In which I go to see some live rugby and end up in a helicopter.
3 April 2011 - 1332 New Zealand
A chilled out day today. I’m at Owen Delaney Park just outside Taupo to watch some more NRL rugby. Everyone expects the New Zealand Warriors to lose against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks today but the suns out, the crowds are happy and I’ve just been on a ride in a helicopter… Oh, didn’t I mention that? Hmm, would have thought that was something I’d have mentioned.
There are lots of trade stands around the grounds and one of them happens to be for a local scenic flights company who are flogging NZ$45 flights around the area. Couldn’t miss the opportunity, especially at that price, so off I went. It was awesome! Really smooth, no shakiness, just wiggling around in the breeze. The pilot tried to do as many tricks as he could in the 15 minutes in the air. Banking was the most fun. The chopper was almost completely on it’s side. Great fun. A real experience.
In which I go to see some Super Rugby, watch as YouTube splashes some colour onto the Opera House and I encounter a disgusting, yet loving Korean.
20 March 2011 - 1141 Sydney, Australia
A day of doing absolutely nothing is on the cards. My endurance has been on the wane these past few days so I need a day to recover. The rugby last night was a good excursion. The standard of rugby was very poor but it was only AU$20 to see Super Rugby so it was worth it. I thought I’d be able to walk to the stadium from the hostel but with ten minutes to go before kick off, I hailed a cab to take me the rest of the way. Luckily the city lays on free non-stopping buses back to the centre after the match so the whole evening didn’t cost me too much.
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Two new guys in the dorms; a guy from Argentina whose mind appeared to be frazzled by jet lag and a Korean whose first action was to head to the bathroom where he nosily hacked up and when asked how long he intended on staying in Sydney, he replied by telling me with palpable sincerity that he loved me. Brilliant stuff.
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I’ve really enjoyed today! I’ve not anything! Seems killing time in a foreign country is much more fun than killing time back at home. I’ve had a good meal today of Chicken Satay and a lovely dressed salad (by good I also mean expensive). Pucker tucker. Now just listening to some music before heading out to the harbour. Seems YouTube is putting on a light display projected onto the opera house to the music of a full symphony orchestra playing inside. Should be good. Outside right now, the flying foxes have just woken up and are looking for their first meal.
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The YouTube music and light show was good. Perhaps not as exciting as I had imagined but it was nice to see the opera house illuminated in colourful moving patterns. Normally, it’s barely even lit so I feel lucky to have seen it. That said, the weather was terrible. Blowing a gale, raining horizontally, the sea whipping up a frenzy. It was pretty bracing stuff. Autumn is truly upon the southern hemisphere.
Tomorrow, I leave the city altogether for the Blue Mountains. Time perhaps to dig out a sweater.
In which I watch elephants perform at Singapore Zoo, am slightly disappointed on Sentosa Island and watch Six Nations rugby with Irish cider at a British pub.
12 March 2011 - 1509 Singapore Time
Yesterday was great! Rachel was an awesome host. She showed me around, taught me a lot about Singapore’s culture and society, where best to get something to eat and was generally fantastic company. We ended up spending six hours together. One of the highlights was a visit to Kampong Glam, the mostly muslim area of Singapore, which as far as I was concerned was more like central Cairo. Men sat outside cafes smoking and drinking Teh Tarik in the shadow of grand mosques and sandy run-down buildings. Rachel told me the government intends on spending millions of dollars to improve the area. I hope they don’t get rid of the area’s character in the process.
Rachel and I ended the day on Marina Bay where we watched the nightly ‘Wonder Full’ light, water and laser show. The indecipherable storyline didn’t matter. It was truly spectacular. Finally, we ended up catching some live music, the first day of Singapore’s Mosaic music festival. The big band was best. Such a powerful sound.
Today, I’m at Singapore Zoo. Seconds after stepping through the turnstile, I was already loving it. Tiny monkeys confronted me. There was no fences. They were within touching distance. I could have quite easily popped one into my rucksack. This is the style they prefer at this zoo. Its the style I prefer. No cages, just moats and other clever design features.
Weather today has been sunny, hot and muggy. Whilst I’ve been typing this though, the rain has arrived. This is a common meteorological pattern in this part of the world. Late afternoons often have storms. Here’s hoping.
Currently waiting for the elephant show to start. I just caught the end of the tragically awful ‘Rainforest Fights Back’ show so I’m hoping this one is better.
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I tell you what sucks. When you bust a gut, sweating buckets, feet and legs aching to get somewhere for something in particular only for that thing to not be on. That’s whats just happened to me. I’m on Sentosa Island to the south of the main city. This is a whole island dedicated to fun and entertainment. There’s a casino, hotels, rides, Universal Studios etc. I made the trip especially for the Crane dance, a nightly animatronics and lights display. There’s a technical problem though, so it’s not on. Disappointing. Now, if there was something else for me to do on Sentosa, there wouldn’t be a problem. Sadly though, there’s hardly anything else here that isn’t either expensive. Off to Penny Blacks, a British pub to drown my sorrows and watch some Six Nations rugby.
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Man, feet are killing me. Made it to Penny Blacks. Empty in here. Bought a Magners. $16. About £8. Tax on alcohol is massive in Singapore. Well, clearly. Really interested in knowing how the blister on my little toe is doing. Yesterday it was massive. Today… Gonna be interesting.
