket. If you are heading from Oxley to Toowong, all you need is a zone 2-3 ticket. And if you are travelling within the same zone (say between Runcorn and Sunnybank), all you need is a zone 4-4 ticket.

Cost from one zone to another can be seen here (http://www.translink.com.au/qt/translin.nsf/index/ti_fares). International students (that means us) can get concession fares when we show our student card when purchasing. Concession fares are half the price of a adult (full) fare.

As of writing (Feb 2008), a "smartcard" system is being rolled out in phases. However, it looks like paper tickets are still going to be around for sometime, so in a nutshell, there are 5 types of tickets: single, daily, off-peak daily, weekly and monthly.

Single: easy to understand. One shot. Gets you from A to B only. Usable only once.
Daily: valid on the day of purchase. So lets say you buy a Zone 1-3 ticket. You can go around zone 1-3 as many times as you like in that day of purchase.
Off-peak daily: great value if you start your day late. Usually about 40% less than a Daily ticket. Only valid on day of purchase, and between 9am-3.30pm, and after 7pm on weekdays, plus all day weekends and public holidays. So lets say you buy a Zone 1-3 off-peak daily ticket. You can go between Zones 1-3 as many times as you like between the mentioned times. Handy when you start your day late (say, lecture/classes only start at 10am) and leave the city after 7pm (say, late classes). All you need to do is buy one ticket. During weekends, buy one, and travel everywhere in Zone 1-3 the whole day. I love them.
Weekly: Vaild for the whole week, for the zones you buy for. So lets say you buy a Zone 1-3 weekly; you can go around zone 1-3 as many times as you like within that week.
Monthly: Vaild for a whole month (30 calendar days), for the zones you buy for. So lets say you buy a Zone 1-3 monthly; you can go around zone 1-3 as many times as you like within that month.

I usually go for a monthly. Since I stay in Zone 2, I buy a monthly zone 1-2 ticket. The great thing is you can also use the same weekly/monthly ticket if you are going beyond the zone you bought at. So say I want to go to Zone 3. I just show my Zone 1-2 monthly, and buy a single (off-peak/daily) Zone 3-3 ticket. Cheaper than buying a whole new Zone 1-3 ticket!

Daily and off-peak daily tickets are bought on the bus. Please have the correct change with you when you board the bus. Places to buy weekly and monthly's can be seen here (http://www.translink.com.au/qt/translin.nsf/index/ti_tickets_qr). Rankins on Queen St is the most popular one.


Renting in Brisbane
The property market in Brisbane is mad. Its a buyers' market, and there is a pepectual shortage in rental property. The only way you're going to find any decent accomodation is well before the peak season (Dec/Jan and June/July). September/October are the best time to rent, if you can cope with some disruption in your university life.

In Australia, prices are quoted in weeks, so a place for $200 means $200 a week, unlike Malaysia where it goes by month. Some people get into this trap when looking for acomodation.

The major real estate agents operate in all major suburbs, namely L.J. Hooker, Ray White, etc. Online web sites include www.realestate.com.au.

For those leasing, signing a least is a MUST. Usually the contract is at least 6 months, and usually up to a year. All leases have to go through the RTA (http://www.rta.qld.gov.au). The owner can't chuck you out while you still have a lease, and usually the rental is fixed for the lease period. However, like everything in life, exceptions apply.A 4 week bond is usually taken. If premises are left in good condition, the bond will be refunded when the tenant moves out.

Rental rates are usually divided by zone. I only know the prices for single rooms.

Average Rental Rates:
Zone 1: That's the city man! Expect AT LEAST $240 for a one bedroom apartment WITHOUT utilities.

Zone 2: Around the range of $140-$160 for a single bedroom, without utilities, depending on location.

Zone 3: Around the range of $120-$150 for a single bedroom, sometimes with utilities, depending on location.

Zone 4: you can still find rooms for as low as $90, with utilities to boot, but I'd set my budget around $95- $120.

Zone 5: Heaven knows what's there, but you're talking about an hour's commute to the city AT LEAST from that area!

Shared accommodation is common and this can be found on university notice boards. Shared accommodation simply means someone takes up a lease and then shares the unit with other people, so they split the rent and utilities among themselves. Try not to do this in 1st year. You can get some quite weird people.

Banking in Brisbane
Getting a Australian bank account while here is almost a must. Try to do it in the first 4 weeks, when you still can use your passport for ID. After that, you have to meet the 100 point ID test, which means you need a AUSTRALIAN drivers licence, etc. Your Mykad is useless here, so please don't try to use if for ANY form of ID.

