OK, so I know I haven't blogged for ages but that's because I haven't had much to blog about but now I do, so yay for me.
Well, I started at The Winery and it's a lovely restaurant but not enough hours and so I decided that I needed another job. As much as it'd have been easy to go and get a temp job, I randomly walked into this cafe/bar on my way home last night and they offered me a 'trial', which I did today and I start on Monday with dream hours of Monday to Friday 8 - 2.30 (give or take in the afternoon). So, with my employment situation all sorted (I'm basically making what I wanted to make plus a bit more) it means that the house hunt will begin next week as long as I don't have to work too much! Basically it looks like I'll have Sundays off, which is fine and I'll get into the swing of doing all the hours. As I have no friends it's not like I'm going to be missing out on anything!!!
Also my teeth are basically messed up according to a dentist here and apparently I have to have one of my wisdom teeth removed. I do not want this to happen but I definitely don't want it to happen over here because apparently it's a horrendous nightmare of a procedure and I would rather not have to go through it.
Sydney was really hot today but now there's thunder (hopefully briefly) and it's very dull and cloudy here at the moment.
I really am getting fat but that's because I've been eating way too much and eating a lot of carbs but at least now I have jobs that will get me off my feet and stop me eating so much so that's good. Actually I just had a delicious chicken wrap from Nandos. It really was yummy.
The metrosexuality in this city is hilarious, by the way. This guy walked past me on my way here and he was talking to another man saying, 'Chunky heels are definitely out.' What on earth?! It's brilliant.
Hm, OK, yeah, that's all. Fun and games at the hostel with extra people being in dorms and other people getting woken up. No, I was most certainly not a culprit and actually neither was I a victim.
20 November 2009
10 November 2009
9 November 2009
Random Sightings - a VERY random one.
OK, so I can't decide if this is on a par with, beats or is beaten by my bumping into Gemma in Auckland though it is clear that I was happier with the Gemma random sighting than this, which is purely bizarre.
Every day that I come into the CBD, I walk the same way. I go down onto Darling Harbour, walk along Cockle Bay Wharf and then I go up the steps/escalator onto Market Street and past Sussex and York Streets onto George Street (the main street running through Sydney CBD). Well, today, just as I was walking over the ramp from Darling Harbour onto Market Street, I walked past none other than David bloody Blunkett. Seriously. And he was in a full suit, even though it's about 27 degrees here.
He didn't have a dog with him, just some woman guiding him along and that was it. What he's doing in Sydney, I have no idea but that has got to be the most bizarre person to see on a Monday afternoon at Darling Harbour ever.
Every day that I come into the CBD, I walk the same way. I go down onto Darling Harbour, walk along Cockle Bay Wharf and then I go up the steps/escalator onto Market Street and past Sussex and York Streets onto George Street (the main street running through Sydney CBD). Well, today, just as I was walking over the ramp from Darling Harbour onto Market Street, I walked past none other than David bloody Blunkett. Seriously. And he was in a full suit, even though it's about 27 degrees here.
He didn't have a dog with him, just some woman guiding him along and that was it. What he's doing in Sydney, I have no idea but that has got to be the most bizarre person to see on a Monday afternoon at Darling Harbour ever.
6 November 2009
Just some info
OK, so after Melbourne Cup day it's been mild and rainy all week.
Um, I think I have a job at a restaurant that serves over 40 wines by the glass. It's a cool restaurant, which is kind of a shame because now I'll never be able to go and enjoy a meal there if it's my place of work. The next step, therefore, is to find some living quarters for the next few weeks (particularly Xmas and New Year), which hopefully I will be able to do soon.
I have decided I would not live here because there's no culture. I know that sounds terribly snobbish and I am possibly currently engaged in a war of words with TheKiwi on this subject. Anyway I have heard from lots of people that Melbourne is the place to go for that sort of thing. Well, that's as may be but I have pretty firmly decided what I thought I would think before I even left; Europe kicks historical and cultural arse and I'm European, goddamnit!
That's not to say that I don't like it here. I do like it for what it is and Sydney really buzzes and it's much more of a 24 hour city than, say, London and I like that. Time takes on its own meaning when you could basically go anywhere at any time and do anything.
So, well, I guess I sort of live in Sydney now so I am going to have to get into the swing of that fact, with work and going to the beach on my days off. We'll see how I go!
Um, I think I have a job at a restaurant that serves over 40 wines by the glass. It's a cool restaurant, which is kind of a shame because now I'll never be able to go and enjoy a meal there if it's my place of work. The next step, therefore, is to find some living quarters for the next few weeks (particularly Xmas and New Year), which hopefully I will be able to do soon.
I have decided I would not live here because there's no culture. I know that sounds terribly snobbish and I am possibly currently engaged in a war of words with TheKiwi on this subject. Anyway I have heard from lots of people that Melbourne is the place to go for that sort of thing. Well, that's as may be but I have pretty firmly decided what I thought I would think before I even left; Europe kicks historical and cultural arse and I'm European, goddamnit!
That's not to say that I don't like it here. I do like it for what it is and Sydney really buzzes and it's much more of a 24 hour city than, say, London and I like that. Time takes on its own meaning when you could basically go anywhere at any time and do anything.
So, well, I guess I sort of live in Sydney now so I am going to have to get into the swing of that fact, with work and going to the beach on my days off. We'll see how I go!
3 November 2009
I may be in Sydney, but you sure can tell it's Melbourne Gold Cup day.
It's really bizarre but I've been in central Sydney for about the last three hours and oh my gosh, there are SO many women in these dresses with fascinators in their hair and whatnot. We're not even in Melbourne and yet people seem to think they have to dress up as though they're actually there. I do so hope that there's some sort of screening event somewhere that I don't know about or they're just idiots.
Also it's uber, uber hot today and really dry heat as well so my eyes are hurting. Luckily it's only for one day but as it goes I pretty much have to get used to this anyway because it's not even summer yet. Tomorrow it will rain. Ah well.
Also a random sighting - walking down George St a few minutes ago and these two ostensibly straight guys walked past me and Guy 1 said to Guy 2, "OK, I'm going back to work, bi-atch. Be good." Really?! Who talks like that outside of the Valley in California?! Weird.
Oh, another thing about this hotness thing is the fact that I've daily been buying a 1.5 litre bottle of water from either Coles or Woolworths and burning straight through over the course of the day. This increases my water intake from 0 litres a day to 1.5 litres and I don't even notice when I'm nearly at the end of a bottle. I don't even like water! I also want to contend the theory about being hungry and drinking water instead. Drinking so much water MAKES me hungry and I've been having biggest breakfasts ever and massive meals at all times and wanting to snack on an almost permanent basis, though I've restrained myself and have been going for muesli bars and the like.
I think it's also important to note that I've realised I can't emigrate here permanently. The reason? Books are too expensive. So in England a paperback averages at about 8 pounds, whereas here they're like $25 at least so that, with the weak pound, makes them about 15 pounds each. So that's that; I'll move back to England. Eventually. For now, though, there are loads of secondhand book stores to keep me entertained. Yay.
Right, I'm off to find me a place to watch the Melbourne Gold Cup from with a nice cold beverage.
2 November 2009
Back in Ultimo, thank god!
So yesterday I finally moved back to the hostel I was at last time I was here and I am a million times happier because frankly I was verging on the miserable at that awful place on George St but all is good now and it's sunny outside so I'm a happy and therefore better person. True story.
30 October 2009
Things I miss
I miss my daily hit of quesadillas! Actually I miss the all round goodness of the food I ate in Auckland!!!
I am satisfying the requirements of bureaucracy.
I got my bank account sorted today and applied for my Tax File Number so to be honest I'm pretty pleased with myself. I also spent about two hours down at Circular Quay just reading and drinking water and listening to my iPod. It sounds dull but the fact is that it was 24 degrees here and sunny and I could. I hope you're all OK in your coats, hats and scarves.
I have a job interview on Monday at a wine bar so please all cross your fingers for me.
I moved hostels cos the one I was at last night was rubs and now I'm happier. I think the sun might have contributed to that. Anyway I am settling in again, even though I'm all alone, boohoo for me and my princessy ways.
P.S. I will give prizes to people who guess who BeautifulGerman is as there's a photo on Facey B.
I have a job interview on Monday at a wine bar so please all cross your fingers for me.
I moved hostels cos the one I was at last night was rubs and now I'm happier. I think the sun might have contributed to that. Anyway I am settling in again, even though I'm all alone, boohoo for me and my princessy ways.
P.S. I will give prizes to people who guess who BeautifulGerman is as there's a photo on Facey B.
Ciao for now, New Zealand
I'm actually writing this blog post in my notebook ready to transcribe later. Man, I miss writing on paper; it's ace. Anyway...
So today I am finally going back to Sydney. Actually I'm sitting in departures looking at all the planes taking off and loading and things. I'm such a geek; I don't think I'll ever get bored of watching them because planes are amazing. FACT. This kid's just walked past with one of the little model planes they give to children. I want one. Maybe I'll mug him for it.*
I think I'm a jinx to weather - it's warm and sunny and lovely in Auckland today and I bet it'll be pouring with rain when I get to Sydney! I slept really badly last night: I don't think I'm taking too well to being on my own again after being with such cool people and having a little family these last weeks. I'll also admit I've been waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too lazy but as it's now job time it's not huge problem. As long as I don't do it all the time, obviously. Being at YHA in Auckland with such a big group of people has been amazing. Although loads of people have come and gone, we've had a really cool if ever changing crew. It's weird because at home I'm so much more comfortable in small groups ad here I've been sitting around a table for dinner with sometimes 12 or 13 of us after a big cooking session.
