I am heading off to Australia at Christmastime this year and the preparation for this trip sparked a couple of thoughts.

Firstly, we will be in the air on Christmas Day itself, which is less than ideal.  But then, if you saw how much cheaper the flights were you would surely understand.  I was wondering whether or not the in-flight entertainment and food/drink will differ in any way.  I wouldn't imagine so, because if the airline made any effort to respect a Christian festival, then surely they would be obliged to respect all other religious events too, right?

 Does anyone have any insight to share on this?

The second thought concerns the process for getting  a visa to enter Australia.  I learned first of all that you can do the whole thing online, there's no need to find a travel agent (sorry folks) and wait in a queue to fill in forms etc.  I set about looking online for an ETA visa only to learn that instead, as a British Citizen I could use the eVisitor online process.Well, imagine how pleased I was when just 5 minutes later, after following a simple online process, I was told my part in proceedings was complete and to sit back and wait for an email.  Imagine my utter pleasure a few hours later to receive the email (admittedly automated) telling me that "The department wishes to advise that a decision has been made on this application and you have been granted an eVisitor."

Brilliant, efficient, easy to use... need I go on?