My last week of holiday was spent learning how to snowboard. I have a feeling this is going to be a "xiaxue"-typed blog entry, with heaps of pictures and too much info on what i did. Anyway....it all starts in Ohakune!, a small town, nearest one to Turoa Ski Field on Mt. Ruapehu.

When I say small, its really is small. This must be the most boring town I've ever stayed in. This pictures tell alot...

Haha....a few things i found on this alpine village that i have to mention... A really dirty looking fake snow man (wonder why they even have it) and Matterhorn. Matterhorn is a Kuching dessert, didn't expect to see this name all the way in this little town in NZ!

......and we stayed at the Station Lodge- the place with the worst water pressure ever! Showers here are unbelievable, the water jus trickles. However, the place was cheap and quite clean.

Now, on to more interesting stuff. Sunday was day 1. I decided not to take a lesson, cos i was cheap, and apparently you can just self teach...All the beginners started off at Alpine Medow....haha.....this place is packed with people who just hang around and don't actually move.....not exactly the best place to learn...

My snowboard, the blue one!

I kinda got the hang of things after falling a few times....i was not motivated to learn, mostly because the whole place was filled with people thus making it difficult to actually do anything; and the lenght of this whole place is rediculously short that i have to take the t-bar up after 2minutes of riding down the slope. The t-bar has a long queue.....it seems to take longer to go up than down. After a long lunch break with Jen n Hayley, Jen suggested the lower mountain. I was apprehensive at first, but i thank Jen so much for asking me to go up. Its jus soo much better up there.

I did a one day on, one day off, so tue was another day up at lower mountain. Last day was the best. I spent my time at upper mountain. Snow here are powder! Its like moving around in a huge pile of flour. Winds up there are crazily cold and your nose runs like it has never runned before in its entire life. Really cold and windy! But i'll suffer to experience the ride down...just cannot be missed. On the way up to the mountain on last day was a really nice clear day, check out the pics

Check out this massive snow ball.....

I must say last day was great. Pity i felt soo sleepy that nite, cos everyone went out for drinks while i was sleeping =(.... We left on Friday, and on our way into auckland, we stopped by this place out of nowhere called Pukeno. This place has the cheapest icecream ever...check the prices out

A very odd ice cream cone brand that they use....

That's all of the pics i'm gonna publish. How appropriate to leave that as the last... Anyway.....i'm gonna go buy a snow board now

Must update!

Today= Auckland Power Outage + Crazy Weather + Snow in South Island as exciting as NZ can be.... check out how heavy the rain was...

 

Sirens going all morning (well not quite...but more than usual)...Exams cancelled (poor ppl who hav to resit)...traffic lights gone...etc etc

 

 anyway since i'm here... check out the apple mac bookpro! it runs both xp and mac os! 17", super cool...

just lacks affordability...watch how thin it is on the CNET video.

and also...some pics from weekend at sandhya....sorry only put up 3 of the 104 pics (others require consent...haha).

ooops...sized down too much...oh well...u can still see

My easter was spent on a trip to welli and marlborough. I thought i'll narrate our trip to you with pictures attached (blogger/xanga style- non of those msn space photo album thingys). I'll start from the very beginning, so its gonna be a big, long, boring entry.

Our flight was at 6pm, but the fog that morning pushed us to 7:20pm. We decided to go on 7:30p flight wif sarah and sj so we changed our flight. When we got to the airport, that flight was delayed to 8, then 8:30, then 9, then 9:30, then 9:45. It was a long wait at the small little qantas domestic terminal. The only shop there was a cafe and whitcoull's.

We spent our time well. Michelle bought a sudoku book from whitcoull's and both Biondi and Michelle taught me Sudoku. When we found out that our flight kept being delayed, we thought we take a trip to the international terminal. We got McD's, and took a walk back to domestic. The longest delayed i've ever experienced. None the less we departed finally at 9:45pm. 

Anywho, we got to welli pretty late. (Wellington Airport below: "Wild at Heart")

Got to the backpackers and settled abit. "Base Backpakers" was nice. Kinda reminded me of the one i stayed in sydney (wake up), thought the bathroom wasn't as posh/clean.

We went our later for a walk around the city. Welli was really cold that night, so yea...i was walking really fast- leaving the others behind. The whole city was calm and quite, and the only hapenning place was courtanay pl.

 

We got back to the backpackers at around 2am, and we woke up the next morning at 6:30 to catch the shuttle at 7 to the ferry.

We left for picton on the Interislander at 8. The ferry was huge...carrying vehicals as well as passengers. The inside wasn't that facinating. There was two cafes and a bar and lots of seats.

