Online shopping & SIM Cards

[DavidIII]

Hi,

I’m soon to arrive in Adelaide and based upon some good guidance on quarantine I thought I’d sign up for Woolworths/Cole’s to be prepared, but it needs a Australian phone number which I don’t have yet so just wondered what other people have done.  Have you purchased a SIM ahead of leaving or used the hotel phone number.  All tips most welcomed.

thanks, D

[Wanderer Returns]

I was in your situation a year ago, and I signed up to an Optus SIM-only deal because they were the only ones I could find who would post the SIM to the UK, ensuring I had an active service on arrival. I've ditched them now in favour of Amaysim who are much cheaper, and use the same network. You'd be very unfortunate if your quarantine hotel didn't provide free wifi, although I've heard stories that some people haven't been able to get it based on where there room is located.

You do know that international flights into Adelaide have recently been cancelled, don't you?

[Lavers]

14 hours ago, DavidIII said:

Hi,

I’m soon to arrive in Adelaide and based upon some good guidance on quarantine I thought I’d sign up for Woolworths/Cole’s to be prepared, but it needs a Australian phone number which I don’t have yet so just wondered what other people have done.  Have you purchased a SIM ahead of leaving or used the hotel phone number.  All tips most welcomed.

thanks, D

We just used the hotels phone number

[DavidIII]

8 hours ago, Wanderer Returns said:

I was in your situation a year ago, and I signed up to an Optus SIM-only deal because they were the only ones I could find who would post the SIM to the UK, ensuring I had an active service on arrival. I've ditched them now in favour of Amaysim who are much cheaper, and use the same network. You'd be very unfortunate if your quarantine hotel didn't provide free wifi, although I've heard stories that some people haven't been able to get it based on where there room is located.

You do know that international flights into Adelaide have recently been cancelled, don't you?

Hi, thanks for this.  Not sure how my daughter would cope without access to Netflix, snapchat, tik-tok or whatever else teens use these days.  I think I'd rather her use my data than risk a teen moaning every day with no access to wi-fi :)

I know flights have been suspended, but I spoke with Singapore Airlines yesterday and they've given some re-assurance they will be flying in Jan, or at least they did when they took 50% more from me than I usually pay for the same flights to Adelaide :(

Just can't wait to get there now!

[DavidIII]

30 minutes ago, Lavers said:

We just used the hotels phone number

Thanks for this :)

[Wanderer Returns]

13 hours ago, DavidIII said:

Hi, thanks for this.  Not sure how my daughter would cope without access to Netflix, snapchat, tik-tok or whatever else teens use these days.  I think I'd rather her use my data than risk a teen moaning every day with no access to wi-fi

Oh God help you. That's gonna be a loooong two weeks!  

[Jon the Hat]

I'm seriously considering buying a playstation 5 and stack of games for the hotel stay if quarantine is still in place when we move next September!

[Wanderer Returns]

15 hours ago, Jon the Hat said:

I'm seriously considering buying a playstation 5 and stack of games for the hotel stay if quarantine is still in place when we move next September!

That sounds like a good idea - just make sure bring all the right cables and adaptors with you to make it work!

I'm not a gambling man, but I'd stick my bottom dollar on hotel quarantine being in place until the end of next year for anyone arriving from Europe or the US. At the moment NZ is the only country where arrivals don't need to quarantine, but currently you still need to quarantine in NZ if you go there from Australia.

[Marisawright]

42 minutes ago, Wanderer Returns said:

That sounds like a good idea - just make sure bring all the right cables and adaptors with you to make it work!

I'm not a gambling man, but I'd stick my bottom dollar on hotel quarantine being in place until the end of next year for anyone arriving from Europe or the US. At the moment NZ is the only country where arrivals don't need to quarantine, but currently you still need to quarantine in NZ if you go there from Australia.

I've seen a few places suggesting you might be able to avoid quarantine if you've had the vaccine.  Not sure that's a good idea from Australia's perspective, mind you.

[Parley]

1 hour ago, Marisawright said:

I've seen a few places suggesting you might be able to avoid quarantine if you've had the vaccine.  Not sure that's a good idea from Australia's perspective, mind you.

Why ?

If you have proof of vaccination and get tested for covid before departure and on arrival then risk should be minimal.

If international travel is going to open up to a large degree there won't be sufficient hotels to provide quarantine.

