After three years of anticipation and six months of preparation, my Australian working holiday is finally happening. The moment I step onto this plane, I can officially declare: “I’m really doing it! I’m off on my working holiday in Australia!”
I dragged along a suitcase that had taken me an entire day to pack—and still wasn’t finished until the very last moment, when I finally stuffed everything inside and zipped it shut—and entered Terminal 2 at Taoyuan CKS Airport. Hmm… this is an airport I probably won’t see again for another year. On the drive from home, I’d been so worried about missing my flight, on top of all the earlier panic about never finishing my packing, that I hadn’t had any room left to feel nervous about actually leaving the country. But once I arrived at the airport and knew everything was fine, I suddenly got a little sentimental. Even the sight of CKS Airport made me emotional. The next time I see it might be a year from now. The same goes for these streets, my family, my friends, and my man back home… Am I really leaving?!
[ Dad and my sister came to see me off. Thanks to my sister for lending us her car and saving me the hassle of taking public transport to the airport. ]
After checking in by myself for the first time, I met up at the airport with Lauren, the travel buddy I’d arranged to meet online, and boarded the AirAsia flight to Kuala Lumpur. That was when panic started setting in. “Why am I even going to Australia?” “Can I just get off the plane and forget the whole thing?” “I won’t be able to meet up with my friends for dinner for an entire year!” “Why am I leaving my boyfriend behind in Taiwan to do his military service while I run off to Australia?” One question after another came rushing in with the anxiety, and before I knew it, tears were rolling down my face. Luckily, Lauren and I were seated apart, and I was fortunate enough to have no one sitting beside me, so I had loads of space. Otherwise, I think the passenger next to me would’ve been terrified by all my crying. But I got my emotions under control pretty quickly because… well, I hadn’t slept at all the night before. After a nap, I woke up perfectly fine!
[ Taking off and gradually leaving Taiwan behind below me. So many mixed emotions. Goodbye, beautiful island—see you in a year! ]
Our flight left Taiwan at 4 p.m. on the 2nd and arrived at Malaysia’s low-cost carrier terminal at 8:30 p.m. Our connecting flight to Melbourne, Australia, wasn’t until 1:30 a.m., but once you subtract the time needed to clear immigration, check in for the next flight, and board early, we really only had about four hours to wander around the terminal. We had dinner, rested for a while, used our laptops, and the time flew by! (Though I do regret not going into Kuala Lumpur. If we’d taken a flight out of Taiwan one day earlier, we could’ve spent a whole day there and squeezed in another country.)
[ Kuala Lumpur’s low-cost carrier terminal in Malaysia, an airport just for budget airlines. It really does look a bit more budget—ha! ]
[ Our… ticket from Kuala Lumpur to Melbourne!! Now that is one seriously budget-looking ticket! ]
[ Dinner at the airport: fake KFC. I had no idea fried chicken in Malaysia was all spicy! 8 Malaysian ringgit. ]
At the start of this journey, besides flying out of Taiwan with Lauren, I’d also met Eason and his group of four guys on Backpackers.com.tw. By coincidence, they had booked the same flight from Kuala Lumpur to Melbourne—and, even more coincidentally, the same backpackers’ hostel as their first home in Melbourne—so we arranged to travel together. And just like that, all six of us met up at Kuala Lumpur Airport in one big, merry group. Let’s go—time for us to become Aussie backpackers together!
[ Using the free unlimited Wi-Fi at the airport Starbucks ] [ My travel companions waiting to board after immigration ]
[ With a budget airline, you have to walk across the tarmac and climb aboard the plane yourself XD It’s definitely a different experience! ]
[ That vast, ochre continent coming into view—Australia! ]
[ We’re in Mel-bourneeeee! I’m unbelievably nervous and excited! ]
This wasn’t my first trip abroad, but it was my first time travelling independently. In the past, I’d always gone with my family or school, with someone else taking care of every little detail. All I had to do was eat, sleep, and spend money. This was completely different from a package tour. Not only did I have to arrange my own flights and accommodation, but this was also the “battle” of a working holiday. I’d even have to find work by myself, and I had no idea where I would end up. This wasn’t an ordinary independent trip where you plan your next destination and simply follow the signs one step at a time. This was a survival game even more thrilling than the Chance and Fate cards in Monopoly.
Was I scared? Of course I was. But if you have a dream, you have to make it happen. Until I experienced it for myself, this dream would remain stuck in my throat—something I couldn’t bring myself to swallow but couldn’t cough up either.
I still have to thank my family for supporting my departure completely, without a single word of objection. I really wanted to hug you all before boarding the plane, but then I got shy again.
And to my dear boyfriend: even though I abandoned you while you were doing your military service instead of dutifully staying by your side, and ran all the way to Australia to have fun, you still supported me in pursuing my dream.
To all my lovely friends in Taiwan, wait until I get back and we’ll have a proper feast together!! I’m going to miss you all—come visit me in Australia! Ha~
Today, I’m really setting off! I’m finally fulfilling the dream I’ve had for more than three years! I’m going to make every moment of this year-long journey through Australia count. Beautiful Australia, here I come!!
