have a little time to kill, so internets and blogging is in order.
for whatever reason i decided that taking a 7am flight was in some way sensible, without considering the logistics of getting to the airport. 4am wake up (!), pack and shower, find a cab, go to southern cross station, take the bus to the airport for a 6am arrival. the checkin queue was mercifully short and no queues in passport control and customs made for a pleasant departure experience.
no lounge access unfortunately, but given that boarding started shortly after i got there – no great loss.
the flight was an interesting experience. the emirates economy cabin is a ghastly mix of soft pinks and beiges, but the seats are surprisingly comfy. service was mostly excellent – easily on par with qantas international, if not better than – and the breakfast was actually pretty tasty. i even managed to get a small amount of sleep; god knows how with 3 screaming kids nearby. 
one interesting touch were the two cameras in the nose of the plane – one pointing forward, one pointing down. makes for an interesting take off and landing! 
decided to take a minibus to the city – at half the price of a taxi, it’s kind of a no-brainer. got dropped to my hotel, the rydges auckland – did the check-in thing, got to my room, had a shower, went back out again in an effort to stay awake so that my body clock doesn’t get completely out of kilter.
i’ve found that navigating auckland is easy – just look for sky tower (it’s the tallest building in the southern hemisphere, so it’s a little hard to miss it). i spent the afternoon walking around – down queen street, which is the main shopping street (not entirely dissimilar to the street of the same name in brisbane, with the addition of cars), up to albert park and back down through some of the alleyways. i stumbled upon high street (clearly i’m not fashionable enough to be there 
) and a very large number of sushi bars. most of them don’t appear to be any good (to the point of individually wrapped pieces of sushi – so much for freshness), but by gods they’re everywhere.
i’d heard that auckland has a bit of a poker scene, so i decided to look at sky city casino after dinner. was a bit of a let down really – one small room with maybe 10 tables, but seeing as i was there – lots of cautious play, and i won a bit of cash – which i promptly lost at the blackjack tables. oh well, c’est la vie!
at this point i was way past tired, so i went back to the hotel and put myself to bed.
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waking up to jackhammers outside ones’ window isn’t a great deal of fun.
after deciding i wasn’t going to be able to get any more sleep – and realising it was nearly lunch – i decided to be a complete tourist and go up to the sky tower observation deck. a touch pricey, but the view is spectacular. the lift on the way up has a half-glass floor, which is fun. the outer part of the observation deck also has glass panels all the way around – stepping out on to “nothing” is a bit weird. you can also jump off the side of the tower if you want, but i wasn’t going to enquire .. watching it was enough for me.
after grabbing some food and taking touristy crap back to the hotel, i figured it was time to take in karangahape road (apparently just “k road” to the locals). kind of an odd mix between glebe in sydney and the valley in brisbane, i ended up finding some pretty good coffee and a new shirt in one of the shops along the strip. there’s apparently a stack of good bars as well, so i’ll probably end up back there tonight.
since getting back to my room i’ve sifted through my photos, had some really quite disappointing room service pizza and now i’m in dire need of alcohol – so i’ll sign off here.
- zac.
