Sunday, October 28, 2007

the Farm

I'm on the farm for more than one week already.

The working conditions currently are not very good due to the bad rainy and cold weather. The owners of the farm are a very nice couple, you will find them friendly and easy to get along with, but they do ask you to perform well on the fields.

At the moment, we normally work only around 5 hours a day and 4 days a week. In the morning we pick strawberries for about 3 hours, and in the afternoon we spend about 1.5 hours packing them. They say that there will be a lot more produce when the weather gets hot, and that would be after mid November. So in fact we earn only a little right now, and chances are that we might earn more later, but I'm not that sure because when it's due the pay is made by contract for picking and by hour for packing, just opposite to now.

Picking strawberries can be very tiring, even exhausting, because that you have to keep bending down and after a while your back as well as your legs might will hurt a lot.

Currently they do not need any more worker, but they will after mid Nov. If any of you would like to pick strawberries, you could contact them on the email and fixed line number listed on their website, or simply leave a message through their website.

They also say that the cherry season will begin on month later, and then you can work both on cherries and berries.

The accommodation the farm provides is a bit shabby, it can be very cold all day at this moment. I'm not sure how long the cold weather would last, but I think that it will be better if you could bring a good sleeping bag along.

Besides, in this area there are several beautiful national parks, if you've a car, you might be able to go visit them, but still the farm owners say that if could be very busy during the high season, so I'm not sure if you could get much free time then though.

Friday, October 26, 2007

a Strawberry Farmer's Life

I came to Amuri Creek Fruits farm in Mount Barker on 17th of October after a 5-hour ride of TransWA bus from Perth. On the day I arrived it was cold and raining hard. Actually it's the typical weather here in this season, and it will be the same until November.

Mount Barker region is beautiful with hills full of lush trees, orchards, vineyards, and grasslands for raising sheeps. The scene here is rather different than the other rural places I've been to in Australia. The rain is abundant here, so there is not a single sign of the severe drought other parts of Australia are suffering from.

The Amuri Creek farm locates 30mins of drive out of the little Mount Barker town. The farm has strawberry fields and cherry orchards, and they also keep more than 3000 wool sheeps. On the farm currently there are 9 backpackers including me staying at the farm's simple accommodation, of which are 4 Taiwanese, 4 Korean and a German girl, the lovely and very friendly Claudia, but soon will be there a lot more coming due to the large amount of produces in summer. The owners of the farm are a friendly couple. They told us that in last year there were more than 50 workers working on the farm.

The weather here is still not very good most of the time. In the past week, there are more than 5 rainy days. Like today, it rains quite hard and is very cold. The strawberries grow better when the weather is hot. Therefore we do not work a lot right now. Normally we work 2 days and then take one or two days off, and on our working days we work only like 5~6 hours. We start picking strawberries at 8AM, then take a 30-minute rest at around 10AM, and then work until around noon, then we have lunch, and then start packing after lunch for about 1 or 2 hours. The pay currently is 16 dollars per hour for picking, and 1.30 dollars per tray for packing, but it will be the opposite when there are a lot of produce. Picking strawberries is a very demanding and exhausting job, because you have to keep bending down and that will make your back hurts alot, and you have to pay attention to the berries, you don't want to miss any single one, if not the farm owner will keep telling you that you have to be careful when picking, and you have to pick in the way they teach you.

The cherries are still flowering, and although there are already some fruits, but they're still green. They say the cherry season will begin about a month later. I do hope that I can switch to cherry team, I hate picking strawberries.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Perth

I flew to Perth from Sydney on 16/Oct/2007. The plane was delayed due to the late arrival of certain large cargoes, so we took off one hour later at around 7:00 Sydney time. After a 5-hours flight, we arrived in Perth at about 10:00 Perth time.

Me and my friend took a shuttle bus from the airport to the city. At the first sight of the area around the airport, I felt that the place is quite similar to Darwin. That felt familiar, and that was good. The shuttle bus drove to many stops, and after more than one hour we were finally dropped off last on Hay Street.

