you could google, but since i am at a loose end tonight, here goes.......

travellers cheques is an old system of 'travel money' where it is recognised in many countries as equivalent to cash........so you buy them in denominations like normal cash......and spend them similarly at restaurants, hotels etc........and they are 'safe' in the sense that if they are stolen, you can report it, and you will get refunded, unlike cash........

it is of course completely replaced by plastic.........ie credit cards like visa, mastercard ete.......

bank draft, on the other hand, is like a cheque, except that only the bank can issue, as it will be in the currency of the destination country, and like cheques, it can ONLY be credited into a bank account of the payee.......you certainly cannot use it to pay for you meals, hotels etc..........it's cheap, only rm5 per cheque........and you either carry it by hand and bank it into your account when you go, or your parents can post it to you in future, and when you receive it, just go to the bank and bank it in, just like any other cheques........

Prepare to wait several weeks for a Malaysian bank draft to clear if you deposit it here. Not to mention that if you lose the bank draft, you're screwed.

I recommend that you bring over maybe AU$500 in cash, and wire transfer (TT) the rest of it after you've opened a bank account. It takes only a few (3?) days to clear, and it's also very safe.

u obviously havent been following the news....
there's a couple of pilots in this forum , and even they said the crackdown is on porn in general. they got a memo.
look it up in Kopitiam
read this article, another guy got caught just after the MAS dude http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=...0539&sec=nation
last time i checked already 19 ppl got busted

on another note, if ur bringing that amount of cash , use a bankdraft
just carry 300-500 , should be more than enough to handle yourself till set up a bank account.
please do not carry aud 1800 cash , not the brightest thing to do, wat happen if u misplaced all that amount of cash

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Added on February 22, 2008, 11:18 pmhmm wat do u mean by here? australia or malaysia?
as for wire transfer, i think for ANZ bank , u can get it within a day , couple of hours at max.
my dad used to text me in the morning, telling me he already banked it in and when i check in the evening , money is already in

This post has been edited by Cruzer: Feb 22 2008, 11:18 PM

the drafts are drawn on an oz bank, not a msian bank........like i said, it clears mostly in 3 working days......do that all the time.........if the draft is lost, bring the carbon copy they always gives you, and go back to the bank for either a reissue, or conversion back to rm.......but it has never happened so far..........

don't tt.........it's expensive, you get charged both at msian and oz..........it meant for fast remittance, like an emergency.......otherwise, just use the bank draft and post it........

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Added on February 22, 2008, 11:59 pm"objectionable material depicting abhorrent sexual acts."

like i said child pornography, or pedophilia........


This post has been edited by limeuu: Feb 22 2008, 11:59 PM

$200 sounds really expensive for Kingsford..is the house furnished? Have you checked where is ur faculty situated? is it near the upper or lower campus? if you stay in Kingsford, have you thought of travelling a bit further to coles/woolies? to me, you can get a place at randwick with $200. security in kingsford is not that good too, compared to randwick..

Ppl in Melbourne

1. uchan
2.wKkay

Traveller Cheque
Bank Draft / Cheque

i`m kind enough to help you on this stuff, but honestly traveler cheque is really not recommended.
about your foods, it is up to you, you better learn how to cook.


yes, i do have it.thanks to dilys earlier for it.

wkkay, any reason for take few weeks for the bankdraft to take several weeks to clear? any internal reason, coz i`m in sort of little trouble.

mmm, seem like penny know wkkay..

okay, so if i want to make a bank draft/cheque at Maybank, could i use my AUD cash straight there for it? or will they convert it back to RM first and convert back to AUD in the end before issue me the draft/cheque, which ends up losing my money bit by bit because of the rates.. sorry i sound so newb, i just want to feel 100% sure of this..

mooze, this is beyond about the banking stuff, the best is to call the Maybank and consult what they can do for you.
actually you should just have your maybank and convert it from ringgit to aud.
Ask the bank, what they can do.

