Friday, September 25, 2009
A note on the pictures
Just to let you all know I am not going to put any thought or effort into the captions or placement of any pictures I add to the blog...They will be at the start with the most basic of captions.
Day3 The Museum, Mt. Eden and of course getting lost
Thats the crater there...
A rainbow I saw while waiting for my bus...
View from atop Mt.Eden
View from atop mt. eden
Again
And againSo I went to Auckland museum yesterday. Very cool place, lots of good exhibits, especially the maori galleries, they had a full reconstruction of a maori hall there and the war exhibits. . .
You see I know deep down that these things are cool. That they are in fact interesting but I find it very hard to maintain any interest in them for more than lets say a half hour...
So despite the place being very cool I left fairly promptly. Oh they also had Maori dudes with spears wandering about the place. Dad would have loved, much better attention span then mine.
After this I got lost and eventually wandered my way back to the train station(after mistakingly winding up on the highway once). I took the train out to Mt. Eden. Mt. Eden is Auckland's tallest volcano. It was a bit of trek up to the top but well worth the view of the city and also of the massive crater at the center of the mountain. The crater is sacred so you're not allowed inside. This of course meant that there was loads people inside. I decided to respect tradition and all that. So after taking a few pictures I made my way back down the mountain, only to find I'd come down the wrong side. Being too lazy to go all the way back up(its tough going really steep). I said ah it'll be just as easy to go around....
No.
I walked for about half an hour, passing one bus stop on the way(I figured I was close enough to the train anyway so I might as well keep on going). So I came to a place called Mt Eden village. I thought great. The train station was called mt eden so it must be near here. ('case you haven't realised everything near mt.eden is called mt.eden).
So I stopped into a shop and asked which way was the station. I was slightly worried when they looked at me in a confused way and said the nearest station was Mt. Eden which was a half hour walk away. I was very tired so I asked was there a better way back into town they indicated the bus stop I had passed earlier. Not too bad I figured so I went to a near by cafe and had some soup. Just for a bit of break before heading back to the bus stop. Spending all my money bar two dollars. I thought that should be more than seeing as the bus back from Mission Bay was only 1.60 and that was miles further away. So I eventually make it back to the bus stop, (my feet are seriously protesting at this point. No bus for 20 minutes. It starts to rain very heavily.
So I wait patiently in the rain for the bus which arrives 10 minutes. I get on and ask for 1 to Britomart(which is the city centre area). 3.20 he says. I can't really believe it so I repeat myself, and so does he. He then puts two fingers up and mutters " Two *incomprhensible*" So I apologise and say I don't have enough, I get off again and he leaves. So I resolved to hike all the way back up the mountain and the down the other side to where the train station was located. It was tough going but I managed it. Worst part is, I found an extra two dollars in my back pocket as soon as the bus left.
Went for a pint then last night, I felt I deserved after my days trekking. At the pub the only person who talked to me was a drug dealer named Brian so I left again.
Just waiting around now to check in to my hostel and meet the people I'll be working with...
You see I know deep down that these things are cool. That they are in fact interesting but I find it very hard to maintain any interest in them for more than lets say a half hour...
So despite the place being very cool I left fairly promptly. Oh they also had Maori dudes with spears wandering about the place. Dad would have loved, much better attention span then mine.
After this I got lost and eventually wandered my way back to the train station(after mistakingly winding up on the highway once). I took the train out to Mt. Eden. Mt. Eden is Auckland's tallest volcano. It was a bit of trek up to the top but well worth the view of the city and also of the massive crater at the center of the mountain. The crater is sacred so you're not allowed inside. This of course meant that there was loads people inside. I decided to respect tradition and all that. So after taking a few pictures I made my way back down the mountain, only to find I'd come down the wrong side. Being too lazy to go all the way back up(its tough going really steep). I said ah it'll be just as easy to go around....
No.
