Living Nerdy in Sydney

As an international student, it is a visa requirement to have Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC). You can easily find one from different health insurance providers such as Bupa, Medibank Private, Allianz, etc. You are normally required to buy 1 year before you leave and renew it every year after. This renewal isn't really governed, but if you get into serious accident or illness, you would find yourself in very significant problems. Minor illness or injuries If you require medical assistance for a minor illness or injury, such as colds and flu, coughs, minor burns or sprains, you would need to see a General Practitioner (GP). They will often need you pay for your consultation upfront and claim a portion back from your OSHC provider. Medicines After you see your GP, they may write you a prescription (we call it script in short) for medicine. You will need to visit a pharmacy (or sometimes called chemist) to buy the medicine. Doctors don't sell medicine directly. You may ...

Wet 'n' Wild Sydney is a water theme park located in Prospect, NSW (Western Sydney) operated by Village Roadshow Theme Parks. This is a seasonal park opened from late spring to early autumn each year (Sept to April). How to get there Wet 'n' Wild is accessible mainly by car just off the M4 motorway. Parking is $8 per day if you pay at the parking desk at the ticket entrance to the park. If you pay at the car park gate, the price will increase to $10. (Ridiculous.) Gold season pass holders get free parking. (You can only get Gold season passes early in the season.) Also note that there is no parking on the streets around the park. (Way to go to make more money!!) Alternatively there is a shuttle bus running from Parramatta, Blacktown and Seven Hills train stations at a cost of $5 return per person. Opening Hours The park is open every day during the school holidays from 10am to 10pm. Other times, the park is opened on weekends and some Fridays from 10am to 8pm ...

There are a total of 29 'attractions' at Wet 'n' Wild Sydney. For the purposes of this post, I will divide them into 4 main types - 'Adult' slides, Kids slides & splash zones, Pools and Pay-to-Ride rides. 'Adult' slides There are a total of 13 'adult' water slides in this park. 'Adult' being, one has to be at least 110 cm or sometimes 120 cm in order to get on them. This would account for why persons above 110 cm having to pay adult fare. There are also weight limitations for different rides. The adult slides are available on 4 different towers. If you are you using a fast-pass lite, you can get through 1 of each tower on fast-pass a day. Tower 1 Tower 1 is home to The Curler, Riptide and Double BOWLseye - ProSlide Technology slides. All slides would be on a 4-man float raft. They would allow you to ride on the slide with 2-4 people. The Curler (blue slide), a Mammoth slide, as what the name describes is a slide with lots of...

Oasis of the Seas Royal Caribbean is one of the top cruising companies in the world. It prides itself on great customer service, excellent food, accommodation and entertainment. It is has the largest cruise liner in the world Allure of the Seas (and Oasis of the Seas). Most people see cruise holidays as easy to organise and relaxing holidays. However to make the most out of your trip, most won't know that there is a large amount of planning to be undertaken before the trip itself. In fact, the more you plan before the holiday, the more relaxing the holiday will be! Here are some tips to help you maximise your holiday. 1. Plan all your dinners before your holiday Why dinners? On Royal Caribbean, most dining options require a table reservation for dinner, even in the main dining hall. Of course, things like buffets or cafes won't need a table reservation. Instead of standing in line waiting for a table, you can book on-line prior to your cruise all your table reservation...

Yelp has recently released its Top 100, best user rated Cafe and Restaurants across Australia for 2015. Of the list, 30 of Sydney's has made it into the list! And the top rated goes to Mamak, Haymarket. (I will hold my reservations about it!) Amongst the top 10, there is also Bourke Street Bakery and Fishmongers Manly. A higher weight was put on more recent reviews. The majority of the list is made up of casual dining restaurants. It's probably a sign of the times when with most family feeling the pinch with large mortgage or hefty rental prices in Sydney. So here is the list. Sydney Fish Market (#41) 1. Mamak, Haymarket, NSW 3. Bourke Street Bakery, Sydney, NSW 4. Fishmongers Manly, Manly, NSW 11. Din Tai Fung, Sydney, NSW 14. Single Origin Roasters, Surry Hills, NSW 21. Mr Wong, Sydney, NSW 24. The Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel, The Rocks, NSW 25. Via Napoli, Lane Cove, NSW 28. Rockpool Bar and Grill, Sydney, NSW 30. Harry’s Café de Wheels, Woolloomoo...