 

 

 The view outside was nice.  Wellington harbour wasn't as spectacular as Auckland's though.

We reached the Queen Charlotte's Sound (Marlborough Sounds) after 2.5hrs on the ferry. The whole place is full of inlets and lots of mountains. It looked kinda like QuiLin for a while- minus the mist.

 

 We arrive in picton at noon, no time wasted, we went straight to sea kayaking...

All the couples were paired together and I was with the guide. Sea-kayaking was really fun! It was a good way to experience the sounds. There were loads of boaties around especially because it was easter weekend.

The whole kayak lasted around 4hrs. We started at a bay (forgot the name) and finished off at picton beach. Below is a pic of the group wif our guide.

 

We had dinner at subway that evening, and walked arnd picton....it's a really small and quite town- nothing on at nite at all! There was this dodgy fish n chips shop which we bought some stuff from. I go the kumara chips- it was sweet. Anyway, this shop was one of those that you can see the kitchen, and the cook was passing the fish around without gloves, and cleaning his nose with his fingers right after that. Anyway, just so to let you know, be careful with "Kentucky Fish n Chips".W

We stopped by Four Squares ("your local") and then went back to the backpackers and chatted away there.

 

Sunday was our winetour- a full day tour. Marlborough is wine country. NZ's best whites are made here; and this is where Cloudy Bay lives. On the road all we could see were rows upon rows of vines. Rather spectacular....some were yellow-red, which made them quite nice too.

First stop was Lawson's Dry Hill. Won lots of awards. My fav was the Sav.

 

The jug of yellow juice is actually a fermenting Sav. The lady took it out for us to try. It was a rather refreshing drink. Sweet, sour and a little fizzy. It was only 2% alcohol.

 

2nd stop was Montana's Brancott Vineyard. Compared to the previous winery, this was a factory.

Lots of stainless steel silos and cuvee (mind my spelling) and rows and rows of barrels...

We took the educational wine tour. How wine is made through to how to taste wine was included. The tour just made me appreciate wine so much more. We also got introduce to some jargon, which we later used to joke around....

Btw, Montana owns many other wine names as well- Stoneleigh, Triplebank, and ya...that's all i can remember

 

 

 3rd Stop- Lunch at Cellier le Brun.

Apparently this place is famour for its bubblies (which are Methode Traditionalle). We got ourselves a Tache.

And of course lunch as well...

 

 

I must say lunch was not all that posh. I didn't expect to find McDonald's french fries here. Portions were somewhat modest, however the taste was good.

 

Next stop was Serresein Estate. The few estates with elevation and an olive plantation as well. I think Mr. Serresein was the director of the Harry Potter film. Well anyway, he owns this vineyard/plantation as well.

 From the winery we could see the mountains used in the Cloudy Bay labels- so taking heaps of pictures was a must.

 

The second to last stop was Cloudy Bay Vineyard.....celar door was open, and we went in for a taste. I must say, the chardonnay here is reeeaaaally good! One bottle however will set you back around $35 i think. I splashed out on their late harvast in the end....must open it some of these days....

 

 Last stop was Makana Chocolate Factory (sorry no pics). That place has some really nice overpriced chocolate. I got the chocolate-glazed cherries.....it was really delicious.

We headed home shortly after the choc factory visit.

 

 

Our backpackers in picton was a nice little house. Too bad we only stayed one night. There were really nice kitchens, living room and bathrooms. A very homely backpackers at only $23 a night. Cheap!

A quick picture with the backpacker's dog....

and off we went....back to wellington.

 

Monday morning was spent at the Old St' Paul's church. This old church has a spectacular wooden interior. Very unique, and very european....too bad it was too dark in there to take nice pictures. This one came out ok. 

Next stop was Parliament/Government House/Beehive

We got a free tour of the whole place. I must say the debating chamber was smaller than it seems on TV. We weren't allowed to go into the beehive, but we got to see pretty much everything that was important.

 

The tour lasted till noon and we haven't had breakfast that morning so we headed out for lunch right after that. We went to AbraKEBABra. This place had the best kebab's i've tasted, and interior is really istanbul...really cosy and nice.

After lunch we took the cable car up to the botanical gardens. 

That's not the real cable car btw....if u haven't realised....

The view from the top was really good. No need for Mt' Victoria.

We walked down from the botanical garden. On the way was this red bush which michelle decided it would be good to take pictures on. I started snapping away, and here's what i got out of it.....

Very uni prospectus like...

