Lost Purse in Perth

From the East Coast of Australia some people find it pretty difficult to find a decent price to fly to the West Coast of Australia. The only reason I did was because I found a flight with Tiger Airlines that was 1 cent. The trip from Canberra to Melbourne to Perth return can usually cost up to $600 return but because of the flights that tiger offers it ended up costing half of that. Even though Tiger is said to have many problems, they are always late, and you have to pay for everything on board, this trip went without a hitch....well....kind of.

Fun Fact: When trying to locate your purse and passport that you might have left either on the plane or in the airport is a lot harder then it sounds.

Dana and I arrived in Perth with high hopes of warm sunny weather with the opportunity to do lots of shopping. Our flight landed pretty late at night so we took a shuttle to the Old Swan Barracks Hostel in downtown Perth. This hostel was perfectly located close to downtown, trains and buses, and many different restaurants. After realizing that Dana was without her purse, that night was spent devising a plan to get it back as quickly as possible.




The next morning couldn't come fast enough for Dana. She raced to the airport to see if anything could be done about her missing bag. Me...Well I tried to see what could be done about her missing passport, and once I left the police station there was nothing to do but explore the city. Across the street from our hostel was a square that was home to many different cafes, museums, and the library..? It was a nice sunny warm fall day and walking through this square was great. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once Dana arrived back from the airport later that morning, we decided to take our minds off things by touring the rest of the city. Her friend Chris came to visit and he was able to show us around Perth. Not knowing much of the city, I was quite surprised to find out how small the city actually was. It was nothing like I had imagined it to be, but it met and exceeded all of my expectations. Chris showed us Hay and Murray street which are the two main shopping streets. He then took us to the bell tower which is down by the river. It is made entirely out of glass and you can see the whole city from the top.
After our tour of the city, Chris took us to Kings park. This park overlooks the city and it has some of the most beautiful views of the city. There are many monuments and cool statues and it is a great place just to chill and hang out. If I had the chance I would have gone back and done a little more exploring.

View of the city from the river

Tree Top Walk at Kings Park

Too much money to pay to go up the tower

London Court

The next day it was a chance for Dana and I to go to Freemantle. This town is a small ocean town that takes about 30 minutes to get to by train. It is an old little town with amazing architecture and cute little beaches. There are a few hostels there and it would have been nice to stay in them because Freemantle was definitely the best part of the trip. There are many tours and things to see. For example the markets that are throughout the town are filled with local art, food, and souvenirs. 

That night Dana finally heard back from the airlines. They had her purse and with that news we headed again to the airport to pick it up. That made our day. The next day was filled with us waiting for Dana's flight to leave. We walked around a little more, and saw a bit more of the city. Then it was time for her to leave. I had so much fun, and even with the added stress of losing Dana's purse and passport, we were still able to enjoy our time in Perth!

Passport Parody

Afraid of losing your passport or any other important travel documents? Well I can tell you from first hand experience that it can be one of the most stressful times while traveling. Here are a few ways that you can prevent the losing/stealing of your passport and some ways of attempting to get it back.

PREVENTION:

1. Unless you need your passport make sure you keep it in a secret place in your room so that no one can find it. But make sure that you can remember where it is because it can be just as bad if you can't find it when you need it.
2. If you are traveling with your passport make sure you constantly check the bag that it is in to make sure you have it. When you are traveling through airports you are needing to show it to so many people and it is very easy to put it down and forget about it.
3. Always put your passport in the same place in your bag. This will prevent you from constantly rummaging through your bag looking frantically for it.

WHAT TO DO IF YOUR PASSPORT IS LOST/STOLEN:

It is important that you take the proper steps to locating your passport or going about getting a new one. However, once you have reported it lost or stolen to the consulate, it is invalid and even if you find it, you won't be able to use it again. These are step by step instructions on how to go about getting your passport back if you have lost it. 

1. Stay calm. There really is no use freaking out because it only makes the situation more complicated and frustrating.
2. Call the airport and ask to speak to the people who are working in the specific terminal where you last saw your purse/bag/passport. They should be able to tell you whether or not someone has turned it in.
3. Call the airlines. Some are more helpful than others when you are trying to figure out whether you left it on the plane, but they should be able to answer your questions about whether or not you left your bag on the plane. 
4. Go to the police. If it is late at night or you are in an area where there is no consulate for your country they will get you to file a police report which you can then use to talk to the embassy when you find one. 
5. Prepare to get emergency travel documents. This is a very important step as there are many things that need to be completed before you can get emergency travel documents. For example, you are going to need to get passport sized photos, and you need to fill in all the necessary forms in order to get the process started. This hopefully can all be done quite quickly especially if you are planning on leaving the country quickly.
6. Locate the nearest consulate and get there as soon as possible if there is no hopes in finding your passport. As previously stated they will help you as quickly as possible and will provide you with more information about getting a new passport when you get back to your home country 

If you are lucky like my friend Dana was, then you will find your passport wherever you left it. After realizing that her purse with her passport in it was left on the airplane and after 2 days with no money, lots of stress, and many many phone calls and emails she was finally told that they had her purse. She went from this:

To this:

And it made a good adventure and story to tell from our trip to Perth.

"Jump Around"

In the mood for listening to some awesome music by some awesome Australian bands? Groovin' the Moo (GTM) is a music festival that happens in May every year in Canberra! Most of the bands that performed are from Australia and the UK but there were a couple from North America such as House of Pain who put on a really good show.

The main stages

This year the line-up included bands such as:

• AC Slater
• Architecture 
• Art Vs Science
• The Aston Shuffle
• Birds of Tokyo
• Bliss N Eso
• Cut Copy
• Darwin Deez
• Datarock
• Drapht
• The Drums
• The GO! Team
• Gotye
• Gyroscope
• The Holidays
• Horrorshow
• House of Pain
• The Jezabels
• Nina Las Vegas
• Sampology
• Unkle Live
• Washington
• The Wombats

House of Pain

Architecture

Gotye

The best thing about this festival is that it is on the University of Canberra campus. A really easy walk for those of us who do not drive. The tents and stages were set up on the fields behind the school. It was awesome because once you are inside, you know so many people due to the fact that most of them either go to UC or they live in res.

Although it was an all ages show, it didn't really matter much as there was a separate area for those who were drinking. Drinks were a little pricey, but as long as you picked up enough cans from the ground to return, the drink turned out to be only a couple of dollars. This was a great way to hang out with my friends, relax, and listen to some great music. Although it was pretty expensive to get a ticket, it was an amazing day with amazing people!

Groovin the Moo travels all around Australia so even if you are not going to be in Canberra, try and catch the festival at any one of the other locations.
http://www.gtm.net.au/
This link directs you to the main page for Groovin the Moo.