Actually this guy Ollie turned up the other night and we were doing dinner for 10 and we always take up loads of the kitchen, so we're using sometimes 3 hobs and the whole bench on one side. We whack my iPod on and drink beer whilst we all chop, cook and taste (lots of, 'I just want to see that it's seasoned!') Anyway, this Ollie guy was standing there repeating how awesome the camaraderie and atmosphere was. It was only then that I realised actually how brilliant it was even when I wasn't cooking and therefore had to be DishBitch.
As a result of all this, I do feel a very tangible sense of loneliness again. I'm sure it won;t last long but it's still not the greatest thing in the world. My hostel in Sydney is fully booked so I currently have nowhere to sleep tonight. Ah well! Tomorrow is going to be laborious; I have to get my TFN and sort a bank account before I go and get me some gainful employment so that I can get somewhere to live that doesn't involve me living out of a rucksack for the next four months or whatever.
Hm, I think that's enough rambling now. OH! Except for one thing - I had quite possibly the most cheesy thought ever the other day. I think (I hope) it's because of the song I'll Be Seeing You by Billie Holliday. It occurred to me that when I look at the moon or when the sun is shining, it's the same moon and sun that everyone back home sees. Anyway, since then I keep looking at the moon to remind me of people from home. I know, it's so sappy but actually I don't care.
On the plane now (which, bizarrely, has an all male crew) so over and out from New Zealand.
*To be clear, I neither attempted to nor seriously contemplated this.
So today I am finally going back to Sydney. Actually I'm sitting in departures looking at all the planes taking off and loading and things. I'm such a geek; I don't think I'll ever get bored of watching them because planes are amazing. FACT. This kid's just walked past with one of the little model planes they give to children. I want one. Maybe I'll mug him for it.*
I think I'm a jinx to weather - it's warm and sunny and lovely in Auckland today and I bet it'll be pouring with rain when I get to Sydney! I slept really badly last night: I don't think I'm taking too well to being on my own again after being with such cool people and having a little family these last weeks. I'll also admit I've been waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too lazy but as it's now job time it's not huge problem. As long as I don't do it all the time, obviously. Being at YHA in Auckland with such a big group of people has been amazing. Although loads of people have come and gone, we've had a really cool if ever changing crew. It's weird because at home I'm so much more comfortable in small groups ad here I've been sitting around a table for dinner with sometimes 12 or 13 of us after a big cooking session.
Actually this guy Ollie turned up the other night and we were doing dinner for 10 and we always take up loads of the kitchen, so we're using sometimes 3 hobs and the whole bench on one side. We whack my iPod on and drink beer whilst we all chop, cook and taste (lots of, 'I just want to see that it's seasoned!') Anyway, this Ollie guy was standing there repeating how awesome the camaraderie and atmosphere was. It was only then that I realised actually how brilliant it was even when I wasn't cooking and therefore had to be DishBitch.
As a result of all this, I do feel a very tangible sense of loneliness again. I'm sure it won;t last long but it's still not the greatest thing in the world. My hostel in Sydney is fully booked so I currently have nowhere to sleep tonight. Ah well! Tomorrow is going to be laborious; I have to get my TFN and sort a bank account before I go and get me some gainful employment so that I can get somewhere to live that doesn't involve me living out of a rucksack for the next four months or whatever.
Hm, I think that's enough rambling now. OH! Except for one thing - I had quite possibly the most cheesy thought ever the other day. I think (I hope) it's because of the song I'll Be Seeing You by Billie Holliday. It occurred to me that when I look at the moon or when the sun is shining, it's the same moon and sun that everyone back home sees. Anyway, since then I keep looking at the moon to remind me of people from home. I know, it's so sappy but actually I don't care.
On the plane now (which, bizarrely, has an all male crew) so over and out from New Zealand.
*To be clear, I neither attempted to nor seriously contemplated this.
28 October 2009
Wonderful novelties
I just got an abusive email about how I'm whinging about things that I miss so to make a point (I love making points!) this is to rectify the situation.
Beer. There is a plethora of beer to choose from and all of it is good. Especially the trivia questions inside the Tui and also the fact that the beer is twist off so you don't have to look for a bottle opener every five minutes.
The vegetation here is really interesting and it's cool, because there are these tropical trees in amongst the evergreens and (I think this is what they're called) deciduous trees.
I like the fact that it's normal to play pool here and there are pool tables everywhere. It's weird because in England the pubs have maybe one pool table hidden away if at all and here they're everywhere and it's normal to play pool.
The meat. The meat is cheap and it's good and it's plentiful. I heart all the meaty goodness, even if it is probably the cause of my almost permanent heartburn.
Tim Tams are amazing. Especially a Tim Tam slam. I know it's not strictly speaking NZ, but it's Aussie and that's practically the same thing.
It's cool to have beaches nearby and the contrast between beachy goodness and then all the parks including wonderful Auckland Domain and actually One Tree Hill Domain.
The fish and chips here are divine and are about a million times better than fish and chips.
Beer. There is a plethora of beer to choose from and all of it is good. Especially the trivia questions inside the Tui and also the fact that the beer is twist off so you don't have to look for a bottle opener every five minutes.
The vegetation here is really interesting and it's cool, because there are these tropical trees in amongst the evergreens and (I think this is what they're called) deciduous trees.
I like the fact that it's normal to play pool here and there are pool tables everywhere. It's weird because in England the pubs have maybe one pool table hidden away if at all and here they're everywhere and it's normal to play pool.
The meat. The meat is cheap and it's good and it's plentiful. I heart all the meaty goodness, even if it is probably the cause of my almost permanent heartburn.
Tim Tams are amazing. Especially a Tim Tam slam. I know it's not strictly speaking NZ, but it's Aussie and that's practically the same thing.
It's cool to have beaches nearby and the contrast between beachy goodness and then all the parks including wonderful Auckland Domain and actually One Tree Hill Domain.
The fish and chips here are divine and are about a million times better than fish and chips.
27 October 2009
Things I miss
I miss Tropicana orange juice with no bits in. Seriously, I've scaled Foodtown and New World for this sort of orange juice but to no avail. You can either get smooth orange juice 'with an apple basis' or orange juice which is ridiculously pulpy or orange juice that you don't know what it's like because it's in a carton and it has nothing on the carton to tell you 'with bits' or 'smooth'. It's rubs.
26 October 2009
The most awesome, wicked super cool story ever.
I got up this morning and basically managed to drag myself downstairs to the big communal area of the hostel. Well, I was still bleary eyed and as I walked in there was a girl drinking tea, reading a magazine and she had long dark hair. I couldn't really see her face apart from the bleary eyed-ness but when I blinked again I was like, 'Oh my god, is that Gemma*?' and so I blinked again and it was definitely her. So I just blurted out, 'Oh. My. God.' And she looked up and said, 'Oh. My. God.' I repeated this, then she did, then I did, then she did, then there were a few seconds of silence, then I repeated it again, then she said, 'I don't know what else to say. Oh. My. God.'
Well, I knew that Gemma was travelling but as far as I knew she was like up in the east coast of Australia and she didn't know that I was in Auckland at all, I don't know where she thought I was but anyway I sat down and we started talking and I was telling her about the hostel and stuff and then we sat and talked for like five hours and I introduced her to the crew and invited her to join us for dinner. The funniest thing was every so often just stopping the conversation and repeating our disbelief that we had bumped into each other here in Auckland.
It really makes me believe that things happen for a reason and bumping into her is absolute proof of this. Of course I had to tell everyone that this was my friend from Bristol and that it was complete coincidence, blah, blah, blah. It's really very, very bizarre to have bumped into her but it's also very, very cool. Cos she's ace and because it's wonderful to see somebody you know, regardless of how bizarre the circumstances are.
*OK, for those of you who don't know (most people), Gemma is a girl I worked with for a really short while not long after I first moved to Bristol and we always got on really well and saw each other sporadically for dinner etc because she's really good company and so she was going travelling but going through America first and my plans hadn't been firmly settled when I left and what with not having been in Australia I hadn't yet emailed her to get her geographical location and possibly meet up with her but anyway, moot point, because I've now met up with her anyway. Awesome.
Well, I knew that Gemma was travelling but as far as I knew she was like up in the east coast of Australia and she didn't know that I was in Auckland at all, I don't know where she thought I was but anyway I sat down and we started talking and I was telling her about the hostel and stuff and then we sat and talked for like five hours and I introduced her to the crew and invited her to join us for dinner. The funniest thing was every so often just stopping the conversation and repeating our disbelief that we had bumped into each other here in Auckland.
It really makes me believe that things happen for a reason and bumping into her is absolute proof of this. Of course I had to tell everyone that this was my friend from Bristol and that it was complete coincidence, blah, blah, blah. It's really very, very bizarre to have bumped into her but it's also very, very cool. Cos she's ace and because it's wonderful to see somebody you know, regardless of how bizarre the circumstances are.
*OK, for those of you who don't know (most people), Gemma is a girl I worked with for a really short while not long after I first moved to Bristol and we always got on really well and saw each other sporadically for dinner etc because she's really good company and so she was going travelling but going through America first and my plans hadn't been firmly settled when I left and what with not having been in Australia I hadn't yet emailed her to get her geographical location and possibly meet up with her but anyway, moot point, because I've now met up with her anyway. Awesome.
25 October 2009
Coast to coast walk, etc.
Yesterday the weather was absolutely beautiful so I put on my summer dress and my happy face and Flanders and I went and did the Auckland coast to coast walk after I'd done a round of pancake making. Yeah, that's right, I actually did the 16km coast to coast walk.
