Auckland, Day 1
Hey, guys!
Well, it's been a while for this journal, but I decided to resurrect it for the sake of my New Zealand travels. I'm finally settled in Auckland and have someplace to sit down, so let me try to remember everything and write it down as best as I can.
So the day started out hanging in San Francisco, waiting for my flight to leave at 9:00 pm from SFO. I was a spazz and left the brand new mascara that I had just bought, and I lost one of my gloves somewhere between the garage and the bedroom, but other than that, everything was pretty much fine. We got to the airport super early and walked around the terminal, looking at shops and stopping for a little Chinese food. Everything ended up going pretty smoothly, despite all of my superstitions about things going horribly wrong. Saying goodbye to everyone was hard, but I didn't really have time to get emotional after the luggage check because everything just kept happening really fast. I'm going to be editing this post every twenty minutes or so because the computer I'm on says it will log me out automatically after 30 minutes. So if this suddenly trails off, check back soon because I'm probably typing the rest of it in real time.
Ok, back to the airport! I had just cleared the main security checkpoint when I heard the intercom announce something about my flight. It told everyone on NZ 007 to make it over to the gate, so I really hustled even though I thought I had plenty of time. Turns out that they just like doing that to scare people and make them run for nothing, because the concierge there kind of stared at me vacantly and told me to just take a seat. When I went to Japan, we boarded about an hour before the actual flight, so I was thinking of being on the plane by 8:00. Turns out that Air New Zealand is a little different because we weren't even close to boarding until after 8:30. That left us a little pressed for time to settle down and everything, but it worked out in the end. I was in seat 59K right on the window, and I had a great view of Mom, Mike, and Katy waving from the Reflection Room. I'm not sure if they saw me or not, but I pulled the visor down over the window three times to give them a clue. It was too bad that I couldn't see Dad and Irma off at the airport, too, but I think it was just easier that way. Irma has a medical appointment today, so I would hate to have her rush home for that (I hope it went okay!).
The woman on my row was a really cool Chinese librarian who was flying on to Australia on a connecting flight to meet her husband there. We were both kind of in the same mindset in that we wanted to be friendly and chat occasionally, but we also wanted to just keep to ourselves and have some space, too. I found out that her daughter teaches English in Japan, so we got talking about that for a while. I guess she visits her in Nagoya a lot. She had been to New Zealand before briefly, and she had a lot of good things to say about it.
Before meeting her, I ran into an older guy named Jacques, who had lived in New Zealand for about 15 years and had a house set up for him to stay at. He gave me some good advice and even offered to give me a ride into the city, but I politely declined because I didn't get to know him THAT well. Plus I had that free Airbus ticket, so that was just easier.
The best part, though, came as we were boarding the plane. My height betrayed me yet again and prevented me from reaching the overhead compartment over my seat, but a nice guy who was much taller helped me out. Then I noticed that he looked and sounded EXACTLY like Mohinder from Heroes. So that was kind of awesome, getting helped by Mohinder. He was kind of confused, too, because he got his seat mixed up with mine. He just dropped off his jacket in my seat and left somewhere and I was like...ok? When he came back and realized his mistake, he was so overwhelmingly British in his apology and it was cute. Picture a flustered Indian guy saying he's "terribly sorry."
The flight itself went really well. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to sleep at all since I've never been able to on airplanes before, but apparently I did because the first thing I was aware of in the morning was Ching smiling at me and saying, "You sleep WELL." I took two Tylenol PMs, so I guess they were able to knock me out for at least a little while. The whole night was kind of a blur or trying to get comfortable and the temperature steadily dropping. At about 3 in the morning, a toddler had a ten-minute screaming fit that woke me up even with earplugs in, and that made it difficult to get back to sleep for a while.
That was pretty much the majority of the flight, actually. It was really too bad because I had 13 hours to watch 78 movies, listen to a whole ton of music, and play Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, but I ended up spending the majority of it sleeping. I tried to start Iron Man 2, but the screen was super dark on my set, and it really kept me from enjoying it. Since it was about midnight at that point, I just gave up rather than try to fix it. They also had Date Night, classics like Singing in the Rain, and a bunch of foreign films. Too bad. I really wanted to watch them. I did end up making a rock playlist and reading up on New Zealand, though.
So I have to talk about the food. Just like the flight to Japan, it was really good for Economy class. They actually gave me way too much, especially since I was already partially full from excellent Chinese food earlier. Here's how it went down, because I love to take copious notes.
Dinner:
--Choice of Braised Beef or Chicken Pesto. I got the Chicken Pesto and Penne Pasta. It was really good with chunks of zucchini scattered in it and red sauce over the top.
