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I made the long journey to Los Angeles today, all the way from Cairns, Australia. I’ll be in L.A. for a little over a week, then it’s back to Panama.

I went scuba diving from a big catamaran named the SilverSwift today. The ride out was quite rough, and about half of the 46 passengers got sick, including yours truly. But once that was over with, I felt fine and relished the chance to see the Great Barrier Reef up close.

The visibility wasn’t great, but there was still a lot to see. I also got a chance to test out the underwater housing I bought for my camera just before leaving on the trip. Here are a few of my pictures. The wavy blue thing is a giant clam, about two feet across.

I flew from Melbourne to Cairns today.

Cairns is in the northern part of Australia’s east coast, and is a jumping off point for trips to the Great Barrier Reef. It’s tropical here… hot and humid. Reminds me a bit of home; Panama, that is.

This being the last destination of my trip, I spent a little bit extra on my accommodations, and boy, did I strike gold. The place I’m in is absolutely beautiful. The biggest plasma TV I’ve ever seen is wasted on me, but the rest of the apartment is similarly appointed and will be much utilized.

On my way from New Zealand to Sydney, I saw a notice in the in-flight magazine for the Australian Grand Prix, the inaugural event of the 2007 Formula 1 season. I decided that it would be fun to attend, so I arranged to be in Melbourne during that time and bought myself a ticket on eBay.

For those of you who are unfamiliar, Formula 1 is the pinnacle of auto racing. Incredibly popular around the world, it doesn’t get much coverage in the US. Ferrari is the dominant team, and they have a HUGE following. Ferrari flags, banners, T-shirts, caps and jackets can be seen everywhere at the races. On this day, it seemed like half the people in Melbourne were clad in Ferrari red.

Going to the race was a great experience. Prior to the main event, there are a bunch of other races to watch, and there’s a whole collection of other activities on the grounds, like live music, food, antique cars, and an air show.

One of the live music venues featured a fantastic big band from one of the local high schools. Of the twenty or so kids, only three of them were boys, leaving the girls to play traditionally “guy” instruments like standup bass, trombone and sax. They all did a great job, but the thing that really blew me away was watching the singer. This young lady couldn’t have been over sixteen and she sang Etta James’ classic “At Last” with astounding ease; a difficult undertaking for even the most seasoned vocalist.

After taking in all the sights and sounds, I got back to my seat just before the race started. The anticipation in the crowd was electric. Even though I had seen some of the cars screaming by in practice, I was unprepared for the first time the whole pack of cars came by my turn. It was such an intense onslaught of noise and speed. Awesome.

About halfway through the race, one of the drivers spun his car out on the grass in front of me. But he did such an incredible job controlling it that he ended up right back in the race, having lost only one position.

In the end, the Ferrari team won the race, so the Italian area of town where I was staying went crazy that night. Everyone was out on the street partying. Overall, it was a great first experience with racing for me.

Today I went on a tour of nearby nature parks to see various animals.

Phillip Island is famous for its “little penguins”, named that because they’re only about the size of a shoe. Each night, they come ashore in droves and find the holes they sleep in. Before sunrise, they make the trek to the sea again so they can fish. It was fun to watch. Because it’s at night and flash photography disorients the little guys, I once again couldn’t use my camera. However, if you want to see photos or learn more about them, you can go here.

On the way, we stopped to see Koalas, Kangaroos, Wallabys, Sheep, Ostrich and Lambs. Here are a few of my photos.

Melbourne is abuzz with activity this month. They’ve got the International Motor Show, L’Oreal Fashion Festival, Food & Wine Festival, World Swimming and Diving Championships, International Airshow, and the Formula 1 Grand Prix. If you ever have a thought to travel here, March is a good month to do it.

Folks who know me will be surprised that I missed the Food and Wine Festival, billed as the largest of its kind in the world. Unfortunately, there was limited time. But I did get a ticket to the Grand Prix.

I lucked out with my hotel in Melbourne. Nearly everything was sold out because of all the events in town. I got online just a few days prior and found the only place in my budget with availability. It turned out to be great, and right in the heart of a nice walking area with street cafes and shops. This is the Italian part of town, so the Grand Prix’s “Ferrari Fever” is in full effect here. There’s even a little exhibit of classic Ferraris set up across the street.

In addition to walking and riding around Sydney, I did the world famous BridgeClimb today. Unfortunately, they don’t let you carry anything with you, including a camera, so I have no pictures. But trust me, it was neat.

I leave for Melbourne tomorrow, which I’m really looking forward to seeing. I have tickets for the Australian Grand Prix there… another first for me.