We booked on night at a hostel named 12:01 East Backpackers. The hostel is not far from where we were dropped. The daytime female staff were very friendly. The hostel seems to be not rather new, but anyway it has all we need and is not too dirty, and we just would stay for one night only. After checking in, we went out to have lunch and buy the ticket for the next day's bus to our really destination, Mount Barker.

Perth City is not very big. The CBD seems to be just 3 times bigger then Darwin. But there were a lot of people on the streets. We spent some time walking around the bustling area, had some food, and went shopping at a Woolworths there. And then, we took the free city buses to several places.

Perth has 3 lines of free bus working in its city area. They are named Red Cat, Blue Cat, and Yellow Cat. They are especially good to us budget travellers. We went to buy TransWA bus ticket, and then went to see Swan River, took some pictures, and then went back to the hostel.

We met a lot Taiwanese friends at the hostel. Most of them are female backpackers like us. But we also met two young men who are Ph.D. students at NSYSU, and were in Perth for conferences at Western Australia University, and would then travel to Melbourne; they were both very friendly, they cooked dinner for us. I also talked to one of the female Taiwanese backpackers, and she's also very friendly.

On the next day, we left Perth very early at 9 o'clock.

I don't think I like Perth much. After a few months, I'll have to return there, but I won't stay too long.

Monday, October 15, 2007

the 24 Hours Later

再過10幾個小時我就將到西澳了
今天是我在Sydney的最後一晚

這半年來在澳洲四處旅行
雪梨市我覺得跟台灣感覺最接近的地方
這裡有很多很多的亞洲人
街上到處都看得到中文招牌
很多地方都可以講中文
平常熙來攘往的街道
除了建築風格不同
走在路上就像在台灣的城市裡逛街

上次離開Sydney到Moree
好幾個晚上我想念著Sydney
或許我真正想念的是Sydney那絲跟台灣的環境近似的家的感覺

兩週前我回到Sydney
這兩週遇到了幾位以前在Darwin認識的台灣女生
與在台灣就認識也來打工度假的同學相聚
還新認識了幾位台灣朋友

除了陪新朋友舊地重遊
去了Manly
還去了Blue Mountains

兩週很快地過了
明天我又將展開新的旅程

西澳是個怎麼樣的地方呢?
明天我就能知道了

不過現在的心情跟感覺還是又有點孤單
人要離開熟悉的朋友跟環境時
應該都有這樣的感覺吧

the Fish and Chips

While you stay in Australia, chances are that you at least will try once the national food of most Anglosphere countries, the fish and chips.

I remember that on time while I was working at the McDonald's in Moree, one of the coworkers asked me if I like Australian foods or not. I really could not think of any particular food that can be considered as Australian, so I asked what's the real Australian food. She told me "fish and chips, mashed potato...". Oh, well, if those are what representative, I can say that I'm disappointed. But most people in the world already know that in the origin of the Anglosphere, England, foods are well known for tastelessness. So I'm not really surprised of the answers.

Anyway, Australia is the smallest continent, but also the biggest island in the world. Seafood is common in most places close to the seashore, and especially fish and chips are not rare even in inland places.

Actually I like fish and chips. Typically I do not like eating fish while I was in Taiwan, but what really attracts me is that is a kind of battered fried food. It's needless to mention that I generally like potato chips or fries, but battered fish is also tasty to me.

In Australia, I've tried dozens of times of fish and chips in Darwin, Brisbane, Sydney and even Moree. There is a good fish and chips shop in Darwin which is close to Chili's Backpackers on Mitchell Street. Me and my friends had once bought 2 fisherman's basket, containing battered fish filets, chips, calamari rings, seafood csticks, prawns, all are fried of course, and some beers and went to sit on the outdoor platform in Darwin Wharf in the evenin, and it was a great memory.

There are some good fish and chips stores in South Bank of Brisbane as well. I was alone when travelling in Brisbane, and one day I had fish and chips alone at noon in South Bank. It was good nontheless in spite of that, unlike everyone around me, I was eating alone.

