About a year ago, Puchiko traveled to Australia. I observed closely that even with dietary restrictions and health management challenges due to renal disease and vesical condition, as well as aerophagia (air swallowing), Puchiko—who lives with these limitations—could successfully manage an overseas trip without drastically changing her usual lifestyle, provided she planned carefully. I’ve written down her experience here. This is Tips about Overseas Trip with Restrictions
Table of Contents
1. The Spark and the Search for Self-Catering Accommodation
2 months after her renal disease went into remission, Puchiko suddenly had a spontaneous thought at work: “I’m going to Australia!” I was worried because she had been very depressed during her steroid treatment. I was personally relieved that her steroid treatment was over and she felt well enough to go on an overseas trip.
The essential condition for Puchiko’s trip, given her restrictions, was:
• The ability to cook for herself (due to renal disease and vesical condition).
In other words, she needed to rent a house, not a hotel! That’s when Puchiko set her sights on Airbnb. Cooking for herself also helped keep the costs down.
2. ETAS Application: Essential for Entering Australia
ETAS is the Electronic Travel Authority scheme, which replaces the traditional passport sticker visa with an online registration system on the Australian government’s computer, granting an entry visa (ETA).
The app screen where you can apply for ETAS.
3. Luggage Storage Before Check-in
Puchiko was scheduled to arrive in Australia (Cairns) at the very early hour of 4:25 AM. Since the check-in time for her booked Airbnb was 2:00 PM, she had a lot of time to kill. It would be difficult to sightsee while carrying a suitcase. Since I am her imaginary friend, I couldn’t carry the suitcase for her. Being clever, Puchiko pre-booked a service to store her luggage.
The app screen for booking a shop that holds your suitcase.
She used an app called Nannybag to reserve a shop that would hold her luggage. The fee wasn’t very expensive, about ¥1,000 for 6 hours. Make sure to check the pricing, as it varies by shop.
These were the crucial preparations.
4. Departure and the Flight with Overseas Trip with Restrictions
Puchiko decided to have dinner at the airport before checking in, clearing immigration, and dropping off her suitcase. This was because she has to leave enough time between eating and sleeping due to her existing gastroesophageal reflux disease, aiming to finish her meal 2 hours before lying down. She therefore canceled the airplane meal and ate chanpon noodles at the airport. This was an unavoidable meal out. Anticipating such situations, she had brought and took a salt-absorbing supplement called Shio- nain (塩ナイン).
Puchiko finished her meal, cleared immigration, and checked her suitcase. She brushed her teeth, washed her face, and applied moisturizer. She also bought 1,200 ml of water for drinking and for using a nasal rinsing on the plane. Nasal rinsing is an important habit for Puchiko; it washes away the filth accumulated in the nasal passages from a day of breathing. It is vital for health management in the close confines of an airplane cabin. This nasal rinsing might be the key to the success of Puchiko’s Overseas Trip with Restrictions.
Puchiko’s beloved health secret: nasal rinsing.
When Puchiko boarded and took her seat on the far right of the 3-seat row, the middle seat remained empty, and one other man sat on the far left. So, I took the middle seat. The man on my left asked Puchiko, “Traveling?” and then began talking excessively about himself, even though she hadn’t asked. He was 32, had a cross tattoo on his forehead, was twice divorced with eight children, had an arrest record, and his company went bankrupt due to a drug control violation. The man asked for her social media. To avoid confrontation, she gave it to him there (she immediately blocked him after they separated). She simply listened passively to his self-introduction. Determined to sleep well during the flight, she prepared for bed. She put a nasal breathing strip over her mouth, wore a mask, inserted earplugs, and put on an eye mask. She then fell into a deep sleep.
However, this encounter with the man marked the beginning of Puchiko’s day of hell. I continuously punched the man during the entire flight, but it was no use. That is the sad reality of an imaginary friend.
6 hours later, Puchiko awoke and was filling out the immigration card when the man asked her, “Hey! I don’t understand English at all. Tell me how to fill this out!” Being thoughtful, she helped him. However, in her mind, she thought, “This guy is annoying.” Just before landing preparation, she went to the bathroom and used the water she bought to do nasal rinsing with her travel-sized NeilMed SINUS RINSE bottle.
5. Immigration
After collecting Puchiko’s suitcase and showing her immigration card, just as Puchiko’s own immigration clearance was finished, an airport official approached her, saying, “Hey, you! Are you this man’s friend?” The man from the plane was there. Ah, let’s call this man “Cross-Forehead Man.”