My trip ends in a week.

I had a walk around Sydney today to get myself acquainted. I learned quite a bit about Australian wines from a couple of shopkeepers, stumbled upon a gluten-free restaurant for lunch (nice!), had an interesting conversation with a guy from the board of tourism after he gave me a visitor’s survey on the street, and took the obligatory picture of the Sydney Opera House.

As I write this, there’s a street musician ten floors below me playing “If I Were a Rich Man” on the tuba!

I arrived in Sydney without much of a plan. So, I went to the tourism office in the airport and they found me an apart-hotel in a section of the city that’s central, but borders Chinatown. I hadn’t realized just how large the Asian influence is here, and that’s especially apparent where I’m staying.

On my way from the airport, the shuttle driver suggested that I visit Paddy’s Markets before they closed at 5 o’clock. Well, by the time I checked in and set all my stuff down, it was after 4, so I went right to check it out.

The “markets” are really just a collection of small vendors’ stalls crammed together in a huge, unfinished space on the bottom floor (actually a little below street level) of a big shopping mall. Two-thirds of the space is dedicated to selling sunglasses, backpacks, souvenirs, CDs, jewelry, clothing, suitcases, dried fruits & nuts, wallets, and just about everything else you can think of. The rest is taken up by produce vendors.

Since the markets are only open Thursday through Sunday, being there at closing time on a Sunday was crazy. The vendors were all scrambling to make quick deals so they didn’t have to take their goods home. I bought some polarized sunglasses (which I had really been needing) for $12.

Then, just a bit after 5 o’clock, the produce vendors all started hollering “Wan dallah! Wan dallah!” It took me a second to realize that they were blowing out everything they had left by the boxload, for a dollar each. I got about 10 Bosc pears for a dollar, three huge red peppers for a dollar, some beautiful Lebanese cucumbers for super-cheap, and a bunch of dill for 30 cents… all in the span of about five minutes while pushing my way through the crowds. It was a madhouse, and yet… fantastic.

My flight to Sydney was the smoothest, quietest ride I’ve ever experienced on an airplane. Just before we landed, the captain came on to tell us that it was the newest plane in their fleet… a Boeing 777 built just two weeks ago!

My second night in Rotorua was my last in New Zealand. Uninspired by the restaurants on the main drag, I wandered off the beaten path a bit to find dinner. I came across a little place that was still hopping late at night and had an amazing meal. Pure New Zealand: green lipped mussels in a green curry sauce, rack of lamb, roasted potatoes, steamed capsicum (bell pepper) and an incredible Cabernet (which was, sadly, Australian). And then, as if to send me off well, on my walk back to the hotel I was treated to a huge fireworks show. I still have no idea what the occasion was, and nobody on the street seemed to expect it either, but it was fun. I fly to Auckland and then straight to Australia in the morning.

Blackjack is the only casino card game where the odds can actually favor a skilled player. It’s only a slight advantage, and he must know the house rules and play in a very disciplined manner to come out ahead. On the other hand, the house understands human nature, so they’re betting that the large majority of people don’t have the knowledge or discipline to take advantage… and they’re right.

Credit cards are the same way. The credit card companies understand human nature, so they make money off you six different ways. But if you know the rules before you sit at their table, and use the card in a very disciplined manner, you can come out ahead. They aren’t counting on making their bread and butter off careful people like this.

First, you need to understand what’s going on behind the scenes. Every time you use your credit card to buy something, the merchant pays the credit card company a commission. It’s usually around 3 percent. That’s right, the merchant essentially pays a penalty for letting you use a credit card instead of paying with cash. The vast majority of sellers determine that the convenience to their customers is worth the decreased profit, so they allow you to pay with your card. (Notably, American Express tends to charge smaller merchants a higher percentage, which is why many don’t accept that card.)

So, why don’t the merchants give you a discount for cash? Well, outside of the US, this is quite common. But in the US and other major markets, the credit card companies strictly enforce the part of their agreements which forbid the merchants from selling the item at a higher price if the buyer is paying with a credit card. The merchant can have his account revoked for this practice, meaning he will no longer be able to accept that credit card. The credit card companies do this to make sure that, to the buyer, the difference is invisible, thereby promoting use of the card. In short, they want their commission, and they want to put you, the cardholder, into debt.

So, now that you know that the credit card company is making about 3% off of all your purchases, just for processing the transaction, it’s time to get a piece of that back for yourself. If your credit card doesn’t give you any cash back, or mileage rewards, or some other type of benefit, you should  switch to one that does. Over time, it can really add up.

