Strip Club In A Nutshell
I hereby confirm that I am heterosexual. Boobs in face did not prove to be enticing but instead, mildly disconcerting.
The Internet is my Home
I have been suffering from a sudden bout of homesickness.
I can't explain why - after three full months of being in New Zealand I am jolted with the fact that I would love to wake up tomorrow morning and find myself on my semi-hard bed snuggled under my Garfield bedspread, surrounded by my trusty bookshelves, wardrobe and computer desk.
Mum and Dad in the kitchen, eating oatmeal - Mum in her sweatshirt getting ready to go for a walk at FRIM, and Dad in his crisp office shirt, being late as usual. Sis in her room, bleary-eyed, getting ready for classes. I sprawl on my bed and breathe in the familiar scent of my pillow, eventually pulling myself up and the first thing I do is of course, to turn on the computer.
I think that is why I have been spending a disproportionate amount of time in the Internet cafe in Wellington. I have been online for three days in a row now, for no good reason. There are no emails for me, I don't have anything of note to blog about, and I don't chat that much either. Yet it is comforting, just being in this familiar cyberspace. I dread to think of when I have to spend 3 years of my life in Singapore. The very thought is depressing.
Travelling from one town to another every week had kept me occupied. Mondays we leave for a new city. Tuesdays are uneventful. Wednesdays we get our pay, which is always a highlight. On Thursdays we conclude the week and do our timesheet, and calculate if we have achieved target (or manipulate our way through). Fridays - well, Fridays are Fridays. So we have reached the weekend where we plan to go somewhere with the car. And the cycle repeats.
But now - we are stranded in Wellington, with nothing to do. Long weekend, therefore no work. There is nightlife here, but I'm not accustomed to clubbing so that's out. I don't feel like staying in the hostel as it's always crowded and there's always unfamiliar people around. The girl that shares our dorm is scary. I want to call home but the phone is always occupied. Shops close way too early and I'm not really in the mood for shopping anyway. Everything to do costs money and I choose to squander my pay on the Internet. Which gives me solace, comforts my restless soul and numbs my instincts to run.
On the brighter side - there always is a brighter side, no? I got my 100 signup certificate from Greenpeace this morning and together with it was a gift certificate from Whitcoulls. $20. I also have a $10 voucher from Borders by spending more than $75 at the shop. Think of all the books that I can buy! The possibilities! But seriously, books in NZ are freaking expensive that it's not even funny. I've checked out books in Singapore, which has a similar exchange rate as NZ, and the books cost like one third/half the price. Just ridiculous to buy books here.
And also, I am going to a strip club sometime this week with Marten. The arrangement is symbiotic - I am too shy to go on my own, and he needs an excuse to go back again. (He was there two nights ago, his first time and he liked it.) The entrance fee is only $20. Fair enough for a one-off experience.
Here's a picture of me bungy jumping off Auckland Harbour Bridge.
Hopefully I will resume having the Spirit of The Bungy soon, after I start menstruating and stop whinging. Since as the Internet Cafe will not be open on Christmas - on Christmas the whole of NZ is like a ghost town where no shops open - there should be no further wallows in self-pity on this blog. Two days should be enough for me to recover from my down time I guess. NZ is after all a great place to be and I shouldn't waste it by being homesick.
In the meantime, all of you have a good Christmas ya.
I can't explain why - after three full months of being in New Zealand I am jolted with the fact that I would love to wake up tomorrow morning and find myself on my semi-hard bed snuggled under my Garfield bedspread, surrounded by my trusty bookshelves, wardrobe and computer desk.
Mum and Dad in the kitchen, eating oatmeal - Mum in her sweatshirt getting ready to go for a walk at FRIM, and Dad in his crisp office shirt, being late as usual. Sis in her room, bleary-eyed, getting ready for classes. I sprawl on my bed and breathe in the familiar scent of my pillow, eventually pulling myself up and the first thing I do is of course, to turn on the computer.
I think that is why I have been spending a disproportionate amount of time in the Internet cafe in Wellington. I have been online for three days in a row now, for no good reason. There are no emails for me, I don't have anything of note to blog about, and I don't chat that much either. Yet it is comforting, just being in this familiar cyberspace. I dread to think of when I have to spend 3 years of my life in Singapore. The very thought is depressing.
Travelling from one town to another every week had kept me occupied. Mondays we leave for a new city. Tuesdays are uneventful. Wednesdays we get our pay, which is always a highlight. On Thursdays we conclude the week and do our timesheet, and calculate if we have achieved target (or manipulate our way through). Fridays - well, Fridays are Fridays. So we have reached the weekend where we plan to go somewhere with the car. And the cycle repeats.