I don't know what I'd done to my thighs but they were really painful and my right thigh kept giving way on me. It was rubs. It didn't stop me however. What was annoying, though, was that we had done basically no preparation and the only map we had didn't have road names on and we kept getting completely lost and did about eight loops but we found our way back to Epsom (an area you have to go through to go to One Tree Hill) and all was good again. One Tree Hill was amazing. Even though it's No Tree Hill. Anyway, the view back to Auckland CBD (OTH is quite far out) is very, very cool. It was also a wonderful day to go out in but I'm bitterly disappointed that after five hours of walking I don't even have a bit of colour to show for it and today the weather is not so good again. Bad times.
Then last night there was a massive group of us sitting around and having a few beers and playing drinking games. Excellent.
I don't know what I'd done to my thighs but they were really painful and my right thigh kept giving way on me. It was rubs. It didn't stop me however. What was annoying, though, was that we had done basically no preparation and the only map we had didn't have road names on and we kept getting completely lost and did about eight loops but we found our way back to Epsom (an area you have to go through to go to One Tree Hill) and all was good again. One Tree Hill was amazing. Even though it's No Tree Hill. Anyway, the view back to Auckland CBD (OTH is quite far out) is very, very cool. It was also a wonderful day to go out in but I'm bitterly disappointed that after five hours of walking I don't even have a bit of colour to show for it and today the weather is not so good again. Bad times.
Then last night there was a massive group of us sitting around and having a few beers and playing drinking games. Excellent.
23 October 2009
My token drunken, emotional post of postingness. Ever.
OK, so I've sort of been vaguely thinking about this for a while and the fact that I've decided to actually do it whilst intoxicated is probably not the best idea ever but also it probably means I'll be the most honest, if not the most articulate that I'll ever be. But hey, I've decided that I'm 22 and my literacy skills are far higher than most people in my peer group so I'm quite clearly very definitely allowed this one post. The great thing about this being my blog is that if in the cold, sober light of day I decide that this decision was not the wisest ever, then I can delete and pretend that it never happened.
When I left England, I sort of felt that I had some things to move on from and forget about and, I've no idea why, but I thought that some sort of magic wand would be waved somewhere over Asia and it would be like all the things that bothered me when I was in Britain would be gone. What I should have realised and what, realistically, I knew to to be the case deep down, is that you can't pick and choose what parts of your life/world you package up and take with you on your travels, even if it is to the other side of the world.
Had it been my choice, I would have brought with me only the thoughts of my friends and my family and the good things associated with that. As for the other, quite probably more negative things, I would have chosen to forget those or, foolishly, believed them to be in the past or moot points once I'd hit 25 000 feet.
What surprises me is the way things have taken up my mind. Bizarrely, my family, whilst never far from my thoughts, have never been a worry to me. Perhaps because I know they will always be there what with the whole flesh and blood thing. I have loved having Daddy at the end of my email every day in that over protective father way. Partly because it's something of a novelty, partly because to me it reiterates how much of a bloody daddy's girl I am!
I have thought a lot about my friends back home and how much they really mean to me. In a situation such as this, relationships can be very intense but, probably more saliently, very artificial. Within a few hours people become your entire world, being almost in situ families and best friends. But it doesn't stop me thinking about all the things I can say to my friends back home and the extent to which they know me, from the silliest little thing I did last week to my biggest fears of all. And it's kind of carp, them not being around all the time for every whim and fancy of my butterfly brain.
Probably the most bizarre thing of all my sort of 'moving on' stuff and all the like dealing with the past and putting it in a box neatly labelled 'The Past' is the fact that, before I went, I think I'd had more closure on my relationship than it turns out I had. I really thought I was pretty much over it and all I needed to do was the final moving on part which would have come from my leaving UK. It turns out, oh, I really hadn't, which actually is bizarre. Like, I don't know, you think that you are doing something completely different and it turns out that 11000 miles is not enough to tuck your life away into a neat little box. I am not exactly thrilled that I have to allow even more time to pass, now, given that I spent six months being extraordinarily patient. I live in hope that it will put itself into a box soon enough and I'll not be thinking what if and wondering to what extent I failed for the rest of my life. The finer points of this situation are constantly in the back of my mind to question in that age old female way of the whys, wherefores and what ifs. As is entirely typical.
I've also had to basically cut somebody out of my life and I'm not too thrilled about that. If I could change things, I would and it's really selfish to just think about how bothered I am that I have had to lose a friend and wish the circumstances were different when the situation is so much bigger than that. Again, remnants of England that shouldn't have come with me and now, after probably far too long in denial, I'm on the way to reconciling myself with the situation and will, I've no doubt, be completely fine with it soon enough. It's just a bit of a rubbish way to have to lose a friend when you kind of feel like it's for a moot reason.
In any case, I am convinced that soon enough I will consider all of this to be so far in the past it'll be sort of meaningless. However right now it feels very, very much in the present and not in a good way but in a slightly icky wish I could forget it all way. In part it makes me wish I'd already been away for six months.
You'll all see no comments on this post an I've gotten to the point now where I am too tired and my clarity of mind too blurred to really continue and in fact probably the last three paras make no sense. Anyway, needless to say, no comments on this on any other post, thanks. This is my blog and I can control it. Plus I'm a control freak. True story.
When I left England, I sort of felt that I had some things to move on from and forget about and, I've no idea why, but I thought that some sort of magic wand would be waved somewhere over Asia and it would be like all the things that bothered me when I was in Britain would be gone. What I should have realised and what, realistically, I knew to to be the case deep down, is that you can't pick and choose what parts of your life/world you package up and take with you on your travels, even if it is to the other side of the world.
Had it been my choice, I would have brought with me only the thoughts of my friends and my family and the good things associated with that. As for the other, quite probably more negative things, I would have chosen to forget those or, foolishly, believed them to be in the past or moot points once I'd hit 25 000 feet.
What surprises me is the way things have taken up my mind. Bizarrely, my family, whilst never far from my thoughts, have never been a worry to me. Perhaps because I know they will always be there what with the whole flesh and blood thing. I have loved having Daddy at the end of my email every day in that over protective father way. Partly because it's something of a novelty, partly because to me it reiterates how much of a bloody daddy's girl I am!
I have thought a lot about my friends back home and how much they really mean to me. In a situation such as this, relationships can be very intense but, probably more saliently, very artificial. Within a few hours people become your entire world, being almost in situ families and best friends. But it doesn't stop me thinking about all the things I can say to my friends back home and the extent to which they know me, from the silliest little thing I did last week to my biggest fears of all. And it's kind of carp, them not being around all the time for every whim and fancy of my butterfly brain.
Probably the most bizarre thing of all my sort of 'moving on' stuff and all the like dealing with the past and putting it in a box neatly labelled 'The Past' is the fact that, before I went, I think I'd had more closure on my relationship than it turns out I had. I really thought I was pretty much over it and all I needed to do was the final moving on part which would have come from my leaving UK. It turns out, oh, I really hadn't, which actually is bizarre. Like, I don't know, you think that you are doing something completely different and it turns out that 11000 miles is not enough to tuck your life away into a neat little box. I am not exactly thrilled that I have to allow even more time to pass, now, given that I spent six months being extraordinarily patient. I live in hope that it will put itself into a box soon enough and I'll not be thinking what if and wondering to what extent I failed for the rest of my life. The finer points of this situation are constantly in the back of my mind to question in that age old female way of the whys, wherefores and what ifs. As is entirely typical.
I've also had to basically cut somebody out of my life and I'm not too thrilled about that. If I could change things, I would and it's really selfish to just think about how bothered I am that I have had to lose a friend and wish the circumstances were different when the situation is so much bigger than that. Again, remnants of England that shouldn't have come with me and now, after probably far too long in denial, I'm on the way to reconciling myself with the situation and will, I've no doubt, be completely fine with it soon enough. It's just a bit of a rubbish way to have to lose a friend when you kind of feel like it's for a moot reason.
In any case, I am convinced that soon enough I will consider all of this to be so far in the past it'll be sort of meaningless. However right now it feels very, very much in the present and not in a good way but in a slightly icky wish I could forget it all way. In part it makes me wish I'd already been away for six months.
You'll all see no comments on this post an I've gotten to the point now where I am too tired and my clarity of mind too blurred to really continue and in fact probably the last three paras make no sense. Anyway, needless to say, no comments on this on any other post, thanks. This is my blog and I can control it. Plus I'm a control freak. True story.
21 October 2009
Things I miss
For like three days the headline news on TV here was the rights to the 2011 Rugby World Cup going to either Maori TV or TVNZ. Seriously, practically nothing happens here so that makes big, big news. What I'm saying is that I miss stuff happening. Or at least I miss knowing about stuff happening. Also none of the news programmes are up to much out here. So I probably also miss BBC News.
I also miss Sainsbury's and actually English supermarkets. The main supermarkets here are Foodtown and New World and both of them are rubbishio compared to our supermarkets. Also, they call pepper 'capsicum', which is just ridiculous and wrong. FACT.
I also miss Sainsbury's and actually English supermarkets. The main supermarkets here are Foodtown and New World and both of them are rubbishio compared to our supermarkets. Also, they call pepper 'capsicum', which is just ridiculous and wrong. FACT.
Acid is never a good thing, especially when it's bubbling inside your body.
Today I have had horrible heartburn, which woke me up at 7am and is still hurting now, when it's 5pm. I'm in a LOT of pain and it would seem that no amount of milk, antacid tablets or drinking of water is going to help it. Very sweetly, the other two postponed the coast to coast walk so I could join so now it's on Friday. This is made more frustrating by the fact that the weather is beautiful today - blue, blue sky and barely a cloud in it. Unfortunately, all I've been able to do is curl into a ball and convulse with pain. Niiiiiiiiiiiiice.