A prime example is this trip I’m on. Many years ago, I got a credit card which gave me one mile on United Airlines’ Mileage Plus reward program for every dollar I spent, and two miles for every dollar spent on a United ticket. I’ve long since cancelled that card, but when I had it, I charged EVERYTHING I could to it. Over time, combined with miles I got from taking flights on United and a bonus they gave me when I signed up for the card, I spent enough to earn the 60,000 miles needed for this round trip to Australia and New Zealand! That’s right… all three legs of my trip were purchased with miles.

As great as that sounds, don’t get overly excited about earning one mile for every dollar. If you add up the cost of the average domestic round-trip air fare, and divide that by the number of miles you need to accrue in order to be awarded a free ticket, you discover that each mile is only worth about 1.6 cents! But think of it this way… if you’re earning 1.6 cents for each dollar you spend, then you’re getting back about half of what the credit card company is collecting from the merchant each time you use your card.

For many people, a cash back card is a better choice than one which rewards you with miles. It may give you only 1 percent back, but the way you use it is up to you. You’re not restricted to purchasing air travel on a specific network. In my case, I travel enough that the mileage card is worthwhile. You’ll have to decide what’s best for you.

Whatever type of reward you choose, note that any annual membership fee can severely cut into the benefits you gain, and of course, one or two late fees can negate the whole thing. This is all part of knowing the “house rules” and playing disciplined. More on that next time.

Rotorua, in about the middle of the North island on the East Coast, is where I landed today. As the center of the largest concentration of geothermal activity in the country, there are geysers, hot springs, bubbling mud pools and volcanic craters here. There’s also the occasional, yet inimitable, smell of sulfur in the air.

I had a nice walk around the quaint town today. It looks like there’s quite a night life here, so I’m looking forward to going out again later.

There’s also a culture of local crafts. The shops are filled with locally made jewelry, paintings, woodwork and clothing. Tomorrow morning I plan to go see some glass blowing, a craft which has always fascinated me and that I’d like to learn someday.

Earlier today, as I, an American from California living in Panama, was talking to my cab driver, a Russian from Siberia living in New Zealand, I started to think about emigration.

The twentieth century brought the concept of emigration to a whole new level. For the first time, ready access to ship and train transport allowed a large number of people to choose to live in places other than where they were born. But the motivating factor was often survival, not personal choice. People fled war and discrimination by moving to other countries. Many who chose not to leave, died.

The 21st century has brought emigration a step further. With the increasing ease of air travel, people can decide to make their lives what they want them to be and where they want them. No longer is emigrating a last resort. It’s become a viable alternative for many folks.

My original one-way ticket to Costa Rica cost less than the median weekly income for a full-time female worker in the US. That means a single wage earner who wanted to make a similar move would have to save up just one week’s pay to afford the airfare. Selling various belongings that she wouldn’t want to transport would probably yield enough cash to live for a month in her new home, and with a little room on a credit card as a safety net, this transition would be entirely doable. She would of course need find work in her new country in order to stay; and that can be difficult, if not illegal, in many destinations. But as scary as it is to take this kind of leap, more and more people are taking it.

I believe we are on the cusp of an unprecedented era of emigration. Air travel, worldwide media, and telecommunications have made the transition easier. Cultural dissatisfaction, economic difficulties, political instability and climate change are the driving forces.

So, if I’m right, what does all this mean for our cultures, humanity, the world? Is the inevitable assimilation of cultures bad? As countries, are we more likely to understand each other if we have significant populations of the others’ nationals living within our borders? Are countries more or less likely to control their immigration through restrictive visas and work permits? As specific countries become more attractive as a new home, do they simultaneously lose their appeal? For instance, if a business wants to open a factory in a particular country because of low labor costs, does the company’s very presence in itself end up increasing the cost of labor?

What do you think? Post a comment.

The car I rented for a few days in New Zealand had a stereo which plays MP3 CDs. (Tangent: For those of you who don’t know about this, check out the CD player in your car and see if it says ‘MP3′ on the front. If so, you can burn a CD with up to 10 hours of music, directly from iTunes or your favorite music program, to play in your car.)

I made myself a couple CDs with what I thought would be good driving music for the long travel times between towns here. While I was winding down the road listening, I got to thinking about the nature of pop songs.

