Mail in the UK

OK, I've had it with the mail service in the UK.

I've had a number of packages waiting for me at the Post office. Waiting for me to pick up, as I wasn't home when they tried to deliver. I don't have a problem with that. What I have a problem with is not being left a card, to let me know this is the case.

I've never had that happen to me in Australia and I've never had any packages lost in the mail in the 7 years that I've been on eBay and doing online purchases. That was until I started buying things online in the UK.

Over the last 3 months:

Service	Expected	Received/Carded	Picked up but not carded	Missing	Notes
DHL	3	3	0	0	All packages were received in the leadup to Christmas. Top job DHL.
Parcelforce	1	0	1	0
Royal Mail	18	11	3	4	One package was missing but ended up being returned to sender

I'll let you do the maths but those aren't great odds.

And yes I know there's been bad weather and Christmas is always a little crazy. But I've done transactions in Australia around Christmas time and I've NEVER experienced any losses.

In the 5 months that I've been in my new address in London I've received 2 letters for someone else. This doesn't include past residents but letters that have a different address, different post codes. It's almost like the sorting office just sent random mail to random addresses.

Just last night my friend in Australia informed me that one of her parcels which she sent to me in November 2010 has just returned to her in Australia. Indications are a delivery attempt was made on 14 Jan 2011. And then it was sent to the post office for collection. But I never received a card. She received it back in Australia on 28 Jan 2011.

She sent another package earlier in Jan which luckily she had tracking for. Again delivery was attempted on 24 Jan 2011. But I never received a card.

I actually think this is criminal. There are some fundamental issues with the UK postal service. But it seems it's all too hard to fix.

I tried to submit a complaint to Royal Mail via their website. I've been told to send it in writing to:
Royal Mail
Complaints Department
PO Box 740
Glasgow
G22 6WW

So save yourself some time and send it in writing to the above address if you are fed up with Royal mail.

I'm going to send a complaint to Parcelforce later today as well:
http://www.parcelforce.com/portal/pw/content2?catId=2500046&mediaId=19900226

Travel Tip: Aussies travelling overseas

Ok so I packed up my life and headed off on my big adventure. I'm going to write about stuff that I think will help other travellers who might be following in my foot steps.

The main concern for most travellers is currency exchange. Do I exchange to cash, traveller's cheques or use my card?

Well it's always good to have a main source and to also carry a backup.

So I took cash as my backup and I have a "Wizard Clear Advantage" Mastercard. It's a no frills credit card. Which has minimal fees but their customer service isn't particularly great. What they do have is no "foreign transaction fee". Which means you can purchase something overseas and not get slogged with an extra fee. Another thing you can do with this card is withdraw cash overseas. You can do this without incurring interest or fees by overloading your card with your own money.

So hypothetically lets say my credit limit is AU$2000. I would pay the credit card up so it has a $0 balance and then load up an extra AU$500 for my trip. So when I log into the credit card's web site I would see Available cash: $2500. I would then rock up to any ATM which accepts Mastercard and then withdraw the funds I needed.

One thing to note, some ATMs will charge you a fee. I wasn't fully aware of this before I landed in Thailand. Most ATMs in Thailand will charge you a 150baht fee. But there is one bank/company which doesn't. Look for AEON ATMs they are usually near Lotus supermarkets. They didn't charge me a fee when I withdrew money from their ATM. But all other ATMs that I used did.

Having said all that. Thailand and Malaysia do have very good exchange rates in those small booths. So bringing cash works quite well in those countries. Countries like the UK and Japan don't have great exchange rates out on the street and for these countries I would recommend my Card method of exchange.

The exchange rate at Aussie exchange booths back at home are terrible. They're ok for small exchanges but if you are going for a long period then I would use the card method. Having said that it's always good to have a little foreign currency to get out of the airport. As exchange booths at airports are far worse.

Another thing to take note of and research are vaccinations. You can just go to your family doctor and get jabbed for everything but you might find that you don't actually need them. Do the research and you might save yourself some money (and a little pain).