The one I tried in Moree is located opposite to the McDOnald's where I worked at. Theirs are among the worse ones I ever tried.

In Sydney, the most popular place, at least to tourists, to eat seafoods is the Sydney Fish Market. Most of the vendors there are, surprisingly to me, Asians. But I have to let you know that it is NOT the best place to find good fish and chips as well as other tasty cooked seafoods, and things there are mostly overpriced. Most of the food stalls there sell fried seafood. Imagine a full plate of fries, fried fish, fried calamari, fried prawn, fried crab, fried scallop...simply oily. According to my limited experience, seafoods are basically much more well cooked in Taiwan than in Australia, and are much much cheaper. The fried seafoods look delicious at first, but after eating for a while, most people would feel sick of the oily and unpalatable, usually cold already, batter crust. Sometimes you can find that if you rescue the shrimps, fish or calamari from the batter, they'll simply taste better.

I have to recommend a store for fish and chips lovers. The Fish on Fire restaurant is located at 217A Glebe Pt. Rd. Glebe, their telephone no. is 02-96604212. It's right at the corner opposite to the hostel I stay twice in Sydney, Rooftop Travellers Lodge. They provide not only fish and chips, but also grilled seafoods, burgers, salads and desserts. Their chips are among the best I've tasted; they can stay crispy even after being cold. Their grilled seafoods are very delicious. Fish, prawns, mussels, and calamari all are tasty. Their freshly made burgers are outstanding as well. And I like their creamy rice pudding. ANd the prices of their good foods are quite reasonable.

Saturday, October 13, 2007

the OEM Industry

我在台灣的線上論壇PCDVD
跟人家的討論
capitalm說
如果台灣的物價升高的話
一堆代工業都會死光


而我的回應是:

所以這點更令人感到憂心
但更精確的說
真正會造成代工業死光的不會是物價
而是勞工的薪資
(且台灣的物價不可能不升高)

因為逐漸的
台灣的競爭對象已經不是南韓,新加坡,香港
或是值得仿效,追趕的日本,美國
而是淪落到必須跟擁有低廉勞力的中國,印度和其他東南亞國家競爭
這樣的產業結構就是所謂的向下沉淪,不進則退

有沒有想過為何以前的高科技產業
現在已經變成了所謂的代工業
而以前在相對高科技的時代
台灣勞工不必害怕失業
因為我們擁有別人沒有的技術
但是現在這些技術已是大家都有
台灣勞工的優勢因為產業結構未提升而頓失
資方在面對擁有相同技術條件的勞工時
有多少會本於愛台灣的情結而選擇留在台灣雇用較貴的台灣勞工?

代工業最需要的廉價,大量,低技術勞力
台灣絕對拼不過中國
所以台灣的產業才會外移嚴重
國外廠商也不會設廠在台灣
因而造成台灣眾多勞工失業

在台灣維持代工業絕對是一條死胡同
在這指的是對勞工而言
而非對資方
資方大可將在台的生產線外移到大陸,越南等地
他們仍然可以大賺其錢,甚至賺更多
對於薪資相對較高的台灣勞工
他們別無選擇,只能被迫離職
接著如果找不到工作就失業了

然而台灣人民要的真的是不斷的維持
甚至是已經不罕見的降低自己的薪資
以保有工作機會嗎?
這樣的在全球勞力市場上的削價競爭
面對幾乎能無窮盡供應廉價勞力的鄰近國家
台灣人民能夠維持多久?
台灣人民又真的希望,願意,且能滿足於在薪資方面的中國化,越南化,印度化?

