ME :)

The Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS) which begins on the 27th November 2008 will now replace the old Working Holiday Visa. The new YMS is very enticing for citizens of the following countries, Australia, Canada, Japan and New Zealand. If you are aged between 18-31, want to work and travel around the world, then this is the visa for you.

I will now make a comparison of the two visas so you can see what the new visa is offering.

Previously the Working Holiday Visa allows you to stay in the UK for 2 years and you can only work for a maximum of 12 months. The YMS allows you to stay in the UK for 2 years and you can now work for the full duration, that is 24 months!

Not only can you stay and work for 2 years, the YMS has also cut the visa application fee by 50%!

If you want more information about this visa please visit the British High Commision in Australia website located at http://ukinaustralia.fco.gov.uk/

While we are on the topic of Visas, I am surprised that the UK are issuing and advertising these new Visas despite the growing concern of over-population in the UK. There has been alot of media coverage on the topic of immigration in the UK of late and the growing debate over how to stem the tide of immigration into the UK.

I believe most of the immigration is due to the influx of EU immigrants and thus have introduced the new points based system for Non-EU immigrants coming into the UK. They are basically saying, if you do not meet the points criteria then you are not welcomed into the country unless you are there as a tourist for a short term holiday.

If you feel that the UK is not your cup of tea (excuse the pun), then why not try living and working in Canada? They offer working holiday visas for Australian citizens that are valid for 2 years and you can work for the full duration.

smiles

Day 3 (19/10/2008)

Today it was time to finally check out Lisbon. The weather was good, there weren’t many people around seeing it was Sunday and I had the entire day.

Started the day off again at Cais do Sodre, walked towards the Praça do Comércio (Commerce Square) where the statue of King José I resides. Then it was onwards to downtown Lisbon where I found the Elevador de Santa Justa which was a tower in the center with 360 degree views of the city. It’s a pity they put a café at the top of the tower with absolutely no room to move.

The Castelo De Sao Jorge (Sao Jorge Castle) was the next point of interest so I started looking for the tram to get up there as it did look quite high and wasn’t in the mood to walk up there in the heat. However that didn’t eventuate and before I did find a tram up to the castle, I was already at the top. That’s what you get for walking around randomly and no direction.

I did venture inside the castle grounds and admired the view from up above and took a bit of time to relax under the shade. The Tower Of Ulysess was inside the grounds and might I add it is not for those with a fear of height. The steps can be precariously slippery and with one stumble, you could seriously hurt yourself. You can go around the entire tower and see Lisbon and surrounds at 360 degrees.

That was it for me in terms of Lisbon and now it was time to find the train station to Sintra. The train station Rossio is cleverly disguised. It doesn’t even look like a train station; it looks more like a museum. When you go inside, you will see elevators that go up to the trains and where you purchase your tickets.

Sintra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its Romantic Architecture. It takes about 40 minutes by train from Lisbon to Sintra at a cost of 4.80EUR. When you arrive at Sintra, its about 10 minute walk to the city centre where you will immediately see the palace grounds and the hoards of tourist eating at the restaurants. There’s a few alley ways with shops and eateries but other than that, there isn’t much else.

So what should you do? Well take the bus up (or if you are energetic, walk up) to Moorish Castle or Pena Castle and gaze at the amazing views of the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park and the Sintra town down below. Moorish castle itself is a wonderful castle to explore. It’s location on top of the mountain has a great vantage point in all corners of the surrounding areas. Just take notice that it can be an effort to climb the stairs to various lookout points but it is not that demanding.

When heading back to the train station to go back to Lisbon, the traffic in the small town was chaotic. It barely moved and I was wondering where everyone was going to. What a nightmare! Speaking of transport, there was a bizarre incident at a train station on the way back to Lisbon.

Most of the train stations had platforms, underground walkways or bridges to cross from one platform to the other. Well not at this particular train station. You had to guess which platform the train would arrive at. If you guessed wrong, you would have to run to either end of the train (8 carriages in length) and run back around to board the train.

So that is what happened, people were on the wrong side of the platform, and with the amount of people on that platform, I am still amazed everyone managed to get on. Some people were running on the tracks just to get around the other side, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, was I really in Portugal?

Back in Lisbon, it was an easy bus ride to the Airport now that I knew where the actual bus stop was to the Airport. I was starving at the time and luckily I didn’t eat anything outside where you check in because there was crap to eat. Normally this is not the case at other airports. So I took a gamble and went through security into the waiting terminal and it paid off because there were plenty of restaurants you could choose from!

Good thing there were plenty of food options because my plane was delayed by 3 hours. Since it is delayed 3 hours, I’ve missed the last train into Kings Cross station so I had to find an alternative way to get back. The options were to stay at the hotel and go to work in the morning or catch the bus back into Victoria and then catch another bus home. It was such a bad delay and by the time I got to London it was about 1am.

There happened to be a bus waiting outside back to Victoria which I caught, then got another bus to Hackney before wandering around the area for a taxi. I didn’t get home till 4am and I was due to get up in 3 hours to go to work. Ah I absolutely hate delays just like everyone else with a passion! Bad way to end a great trip.

smiles

Day 2 (18/10/2008)

I don’t know how I just walked straight past a Metro underground station when trying to find it near the hotel. At that point I thought that this city didn’t have underground trains and the only transportation they had were these tiny trams and buses. How could this be?