The first question that came to my mind was one of definition. What is a pop song? To me, it’s just a song which appeals to a wide contemporary audience. It’s accessible… the listener doesn’t need to “get over” something inherently distasteful about it to eventually appreciate it. It’s got a hook and draws you in. You immediately want to hear it again, rather than it having to be drilled into your brain 50 times just for you to remember it. It’s timeless… years later, you can listen to it and think, “This is a great song.”

When I was younger, I used to believe that “pop” songs (namely anything in the top 40) were just simplistic drivel designed by corporate types for the lowest common denominator listener to consume and then move on. And honestly, there is certainly a lot of that which goes on. But after working in the music business for a while, I came to appreciate something else: it’s very difficult to write a good pop song. There are a scant few people in the world who are consistently writing and producing music, year in and year out, which appeals to the average listener.

So now, when I hear something that I recognize as having widespread appeal, I appreciate it. Even though I may not choose to buy that music, or even listen to it repeatedly, I respect that people with talent and expertise put it together, and that people with taste may find enjoyment in listening to it.

It’s food for thought, especially to those musicians in the bunch. And while you’re chewing on that, think back to these pop classics, and don’t be embarrassed if you actually find yourself tapping your foot and singing along the next time you hear them:

“Cruel To Be Kind” — Nick Lowe
“I Want You Back” — Jackson 5
“I’m Into Something Good” — Herman’s Hermits
“Jesse’s Girl” — Rick Springfield
“You’re No Good” — Linda Ronstadt
“Tears of a Clown” — Smokey Robinson

(Add your own guilty favorites to the list by posting a comment below.)

Cheers!

Steve

Next random thought from Steve: why credit cards are like blackjack.

One thing that I’ve been thinking about a lot on this trip is colonization.

For centuries, the Spanish and British had the most powerful navies in the world. That enabled them to project power and protect their trade routes. With that capability, they set about to colonize the unexplored lands.

For the past couple of years, I’ve lived in an area which was originally colonized by the Spanish. Now I’m traveling in former British colonies. Generations later, the contrast is stark.

The Spaniards seem to have gone in, plundered the riches, killed or interbred with the locals, spread Catholicism (extremely effectively), and then either left, or laid back and led an agrarian lifestyle. It seems that they were then caught unprepared for the industrial revolution and are still struggling to catch up.

The British colonies, many of which are far younger, have kicked butt by comparison. They’ve got first world infrastructure, large economies, industries that export, working social programs, long histories of peaceful succession of power, and more. For goodness sake, Australia was a prison colony just a few generations ago!

So, what I’ve been trying to figure out is why? Could all of this be due to the famed Protestant work ethic? Was there a cultural difference between those who decided to emigrate from Spain versus those from England? Did the two countries have different reasons for colonization in the first place? Perhaps they were on about the same path, but when the Spanish Armada was destroyed by the British, it left the Spanish colonies abandoned and/or unsupportable? Really, what happened? If anyone reading this has a better knowledge of cultural history than I do, please clue me in. I’m fascinated by this.

Steve

8-Mar-07

Wellington surprised me. It’s the capital of New Zealand, so I was expecting a fairly conservative feel. Nothing could be further from the truth.

This city is very bohemian. The major art schools and galleries are here, so it’s common to see tattooed and pierced twenty-somethings all over the streets with sketch pads.

At the same time, it’s a small city that houses the seat of government; kind of like Berkeley meets Sacramento. The artsy, quirky feel extends to the city commissioned projects as well, so the architecture and public art all reflect the fact that this is a place that embraces creativity.

On top of all that, or perhaps because of it, the people here are so nice. I had some delightful conversations with total strangers about really interesting topics. Of all the places I’ve visited so far in New Zealand, this is the only one I could see myself living in. But as I wrote earlier, the whole country is quite expensive, so I don’t envision that happening any time soon.

Next stop: Rotorua. Three days until Australia!

7-Mar-07

I woke up with a terrible headache, so I went back to bed and slept late. Then I hit the road and headed north from Christchurch. But the delayed start put me into Kaikoura too late to catch any of the whale-watching or dolphin swims. I can do that stuff in warmer water in Panama anyway. I also had a tough time finding any accommodations that I liked here, so I opted to move on.

I drove all the way north to Picton and arrived about half an hour too late to catch the ferry to Wellington. But it was probably just as well, because I was quite tired and didn’t have a place to stay on the other side. So, I opted to spend the night in a lovely little motel in Picton and catch the morning ferry after packing up and returning my car at a more leisurely place. I even found a nice restaurant to eat in late.