我們應該做的是提升產業位階
建立自有品牌提升產品的附加價值
或是更長遠的發展不能被取代的產業
不再是以代工為主

我總覺得在台灣很多人似乎忘記自己不能自外於全球競爭
而有些人或許更已經提升到了安貧樂道的境界
天真的以為自己仍然很幸福
或認為自己仍然可以維持安穩快樂的生活
未體認到別人失業的命運可能有一天會降臨到自己頭上
直到你的公司真的要外移了
你和你的同事真的失業了
才突然覺醒

the Comparison

出國半年多了
目前為止沒看到什麼有關台灣的正面消息
在新加坡的時候
只看過報紙上的一則報導
標題是台灣的大學生陷在低薪資的泥沼裡
內容敘述台灣大學畢業生的薪資平均只有新加坡畢業生的一半
在澳洲
國際新聞幾乎沒看過有關台灣的
唯一看過的只有前不久華航班機在那霸機場的爆炸畫面
還被當作新聞的結尾畫面

前不久在雪梨舉行的APEC
台灣根本不是新聞重點
人家報導的重點是美國總統,中國國家主席,俄羅斯總統...
台灣的代表,大概比菲律賓總統Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo受到的關注更低吧

看到台灣還常常在拿南韓跟自己做比較
台灣年輕人應該沒人沒聽過南韓吧
但是在澳洲遇到的韓國年輕人
卻有許多沒聽過台灣
是韓國資訊不流通嗎?
我想並非如此

當台灣人沾沾自喜的說南韓的GDP per capita nominal雖然比我們高幾千美元但是PPP比台灣低上一截
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)_per_capita
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)_per_capita

我認為能拿在國際上比較的並非PPP
PPP只能代表該國人民在該國內生活的富裕程度
當台灣人一出國就會感受到自己的收入在國際上的實際處境

光看實質收入
台灣跟一些台灣人以為會比自己落後很多的國家差距並不大
連一些東歐國家發展十幾年也已經差不多要追上台灣
鄰近的香港,澳門高台灣近1萬美元
日本更不用說
新加坡也比台灣高1萬美元以上
而遠一點的連前南斯拉夫加盟國Slovenia都比台灣高上幾千美元

而PPP簡直是拿來發展駝鳥心態用的
不然難道紐西蘭,西班牙,希臘,列支敦斯登,葡萄牙甚至歐盟平均
他們的PPP都比台灣低
就代表他們的生活水準都比台灣差嗎?

一般台灣人的收入真的很低
只是台灣的物價相對低
所以台灣人對貧困感受不深
但是目前國際上許多物資因為BRIC四國等國家市場需求大增而價格節節攀高
資源缺乏,連耕地面積也不大的台灣眾多物資仰賴進口
未來絕對難以維持相對低廉的物價
如果實質收入不能增加
未來人民的生活一定會很困苦
台灣近來物價已經普遍有所增漲
相信一般人民已有體會

我目前待的澳洲物價比台灣高上非常多
然而這裡的收入也很高
我之前在這裡的麥當勞打工
時薪稅前澳幣16.752元
扣稅後還有14塊多,約台幣420元
而這裡一份麥當勞的全餐約7澳幣
所以我工作一小時可吃兩份全餐

台灣的麥當勞工讀生呢?
時薪台幣90幾元
但是一份餐點要工作約1個半小時才能買得起

所以誰說物價低生活就一定比較好?
收入還是決定一切

Friday, October 12, 2007

the Trip to Blue Mountains

I made a trip to the Blue Mountains the past 2 days with 2 of my friends, Yili and Justin. The last time I was in Sydney, I didn't think about going there, all the things in my mind then were jobs and income. This time I've saved a little money and so I have the opportunity to make a trip there. The Blue Mountains is a world heritage area with amazing views.

We took the train from Central Station to Blacktown on Thursday morning, and changed to, due to railway works, another train to travel to Katoomba, the major town in the Blue Mountains National Park area. We booked one night at the YHA there. It was not a pleasant experience dealing with the staff. They're all not very professional and friendly. We made there in the morning but had to check-in in the afternoon. We paid our rent on our arrival, but obviously the staff didn't make a record on the computer, and when we checked in in the evening the staff on duty couldn't find our payment record. They kept doubting that we hadn't paid. I didn't fell happy about that. I learnt that the next time I pay any rent I have to remember to get a receipt.

