Sunday, September 14th~
Time to wrap this saga up.
I was awakened around 6 am in the international terminal by the bustle of people rushing to their early morning flights. I freshened up in the ladies room, finished the rest of the junk food for breakfast, and found my way to the shuttle to the domestic terminal. On the plane, I had a window seat and no one was in the seat next to me.
On all four flights on this trip, I was between the window and an empty seat. I didn't want to mention it, lest I jinx my good fortune. But I managed to go 4 for 4. That there's some good travel karma.
It was raining in Sydney when we took off. I found it consoling, not knowing how long it would be before I saw precipitation again. The flight gave me a lot of time to reflect on the trip, an opportunity I've never really given myself on previous vacations. I feel like I learned a lot about myself on this trip, about what I want. I loved the experience of traveling, and assessed how I could do it better next time. And there will be a next time. I am not done with New Zealand, and I have just begun my life of travel. This was a wonderful, eye-opening trip of a lifetime. Can't wait to have some more!
Showing posts with label air travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label air travel. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
Day 12: leaving (my heart in) New Zealand
Saturday, September 13th~
Today is a cold and gray day, identical to the one that greeted me on my arrival in Christchurch just over a week ago. It gives a sort of symmetry to the trip, I suppose. I got up and checked out of the hostel, stashed my stuff there and went off to say my goodbyes to New Zealand. Last night, Chelsea and Scotty had told me about a market that happens every Saturday, so I headed there first. They hadn’t quite finished setting up, so I treated myself to a delicious breakfast (one last decadent meal for the vacation), and went to browse the stands. I decided to splurge and but myself a jade pendant. I mentioned before that jade, or “greenstone” as it is more colloquially called, is really prominent in New Zealand. It has always been special to the Maori people, and there are certain shapes carved out of the stone that have special meaning to them; the twisted one that looks like a figure-8 (but can have more twists than just one), signifies two lives being bound together, and the spiral represents new birth. I bought a fishhook pendant. It represents “strength and determination and brings peace, prosperity and good health; also provides safe journey over water.” I am happy I have it, something to connect me to the country.
I wandered around for a little longer, then hopped on a shuttle to the International Antarctic Center. Way fun! I want to go there, man! Antarctica, that is. As an attraction, the center rocks! I rode on the Hägglund (the specialized vehicle for traveling over the harsh Antarctic terrain) on a cool obstacle course, watched a penguin feeding, weathered an Antarctic windstorm, watched all kinds of documentaries, and all-around boned up on my Antarctica trivia. The only thing I couldn’t find out was how much plane tickets are to get there. Very fun, though.
I walked from there to the international terminal across the street, dragging me increasingly dilapidated duffel behind me. I think this trip might be the end of the road for my duffel. I suppose it was never going to last forever. Besides, now that I’ve done a little bit of traveling, I desperately want to invest ina backpack. I think that I finally appreciate how much I can streamline my packing. My flight back to Sydney was on Emirates Airline. Love! It was so so nice! The food (lamb stew) was excellent, the wine was free, and I got to watch An Affair to Remember and have myself a good cry. (I think I need to move that film to my top 10. Maybe it’s there already.) But yeah, Emirates rocks.
When I got back to Sydney, I was going to see if I could ditch my duffel somewhere for the night so that I didn’t have to drag it around and further mutilate it. Note: it is impossible to get from the International Terminal to the Domestic Terminal on foot in Sydney, and you need to pay for the shuttle. What a crock! Well, I had a little sidewalk conference with one of the shuttle drivers, and we determined that I could save about $50 and a whole lot of hassle if I just crashed in the International Terminal for the night. Which I did. I figured, in addition to the economical benefit, it would just be an experience worth having once in my life, and why not have it on my terms? So I bought myself some junk food, busted out the book I bought in Christchurch (The Book Theif, an excellent read), and killed a couple of hours reading. Then it was time for the sleeping. The bench I had claimed in the terminal had four seats on it and was so close to being armless, and yet so far away. There was a sort of awkward divider kind of jutting out between each seat, so it was possible to avoid most of them if you curled up just right, but there was always at least one stubborn bar jabbing me. However, with some clever positioning of my sweatshirt, fleece and bookbag, I was able to sleep in hour increments throughout the night.
Hard to believe that morning comes early in an international terminal.