The cheapest travel insurance that I have been using over the last 6 years is "Defence Health" travel insurance. I found them while I was serving with the Army Reserves but they also sell policies to civvies. They are the cheapest for international travel insurance (that I could find). But again do your own due diligence. One thing of note, especially for those heading over for long periods like myself. They don't refund your policy pro-rata if you return early. And your policy ends when you set foot back on Australian soil. So if you have a 12 month policy and you come home to visit family 6 months in. Your 12 month policy ends and you don't get any refund for the unused portion. You will need to take out another policy before you return overseas. So what you can do is take out a short policy and then extend the policy up to 12 months. But please check this as their policies might change.

Make sure you read the fine details of your insurance policy to cover you against the activities you plan to do. I know it sounds like simple common sense. But you'll be surprised at what activities you are NOT covered for.

More to come...

Chan's trip since 1st July 2010

Ok, sorry for not posting earlier but internet access was somewhat slow off GPRS.

My flight from Melbourne to KL on 1 July 2010 was pretty uneventful. But it was late by about 30mins which ate into my 2 hour transfer time to my next flight from KL to Bangkok. Luckily that flight was delayed due to weather anyway so I had plenty of time. But LCCT, KL airport's budget terminal can be a bit of a nightmare for the uninitiated even for the veteran traveller. I'm happy to report that AirAsia's new seats are a big improvement over the previous version. More room and you can actually lean your seat back. Although they don't have power points for every seat anymore. Which for an IT guy is a bit of a pain. Luckily I have 5 mobile phone batteries and 2 seasons of Lost to keep me sain. The lay flat seats were actually lay flat. Close but not quite. I'm considering upgrading my seat just for the power point so I can watch movies on the flight from KL to London. I'll have to see how my finances are like.

My flight from KL to Bangkok as mentioned was late due to weather which was a blessing and a pain. It meant my Aunty and Uncle had to wait until about 11pm for me which obviously isn't good. And the approach to Bangkok airport was some what turbulent so much so that the flight host/hostess's had to drop to the floor and there were a few screems from the passengers. It was actually kinda fun. Oh and the lady sitting next to me had a bottle of water in her handbag which exploded due to the decreased pressure. This of course meant that there was water dripping down from teh overhead compartment. Fun and joys of traveling through south east Asia I suppose.

I spent 6 days with my Aunty Namtip, uncle Bong and cousin Tana. I have high hopes for Tana. His English is pretty much as good as a native speaker and he's a bright kid. My time with my family was quite busy. My grandfather was in hospital recovering from an operation so we spent a bit of time with him there. I also spent a bit of time wondering around central Bangkok window shopping and also checking out the damage caused by the recent riots. I'm glad to report that there isn't any more unrest and things are pretty much back to normal. Although there are some buildings that were burnt most places are up and running as per usual.

I attended a ceremony for my father on the 6th of July. It was a very quick one as my step mom and sisters had to go to work and school respectively.

I met up with Jocelin and Adrian on the 6th of July for our flight from Bangkok to Koh Samui. The flight was in a turbo prop plain which means the propellers were exposed. This is my first time in this kind of aircraft so it was a little exciting. It was a pretty small plane but it did the job.

We arrived in Koh Samui and were picked up by the resort transfer guy. We stayed in a resort called "The Kala". It was a pretty flash resort. I think I will be taking Anna back there at some stage. Although there were two things that weren't so good. First was the location being a few kilometres from the nearest eatery and there was no Wifi internet. But the views were to die for. Definately made the trip that much easier.

We expected good diving off Koh Saumi. But we found that although there were heaps of dive shops there wasn't actually any dive sites off Koh Samui. It appears people use it as a launching point to go to Koh Tao. We did how ever do one day of diving from Koh Samui on a site called Sail Rock. It was ok but the vis was poor by my standard. Joz and Adrian loved it though. We also spent half a day snorkelling off Lamai beach. I sustained a few cuts when I slipped off some rocks but nothing that a few days of healing won't mend.

So we've now arrived in Koh Tao. We took the Lomprayah Catamaran from Koh Samui to Koh Tao. It made two stops in between where some of the passengers got off. Apparently one of our bags which contained all of our snorkeling gear was mistakenly offloaded in one of these stops. So the lesson learnt was to keep an eye on your bags and make sure it's not offloaded. I was hoping the crew would know what they were doing... But this is South East Asia... We arrived in Koh Samui at 10am and they told us to come back at 3pm to collect the bag. Oh well. Lets hope it is in fact our bag... And it arrives.

