Final Train to Auckland

Christmas was very nice.  The family came to Mum and Dad's for lunch.  In the evening I went on a small foray to Muriwai with Nikki and Olly.  My other west coast adventures were a trip to Piha, also with Nikki and Olly and a drive to South Head (of the Kaipara Harbour) with Mum and Dad (pictured at South Head). 

On Christmas Eve Dad and I took the train from Helensville to Auckland.  Why?  Well, in my whole life I had never taken a train through Huapai and Kumeu, because there was never a service until a couple of years ago.  There is only one train a day in each direction between Helensville and Auckland and the service was being cancelled from Christmas Eve.  So it was our final chance to catch the train.  It was interesting getting a different perspective on what is otherwise fimiliar countryside.  Helensville train station-

Aunty Lois had her 60th birthday party and Dad turned 65.  I had a chilled out evening with Graeme and Celia and friends for Celia's birthday.  Colleen and Dave, the "kids" from New Plymouth, popped by for a couple of hours on their way north in their camper van.  I caught up with Jessica, Kirsten and Paul over the last week, each visiting NZ from Australia where they are all doing very well. 

My boxes finally arrived from the UK last Wednesday.  I expected it to take a while but it was a little frustrating that it took them three and a half weeks to get from the wharf in Auckland to me.  Oh well.  At least I have my laptop now.  Which means that I was able to get my iphone working.  I hope to never be parted from my iphone again...

A lot has happened this year, most of it good.  2010 might be a little bit quieter but hopefully just as interesting and as enlightening.

The Beach

The weather has turned summer-like, finally!  I am looking forward to a traditional NZ summer- sunburn, cold water, ice creams, relaxation and sand that scorches your feet.  I made my first pilgrimage to the beach on Thursday with Graeme and Celia.  Celia just heard that she had landed a job as we headed to the beach.  Graeme and I are still both gentlemen of leisure.  We went to Cheltenham beach in Devonport.  It was a lovely day.  As expected the water caused some amount of hyperventilation, especially as it reached our nether regions, but it was actually quite pleasant after the initial shock had passed (much better than my brief dip at Sumner beach in Christchurch nearly three weeks earlier).  It was good to just laze around on a quiet beach.  Cheltenham beach with Rangitoto island in the background-

Apart from going to the beach I have been trying to do some more constructive things. I have spoken to two recruitment agents, so my job hunt is underway.  Mum and Dad had a party for friends and family at their place a week ago to celebrate Mum's 60th birthday (actually on 25 December, but an inconvenient day for a birthday).  I was kept quite busy for a few days with planning the party.  The party went off really well.  I have done a bit of Christmas shopping.  Yesterday was my great uncle Sam's 90th birthday- a good chance to catch up relatives I have not seen for a long time.

The stuff I freighted from London should clear Customs this week.  I will get my beloved lap top and my tent in time for summer.  Hooray! 

The Custard Square of Destiny

One of the great things about New Zealand is the ubiquitous custard square, which can be found in almost any bakery.  It is one of my favourite foods in the world, a delicious combination of yummy, gooey custard, flaky pastry and icing.  I cannot help eating them although I have had some bad ones since I returned to New Zealand.  Sometimes the custard has the texture of tofu and a pretty rank flavour.  The worst example was from a bakery in Matamata- I only ate half of it.  The custard square I bought yesterday from the Bakehouse Cafe in Kumeu was quite good, although a little the worse for wear after I dropped the bag holding it-

According to Wikipedia the custard square is known by other names in various countries, such as Mille-feuille, Napoleon, vanilla slice, cream slice and custard slice.  But, as Shakespeare said:

 "What's in a name? that which we call a rose
  By any other name would smell as sweet,..."

I made lunch today for Nikki, Olly, Graeme and Celia.  Admittedly Mum and Dad assisted to some degree.  It was a very pleasant and relaxed afternoon.  It was rather odd getting together on a working day.  But quite satisfying as well.

On Friday I went to the Mt Eden pool for a swim with Anna-Lisa.  We finished watching the "Sex and the City" movie.  It was good and kept up the tension right till the end. 

I had lunch with Nana last Wednesday, with Aunty Lois and Kevin last Friday, with Kim on Saturday and with Aunty Margaret on Tuesday.  My life is a social whirl, it really is.

I met Nikki and Olly in town on Saturday afternoon.  They had arrived in NZ from the UK the day before so were still jet-lagged.  We explored some of the pubs of Auckland and had dinner at the fantastic Food Alley.  Olly was keen to see a band.  We ended up at Live Bar.  Jet lag caught up though and we only saw the earliest band, which was playing some form of heavy metal (I am sure that it can be better categorised but it was beyond me).  Probably not the best musical option in all the circumstances.

