Technically, we joined the student exchange program organized by the Faculty of Computer and Mathematical Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) and University of Wollongong (UoW), Australia. Only two students were selected, one from the Statistics field (that's ME!!) and the other is from the Mathematics field (that's Wahidah).
As we didn't have much to start off, thus, we creatively search alternatives to make the capital just enough for our stay there. Allah had made ease to our quest in seeking knowledge, Alhamdulillah.
PRE-DEPARTURE
Starting with the air flight ticket, the day we obtained the approval from the faculty, the same day Malaysia Airlines (MAS) had a promotion of RM1499 for a two-way flight to Sydney. Syukur ya Allah, total together with insurance was about RM1676 per person.
Since each of us never travelled outside from Malaysia, therefore, we need to apply for a passport. Luckily for us, Malaysia has a one-day policy of having the passport done. I almost couldn't get my passport ready for the flight booking, as I was born in Kuching, Sarawak and the policy is that the passport processing can only be completed in 5 working days. However, I was very very very lucky because my parents were from the Peninsular Malaysia, thus, I have to just show a proof to verify that. In this case, this meant showing my birth certificate. Well, you and I know that if you have your IC with you, you will never ever though about bringing along your birth certificate, don't you? I had to rush back to get the birth certificate, and then had to make a copy. All of these processes took us from 2pm and completed at 5pm. We obtained a passport for RM100 which is valid for 2 years. We were feeling great!!
As for accommodations, we did a booked to stay at Kieraview, a local backpacker lounge in Wollongong which we had to pay AUD34 per night. It was considered cheap. However, we do have a very extremely strict budget. Alternatively, I announced in FB to get my students to help out. Guess what? Accommodations starting from arrival in Sydney, the two -weeks stay in Wollongong and departure back had been planned out perfectly.
A DAY BEFORE THE TRIP
Thursday, 12.02.2015
I didn't exchange money until the last minute because I wanted to best rate. The money changer at the Setia City Mall gave a rate of 2.88 which is reasonable enough for me.
That last week was dreadful as I needed to complete a paper to be submitted to a conference. Even the day before departure, I was still in the lab completing some work. However, some planning and a list really helped.
However, I do have some reservations to some incidents which I ordered a few things online and it didn't arrive as scheduled. I did
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| My sling bag I bought from Sometimes by Asean Designers |
D-DAY
Friday, 13.02.2015
Since Allah has His blessing towards us, the departure was not that bad. Only for the fact that we had queued for an hour just to find that we should have a queue directly to the last-call center, and I left my passport on the previous counter (which was a heart-stopping moment) that I rushed back to the previous counter and just in time to check-in the luggages. After saying goodbye to my
Our journey started with an empty stomach and a great anticipation!
To be continued....
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