20 October 2009
Lots of happenings, all in Auckland, all brilliant.
Hokey dokey, so I know I haven't updated for aaaaaaaaaaaages but that is because I've been eating amazing food and drinking so much Tui that I think I'm going to turn into a bottle of it but here goes a little precis of what has been going on for the last week or so...
There's a bar in the middle of Auckland where there is poker every night so basically I've learnt to play it and so last Thursday there were a couple of new inductees into YHA Auckland. They are a bloke called London and a bird named Flanders. London, funnily enough, lives in London and Flanders is from Belgium. The joy of the nickname continues. Anyhoo, so we did that and meeting London made me a) miss English people and b) miss England. He's an architect so we got to chatting about buildings (as you do) and how charming the architecture in Britain is and he's from Newmarket so he used to always hang around in Cambridge and as people who know me know, Cambridge to me is like an idyll of Britain and I heart it on a grand scale.
There have also been some South Americans staying at the hostel and some night last week, I want to say Wednesday, they cooked up a FEAST of epic proportions. I think I might have posted about this. In any case, it was amazing, being a selection of three dishes including Spaghetti Bolognese and this AWESOME salmon with pasta in a wonderfully tasty creamy sauce. Eleven of us, some wine, some beer, some cards, $3 a pop. It was superb.
This past weekend we went over to Piha, which is a volcanic beach on the west coast about an hour from Auckland and we bought the most amazing humungous joint of beef and had some sausages and rice and camped and there was a kids' playground so we played around on that in the dark before playing I Have Never. This was a group of nine people who packed into two cars and included TheGuitarist, me, London, Flanders, a German girl (no nickname because I can't think of one, frankly), TheChileans, TheMexican and ThePoleVaulter and we walked along the rockeries on the beach which I probably shouldn't have done because I was wearing slippery sandals and had had four beers but it was still amazing and actually even though the sand was black it was also shiny and wonderful. Then we stood in the sea with our trousers rolled up to see if we could avoid the water submerging said trousers. I failed on an epic scale but it was funny in any case. Even if the sea does smell a bit funny.
And so now for the last two nights the boys have cooked awesome meals. Last night was barbecue chicken wings with caesar salad and stuffed potatoes and tonight was even better, being tacos with made from scratch salsa and quesadillas. There were also avocados and lime and sour cream. Oh my gosh, I'm just remembering it and it really was awesome.
So now I'm in the internet cafe updating this whilst nursing my third Tui of the evening. This weekend to Te Puke but first I must a) play poker and speed pool at Globe Bar and b) tomorrow is my turn to cook and I'm making a Russian dish that I can't spell in English but maybe Daddy can because he's good at that sort of thing. It's got cabbage and mince and sour cream in it. Actually hopefully he'll read this and help me with the recipe.
Hm, that's all. But I love the little gang of us at the hostel and it's been awesome having mates around to do stuff with. Which reminds me. Tomorrow we're doing the coast to coast walk which is 16kms. I'm thinking my body is going to HURT on Thursday. Boohoo for me. I'm looking forward to it, though, because I haven't been to One Tree Hill. One Tree Hill, by the way, no longer has a tree.
There's a bar in the middle of Auckland where there is poker every night so basically I've learnt to play it and so last Thursday there were a couple of new inductees into YHA Auckland. They are a bloke called London and a bird named Flanders. London, funnily enough, lives in London and Flanders is from Belgium. The joy of the nickname continues. Anyhoo, so we did that and meeting London made me a) miss English people and b) miss England. He's an architect so we got to chatting about buildings (as you do) and how charming the architecture in Britain is and he's from Newmarket so he used to always hang around in Cambridge and as people who know me know, Cambridge to me is like an idyll of Britain and I heart it on a grand scale.
There have also been some South Americans staying at the hostel and some night last week, I want to say Wednesday, they cooked up a FEAST of epic proportions. I think I might have posted about this. In any case, it was amazing, being a selection of three dishes including Spaghetti Bolognese and this AWESOME salmon with pasta in a wonderfully tasty creamy sauce. Eleven of us, some wine, some beer, some cards, $3 a pop. It was superb.
This past weekend we went over to Piha, which is a volcanic beach on the west coast about an hour from Auckland and we bought the most amazing humungous joint of beef and had some sausages and rice and camped and there was a kids' playground so we played around on that in the dark before playing I Have Never. This was a group of nine people who packed into two cars and included TheGuitarist, me, London, Flanders, a German girl (no nickname because I can't think of one, frankly), TheChileans, TheMexican and ThePoleVaulter and we walked along the rockeries on the beach which I probably shouldn't have done because I was wearing slippery sandals and had had four beers but it was still amazing and actually even though the sand was black it was also shiny and wonderful. Then we stood in the sea with our trousers rolled up to see if we could avoid the water submerging said trousers. I failed on an epic scale but it was funny in any case. Even if the sea does smell a bit funny.
And so now for the last two nights the boys have cooked awesome meals. Last night was barbecue chicken wings with caesar salad and stuffed potatoes and tonight was even better, being tacos with made from scratch salsa and quesadillas. There were also avocados and lime and sour cream. Oh my gosh, I'm just remembering it and it really was awesome.
So now I'm in the internet cafe updating this whilst nursing my third Tui of the evening. This weekend to Te Puke but first I must a) play poker and speed pool at Globe Bar and b) tomorrow is my turn to cook and I'm making a Russian dish that I can't spell in English but maybe Daddy can because he's good at that sort of thing. It's got cabbage and mince and sour cream in it. Actually hopefully he'll read this and help me with the recipe.
Hm, that's all. But I love the little gang of us at the hostel and it's been awesome having mates around to do stuff with. Which reminds me. Tomorrow we're doing the coast to coast walk which is 16kms. I'm thinking my body is going to HURT on Thursday. Boohoo for me. I'm looking forward to it, though, because I haven't been to One Tree Hill. One Tree Hill, by the way, no longer has a tree.
15 October 2009
Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid ridiculousness
I've had $360 nicked out of my purse at the hostel. Wicked.
14 October 2009
I should still be in bed
I have finally hit a wall of like exhaustion or something. Last night, after an epic dinner cooked by the South Americans (it truly was epic), a bunch of us went to a bar that has a special backpackers night on a Tuesday and gives away free beer and pizza. Anyway, so 15 of us went down there, got our drinks and about a third of the way through my pint I started to burn up a bit so I went outside when I realised it was proper burny uppy and so I just left without telling anybody and went to the internet cafe for a little while and then went to bed.
Well, this morning the fire alarm at the hostel went off. Being as laissez-faire as I generally am, I actually just stayed in bed because I figured it'd be nothing as in there would be no fire. The fire alarm just kept on going and going, though, and I could hear it over my iPod so I eventually got up and strolled downstairs and outside.
I'm not kidding, four fire engines arrived. Four. And a cherry picker. What makes it even more surprising is that they didn't just talk to the guys at the hostel, they actually got their hoses out and they had those metal clipping things that aren't called wenches but they look like massive screwdrivers and they wedge things open. One of them opened a drain in the road and put a pipe thing on it so they could get water. Basically it all just seemed to be too much effort for no fire. In England they'd send an old man on a bike with a garden hose attached to the back of it.
So, now I am awake even though I really, really don't feel very well. But the fire engine thing was sufficiently random to warrant a blog on the subject. I am also eating Pineapple Lumps. They taste weird but the advert for them is pretty good.
Well, this morning the fire alarm at the hostel went off. Being as laissez-faire as I generally am, I actually just stayed in bed because I figured it'd be nothing as in there would be no fire. The fire alarm just kept on going and going, though, and I could hear it over my iPod so I eventually got up and strolled downstairs and outside.
I'm not kidding, four fire engines arrived. Four. And a cherry picker. What makes it even more surprising is that they didn't just talk to the guys at the hostel, they actually got their hoses out and they had those metal clipping things that aren't called wenches but they look like massive screwdrivers and they wedge things open. One of them opened a drain in the road and put a pipe thing on it so they could get water. Basically it all just seemed to be too much effort for no fire. In England they'd send an old man on a bike with a garden hose attached to the back of it.
So, now I am awake even though I really, really don't feel very well. But the fire engine thing was sufficiently random to warrant a blog on the subject. I am also eating Pineapple Lumps. They taste weird but the advert for them is pretty good.
11 October 2009
Strange new habits
I completely forgot this but I have to add drinking beer and playing pool. Luckily, beer most of the time is from bottles and as I sort of occasionally drank Corona before I left, that's vaguely OK but the other day I had a tankard of Mac's Gold. Oh dear.
And as for the playing pool thing; oh my god I've played more in the last three weeks than I had in the previous three years. Luckily I have a vague idea of how to play from when Daddy taught my when I was little but I do now wish that I'd learnt but then I did have better things to do. Anyway it at least means that when I get back I can thrash people at pool. OK, maybe not. But it's weird that I've played so much pool. To be honest I'm still not 100% on the rules.
And as for the playing pool thing; oh my god I've played more in the last three weeks than I had in the previous three years. Luckily I have a vague idea of how to play from when Daddy taught my when I was little but I do now wish that I'd learnt but then I did have better things to do. Anyway it at least means that when I get back I can thrash people at pool. OK, maybe not. But it's weird that I've played so much pool. To be honest I'm still not 100% on the rules.
10 October 2009
Things I miss
Being able to bitch with my family about politics, especially with the whole Nobel Prize thing. I have literally nobody with whom to discuss this for a long time.
I also miss The Times. Especially the Sunday Times.
I also miss The Times. Especially the Sunday Times.