I walked for about half an hour, passing one bus stop on the way(I figured I was close enough to the train anyway so I might as well keep on going). So I came to a place called Mt Eden village. I thought great. The train station was called mt eden so it must be near here. ('case you haven't realised everything near mt.eden is called mt.eden).
So I stopped into a shop and asked which way was the station. I was slightly worried when they looked at me in a confused way and said the nearest station was Mt. Eden which was a half hour walk away. I was very tired so I asked was there a better way back into town they indicated the bus stop I had passed earlier. Not too bad I figured so I went to a near by cafe and had some soup. Just for a bit of break before heading back to the bus stop. Spending all my money bar two dollars. I thought that should be more than seeing as the bus back from Mission Bay was only 1.60 and that was miles further away. So I eventually make it back to the bus stop, (my feet are seriously protesting at this point. No bus for 20 minutes. It starts to rain very heavily.
So I wait patiently in the rain for the bus which arrives 10 minutes. I get on and ask for 1 to Britomart(which is the city centre area). 3.20 he says. I can't really believe it so I repeat myself, and so does he. He then puts two fingers up and mutters " Two *incomprhensible*" So I apologise and say I don't have enough, I get off again and he leaves. So I resolved to hike all the way back up the mountain and the down the other side to where the train station was located. It was tough going but I managed it. Worst part is, I found an extra two dollars in my back pocket as soon as the bus left.
Went for a pint then last night, I felt I deserved after my days trekking. At the pub the only person who talked to me was a drug dealer named Brian so I left again.
Just waiting around now to check in to my hostel and meet the people I'll be working with...
My intro to Auckland
Thats Rangitoto there in the distance...
(Photos of Penguins)(I don't know whats going with that earlier blank post I didn't do it so there must be someone secretly accessing my blog and leaving blank posts to freak me out)
Anyway I've been here a few days and I'm sure you're all just dying to know what I think of the place. Its good.
Ahright fine I'll give a break down of my first few days. This blog will be day one.
I arrived here at about 5 o'clock Wednesday morning which was for the most part very confusing because I got on the flight at 9.30 Monday night. You might think arriving in New Zealand might be something special, ye know like a couple of hobbits arrive to escort you off your plane. Not anything like that, arriving in New Zealand is exactly like arriving home.
You know after you've left Ireland for a while (and Newmarket in particular) how when you get back it's always pissing rain? Like the rain has been waiting for you? Well that's how it is here. I arrived and it was pissing and has been pretty much ever since. Good thing I don't mind the rain then eh?
In the airport a friendly little man booked a hostel for me (an Indian not a hobbit unfortunately). I was very greatful at time. I arrived in Auckland city after a short bus drive and trudged my way up to my hostel, "Connors Top Floor Hostel". Form the outside it did look a bit suspect but not alarmingly so. A friendly Irish lad working there showed me to my room. My "private room", was in actual fact one very large that had been divided into "private rooms" with very thin wooden boards. It was about 8 x 6 ft. I could hear EVERYTHING from the neighbouring (and if I so wished see everything as well seen as the "wall" fell short about a foot below the ceiling.
"Here you are" says my Irish friend. "Nice and cosy isn't it?"
Another thing, oddly the entire place smelled like fried chicken. Oh and also none of the locks worked and there weren't even any on the cubicles/showers.
I left shortly after and booked myself into a much nicer place just down the road. Despite the fact already paid for the other hell hole.
This is turing into ta rather long blog, gonna have to update more frequently. So anyway after I book the new place I head out to Kelly Tarltons undersea adventure... or something like that. A very cool underground aquarium with giant stingrays and sharks and also a colony of gentoo and Emperor penguins.It's mad they have em in this big chamber where they've simulated artic conditions. They bring you around the penguin area in a heated "snow cat". After this I went and had a walk around mission bay, nice little seaside town just outside Auckland. They have a famous fountain( well so the bus drvier says anyway). I went over to take a picture of the fountain to find two topless women frolicing in it. I couldn't really take a picture then though as they might have thought I was perving. I left shortly after as I figured it would be assumed I was perving taking a picture or not. Although in my opinion they could really have picked a better place to do their frolicing( I'm not complaining really, it's a rare occurence you come upon fountains with half naked females hanging around in them, despite what ancient rome might have you believe). At this point I was starting to reassess my view that New Zealand was quite like home.
