eSIM for travelling abroad

A friend introduced this to me during a recent trip to Asia and it’s such a game changer.

As you know, in Europe, there are free roaming if you have an EU SIM, but what’s if you have to travel outside of this comfort zone where roaming can become extremely expensive. Well, until recently, I’ve found a solution. eSIM from Airalo.

Benefits:

• You don’t have to buy a physical sim, the eSim can be installed digitally in your phone (if you have a smart phone) and don’t have to worry about how to activate the SIM if you don’t know the local language.
• No need to remove your current SIM, the eSIM can be purchased with different packages for data in a very reasonable price range
• Can buy eSIM in multiple countries

With that said, here’s the referral link so that you can get a small amount discount:

Use code HA9489 when you sign up or apply it at checkout. https://ref.airalo.com/NhfJ

You’re welcome 🙂

A 5-year journey

My first day in London

Today 5 years ago was my first day in London and this was the first picture of London I took with my LG G3 (later on got stolen near Stratford). I think this pic captured London quite well, it’s London without the filter, red double-decker bus, black cab, depressing grey sky, tube station, pedestrians walking, … probably missing a Pret-A-Manger store somewhere, but anyway.

I came to London on a one-way flight ticket, just wanted to get out of my depression and see the world. At that time I had no job, stayed at a backpacker hostel near London Bridge, visited many job agencies to try to find a low paying bookkeeping role and also applied to be a waitress, didn’t even know how to do a Pivot table or v-lookup in Excel, planned was to work part-time and travel full-time until I’m broke then hop back to Oz. It later turned out to be the opposite.

Lots of things have happened since. I upgraded my skills and got to do the job that I like for a big international company with many benefits. I have fallen in and out of love a few times. I’ve travelled to more than 30 countries. I voted in the UK referendum and saw London through Brexit and the terrorist attacks. I moved to Dublin then Amsterdam. I bought my first apartment here in the Netherlands. Life has been full of surprises ever since.

Now I am working from the comfort of my own apartment in Amsterdam. Life doesn’t always go according to plan, isn’t it 😉 but such is life. And that’s why the question ‘Where do you see yourself in 5 years?’ in job interviews always seems silly to me. 5 years ago I would never envision myself still in Europe, in home-quarantine with 50 tomato and chilli plants in my balcony and in my kitchen. Only a few things that have never changed through all these times are the bloody grey sky and my relationship status.

The last 5 years are kind of my pursuit of happiness and I am glad to say that I’ve found it. At one low point in my life I thought it didn’t exist but it does, you just have to get out there and find it.

So, here to the next 5 years of my life. I’ll never know what lie ahead but I will embrace every moment of it. My goal of 2021 is to buy a second house with a garden and I hope to adopt a dog, yes, I want to become a dog mom!

My New Zealand trip in 2014 videos

A quick video I put together

Back to Perth

1:15 am 28/09/2019, the Malaysia airline MH127 landed in Perth airport and I was one of the passengers. A sense of nostalgia quickly swept my mind, but this wasn’t a coming home trip, this is just a visit, and soon enough within a week of landing, I found closure and answers to many things in my mind.

When my brother picked me up from the airport and drove me home, sitting in his car, watching the familiar street sights appearing through the windscreen, memories started rushing back, for a moment I could not believe that this was my life 4 years ago. Things are so quiet, things have not changed a bit, I felt like I have never left, and somehow a sense of loneliness and isolation came back to my mind, like the (bad) old days. In a way, I felt glad that I took a leap of faith and my life has never been the same since.

In the last weeks, visiting my old frequent places in Perth and seeing old faces again, here are a few mental notes I take for myself

1. Would I ever return to live in Perth?  I think the answer to this question is quite obvious: No. I have contemplated this idea in the past but this visit helps affirm the answer. Living here again would bring back the bad memories I had, the sense of isolation and loneliness, the depression that I went through, the routine, the inability to travel, … I honestly don’t think I could do it all over again. I like liveliness, excitement, the opportunities to travel on the weekend, nature and history, diverse culture and people, and a sense of belonging. I could not find them here. I told myself and many others people before that coming to Perth was one of the mistakes I’ve made, I did not know about Perth before I arrived 11 years ago, I listened to my high school teacher who praised Perth to the sky and talked down on Melbourne or Sydney, and ignorantly I listened to her, hence I chose Perth. But oh boy when I travelled to Melbourne in 2013, Gosh I fell in love with the city. But I think things happen for a reason. Had I not lived in Perth and went through and the ups and downs, I would not have been in Europe and living my life today, probably would have settled in Mel by now. So for that, I am grateful for the ‘bad’ experience that brought me to where I am today.
2. Happiness is a choice. I saw an old colleague of mine yesterday, then visited the office where I used to work. While I was roaming Europe in the last 4 years, people that I know here are still living their routine daily life, doing the same stuff, maybe with some changes like having a business or having children now, but pretty much the same thing, little major changes or excitement (or at least I see it that way). After a coffee with the girl who trained me when I was a junior accountant where we both agreed that the place we used to work at was very mundane, boring, and the bosses are exploitative, paid us peanuts despite the fact that we were qualified accountants and the cost of living in Perth is so high , I went to that very same office, and not much to my surprise, my good old colleagues are still there!  4 years have passed and they are still there, working for the same boss, and do not get the salary they deserve. A realisation came to my mind that happiness is a choice, it’s the decision and the action you choose to make. I chose to leave that place because I wanted to change my life, I did not have a clue of what I would be doing in the UK at the time but I made the jump, and 4 years later and one hell of a roller coaster ride, I am sitting there in their office, asking why they would not do the same, and all I felt was the fear of going to the unknown and doing something that is out of their comfort zone. In other words, they are too settled, too settled of their routine life, and have long accepted that this is how their life should be, without the will power to make a drastic change. In a way, I feel proud of myself for making the decision that everyone was against me at that time, but it brought me here today, to a much happier place, doing the job that I love, surrounding myself with the people that I love, living the life I’ve dreamt of, and just want to rub it in their faces, earning twice (or more) as much as I was earning when I was here.