Anyway don't covert any foreign currency here, since every conversion you do they will charged $7 dollar each for each currency, my mom changed US Dollar and EURO and was charged 14 dollars for that. Anyway bring enough cash to sustain you for 2 - 4 weeks, open an account ASAP , and then wire transfer the rest of the fund to aussie, wire transfer gives you more values compare to foreign cash deposit i found out. Anyway bring AUD there don't be silly to convert it, since you gonna lose alot of values. Anyway just be careful wit your money there make sure it's with you 100% and take a taxi to town if you wanna be safe.

yup i agree with you, certain banks or forex generally don't display Malaysian Ringgit conversion on the board instead they check it in their computer lolz.

mooze you can always learn how to cook mate, but seriously you bought quite alot to Aussie. Anyway don't despair, Adelaide has a lot to offer here, it's just finding the right place.

This post has been edited by december88: Feb 23 2008, 08:12 AM

hey mooze, just enjoy yourself and look forward to coming to Australia! seems like you're pretty worked out bout everything! just relax more and dont worry so much!! they'll definitely not check your laptop and stuff..

as for cash, i didn't have time to get a traveller's cheque so i carried a few thousand AUDs by cash.. and when i got here, i opened a bank account with the $$$..

as for food, i don't know how they check.. i didn't dare bring food tho.. even cereal drinks! but when i arrived, i realised i had a special pass to boost me up at the immigration and i didnt have to go thru customs.. special backdoor heahea... thank god.. cuz i arrived in the morning and the queues were crazy long!!

add me to the Melbourne list!

University of Melbourne - 1st year Environments

wKkaY, I've never had a bank draft that took me more than 4 working days to clear, not weeks. And it was issued by Maybank.

TT is generally fast. I don't do so, but generally from friends' experience, if the transfer is initiated on the Malaysian side first thing in the morning, usually the funds are cleared by the end of the same day, Australian time. As Limeuu said, its not cheap, and the Australian banks also will take a portion of the funds you transfered in "transaction fees", which no student waiver applies.

I don't see a problem with bringing along A$500 in cash on you. I mean, no one is going to mug you on the plane, and if they do they don't get far.

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Added on February 23, 2008, 10:06 amRemember guys, Australia has anti-pedophile laws, and they are enforced. Even to work with disadvantaged kids for a day on a volunteer basis I had to apply for a BlueCard.

/b/tards and lolicons take note. Don't do stupid things.

And no, why on earth will they search for (adult) porn on your computer when adult shops are so easily found?

This post has been edited by haya: Feb 23 2008, 10:06 AM

A malaysian bank draft from me generally takes only maximum 5 days to clear ... I dunno what bank you're from tho .. I used AMBank and UOB both b4 to do drafts.. both pay their drafts to ANZ bank which then pays to my bank, Bankwest. In fact, I believe TT took me longer, but the only reason I use it is because TT's are the only choice when I am back in Malaysia

I think foreign cash accounts are already in that currency anyway, and it depends on whether the bank and the account allows a draft to be bought from the funds available... I would recommend you to close the foreign cash account down and move the cash to an australian account outright due to the interest rate being at least 1.5% higher than what a foreign account can offer.

Anyway, I am already back in Perth and the weather is fantastic... dunno how long this will last though

I didnt rent that place in the end.I decided to take up another place in Kingsford with offer full board and the contract only lasts till July.After that im free to go or continue staying there.The rent is 185 per week.Food and laundry is provided.

I guess i'll stay there for a semester to adapt to the uni life while i dont have to worry about food.

Problem solved for now.

cheesenium where are you now ? adelaide?

Im in Sydney,not Adelaide.

oh, I thought i remember that you said you were going to university of adelaide last time. So, which uni are you in now ? sydney ?

Im in UNSW now.I didnt take Adelaide uni because it's not that well known in Malaysia.Might be harder to get job when i come back.

Quite a lot of people from China is studying there.Where are all the Malaysians?

The malaysian contingent is probably all based in Melbourne.