Strange new habits
It's not exactly like I needed any more idiosyncrasies, but I've managed to pick a few up in the three weeks since I left Britain. No, I'm not proud or anything like that. It's just a fact.
- I now say 'eh' at pretty much the end of every sentence.
- I say for example, 'Eight thirty,' instead of, 'Half past eight.'
- I call the indicator the blinker.
- I feel an overwhelming desire to high five people. A lot.
- I now say 'eh' at pretty much the end of every sentence.
- I say for example, 'Eight thirty,' instead of, 'Half past eight.'
- I call the indicator the blinker.
- I feel an overwhelming desire to high five people. A lot.
I had hoped it was some sort of practical joke on New Zealand
On the trip back to Auckland, we had the radio on and I heard something that I did so hope was a joke but then I got here and BBC News verified it.
BARACK OBAMA GETTING THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE?!?!?!?!?!?!
Is this for real? Well yes, apparently, it is. I'm livid. Truly. What the hell do the Nobel Prize committee think they're even beginning to play at?! He's done nothing, nothing to warrant any prize, let alone peace prize. Actually, he could win a prize for bullshit rhetoric - he's brilliant at that.
I'm astounded at this decision. It's not even like the Nobel Committee has to do anything for political gain. Isn't the prize ceremony in Sweden?! That's basically a politically neutral country!
Frankly, I think it makes a mockery of what was, up until yesterday, an awesome recognition of some amazing people, like Martin Luther King Jr, Mother Theresa, Desmond Tutu, the Dalai Lama, Aung San Suu Kyi (a personal heroine of mine) and, of course, Nelson Mandela. And Barack Obama even begins to deserve to be on this list? I am flabbergasted. Yes, really.
BARACK OBAMA GETTING THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE?!?!?!?!?!?!
Is this for real? Well yes, apparently, it is. I'm livid. Truly. What the hell do the Nobel Prize committee think they're even beginning to play at?! He's done nothing, nothing to warrant any prize, let alone peace prize. Actually, he could win a prize for bullshit rhetoric - he's brilliant at that.
I'm astounded at this decision. It's not even like the Nobel Committee has to do anything for political gain. Isn't the prize ceremony in Sweden?! That's basically a politically neutral country!
Frankly, I think it makes a mockery of what was, up until yesterday, an awesome recognition of some amazing people, like Martin Luther King Jr, Mother Theresa, Desmond Tutu, the Dalai Lama, Aung San Suu Kyi (a personal heroine of mine) and, of course, Nelson Mandela. And Barack Obama even begins to deserve to be on this list? I am flabbergasted. Yes, really.
The story of the trip up north
I apologise in advance; this is almost certainly going to be a very, very long post but frankly, it's worth it. I just hope my wit doesn't fail me.
So, first off, the background info (crucial, obviously) is that three of us from my hostel decided to go on a little road trip to the Bay of Islands (staying in Paihia) and to Cape Reinga, which is the northernmost tip of New Zealand and where the Pacific Ocean meets the Tasman Sea. The two blokes I went with will forthwith be referred to as GadgetGuy and TheGuitarist. GadgetGuy is German and so named because, oh my gosh, he has SO many gadgets for everything. It's awesome. And gadgety. TheGuitarist is a Canadian guy who is actually a drummer but he's being called TheGuitarist because on his like third day here he went and bought a guitar (he can play that too) and he's been playin' ever since. It's also quite cool.
On Wednesday morning we set off up to Paihia and through the windy, potholed roads of New Zealand. The countryside was absolutely stunning; rolling hills, forests, fields: it was awesome. We were uber lazy when we got to Paihia in the afternoon so we just bought some food and went and had an amazing platter at a bar in the town. Oh, so in the whole of the Bay of Islands there are 2000 inhabitants and frankly Paihia is, in many ways, a perfect illustration of the hell that is small town living. Especially in comparison to Auckland, which is a real 24 hour city, it was small, parochial and absolutely dead. Everything closed at 8pm. In the evening we had some beers at the hostel, played some cards and listened to music and then went to a local bar (I think there are 4 in total) and had a beer and played a game of pool. Then TheCanadian and I went down to the beach (2 minutes away) and sat for ages, listening to the water lapping against the shore and chatting. That was pretty cool.
Thursday we all woke up really late, which is bizarre and bad but we spent the afternoon walking along the beach nearby and looking out over the view to the islands and the other parts of the mainland and in the evening we cooked an AMAZING meal of steak and potatoes and salad. It really was wonderful.
We decided to go up to Cape Reinga on Friday morning, so we set off really early and it was, oh my gosh, AMAZING. There's a cute little town called Mangonoui on the way up and we stopped there for the best fish and chips you will ever have in your life. Truly, the meal was splendiferous. Then we went off again up to Cape Reinga.
Now, I'm not one of those really cheesy types about the world around me. I appreciate beautiful things but in many ways on a purely objective basis. I ACTUALLY cried at Cape Reinga. It's sad, I know, but oh my gosh, it's the most amazing thing I have ever seen in my life. Basically, the Tasman Sea is blue and the Pacific Ocean is green and so where they meet it's like waves lapping up against each other but also the colours sort of mix. If you've got a half decent monitor, you'll be able to see it in this photo.
It's really, really incredible - I can't put into words the extent to which this is true but trust me.
We climbed a little hill and looked out over the top. I also found out I'm 18000km from London. I thought it was 12000 miles but I'm pretty sure that works out to be 10800 miles, which brings me 1200 miles closer. Good times.
Obviously you can't go any further than this so we headed back to Paihia (by the way it's like a three hour drive from Paihia to Cape Reinga). Unfortunately, we had a minor, minor, minor incident which involved reversing into a car (long story to do with a one way bridge) BUT after a few minutes of panic, luckily this woman was just like, 'Hey, I'm a member of the yacht club, they do food, you can buy me a beer and we're all good,' so we went to the yacht club (which happened to be in Mangonoui as well) with her and she was AWESOME. She's from Guam but lived in New Caledonia with her French husband and has been all around the Pacific Islands and was talking about growing up on Guam and whatnot... she was really cool and it could have been horrible but the bump just knocked a bit of plastic out, which TheGuitarist clipped back in and it was all good.
By the time we left Mangonoui it was dark and obviously we were then on these twisty, dark country roads but it meant you could see the stars and, my god, that was AMAZING. I'm so used to being in the city where you can see about 12 stars at a time that this was a huge novelty and I was just gaping at them for a good 30 minutes. Actually, I've just thought about it. To be honest, I've probably seen lots of stars in the sky before but normally when it's dark and I'm outside that means I've been drinking so stars aren't really on my mind at that point.
Then this morning we left a beautiful day - sunny, a few tiny clouds in the sky - to come back to Auckland where it's raining! But in any case, the trip was absolutely fantastic and Cape Reinga was awesome in the true sense of the word.
Here's a link to my photos of the trip:Northlands Road Trip
So, first off, the background info (crucial, obviously) is that three of us from my hostel decided to go on a little road trip to the Bay of Islands (staying in Paihia) and to Cape Reinga, which is the northernmost tip of New Zealand and where the Pacific Ocean meets the Tasman Sea. The two blokes I went with will forthwith be referred to as GadgetGuy and TheGuitarist. GadgetGuy is German and so named because, oh my gosh, he has SO many gadgets for everything. It's awesome. And gadgety. TheGuitarist is a Canadian guy who is actually a drummer but he's being called TheGuitarist because on his like third day here he went and bought a guitar (he can play that too) and he's been playin' ever since. It's also quite cool.
On Wednesday morning we set off up to Paihia and through the windy, potholed roads of New Zealand. The countryside was absolutely stunning; rolling hills, forests, fields: it was awesome. We were uber lazy when we got to Paihia in the afternoon so we just bought some food and went and had an amazing platter at a bar in the town. Oh, so in the whole of the Bay of Islands there are 2000 inhabitants and frankly Paihia is, in many ways, a perfect illustration of the hell that is small town living. Especially in comparison to Auckland, which is a real 24 hour city, it was small, parochial and absolutely dead. Everything closed at 8pm. In the evening we had some beers at the hostel, played some cards and listened to music and then went to a local bar (I think there are 4 in total) and had a beer and played a game of pool. Then TheCanadian and I went down to the beach (2 minutes away) and sat for ages, listening to the water lapping against the shore and chatting. That was pretty cool.
Thursday we all woke up really late, which is bizarre and bad but we spent the afternoon walking along the beach nearby and looking out over the view to the islands and the other parts of the mainland and in the evening we cooked an AMAZING meal of steak and potatoes and salad. It really was wonderful.
We decided to go up to Cape Reinga on Friday morning, so we set off really early and it was, oh my gosh, AMAZING. There's a cute little town called Mangonoui on the way up and we stopped there for the best fish and chips you will ever have in your life. Truly, the meal was splendiferous. Then we went off again up to Cape Reinga.
Now, I'm not one of those really cheesy types about the world around me. I appreciate beautiful things but in many ways on a purely objective basis. I ACTUALLY cried at Cape Reinga. It's sad, I know, but oh my gosh, it's the most amazing thing I have ever seen in my life. Basically, the Tasman Sea is blue and the Pacific Ocean is green and so where they meet it's like waves lapping up against each other but also the colours sort of mix. If you've got a half decent monitor, you'll be able to see it in this photo.
It's really, really incredible - I can't put into words the extent to which this is true but trust me.
We climbed a little hill and looked out over the top. I also found out I'm 18000km from London. I thought it was 12000 miles but I'm pretty sure that works out to be 10800 miles, which brings me 1200 miles closer. Good times.
