These couple of days were really just a waste of time. I came back here only for my free haircut at Toni & Guy that I booked before I left for Coromandel. These guys gave me something called a 'natural inversion'. Looks alright for the most part, but it's so short at the top and sides that it's hard to keep my hair in a pony tail.
I also had a few other errands to run so I ended up staying here another night. Nothing really worth mentioning except for the fact that I'm starting to get a tad bored of New Zealand. It's like the USA in many ways. It's westernized, it's expensive, and the people here look like Americans and speak English. The country caters well to tourists and they are everywhere. I can't escape them. Everything is too easy - easy to get around, easy to find a place to stay, easy to eat, easy to find an activity. It's not much of an adventure. All of the sudden, I am very much looking forward to China. Ofcourse, the best bits of New Zealand are to come when I get to South Island.
Showing posts with label Auckland "New Zealand". Show all posts
Showing posts with label Auckland "New Zealand". Show all posts
Tuesday, November 18, 2003
Thursday, November 13, 2003
Back in Auckland
Back in Auckland for the day while I figure out my next move. I only really have half the day, so not really much time for sightseeing. This time though, I did check in to a hostel in the city centre (Albert Park Backpackers) so I have easy access to shops and stuff. Turns out this place is nicer than the one out in Parnell, which is surprising because hostels in city centres are usually crap.
Anyhow, the big revelation of the day is that there is no way I will stay anywhere near my budget at the pace I am spending money. As of today, I committed myself to self-catering instead of eating out like I used to. This is a challenge for me because I don't cook. Plus, I'll have to schlep some food around with me. Now that I'm determined to self-cater tho, I had to go find a supermarket. The nearest decent place to my hostel was 20-25 f***ing minutes walk away. (I took the bus back). I loaded my grocery basket with all the essentials of cooking - apples, bananas, yogurts, and ofcourse, 2 minute noodles and instant pastas. Little did I know how sad I would be as I sat in the kitchen, picking at my pathetic dinner, while other travellers somehow manage to make 3 course meals. I would recommend to anyone thinking of travelling on a budget to LEARN TO COOK before you go!
It's now been about 2 months since I had my last haircut at the Trenzo in Johannesburg. I feel desparately in need of another one, despite my original plan to go 6 months, if not the year, w/o a haircut. Ofcourse, a decent haircut would set me back another $60 or $80 here. But how lucky am I? The popular Toni & Guy hair salon is looking for hair models. Basically, I can get a free hair cut if I stand as guinea pigs for trainees. I missed my chance to get a cut today, but I booked myself in for Monday's session.
Monday, November 10, 2003
Auckland - The Arrival
I arrived in a Auckland with no plan and no bookings for a room. The first thing I did was pull NZ dollars from an ATM. Then I bought a $5 phone card and made call to book a room at the Lantana Lodge in Parnell. Then I caught the AirBus into city centre, and the Link bus to Parnell.
Most of my time in Aucland was spent getting over jetlag. I don't usually suffer it much, but either my travels through Africa did me in, or the 2 day flight over did. I spent the first day walking to and around city center, down Queens St. The city of Auckland is very hilly, which is good because I need the exercise. There is also a very large Asian community here, so there's tons of Chinese, Korean, and Japanese restaurants. I can see I am going to like Auckland.
Later the first day, I went up the Sky Tower and caught a nice view of the city and people jumping off. The next day, I slept in until 1430 (mind you, I went to bed at 11 the night before) so the late afternoon and evening was spent checking out Newmarket, a shopping district near Parnell. A repeat of day wasting occurred the next couple of days. I gave up trying to sightsee around Auckland and resorted to hitting the internet cafe to update my websites when I can. There are tons of internet cafes around that have high-speed connections, CD burners, and CF card readers for digital cameras. It's probably just as well tho, since Auckland is very expensive and spending money on the harbor cruises and ferries to go to near by islands would put me way over budget.
The evenings were generally spent reading The Hobbit, or watching the World Rugby Cup games.
Most of my time in Aucland was spent getting over jetlag. I don't usually suffer it much, but either my travels through Africa did me in, or the 2 day flight over did. I spent the first day walking to and around city center, down Queens St. The city of Auckland is very hilly, which is good because I need the exercise. There is also a very large Asian community here, so there's tons of Chinese, Korean, and Japanese restaurants. I can see I am going to like Auckland.
Later the first day, I went up the Sky Tower and caught a nice view of the city and people jumping off. The next day, I slept in until 1430 (mind you, I went to bed at 11 the night before) so the late afternoon and evening was spent checking out Newmarket, a shopping district near Parnell. A repeat of day wasting occurred the next couple of days. I gave up trying to sightsee around Auckland and resorted to hitting the internet cafe to update my websites when I can. There are tons of internet cafes around that have high-speed connections, CD burners, and CF card readers for digital cameras. It's probably just as well tho, since Auckland is very expensive and spending money on the harbor cruises and ferries to go to near by islands would put me way over budget.
The evenings were generally spent reading The Hobbit, or watching the World Rugby Cup games.
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