Ｉ ｓｅｅｍ ｔｏ ｈａｖｅ ｔｕｒｎｅｄ ｉｎｔｏ ａ ｒａｉｎ－ｍａｇｎｅｔ ｔｈｉｓ ｈｏｌｉｄａｙ ａｓ ｗｈｅｎ Ｉ ａｗｏｋｅ ｔｈｉｓ ｍｏｒｎｉｎｇ ｉｔ ｗａｓ ｔｈｒｏｗｉｎｇ ｉｔ ｄｏｗｎ， ａｎｄ ｃｏｎｔｎｕｅｄ ｔｏ ｄｏ ｓｏ ｕｎｔｉｌ ｅａｒｌｙ ｅｖｅｎｉｎｇ．Ｏｕｔ ｏｆ ｔｈｅ ｗｉｎｄｏｗ ｗｅｎｔ ｍｙ ｗａｌｋ ｔｈｅ ｃｉｔｙ ｐｌａｎ， ｓｏ Ｉ ｈｅａｄｅｄ ｔｏ ｔｈｅ Ｓｏｎｙ ｓｈｏｗｒｏｏｍ ａｎｄ ｔｈｏｕｇｈｔ Ｉ’ｄ ｍａｋｅ ｔｈｅ ｒｅｓｔ ｕｐ ａｓ Ｉ ｗｅｎｔ ａｌｏｎｇ．
Ｔｈｅ ｓｈｏｗｒｏｏｍ ｉｔｓｅｌｆ ｗａｓ ｇａｄｇｅｔ－ｔａｓｔｉｃ， ｔｈｅｎ ｌｕｎｃｈ ａｔ ｔｈｅ ｌｏｃａｌ Ｅｎｇｌｉｓｈ ｐｕｂ ａｎｄ ｉｔ ｗａｓ ｏｆｆ ｔｏ ｔｈｅ Ｂｒｉｄｇｅｓｔｏｎｅ Ａｒｔ Ｇａｌｌｅｒｙ． Ｔｈａｔ ｗａｓ ｈｉｇｈｌｙ ｒｅｌａｘｉｎｇ ａｎｄ ｆｉｌｌｅｄ ｍｙ Ｃｕｌｔｕｒｅ ｑｕｏｔｉｅｎｔ ｆｏｒ ｔｈｅ ｄａｙ ｓｏ Ｉ ｗｅｎｔ ｓｈｏｐｐｉｎｇ ｔｏ ｐｉｃｋ ｕｐ ａ ｐｒｅｓｅｎｔ ｆｏｒ Ｔｈｅ Ｗｉｆｅ．Ｆｉｎａｌｌｙ ｉｔ ｗａｓ ｏｆｆ ｔｏ ｔｈｅ Ｅｌｅｃｔｒｏｎｉｃｓ ｓｔｒｅｅｔ ｆｏｒ ａ ｂｉｔ ｍｏｒｅ ｓｅｎｓｏｒｙ ｏｖｅｒｌｏａｄ．Ａ ｔｈｏｒｏｕｇｈｌｙ ｅｎｊｏｙａｂｌｅ ｄａｙ ａｎｄ ｗｅｌｌ ｗｏｒｔｈ ｔｈｅ ｓｔｏｐ ｏｖｅｒ．
Ｒｉｇｈｔ， Ｉ：ｍ ｏｆｆ ｔｏ ｂｅｄ ｎｏｗ Ｉ ｈａｖｅ ａ ｍｉｄｄａｙ ｆｌｉｇｈｔ ｔｏｍｏｒｒｏｗ ｔｈａｔ ｇｅｔｓ ｉｎ ａｔ ３：４５ ｐｍ． Ｌｅｓｓ ｔｈａｎ ｆｏｕｒ ｈｏｕｒｓ ｔｏ ｇｅｔ ｂａｃｋ ｆｒｏｍ Ｔｏｋｙｏ， ｔｈａｔ’ｓ ｎｏｔ ｈａｌｆ ｂａｄ．
Friday, 6 March 2009
Thursday, 5 March 2009
AAARRRGGGH!!!
Tokyo is sensory overload. Too many lights, too many sounds!
Maybe it'll be quieter during the day.
Maybe it'll be quieter during the day.
Tuesday, 3 March 2009
On the move again...
This time starting the journey home. Big Bro dropped me off at the airport and I took a short hop to Christchurch where I'll have time for a bite to eat before getting my head down for a snooze. Up at 3:20am though for my flight to Aukland and then onto Tokyo, about which I know very little at the moment! I have directions to the hotel but that's it so it'll be a trip for making it up as I go along.