Obviously you can't go any further than this so we headed back to Paihia (by the way it's like a three hour drive from Paihia to Cape Reinga). Unfortunately, we had a minor, minor, minor incident which involved reversing into a car (long story to do with a one way bridge) BUT after a few minutes of panic, luckily this woman was just like, 'Hey, I'm a member of the yacht club, they do food, you can buy me a beer and we're all good,' so we went to the yacht club (which happened to be in Mangonoui as well) with her and she was AWESOME. She's from Guam but lived in New Caledonia with her French husband and has been all around the Pacific Islands and was talking about growing up on Guam and whatnot... she was really cool and it could have been horrible but the bump just knocked a bit of plastic out, which TheGuitarist clipped back in and it was all good.
By the time we left Mangonoui it was dark and obviously we were then on these twisty, dark country roads but it meant you could see the stars and, my god, that was AMAZING. I'm so used to being in the city where you can see about 12 stars at a time that this was a huge novelty and I was just gaping at them for a good 30 minutes. Actually, I've just thought about it. To be honest, I've probably seen lots of stars in the sky before but normally when it's dark and I'm outside that means I've been drinking so stars aren't really on my mind at that point.
Then this morning we left a beautiful day - sunny, a few tiny clouds in the sky - to come back to Auckland where it's raining! But in any case, the trip was absolutely fantastic and Cape Reinga was awesome in the true sense of the word.
Here's a link to my photos of the trip:Northlands Road Trip
7 October 2009
Road trip is ON!
So we finally got our trip to Bay of Islands organised today and there are three of us going from my hostel. We have to leave at about 11 tomorrow morning and we're coming back to Auckland on Saturday.
I'm uber excited. We also made it funny when we were organising it by high fiving each other over and over when we were sorting it and reception at the hostel was really busy. Then the reception guy who was helping us came outside when we were all hanging out and we started high fiving him. It was a really happy time in my life.
I'm uber excited. We also made it funny when we were organising it by high fiving each other over and over when we were sorting it and reception at the hostel was really busy. Then the reception guy who was helping us came outside when we were all hanging out and we started high fiving him. It was a really happy time in my life.
Things I miss
I know it's really child and verging on the pathetic but I'm really missing having somebody to look after me. Be that a coffee or lunch being brought to me or having dinner cooked for me or having a glass of wine with Deborah/Becca/Carly after a bad day/week or going to Anna's for a cup of tea! I'm not, like, crying myself to sleep or anything but it did dawn on me today that I now actually have to be 100% self sufficient. And, let's face it, that's rubbishio.
6 October 2009
A cultural experience AND some token irony.
Yesterday I went to the wonderful Auckland Museum, which is in the aforementioned Auckland Domain, which is lovely. It was very windy, very rainy and very cold. This aspect was not quite so lovely.
The Auckland Museum is amazing. No, really, it is. There's absolutely tonnes and tonnes of artefacts from various Pacific Island cultures and, of course, plenty of Maori history there. Some of the carvings are absolutely stunning. I'd have taken so many photos but I'm a fool who forgot my camera so I have no evidence. But trust me, it was awesome.
They also have a couple of fighter planes from World War II as well as lots and lots of New Zealand's social history during that same period. It's really interesting; I didn't realise quite how involved NZ were in World War II but apparently a lot, which I sort of feel is unfair but in any case there were lots of men who went and fought and died. In fact, there's a corridor that acts as a sort of war memorial and the walls on both sides are covered with a ridiculously long list of men who'd lost their lives in battle, made more ridiculous by the fact that the list was only of Aucklanders rather than New Zealanders.
Ooh, I also loved this room which was a smaller mock up of what Auckland would have looked like in 1866. It's really funny, with a house and a saddler and an inn and another hotel and a dress shop, etc. And also very cute, obviously.
I've just realised I could go on for pages and pages and pages and pages about it because it's actually really cool but I'm going to stop because I think I've said my highlights. Just to add that there are lots of natural science exhibits about wildlife and, of course, volcanoes. Which actually reminds me that the museum does have one really, really stupid thing and that's this fake news report about what would happen if one of the Auckland volcanoes suddenly erupts but to be honest I entirely didn't see the point of it and it was sensationalism for sensationalism's sake. So yeah, that was bad.
OK, so, yes, the irony. In my opinion, the irony is very brilliant but I am a simple soul. I do so wish I'd taken a photo of it. Right, so there's a room with lots of different furniture in it that is designed by either New Zealanders or (in the main) Brits who moved to NZ in the mid 19th century or so. Anyway, the room is awesome and there is some amazing furniture and also some clothes and other pieces like crockery, etc. There is also what can only be described as one of the ugliest rugs in the world. It is HORRIBLE. It's a rug of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip on their wedding day. In many ways I think this is bad enough but it's also in really bright, bright, colours and it's just basically minging. So, directly above this ugly excuse for a rug (or maybe it's a wall tapestry or something), there is a sign. And this sign says, 'Sophisticated Style'.
I thought that was brilliant. Actually, truth be told, I still sort of think it's brilliant. I have also completely messed up my body clock with the staying up until ridiculous o'clock in the morning; the last four nights have been 3, 7, 3.30 and 4am. The 7am was getting back at five and then, unfathomably, deciding to go on the internet and then getting to talking because it was decent o'clock in Britain for a change. Last night there were about seven of us just chilling out with some beers and this Canadian guy had his guitar so he was playing that. I really need to get into better routine, though. Which I will. I'm quite tired right now and I'm supposed to be organising going to Bay of Islands today so that will probably mean an early morning so definitely an early night for me.
I also ate properly yesterday for the first time since, I think, I left. Yay.
Hm, this was going to be quite a short and quick update. Sorry about that.
The Auckland Museum is amazing. No, really, it is. There's absolutely tonnes and tonnes of artefacts from various Pacific Island cultures and, of course, plenty of Maori history there. Some of the carvings are absolutely stunning. I'd have taken so many photos but I'm a fool who forgot my camera so I have no evidence. But trust me, it was awesome.
They also have a couple of fighter planes from World War II as well as lots and lots of New Zealand's social history during that same period. It's really interesting; I didn't realise quite how involved NZ were in World War II but apparently a lot, which I sort of feel is unfair but in any case there were lots of men who went and fought and died. In fact, there's a corridor that acts as a sort of war memorial and the walls on both sides are covered with a ridiculously long list of men who'd lost their lives in battle, made more ridiculous by the fact that the list was only of Aucklanders rather than New Zealanders.
Ooh, I also loved this room which was a smaller mock up of what Auckland would have looked like in 1866. It's really funny, with a house and a saddler and an inn and another hotel and a dress shop, etc. And also very cute, obviously.
I've just realised I could go on for pages and pages and pages and pages about it because it's actually really cool but I'm going to stop because I think I've said my highlights. Just to add that there are lots of natural science exhibits about wildlife and, of course, volcanoes. Which actually reminds me that the museum does have one really, really stupid thing and that's this fake news report about what would happen if one of the Auckland volcanoes suddenly erupts but to be honest I entirely didn't see the point of it and it was sensationalism for sensationalism's sake. So yeah, that was bad.
OK, so, yes, the irony. In my opinion, the irony is very brilliant but I am a simple soul. I do so wish I'd taken a photo of it. Right, so there's a room with lots of different furniture in it that is designed by either New Zealanders or (in the main) Brits who moved to NZ in the mid 19th century or so. Anyway, the room is awesome and there is some amazing furniture and also some clothes and other pieces like crockery, etc. There is also what can only be described as one of the ugliest rugs in the world. It is HORRIBLE. It's a rug of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip on their wedding day. In many ways I think this is bad enough but it's also in really bright, bright, colours and it's just basically minging. So, directly above this ugly excuse for a rug (or maybe it's a wall tapestry or something), there is a sign. And this sign says, 'Sophisticated Style'.
I thought that was brilliant. Actually, truth be told, I still sort of think it's brilliant. I have also completely messed up my body clock with the staying up until ridiculous o'clock in the morning; the last four nights have been 3, 7, 3.30 and 4am. The 7am was getting back at five and then, unfathomably, deciding to go on the internet and then getting to talking because it was decent o'clock in Britain for a change. Last night there were about seven of us just chilling out with some beers and this Canadian guy had his guitar so he was playing that. I really need to get into better routine, though. Which I will. I'm quite tired right now and I'm supposed to be organising going to Bay of Islands today so that will probably mean an early morning so definitely an early night for me.
I also ate properly yesterday for the first time since, I think, I left. Yay.
Hm, this was going to be quite a short and quick update. Sorry about that.
4 October 2009
A night in Auckland and guess what? More rain!
Yesterday all geared up for Waiheke, got up at 8.30. Weather was bad and misty and rainy. Knew Waiheke would be a waste of time. Went back to sleep.
YHA seemed to really liven up yesterday and there were loads of people around so I ended up drinking and chatting to various people and then a group of us went down the road to the nightclub at Base Backpackers' and we were drinking Jeiger bombs. Bleugh, bad times. 'Twas a good night, though. Didn't go to bed until 7. What an idiot.
And seriously, this weather had better improve quick smart. I'm sick to the back teeth of it. I think I wrote that sentence wrong. I don't care, to be honest. The rain today is AWFUL but some guys from South Island said weather in Auckland is worst in NZ because it can rain, snow, be sunny and have gale force winds all in one afternoon. We shall see.
Also dragon who checked me in at Kingsford Smith is still making me angry so I'm going to complain to Jetstar about her. I'm allowed; don't even try stopping me.
OK, so, not much else to report. Still planning on Bay of Islands on Tuesday or Wednesday for a few days. I think I might just man up and go regardless of the weather.
