I (Julie) have finally arrived in Auckland after visiting the Christmas store at YVR, a lovely and potentially scenic (if it had been day time) bus ride around the LAX airport (which involved a New Zealand bound support group as we attempted to navigate the mayhem), and a cramped 12 hour flight (with a lovely 2am dinner and a Kiwi reproductive doctor-neighbour). And after a day wandering the city, the things I’ve learnt about Auckland are: they have the most random and talented buskers (i.e. bagpipers and Buddhist monks), everyone and their dog smokes (no exaggeration. Okay, maybe a slight exaggeration, but seriously it seems like everyone has a cigarette in hand), and the “free” meals at the hostels are crap. More on that later.
And I (Emily) have also arrived! My travel day was off to a great start when I dropped my laptop from waist height. It’s currently non-functional. Then, I was terribly sick on the flight from Vancouver to Sydney (although I can’t really complain because I had a row ALL to myself). I must have looked pretty rough though, because a flight attendant brought me a cold compress, ibuprofen, and Benadryl, without me even asking. She also sat next to me and gave me a lovely pep talk, because she thought part of my sickness was due to apprehension and nerves about travelling by myself and that I should call for her if I ever “wanted to talk”. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that I had indeed travelled alone. Many times. But bless her cotton socks. The rest of the day involved being sprayed with insecticide, a wailing, sobbing old man greeting us off the ramp in Sydney (which I thought was a bad omen), a day of waiting in SYD, denied boarding to Auckland due to not having a return ticket, running around finding internet and printers to buy and print a ticket out of NZ, and having my tripod considered a dangerous weapon.
While wandering the city, and deciding whether or not to venture up the tacky tourist tower we struck up a conversation with a rickshaw-operating Yorkshire lad. We chatted with no general direction for quite a while, comparing the differences between Vancouver/Surrey and Whitby/Malton, when we realized he had a stuffed animal zap-strapped to the top of his helmet. Upon questioning he said that if we could guess what it was he would give us a free ride. After about 2 seconds deliberation, Emily channelled her mammalogy prowess (aka BIOL 426) and asked if it was a Tasmanian tiger (the largest known carnivorous marsupial of modern times, that is now extinct), to which he promptly replied, “You’re not getting a free ride.” After an explanation of how we could possibly know that, and a brief bout of whining, he agreed to take us around the block. Thus began our death-defying rickshaw ride. But that’s another story.
Check this out! (pay close attention...)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gF8AY_IfTo
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