(Part 1) 20th October 2006 - Finding my way

I landed at about 2.30pm NZ time. Almost immediately I have a testimony to share of God's grace. After getting my bag I was to get my car. The airport wasn't very big, with the international terminal next to the domestic one. I was supposed to contact the car rental guy and meet him at this 'wishing well' situated just opposite the terminals.

However, I kept getting static when i tried to call. Oh no...I pushed my trolley a little, and was scanning my surroundings for alternatives. Like a telephone booth, a shop, or at the last resort, approach a local to spare me some of his mobile phone time for a desperate traveller. Hahaha...

Thank God i spotted this Singaporean couple that i had noticed taking the same flights as me all this while. They were waiting at the Well! No time for hesitation I quickly approached them and asked if they had rented a car and were waiting for the 'delivery'. "Yes."....I held my breath.."Is it EZY car rentals?". "Yup!"...What a relief! I explained my situation and welcomed me to wait with them. Truly God at work. They were the ONLY people waiting there, AND they were from back home. Making it easier. =) They are a young couple and they had a relaxed look about them, possibly on a honeymoon.

The lady envied i was on such a long trip on my own, being just purely a holiday. =)


After the rental guy picked up the couple, i had to wait for him to return with mine. So i took a shot here outside the international terminal. It was sunny but very breezy!

My ride arrived - A Nissan Sentra. It looked quite old and smaller than what i was promised. However, i wasn't so concerned about the size since i was alone. However i griped with him that he had promised me a car with a CD player. This one was a tape deck. *growl*

He could see he was close to spoiling my holiday when i told him I'd brought all my music in CDs!

So he suggested i go to The Warehouse where i can get a converter that doesn't cost much, n return i can return the car with empty fuel. I was a little peeved having to spend my first day rectifying this. After all, it was already 3pm and I still had to find my hostel and get groceries! ( I didn't' know the sunset time was very late then)

It was a breeze driving into town. I got a little lost. But with almost everyone keeping to the speed limit of 50km/h (and no one gets angry with you when u choose to stick to the limit) and the roads were so wide, there was a road shoulder on every road and you could swing in and check your bearings. i couldn't believe i was in the city area. HAHAHA...because there was hardly any traffic!

Well, I checked in at the Coachman's Backpackers, which is right behind the famous Christchurch cathedral in the heart of town. A single room at NZ$65 for shared bathroom. (By the way, single room meant Queen size bed!) Nice! It had a charm of old days to it, previously being an inn or hotel long ago. See their site for pictures! http://www.coachmanbackpackers.co.nz/

Everything was clean and comfortable, even the bathrooms felt high class! The TV lounge was comfy with a bar. =) The lady running the place was Wendy, super helpful and friendly. =) She laughed at my 'Once a saint, always a saint' T-shirt and said it was cheeky!


I managed to get the tape converter and i had to get a CD player as well. The CD player was cheap! only NZ$20 (ie. S$21) and it was programmable! You can't even get a decent one at this price in Singapore! haha...

As an official note, my first meal in NZ was McDonald's - it wasn't fantastic. But i was tired and just needed to settle my dinner for the day.

Was getting exhausted even before i showered for the day. And thoughts of "Why am i here alone...gotta recheck my route for tomorrow...so much to do...no one to talk to.." crept into my mind. As if on time, I got an encouraging SMS from my work friend, Angela. =) So sweet!

This is my room. the top photo i thought it'd be funny to copy the kiwi in sunglasses on the flyer. And below, my mess created and the double bed i have! I slept below. Larger bed!

Lunch time reflections

*burp*... Once again, work until I lost track of time. So by the time i got to the cafe near my office to 'da bao' 'cai fan' there was not much left to choose. But heck i was hungry. Breakfast was a Milo and I'd been running ard the office quite a bit already.

Now is the time for the food to settle in and since i have time from my lunch hour, I'm going to rant. =)

It's already the end of January. Goodness...how time really flies. Last night I read through some goals for the year i scrawled in my notebook 3 weeks ago. I'm still kinda on track. At least for the ones that are applicable this month.

Keeping to my book reading requirements. In fact I've exceeded it. Forgot how much i like to read. Read 4 books since Christmas. My next one should be a strategy/ business book. I've already been skimming reviews/ bookshops for a good one. I need one that can keep me awake!