--Small side salad topped with orange slices
--Bread roll with Egmont cheese
--Keebler crackers with Anchor New Zealand salted butter
--Napkin and silverware wrapped up with salt and sugar in a small glass
--Dessert: this incredible raspberry mousse cake that melted like red velvet
They served all of this about halfway to Hawaii, at about midnight SF time, 7pm Auckland time. Here's the stuff I noticed at the time.
--Alititude: 9753 meters
--Ground Speed: 892 km/h
--True Airspeed: 909 km/h
--Heading: 220 Degrees
--Mach: 0.82
--Headwind: 18 km/h
--Outside Temperature: -37 Celsius
--10.08 left, still 8, 745 km from New Zealand
--Total trip: 10,530 km
I know you guys are mocking me right now. Be quiet. It was a long flight.
Breakfast:
--Choice of fruit platter or omelet. I felt like fruit. It came with honeydew melon, pineapple, strawberry, grapes, and peach.
--Strawberry yogurt
--Orange juice
--Side of blueberry muffin
Altitude: 11582 m
Ground Speed: 844 km.h
True Airspeed: 905 km.h
Mach: 0.83
Headwind: 57 km/h
Outside Temperature: -49 Celsius
1151 km, 1 1/2 hourse until Auckland
There. Technical stuff out of the way. I'll get to the landing. I woke up feeling mildly rested instead of bone-deep exhausted, so that was a plus. Everything went pretty smoothly through customs. I took my time to freshen up in the bathroom and brush my teeth before joining the crowd, which made me feel a little better. I grabbed several free pamphlets and guidebooks on my way to the counter and stashed those. There was a little bit of difficulty at the first customs station because I was fumbling through my folder for my bank statement, and everything just fell out on the floor. Gracie move. The inspector was all like, "What's the 'old up 'ere?" and came over to find out why the line stopped. Whoops. Once I answered some questions and cleared that hurdle, I grabbed a cart and got my luggage just fine. I changed my money in the lobby and had to wait at the x-ray machine. Guess who got picked for the "random" bag search and had to undo a dozen little locks and straps all over again.
The Maori Carving That Greets You At Arrival
After all that, though, it was nothing but fresh air and breathing in the New Zealand air. The computer lab's getting pretty busy right now, so I think I'll log off for now and get some lunch, but I'll come back later to fill you guys in on the rest. See you in a few! EDIT: Okay, now I'm back at 1:12 pm my time in the hostel's computer lab. Part II!
Bunch of Brochures Behind Me
Ok, so now we get to the good stuff. The Airbus went off without a hitch. I had just put my stuff down at the curb when one drove up, and the lady took my pass without any hassle at all. I should mention that the few glimpses I had gotten of Auckland so far had been pretty non-stellar at that point. It was dark and cloudy at landing, so I only saw a honeycomb of lights blurring in and out of focus. The airport's actually pretty far from the main city, so it was mostly just dark suburbs around the Mt. Eden area. I took a spot right at the front of the bus and guarded my stuff while trying to wrap my head around the weird traffic rules of driving on the left side of the road. Base ACB was the third stop, and by that point, it was actually getting pretty metropolitan. I still couldn't really see much, though. It was around 7:00 am, and most of the streets were still pretty dead. I DID catch a glimpse of the SkyTower before the bus turned around, though.
Interior of the Airbus
The hostel is really hard to see at first. It's kind of in an alley between two main streets, so it hugs the wall and looks out this little side street. I took this rickety elevator up to the Third Floor to talk to Reception, and she gave me a key right there. I had to put down a $20 deposit to get the key, but I'm told that I'll get that back when I check out. I'm in room 206c, which is a dorm room with three bunk beds. It looks pretty clean and has a fairly nice view, so I'm happy. So far, no one else has showed up for that room yet, and since it was completely tidy at 7 am, I'm guessing no one was there last night either, so I just might luck out and get it all to myself tonight. It's kind of cold in the early afternoon, but the bed's comfy, and it's right in the middle of the whole scene.
The IEP place opened up at 9 am, but I didn't really feel like hanging in my room for two hours. Since I had some time to kill, I transferred some stuff into my day pack, grabbed a camera, and set out for some exploring in the early morning. The SkyTower was a logical first choice, so I started going that way from my base at Queen Street. It's nice because I can walk really far and still not get lost with that kind of landmark. The SkyTower itself doesn't seem that big once you're standing under it, but it definitely stands out when you look back and see it against other buildings. I think you can go up there and look around for free (?), but that service starts at 8:30, and I was too early for that. Maybe tomorrow.