So, decision is clear, I will not return to live in Perth, and I am not sure there would be another visit soon, but I am really looking forward to the road trip down to Esperance next week with my brother, because despite of everything, WA  has stunning natural beauties.

SendMyBag discount code

Click the link below to receive discount on your next order

 

https://www.sendmybag.com/?affid=257374

Moving to Ireland guide – part 1 – Visa and Work Permit

Big Hello from Dublin, I have been here exactly 10 days so far, starting a new life in a new country, again.

Dublin reminds me of Perth very much, with small CBD surrounded by suburbs and it’s a city along the coast line, but more on my impression of Dublin later. I arrived in Dublin last Sunday, went for an interview on Tuesday and got the job offer on Friday, also have just moved in my new rental place yesterday (Tuesday), I am also waiting for a call from Facebook for a second interview (if I pass the screening phone call last Friday). Lots have been happening over the last week.

Ok, main topic, Visa and Work Permit in Ireland.

If you are from Australia or any other countries and planning to move to Dublin to work under Working Holiday Authorisation like myself, I am here to give you all the details and helpful info to make your move to this friendly country easier.

1. Applying for your Working Holiday Authorisation (WHA)

As an Australian citizen, I don’t need a visa to visit Ireland. However, because I want to work and live in Ireland for more than 3 months, I first must obtain a Working Holiday Authorisation (WHA), this authorisation let me stay and work in Dublin for 1 year (subject to conditions).

As I was living in London at the time I made my decision to move to Ireland, luckily Australians who reside in the UK can apply through the Irish Visa Office in London, the process is quite simple and straight forward, you only need to invest time in gathering documents.

How to apply for this visa from the UK

First, check if you are under 31 years of age with a passport, if yes, you can continue reading. If not, this visa is not for you.

You would need the following:

If cities are like lovers

This month marks my 12 years being an expat. Over the last decade, my time was split across over 3 continents: Asia, Australia and Europe. I have lived in 4 different cities and I am about to move the 5th city in the 5th country in just a few days. One of the most common questions people often ask me is that which one is my favourite. Well, of course there are things I really like, and really dislike about each place. On this occasion, I’d like to approach this comparison from a different perspective and draw from my experience as if each city was a person, a boy friend, a lover.

Let’s start with my home town.

1. Da Nang, Vietnam

https://www.instagram.com/p/5_5HUmoFDX/

He was the first boy I’ve known,

How to travel more for less – part 1 – flight

Hello to all budget travellers out there, here is some tips to get you travel more for less, or cheaper, so let’s get straight into it.

Flights

Probably is one of the biggest cost of your trip especially when you travel overseas, unless you live in Europe then you can take advantage of the multiple budget airlines and their offers. So, here are some tips to make that next flight booking more affordable

1. Taking advantage of frequent flyer (FF) programs 

Points, points, points … They are like the bitcoins of budget travellers as you can convert them into flights, accommodation, car booking, etc. Are you a member of any FF program? If not, please enrol for one, it’s free and will help to save you in cost later.

To maximise point collections:

How to get free accommodation when travelling

If you are a budget traveller like myself, we tend to look for the cheapest accommodation to book, usually most of us who don’t want to pay for fancy hotels would end up at the traditional backpacker hostels, or a bit fancier, Bed & Breakfast. If you travel in a group, airbnb is a great option where you can book the whole place and split the cost, which can be very economical and it offers more privacy and luxury compared to hostels.

However, there are many other options when it comes to seeking cheap accommodation, or even better, FREE. I’m not talking about packing a tent and camp in the park, which can be cruel in hot summer days or winter, here are a few better alternatives for accommodation:

Lessons I learned when I moved abroad and why you should do the same too

https://www.instagram.com/p/3mG7YHoFB3/

Hi, my name is Ha and I turned 27 last month. Till date, I have stepped foot in over 20 nations in the world and have lived in 4 different countries across 3 continents, and in about 2 months, I will be making a move to a 5th country.

People move house, I move continent.

Some people spend their entire life at one place and never know the outside world, and here I am, about to make a new life in a 5th country, which at this point in time, I do not know where I am going next. Potential contenders: Ireland, the Netherlands, or even a bit further, the USA. Basically anywhere that takes my passport. Guess you will have to come back and find out in 2 months time.

Why I move to so many places and how I do it? Here are the tips & lessons I’ve learned from over a decade of being an expat (or as I call it: citizen of the world) and why I think you should at least move abroad once in your life.