[Jon the Hat]

5 hours ago, Parley said:

Why ?

If you have proof of vaccination and get tested for covid before departure and on arrival then risk should be minimal.

If international travel is going to open up to a large degree there won't be sufficient hotels to provide quarantine.

It's a good point about capacity.  

6 hours ago, Marisawright said:

I've seen a few places suggesting you might be able to avoid quarantine if you've had the vaccine.  Not sure that's a good idea from Australia's perspective, mind you.

Qantas CEO said it will be a requirement I think.  I suspect there will be a wait period after vaccine and a select list of countries where numbers have dropped significantly due to Vaccine roll out.  Hopefully the UK is on that list.

[Wanderer Returns]

16 hours ago, Parley said:

Why ?

If you have proof of vaccination and get tested for covid before departure and on arrival then risk should be minimal.

If international travel is going to open up to a large degree there won't be sufficient hotels to provide quarantine.

I agree that if you have proof of vaccination and you're coming from a country with a reliable vaccination program, then there shouldn't be a problem.

However, it raises the question how important will international travel be in the future? I think, not very. We've all survived without it for almost a year now. Most of us only get on a plane to go on holiday or visit family, but we all know the whole practice is hugely environmentally-unfriendly and unsustainable in the long term. Jet-setting is very much a 20th Century concept and it's only been sustained by cheap flights, but that's all about to change. I'm guessing most regulars on PiO are in the 50+ category so we can't imagine a holiday without jumping on a plane somewhere, but in the future it will become so prohibitively expensive that we won't be doing anywhere near as often.

Also, the younger generation are much happy living in the virtual world than Gen X and the Boomers. You can see that by how much time they spend connected to the internet. In future, working from home will be the permanent reality for many people. They will live/work where they choose to live, so they won't be as interested in travelling as much as our generation was. It could mean a massive decentralization from city life, relieving pressure on certain overpopulated areas, which in the long term will surely be a good thing for sustainability and quality of life.

Well there's my 10 cents' worth for a Friday morning!  

[Lavers]

On 25/11/2020 at 22:35, Jon the Hat said:

I'm seriously considering buying a playstation 5 and stack of games for the hotel stay if quarantine is still in place when we move next September!

We put the ps4 in our case, kept my eldest busy for 4 weeks

[Tulip1]

On 26/11/2020 at 05:24, Parley said:

Why ?

If you have proof of vaccination and get tested for covid before departure and on arrival then risk should be minimal.

If international travel is going to open up to a large degree there won't be sufficient hotels to provide quarantine.

Totally agree. If I had evidence I’d had the vaccination, had a pre flight negative test and another one after landing the chances of me having Covid would be incredibly low.  Unless the world eradicates covid which is unlikely to happen and certainly not for a very long time then the scenario I’ve quoted is the only option there is. A country either lets international travellers in based on vaccination and negative tests or they don’t ever let anyone in. I can’t see any country closing theirs doors for years and years, possibly for ever. 

[Tulip1]

17 hours ago, Wanderer Returns said:

I agree that if you have proof of vaccination and you're coming from a country with a reliable vaccination program, then there shouldn't be a problem.

However, it raises the question how important will international travel be in the future? I think, not very. We've all survived without it for almost a year now. Most of us only get on a plane to go on holiday or visit family, but we all know the whole practice is hugely environmentally-unfriendly and unsustainable in the long term. Jet-setting is very much a 20th Century concept and it's only been sustained by cheap flights, but that's all about to change. I'm guessing most regulars on PiO are in the 50+ category so we can't imagine a holiday without jumping on a plane somewhere, but in the future it will become so prohibitively expensive that we won't be doing anywhere near as often.

Also, the younger generation are much happy living in the virtual world than Gen X and the Boomers. You can see that by how much time they spend connected to the internet. In future, working from home will be the permanent reality for many people. They will live/work where they choose to live, so they won't be as interested in travelling as much as our generation was. It could mean a massive decentralization from city life, relieving pressure on certain overpopulated areas, which in the long term will surely be a good thing for sustainability and quality of life.

Well there's my 10 cents' worth for a Friday morning!  

Check out how many young adults hit Ibiza, Magaluf and the Greek hotspots every summer not to mention the gap year youngsters that travel the world. It’s a huge industry. Possibly a few generations down the line it may be different, let’s hope not but the youngsters of today are definitely interested in travelling.  I’d probably say even more than my generation was. I remember my first holiday (without my parents) at 17 with my boyfriend and we went camping to Cornwall. I very clearly remember the arguments with my horrified dad over it. I was told I wasn’t allowed but I went anyway, of course!  These days we’d be online looking at going to Spain, not a chance Cornwall would be on the list. 