What came next very definitively changed that view.
So I'm walking up the main street in Auckland, still heavily jetlagged. I hadn't slept in over like 30 hours at this point. I noticed that big crowds were gathering on either side of the road. I didn't pay much heed cause I was tired and hungry. As I said I was heavily jetlagged so you'll forgive me when I say that at first I did not believe what I saw coming down the road. A tank. Not just any tank though, a tank with a woman on top. The woman had the biggest pair of breasts I have ever seen. I mean monstrously big, causing serious back trouble big. And she was topless. Whatever about topless women in fountains, a topless woman riding down the street on a tank surely couldn't be commonplace. I had gotten over the strangeness of this when more started coming. Scores of them, scores of scantly clad/ half naked women. Coming down the road in every manner of vehicle, from convertibles to moter bikes one was even in a jacuzzi on the back of a trailer. They were all waving, winking and fondling themselves at the crowd. (Which were mostly, but not exclusively male). It was the single most odd thing I've ever seen. By the end I was somewhat awed by the display, can you imagine a similar thing back home, in say O'Connell street in Dublin? The country would be go mad. The church and the old people would be up in arms. There'd be late late specials about it. Here the "8th annual erotica expo" (that's what it was by the way, for those of you who think I've gone strark raving mad and/or just made it all up) barely even caused a stir afterwards business as usual.
So yeah, definately not like Ireland then...
Anyway I've been here a few days and I'm sure you're all just dying to know what I think of the place. Its good.
Ahright fine I'll give a break down of my first few days. This blog will be day one.
I arrived here at about 5 o'clock Wednesday morning which was for the most part very confusing because I got on the flight at 9.30 Monday night. You might think arriving in New Zealand might be something special, ye know like a couple of hobbits arrive to escort you off your plane. Not anything like that, arriving in New Zealand is exactly like arriving home.
You know after you've left Ireland for a while (and Newmarket in particular) how when you get back it's always pissing rain? Like the rain has been waiting for you? Well that's how it is here. I arrived and it was pissing and has been pretty much ever since. Good thing I don't mind the rain then eh?
In the airport a friendly little man booked a hostel for me (an Indian not a hobbit unfortunately). I was very greatful at time. I arrived in Auckland city after a short bus drive and trudged my way up to my hostel, "Connors Top Floor Hostel". Form the outside it did look a bit suspect but not alarmingly so. A friendly Irish lad working there showed me to my room. My "private room", was in actual fact one very large that had been divided into "private rooms" with very thin wooden boards. It was about 8 x 6 ft. I could hear EVERYTHING from the neighbouring (and if I so wished see everything as well seen as the "wall" fell short about a foot below the ceiling.
"Here you are" says my Irish friend. "Nice and cosy isn't it?"
Another thing, oddly the entire place smelled like fried chicken. Oh and also none of the locks worked and there weren't even any on the cubicles/showers.
I left shortly after and booked myself into a much nicer place just down the road. Despite the fact already paid for the other hell hole.
This is turing into ta rather long blog, gonna have to update more frequently. So anyway after I book the new place I head out to Kelly Tarltons undersea adventure... or something like that. A very cool underground aquarium with giant stingrays and sharks and also a colony of gentoo and Emperor penguins.It's mad they have em in this big chamber where they've simulated artic conditions. They bring you around the penguin area in a heated "snow cat". After this I went and had a walk around mission bay, nice little seaside town just outside Auckland. They have a famous fountain( well so the bus drvier says anyway). I went over to take a picture of the fountain to find two topless women frolicing in it. I couldn't really take a picture then though as they might have thought I was perving. I left shortly after as I figured it would be assumed I was perving taking a picture or not. Although in my opinion they could really have picked a better place to do their frolicing( I'm not complaining really, it's a rare occurence you come upon fountains with half naked females hanging around in them, despite what ancient rome might have you believe). At this point I was starting to reassess my view that New Zealand was quite like home.
