AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
Kia ora! Fiji was great, but after a month it feels pretty good to be back in civilization.
Travel Tip #4: You can tell how civilized a country is by the quality of their pizza.
We're in Auckland now (that's in New Zealand, geography buffs), getting our bearings and doing some much-needed laundry and shopping. We're staying at Auckland Central Backpackers, a ridiculously posh high-rise hostel in a downtown skyscraper. The place is huge, and the facilities are unbelievable: travel agency, two TV lounges, job-placement office, laundromat, restaurant-size kitchen, 24-hour internet cafe with over 30 PCs, and not one, but two bars. Kind of kills the whole "roughing it" image of the backpacker lifestyle, but man, it sure is comfy.
And strangely enough, among the horde of backpackers staying here are a number of folks we first met back in Fiji: Peter from Germany, now minus his girlfriend Teresa; Thomas from Vancouver, now minus his girlfriend Laura; and Ed and Colin from Edmonton, still with their girlfriends Candace and Bridget. (These are the guys I previously referred to as "Bob and Doug," and the girls are the ones who kicked my ass in the crazy hat competition on Tavewa Island. Small world, eh?) It's cool to be able to re-connect with people and trade stories about what you've done, where you're going, etc. I expect this may happen in other cities as we travel the backpacker circuit.
Auckland is really pleasant. It's a big port city ("the city of sails,"), very clean and modern, and about as cosmopolitan as you can expect in a country this small. Our hostel is literally in the shadow of the Auckland Sky Tower, which is pretty impressive--I believe it's the tallest structure in the Southern Hemisphere. And like everything else in New Zealand, you can bungee jump from it. Which would be awesome, but expensive, so maybe not this time....
Actually, other than taking care of some essentials, like posting some photos and buying an high-tech, ultra-absorbent microfiber supertowel, so far I haven't done a whole lot here. Chris and I did walk down to the harbor yesterday, and ran into Thomas from Vancouver. We walked around the area and saw a penguin catching fish among the boats, which was really cool. And at night we went out to this gay bar called Family with an American guy named Donald that works at the hostel, and some girls from Canada. (Which was exactly like your average gay bar in the U.S., only with more Maori guys.)
Kia ora! Fiji was great, but after a month it feels pretty good to be back in civilization.
Travel Tip #4: You can tell how civilized a country is by the quality of their pizza.
We're in Auckland now (that's in New Zealand, geography buffs), getting our bearings and doing some much-needed laundry and shopping. We're staying at Auckland Central Backpackers, a ridiculously posh high-rise hostel in a downtown skyscraper. The place is huge, and the facilities are unbelievable: travel agency, two TV lounges, job-placement office, laundromat, restaurant-size kitchen, 24-hour internet cafe with over 30 PCs, and not one, but two bars. Kind of kills the whole "roughing it" image of the backpacker lifestyle, but man, it sure is comfy.
And strangely enough, among the horde of backpackers staying here are a number of folks we first met back in Fiji: Peter from Germany, now minus his girlfriend Teresa; Thomas from Vancouver, now minus his girlfriend Laura; and Ed and Colin from Edmonton, still with their girlfriends Candace and Bridget. (These are the guys I previously referred to as "Bob and Doug," and the girls are the ones who kicked my ass in the crazy hat competition on Tavewa Island. Small world, eh?) It's cool to be able to re-connect with people and trade stories about what you've done, where you're going, etc. I expect this may happen in other cities as we travel the backpacker circuit.
Auckland is really pleasant. It's a big port city ("the city of sails,"), very clean and modern, and about as cosmopolitan as you can expect in a country this small. Our hostel is literally in the shadow of the Auckland Sky Tower, which is pretty impressive--I believe it's the tallest structure in the Southern Hemisphere. And like everything else in New Zealand, you can bungee jump from it. Which would be awesome, but expensive, so maybe not this time....
Actually, other than taking care of some essentials, like posting some photos and buying an high-tech, ultra-absorbent microfiber supertowel, so far I haven't done a whole lot here. Chris and I did walk down to the harbor yesterday, and ran into Thomas from Vancouver. We walked around the area and saw a penguin catching fish among the boats, which was really cool. And at night we went out to this gay bar called Family with an American guy named Donald that works at the hostel, and some girls from Canada. (Which was exactly like your average gay bar in the U.S., only with more Maori guys.)
posted by John Kuge at 9:46 PM
1 Comments:
God John---
I have nothing by ENVY 4 U.
;]
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