Anyway, now I'm reading 2 books. I started with Pst Phil Pringle's You the Leader. Its one of those you can't just read once through no matter how hard you try. There's just too much good stuff that makes you wanna stop to absorb or note down. Thus, on top of that, I've started on a story book, Seven Ancient Wonders by Matthew Rielly. Incredibly fun action. I fell asleep with the book on my face last night. =) I read his first book Temple and was hooked since. Hee...

Ok ok...the lunch hour is ticking away. Should try to catch a nap first. See ya again.

(Part 2) 20th October 2006 -- Transit and Destination!

... Wow...

... Clouds and Snow-capped mountains ...

... Tapering into the wild forest greenery...

Skimming flat pasteurs...and if you look real close..you'll see the tiny white specks of sheep!
I was so looking forward to a view of green with white cotton balls! Hee...

~ Breathtaking ~

(Part1) 20 October 2006 -- Transit and Destination!

Tip: if you are travelling on a british Airways flight, you can check-in and choose your plane seat online 24 hours before the flight. That was the announcement made as my flight was taxi-ing. I rolled my eyes. Great! That explains the last row seat. *growl*

While waiting for the rest of the plane to alight, i had time to chat with the BA air stewardess. She was nice and asked if it was the first time I took BA. If she hadn't asked..I wouldn't' have realised it was my first time! haha...anyway, she was really encouraging when i shared with her that this was my solo trip and she said I'd like NZ. She also shared with me that the SIA crew were one of the hardest worked bunch of crew in the industry! The rest time between flights were one of the shorter ones. And she admired their perseverence...Wow..i made a mental note: Wait till Ris hears this! =)

It can get lonely transiting alone, and it doesn't' help that my flight landed at about 6+am Sydney time. I had been a 8 hour flight and Sydney was 3 hours ahead of Singapore. I barely slept on the plane and i was reminded how much slower things were elsewhere when i had to wait to get my ticket for the next flight.

The computer handling the transit flights was down and had to be re-booted takes an amazing 20mins! And there was only one staff handling the situation. Oh, ...i was nice to her. (It paid off coz i got a window seat! hee...) It didn't help that the entire area had no chairs and the floor...well..didnt' look too welcoming. Nonethe less, I was starting to tire and i just wanted to get my ticket and *plonk* my carcass somewhere to rest.

Oh ya, I forgot to add earlier that before take off, some of my cg members so sweet, msg bye-bye to me...hee...Cheryl, Kaishen and Ris...appreciate your Love.

My transit flight was on Jetstar (under Qantas)...FIRST TIME I SIT A BUDGET AIRLINE..haha...can really see the difference. But for short 4 hour trip it's okies...It's those you need to take bus and climb up to the plane...Interesting thing was, I was the FIRST to baord the plane! for a moment it feel like I own it! hahaha...

I quickly took a pic here from my seat so interesting being next to the next plane!:

We had close to a one hour delay to take off. The captain said taht Sydney airport was running on high capacity and had too many flights landing and taking off (meaning--> you have to wait your turn at the air-strip!) It was like being in a plane traffic jam! all on one road...slowly crawling and stopping. To prove how crowded the airport is, check this out!

See the QUEUE of Jetstar planes waiting to turn to the air strip for take off?!?!!? I could only fit half into the photo (my plane has just turned and waiting at the air strip). Behind the plane on the right of the pic had a whole row of other planes!!! Pity the air traffic controllers man...Stress!! hahaha...

(Part 2) 19th October 2006 -- Goodbye, Singapore! Hello,13 hour flight!!

While hearing the announcements for the 'upper classes' to board first, I awaited the grand " We are now boarding all other rows." announcement... Wonderful! I thought to myself. Thank God I'm at least not in cargo class. =P

I noticed the flight had mostly 'ang mohs' ( Caucasians) and i learned later in my trip that these were mostly transits form the long haul of London- Singapore- Sydney- New Zealand travellers. It made sense most of them looked a little bug-eyed. I would too, if i were in the middle of a 20+ hour flight!

As i shimmied my way down the aisle, I marvelled at how long the plane was... I can't be on the last row right? I've never sat on the last row before... (see part 1, 19th Oct).