What came next very definitively changed that view.
So I'm walking up the main street in Auckland, still heavily jetlagged. I hadn't slept in over like 30 hours at this point. I noticed that big crowds were gathering on either side of the road. I didn't pay much heed cause I was tired and hungry. As I said I was heavily jetlagged so you'll forgive me when I say that at first I did not believe what I saw coming down the road. A tank. Not just any tank though, a tank with a woman on top. The woman had the biggest pair of breasts I have ever seen. I mean monstrously big, causing serious back trouble big. And she was topless. Whatever about topless women in fountains, a topless woman riding down the street on a tank surely couldn't be commonplace. I had gotten over the strangeness of this when more started coming. Scores of them, scores of scantly clad/ half naked women. Coming down the road in every manner of vehicle, from convertibles to moter bikes one was even in a jacuzzi on the back of a trailer. They were all waving, winking and fondling themselves at the crowd. (Which were mostly, but not exclusively male). It was the single most odd thing I've ever seen. By the end I was somewhat awed by the display, can you imagine a similar thing back home, in say O'Connell street in Dublin? The country would be go mad. The church and the old people would be up in arms. There'd be late late specials about it. Here the "8th annual erotica expo" (that's what it was by the way, for those of you who think I've gone strark raving mad and/or just made it all up) barely even caused a stir afterwards business as usual.
So yeah, definately not like Ireland then...
Thursday, September 24, 2009
A recounting of my day in hell. The abridged version
Well it's 6 o'clock int the morning here and I'm lying awake in bed, have been awake for the past two hous as well. So I figure this would be the perfect time to tell ye about my time in SFO.
It all started off okay, I arrived at the airport 12.00 found the desk where I was meant to go for stnad by. No queue. Wow things are looking good. Went up and explained I would like to fly stand by from there to LAX. She was very nice about it until, she asked me had I listed. Now you see I had phoned up United Airlines and asked if I needed to list. I had been told very clearly that it was not necessary, I told her this. Her demeanoir turned icey. I asked was there a problem. A cold silence followed. Then she smiled and said no, no problem. She then tagged my bag, put it on the conveyor belt and handed me a boarding pass. I thought wow that was great, really looked like there was going to be a problem there for a minute.
You see how standby usually works is (well in my experience anyway) they won't check you in until they know there's a space, makes sense so you don't end up waiting for hours. To my dismay I realized that this was not how UA run the show. They give you a thing that is cunningly disguised as a boarding pass and you through security to rot until they see fit to put you on a plane. I waited 11 hours and was ferried between 3 different gates all about 20 miles apart at opposite ends of the airport. I went between these gates about ten times in the course of the day.. Some of us standby people didn't make. I saw a little old Asian couple just give up on the long trek between gates, they collapsed and were sucked into the moving walkway. None of the other standby people even stopped, we were 8 hours in at this stage and the madness had begun to seep into our brains. The way they saw it that was two less to compete with.
There were over 50 people on the stand by list for that day all but about three were ahead of me. I am sure this was the doing of that lady who I spoke to first, who said there was no problem. She probably attached a note or something "Ginger fucker make sure he's last" I started off at 12 on the and by the end of the day was like 48.
And I was last, very last person on the very last flight for that day. They called out my name just in time, at that point I could feel my brain beginning to turn to mush. I got on the flight but it was still happening, I couldn't understand it. Had it been too late after all?Had the effects of spending an entire day in San Francisco airport become entirely unreversable? Then they gave me some tea and well that just didn't really seem like an issue any more. I then fell asleep.
There is a moral to this story.