YHA seemed to really liven up yesterday and there were loads of people around so I ended up drinking and chatting to various people and then a group of us went down the road to the nightclub at Base Backpackers' and we were drinking Jeiger bombs. Bleugh, bad times. 'Twas a good night, though. Didn't go to bed until 7. What an idiot.
And seriously, this weather had better improve quick smart. I'm sick to the back teeth of it. I think I wrote that sentence wrong. I don't care, to be honest. The rain today is AWFUL but some guys from South Island said weather in Auckland is worst in NZ because it can rain, snow, be sunny and have gale force winds all in one afternoon. We shall see.
Also dragon who checked me in at Kingsford Smith is still making me angry so I'm going to complain to Jetstar about her. I'm allowed; don't even try stopping me.
OK, so, not much else to report. Still planning on Bay of Islands on Tuesday or Wednesday for a few days. I think I might just man up and go regardless of the weather.
2 October 2009
Do I look like an idiot?!
I just have to get this off my chest. So, obviously, I have met a LOT of people and, of course, quite a few of them are Brits. So you do the usual, 'Hi, where are you from?' and they say, 'Britain, you?' and then you say, 'Oh, yeah, British also,' (apparently my accent does not give this away?!) and then you ask them whereabouts in Britain they are from.
WHY is it that they seem to feel a need to assume that you don't know where something is? Except this awesome couple I met from Manchester, who said they were from Manchester and felt that this needed no qualification, I have had someone say to me they were from near Bristol (It turns out this place near Bristol was Bath), then I had somebody say they were from Lincolnshire and then he asked if I KNEW where Lincolnshire was?! Today the gem was from this guy who said he was from Cheltenham, in the Cotswolds.
Now, I don't know if I have this over the top aversion to being patronised or something, but if I've got an English accent and I come from Britain, it's a pretty safe bet that I know where places in teeny tiny little Britain are. Especially England. Why do people assume that nobody knows anything? I'm thinking I must either look like an idiot or most Brits don't have even a fundamental knowledge of the geography of their own country, which is then ironic because Brits love to mock American ignorance.
I find it really frustrating. And, I think, rightly so. Seriously, why not assume some degree of intelligence, say the city and then explain when ASKED?! Grrrrrrrrrr, nanny state, grrrrrrrrrrrr inability of people to think for themselves.
Also I got annoyed earlier that there were these white guys going around preaching to people about Maori culture/history. That's so hypocritical, not to mention idiotic.
WHY is it that they seem to feel a need to assume that you don't know where something is? Except this awesome couple I met from Manchester, who said they were from Manchester and felt that this needed no qualification, I have had someone say to me they were from near Bristol (It turns out this place near Bristol was Bath), then I had somebody say they were from Lincolnshire and then he asked if I KNEW where Lincolnshire was?! Today the gem was from this guy who said he was from Cheltenham, in the Cotswolds.
Now, I don't know if I have this over the top aversion to being patronised or something, but if I've got an English accent and I come from Britain, it's a pretty safe bet that I know where places in teeny tiny little Britain are. Especially England. Why do people assume that nobody knows anything? I'm thinking I must either look like an idiot or most Brits don't have even a fundamental knowledge of the geography of their own country, which is then ironic because Brits love to mock American ignorance.
I find it really frustrating. And, I think, rightly so. Seriously, why not assume some degree of intelligence, say the city and then explain when ASKED?! Grrrrrrrrrr, nanny state, grrrrrrrrrrrr inability of people to think for themselves.
Also I got annoyed earlier that there were these white guys going around preaching to people about Maori culture/history. That's so hypocritical, not to mention idiotic.
I am suffering from Auckland related mixed feelings
So, today I walked from Queen Street to Mount Eden. I then walked up Mount Eden. I love my DCs, which have helped me get so far already. Anyway, so the walk through to the volcano was through all these industrial areas and that's what a lot of Auckland is like; industrial estates and tall business buildings. It's kind of like Reading in that way. I don't much like that.
But I went to the top of the volcano and then I looked around and the view was AMAZING. It really was. You can see all around you, countryside one way, the city another, sea another, volcanoes another. I don't know if it's volcanoes or volcanos. Probably with the e. I promptly burst into tears because I'm uber cool. I have no idea why.
So then I came back down and I walked through Auckland Domain, which was awesome and very pretty with duck ponds and mahoosive pigeons and fountains and flowerbeds and weird shaped trees.
Tomorrow to Waiheke Island, with a long list of things to do courtesy of TheKiwi. I think when I get there I'll find it's basically a list of places to go in order to drink wine and as I plan to hire a bicycle I think it could prove pretty entertaining.
Also my food got stolen. Twice. So now I'm Special K-less and toastless. Bad times.
But I went to the top of the volcano and then I looked around and the view was AMAZING. It really was. You can see all around you, countryside one way, the city another, sea another, volcanoes another. I don't know if it's volcanoes or volcanos. Probably with the e. I promptly burst into tears because I'm uber cool. I have no idea why.
So then I came back down and I walked through Auckland Domain, which was awesome and very pretty with duck ponds and mahoosive pigeons and fountains and flowerbeds and weird shaped trees.
Tomorrow to Waiheke Island, with a long list of things to do courtesy of TheKiwi. I think when I get there I'll find it's basically a list of places to go in order to drink wine and as I plan to hire a bicycle I think it could prove pretty entertaining.
Also my food got stolen. Twice. So now I'm Special K-less and toastless. Bad times.
29 September 2009
Auckland is much further away than Sydney
I have no idea why, but being in New Zealand feels ten times further away than being in Sydney. 'Tis not good. I feel really quite far from home at the moment but I'm sure the feeling will pass. Seems to be loads to see and do around here so think I'm going to stay until early next week and then work my way through the North Island to Wellington before heading back to Sydney for a few months to work and then go around.
Auckland is cold and wet and earlier there was thunder and lightning. Why I don't feel at home I really am not sure!
Auckland is cold and wet and earlier there was thunder and lightning. Why I don't feel at home I really am not sure!
27 September 2009
Sydney related fun
So I've now been in Sydney for five days and arriving in the dust storm was probably not the best thing and it probably marred my opinion on the place in the first instance. Anyway, I've walked all over the city more than once and it's pretty cool. It feels much bigger than London, though, which is odd.
I can't believe how different the Opera House looks in real life - it's entirely, entirely different and also you don't get a great view of it from The Rocks so I need to get a ferry over and see it from the north side. I was wanting to go up to Manly and thought therefore I'd be able to see it but it's just too windy to be going to exposed beaches so that'll have to wait for a while. The Harbour Bridge, though, is pretty awesome.
One of the coolest little things I've found is the area around the Rocks Museum, which is a series of old sandstone buildings and there's a pub there with this awesome little courtyard. Nearby there are some of those old houses with the latticed terraces. It's really cool and quaint so I spent a happy Thursday afternoon down there.
I finally wandered down to Darling Harbour on Friday and oh my gosh, one of the first things I saw as I walked down onto King Street Wharf was an old boat that looked a LOT like the Matthew and being by the Harbour there reminded me of Bristol except that it's bigger, better and sunnier but it's got a similar vibe, especially as I'd been at Bristol Festival the day before I left.
I met Paul from The Village Hotel for a drink - we went to Balmain where it was the 30th birthday party of some of his rugby team mates and that was pretty cool - met, randomly, this Australian guy who, it turned out, is actually Russian only his parents (both Russian) were born in China and moved to Aus in the 60s but he still speaks Russian, albeit with an Australian accent. Then we went to a club that is apparently not a gay club except on a Friday only it's on Oxford Street so it's right in the thick of the gay scene and that was really funny, especially when this very, very melodramatic came and sat down practically on me and was storming about how he his ex boyfriend was there and he was going to message him and then he flounced off after saying, 'I need to tell him to his FACE!'. It was tres amusant.
The people in my hostel are really, really cool and I've met some awesome folks. Last night five of us went out to Darling Harbour and danced the night away and it was spectacular. Bungalow8 has got to be one of the best bars I've ever been to - excellent music, excellent wine, excellent everything. Sandra, a German girl I met on my first day here, and I didn't get back until 5am because we ended up in a pool bar for a couple of hours. Also we saw a big screen that was showing the Arsenal-Fulham match and that freaked me out because it was 4am. This time difference thing is still quite bizarre to me.
I'm updating this from the Apple Store on George Street. I think that makes me cool. No, no I don't. It's so cold that I'm wearing not one but two hoodies. I so much love the yellow one I have from Anna. Sandra and I are shortly going down to The Rocks for a coffee. I've got Mini Phil with me because I feel bad that he hasn't seen the Opera House yet and I've already been here five days.
I can't believe how different the Opera House looks in real life - it's entirely, entirely different and also you don't get a great view of it from The Rocks so I need to get a ferry over and see it from the north side. I was wanting to go up to Manly and thought therefore I'd be able to see it but it's just too windy to be going to exposed beaches so that'll have to wait for a while. The Harbour Bridge, though, is pretty awesome.
One of the coolest little things I've found is the area around the Rocks Museum, which is a series of old sandstone buildings and there's a pub there with this awesome little courtyard. Nearby there are some of those old houses with the latticed terraces. It's really cool and quaint so I spent a happy Thursday afternoon down there.
I finally wandered down to Darling Harbour on Friday and oh my gosh, one of the first things I saw as I walked down onto King Street Wharf was an old boat that looked a LOT like the Matthew and being by the Harbour there reminded me of Bristol except that it's bigger, better and sunnier but it's got a similar vibe, especially as I'd been at Bristol Festival the day before I left.