Sky Tower. Awesome.
Heading in the same direction pas the SkyTower, I happened on this cute little place called Victoria Park. After a lot of city stuff, it was nice to see a big line of trees and people walking their dogs down the cricket field. I sat down on a bench there and scoped it out for a bit. There was even this kid's playground nearby with the weirdest looking jungle gym I've ever seen. I took pictures, so you can look at them a bit.
Victoria Park in the Early Morning
I found a map on a street corner that told me how to get to the harbor, so I decided to head that way and then go in a big circle back to Queen Street in time for the IEP office to open. I think ended overshooting it a bit in the northern part because I ended up in this semi-deserted industrial district with lots of factories and warehouses. That was ok, though, because I stumbled on this cool overlook by accident and got to see the Auckland Bridge sweeping out over this amazing bay. I followed the ocean back towards civilization, but not before running into a few more little gems along the way. It helped that no one was around to block my shots. It took me a while to get back to the City Center after going out so far. I had originally planned for about a 30 minute walk, but it ended up turning into more of an hour.
Various Shots From Around the Harbor, Plus an Old Ship Part on Display
I got to the IEP office at about 10 am and checked in with the two guys running the desk. They told me to make myself at home, grab a free computer, and crash on the couch if I wanted to. Very nice people. I took advantage of the Internet to bring myself up to speed and check in with you guys, and you know most of the rest. By 11, all the computers got filled up, and I started feeling guilty for being there so long, so I went back to my empty room across the street and read through some pamphlets I grabbed at the airport. I may or may not have taken a little nap. Now I'm too lazy to go back today and went to the computer lounge at the hostel instead. They have a bunch of stuff here, too, but it's $5 / hour and a half, so I have to not mess around too much. I think I'll finish off the day by walking around a little more, getting something to eat, and taking a much-awaited shower. I checked out the facilities here and the shower situation doesn't look too shady.
That's about it for now. I promise pictures will come later. Tomorrow is orientation at 10 am, and it's supposed to go about 3 hours or so. I'll probably know a lot more then. Hopefully they'll be able to tell me enough to help me plug in my own computer and upload the photos. Some of them are pretty awesome. I'll edit this post and upload them later. See you guys!
Well, it's been a while for this journal, but I decided to resurrect it for the sake of my New Zealand travels. I'm finally settled in Auckland and have someplace to sit down, so let me try to remember everything and write it down as best as I can.
So the day started out hanging in San Francisco, waiting for my flight to leave at 9:00 pm from SFO. I was a spazz and left the brand new mascara that I had just bought, and I lost one of my gloves somewhere between the garage and the bedroom, but other than that, everything was pretty much fine. We got to the airport super early and walked around the terminal, looking at shops and stopping for a little Chinese food. Everything ended up going pretty smoothly, despite all of my superstitions about things going horribly wrong. Saying goodbye to everyone was hard, but I didn't really have time to get emotional after the luggage check because everything just kept happening really fast. I'm going to be editing this post every twenty minutes or so because the computer I'm on says it will log me out automatically after 30 minutes. So if this suddenly trails off, check back soon because I'm probably typing the rest of it in real time.
Ok, back to the airport! I had just cleared the main security checkpoint when I heard the intercom announce something about my flight. It told everyone on NZ 007 to make it over to the gate, so I really hustled even though I thought I had plenty of time. Turns out that they just like doing that to scare people and make them run for nothing, because the concierge there kind of stared at me vacantly and told me to just take a seat. When I went to Japan, we boarded about an hour before the actual flight, so I was thinking of being on the plane by 8:00. Turns out that Air New Zealand is a little different because we weren't even close to boarding until after 8:30. That left us a little pressed for time to settle down and everything, but it worked out in the end. I was in seat 59K right on the window, and I had a great view of Mom, Mike, and Katy waving from the Reflection Room. I'm not sure if they saw me or not, but I pulled the visor down over the window three times to give them a clue. It was too bad that I couldn't see Dad and Irma off at the airport, too, but I think it was just easier that way. Irma has a medical appointment today, so I would hate to have her rush home for that (I hope it went okay!).
The woman on my row was a really cool Chinese librarian who was flying on to Australia on a connecting flight to meet her husband there. We were both kind of in the same mindset in that we wanted to be friendly and chat occasionally, but we also wanted to just keep to ourselves and have some space, too. I found out that her daughter teaches English in Japan, so we got talking about that for a while. I guess she visits her in Nagoya a lot. She had been to New Zealand before briefly, and she had a lot of good things to say about it.