" There is no problem so great or grave that it cannot be much diminished by a nice cup of tea " or in this case a passable cup of tea that is just a step above lukewarm and tastes distinctly of styrofoam.
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It all started off okay, I arrived at the airport 12.00 found the desk where I was meant to go for stnad by. No queue. Wow things are looking good. Went up and explained I would like to fly stand by from there to LAX. She was very nice about it until, she asked me had I listed. Now you see I had phoned up United Airlines and asked if I needed to list. I had been told very clearly that it was not necessary, I told her this. Her demeanoir turned icey. I asked was there a problem. A cold silence followed. Then she smiled and said no, no problem. She then tagged my bag, put it on the conveyor belt and handed me a boarding pass. I thought wow that was great, really looked like there was going to be a problem there for a minute.
You see how standby usually works is (well in my experience anyway) they won't check you in until they know there's a space, makes sense so you don't end up waiting for hours. To my dismay I realized that this was not how UA run the show. They give you a thing that is cunningly disguised as a boarding pass and you through security to rot until they see fit to put you on a plane. I waited 11 hours and was ferried between 3 different gates all about 20 miles apart at opposite ends of the airport. I went between these gates about ten times in the course of the day.. Some of us standby people didn't make. I saw a little old Asian couple just give up on the long trek between gates, they collapsed and were sucked into the moving walkway. None of the other standby people even stopped, we were 8 hours in at this stage and the madness had begun to seep into our brains. The way they saw it that was two less to compete with.
There were over 50 people on the stand by list for that day all but about three were ahead of me. I am sure this was the doing of that lady who I spoke to first, who said there was no problem. She probably attached a note or something "Ginger fucker make sure he's last" I started off at 12 on the and by the end of the day was like 48.
And I was last, very last person on the very last flight for that day. They called out my name just in time, at that point I could feel my brain beginning to turn to mush. I got on the flight but it was still happening, I couldn't understand it. Had it been too late after all?Had the effects of spending an entire day in San Francisco airport become entirely unreversable? Then they gave me some tea and well that just didn't really seem like an issue any more. I then fell asleep.
There is a moral to this story.
" There is no problem so great or grave that it cannot be much diminished by a nice cup of tea " or in this case a passable cup of tea that is just a step above lukewarm and tastes distinctly of styrofoam.
Free upgrade for your Windows Live Messenger! Click here!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
A belated blog about bizarre food
Right I've had my brief soujourn in the USA and have finally arrived in Auckland but I'm heavily jetlagged and in no fit state to give my impressions of the city(which aren't very good anyway) so I'm here to talk about Americans and thier food. No I'm not goin to give out about them eating too much(by the way I didn't see any of the stereotypical fat americans while I was, they must keep them in during daylight hours or something. During the day they hide out in the same place as the homeless of San Francisco. Some form limbo... Shite off topic.... too much in the brackets... *SIGH*) Food then and more specifically breakfast. The two times I head breakfast in the states were both stand out occassions. Firstly I'd like to say their breakfast habits are odd, very odd. Back home what is your choice for breakfast? Fry or cereal and toast basically. Over there. EVERYTHING, whatever you want. Case in point, first breakfast I had. A ranchero omlette, no not an omlette full of ranchero crisps. Although... An omlette filled with strips of steak with spicey ranchero sauce. In fairness it was nice and I did know what I getting myself into but not your typical breakfast meal.
Case number two now is a different story entirely. Country fired steak with sausage gravy. When you read that what do you picture? Well I thought the sausage gravy had been a misprint and it meant "sausage, gravy".
Well I'll tell you what you certainly don't picture. A GIANT CHICKEN NUGGET. The "steak" arrived and it was giant chicken nugget bout the size of my hand, even breaded like one. The sausage gravy was in actual fact sausage gravy, a substance that mimics the texture of paint and tastes vaguely like peppercorn sauce. I was terribly hungry so I ate and felt all the worse for it the whole day after. I could go into my wandering into the mexican neighbourhood in LA and the trying of the burrito with so many unkown ingredients all very fancy mexican sounding things though. But I'm tired so I'll leave now, I reckon I've one more rant about the states before I move on to NZ. Talk soon.