Keeping it real

I have been able to catch up with a few friends over the last week or two, now that I have my own car.  I had a lovely meal at Mary Joy's Saturday week ago with a few of her friends.  My first proper outing since I got back.  Last Sunday Brian and I went and saw the latest Bruce Willis action film, "Surrogates".  No, it had nothing to do with babies.  It was a fairly standard thriller of the out of control futuristic technology and evil futuristic mega corporation genre (think "Robo Cop", "Minority Report").  Also, why is the last guy on earth always a really smart scientist ("The Quiet Earth", "I am Legend")?  What if it was Trev from Palmerston North who was the last representative of the human race? 

I went to the dentist of Wednesday.  I need a filling.  

I had a fun day with Anna-Lisa on Thursday at Miranda hot pools.  It was probably unecessary for me to go there as I have nothing to actually unwind from.  Still, it was good.  And Anna-Lisa makes a mean sandwich.

On Saturday I had dinner with Richard and his dad Hugh.  Hugh cooked a very nice roast and I was reacquainted (my, was that a struggle to spell) with the pleasures of whisky.  On Sunday I drove Richard down to his place in Te Puke and had a relaxing afternoon and evening there.  We discussed New Zealand television and comedy and contrasted the confidence of New Zealand culture today with the still evident "cultural cringe" we saw during our childhoods- things really have changed remarkably.  I spent a little time with Richard and Alaina and their children Cole and Silke this morning before driving back to Auckland.

I always like to do a little "pilgrimage" to Mt Maunganui when I am down Tauranga way.  This is a view of the Mount on what was an overcast and chilly spring day-

Avensis

I arrived back in Auckland last Tuesday. Dad had arrived back from his trip to the UK. I am staying at Mum and Dad's. After three weeks in Thailand I have been finding it pretty darn cold. As well as spending time with Mum and Dad I have had lunch or dinner with Nana most days. So life has been pretty quiet. I have managed to unpack, mostly. My main goal over the last week was to buy a new car. I have been to a lot of car yards and done a lot of internet searches. I have spoken to many used car salesmen. A few I liked. But the majority do make you feel like they're the lions on the savanna and you're the limping gazelle in the herd. Anyway, I found a car I liked-

I know, I know!  I don't like white either.  But it was right in so many other ways.  It is a Toyota Avensis, 2004, 2L, automatic.  I wanted a manual but they were hard to find. 

Now that I have bought a car I can start to focus on other pressing matters, such as catching up with friends and family and watching TV...

Ko Chang

Ko Chang is a small island in the andaman sea and should not be confused with its much larger namesake on the east coast. One of my visions of Thailand was a small hut on a quiet beach. Ko Phi Phi was not that sort of place, at least in my pric range. Ko Chang fitted the bill perfectly; there is no mobile phone coverage, no internet and no mains electricity. I stayed at "Cashew Resort" a collection of small bungalows and a restaurant on the beach. It had only reopened in the last few days, in preparation for the dry season tourists. As a result it was still very quiet, with only a few people staying. I stayed for four days, walking from my bungalow to the beach, reading in the hammock, thinking about things and enjoying the great food in the restauant. The generator would kick in for 3 hours at night, providing flickering light that was just bright enough to allow you to find your way round. Cashew Resort is owned by a Thai couple but was mostly staffed by Burmese, as Ko Chang is very near Burma. The other permanent resident was David, a 70-something resident who has lived there for 10 years with his cats and a local Burmese guy. The sunsets were sublime.

I travelled from Ko Chang to Bangkok yesterday, which involved a long boat trip to Ranong, a motor scooter ride to the Ranong bus station, a 10 hour bus trip from Ranong to Bangkok and from there a taxi ride to my accommodation. A fun day. I may have been better off flying...

I am flying back to Auckland today. I have had a great time in Thailand. I will be back.

This marks the end of almost six months of travel. I do not know whether this also marks the end of my alternate reality. I have done almost everything that I had in mind to do back in April. I love it when a plan comes together.

Ko Phi Phi

From Siem Reap I returned to Bangkok by minivan, which took about 8 hours. The next day I travelled to Ko Phi Phi. Realising that it was a 12 hours bus trip to Phuket, followed by 1 1/2 hours on a ferry from Phuket to Ko Phi Phi, I instead flew from Bangkok to Phuket and took the ferry from Phuket.

Ko Phi Phi is an island in the Andaman Sea and part of a national marine park. Nearby is Ko Phi Phi Ley, the location of the beach in the movie "The Beach". The islands are famous for their spectacular scenery. Ko Phi Phi has some beautiful beaches but it is a lot busier than I had imagined (perhaps wishful thinking on my part that it should be otherwise). However, it is very laid back, with no vehicles and an island vibe. It is still rainy season so it has rained on and off. Nevertheless, the rain has had very little impact on what I have done. I spent my first day at the beach.

