Bubbeh

Well another school day for this little black duck. I've only ever boarded a cruise with my Passport and I was totally unaware that any Govt ID Photo ID would do. Mind you, having said that, I've never just cruised domestically, always gone overseas in both senses of the word. Doing the Coral Coast in September Freo-Freo so I wonder if I can just use my Drivers Licence? Probably, but I'll likely use my Passport, my DL licence photo is dreadful but my Passport photo is quite flattering. Just waffling so ignore at will...😉

Our daughter is a bit of a rev head so for her 30th birthday (16 years ago!) we bought her hot laps at a circuit in an industrial area of Perth. It was clear from the moment the engine revved that she was born for this and had certainly missed her calling.

Ah price gouging, you'd never get that over here. 😉

Thanks Charlie, 'tis easy to forget not everyone understands the lingo. 😁

I give the postie, garbos and the council workers a couple of bottles of beer (long necks) at Xmas. I guess that counts as tipping? LOL! I grew up with everyone in my street leaving a couple of king browns for the garbos, postie etc. Back in the day everybody did it, was it to ensure good service? Not really, more to show appreciation for people doing a job that made life easier.

That's me, Little Miss Standard Fare ☺️ .

Try contacting the Directorate General of Immigration Public Relations - evoa@imigrasi.go.id, they are most helpful. However, given the departure date, your friend may wish to look up the website - https://molina.imigrasi.go.id/front/faqs/university#generalquestions - at the bottom of this page is an option for a Live Chat. I wouldn't procrastinate on this though, from what I understand (anyone can correct me if needed) if your friend doesn't have a Visa for Bali, they won't be able to board the ship.

I usually go to Guest Services on the first day and sign off any 'optional' gratuities. If I've had exceptional service from the Cabin Attendant I may give something in an envelope that I leave in the cabin after we've left. I find the whole handing over of cash (albeit in an envelope) face to face very uncomfortable and prefer to avoid that situation. Only once have I failed to leave 'a little something' for the Cabin Attendant and that person was most inattentive and appeared not to like their role at all - forgot to give clean towels, forgot to make the beds, forgot to vacuum the floor etc etc etc.

I've used Uber on a very occasional basis. My granddaughter used Shebah exclusively.

I was also flummoxed by this. My lexicon has now expanded.

I am also going to Bali in a few weeks time, and have successfully applied for Visa. If your friends ship is docking at Benoa (most do) then all they need to put in is the post code 80362 and the form automatically fills in the rest of the address. If they're going to Lombok or somewhere else then, a Google search for the relevant post code will help.

We lived at 'The Gateway' to the Swan Valley for more than 17 years. It's probably where I developed my over-fondness for the fermented juice of the grape. Whenever we return to catch up for lunch with friends at what used to be our local pub, it's a very bitter sweet moment for me.

Esperance is just beautiful and the locals welcome tourists. I could live there if it weren't for the weather and the wind. Brrrr......

I just bought 500gm of smoked salmon (Tasmanian) for $26 from Woolies. Pretty proud of myself.

While I'm very much an advocate of packing for every possible scenario, we do sell clothing here and on most cruise ships. Some of my favourite cruise wardrobe has been an unexpected on board purchase. I've also been known to buy a cardi at an op shop when the weather turned cooler on an excursion and then leave it at the next op shop in the next port. Basically what I'm saying is, if you get caught out, you can always buy something to tide you over.

I'm not a big fan of Singapore, been 3 times now I think almost always as part of a tour group 'enjoying' a few days between boarding a cruise or getting off a cruise and going home. It's not the heat or the humidity, I just find it to be a very sterile environment and the general populous tend to not want to interact. No smiling at randoms here. Anyway, we're off there again next month for 3 nights before taking the P & O Adventure to Sydney for a week. I actually broke 3 toes leaving a Radiance cabin in 2018 and I was very lucky to buy some Nurofen (all my pharmaceuticals had been packed and were already off the ship) at a chemist in the shopping centre next to the airport. At first the pharmacist wanted me to take my shoe off to show him my foot, I explained that if I did that I would not be able to get it back on. He nodded sagely and sold me some strong fast acting ibuprofen. When I eventually got home I had purple, black and cobalt chipolatas where my toes used to be.

My apologies. I meant not offence but have taken your remarks on board.

'Nuff said. 🤮

A winery area is a winery area anywhere in the world. Margaret River is a highly touristy region with prices which reflect that, in addition to a rather unpleasant attitude from the locals when they spot a tourist in their midst. We used to holiday there for a fortnight every year when the kids were young and it was glorious. These days we go once a year to stay a week in a caravan park on our way to Augusta and that's pleasant enough but, I'd give it a big miss in terms of its reputation. If you can come further north I'd try the Bickley Valley for an unspoiled wine area.

Next time we're visiting our daughter in Melba, I just might take you up on that. You never know your luck 😁

Any chance of a dinner invitation..........

Salmon would have to be one of my favourite proteins. I like it cooked through though. Went to a very posh restaurant once and the salmon was gooey in the center, apparently this is 'the how a talented and experienced chef presents salmon' (yes, said to me by the waiter) I had to leave it. It almost made me retch, can't do sushi either.

How true!

A very practical consideration. Having said that, I'm sorry for your negative experience.

About 15 years ago I started a 'Car Jar' into which I put every spare coin (including $1/$2). Also, if I bought something on special I'd put an IOU for the difference in my Car Jar eg, say I bought a $4 loaf of bread for $3.20 I'd put an IOU for 80 cents into the CJ. It took almost 5 years but I eventually saved almost $22k doing this and that together with my Toyota Starlett (known in the family as Starlett O'Cara) as a trade, I bought a new Jeep Patriot which I just loved. Unfortunately, I only had it for 18 months when I retired from work and we moved to an apartment with only 1 parking bay. We already had two cars and a motorbike so we traded both cars on a new Ford Territory (best car ever, over 9 years we only put a new set of tyres on and replaced the battery) and kept the bike to make Grumpy happy. These days the only time I have cash is when I'm washing the sheets/towels in the machines in a caravan park and I need $5, my RVs machine is not big enough for these items. For everything else, I use my credit cards, I rarely pay a fee as I tend not to patronise places that charge that except for ALDI which, when you consider the overall savings, is well worth the minor percentage.