Case number two now is a different story entirely. Country fired steak with sausage gravy. When you read that what do you picture? Well I thought the sausage gravy had been a misprint and it meant "sausage, gravy".
Well I'll tell you what you certainly don't picture. A GIANT CHICKEN NUGGET. The "steak" arrived and it was giant chicken nugget bout the size of my hand, even breaded like one. The sausage gravy was in actual fact sausage gravy, a substance that mimics the texture of paint and tastes vaguely like peppercorn sauce. I was terribly hungry so I ate and felt all the worse for it the whole day after. I could go into my wandering into the mexican neighbourhood in LA and the trying of the burrito with so many unkown ingredients all very fancy mexican sounding things though. But I'm tired so I'll leave now, I reckon I've one more rant about the states before I move on to NZ. Talk soon.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Getting Better
Enjoyed myself today, despite the revelation that San Francisco is a little bit shit. Reminds me a bit of Irish seaside towns, it lures you in with the promise of amazing things but when you get there you realize all that's really there is a load of chip shops and a pile of scumbags. For San Francisco just change chip shop for "any sort of restaurant you can imagine" and scumbags for "lunatics, bums, Asians and numerous interesting combination's of the three.
Went on a cruise and just generally wandered about today. Was good but getting lost was not so much, cool to be just strolling then suddenly realize you're in Chinatown though(all the signs and people yelling in Chinese gave it away). Also went to the Aquarium which bizarrely was reminiscent of the Lehinch one. I thought everything was supposed to be better over here? On the plus side the San Francisco crazies don't appear to be able to detect me, none have approached me yet thank god.
Went on a cruise and just generally wandered about today. Was good but getting lost was not so much, cool to be just strolling then suddenly realize you're in Chinatown though(all the signs and people yelling in Chinese gave it away). Also went to the Aquarium which bizarrely was reminiscent of the Lehinch one. I thought everything was supposed to be better over here? On the plus side the San Francisco crazies don't appear to be able to detect me, none have approached me yet thank god.
Crap.
Crap. Alcatraz tour is all booked up and apparently there's a massive heatwave about to hit here so I must hightail it tomorrow before I melt. . .
Oh well I'll find some other way to occupy myself for the day, the wandering life thus far is not all i expected. It's tiring and quite boring....
Oh well I'll find some other way to occupy myself for the day, the wandering life thus far is not all i expected. It's tiring and quite boring....
Friday, September 18, 2009
So it begins
In San Francisco now, heavily jet lagged and trying to find somewhere to stay tomorrow night. Thus far having no luck, also have to get in touch with airlines and what-not.
I'll leave ye with this little pearl of wisdom imparted to me by some crazy dude with a placard.
"Sluts and whores all of you! Sex between married straight virgin couples only"
. . .
This country is insane.
I'll leave ye with this little pearl of wisdom imparted to me by some crazy dude with a placard.
"Sluts and whores all of you! Sex between married straight virgin couples only"
. . .
This country is insane.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
T minus 9 days
Right so, in nine days I'm off. Leaving this place for the forseeable future. Becoming unfettered, a vagrant, a wanderer. Yeah, unfettered was overdoing it wasn't it?
Anyway point is I'm outta here. Off to the land of the Kiwi, where for 5 weeks I'll be working on conservation. I don't quite know what this entails, observation of Kiwis may be involved( the birds not the fruit) , planting of trees with in all likelyhood the mending of paths. So I won't be really unfettered anyway. After the conservation thing I'll be free though. The nameless stranger wandering into towns, startin bar fights, destroying local gangs etc.
Well maybe not
Before we can to that bit I've some other stuff to go through though. It'll be tough, a few days in San Francisco and L.A ye know... Don't know how I'll survive...
Ahem.
I'll keep ye posted on my (mis)adventures.
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