hostel

Arrived in the Land of Smiles

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I am typing this from Bangkok!

My flights over were both great. The staff and plane were awesome. In all honestly, I didn’t have any expectations of the flights as I had to book them in such haste. I couldn’t be bothered to check comments or ratings for either Qantas or Emirates. I was impressed by both airlines and would recommend either. I LOVED that the Qantas flight had a usb port so I could plug my iphone to charge 🙂 I also like that they served Tip Top ice cream bars for dessert (or “pudding” as my Kiwi friends call it).
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I flew from Auckland to Sidney with Qantas and only had 1 hour to switch flights. When I checked my baggage I stupidly forgot to ask if I had to re-check my bags for my connecting flight. I was a little nervous that I would arrive in Thailand without my baggage. Luckily the clerk at the Emirates counter assured me that if was impossible for Emirates to expect me clear customs and check my baggage in under an hour. I was fortunate to receive my request of a window seat over to Australia as the airplane was only around 2/3rds full. On the way to Thailand I was sitting in the aisle in the middle row. Not ideal but not the worst situation. I was lucky to be seated beside a lovely young couple from Amsterdam.  I felt awful for then when I heard their flight route. They had just spent 3 weeks (or was it 5?) travelling Australia and were now beginning their trek home. They needed to fly 8hrs from Sidney ->  another 8 hours from Bangkok to Dubai -> then an additional 8hours home to Amsterdam. What was worse was they were obligatory to exit the plane so they could go through customs and then re-enter TO THE SAME SEATS! I thought that was brutal. When we touchdown in Thailand all three of us had had barely any sleep. Thankfully the movie/tv/music selection on our individual TVs was exceptional. I was happy with everything I watched!  They were eager to exit and re-board the plane so they could try to get more sleep where as I was excited to have reached my destination!

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IMG_9743It was after 1am when I got off the plane and felt the humid air. I loved it! Going through immigration was a bit of a wait but fairly manageable. One of the female security guards told us if we wanted to walk a few minutes down the hallway there were another whole area for passengers to go through. That handy little tip saved me quite a bit of time.  I was thrilled to discover that my luggage was WAITING for me when I found the luggage belt. It had been turned off with all the luggage lined up in a neat little row. 

As planned, I phoned my friend Pi Sangwan once I was ready to leave the airport. She told me she would head over to the airport and that Pi Loong was IMG_9745already at the airport waiting for me!!!! I phoned Pi Loong and she told me where I could meet her. I was really glad she recognized me as I haven’t seen her in years.  I was thrilled to see a friendly face as I was not really sure if I was meeting them at the airport or the next day. Pi Loong, her brother and I grabbed a drink at the airport’s food court and caught up as we haven’t seen each other in years. I was under the impression that we were grabbing a drink while we waited for Pi Sangwan to arrive. You could say that I was A LITTLE CONFUSED when around 3am (so 8am Auckland time) we were leaving in a taxi together. I had originally planned to taxi over to my Thai-Australian friend’s house but we decided to change the dates. I then decided I would stay at a hostel near Khoa San Road. I had researched a LOT of different hostels with help from my Thai friends. Lolly mentioned a hostel that she stayed at 4 years ago and it sounded quite cozy. Within walking distance,  to Khoa San Road but far enough away to get away from the party scene. The location sounded like an ideal place for travellers and expats to mingle. After  catching  up with Pi Loong I learned that the two ladies had been chatting a lot about me and were very worried about my safety. They had decided that I wouldn’t  stay anywhere near Khoa San Road. So there was a change of plans and I would be staying in a hotel near Pi Loong’s house for a few days.

On the taxi ride to The Embassy Hotel I wanted to sleep so badly. I remember not wanting to blink too long for fear of falling asleep in the car. I was EXHAUSTED and had no idea how long the car ride would be or where we were going. When we arrived at the hotel IT LOOKED massive. There was a bit of confusion when we tried to get our key. Something about them wanting us to wait until 6am to get a room…the mixture of jet lag and English-Thai translation left me in a state of confusion. I looked at my phone and it read 3:34am. I asked Pi Loong 2 questions: if there was wireless so I could message people back home so they knew I was alive, and was I allowed to sleep in their lobby? My phone kept saying it was connected but it wasn’t giving me internet. The room situation was sorted out and  I remember sleepily following Pi Loong into this massive bedroom with two beds and a huge window. She said goodbye and she would see me the next day. I put my bags down and belly flopped on one of the beds. I woke up a few hours later and realized I needed to take my contacts out and change out of my clothes!