But now - we are stranded in Wellington, with nothing to do. Long weekend, therefore no work. There is nightlife here, but I'm not accustomed to clubbing so that's out. I don't feel like staying in the hostel as it's always crowded and there's always unfamiliar people around. The girl that shares our dorm is scary. I want to call home but the phone is always occupied. Shops close way too early and I'm not really in the mood for shopping anyway. Everything to do costs money and I choose to squander my pay on the Internet. Which gives me solace, comforts my restless soul and numbs my instincts to run.
On the brighter side - there always is a brighter side, no? I got my 100 signup certificate from Greenpeace this morning and together with it was a gift certificate from Whitcoulls. $20. I also have a $10 voucher from Borders by spending more than $75 at the shop. Think of all the books that I can buy! The possibilities! But seriously, books in NZ are freaking expensive that it's not even funny. I've checked out books in Singapore, which has a similar exchange rate as NZ, and the books cost like one third/half the price. Just ridiculous to buy books here.
And also, I am going to a strip club sometime this week with Marten. The arrangement is symbiotic - I am too shy to go on my own, and he needs an excuse to go back again. (He was there two nights ago, his first time and he liked it.) The entrance fee is only $20. Fair enough for a one-off experience.
Here's a picture of me bungy jumping off Auckland Harbour Bridge.
Hopefully I will resume having the Spirit of The Bungy soon, after I start menstruating and stop whinging. Since as the Internet Cafe will not be open on Christmas - on Christmas the whole of NZ is like a ghost town where no shops open - there should be no further wallows in self-pity on this blog. Two days should be enough for me to recover from my down time I guess. NZ is after all a great place to be and I shouldn't waste it by being homesick.
In the meantime, all of you have a good Christmas ya.
I am bored.
I am also PMSed.
I am in an Internet cafe now in Wellington, which cost like $3 an hour and is probably the best rate in town. The rest cost $4. It's Friday night and I have nothing to do, so I am prepared to squander my hard-earned money by opening MSN Messenger, something which I have not done since I have been on the travel team.
There is a karaoke nearby and it is evident that some people really can't hear themselves when they sing. If they could, they would probably destroy their eardrums out of sheer shame that they had produced such noise pollution. But too bad, they can't, and their eardrums are still intact for no good reason. (Since they can't hear themselves sing.)
Today was last day of work and we will have a long paid weekend from tomorrow till Wednesday. I did quite okay on turf today with four signups. Theoretically I should be in ecstasy but I am still disgruntled because of annoyances like
Ooh! My paycheck has arrived. I feel marginally better. After all it's better to be stuck in Wellington than, say, Palmerston North.
Miss everybody at home. I wish I were home this Christmas. The Internet Cafe Guy has informed me that they will close in 15 minutes.
Probably going to the Te Papa museum tomorrow. Yeah I do have a museum fetish. And it's supposed to be the best in NZ so I'm quite looking forward to it.
I am in an Internet cafe now in Wellington, which cost like $3 an hour and is probably the best rate in town. The rest cost $4. It's Friday night and I have nothing to do, so I am prepared to squander my hard-earned money by opening MSN Messenger, something which I have not done since I have been on the travel team.
There is a karaoke nearby and it is evident that some people really can't hear themselves when they sing. If they could, they would probably destroy their eardrums out of sheer shame that they had produced such noise pollution. But too bad, they can't, and their eardrums are still intact for no good reason. (Since they can't hear themselves sing.)
Today was last day of work and we will have a long paid weekend from tomorrow till Wednesday. I did quite okay on turf today with four signups. Theoretically I should be in ecstasy but I am still disgruntled because of annoyances like
- New Zealand Post LOST MY PARCEL that I sent to Auckland, I probably lost like $100 worth of stuff inside. HUGE ANNOYANCE.
- We are stuck in Wellington till 31st Dec. And we have returned our car, won't be getting another one till we reach South Island. So we are effectively stuck in the Wellington City Centre for the following 10 days. The only consolation is that on Christmas day all trains are free, so I will probably hop on and off just for the hell of it, and visit some nearby towns. Not that I'm expecting anything fun because we've done some of the towns as turf anyway.
- We have to move to another backpacker's on Christmas Eve, and move back again to the present one 4 days later. Without a car. What a pain!
- Robert is leaving the travelling team. Today was his last day working with us. I will miss him so much. Hi Robert! *waves* Ik zal u missen!
Ooh! My paycheck has arrived. I feel marginally better. After all it's better to be stuck in Wellington than, say, Palmerston North.