As from my previous post , Christian women are not bound by a set of rules on what to wear. However our choice should not stumble our fellow brothers and sisters (Romans 14) and by being modest, promote godliness (1 Tim 2). 1. Leggings Leggings are very helpful especially in cooler climates as they help keep warm. Leggings can help cover your thighs and bum especially when your skirt or shorts are revealing a little too much. Most commonly found are plain black cotton leggings. However, for colder weather there are also polar fleece and wool leggings. For warmer weather, there are 1/2 or 3/4 length leggings to do the trick. To be more fancy, there are leather leggings, jeans and printed leggings. Remember leggings and stockings are very different! You are looking for a non-see through material here. 2. Cardigans Cardigans can come in many forms and in my different materials. They also come in endless colour variations. Cardigans can come in long sleeves or short sleev...

Being modestly dress doesn't mean wearing daggy or old fashioned clothes. As from my previous  post , Christian women are not bound by a set of rules on what to wear. However our choice should not stumble our fellow brothers and sisters (Romans 14) and by being modest, promote godliness (1 Tim 2). However, as from another post I previously posted, there are clothes which help promote modesty. For example, leggings can help you cover your thighs and bum when wearing a short skirt or shorts. Here are a few tips on where to buy these clothes. 1. Leggings Multi coloured Leggings on eBay ($2.50) My favourite cotton leggings are those from Uniqlo . For around $15, you can buy fine cotton leggings. They come in your favourite printed patterns or even knitted leggings.  However if you are after a cheaper option, you can get leggings from Kmart, BigW or Target for around the $10 range. If you are a serious saver, don't mind internet shopping or the long postage wait from Ch...

When you arrive in Australia, one of the first problems you will face is finding a roof over your head. Finding affordable and decent housing in the larger cities like Sydney or Melbourne can be quite challenging. Here are 6 quick tips. 1. If this is your first year, try hard to get a spot in residential collage (hostel), or on-campus housing. This is often the more expensive of housing choices. However, it is the easiest for a first year student to manage. Some residential collages even provide meals, which is a good choice if you have no idea how to cook. Residential collages also have facilities for you to do your own laundry - it's like to be coin operated. Also, most of the time, utility bills are included. 2. If you don't have a spot in residential collage or on-campus housing, try to arrange short term (2-4 weeks)  before you leave your home country. Your university International student centre might be able to recommend some short term accommodation near the Uni...

With the widespread uptake of smartphones, most would see mobiles as a must have item while studying abroad. Having the internet at home is also a must have as lecture notes, lecture videos and assignments are all done through the internet. Calling home is no longer seen as a luxury these days either. Most have left their families at home, or their special someone. Here are a few tips about communications. 1. Bring your own mobile phone. It can be very challenging signing up to a mobile phone postpaid plan while abroad. Most mobile phone providers would be willing to sign you up only if the course you are studying is longer than the contract of the plan. Also if the GST in your country is less than in Australia (10%), it might also be wiser to buy your phone back home. 2. You may need to bring a wall adapter plug for your phone charger.  The wall plug in Australia looks something like the picture shown below. A wall plug adapter would cost between $2 - $15 dependi...

Going abroad to Australia to study soon, or recently arrived in Australia to study? Despite its close proximity, the culture and etiquette in Australia is quite different from most Asian and some other western countries. Here are 9 simple tips to help you survive your first few months in Australia. 1. When waiting in a line for customer service, even if you are in the front of the line and there's an empty service counter, only proceed to the counter when the server calls for you. This is a typical situation in most shop cashiers, banks, post offices, insurance, university student help centres etc. The server might be busy doing something else, which could be private. Hence, only when they call for you, it then is polite to move to the counter. 2. On public transport, you are expected to give your seat to the less mobile. On public transport including buses, ferries, trains, trams, etc, you are expected as a polite measure to give your seat to those who are less mob...

As Christian women, we are not bound by a set of rules on how to dress as we are free in Christ. However, what we do should not stumble another (Romans 14). What we wear as women, can stumble another. Men are easily influenced by how women dress - Lust. And according to the bible, Lust = Adultery (Matthew 5:28).  Young women are also easily influenced by their peers to dress according to fashion. This potential obsession about how one's dress draws away the importance of dressing modestly, focusing on godliness and good works (1 Tim 2). And today's fashion is far from modest. That said, Here are a few tips about how women should dress to avoid stumbling another brother or sister. 1. Watch your... Bums, thighs, cleavage, back! These are areas which most men get sexually aroused. Is your bum cheeks showing? Thighs are really attractive too. Cleavage - are you showing too much? Your back, does your clothes have a plunging back line? 2. It's not about the piece...