Australia has 4 major banks and many smaller ones:
Commonwealth Bank of Australia - They have a branch at UQ and a ATM/branch at QUT.
National Australia Bank (NAB)
ANZ Bank
Westpac

And there are a few smaller onces in Queensland:
Suncorp
Bank of Queensland
Bendigo Bank

Try to shop around and see which bank suits your needs. You can't go anywhere without tripping over a ANZ and Commonwealth Bank ATM in Brisbane, but their interest rates are usually lower. Most, if not all banks have a high interest bank account. Most banks will have something like a sub-account where you can earn high interest on your money (up to 7% p.a.), and there is no minimum. Your money will be in a separate account, so to use the money in it you have to transfer from the sub-account to your main account. It gives me an incentive to save, and it also ensures that I don't use too much money in one shot, as most of my money is parked in a sub-account. A interesting discussion is here.

All major banks offer student accounts, with no charges for withdrawals or transfers. However, you must update your details with them every semester of study to enjoy the benefits. Easily done: just go into the bank with your student card.

Telecommunication

Local calls are fixed from landlines and public phones. This means if you make a local call to a fixed landline (not handphones!), you pay just one rate, be it if you talk for 10 seconds or 5 hours. Calling local number from a public phone costs 50 cents, but you can hog the phone as long as you legs can prop you up. From Telstra lines its 30 cents a local call, and talk all you want, up to about 10 hours. But if you can talk for 10 hours non-stop, you seriously need a life.

Mobile phones are widely used in Australia. Some say more than traditional land lines. Most of Brisbane is served by advanced 3G mobile services from the major providers like Hutchinson's Three, Singtel Optus, Telstra and Vodafone.
You can either sign on a post-paid plan or go prepaid. Optus offers an attractive prepaid service that is popular with students.
Three (yes, the teleco's name is the number Three) is by far the cheapest if most of your friends are on the same network, but you are forced to use their 3G-enabled mobile (which you may have seen parallel imported into Malaysia) and sign onto a contract and use their locked phones (locked as in locked to Three's network. So no chance of using that phone on other teleco's) to enjoy those benefits.

Be wary of the "cap plans", such as Three's/Optus/Vodafone's. The word "cap" is misleading. A more apporpriate word would be "minimum spend". For instance, Three's $29/month "cap" plan, while offering you $130 of credit, see's you needing to pay $29 a month, even if you don't use $29 worth of calls, let alone $130. And you are tied to them for 2 years. If you want to bank out before 2 years is up, you need to pay the excess. So assuming you back out 4 months after you signed up, you will have to pay 20 x $29 = $590 penalty.

However, its good for those who can't stop talking. The $49 cap plans give you something like $300 of credit. A lot of my friends use that credit to call back home to Malaysia/Singapore, and the line is generally clear. If you needs are less, try Optus or Vodafone's prepaid plans, where credit can last for 2 months to as long as a whole year (yes, 365 days)! Of course, your call charges will be a bit higher than normal plans.

But the great thing is, Australia has number portability! So lets say you brought your own phone, you signed up with Optus and got a very nice number which everyone can remember, then 4 months down the road you realise (say) that Vodafone has a better deal for you. You can switch to Vodafone (for a small fee) while keeping your number! Of course, this means you can't tell which teleco your friend is on just by looking at the number. All HP numbers start with the 04 prefix.

In a nutshell: do some research. Optus especially keeps changing their plans. Check their websites or go into their shops to get a few fliers.



Internet Connection
The most common form of broadband internet is ADSL via landline connection. If you're renting, check that the unit has a landline connection that has been set up. Establishing a new connection costs more than A$100 and has to be done by Telstra. Line rental is usually $20/month.
To find the best ISP deals, check www.whirlpool.net.au. The biggest telecommunication companies are generally the least affordable, but you may benefit from bundled plans (phone + internet) and better customer service.


All Broadband internet plans are capped in Australia, so take the download quota into consideration when selecting plans. Get used to it. Be VERY wary of "unlimited" plans, as they usually come with more terms and conditions than the "cap" plans. And please, avoid Dodo (http://www.dodo.com.au/) like a plague. Even if they give you free internet access. Even if they offered to pay your international student fees for the rest of your course if you sign up. On a second thought, I wouldn't mind that..............

If anyone has any questions on Brisbane, I'm more than happy to help out.