We are currently staying in a place called "Simple Life Resort". So far it's been good. It looks clean and spacious.

More to follow....

Crazy couple of weeks

The last couple of weeks have been something else. Little sleep. Lots of packing and cleaning. I've got way too much stuff for my own good. I'll definately choose wisely before I buy my next gadget.

I still can't believe I got it all done. I sold my Nissan Pulsar today just in time. I didn't get as much for it as I would have hoped but I suppose you have to take the good and the bad.

I'm currently staying at the Hilton Melbourne Airport. Not bad, kind of small and the blinds need maintenance. But acceptable to my standards. That's not really saying much though.

My flight plans are as follows:
Melbourne to KL:
Flight: D72725
Departing:
Melbourne (MEL)
Melbourne Airport
01 Jul 2010
1225 hrs

Arriving
Kuala Lumpur (KUL)
LCC Terminal
01 Jul 2010
1840 hrs

Then dash for the connecting flight:
Flight: FD3576
Departing:
Kuala Lumpur (KUL)
LCC Terminal
01 Jul 2010
2055 hrs

Arriving:
Suvarnabhumi International Airport (BKK)
01 Jul 2010
2155 hrs

I hope there aren't any delays. I might have cut this one a little close...

Wish me luck everyone!

SMS Spam

How annoying. I got two SMS's last night at about 3:30am (+10 GMT). Both from 19706970

First SMS:
>REPLY with OK<< 2get porno name! SP GlobalBilling.help1300558851$5.00 pmsg 2p/week Mobile VIP subscription signup $10.00 Txt stop 2stop >>REPLY OK<

Second:
(FreeMsg)>>>Reply with YES<<< to confirm your mobile number! >>>Reply YES<<< Mobile VIP SP Global Billing.Help1300558851$5p/msg 3p/week to sub

What should you do if you also find these a nuisance? Report them to the ACMA: http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_310294
By forwarding the SMS to: 0429 999 888

I'm a MCP!

Woohoo. I passed... I completed my 70-536 exam yesterday. I was a little disappointed that I didn’t get over 900 but 894 isn’t too shabby. Some of you are probably thinking “what’s he on about?”. Basically it means I passed a Microsoft Exam. Microsoft will now vouch that I can develop applications using the Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0

Realistically it doesn’t mean a whole lot. I’ll need to do at least one more exam before it’s really worth anything. So I’ll again hit the books. But probably not today...

For anyone else thinking of doing any of the Microsoft exams and need advice. Drop me a message. I’ll assist if I can.

FYI. MCP: Microsoft Certified Professional.

Big Move

Wow what a week. I've been furiously moving my stuff across to my new place. Today was the big move with most of my stuff coming over. There's about one more car load and then I'll be well and truly done.

It's a strange feeling having my own place. It's bigger than my last place so I kind of feel lonely. It's a strange feeling. I'm generally a very solitary kind of guy but I think all this extra space makes me want to fill it.

Today was somewhat stressful. Fadrian, Media and Victor helped me pack and move some of my stuff. Leave the larger stuff to Charlie (the Boga recommended removalist). Charlie was fast, efficient and most importantly he has a big truck. As for Fadrian and Media... Well they were the "professional" movers (having done it quite a few times between them.

I'm somewhat lazy. I take things slowly but not Fadrian and Media. Once they have a task to do then they just get to it. Grab the lot and find a box... Wham bam thank you maam... It did get the job done but I think it made it a little harder for me to unpack as I don't know what's in which box. Although I do need to do a big culling of my junk.

At the moment my second bedroom is full of stuff. And so is my living room. I've got to move things around to get around. Oh and I'm on dialup. Man I never thought I would ever be back on dialup. But hey here I am.

I'm still waiting for someone to offer me ADSL2+. TPG gave me the run around. First telling me they do have ports and then later telling me they don't have port. I've recently signed up with ComCen. But I don't have much hope there I think as I've been told there's only one port left at my exchange... Oh well them's the breaks. I might have to stick with regular ADSL and wait for ADSL2+ to be available.

Oh well that's it for now. (I wonder who would actually be reading this?).
PS. Man my neighbours are loud... There's some chick scream at some guy next door I think... I hope this isn't the norm.
Signing out, -Chan