5-Mar-07

From the glaciers, I drove all the way across the middle of the south Island, through the majestic mountains of Arthur’s Pass to Christchurch. As I was arriving, just around dusk, this city had a wonderful feel. Everyone was out walking their dogs in the various parks and along the rivers that run through the city. It feels spacious and mellow, but still professional. This town is the financial hub of the south island. It’s also a major port for trade, as well as the launching point for many Antarctic expeditions.

Walking around the next day was strange. Although I saw buildings with the names of recognizable multi-national corporations, there was hardly anyone on the street at 3 o’clock on a Tuesday. I actually wondered if it was a bank holiday or something, but it turns out that this is fairly normal. Even though this is a business center, there’s just not a lot of population density here. It felt a bit like a ghost town to me.

I didn’t like the downtown area as much as the city’s outskirts, largely because there just aren’t enough trees. But the exception to that is a river that runs right through town with a narrow green belt of parks on each side. It’s fantastic, and even has gondolas!

On my way into town, I was wondering if there could possibly be any Jews living in a town named Christchurch. Lo and behold, I came across this.

Like Auckland, there are many contrasts of the old and the new here. I saw some great modern architecture right across the street from some very conservative older stuff. But realize that New Zealand isn’t actually very old as a nation, so the older stuff is really just “traditional”.

4-Mar-07

The West Coast of New Zealand is a unique place in the world for many reasons, but perhaps the most notable is the existence of two large glaciers, right next to each other, which are pushing their way right through temperate rainforest. Nowhere outside of the arctic do glaciers come this close to the ocean.

I took a helicopter ride to see them and we landed on the Franz Josef Glacier. Even when you’re standing on the ice, it’s warm enough to wear a short sleeved shirt. This picture will give you some sense of the size of these things. The small spec in the middle is the helicopter.

The next morning, I hiked up the riverbed to view the Glacier from below. It’s really quite strange to see green, forested hills on each side, and an enormous wall of ice right at the end.

3-Mar-07

The South Island of New Zealand is where the majority of the Lord of the Rings films were shot. This has been such a big boon to the tourist industry here that you can actually buy guide books or take tours of the filming sites. I ended up on one accidentally while taking a jet boat ride.

I’ve chosen to do most of the exploring on my own, but a few times I have felt like I’m driving to Mordor! On my way to the West coast, I just pulled over to the side of the road and took this shot of Hawea Lake. The landscape here is simply stunning.

1-Mar-07

Well, my flight to Queenstown on the South Island didn’t get off to the best start. After the doors were closed and we were about to taxi away from the gate, the captain came over the speaker and announced that there was some kind of leak that they couldn’t fix! We all had to deplane and wait for another aircraft. I’ve done a lot of traveling in my life, and this was the first time that I’ve experienced my flight being cancelled AFTER the passengers had boarded. And it wasn’t some little puddle-jumper either. It was a Qantas 737.

Anyway, three and-a-half hours later, they had us on another plane and ready to go. That put me into Queenstown too late to do any activities, and almost too late to get a room, but I lucked out and found something with a nice lake view. The water is so blue here.

Queenstown is the activity capital of an activity-centric country. You can hang glide, sail, parasail, paraglide, luge, heli-ski, jet boat, jet ski, and of course, bungy jump. In fact, this is the birthplace of bungy jumping. The AJ Hacket company’s original site at the Kawarau bridge is still operational.

So, did I jump?? No. Despite the fact that I’ve been skydiving, ziplining, driven a race car, flown a fighter plane, and a bunch of other crazy stuff, bungy jumping has just never appealed to me. I had a brief thought that, just because I was here, maybe I should try it. But it didn’t seem worth spending $150 to do something I wasn’t that excited about, so I took some cool pictures and moved on.

Queenstown was the site of various gold mining operations from the start of the 1880s gold rush until as recently as 1992, when the last commercial mining company pulled out. I took a tour of some of the sites and learned all about the mining operations. The level of determination and ingenuity that went into mining back then is astounding. I actually panned for and found a tiny fleck of gold here. My tourmates got a big kick out of my story of panning for fool’s gold at a Los Angeles area amusement park when I was a kid.

There’s a gondola that you can ride up into the hills above Queenstown. Here are a couple shots from there. If you look closely, you can see sailboats on the lake in the third one.

I had planned this whole trip to catch the end of summer in New Zealand and the beginning of autumn in Australia. Unfortunately, they’re having an early fall here this year, so much of New Zealand is dry and brown. River levels are very low, and trees are already starting to turn color. You can see that in many of my photographs around Queenstown. However, there are also some stunningly green vistas too, especially as I moved toward the West coast.