The official told Puchiko, “Well, this guy doesn’t know the address of where he’s staying…” I told her to ignore him, but she must have felt sorry for the official. She asked Cross-Forehead Man where he was staying. He replied that he was staying at a backpackers hostel attached to a nightclub she used to frequent during her working holiday in Australia. She relayed this to the official, and that was the end of it.
Afterward, Puchiko started heading to the city to drop off her suitcase. However, as she went to the Uber parking area to go to the city, Cross-Forehead Man followed her, forcing her to share the ride to the city. She dropped off her suitcase at the place she had reserved with Nannybag until check-in time.
6. Day 1 with Overseas Trip with Restrictions
Next, Puchiko waited for a shop to open at 9:00 AM to solve the SIM card problem. The problem had occurred when she tried to swap the pre-purchased and activated SIM card at Narita Airport. The slot wouldn’t open easily, and the pin she was using to open it broke. At that time, the pin hit a crack in her smartphone’s glass protector, and the broken film stabbed her fingernail, causing bleeding and quite a lot of pain.
Therefore, Puchiko had planned to ask for help from the SIM card sellers once she arrived locally. She still had 3 hours until 9:00 AM. She decided to kill time at a cafe. Cross-Forehead Man, of course, followed her. I told Puchiko many times to ignore him, but I suppose, in that situation, it was difficult to do so.
Puchiko ordered herbal tea and sat down. Cross-Forehead Man asked her to inquire about where he could smoke marijuana. She ignored him. He then showed a translation app to the clerk and asked where he could smoke marijuana. The clerk was troubled. Puchiko wished the man would just go away.
While at the cafe, the man looked at Puchiko’s Instagram and found out about her illness. He then asked her, “Your complexion looked better before. Is this photo from before you were sick?” I lifted the chair from the next table and aimed it at the rude man’s head, but it was useless. This is yet another empty reality of an imaginary friend.
Finally, 9:00 AM arrived, and Puchiko entered the SIM card shop. She apologized to the clerk, explaining her situation despite not buying the product there. The clerk easily swapped her SIM card and even gave her a spare pin so she wouldn’t have trouble after returning home.
When Puchiko left the shop, the rude Cross-Forehead Man, who was still clinging to her, said, “I want a SIM card too.” I thought he should just buy one himself. And then I didn’t understand. Because the rude Cross-Forehead Man already had a smartphone that could be used overseas!
I respect Puchiko’s good nature. She told the clerk, “He wants a SIM card”. The clerk showed him a sample and said, “We only carry monthly SIM cards now. There’s a COLES (supermarket) downstairs that has weekly SIM cards, so if you buy our brand’s weekly card and bring it here, I’ll activate it for you.”
Puchiko translated this into Japanese for the rude Cross-Forehead Man and sent him to buy it. However, the rude Cross-Forehead Man bought a SIM card from a different manufacturer, saying, “It was cheap.” Of course, when he brought it back, the clerk refused to activate it. She decided she couldn’t deal with the “stupid and rude Cross-Forehead Man” anymore and escaped, saying, “Sorry, I’m going to do things alone now.” I praised her for helping the “stupid and rude Cross-Forehead Man” as much as she did. Puchiko grumbled, “If you can’t understand English at all and have to involve strangers, you should just use a tour.”
Finally free, Puchiko went to COLES, the supermarket, to buy ingredients for self-catering. In the afternoon, the Airbnb owner contacted her, saying, “You can come drop off your luggage now, even though check-in isn’t until later.” She took an Uber to the Airbnb. The Uber driver pointed to his hat and said, “My son bought me this hat as a souvenir from Tokyo.”
When Puchiko arrived at the Airbnb, the owner told her, “If you tell them you’re staying at my place, you can get a discount at that restaurant.” Check-in hadn’t happened yet, so she couldn’t cook, and above all, she was exhausted. She was also hungry, so as a cheat day, she decided to eat at a restaurant she had been curious about but never visited when she lived nearby during her working holiday days.
After finally checking in, Puchiko was completely exhausted and didn’t leave the house for the rest of the day. However, she did not forget to block the “stupid and rude Cross-Forehead Man” on social media.
Next time, I’ll write about Day 2 Overseas Trip with Restrictions.
Puchiko’s Overseas Trip with Restrictions: Australia, Part 2