 

We walked all the way down to city and started walking around lambdon quay and we saw this shop...

yup, kirby in wellington. It was actually a candy shop. Was closed tho, so we didn't go in.

 

We then headed over to the water front and had Gelato and coffee by this big white sculpture. Kaffe Ais had really good gelato and coffee! Thanks eugene for the suggestion. 

 

Next to the cafe was this lagoon which had steps going into it. However the steps were kinda hidden, so we took this picture......oooo....visual illusion....

 

It was a short walk from there to civic square....where the fern ball was. 

 

Easter monday was really quiet, and we didn't know what to do....so we went and watched March of the Penguins at Embassy....one of the few places that was open. 

 

After watching Penguins starving over winter, we headed over to Nicolini's on Courtanay Pl for some Italian. The place was full up. We had to wait one hour for seats, so had abit of a munch at HK BBQ- one of the few clean and nice chinese cafes. Went back to Nicolini's at 9, and finally got our seats....

the food there was great (thanks eugene again)....the lower pic was taken after all the couples took their shots, i was the last one left.....(thus the facial expression- not because the food was horrible)

 

Tues morning we all got up late... had bagels for breaky at Wholly Bagels. The bagel was kinda nice. Wasn't really delicious or anything, the yea.....kinda overpriced actually now that i think about it.... 

We went to te papa after breakfast. On display was Lord of the Rings exhibition and Japan exhibition. I however went to the fourth floor where all the maori things were. Very interesting, but I had to leave early to meet samer, vru and nash.

It took us awhile to decided where to go for lunch so we ended up at this malaysian place. I had roti channai- only $5!.

We went to Mr. Bun for coffee later. Met jolin and kevin (hope i got their names rite)...Vru and Nash's newland frens. 

 

I spent the rest of the afternoon mucking around lambon quay, had kapiti ice cream (mmmm) and then it was time to go to the airport.

On the wine tour we got this wine in a wooden case, which we all signed. It was for michelle, who organised our trip (with my help of course....hahaha).  This was given to her at the airport so say thank you. A pleasant end to the trip.

I remembered last year Michelle and I went to borders during exam time to study, and she picked up this mag which had all the nice photos of cafes and culture of Auckland, and how Auckland is a world class city and all; we're like- "yeah right". To us, Auckland = Queen St, and that's all. Nothing fancy about it. But we didn't give up on Auckland- so Michelle came up with this new year's resolution to go beyond Queen St. and explore greater Auckland, in the hope that Auckland will live up expectation.

Our first attemp was yesterday when we went to Ponsonby, where the best coffee of Auckland lives. I must say, the mocha was not too bad. Wasn't too sweet and wasn't bitter. Good mixture of cocoa and coffee. Biondi, Michelle and I ended up having brunch, and here are pics of the food at Lulu's:

     

          

 

Ponsonby Rd was not too bad, but there were some parts where there's nothing to see. Unlike Parnell's non-stop stretch of shops. The view was nice tho.

Anyway, at night was my bd at eugene/kirby/amber's flat where the pizzas, cake and wine flowed. I really enjoyed everyone being there and of course the prezzies. I wasn't expecting these things, but yeah, now I have to make cocktails for you guys and go to Europe. Thanks all for being there- you made my day!; and thanks heaps for the prezzies, and thanks heaps Eugene, Kirby and Amber for your hospitality.

Mandarins- boxes of them, all from China

Sarawak Ong Lye (Pineapples), the best ong lyes

Steamboat

Ang pow to the kids (or unmarried)

ooo....Day 3 was great. Michelle took me to the Petrona Tower. We went up to the 44th floor to walk on the sky bridge. A must when you are in KL. I've travelld too far, and it'll be a waste not to go up. Just look at the pics! All 88 stories!

 

 View from the top...

 

 After that, Chee Cheong Kai. Famous for fakes, Petaling Street is a good place to absorb the culture and atmosphere.

Check out this massive as bread. Its huge!

Not really?...well...suppose u have to be there to see it.

After absorbing quite abit of the malaysian heat, we decided not to stay for too long, so we left. It was interesting to see all the really nice fruit, food and flower stalls (see photo album). All prep for chinese new year. There were "quite a few" shops seeling fakes as well. Saw an ang moh there.....dunno if he got cheated buying that bag...

Anyway....we didn't do anything at night. Just went for some vietnamese and then went to see Michelle's house. Very nice view from her house. Don't worry Mrs. Wong, I know you were preparing for CNY (thus no pics of michelle's house).