Queenstown was a pretty cool place. Big lake, mountains in the background, sun shining, and 101 ways to scare yourself to death. It seems to be a place entirely predicated around finding different ways to fool your body into thinking you're going to cop it. Lots of bars and places to eat and very much a party town at times I suspect. Most impressive of all it has a curry house that's open past 10 o'clock at night! Crazy.
Right, I'm off for my bite to eat and snooze. Next time I post will be in Japanese.
Monday, 2 March 2009
For today's entertainment...
I jumped off a bridge with a glorified elastic band attached to my feet. By God it was scary. Far, far scarier than the Skydive. For the dive you have a bloke strapped to his back who knows what he's doing and doesn't want it to go wrong any more than you do. You're so busy making sure you get the right body position to start the dive that the actual jumping from the plane is not such an issue. You're pushed out by him and by the time you realise what's going on he's deployed his small stabalising parachute and you're freefalling. He does the hard work and you can just take in the scenery and the sensation. Next thing you know he's popped the proper 'chute and you're gliding back to the ground.
With the bungy there's three or four seconds of sheer, naked terror. You're pointed to the edge, shuffle along, are told to look at the camera and smile and then it's up to you. From the moment you realise you've overbalanced and are going to fall until the moment the rope starts to take up the slack it's just terrifying. Once it starts to pull and slow you down it's actually fun, then you bounce up and down a few times and that bit's quite nice.
So they're both very different beasts and I'd say that for me it was easier to skydive than bungy, and it's certainly the one I'd rather do again.
With the bungy there's three or four seconds of sheer, naked terror. You're pointed to the edge, shuffle along, are told to look at the camera and smile and then it's up to you. From the moment you realise you've overbalanced and are going to fall until the moment the rope starts to take up the slack it's just terrifying. Once it starts to pull and slow you down it's actually fun, then you bounce up and down a few times and that bit's quite nice.
So they're both very different beasts and I'd say that for me it was easier to skydive than bungy, and it's certainly the one I'd rather do again.
Sunday, 1 March 2009
When in Queenstown...
... do as the Queenstowners. So I jumped out of a 'plane at 12,000 feet earlier today. It was quite the most incredible thing I've experienced. I'll be back with more tomorrow but I need a beer, curry and early night.
Thursday, 26 February 2009
Note to Mum
I've not stopped I've just been busy and lacked internet access at times. After golf tomorrow we're heading to Queenstown and probably stopping overnight somewhere on the way, which means that there'll probably be nothing for a few days.
Ye Olde English Pub
Yep, that's where we went in Christchurch last night, and blow me down if they didn't serve London Pride. Well, turns out they didn't. The badge looked right but the brown liquid tasted almost, but not entirely, completely unlike London Pride.
Other than that it's been a pretty quiet couple of days. Bit of bad golf, bit of seal-spotting, few penguins at the Antarctic centre, and India vs NZ at 20/20 which was a cracking game. Fun to do but not to read about so I'll leave it there.
Lads Weekend this weekend so it's Super 14 rugby tonight then a round of hungover golf tomorrow.
Monday, 23 February 2009
And he's back!
Cripes it's been a while since I've been near the internet. Last time I posted it was raining a lot, and it's cleared up once or twice since then. Long enough for us to get in a bit of crazy golf, a bit of slightly less crazy golf, and play the world's hardest pitch'n'putt.
We drove from Nelson to Nelson Lakes and managed a small walk there, then the next day it was all the way over the alps to Hanmer Springs in rainy and cloudy conditions. the scenery was spectacular though, with cloud filled valleys and a road that wound its way along the side of the mountains with the ridges spread out ahead of you getting ever fainter as they disappeared into the distance and the cloud/rain until the furthest ones were mere ghosts. As you drove round the ridges then each in turn would become darker and slowly take shape until soon enough you were driving round it and it was rendered in full colour and detail, and there was a new set of gray mis-shapen lumps in the distance that in their own time would be revealed as you drove round them too. It was a bit like playing a driving game on your PC with an under-powered graphics card.
Hanmer Springs was a chance to spend a day doing very little and just relax, which seems to be the point of the place. The thermal springs were pleasant enough, though a bit surreal when you're sitting in a 41 degree pool and it's throwing down with rain.
That's where we were this morning and we're now in Akaroa looking to see some sort of marine wildlife. Ideally it would have been penguins but they stopped that tour a few days ago apparently. Such is life. Still, tehre's seals and dolphins up for grabs so all is not lost. This place was set up by the French and looks a bit N'Awleansish to me.
Plan is to do the tour of the bay tomorrow, then look for a golf course and head to Christchurch.