After walking up and down the main road, waiting at the tram and bus stops, looking at the maps on display I was adamant that there were trains; I just had to find them.

The Metro Underground train do exist but in the suburbs they are not marked very well. It was just a rectangular sign which said Metro on it (obviously) but I walked pass 2 of them. There is a stairwell leading down to the train station but since I was walking the opposite way, I didn’t even see the stairs. What’s wrong with my vision?

At the Intendente metro station I purchased a ticket to go to Cais do Sodre in order to catch another train to Cascais which was towards the coast. The return ticket was 1.70EUR but its worth mentioning that you get yourself a travel card or something for the weekend/week.

With the ticket purchased it was time descend to the train but I was stuck at the barrier to reach the train. Basically the ticket was like a piece of fine cardboard paper, so I was expecting to slot it into the machine near the barrier and just walk through. Wrong! There were no slots, so I was thinking, what the hell? Then this old lady who was on the other side started yelling at me in most likely Portuguese but I had no idea what she was saying but her charades worked. It turns out that this ticket must be swiped on the pad so there must be some sort of encoding on it that these pads can read. Ah this technology has out-smarted me.

It was a fairly short trip to Cais do Sodre where I disembarked and purchased another ticket to Cascais. These tickets were not the same as the ones on Metro but you can put credit on it for that journey. Cais do Sodre to Cascais is about 40 minutes.

Cascais in its former life was a small fishing town but now is a popular holiday town which is not surprising. You can enjoy a walk along the beach or hang out at the many cafes overlooking the coast. You can wander through the cobbled streets, or head towards the marina to gawk at all the yachts. You might even be interested in visiting the castle or take a dip at the beach. If you fancy a walk like I did, head down to Boca de Inferno (Hell’s Mouth) and along the way admire the lovely Portuguese coast line. Don’t forget to protect yourself from the sun with the sunscreen as the sun can be scorching out there.

After a couple hours in Cascais it was time to bid farewell and head to the next town Estoril which is a walk-able distance, but I opted for the train instead (2 stops). Estoril has the famous Estoril Casino and some nice beaches plus salt water swimming pools for those who don’t want to take a dip in the ocean. Beware of those characters who roam the beach side trying to sell you jewellery; they can be somewhat annoying despite not being faintly interested in what they are selling.

I chose a great day to head to the coast where the sun was shining while back in Lisbon it was raining and it looked miserable with the dark clouds. Just before heading back to the hotel I made a stop to Belem to check out the Torre de Belém (Tower of Belem), Padrão dos Descobrimentos (Monument to the Discoveries) and the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos (Jerónimos Monastery).

Also from Belem you can see what looks to be like the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco but it is The 25th of April Bridge. The other similarity is that it is the same construction company who built it. At the end of the bridge is a giant statue of Jesus but not to the scale of the one in Rio de Janeiro. You could say that the statue in Portugal is like the sister statue to the one in Brazil.

smiles

Day 1 (17/10/2008)

The rain fell when I disembarked from the EasyJet plane at Lisbon International Airport. The hotel was meant to be only 15 km from the airport but I had a nightmare finding it. Bus 22 takes me into central Lisbon and there was supposed to be a stop I had to get off at so I could walk to the hotel but I had no idea which stop it was and because it was night, I had no chance!

On bus 22 into the city, I had a piece of paper with me which said get off at this station. I showed this to the bus driver and asked him if the bus had already passed this stop. No, I wasn’t deaf but he said yes. I tried to get off the bus but he closed the door on me then re-opened it to let me out. I think it was a lack of understanding between each other because this stop was still miles away from the Hotel. I needed to learn some Portuguese.

I thought I was able to walk to the Hotel from the bus stop that I had disembarked from so I tried in vain in the rain and the nightmare of the cobbled footpaths. When these cobbled rocks are wet, it is very slippery and I have to tread carefully otherwise I will slip and fall flat on my face. You need to be even more careful when the street is steeper than that playground slide.

When I got fed up with the rain and the cobbled streets, I hailed a taxi and arrived at the hotel in no time at a measly cost of 5 euros. I should have taken a taxi to begin with instead of fighting with the map and the cobbled streets. I could have hopped on the bus 22 again but I had no change and nothing was opened.

The hotel was cheap at a cost of 50 euros for 2 nights. You get a bed, tv, cupboard and a basin. The bathroom and toilet was in the opposite room which was never occupied. The breakfast room was just outside your door. It’s not bad a bad price for a simple place to stay. It can get noisy in the morning when everyone is having breakfast but you should be up by that time ready for the day’s adventures.

smiles

Usually mobile phone companies spam you with offers to get the latest phone or to upgrade your current plan to something more expensive with all these great offers and benefits.

Now that I am back in Melbourne for a short term holiday, I am on an Australian pre-paid phone so that I can call friends and family with cheaper call rates. I received a promotion today from the phone company outlining a scheme called the I.O.U credit.

In a nut shell, when you are low on credit (less than $1.50aud) and need to make that emergency call or text (it’s happened to me before) you can text the mobile phone company on 468 (IOU on keypad) and they will immediately give you $3aud credit.

The next time you recharge and get more credit, $3aud will be deducted from the credit your purchase. The $3aud credit is only valid for 3 days so any unused portion expires in 3 days and is non-refundable.

I think this is a great idea for those emergency situations.