Miss everybody at home. I wish I were home this Christmas. The Internet Cafe Guy has informed me that they will close in 15 minutes.
Probably going to the Te Papa museum tomorrow. Yeah I do have a museum fetish. And it's supposed to be the best in NZ so I'm quite looking forward to it.
New York, New York
Greetings!
Finally back from my trip stateside and have four great guides to bring you about the American east coast cities of New York, Tampa, Orlando and Miami. Lets start with the big apple. This was my first trip to New York though the city is familiar to everyone from film, television and photographs. It's Christmas time so lets plan for a great time in New York, the January Sales and the Valentines period.
New York- the QT
New York, the world's most famous city, doesn't need much introduction. The home of US big business, high fashion, the best in new music, theatre and shopping New York is the first city in the world richest country. New York has gone through a massive transition in the past 20 years. What used to be a filthy, crime ridden and dangerous city; New York has cleaned up its act.
Today New York is a living city, families with babies continue to stay in the city, it's sanitized, safe and suburban. This is great for people visiting New York to see the sights, Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty, Rockerfeller Center but there are those who miss the old New York. The New York that didn't have a Starbucks on every corner, where graffiti artists shook their cans creating a colourful and exuberant city. New York has lost its graffiti and its edge but is still the worlds most exiting city.
Who flies to New York?
What hotel deals can you offer me?
Hotels in New York are notoriously expensive. The weak dollar means it is the best time to go to New York and stay in some kind of luxury. Any hotel with 3 stars+ should be very comfortable although New York's accommodation is famous for being a little hit and miss. Here are our recommendations based on price, location and our customers own reviews. Prices are based on two sharing a double or a twin room for 4 nights from the 8th of February 2008 taxes included.
Manhattan - the cultural, financial and fashion centre of the world, Manhattan is the world in miniature. The world's rich and poor live here, nationalities from every country of the world can be counted among the 1.5 million Manhattanites currently on the Island. Manhattan is anything you want it to be and has a niche for everyone, no matter what your flavour you will find it has a home in Manhattan. Filled with trips, tours, museums, shops, galleries, events, theatres, restaurants, it's a tourist paradise, whatever you are in Manhattan you are not bored.
The Museums and Galleries of New York are wonderfully thorough and perfectly maintained, interesting and appreciated. The most famous museums and galleries, the Natural History Museum, Moving Image Museum, Ellis Island Museum, Frick Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Television and Radio and the Museum of Modern Art are all world class museums that you can not possibly visit all in one trip.
If electricals and laptops are more your thing, try going into the East Village and Soho where there are some great low cost stockists.
In Chinatown you can pick up many a cheap fake item head into China town via Broadway and you'll be amazed at the amount of street vendors asking "Gucci, Fendi, Prada, you buy?"
Finally back from my trip stateside and have four great guides to bring you about the American east coast cities of New York, Tampa, Orlando and Miami. Lets start with the big apple. This was my first trip to New York though the city is familiar to everyone from film, television and photographs. It's Christmas time so lets plan for a great time in New York, the January Sales and the Valentines period.
New York- the QT
New York, the world's most famous city, doesn't need much introduction. The home of US big business, high fashion, the best in new music, theatre and shopping New York is the first city in the world richest country. New York has gone through a massive transition in the past 20 years. What used to be a filthy, crime ridden and dangerous city; New York has cleaned up its act. Today New York is a living city, families with babies continue to stay in the city, it's sanitized, safe and suburban. This is great for people visiting New York to see the sights, Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty, Rockerfeller Center but there are those who miss the old New York. The New York that didn't have a Starbucks on every corner, where graffiti artists shook their cans creating a colourful and exuberant city. New York has lost its graffiti and its edge but is still the worlds most exiting city.
Who flies to New York?
- Silverjet low priced luxury flights from London's Luton to Newark Airport.
- Delta, US Airways, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Continental and American Airlines all from the London Airports to New York Airports.
- Delta, Aer Lingus, Continental and Delta fly from Manchester to New York Airports.
- Continental and Aer Lingus fly from Glasgow to New York Airports.
- Continental fly from Birmingham to New York Airports.
- Air France, United Airlines, Continental, American Airlines fly from Paris to New York Airports.
- Continental, Alitalia and Delta fly from Rome to New York Airports.
- Continental, Delta, Air Berlin, Lufthansa, fly from Berlin to New York Airports.
What hotel deals can you offer me?
Hotels in New York are notoriously expensive. The weak dollar means it is the best time to go to New York and stay in some kind of luxury. Any hotel with 3 stars+ should be very comfortable although New York's accommodation is famous for being a little hit and miss. Here are our recommendations based on price, location and our customers own reviews. Prices are based on two sharing a double or a twin room for 4 nights from the 8th of February 2008 taxes included.