[Tulip1]

On 26/11/2020 at 10:43, Jon the Hat said:

It's a good point about capacity.  

Qantas CEO said it will be a requirement I think.  I suspect there will be a wait period after vaccine and a select list of countries where numbers have dropped significantly due to Vaccine roll out.  Hopefully the UK is on that list.

I hope the UK is on the list too. I’m sure our vaccination programme/standards will be high so fingers crossed they’d think that too. 

Edited November 27, 2020 by Tulip1

[Wanderer Returns]

8 hours ago, Tulip1 said:

Check out how many young adults hit Ibiza, Magaluf and the Greek hotspots every summer not to mention the gap year youngsters that travel the world. It’s a huge industry. Possibly a few generations down the line it may be different, let’s hope not but the youngsters of today are definitely interested in travelling.  I’d probably say even more than my generation was. I remember my first holiday (without my parents) at 17 with my boyfriend and we went camping to Cornwall. I very clearly remember the arguments with my horrified dad over it. I was told I wasn’t allowed but I went anyway, of course!  These days we’d be online looking at going to Spain, not a chance Cornwall would be on the list. 

Cornwall is just as busy as Spain and Greece these days. We had a couple of holidays in Devon and Cornwall during the last 3 years, and regardless of the weather, it's heaving from June to September. My wife and I thought about moving down to South West and buying a B&B in 2017, but we just found the whole region too touristy and the communities down there seem rather transient - it's nothing like Doc Martin!

I'm sure the youngsters are no less interested in travel than our generation, but most can't afford to. As a generation they are more concerned about being able to afford their own homes in the future, which for most is a distant dream.

[Tulip1]

9 minutes ago, Wanderer Returns said:

Cornwall is just as busy as Spain and Greece these days. We had a couple of holidays in Devon and Cornwall during the last 3 years, and regardless of the weather, it's heaving from June to September. My wife and I thought about moving down to South West and buying a B&B in 2017, but we just found the whole region too touristy and the communities down there seem rather transient - it's nothing like Doc Martin!

I'm sure the youngsters are no less interested in travel than our generation, but most can't afford to. As a generation they are more concerned about being able to afford their own homes in the future, which for most is a distant dream.

I agree with you about the south west. It is a beautiful area but I wouldn’t want to live there.  The tourist bit would be an issue for many I think although if you had a B&B it would be a bonus I guess.  A friend of mine moved to Devon many years ago but returned 18 months later. She said it was stunning etc but when you think about living there you don’t think about the fact that half the summer all the roads are gridlocked with tourists. She said forget popping to the shops on a Saturday morning as your drive could take hours because the roads are bumper to bumper, especially bad on the typical Saturday change over day. 
 

It’s quite cheap for youngsters to go abroad these days. My youngest went to Magaluf last June with some mates and the week cost £420 and that was quite a nice hotel, all inclusive and included the flights and transfer from the airport to the hotel and back. I reckon you’d spend more than that going to Great Yarmouth in a caravan.  He’s a student and saved up the money from his part time job.  He actually worked extra over the Easter holidays and earned enough to pay for lot. I don’t think many 18/19 year olds are concerned about being able to afford their own house.   Quite rightly I think, they should be enjoying a few holidays with their mates first.  

[Wanderer Returns]

5 hours ago, Tulip1 said:

I agree with you about the south west. It is a beautiful area but I wouldn’t want to live there.  The tourist bit would be an issue for many I think although if you had a B&B it would be a bonus I guess.  A friend of mine moved to Devon many years ago but returned 18 months later. She said it was stunning etc but when you think about living there you don’t think about the fact that half the summer all the roads are gridlocked with tourists. She said forget popping to the shops on a Saturday morning as your drive could take hours because the roads are bumper to bumper, especially bad on the typical Saturday change over day. 

That's exactly the conclusion we came to. We could've afforded a B&B in somewhere like Torquay or Paignton, but we really liked North Devon and a B&B there was a little out of our price range (we'd have needed a commercial mortgage, and neither of us had much hospitality experience). Given the events of this year, we are quite relieved that we didn't go down this route!