Today is a cold and gray day, identical to the one that greeted me on my arrival in Christchurch just over a week ago. It gives a sort of symmetry to the trip, I suppose. I got up and checked out of the hostel, stashed my stuff there and went off to say my goodbyes to New Zealand. Last night, Chelsea and Scotty had told me about a market that happens every Saturday, so I headed there first. They hadn’t quite finished setting up, so I treated myself to a delicious breakfast (one last decadent meal for the vacation), and went to browse the stands. I decided to splurge and but myself a jade pendant. I mentioned before that jade, or “greenstone” as it is more colloquially called, is really prominent in New Zealand. It has always been special to the Maori people, and there are certain shapes carved out of the stone that have special meaning to them; the twisted one that looks like a figure-8 (but can have more twists than just one), signifies two lives being bound together, and the spiral represents new birth. I bought a fishhook pendant. It represents “strength and determination and brings peace, prosperity and good health; also provides safe journey over water.” I am happy I have it, something to connect me to the country.
I wandered around for a little longer, then hopped on a shuttle to the International Antarctic Center. Way fun! I want to go there, man! Antarctica, that is. As an attraction, the center rocks! I rode on the Hägglund (the specialized vehicle for traveling over the harsh Antarctic terrain) on a cool obstacle course, watched a penguin feeding, weathered an Antarctic windstorm, watched all kinds of documentaries, and all-around boned up on my Antarctica trivia. The only thing I couldn’t find out was how much plane tickets are to get there. Very fun, though.
I walked from there to the international terminal across the street, dragging me increasingly dilapidated duffel behind me. I think this trip might be the end of the road for my duffel. I suppose it was never going to last forever. Besides, now that I’ve done a little bit of traveling, I desperately want to invest ina backpack. I think that I finally appreciate how much I can streamline my packing. My flight back to Sydney was on Emirates Airline. Love! It was so so nice! The food (lamb stew) was excellent, the wine was free, and I got to watch An Affair to Remember and have myself a good cry. (I think I need to move that film to my top 10. Maybe it’s there already.) But yeah, Emirates rocks.
When I got back to Sydney, I was going to see if I could ditch my duffel somewhere for the night so that I didn’t have to drag it around and further mutilate it. Note: it is impossible to get from the International Terminal to the Domestic Terminal on foot in Sydney, and you need to pay for the shuttle. What a crock! Well, I had a little sidewalk conference with one of the shuttle drivers, and we determined that I could save about $50 and a whole lot of hassle if I just crashed in the International Terminal for the night. Which I did. I figured, in addition to the economical benefit, it would just be an experience worth having once in my life, and why not have it on my terms? So I bought myself some junk food, busted out the book I bought in Christchurch (The Book Theif, an excellent read), and killed a couple of hours reading. Then it was time for the sleeping. The bench I had claimed in the terminal had four seats on it and was so close to being armless, and yet so far away. There was a sort of awkward divider kind of jutting out between each seat, so it was possible to avoid most of them if you curled up just right, but there was always at least one stubborn bar jabbing me. However, with some clever positioning of my sweatshirt, fleece and bookbag, I was able to sleep in hour increments throughout the night.
Hard to believe that morning comes early in an international terminal.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Day 1: leaving the red centre
Tuesday, September 2nd~
Holiday! Today began the great adventure! Three days in Sydney plus a 7 day tour of New Zealand’s South Island and I am ready for it! Alison’s mom, Dorothy, kindly dropped me off at the airport, and I made it to Sydney with no incident. I hopped on a train, headed down town, found my hostel, and got settled in. At this point it was around 6:30, so I took off in search of food. Railway Square YHA is right on the brink of China Town, so I wandered past countless Asian restaurants, nothing really appealing to me. So I did what any girl would do all alone in the big city with nothing to eat. I went and saw Hellboy II. It was a funtime. After the movie, I still needed something to eat, so I hoofed it to a café at another youth hostel to get a bite to eat. I was sitting there, all by my lonesome, catty-corner from a girl who was sitting there all by her lonesome. I commented on how it sucks to eat alone, and she graciously invited me to join her! Shir was an absolutely delightful girl from Israel who had been traveling around Australia for some time now. We ate dinner and dessert and then got a drink at the adjoining bar (Scubar, I believe. Check it out if you’re in Sydney). It was so nice to have a friend! As it got later, we made plans to meet for lunch the next day, and I walked back to my hostel.
