Australia trip late March '19

[bigbash]

Hey all. Recently crossed paths with a lovely (and hot) Australian gentleman who told me about a tour company he works for based down under called Urban Heartbeat. I got a really good vibe. I'm thinking about jumping on their upcoming Australia trip at end of March - anyone out there want to join me? http://www.urbanheartbeat.com.au/australia-2019.html . I've always wanted to go down under and see if the men are actually as hot and rugged as we are made to believe.

 

Some of their tours I've seen on their website are very LGBT focussed which I haven't seen a lot of before (it's usually cruises which I'm not into) - so would love to travel with a company that seems to be involved in the community.

[coriolis888]

I know nothing of the company you referenced.

 

I am also taking a trip to Australia (Sydney) in the Spring.

 

I travel often to different countries. I usually do a lot of advance research on places prior to my going there.

 

My advance research about Australia leaves me a little disappointed in connection with meeting possible escorts there.

 

There is one "brothel" in Sydney http://www.knightcall.com.au/escorts but the reviews of the place are less than encouraging as is their web page and the photos of the escorts. There is a mention of this brothel by a poster in this forum but that comment was written fourteen years ago and it could (probably) be outdated.

 

There are many online ads for escorts in Australia. Maybe it is just me, but I did not find the responses to be friendly or inviting from the few escorts I contacted via messages to their ads. Most were seeking "right now" appointments rather than offer information if they will be available in a few months.

 

Don't get me wrong, I am not hard to please. I am merely commenting on the apparent lack of an abundance of escorts in Australia, but in many other countries, there is a large number of available escorts that are easy to meet.

 

Considering that I already bought my flight ticket, I will go to Australia. However, I will go only with the thought of sight seeing rather than looking into the escort scene. That is okay by me. However, it would be fun to combine both activities on such far a way destination.

 

If I am wrong about my conclusions about escorts, I would love to know.

 

On an unrelated note about escorts in Australia, I want to comment on the process of getting a required visa to visit Australia. When I purchased my air ticket, I was advised by the airline that I need a visa. No problem.

 

When I went to the Australian government site to obtain a visa, the site is incredibly confusing. Rather than explain that Americans can get a visa simply by furnishing data and twenty Australian dollars (via a credit card), the site goes on and on about people from various countries. I realize that Americans are merely a small element of Australia's tourism but it would be nice to simplify the process of getting a visa.

 

It was only after reading for at least two hours that I learned the process of how to get a visa for Americans.

 

I went through all the steps and was told that I now have a visa that is valid for one year.

 

The part that bothers me is that my name if not on the visa. The only document I have to prove I have a visa is an e-mail I received from the Australian government telling me I have a valid visa. As I said, my name is not on the visa nor is my passport number or any other identifying information. The "visa" email does have a "confirmation number" which is the same number assigned to me when I first made my application and paid the twenty dollar credit card fee.

 

What a funny way to issue a mandatory visa.

Edited January 29, 2019 by coriolis888

[mike carey]

I'm somewhat surprised by the rigmarole you ended up going through. (And it's not entirely clear whether you eventually obtained a visa or an ETA (electronic travel authority) but that's beside the point.) I googled 'US visitor to Australia' and the top of the search was a link to the ETA. That may have been in part because my search history would have skewed the results towards Australian sites.

 

The ETA is basically the same as the US ESTA that we have to obtain (and the Canadian system), although I can't speak to the printable or hard-copy documents that you receive. Paper copies are a back up, the systems depend on electronic details available to immigration officials and airline check-in counters (unless you have the authorisation they won't let you board). I always carry paper copies but I've never needed them. [Note, if the ESTA is a guide, it is only valid on the passport you used in your application.]

 

Interesting that your airline only provided vague details about needing a 'visa'. When I buy a Qantas ticket to the US the website tells me I need an ESTA and provides a link to the US government site to obtain one. Selling tickets to Australian travelling to the US is a bigger part of their business than trips to Australia are for US airlines but you'd think they would try to help their customers with important information like that.

 

You're not the first forum member to travel to Australia and you won't be the last. Perhaps others will weigh in with how the process worked for them. For Americans planning to travel to Australia, unless you have a red flag of some sort, an on-line ETA is the travel document you need to go there.