Before meeting her, I ran into an older guy named Jacques, who had lived in New Zealand for about 15 years and had a house set up for him to stay at. He gave me some good advice and even offered to give me a ride into the city, but I politely declined because I didn't get to know him THAT well. Plus I had that free Airbus ticket, so that was just easier.
The best part, though, came as we were boarding the plane. My height betrayed me yet again and prevented me from reaching the overhead compartment over my seat, but a nice guy who was much taller helped me out. Then I noticed that he looked and sounded EXACTLY like Mohinder from Heroes. So that was kind of awesome, getting helped by Mohinder. He was kind of confused, too, because he got his seat mixed up with mine. He just dropped off his jacket in my seat and left somewhere and I was like...ok? When he came back and realized his mistake, he was so overwhelmingly British in his apology and it was cute. Picture a flustered Indian guy saying he's "terribly sorry."
The flight itself went really well. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to sleep at all since I've never been able to on airplanes before, but apparently I did because the first thing I was aware of in the morning was Ching smiling at me and saying, "You sleep WELL." I took two Tylenol PMs, so I guess they were able to knock me out for at least a little while. The whole night was kind of a blur or trying to get comfortable and the temperature steadily dropping. At about 3 in the morning, a toddler had a ten-minute screaming fit that woke me up even with earplugs in, and that made it difficult to get back to sleep for a while.
That was pretty much the majority of the flight, actually. It was really too bad because I had 13 hours to watch 78 movies, listen to a whole ton of music, and play Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, but I ended up spending the majority of it sleeping. I tried to start Iron Man 2, but the screen was super dark on my set, and it really kept me from enjoying it. Since it was about midnight at that point, I just gave up rather than try to fix it. They also had Date Night, classics like Singing in the Rain, and a bunch of foreign films. Too bad. I really wanted to watch them. I did end up making a rock playlist and reading up on New Zealand, though.
So I have to talk about the food. Just like the flight to Japan, it was really good for Economy class. They actually gave me way too much, especially since I was already partially full from excellent Chinese food earlier. Here's how it went down, because I love to take copious notes.
Dinner:
--Choice of Braised Beef or Chicken Pesto. I got the Chicken Pesto and Penne Pasta. It was really good with chunks of zucchini scattered in it and red sauce over the top.
--Small side salad topped with orange slices
--Bread roll with Egmont cheese
--Keebler crackers with Anchor New Zealand salted butter
--Napkin and silverware wrapped up with salt and sugar in a small glass
--Dessert: this incredible raspberry mousse cake that melted like red velvet
They served all of this about halfway to Hawaii, at about midnight SF time, 7pm Auckland time. Here's the stuff I noticed at the time.
--Alititude: 9753 meters
--Ground Speed: 892 km/h
--True Airspeed: 909 km/h
--Heading: 220 Degrees
--Mach: 0.82
--Headwind: 18 km/h
--Outside Temperature: -37 Celsius
--10.08 left, still 8, 745 km from New Zealand
--Total trip: 10,530 km
I know you guys are mocking me right now. Be quiet. It was a long flight.
Breakfast:
--Choice of fruit platter or omelet. I felt like fruit. It came with honeydew melon, pineapple, strawberry, grapes, and peach.
--Strawberry yogurt
--Orange juice
--Side of blueberry muffin
Altitude: 11582 m
Ground Speed: 844 km.h
True Airspeed: 905 km.h
Mach: 0.83
Headwind: 57 km/h
Outside Temperature: -49 Celsius
1151 km, 1 1/2 hourse until Auckland
There. Technical stuff out of the way. I'll get to the landing. I woke up feeling mildly rested instead of bone-deep exhausted, so that was a plus. Everything went pretty smoothly through customs. I took my time to freshen up in the bathroom and brush my teeth before joining the crowd, which made me feel a little better. I grabbed several free pamphlets and guidebooks on my way to the counter and stashed those. There was a little bit of difficulty at the first customs station because I was fumbling through my folder for my bank statement, and everything just fell out on the floor. Gracie move. The inspector was all like, "What's the 'old up 'ere?" and came over to find out why the line stopped. Whoops. Once I answered some questions and cleared that hurdle, I grabbed a cart and got my luggage just fine. I changed my money in the lobby and had to wait at the x-ray machine. Guess who got picked for the "random" bag search and had to undo a dozen little locks and straps all over again.
