Australia: Land of the Fee...

One thing that I hadn’t really anticipated being a problem in my coming to Australia was a monetary one. Australia isn’t cheap, far from it. Even adjusting for the exchange rate with the American Dollar, a 12 oz. can of Coke (the only true measure of economic equivalence in existence) costs $2.50, at best, in a restaurant, and usually more than $3. This fact was painfully evident during me and Nick’s first few days in Sydney, when we ate out for every meal, had no economical means of transportation, and spent much time trying to stock up on items we’d forgotten to bring from home (shampoo, soap, towels, pillows, etc.)

Forgive my being tongue-in-cheek, but with Australian currency, you really do get your money’s worth. The paper versions, for example, are not paper at all, but plastic, which you can’t tear (go ahead and try, you can’t), can get wet without any damage, is wonderfully colorful and rife with anti-counterfeit measures including areas of total transparency. The jingle-jangle version may be less interesting, but is wholly more enjoyable. Take, for example, the 50 cent piece. Octagonal in design, the 50 center is gratifyingly stackable (see pictures). My personal (and by all accounts, world) record, as the pictures prove, is five coins, reaching an astounding height of 6 inches. Go ahead and be impressed, it's okay.

That’s about all I have to say about money in Australia, just another part of this country you can’t seem to get enough of…

Tall Money