Ko Phi Phi is packed with outfits offering diving and scuba courses. I decided to take the literal plunge and signed up for a two and a half day PADI dive course. This involved quite a lot of reading and an exam (which was a cinch). The hard, and scary part, was the diving. In most respects it was all a lot simpler than I had imagined and I was comforted by the "safety first" attitude that appears to apply to diving. I had a total of four dives, all of which included learning drills as well as "sightseeing". The deepest dive was to 18m, which is part of the requirement for the diving qualification. It was amazing to be able to go under the waves and to view the coral reefs and multi-coloured fish. The instructors were great, being patient and very helpful. My first instructor was Cliff from New Orleans. He looks and sounds a lot like George Bush! It did not seem fair to mention it. Cliff had to pull out after a day and half because of sinus troubles. My new instructor was Julien, a young Frenchman. I really wanted to say that New Zealanders had had bad experiences with French divers (an allusion to the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior in Auckland by the French) but I held my tongue.

I have stayed at a basic but adequate guesthouse- cold showers are not a problem in this climate. I went on a long-boat tour today out to Phi Phi Ley and had a great time snorkeling and chatting to fellow travellers.

Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat and the other temples in the vicinity really have lived up to the hype. They are quite amazing- enormous and seemingly out of place in the middle of the jungle. I have spent four days in Siem Reap, the town close to Angkor Wat. I bused here from Bangkok, which took most of a day. Siem Reap was suffering from quite bad flooding when I arrived. When the tuk-tuk driver told me that he might have trouble getting to the hostel because of flooding I did not believe him, thinking it was one more scam. But he was right.  It took two days for the water to recede.  For the first two days of my visit I only visited the temples.  Getting to and from the hostel required walking through some very murky water so I did not venture into town in the evening.  This is the a view from the hostel a day after I arrived... and then two days later.

I hired a tuk-tuk and driver for two and a half days to take me to the many temples around Angkor Wat.  Visiting every temple is an interesting experience as you are assailed by adults and children selling water, books, bracelets, cloth and postcards- "For you only one dollaaaar", "You only buy from me", "You buy when you come back, ok".  The Cambodian people were very friendly though.  It would have been nice to be able to buy something from everyone.

 

A couple of photos.  Sorry, no captions, as I am running short of time.  

Bangkok

I arrived in Bangkok on Tuesday and stayed till Friday. Bangkok is an experience. I really only started to get a handle on it, and my bearings, after two days. The highlight for was the abundant, cheap and very tasty food. My afternoon at the "Grand Palace" was great-

I had two Thai massages (the legitimate kind) while I was in Bangkok. A very painful but hopefully beneficial experience. I stayed in a very nice hostel just off Sukhumvit Road, one of the main tourist hubs in Bangkok. I had my own room, so did not rough it. I certainly did not feel out of place as an unaccompanied older male. One example of the male sex tourist was the Australian and his Thai girl sitting next to me at a restaurant charging about 50 Baht (about £1.00, $2.30) for a main course. He would have been about my age. He was talking to her about himself in some sort of Thai accent, presumably so that she would understand him better. There are lots of things that I could say about what is wrong with sex tourism. But what really struck me was just what a f**king cheapskate he was! He could at least have taken the poor girl out somewhere a bit nicer.

My bargaining skills have started to improve although I suspect that I am still pretty easy prey. There are plenty of transport options in Bangkok. I have used just about every type of transport in Bangkok, including the metro, skytrain, tuk-tuk, taxi and one terrifying ride on the back of a motor scooter (I do not why that seemed liked a good idea).

So long and thanks for all the fish

Reality is ultimately only a state of mind. I learnt a long time ago that your environment does not affect your reality- you are just you in a different place. But a different environment can help you to better appreciate your reality. I arrived in London in 2007 with a clear idea of who I was, after years of trying to figure that out. My ideas about other people and the world as a whole were not quite as developed, but I had some idea. The last last two years have helped to resolve this point. With that the whole big picture has zoomed into focus. Or at least that is how it seems. The goal now is to somehow mesh my reality with that of the rest of the world. I will think about that one while I am in Thailand. The thing that made London tolerable in the worst times was to always be myself. Not a revolutionary idea, you might think. The last few days have brought home to me the consequences of not being myself...
I have had a lovely few days with Dad, who arrived in London last Wednesday. We had days out to the British Museum and Greenwich. Dad also patiently helped with packing. And it was great catching up with Taylor and Ernie.
Ben gave me a spontaneous hug before I left. Zoe was more concerned to know where my lap top (and cbeebies games) had gone. In a container on a ship was not a satisfactory answer.
I am sitting on a Thai Airways plane (without personal monitors!), so I cannot pontificate any longer.