We drove from Nelson to Nelson Lakes and managed a small walk there, then the next day it was all the way over the alps to Hanmer Springs in rainy and cloudy conditions. the scenery was spectacular though, with cloud filled valleys and a road that wound its way along the side of the mountains with the ridges spread out ahead of you getting ever fainter as they disappeared into the distance and the cloud/rain until the furthest ones were mere ghosts. As you drove round the ridges then each in turn would become darker and slowly take shape until soon enough you were driving round it and it was rendered in full colour and detail, and there was a new set of gray mis-shapen lumps in the distance that in their own time would be revealed as you drove round them too. It was a bit like playing a driving game on your PC with an under-powered graphics card.
Hanmer Springs was a chance to spend a day doing very little and just relax, which seems to be the point of the place. The thermal springs were pleasant enough, though a bit surreal when you're sitting in a 41 degree pool and it's throwing down with rain.
That's where we were this morning and we're now in Akaroa looking to see some sort of marine wildlife. Ideally it would have been penguins but they stopped that tour a few days ago apparently. Such is life. Still, tehre's seals and dolphins up for grabs so all is not lost. This place was set up by the French and looks a bit N'Awleansish to me.
Plan is to do the tour of the bay tomorrow, then look for a golf course and head to Christchurch.
Thursday, 19 February 2009
General Update...
Blimey can it rain over here! 6 hours of torrential downpour, three hours of which were spent driving from Picton to Nelson, where we're holedd up for the moment.
Wellington was great. The place itself is nothing special but the Basin Reserve cricket ground is as good a place to watch cricket in as one could ask for. Grass bank, late evening sun, cold beer. Marvellous stuff. Welly lost in the final over but that wasn't a problem for me. Many beers then followed with Rich's mates and a good night out was had by all. I'll confess to not feeling too clever yesterday though.
to which end, the entire day was spent lounging around watching Boosh then getting a ferry to the South Island. Stayed in a hostel last night that was full of Other People. Not sure I'm cut out for this backpacking malarkey. Still, we're in a motel tonight so it's a relative luxury. I think the bottom line is that I'm not going to be impressed by any place where you have to provide your own towel. It's just Not Right.
Tonight's going to be watching Super 14 rugby then heading to Abel Tasman National Park. Hopefully Tropical Storm Bruce will have left us alone by then...
Wellington was great. The place itself is nothing special but the Basin Reserve cricket ground is as good a place to watch cricket in as one could ask for. Grass bank, late evening sun, cold beer. Marvellous stuff. Welly lost in the final over but that wasn't a problem for me. Many beers then followed with Rich's mates and a good night out was had by all. I'll confess to not feeling too clever yesterday though.
to which end, the entire day was spent lounging around watching Boosh then getting a ferry to the South Island. Stayed in a hostel last night that was full of Other People. Not sure I'm cut out for this backpacking malarkey. Still, we're in a motel tonight so it's a relative luxury. I think the bottom line is that I'm not going to be impressed by any place where you have to provide your own towel. It's just Not Right.
Tonight's going to be watching Super 14 rugby then heading to Abel Tasman National Park. Hopefully Tropical Storm Bruce will have left us alone by then...
Wednesday, 18 February 2009
Quote of the night
"You don't seem like a pedantic, irritating git"
Obviously I had to put him straight.
Tuesday, 17 February 2009
Things I've learnt so far
A five hour drive down State Highway 1 is far more pleasant than five minutes on the M1. You see fewer cars and the scenery is Next Level. A bit American Midwest but beggers can't be choosers.
My brother's car handles pretty much the same as the Sega Rally machine at Portsmouth Students Union, which is a little disconcerting as I keep having flashbacks of power-sliding round corners whilst drunk. At least I think they're flashbacks.
My brother's PC setup puts mine to chame. His second PC has a bigger monitor than my first and his main pc has a 32 inch plasma screen. How good would WoW look on that!
When people in shops ask how you are, they actually seem to want to know. It's weird, it's almost as if they're being genuinely friendly rather than treating you as if your only reason to enter the shop was to persue a personal vendetta against them and prevent them from spending their entire shift without interacting with another human being.
Every town in New Zealand has its own speciality to separate itself from everywhere else. So far we've passed through the Corragated Iron Capital of the North Island, The Gumboot Capital of New Zealand, and The Huntaway Capital of The World. Which begs the question: what's a huntaway?
My brother's car handles pretty much the same as the Sega Rally machine at Portsmouth Students Union, which is a little disconcerting as I keep having flashbacks of power-sliding round corners whilst drunk. At least I think they're flashbacks.
My brother's PC setup puts mine to chame. His second PC has a bigger monitor than my first and his main pc has a 32 inch plasma screen. How good would WoW look on that!