Day 4 was a touristy day. Michelle drove me around all the main attractions and dropped me off to take pictures. KL covered in less than 2 hours! But i lost ma camera in Sentral. So no pics from here on:(

After reading Part 1, I assume it bored you out.....haha.....sorry. Anyway...Part 2 is abit late cos i seldom use the hotspot here. I'm at Seattle Coffee, which is quite nice, until the smoker next to me came by and started smoking. They should really introduce NZ's non-smoking laws here. OMG....he just started lighting his 3rd cigarette!!!...... Now that you know Malaysians smoke even in air-conditioned cafes, let me tell you what i've discovered from the time i arrived.... Touch down in KL was pleasant, wait for the baggage was abit long, customs did not check a thing i'm carrying (you have to ask me what i was carrying). Then when I came out...."Taxi ah!, Taxi ah!"......old uncles have got my name wrong. All of them calling me Taxi.

The crowd surrounding the exit in the arrival hall are not relatives nor passengers, but taxi drivers. All trying to get you business. KL is definitely a taxi city.

KL was a hazzy city...look:

 

 it is also home to the Petronas Tower

 

 and KLCC, which i quite like despite the various expensive boutiques,

('Inner Secrets', Victoria's Secrets u mean?) it still has shops that sell rather reasonably priced goods tho. Plus the atmosphere is good.

Some NZ (or aussie) companies have taken advantage of the Malaysian hospitality market by opening their stores here. They've catered for our taste as well... Nasi Goreng at Rober Harris (not sure if you can see the pic? i'm sure they serve rice in some form if not nasi goreng)

and Durian Flo from NZ Natural (yes!, i no bluff u one, durian imported from NZ one boh, good one ah)

Ok enough of that nonsense. Michelle took me to something that is "truely KL"...Bak Kut Teh

After that, we had a night tour of KL: Somewhere in Bukit Bintang (YTL ownes a large area of Bukit Bintang, thus the lovely CNY deco.)

Malaysian Court (seen many times on TV when anwar features in the news)

 

That was Day 1. Michelle got abit of a tummy problem during the night so Day 2 was left for me to explore KL by myself. Michelle, guess what i found in Juice Works to ease your tummy prob:

Found something from some random bakery for thomas too....

Day 3 to be continued...

whoa....long time since i last updated. Mainly because nothing really happened when i was in chc, and plus the lack of internet access. Internet was either slow, or there was a cap which limited my use.

Anyway...after michelle and margaret left, i spent 3 weeks looking for a job at the optometrist. It was really really difficult to find. All the high school kids beat me to it, and all the other nice retail jobs seem to be taken up. Either that, or the employer was too picky. I really wanted a retail experience and really didn't want to go back to my old job in NZ Post. Had a look around supermarkets, but they were all filled; either that or it was some part time job pushing trolleys. Then, somehow I thought of Farmers, and so went to checked it out. They seemed to have vacancies for the x'mas season, but they needed a referee. So I thought I should get my old boss in NZ Post and ask if he could be my referee. I called him, and he told me that there was vacancy in NZ Post. By now, I was already searching for a job for 3 weeks, and to wait for Farmers would be another 1-2weeks. So, being deperate, I said yes to the Postie job (which I wasn't keen to do).

So my plan to get retail experience was scraped. Everything didn't really go to plan, and I just kinda went along with it, not feeling very happy. Good thing was, it turned out to be a full-time stable job, with a stable income; plus it provided good physical activity everyday (good thing about being a postie). The weather this year was just perfect: no hail or rain or windy days (not too many that is).

Because i wasn't really interested in working as a postie, I thought I should just work for 8 weeks instead of the whole summer. As I started to plan my holiday around this new job, I ended up with 7 weeks work and a trip back to malaysia. All of which was not planned, but everything turned out great. I reached my "income target" relatively easily with the postie job, and plus I got a trip back to m'sia to shop and celebrate CNY. Only thing that didn't happen was my plan to get optometric and retail experience. But I can always do that next time.

 

Oooops, waffled on for too long. I've been reading xiaxue's blog. All of which influcend me to writre long long entries. Btw, I had a really great time in chc, cos i stayed with my sister. She lived next to the beach, so had a great time living there. Also had a go at surfing (not as easy as you think!) Here are some pics of the view from sis house, and the bush fire that happened during x'mas (we had a great view of it)

This is taylor's mistake, great surfing beach (apparently). Really close to sis place, and a good hike!

 

 Part of the deal with living with my sis was to babysit my nephew, Rico. This is the guy. I seriously recommend you to have a really good thinking session before you plan to have kids. (Na, he's a really good kid, easy to babysit, very smart.)