Anyway, after our arrival, we stored our luggages at the YHA, and then went out to walk aroung the area. I have to admit that it is a very beautiful town with so many trees and lovely houses with adorable yards. The YHA is not far away from the Queen Elizabeth lookout in Echo Point, but we didn't know that. We went to the Scenic World on foot, and took all the three of Railway, Cableway and Skyway. The ticket we bought was Scenic Pass for adults which cost AU$28. It was expensive, but I think it's worthwhile. The view was excellent. It was also great to walk the tracks in the dense forest you can get to by riding the Railway or through other paths. The forest there is consisted of a lot of tall trees and ferns. There are also some exhibitions along the tracks regarding the coal mining history in that area many decades ago.

We then walked a long way down the hills to the mid section of Katoomba Fall. It is so beautiful and comfortable at the place. The water of the fall is not abundant due to the lasting drought, but it looks still good when you get close to it. The water drops splashed by wind onto to your face, the great scene of the valley, the birds' chirps, and the quiet surroundings all made us calm and even slumberous.

Later we walked to Echo Point and we walked down the very steep stairs down to the Three Sisters. It was scary walking down the stairs, but it's worth it. The views was great. There are many lookouts along the tracks in the whole area. But I have to say the Queen Elizabeth Lookout beside the information center truely have the most stunning scenery, and it's also the easiest one to get to.

The next day, today, we took a tour to Jenolan Caves at AU$60 for YHA members including couch transportation to and back from Katoomba and the ticket of the guided tour to Lucas Cave. The caves are maintained by a reserve trust. It took more then 1 hour to get to Jenolan Caves from Katoomba, we dozed off on the way.

You definitely have to go to Jenolan Caves if you go to the Blue Mountains. We don't know how it looks like in the other caves there, but it is absolutely breathtaking in Lucas Cave. I can't describe it well. You can find it out by going there yourself or looking at the photos I took through the link to my photos on the left.

We came back to Sydney in the evening at about 8:30PM. We should have come back earlier, but we missed the previous train by 1 minute, and had to wait until 6:24 when there was another train from Katoomba to Central Station. The train ride usually takes only 2 hours between Central Station and Katoomba on a single way ticket for adults at AU$11.60. Check the City Rail website for train fare details.

I spent about 200 dollars on this trip including train fares, YHA accommodation of 8 persons dorm, tour couch fares, Scenic World ticket, Lucas Cave ticket, and food. You can spend a lot less then that because I spend too much money on foods and drinks. By the way, do never attempt to try the Thai restaurant closest to Blue Mountains YHA on the street before the YHA. There are 2 Thai restaurants on this street, and we picked that one and definately regretted. Their foods were certainly the worst Thai foods we'd ever tasted, and were expensively over-priced at that kind of low quality.

the Next Stop, WA

It has become clear that my next stop in Australia will be at a cherry and strawberry farm in Western Australia. I'll fly to Perth on 16/Oct with Qantas(AU$285).

So far I've almost been to all the major cities in Australia. This time I'll stay in Perth for only one night, and will go to the town, Mount Barker, near the farm on the next day. However, I'll stay for more days when I finish my work at the farm 3 months later.

I've not done any farm work yet. I believe that it'll be tough to work outdoors, but I have to hang on for at least 3 months for that I'm now considering apply for a 2nd WHV, and so doing seasonal works for 3 months is essential.

I will not stay for another whole year. The reason I might apply for another year is merely due to that I might will not have time to go to certain destinations if I work for another few months straightly. I need money to assist my journey, and so works are a must. After the works I'll have to go to Broome, Cairns, the Great Barrier Reef region, and maybe Tasmania. I think I won't have enough time to complete the list if I stay for only one year. So I'll might need another one or two months.

I truely hope that I can save some more bucks and have a not-too-bad time in Mount Barker.

