February 26, 2005
Urupukapuka
(Day 11) The best way to experience the Bay of Islands is probably to take one of the cruises offered by various tour operators. Visitors usually chose either a dolphin watching cruise, or a cruise to Cape Brett to see the Hole in the Rock. Due to cost considerations (dolphin cruises cost nearly twice as much), I decided to do a Hole in the Rock cruise.
Our half day cruise started at 9:00am in the morning. After a quick stop at the town of Russell to pick up a few more passengers, we started our tour. On the way to the Hole in the Rock, we passed island after island after images all with cool names such as Moturoa, Motukiekie, and Waewaetorea... with the captain providing an enroute commentary. As we got farther out into the water, my propensity for becoming seasick started to affect me. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't comfortable either. I probably should find some pills for seasickness before I step onto a boat next time.
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Posted by markyiin at 11:35 PM | Comments (13)
February 25, 2005
Whangarei
(Day 10) Don wanted to go diving at Poor Knight's Island, supposedly one of the world's best dive spots. He took a bus up to Tutukaka where the boats sail from and left me with our Nissan Sunny to explore town. I took the opportunity to sleep in and didn't roll out of bed until 9:00am.
I hadn't checked in last night, and I didn't find anyone at the front desk when I woke up either. In the kitchen I found someone making breakfast.
"Do you work here? Who do I pay?" I asked.
"Wait here," he said, and climbed into the attic, where supposedly the owner of the place* slept. He came down a few moments later. "Julie isn't here, you can just pay me."
I gave the guy $18 NZ ($1 NZ = $.70 US) and left. There's definately something strange about the way this hostel is run.
Posted by markyiin at 11:27 PM | Comments (4)
February 24, 2005
Rangitoto and driving on the wrong side of the road
(Day 9) The one thing I wanted to do in Auckland was visit the volcanic Rangitoto, an uninhabited island a short ferry ride from the wharves at the end of Queen St. Rangitoto is an infant in geological standards, appearing only 600 years ago. The island's great view of the Hauraki Gulf has made it a great site for military outposts, both in the 1800's and most recently during World War I and II. Jagged rocks formed (pictured above) from lava dominate the landscape. Geologists believe that Rangitoto is dormant, but also believe the region is highly active, and new islands like this may emerge in future.
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Posted by markyiin at 06:47 PM | Comments (7)
Auckland
(Day 8) Though I had a good time in Fiji, I wasn't disappointed to be getting out. Fiji is a great place to visit if one has a more time and a larger budget. Trips out to one of the more distant islands are supposed to be wonderful, but at least a week is needed to make it worthwhile.
I arrived in Auckland, New Zealand, tired and sleepy. Nadi Bay Resort Hotel has sort of a party atmosphere to it. Live music is played every night in the bar, which unfortunately was right next to my room. I wanted to be asleep by 10pm to catch my morning flight the next day, but the din downstairs didn't stop til nearly midnight.
Auckland and its suburbs is home to about 1.5 million people, roughly one third of New Zealand's population. As New Zealand's largest city, it serves as the site of the major international airport. Most visitors arrive in Auckland, and many make a one-way trip to Christchurch, where the New Zealand's second largest international airport is stationed.
Posted by markyiin at 06:17 PM | Comments (5)
February 22, 2005
Bananas and Papayas
(Day 7) What to do with my extra day in Fiji? I could've easily passed the day relaxing by the pool, sipping fruity drinks. But I didn't come halfway around the world to do something I could've done at home. Part of my resolution to keep this blog updated is to do something worth writing about everyday.
I spent the morning typing up blog entries and editing pictures for the web. I copied these to a floppy disk, and took a taxi to downtown Nadi in search of cheaper internet access. Downtown Nadi is much busier on weekdays than on weekends. The streets were crammed with Fijians doing grocery shopping, tourists buying souvenirs, and shopkeepers trying to attract the attention of the tourists. Every few steps, a taxi driver would ask me "Taxi, sir?"
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Posted by markyiin at 08:45 PM | Comments (9)
February 21, 2005
Sunburnt, Seasick, and Losing Track of Time
(Day 6) On any given day, there are maybe 20-30 backpackers staying at the two village run hostels, yet it never feels crowded. You can find a handful of people tanning in the beach out front, another handful on the beach over the hill, and a few people out on snorkeling or diving excursions. As nice as this is, two days on Mana is more than enough. Any more and you'd find yourself bored and looking for things to do.
