left home at about 5 pm on the 4th of december. it's going to be the first trip where i don't have to think about looming tests/ exams/ training following the trip, and the most pertinent life issue that i have to bother about it uni apps which honestly I'm not completely dreading? so yup, it's going to be a great trip and i can feel it :-) ((also determinedly ignoring a level results but i guess thats something i really can't control?)
had an early dinner at pappa mia before checking in
drinks-- i had some cucumber mint thing that had a lot of suan mei.
ipoh hor fun
mom's collagen fishball noodles
beef burger
after checking in!
usual airport procedures- lazing about while waiting to board so i shan't elaborate much.
first plane ride to sydney took about 8 hours, during which i watched 2 movies and (tried unsuccessfully) to sleep. i swear as i get older i dislike plane rides more and more because it becomes so difficult to find a comfortable sleeping position :(
airplane food wasn't fantastic, i had fish curry with rice for dinner (super salty fish curry) and in the middle of the night they gave us a box filled with munchables (like a bacon egg and cheese sandwich but i do not like bacon)
transit at sydney was about 2 hours, which passed quite fast because i slept most of the time.
the second quarter of the journey took a more manageable 3 hours. we reached auckland airport at about 3+pm local time.
this statue greeted us as we exited the checkout point. the words read 'on loan from middle-earth. do not touch'
hopefully we get to see hobbiton because i really want to see the cute hobbit holes in middle earth!
the rental car is the one in white. a really sleek, brand new SUV. looking forward to being a passenger in this car for the next 2 weeks or so!
view from the balcony of our inn- mostly more houses
i like the interior a lot, it has these windows on the top that give the whole place a very open feeling.
headed out of the inn for dinner and decided to eat at a thai restaurant.
pad thai- sticky and chockful of ingredients
supposed to be pineapple rice but they gave us chicken fried rice. it was nice though :)
and the soups were really flavourful! the tom yam goong was not too spicy, and had a tinge of sweetness that went really well with the plain white rice that was doled out by the waitress.
then we went grocery shopping at the adjacent fresh grocery store. the goods were rather pricey, like how cold storage would be in singapore.
they sold kombucha! (albeit for a pricey 15+ bucks per litre) it's a type of fermented black tea that i've always wanted to try since i was a hardcore fan of those wellness & health blogs.
coconut yoghurt for about 5 bucks
and petit pain- literally little bread
some of the more interesting of the buys! the kombucha tastes like a really fizzy drink by the way. its supposed to have a multitude of health benefits from cancer prevention, to boosting mood and immune system and whatnot. hmmm.