- 3* GERSHWIN- Central Manhattan- £348.00
- 4* RADISSON LEXINGTON - East side Manhattan - £456.00
- 5* PALACE - in MidTown East- £724.00
Click to see all NEW YORK HOTELS
What can I see and do in New York?
The City is actually 5 boroughs, Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island and the Bronx. Most visitors to New York spend the entire trip in Manhattan and only enter the other boroughs (or even New Jersey) when they catch their flight home. Manhattan is New York to many people but you should not discount Brooklyn and Queens if you are staying in New York for a longer visit. Brooklyn would be the USA's 5th most populous city were it not part of New York and offers many charming parks and river walks. Prices for accommodation, food and shopping are all cheaper outside of Manhattan. Many of the sports events also take place in Queens, the US tennis Open at Flushing Meadow, Queens and the baseball team the New York Mets at Shea Stadium.
Manhattan - the cultural, financial and fashion centre of the world, Manhattan is the world in miniature. The world's rich and poor live here, nationalities from every country of the world can be counted among the 1.5 million Manhattanites currently on the Island. Manhattan is anything you want it to be and has a niche for everyone, no matter what your flavour you will find it has a home in Manhattan. Filled with trips, tours, museums, shops, galleries, events, theatres, restaurants, it's a tourist paradise, whatever you are in Manhattan you are not bored.
The Museums and Galleries of New York are wonderfully thorough and perfectly maintained, interesting and appreciated. The most famous museums and galleries, the Natural History Museum, Moving Image Museum, Ellis Island Museum, Frick Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Television and Radio and the Museum of Modern Art are all world class museums that you can not possibly visit all in one trip.More specialist museums that I enjoyed were the Museum of Jewish Heritage down by Battery Park. Spanning the last 200 years of Jewish history the museum focuses on the Holocaust and Palestine as well as documenting the rise to fame of Jewish stars and the Jewish lifestyle in America including a section dedicated to the Jewish influence in Miami and the Catskills.
The less well known, Museum of Sex is a tasteful and interesting look at how sex is portrayed, sold and played out across the states. The museum is an eye opener looking at sex and sexuality from every angle, literally!
Sports in New York get about as passionate as you can get. The cities major teams, The Mets, The Yankees, The Giants, The Jets, The Knicks, The Rangers all have a loyal and vocal following and attending a sports match is really the quintessential New York experience. Depending on the time of year there will almost certainly be a game on during your stay, Football, Hockey, Baseball or Basketball.
If you can we recommend a Baseball game at either the Yankee's up in the Bronx or the Mets in Queens to get you out of Manhattan and into real living and breathing New York and New Yorkers.
Shopping - Two dollars to the Pound and one fifty to the Euro means that your greenbacks are really stretching nicely in the States. Even in New York you're going to find yourself chuckling merrily at the prices in comparison to London.
New York's got it all, electricals, fashion items, gifts, jewellery and everything you may ever desire. The typical and famous New York shopping hot spots are Barneys, Bloomies and Saks. The ladies will enjoy countless hours in these stores but for a younger crowd looking for some lesser know designers at better prices check out the Meatpacking District.
If electricals and laptops are more your thing, try going into the East Village and Soho where there are some great low cost stockists.
In Chinatown you can pick up many a cheap fake item head into China town via Broadway and you'll be amazed at the amount of street vendors asking "Gucci, Fendi, Prada, you buy?"
Where can I eat in New York?
Certainly New York is the USA's number 1 city for dining. People from every culture came together to create New York an nowhere does this strike you as more obvious than when making a restaurant reservation. The possibilities are endless, Chinese, Thai, Italian, Mexican, Hungarian, Polish, Jewish, English, Irish, Korean, Japanese, Argentinian, Cuban and even... American!
Here are some recommendations (£ - Inexpensive - under £10 for a main course - ££ - Reasonable £10-£15 for a main course - £££ - Pricey £15-£24 for a main course- ££££ - Expensive £25-£35 for a main course - £££££ - Daylight Robbery - £35+ for a main course)
- Babbo - Greenwich Village Italian food mecca, Exceptional - ££££
- Katz Deli - famous Pastrami sandwiches in this Jewish cafe. East Village - £
- Momo Fuku - Greenwich village multi cultural, Chinese meets Mexican meets ??? - ££
- Union Square Cafe - Top chef, great service and expansive wine list, class - ££££
- Sushi Yasuda - finest Sushi restaurant in New York - ££££
No one can ever wrap up New York in a few words. These are our personal recommendations for great things to do in New York. Don't forget to write to us and let us know about your own experiences in the world's favourite city.