When people in shops ask how you are, they actually seem to want to know. It's weird, it's almost as if they're being genuinely friendly rather than treating you as if your only reason to enter the shop was to persue a personal vendetta against them and prevent them from spending their entire shift without interacting with another human being.
Every town in New Zealand has its own speciality to separate itself from everywhere else. So far we've passed through the Corragated Iron Capital of the North Island, The Gumboot Capital of New Zealand, and The Huntaway Capital of The World. Which begs the question: what's a huntaway?
Monday, 16 February 2009
Something doesn't add up...
Animals seen so far:
Cows: Thaahsan's of 'em
Horses: plenty
Sheep: 37
So who's hiding the other 29,999,963?
Cows: Thaahsan's of 'em
Horses: plenty
Sheep: 37
So who's hiding the other 29,999,963?
Day 2...
in Big Brother's car and we've pitched up in Taupo (pronounced Toe-paw. Why do some countries insist on these silly pronouciations? What's wrong with phonetic spelling like Worcestershire and Loogaborooga?)
The flight was far longer than reasonable and entirely uneventful so we'll skip past that. Arrived and headed straight to Rotarua where we began the holiday by flirting with death, or at least mild injury, by going on a 'luge' track. This is basically small plastic go-karts with minimal steering and brakes which you use to go down a steep concrete track. Cracking fun and breaking all number of health and safety regulations, if this country has such things.
Next up were some picturey-type places with the rivers and the waterfalls and the hey hey hey. It's already apparent that we'll end this holiday with a lots of pics of each of us taking pics, as we both keep taking them of each other. It's called bonding I think. Then it was into Taupo (pronounced Tao-po as well to keep things easy) for beer and curry. That's the best bit about holidays, sampling the local culture. I tell you, they have a pretty crazy idea of what a Jalfrezi should be.
Today was the thermal springs near Rotarua and it was mighty fine. I'd try to describe them but a picture paintes a thouhsand words so I have the equivalent of War and Peace on my SD card. Suffice to say I have never seen anything like it. Mind you it's not that surprising as if there's a set of geyzers in England then it's a bloody well kept secret.
Tomorrow's on to Welly for 20/20 cricket and the odd pint or two.
As you were.
The flight was far longer than reasonable and entirely uneventful so we'll skip past that. Arrived and headed straight to Rotarua where we began the holiday by flirting with death, or at least mild injury, by going on a 'luge' track. This is basically small plastic go-karts with minimal steering and brakes which you use to go down a steep concrete track. Cracking fun and breaking all number of health and safety regulations, if this country has such things.
Next up were some picturey-type places with the rivers and the waterfalls and the hey hey hey. It's already apparent that we'll end this holiday with a lots of pics of each of us taking pics, as we both keep taking them of each other. It's called bonding I think. Then it was into Taupo (pronounced Tao-po as well to keep things easy) for beer and curry. That's the best bit about holidays, sampling the local culture. I tell you, they have a pretty crazy idea of what a Jalfrezi should be.
Today was the thermal springs near Rotarua and it was mighty fine. I'd try to describe them but a picture paintes a thouhsand words so I have the equivalent of War and Peace on my SD card. Suffice to say I have never seen anything like it. Mind you it's not that surprising as if there's a set of geyzers in England then it's a bloody well kept secret.
Tomorrow's on to Welly for 20/20 cricket and the odd pint or two.
As you were.
Saturday, 14 February 2009
In Transit
Bags checked in, Wife dropped off and three hours to kill. Spent 15 minutes waiting with The Wife at the Air Canada Fast Bag Drop. I'll let you make the obvious gag. A more cynical person than me would suggest that the only reason they use self check-in was because it cuts down on the number of staff they have to use, rather than it being more convenient for us. and that if you have to stand in a queue to drop your bags off then it's pretty much self defeating. Still, if it makes them happy...
Reckon I'll kill the time by strolling round tutting at the kids with their pants showing and hair that could do with a bit of conditioner now and again. Actually, I wonder if there's a pub that's showing the football?
Reckon I'll kill the time by strolling round tutting at the kids with their pants showing and hair that could do with a bit of conditioner now and again. Actually, I wonder if there's a pub that's showing the football?
Friday, 13 February 2009
Preparations
Bag packed - Check
Passport - Check
Itinery printed - Check
Printed itinery lost - Check
Books packed for the flight - Check
Mind changed and books repacked - Check
Nagging feeling that you've forgotten something - Check
Reckon that makes me about ready to go.
Passport - Check
Itinery printed - Check
Printed itinery lost - Check
Books packed for the flight - Check
Mind changed and books repacked - Check
Nagging feeling that you've forgotten something - Check
Reckon that makes me about ready to go.
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