I met Paul from The Village Hotel for a drink - we went to Balmain where it was the 30th birthday party of some of his rugby team mates and that was pretty cool - met, randomly, this Australian guy who, it turned out, is actually Russian only his parents (both Russian) were born in China and moved to Aus in the 60s but he still speaks Russian, albeit with an Australian accent. Then we went to a club that is apparently not a gay club except on a Friday only it's on Oxford Street so it's right in the thick of the gay scene and that was really funny, especially when this very, very melodramatic came and sat down practically on me and was storming about how he his ex boyfriend was there and he was going to message him and then he flounced off after saying, 'I need to tell him to his FACE!'. It was tres amusant.
The people in my hostel are really, really cool and I've met some awesome folks. Last night five of us went out to Darling Harbour and danced the night away and it was spectacular. Bungalow8 has got to be one of the best bars I've ever been to - excellent music, excellent wine, excellent everything. Sandra, a German girl I met on my first day here, and I didn't get back until 5am because we ended up in a pool bar for a couple of hours. Also we saw a big screen that was showing the Arsenal-Fulham match and that freaked me out because it was 4am. This time difference thing is still quite bizarre to me.
I'm updating this from the Apple Store on George Street. I think that makes me cool. No, no I don't. It's so cold that I'm wearing not one but two hoodies. I so much love the yellow one I have from Anna. Sandra and I are shortly going down to The Rocks for a coffee. I've got Mini Phil with me because I feel bad that he hasn't seen the Opera House yet and I've already been here five days.
24 September 2009
Random Sightings
Two Aboriginal guys, separately, playing the digeridoo to dance music down at Darling Harbour.
23 September 2009
I've arrived in Sydney
The plane had a LOT of turbulence owing to a sandstorm that swept over the city from South Australia overnight, so I got to the city this morning amongst windy haze and dust going into my eyes. Niiiiiiiiiice. Met a couple of Germans at my hostel so have wandered around with them for a couple of hours and shortly we're off to the Harbour, etc, to have a look around.
Fortune telling and money extortion
I don't know if that's spelt right. Correction, I don't care if that's spelt right. Anyway, so I'm walking around Singapore today and wandering around by part of the Grand Prix circuit and I sat down to take a load off and this guy comes up to me and starts saying that he looked at my forehead and telling me that he could see that I have a big heart and that I think too much and something else which I can't remember. Then he took it upon himself to sit down and carry on rambling to me. I knew that he would want money for this privilege. Frankly I should have made him pay me for annoying me like that. Anyway, he carried on spouting some nonsense about how there are two men who have me in their heart but I only have one man in my heart and that's because I love completely or something like that. However, it's a bit weird because he got this little piece of paper and wrote something on it, scrunched it up and gave it to me. He asked me to say a flower and I couldn't think of anything other than 'rose' and then asked me how many of us there with my siblings and me, so I told him I had one brother and one sister and that equals three (I'm not sure if they teach basic arithmetic at Fortune Teller School). Anyway, he told me to look at the piece of paper and sure enough it said 'rose' and the number three. The three thing, a lucky guess. The rose thing, completely contrived in a Derren Brown-esque manner as chatting about love for ten minutes is going to put a rose into pretty much anybody's brain, even mine.
When he asked me for money I told him he could do one and then he started trying to get me to give him my jewellery. I told him he could bugger off, especially when he then said, 'Poor people give me S$30, medium people give me S$60 and rich people give me S$90,' so I gave him a S$1 note and sent him on his merry way.
I also saw lots of cute little Oriental school children today and they were learning about Singapore girls, who are a national icon. To be honest, I wouldn't be too impressed if what represented Britain around the world was a grumpy BA hostess. Also I walked passed Raffles Girls School (secondary) and none of them had rolled their skirts up to be super short. I thought that was interesting.
So that's pretty much it; walked around a lot, forced myself to eat again (for some reason not been hungry) and was awed by the quasi American/Britishness of the place, especially behind Parliament, where all the colonial buildings.
Now waiting for my flight to Sydney and blogging to fill some time. The computers don't have seats so you have to stand up to go on. The mind boggles at the reason for this.
Until Australia!
When he asked me for money I told him he could do one and then he started trying to get me to give him my jewellery. I told him he could bugger off, especially when he then said, 'Poor people give me S$30, medium people give me S$60 and rich people give me S$90,' so I gave him a S$1 note and sent him on his merry way.
I also saw lots of cute little Oriental school children today and they were learning about Singapore girls, who are a national icon. To be honest, I wouldn't be too impressed if what represented Britain around the world was a grumpy BA hostess. Also I walked passed Raffles Girls School (secondary) and none of them had rolled their skirts up to be super short. I thought that was interesting.
So that's pretty much it; walked around a lot, forced myself to eat again (for some reason not been hungry) and was awed by the quasi American/Britishness of the place, especially behind Parliament, where all the colonial buildings.
Now waiting for my flight to Sydney and blogging to fill some time. The computers don't have seats so you have to stand up to go on. The mind boggles at the reason for this.
Until Australia!
22 September 2009
I got on the plane and it didn't crash so now I'm in Singapore
Greetings! Surprisingly, the flight over was actually really boring, helped along by the fact that I was sitting next to this oldish Kiwi couple who seemed to be really sour, especially the woman, so they did not start talking to me and as I'm pretty sure the other 27 New Zealanders in the world are nicer, I felt no inclination to enter into conversation with them. Even though I was really tired I didn't really sleep, although I read the Sunday Times and watched The Proposal and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. There are two things wrong with this. One, that neither film is particularly good but I spent three hours on them both, consecutively and probably killed at least 5% of my brain cells in the process and two, even though they're not that good they're the only two things I had any interest in watching on the plane so now I'm screwed for the flight to Sydney unless I can actually sleep, which I won't be able to so instead I'll go slightly crazy. OK, crazier.
Because I'm so, so good at proportional response, the main occupation of my mind this evening has been the fact that my ankles are horribly swollen and I don't like them one bit. Never mind that I'm almost on the other side of the world on my own, all that matters is my swollen ankles. This is because I do not like to look down and see the feet of a matron, which is what currently happens. I don't even know what to do to bring the swelling down and as I've got a nine hour flight tomorrow night, there's no point trying so instead I'll cry about it. Silently. To myself.
As for Singapore, well, it's bloody pschizophrenic. I took a walk through Little India, down to Orchard Road and thence to Chinatown. All of these places are entirely different and yet are supposedly all in one city/country and it's just, well, it's just weird. What's also weird is that there is a Marks and Spencer at the Plaza Singapura. As, I might add, is a Dorothy Perkins. If I loved shopping, I think Singapore would be my Mecca. As it is, I hate shopping, ergo moot point. Oh, and I'm reminded of just a tiny bit of frustration on my part when at Heathrow: I was looking for a pen and a notepad so off I went to W H Smith for said pen and notepad but apparently W H Smith at Heathrow sells sweets and painkillers and all sorts of sandwich but not pen and paper. Why do rules of what shops sell change in airports? Why wasn't W H Smith selling me a pen? Anyway, so then I thought if I could find a Borders there'd be a Paperchase but again, no. Apparently, with all the Paul Smith, Hermes, Bally, Agnes B, Gucci, Chanel, Dixons (?!!), Cartier, Mulberry and whatever other stores there were there are completely necessary but not somewhere you can find a pen and piece of paper. It is OK now, because thanks to Carrefour at Plaza Singapura I have paper and a lot of pens.
The hostel I'm in is alright, especially this free internet - woo! - but given that I have already had a wonderful refreshing shower I know that it provides me with everything I could possibly want at this juncture. Tomorrow, hopefully, the Botanical Gardens and the Harbourfont. Couldn't go to Night Safari owing to the rain. I was very disappointed but luckily I have to come back on my way home so at least I already have something to look forward to.
Because I'm so, so good at proportional response, the main occupation of my mind this evening has been the fact that my ankles are horribly swollen and I don't like them one bit. Never mind that I'm almost on the other side of the world on my own, all that matters is my swollen ankles. This is because I do not like to look down and see the feet of a matron, which is what currently happens. I don't even know what to do to bring the swelling down and as I've got a nine hour flight tomorrow night, there's no point trying so instead I'll cry about it. Silently. To myself.
As for Singapore, well, it's bloody pschizophrenic. I took a walk through Little India, down to Orchard Road and thence to Chinatown. All of these places are entirely different and yet are supposedly all in one city/country and it's just, well, it's just weird. What's also weird is that there is a Marks and Spencer at the Plaza Singapura. As, I might add, is a Dorothy Perkins. If I loved shopping, I think Singapore would be my Mecca. As it is, I hate shopping, ergo moot point. Oh, and I'm reminded of just a tiny bit of frustration on my part when at Heathrow: I was looking for a pen and a notepad so off I went to W H Smith for said pen and notepad but apparently W H Smith at Heathrow sells sweets and painkillers and all sorts of sandwich but not pen and paper. Why do rules of what shops sell change in airports? Why wasn't W H Smith selling me a pen? Anyway, so then I thought if I could find a Borders there'd be a Paperchase but again, no. Apparently, with all the Paul Smith, Hermes, Bally, Agnes B, Gucci, Chanel, Dixons (?!!), Cartier, Mulberry and whatever other stores there were there are completely necessary but not somewhere you can find a pen and piece of paper. It is OK now, because thanks to Carrefour at Plaza Singapura I have paper and a lot of pens.
The hostel I'm in is alright, especially this free internet - woo! - but given that I have already had a wonderful refreshing shower I know that it provides me with everything I could possibly want at this juncture. Tomorrow, hopefully, the Botanical Gardens and the Harbourfont. Couldn't go to Night Safari owing to the rain. I was very disappointed but luckily I have to come back on my way home so at least I already have something to look forward to.
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