[buckguy]

I went a couple years ago and it was very straightforward, although I don't recall if the e-visa had a name on it. I took a look at the current set-up and it also seems straightforward---I started with the Australian Embassy in the US and they had a simple explanation as well as links to the Home Office site which walks the vistor through things fairly quickly.

[+ DERRIK]

I’ve been know to be ‘down under’ on occasion but have never been to the Southern Hemisphere

[coriolis888]

I'm somewhat surprised by the rigmarole you ended up going through. (And it's not entirely clear whether you eventually obtained a visa or an ETA (electronic travel authority) but that's beside the point.) I googled 'US visitor to Australia' and the top of the search was a link to the ETA. That may have been in part because my search history would have skewed the results towards Australian sites.

 

The ETA is basically the same as the US ESTA that we have to obtain (and the Canadian system), although I can't speak to the printable or hard-copy documents that you receive. Paper copies are a back up, the systems depend on electronic details available to immigration officials and airline check-in counters (unless you have the authorisation they won't let you board). I always carry paper copies but I've never needed them. [Note, if the ESTA is a guide, it is only valid on the passport you used in your application.]

 

Interesting that your airline only provided vague details about needing a 'visa'. When I buy a Qantas ticket to the US the website tells me I need an ESTA and provides a link to the US government site to obtain one. Selling tickets to Australian travelling to the US is a bigger part of their business than trips to Australia are for US airlines but you'd think they would try to help their customers with important information like that.

 

You're not the first forum member to travel to Australia and you won't be the last. Perhaps others will weigh in with how the process worked for them. For Americans planning to travel to Australia, unless you have a red flag of some sort, an on-line ETA is the travel document you need to go there.

 

 

Thanks for your response.

 

"The ETA is basically the same as the US ESTA that we have to obtain (and the Canadian system), although I can't speak to the printable or hard-copy documents that you receive. Paper copies are a back up, the systems depend on electronic details available to immigration officials and airline check-in counters (unless you have the authorisation they won't let you board)."

 

The above part of your response is what concerned me (not being able to board the aircraft).

 

You wrote that "paper copies are a back up - - " However, do your paper copies U S ESTA show your name or passport number?

 

All I received was an e-mail saying I have a visa but my name or any other detail about me are missing from the e-mail.

 

As I wrote, all I received was an e-mail that said I have a valid ETA - The e-mail contained a confirmation number.

 

Today I called the Australian Consulate in my city in the U.S. and only got a recording saying they do not answer questions concerning visas. The recording referred me back to their vague web site.

 

Out of frustration, I went to Google and found the telephone number for the Australian equivalent of immigration in Australia. I called the number and I reached a very knowledgeable and helpful person who confirmed that they get a lot of calls about the ETA that lacks a name and passport number. The person directed me to an Australian site https://www.eta.homeaffairs.gov.au/ETAS3/etas then asked me to stay on the phone to see if I can get the system to confirm that I have a valid visa.

 

After I entered the above link, the person on the phone instructed to click on "check an ETA" which I did. I then had to enter my passport number and confirmation number and date of birth. After a minute, a message appeared that said I have a valid visa. However, the confirmation did not have my name or any other details about me.

 

In today's age of computers systems going out of service for periods of time, I think it is bizarre to have such a strange system for a tourist to get a mandatory visa to visit Australia that lacks a name or any personal information about the traveler. Furthermore, an airline employee could deny access to the aircraft with such a vague visa that lacks a name or any other identifying information about the traveler.

 

Despite the strange visa process, I am looking forward to visiting Australia.

[MscleLovr]

I wonder if there was some confusion earlier @coriolis888

 

I’ve visited Australia many times and the electronic system (visas and ETA) is easy and efficient, as @mike carey suggests. Certainly for Europeans visiting for less than 3 months, it’s ordinarily granted within 2 days as the government website says, but in practice I’ve found it to be granted within minutes.

 

The only point I’d make to first-time visitors is to use the official government website as there is no fee, just a small service charge. The private visa firms make a charge but their service is superfluous.