Sat 0221 Sydney

Well, it's 8pm Saturday evening and my first day in Sydney is drawing to a close. I'm not really a party pooper, but it's been a very long day which has lasted well over 40 hours.
It was 32 hours from the time I left home until I got into my room at the Swissotel. I made the travel time slightly longer than it had to be by starting in West Palm Beach rather than Miami. This meant an extra connection but that let me get a ride to the airport which is certainly preferable to having to get to Miami.
I was concerned about a legal but nonetheless tight connection in DFW, but it was a piece of cake. LAX, on the other hand, was horrendous. In order to change from AA to UA, I had to exit the terminal, take a free shuttle bus to United and go through security again. At least my luggage was checked through. The only good thing about it is that the process ate up 1 of the 5 hours scheduled between flights.
I don’t understand the E-Visa required in Australia. When I checked in at American, I was asked for an ID and showed my driver’s license. When I checked in at United, I used my passport at the self-service check-in station for identification purposes only. I was never asked about my visa. I was travelling with the printout of the email telling me the visa application was approved and the approval number was referenced. I did not have a copy of the visa itself, nor was I ever asked to produce it. I thought, perhaps I’d be asked at Australian immigration, but they didn’t ask either. In all probability, they saw that I had a visa when they scanned my passport, but it was never mentioned.