The Maori Carving That Greets You At Arrival
After all that, though, it was nothing but fresh air and breathing in the New Zealand air. The computer lab's getting pretty busy right now, so I think I'll log off for now and get some lunch, but I'll come back later to fill you guys in on the rest. See you in a few! EDIT: Okay, now I'm back at 1:12 pm my time in the hostel's computer lab. Part II!
Bunch of Brochures Behind Me
Ok, so now we get to the good stuff. The Airbus went off without a hitch. I had just put my stuff down at the curb when one drove up, and the lady took my pass without any hassle at all. I should mention that the few glimpses I had gotten of Auckland so far had been pretty non-stellar at that point. It was dark and cloudy at landing, so I only saw a honeycomb of lights blurring in and out of focus. The airport's actually pretty far from the main city, so it was mostly just dark suburbs around the Mt. Eden area. I took a spot right at the front of the bus and guarded my stuff while trying to wrap my head around the weird traffic rules of driving on the left side of the road. Base ACB was the third stop, and by that point, it was actually getting pretty metropolitan. I still couldn't really see much, though. It was around 7:00 am, and most of the streets were still pretty dead. I DID catch a glimpse of the SkyTower before the bus turned around, though.
Interior of the Airbus
The hostel is really hard to see at first. It's kind of in an alley between two main streets, so it hugs the wall and looks out this little side street. I took this rickety elevator up to the Third Floor to talk to Reception, and she gave me a key right there. I had to put down a $20 deposit to get the key, but I'm told that I'll get that back when I check out. I'm in room 206c, which is a dorm room with three bunk beds. It looks pretty clean and has a fairly nice view, so I'm happy. So far, no one else has showed up for that room yet, and since it was completely tidy at 7 am, I'm guessing no one was there last night either, so I just might luck out and get it all to myself tonight. It's kind of cold in the early afternoon, but the bed's comfy, and it's right in the middle of the whole scene.
The IEP place opened up at 9 am, but I didn't really feel like hanging in my room for two hours. Since I had some time to kill, I transferred some stuff into my day pack, grabbed a camera, and set out for some exploring in the early morning. The SkyTower was a logical first choice, so I started going that way from my base at Queen Street. It's nice because I can walk really far and still not get lost with that kind of landmark. The SkyTower itself doesn't seem that big once you're standing under it, but it definitely stands out when you look back and see it against other buildings. I think you can go up there and look around for free (?), but that service starts at 8:30, and I was too early for that. Maybe tomorrow.
Sky Tower. Awesome.
Heading in the same direction pas the SkyTower, I happened on this cute little place called Victoria Park. After a lot of city stuff, it was nice to see a big line of trees and people walking their dogs down the cricket field. I sat down on a bench there and scoped it out for a bit. There was even this kid's playground nearby with the weirdest looking jungle gym I've ever seen. I took pictures, so you can look at them a bit.
Victoria Park in the Early Morning
I found a map on a street corner that told me how to get to the harbor, so I decided to head that way and then go in a big circle back to Queen Street in time for the IEP office to open. I think ended overshooting it a bit in the northern part because I ended up in this semi-deserted industrial district with lots of factories and warehouses. That was ok, though, because I stumbled on this cool overlook by accident and got to see the Auckland Bridge sweeping out over this amazing bay. I followed the ocean back towards civilization, but not before running into a few more little gems along the way. It helped that no one was around to block my shots. It took me a while to get back to the City Center after going out so far. I had originally planned for about a 30 minute walk, but it ended up turning into more of an hour.
Various Shots From Around the Harbor, Plus an Old Ship Part on Display
I got to the IEP office at about 10 am and checked in with the two guys running the desk. They told me to make myself at home, grab a free computer, and crash on the couch if I wanted to. Very nice people. I took advantage of the Internet to bring myself up to speed and check in with you guys, and you know most of the rest. By 11, all the computers got filled up, and I started feeling guilty for being there so long, so I went back to my empty room across the street and read through some pamphlets I grabbed at the airport. I may or may not have taken a little nap. Now I'm too lazy to go back today and went to the computer lounge at the hostel instead. They have a bunch of stuff here, too, but it's $5 / hour and a half, so I have to not mess around too much. I think I'll finish off the day by walking around a little more, getting something to eat, and taking a much-awaited shower. I checked out the facilities here and the shower situation doesn't look too shady.
That's about it for now. I promise pictures will come later. Tomorrow is orientation at 10 am, and it's supposed to go about 3 hours or so. I'll probably know a lot more then. Hopefully they'll be able to tell me enough to help me plug in my own computer and upload the photos. Some of them are pretty awesome. I'll edit this post and upload them later. See you guys!