Saturday, October 6, 2007

the Australians

像再過兩週我在澳洲就待了半年了
時間過得非常快

就這幾個月來的感覺
我認為澳洲白人真的很怪
我覺得很不喜歡
我和許多台灣來的朋友都覺得
澳洲人又懶又笨卻又相當自以為是

我們在hostels裡
也最不喜歡跟澳洲人共處一室
他們通常生活習慣都很差
對於衛生很不重視
有他們在的房間通常會變亂
而且他們也不太願意跟我們聊天

像我現在住的房間裡就有兩個澳洲人
其中一個還好
另一個根本不理人
不過我也不在乎

在工作上
澳洲年輕人懶到了極點
我在麥當勞打工期間
每天都覺得很受不了
我總覺得為什麼我們領一樣的錢
我每次上班都忙得要死
事情一大堆
但是那些澳洲人卻是時常聚在一起聊天聊得昏天暗地
所有的事情都慢吞吞
廚房裡一團亂也不會打掃

我覺得對比上台灣人實在勤奮太多了
甚至大部分的台灣人根本就都是工作狂
可悲的是就算如此
一般台灣人賺的錢還是比澳洲人的平均值低上太多了

Friday, October 5, 2007

the Routine of My Life

Regarding the word 'routine', I do not mean eating, sleeping or other everyday chores. What I mean is work and income. My life has been always constrained by money. I can not spent too long a time doing no works. In fact, I reckon most people can't. And it's even worse when you're living in a place where things are expensive, or when you have desire, lust for materials.

On this day, 05 Oct 2007, a new stage of my life begins. That is not something exciting nor that I would feel happy about. That is the beginning of my 30s. What a rapid speed our lives, or the time of our lives, moving forward. I remember when I turned 20 I was still studying in college, and at that night I wondered when I will be and what I will do ten years later. Voila, here's what it is, backpacking in Australia with not much money left. Sounds invigorating? I cannot concur with that.

From this point of time, I am a middle-aged man to most youngsters. Though I can still pretend to be a college student due to the fact that I do not look too aged, but I my mind I know something's got to be different. I feel more responsibilities to my own life. I can no longer care not about my career. The current backpacking thing is temporary. There might be only 6 months left. After this, I have to return to my homeland and be really serious about my future. For I'm not wealthy, I need constant and steady income to support my old life. And I have to endeavor to bring my hope to reality.

What will I do and where will I be ten years later? I ask myself again. I do hope at that time I won't feel like the previous ten years are lost in vain. But what will ensure that? I believe a heap of money and the success in career will do. So that is really nothing special. They're just routine to the majority of people.

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

the Return to Civilization

昨天深夜我終於離開了Moree
搭了1個半小時的飛機回到Sydney
飛機延誤了半小時
所以我到了10點多才到Sydney機場

上次到Sydney是從Mildura搭Greyhound到Central Station下車
這次從機場還要搭train到Central Station
跟Brisbane的機場線一樣貴
短短三個站的距離就要13.20元

我想我是絕不會再回Moree了
關於那裡工作的一切
我想全部忘掉
那裡我會想起的將只是每天一片廣闊蔚藍的天空還有晚上滿天的星辰
(所以他們county的網站自稱The Big Sky Country, 意思就是除了天空之外什麼也沒有的地方)

那裡的人算是挺和善
不過就跟澳洲其他地方一樣
偶爾也會遇到讓你覺得是racist的人

澳洲目前的旱災真的很嚴重
Moree那個地方在我住的2個月內
只有兩天下了短短一、兩個鐘頭的虛弱細雨
野外都是一片枯黃的草原跟乾裂的土地
樹林也是一片缺水的樣子
因為氣候非常乾燥
所以我的皮膚整天都非常不舒服
尤其是雙手因為每天工作的緣故
常常要洗手跟吹乾
所以甚至有很多小裂隙跟紅疹
希望回到海岸邊能夠好一點

我這次在雪梨不會待很久
應該兩週之後就會離開了
目前的當務之急還是要趕快找下份工作