"I really like it here," I told Cathryn at breakfast. "But I'm really glad I'm leaving this afternoon."
"When is your flight?" she asked.
"Tomorrow morning. Three days in Fiji is enough."
She agreed.
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Posted by markyiin at 07:59 PM | Comments (8)
Magical Mana Island
(Day 5) Very early in the morning, the roosters began announcing daybreak. It was like my mom waking me up for school all over again. They wouldn't stop until I got up. After an hour and a half of this, I finally gave in. I took a cold shower (there was no hot water on the island), brushed my teeth, and walked into the village.
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Posted by markyiin at 07:44 PM | Comments (5)
Bula!
(Day 4) I arrived in Nadi (pronounced Nandi) early morning. Clearing immigration and customs was a breeze. I booked a stay at Nadi Bay Resort Hotel ($20 FJ a night), and who offered free transportation from the airport to the hostel.
I was led to a van where I waited with two other girls for nearly an hour before the driver showed up. That's Fiji time for you...
Posted by markyiin at 07:18 PM | Comments (5)
February 18, 2005
I wish I had a car
(Day 3) I have learned that getting around in LA without a car is impossible.
Originally, I had wanted to go to Santa Monica. But a cab ride would've set me back close to $40. Public transportation would've required multiple transfers and nearly three hours. Time was precious, I had a flight to catch that night at 10pm. I couldn't afford to spend too much time navigating LA public transportation. To make matters worse, it was raining. I seriously contemplated just sitting around the entire day.
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Posted by markyiin at 06:53 PM | Comments (4)
February 17, 2005
Playing Tourist
(Day 2) Jack had planned to wake up at 6:30am to go to work. Didn't happen. I don't think he got up until 8:00am. I myself woke up an hour later.
I decided to play the part of the tourist and go to Hollywood Blvd. Unfortunately, I had no idea how to get there. After searching online for about an hour, I got a rough idea of what direction I wanted to go in. I started out by walking a couple miles to Ventura, where I caught the 150 bus to Universal City. I probably should've gotten on the 750, which I think is an express and would've gotten me there faster. I transferred to some metro and got off at a stop labeled Hollywood Blvd. Not bad, it only took me two hours to get there.
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Posted by markyiin at 05:49 AM | Comments (5)
I arrive in Los Angeles
(Day 1) I arrived at Philadelphia airport around 5:00pm to catch my 6:20pm flight to Los Angeles. Unfortunately, my flight was delayed for almost an hour. What a great way to start my trip...
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Posted by markyiin at 05:15 AM | Comments (3)
February 13, 2005
A Recap of Goodbyes
(T-minus 2 days) Why does it feel like I'm travelling to the moon?
Probably because in the last month, I've had so many going away lunches and dinners that I feel like I'm about do something so outworldly and crazy, few people have even attempted it.
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Posted by markyiin at 11:53 AM | Comments (10)
February 11, 2005
Cernax and Packing
(T-minus 4 days) I received a message the other day from someone at Cernax. He came across my site, read about my plans for a trip around the world, and offered to sponsor my site. The package included a lot more webspace and bandwidth, all for free! We spent about an hour setting things up, and as of right now, Cernax is the official MwhY web host! What does this mean? With more webspace and more bandwidth, expect even MORE pictures in the future!
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Posted by markyiin at 11:50 PM | Comments (1)
February 06, 2005
Nine more days...
(T-minus 9 days) I freely admit I have no artistic talent when it comes to designing a website. The plain blue color scheme will have to do for now.
Nine days left before I leave. Nothing blog worthy has happened so far. Unless you want to hear about how I rotated my tires and changed the oil on my car. Which I won't drive again for another year. New Jersey is such a boring place.
Posted by markyiin at 08:18 AM | Comments (10)
February 03, 2005
This is why I hate technology
After several painful hours of swearing silently, I finally get this blog up and running. I guess things could've been worse. Everything was pretty well documented. All the errors were pretty much human error. Like installing Movable Type to the wrong folder... Now, all that's left is to wait for my domain name to propagate to the new name servers. Right now, everything seems to work. Let's just hope it stays that way.
Posted by markyiin at 05:31 AM | Comments (1)