Well, there's a first time for everything in life. And hey, at least the toilet is just right behind me! So there I was in the middle section. Sandwiched between two ladies. You should have seen their crest fallen faces when I confirmed with a friendly nod that that was my seat. It was like a shared thought bubble above their heads. 'Great...no free seat next to me to stretch out.That's what you get for celebrating before the plane takes off...'

I thank God for blessing me with a big bladder, perfect for travelling. Hahaha...All my friends would have noticed I seldom hit the washroom. To this date, I can't fathom how some friends need to go to the toilet just before a movie and immediately after! It's as though there's a floodgate stored up in a matter of 2 hours!

So i was content to sit there throughout the 8 hour first leg to Sydney. The lady on my left was nice but had a tendency to share her stuff with me. Her headphones, magazine, pillow and blanket kept spilling over ( in that order and repeats), which she courteously apologised and with drew them.

The lady on my right didnt' even mutter a hello. And was absorbed two books, which I soon found out one was a phrase- translation book from ?? to English. ( Couldn't' find out what language it was the last row on the plane is a dark dark corner.) The second book was an English fiction. Well, my sympathies went out to her...she had enough homework for the trip and that concluded i wasn't to expect much conversation with this party on my right.

I love in-flight entertainment. Especially the movies. I make it a point to be an expert in the controls and menus within 20 minutes upon boarding. And ensure that I've decided on the sequence of programs/ movies I'll be watching in the following 10minutes. Critical decisions are made at this point: Should I watch the cartoon Cars which I missed, Little Miss Sunshine which looks interesting but unheard of, or re-watch an all time favourite Pirates of the Caribbean 2?...Wait a minute...there's Frasier! Argh...

Verdict: 1) Little Miss Sunshine - not fantastic but worth the watch simply for the different type of storyline. 2) Cars- Ho-hum... entertaining but predictable. At least I can say I've watched it. hahaha...=) squeezed in an episode of Frasier too.

(Part 1) 19th October 2006 -- Goodbye, Singapore! Hello,13 hour flight!!

The best laid plans...

I planned to go to work to do wrap up and handover to my colleague and make sure she got some stuff to do while I was away. I targeted to leave the office by 2pm. I was there till 4.30pm! Horrors! And i still had some basic stuff i hadn't finalised in my packing. ( The final bits you think you can leave till the last minute, like labelling your bag, writing in emergency contact person details, separating your $$. etc.)

But here's the problem, my flight was at 7.55pm. And that excludes check-in time! But thank God I was calm. haha...But i think it's due to good training under work circumstances!! Well, you see, my work involves ad-hoc seminars, meetings, talks...and after a year of experiencing the one-woman show...I learned that there's never much point to panic. Just keep moving and doing what you need to do. Some things will likely be left/ missed out. Be you just react when they crop up. Meanwhile keep a level head and do what you can. Panicking means you'll probably end up not being able to do everything. As your mind will be racing around.

And as you do the task, stop looking at the time constantly. It never helps! Check periodically, but not every minute! =) I guess another way to look at is -- be steady!

I had almost forgotten to bring a photo of my dog, Red and scrambled for one as the taxi pulled up my front door. Mum took the cab with me...as proof that I would sure forget something was when she asked me..."Have you bought your travel insurance?" ...Opps!

But honestly i wasn't too worried about it. There were still internet stations in the departure area. However, I took the opportunity to get my mum to settle it..hahaha...as i travelled to the airport, i started realising I'd forgotten things...these were not necessary items, but would be nice to have.

E.g. 1) you sure to laugh --- I painstakingly chose to lug my MP3 player charger on the trip and...I FORGOT to bring the PLAYER!!! sigh...and it's not something you can just dump on the trip! i have to bring it back!

2) I wanted to bring a soft toy dog as a mascot/ travel companion. This would help me take photos too...it's not easy taking solo shots. Well,..the dog never left my bed! hahaha...

Well I made it and checked in at 6.50pm. One hour before the flight...decent timing..usually the check-in counter opens 2 hours before correect?... I can't be the last a get a lousy seat right?

WRONG!...As I said...the best laid plans...hahaha...(to be continued...)