Ciao for now HotelClickers!
Ramblings in P. North
Palmerston North's museum was not nice. I only went to the free part of it, and I wouldn't want to pay more to see the rest of it, so I am back at the city library where I am going online for 30mins for $1.
So far the travel team has been absolutely wonderful. The money's good, the van's fantastic, the company's great - just that the working part of it kinda sucks, but I guess this world was never meant to be perfect. (I would have much smaller cheeks if it were.)
The cultural blend in the team is really good. Yesterday in an Irish pub the guys drew me a map of Europe and where to visit, as Mum has given me her blessings that if I am able to amass enough of funds, I can go to Europe before I am confined for three years in the tiny little island-country south of Malaysia in August next year. I doubt that I would be able to get enough of money before that, but perhaps I could take some time off my PhD and go travelling.
The travel bug has definitely bitten me.
We are going to watch a play tonight, and if Palmerston North would have one chance of redeeming itself, this would be it. (Besides the fact that it has Burgerfuel, the best burger chain in NZ) So far the hostel has sucked, the turf has sucked, even the museum sucked! Why, why why would someone put displays in a case, label them all with numbers, and put the descriptions on the wall 3 feet away? Do you seriously think that I care about Maori musical instruments enough to look at the description and the number, go to the display, forget the number, curse, and go back to the description again? Yeah right.
Intellectual conversations amongst travel mates include whether bees feel emotions, whether duelling should be legalized, and whether Val would take a beer if Marten had one in his pocket right then. I have resorted to labelling the conversations with numbers because we keep recycling the same topics over again. Maybe I should produce a catalogue out of that.
Marten says that he will design a Rainbow Frank Experience (see link above to understand what I'm saying) T-shirt for us at the end of the trip. Possibly we may create our own boardgame and a soundtrack. A whole string of merchandise really.
2 minutes left till I am booted out of this computer.
So far the travel team has been absolutely wonderful. The money's good, the van's fantastic, the company's great - just that the working part of it kinda sucks, but I guess this world was never meant to be perfect. (I would have much smaller cheeks if it were.)
The cultural blend in the team is really good. Yesterday in an Irish pub the guys drew me a map of Europe and where to visit, as Mum has given me her blessings that if I am able to amass enough of funds, I can go to Europe before I am confined for three years in the tiny little island-country south of Malaysia in August next year. I doubt that I would be able to get enough of money before that, but perhaps I could take some time off my PhD and go travelling.
The travel bug has definitely bitten me.
We are going to watch a play tonight, and if Palmerston North would have one chance of redeeming itself, this would be it. (Besides the fact that it has Burgerfuel, the best burger chain in NZ) So far the hostel has sucked, the turf has sucked, even the museum sucked! Why, why why would someone put displays in a case, label them all with numbers, and put the descriptions on the wall 3 feet away? Do you seriously think that I care about Maori musical instruments enough to look at the description and the number, go to the display, forget the number, curse, and go back to the description again? Yeah right.
Intellectual conversations amongst travel mates include whether bees feel emotions, whether duelling should be legalized, and whether Val would take a beer if Marten had one in his pocket right then. I have resorted to labelling the conversations with numbers because we keep recycling the same topics over again. Maybe I should produce a catalogue out of that.
Marten says that he will design a Rainbow Frank Experience (see link above to understand what I'm saying) T-shirt for us at the end of the trip. Possibly we may create our own boardgame and a soundtrack. A whole string of merchandise really.
2 minutes left till I am booted out of this computer.
In code
Right noqw I asm in as Psalmeraston North, as city in asouth North Iaslasnd, asnd the astupid keyboasrd keepas asppending qwordas to the letteras thast i type, aso it ias up to you my asmasrt reasderas to maske asenase of qwhast I asm wqriting.
Yeash. I aspecificaslly qwrote as poast on thias keyboasrd juast to bug you. (Cozx you're more fun than the bunch thast reasd my trasvel blog.)
I astill hasve 3 minuteas left on thias computer.
Don't knoqw qwhast to asasy, I'm hasving as qwhasle of as time here, astill conasidering qwhether to ezxtend my astasy or not. Love you, miasas you asll.
Yeash. I aspecificaslly qwrote as poast on thias keyboasrd juast to bug you. (Cozx you're more fun than the bunch thast reasd my trasvel blog.)
I astill hasve 3 minuteas left on thias computer.
Don't knoqw qwhast to asasy, I'm hasving as qwhasle of as time here, astill conasidering qwhether to ezxtend my astasy or not. Love you, miasas you asll.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