A quick word about my hostel: The Railway Square YHA is located walking distance from everything worth seeing in Sydney, which is convenient. What makes it really fun is that I slept in a converted train car. It was fun and cute. I felt like a boxcar kid. But, you know, not as cool.
Holiday! Today began the great adventure! Three days in Sydney plus a 7 day tour of New Zealand’s South Island and I am ready for it! Alison’s mom, Dorothy, kindly dropped me off at the airport, and I made it to Sydney with no incident. I hopped on a train, headed down town, found my hostel, and got settled in. At this point it was around 6:30, so I took off in search of food. Railway Square YHA is right on the brink of China Town, so I wandered past countless Asian restaurants, nothing really appealing to me. So I did what any girl would do all alone in the big city with nothing to eat. I went and saw Hellboy II. It was a funtime. After the movie, I still needed something to eat, so I hoofed it to a café at another youth hostel to get a bite to eat. I was sitting there, all by my lonesome, catty-corner from a girl who was sitting there all by her lonesome. I commented on how it sucks to eat alone, and she graciously invited me to join her! Shir was an absolutely delightful girl from Israel who had been traveling around Australia for some time now. We ate dinner and dessert and then got a drink at the adjoining bar (Scubar, I believe. Check it out if you’re in Sydney). It was so nice to have a friend! As it got later, we made plans to meet for lunch the next day, and I walked back to my hostel.
A quick word about my hostel: The Railway Square YHA is located walking distance from everything worth seeing in Sydney, which is convenient. What makes it really fun is that I slept in a converted train car. It was fun and cute. I felt like a boxcar kid. But, you know, not as cool.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Amadeus amadeus
I am less than a month away from my first Holiday adventure, which is terribly exciting as you can well imagine.
On September 2nd, I am going to fly to Sydney and hang out there until the 5th. On the 5th, I am flying to Christchurch, New Zealand, and on the 6th, I leave on a 7 day tour of the southern island, including hiking Fox Glacier and cruising in Fiordland. Then, on the 13th I fly back to Sydney and get back to Alice on the 14th. Not even two weeks. Perfect.
But what has me excited beyond all belief?
I just bought a ticket to see Mozart's Don Giovanni at the Sydney Opera House.
I am seeing an opera. at the sydney. opera. house.
I have basically been on the verge of tears with excitement since I booked my ticket.
MOZART AT THE SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE!!!
On September 2nd, I am going to fly to Sydney and hang out there until the 5th. On the 5th, I am flying to Christchurch, New Zealand, and on the 6th, I leave on a 7 day tour of the southern island, including hiking Fox Glacier and cruising in Fiordland. Then, on the 13th I fly back to Sydney and get back to Alice on the 14th. Not even two weeks. Perfect.
But what has me excited beyond all belief?
I just bought a ticket to see Mozart's Don Giovanni at the Sydney Opera House.
I am seeing an opera. at the sydney. opera. house.
I have basically been on the verge of tears with excitement since I booked my ticket.
MOZART AT THE SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE!!!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Land Down Under
It is about 9am, Thursday, July 17th. After countless hours on airplanes (or "aeroplanes" and they are called here) I am in Australia! I am writing this from a computer in the Qantas Club in the airport (aeroport?) in Adelaide. Swanky, no? I was kindly informed when I arrived to check in this morning that I would be flying business class to my final destination of Alice Springs. The generosity of my aunt and uncle never stops, it seems, as they were the ones to make the arrangements. Normally, this would be my cue to feel unworthy and undeserving of such preferential treatment by an airline, but after some hellish airport experiences, I think I'm a little bit more accepting.
But who wants to hear mopey air (aero) travel stories? Considering that all six little children sitting around me on a 17 hour flight were actually quite adorable and well-behaved, we only were on the ground in Sydney for an hour and a half to refuel, I was able to get a flight to Adelaide only a couple of hours after my missed connection in Melbourne, and my duffel bag should meet me in Alice today or tomorrow, I don't really have that much to complain about.
I was greeted in Adelaide by my aunt's father, David, and his wife, Lyn. More obliging hosts I could not hope for! They gave me a driving tour of Adelaide on the way back to their house. It is a beautiful town. It is set up on a grid, framed by North, West, South and East Terraces, which are themselves framed by the "Green Belt" around the entire city. It was built as a planned city, so the streets are logical and there's lots of green space. It's the dead of winter here (a bitingly cold 60 degrees), so a lot of the trees have lost their leaves, but the grass is very green. There are lots of olive trees and fig trees, but the major industry in South Australia is wine. When I come back this way, I will certainly be touring some of the vineyards. One of the more eye-catching features of the city was, for me, Rundle Mall (at least I think that's what it's called). It's a pedestrian street that looked so much like Church Street in Burlington, VT, that I wanted to cry. I can't wait to explore it when I am back in town.
