From G'day to Kia Ora

"Kia Ora" means hello or in NZ speak gidday.

Its Tuesday morning, May 20th and I'm at Auckland airport waiting for my flight (which is now delayed for two hours) to Queenstown in the south island. I will be spending most of my time in south island this week. I was just here twelve hours ago...missed my morning flight out of Sydney due to a major accident on the highways into Sydney airport. I learned something new about NZ immigration policy, they require that upon arriving at NZ I must have present a proof of a flight out of NZ (e.g. a boarding pass or flight schedules from the airline), so the e-copy of the itinerary will not do.

The later flight gave me more time to spend with my family but got me into the hotel really late...it sucked but don't feel too bad for me yet. I was alittle sad to leave my family (a bit teary eyed) as they've been so kind and generous with their time and home. After the goodbye's I headed to the New Zealand airline's lounge (a star alliance partner)...this is the first time I've ever used United Airlines' "red carpet club" lounge, it was so fancy and packed with yummy snacks, coffee/tea, wine, bear, free internet, lounge chairs, fax, phone, and they make personal announcements when its time for boarding. It really does pay to be in the club, I've been missing out all these years hanging out by the usual airport gate areas.

I was not looking forward to later arrival into Auckland but just my luck that on the same flight were the boys from the New Zealand Warriors (NZ rugby team). They were returning home from a competition in Australia...the flight over was very lively so shall we say it was not so bad after all. When I saw them boarding, I thought they were the NZ All Blacks team but not quite...anyhow you can check them out, http://www.warriors.co.nz/.

After taking the airbus we arrived at the hotel 40mins. later. Its smacked right in the middle of downtown however the block where the hotel was located seem really dark. Alittle discouraged, I enter the hotel and was pleasantly surprise to find the interior a stark contrast to the dark exterior. The decor was modern, open, clean lines...scandinavian influenced, and the staff was very pleasant. I asked one of the staff who helped me to my room how the neighborhood was and he informed me that its actually not "that safe"!!!! What!!....of the all the places I find the one hotel that is not in the best neighborhood. It didn't seem so bad when I came in last night (I saw a few homeless people). Anyhow, he recommended that I shouldn't hang around the area at night if its not necessary which I don't plan to so I should be ok. What's surprising was that there were plenty of people (e.g. backpackers, tourist, locals, students...etc) walking around so the place seems lively. The decor of my room is similiar to the lobby decor...clean, modern, and all new furnitures. The view was not so great...plain parking lot. Another surprise was that they broadcast a Thai channel which is a nice. I don't know about you but I can appreciate good water pressure for my showers and this place has got it right...makes me very happy ;-) So the hotels got its pro's and con's, for now its got my vote with the right amenities and price. I guess I won't cancel my reservation as I'm returning to the same hotel at the end of the week. Ok that's all for now as I head down to south island for lots of sightseeing, driving, and hiking.

2nd stop - New Zealand

Monday (5.19) I head out to Auckland which marks the second stop on my RTW agenda. I am looking forward to the much talked about New Zealand. Everyone I've spoken to loves it there and highly recommends it. At this stop, I do not have any connections and surely no extended relatives to put me up ;-( but I am looking forward to the adventures. If by any chance anyone has some cool people you know in New Zealnd and are willing to introduce to me....please let me know.

I will only be in NZ for one week and have packed it tight with many outdoor activities and some cityscapes. A few things I will be doing...
-check out Auckland city
-fly to Queenstown in the south island for a couple of days
-drive to Franz Josef for a half day glacial hike
-head back to north island to either do the Waitomo cave or ride the Zorb ball at Rotorua.
-lots of driving alone but I think the scenary will more than make up for it

Sydney half marathon, I was "unofficially there"

First, thank you for your vote to help me decide on running the half marathon. It was an overwelming 80% (yes, go for it) and 20% (no, you're on vacation). After I've put you thru the polls, I have to unfortunately report that I did not run it however was able to be there to see the race in an unexpected turn of events. Let me explain. I was all set to go, got my maps, train schedules, and gears all ready to go however I was dealing with a conundrum on how to be mentally and physically ready for the race given the evening before was my bon voyage party.


Saturday evening was the "whole cow" party that my family graciously hosted as a sendoff gift. As you can understand, being that the party was for me there was some mandatory eating, drinking, and karoake singing. All this happiness of course can only lead to a very, very, late night. After toiling back and forth on how much to eat and drink to make sure I get some decent sleep for the race. In the midst of all this, popped the opportunity to hit the town and experience Sydney nightlife, given that its my last night I reluctantly dropped the idea to run the race ;-(. Plus I knew that not having proper sleep, alcohol, and "not so proper" food can really affect the race.


So I headed out to the city for lots of fun and dancing which was much needed after all the eating at the party. We were out til sunrise and I thought this was the end of the night however the entourage I went with decided to go to a "day club" which opens at 6am and closes at 12pm. Yes, this is available in every major metropolitan and Sydney is no exception. The downside of carpooling sometimes. In my mind, I know that its going to be a very long day somehow I still had enough energy to continue dancing...crazy!

As 7:30am rolled around, I was also thinking about the race and how I secretly wish I was there. While waiting for everyone to prepare to leave the day club, my cousin tapped me on the shoulder to show me the reflections of the runners passing the club. I immediately felt envious of the runners hitting the pavement and wondered if I had made the right decision to. Well, after a few moments self guilt, I headed outside to encourage the runners and take some pictures of what could have been...next time.