David and Lyn brought me back to their house in Walkerville, a charming suburb of Adelaide, walking distance from town. David pulled out an atlas and gave me a much-appreciated crash course on Australian geography. At my behest, he and Lyn compiled a "Don't miss it" list of things to do while I'm in Australia. They themselves have traveled around quite a bit, having recently returned from a four month tour of the eastern part of the country by caravan. (I'm not sure exactly what they mean by caravan. RV? Long line of cars? I'll let you know when I know.)
While Lyn prepared dinner, David busted out his home videos of a vacation to South Africa some 12 years ago and, after some ribbing from his wife, footage of my Uncle Timmy and his family. Just in case I wasn't already excited enough to see them, this definitely got my adrenaline pumping.
Dinner was superb, as was the cab/shiraz blend that accompanied it. David called it a skinless bottle, which is apparently a colloquialism for excess wine that is bottled and sold dirt cheap without a label. Like, $5 a bottle cheap. What a bloody fantastic idea! The jury is still out on whether or not David made up the phrase "skinless bottle", but I'll go with it. For dessert, Lyn baked a pudding. That's right, baked, not mixed with water and refrigerated. This is a strange land! A strange and delicious land!
I forced myself to stay awake until 7:45, and then fell gratefully into bed. This morning, I feel like I have the upper hand on jet lag and I am ready to see my new desert home. Can't wait!
Peace.
But who wants to hear mopey air (aero) travel stories? Considering that all six little children sitting around me on a 17 hour flight were actually quite adorable and well-behaved, we only were on the ground in Sydney for an hour and a half to refuel, I was able to get a flight to Adelaide only a couple of hours after my missed connection in Melbourne, and my duffel bag should meet me in Alice today or tomorrow, I don't really have that much to complain about.
I was greeted in Adelaide by my aunt's father, David, and his wife, Lyn. More obliging hosts I could not hope for! They gave me a driving tour of Adelaide on the way back to their house. It is a beautiful town. It is set up on a grid, framed by North, West, South and East Terraces, which are themselves framed by the "Green Belt" around the entire city. It was built as a planned city, so the streets are logical and there's lots of green space. It's the dead of winter here (a bitingly cold 60 degrees), so a lot of the trees have lost their leaves, but the grass is very green. There are lots of olive trees and fig trees, but the major industry in South Australia is wine. When I come back this way, I will certainly be touring some of the vineyards. One of the more eye-catching features of the city was, for me, Rundle Mall (at least I think that's what it's called). It's a pedestrian street that looked so much like Church Street in Burlington, VT, that I wanted to cry. I can't wait to explore it when I am back in town.
David and Lyn brought me back to their house in Walkerville, a charming suburb of Adelaide, walking distance from town. David pulled out an atlas and gave me a much-appreciated crash course on Australian geography. At my behest, he and Lyn compiled a "Don't miss it" list of things to do while I'm in Australia. They themselves have traveled around quite a bit, having recently returned from a four month tour of the eastern part of the country by caravan. (I'm not sure exactly what they mean by caravan. RV? Long line of cars? I'll let you know when I know.)
While Lyn prepared dinner, David busted out his home videos of a vacation to South Africa some 12 years ago and, after some ribbing from his wife, footage of my Uncle Timmy and his family. Just in case I wasn't already excited enough to see them, this definitely got my adrenaline pumping.
Dinner was superb, as was the cab/shiraz blend that accompanied it. David called it a skinless bottle, which is apparently a colloquialism for excess wine that is bottled and sold dirt cheap without a label. Like, $5 a bottle cheap. What a bloody fantastic idea! The jury is still out on whether or not David made up the phrase "skinless bottle", but I'll go with it. For dessert, Lyn baked a pudding. That's right, baked, not mixed with water and refrigerated. This is a strange land! A strange and delicious land!
I forced myself to stay awake until 7:45, and then fell gratefully into bed. This morning, I feel like I have the upper hand on jet lag and I am ready to see my new desert home. Can't wait!
Peace.
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