I woke up again around 10am (Thailand time) and decided I should start the day. I showered and threw on a dress. I did not know if Pi Loong was going to walk back to the hotel or if I was going to need to call her so I left her a note to tell her I had just left for a quick walk. I think it took me 5 mins of humming and hawings as to whether or not I should wear a scarf.  (I laugh at this now! But while I was standing in my air conditioned room I really was finding it hard to decide if I needed it or not). AS SOON AS I OPENED the hotel door I smiled as to having made the decision to leave the scarf at home! IT WAS HOT. DRY hot heat. I left the house on a mission to find a sim card for my phone and a wireless internet hot spot. My iphone was easily locating the wireless spots but not being too friendly about connecting to them. I got really frustrated at how fast my battery was dying struggling to connect to a wifi source. I successfully communicated to the 7 Eleven attendant that I needed a sim card for my phone. WHAT I lacked to understand was that I needed to buy a top up card as the  sim card was simply a phone number. After sorting that out I still wasn’t able to get internet on my phone. I walked up the street for ages. I debated crossing the street but decided against it for my first day in Bangkok. Baby steps to this BIG ADVENTURE. I really did not want to be using my medical insurance on my first day!
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I was starting to get hungry but I wasn’t feeling brave enough to try any street food. 7 Eleven are like North America’s Startbucks. THEY ARE EVERYWHERE. So I went into 7 Eleven and grabbed some water and dried seaweed. YUMMERS. Solid choice, as I knew I would be eating more food with Pi Loong later that day. Loong came over to my hotel later that afternoon and we grabbed some food at BIG C. It is your everything cheap store (comparable to Wall Mart or Kmart). It has it’s own food court besides all the groceries, clothing, stationary etc. It is your one stop (cheap) shop. Their food court uses the refillable swipe card method payment. So you have to be really good at estimating how much your total meal will cost – or come back within 7 days to spend the remainder of your balance.  Pi Loong and I tried to sort out my lack of internet. I decided that if I couldn’t get it on my phone I would try to buy an internet stick. It would mean no whatsapp but at least I would email, google maps and facebook. I quickly nixed the stick idea when I learned that you buy a blank stick and have to pay extra for the internet. That seemed rather odd to me. Would pretty much be like buying a memory card?! Anyways after all that confusion I was still without internet at my finger tips. It really made me realize how much I take internet for granted. I am just so used to always having internet in the home or places to find wifi. I said goodbye to Pi Loong around 10 and got back to my hotel around 11:30ish. I love that there is such a night time atmosphere in Bangkok. Shops are open late and people are out having dinner or at the internet cafes just skyping up a storm. While I was at the internet café emailing and facebooking someone was casually skyping his friend SO LOUDLY beside me. Sure he had his headset on but I felt like I was part of his conversation. His male friend was sitting on his couch in his shorts and t just laughing and loving the catch up…
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Well that was day 1. I won’t be blogging EVERYDAY but I will try to keep the blog relatively active!
I made it to Thailand and I am excited to share my highs and lows with all of you. LOTS LOTS of highs!
Lots of love to everyone,
xoxox
Amanda Sumalee

Snorkeling around Goat Island (Last day of roadtrip)

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Time to head home 😦

We all set our alarms so we would be up bright and early for 7am. We quickly finished packing and ate breakfast. Homemade lunches (we made amazing homemade sandwiches again!) were prepared before we said goodbye to The Pickled Parrot hostel and were on our way to Goat Island. We aimed to be back in Auckland in the late afternoon so we wanted to get an early start on the day.

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We arrived at Leigh just after 11:30. It’s a coastal village just an hour north of Auckland. We found a place to rent snorkel, fins, and a mask just before heading to the beach. The beach was a short 10 minute drive away. We ate our  delicious lunches in the car before squeezing into our wet-suits  We headed out into the water looking hilarious with all of our gear on. My goggles were too big, Ana’s fins were too tight, Kaik’s goggles pinched and Em’s fins were wonky. We were lucky enough to have Emma’s underwater camera to capture pictures of the fish we saw and some action shots of us snorkeling. None of us had any proof of the time but it kept feeling like we were swimming forever. The sun wasn’t really out but the water didn’t feel cold with our wet-suits on. We swam out to Goat Island but only sat on the rocks. Once you’re up close it doesn’t really seem like there is much to see but a huge rock. We were in the water just over an hour swimming around and enjoying all the underwater sights around the side of the island. We were all a little disappointed because we were hoping to see a lot of different kinds of fish. We saw a few big fish (snappers) and lots of pale pink and white fish but we didn’t really see a huge range of fish. It was pretty neat how close I was able to swim up to the fish. All the underwater pictures are on Emzie’s camera so I will try to post a few once she has them organized.

We had a small crisis when Kaik misplaced her wet-suit at the end of the day but the lady at the rental place seemed very chill. We suspect that while Kaik was changing someone might have swiped her wet-suit OR that we left it on the roof of the car when we drove off. We were nervous that we wouldn’t get our deposit back on our rental equipment but the lady was pretty confident that it would show up and that we could leave without paying any money for it. *There are still some good people in the world!! Crisis averted. There was no way we wanted to pay $115 for a wet-suit we didn’t have!

We were all pretty tuckered out after snorkeling and had a quiet drive back to Auckland. We were able to dropp  Emzie off at her house around 2pm and drove the rest of the way home for our well deserved rest. We unpacked the car and were able to get some laundry done before the rest of my family returned home.

We enjoyed a family dinner outside on the patio and caught up with the boys. We easily shared stories and laughed our way through the meal. It was a great way to end off our unforgettable road trip.

I would say the trip was a success. We were able to not go too far over our budget and made really smart purchases. It helped knowing that we were all basically living out of backpacks and would have to carry whatever we bought! We are thankful for the GPS and all the sunshine!!!

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xox Buddha Blessings
Amanda, Ana, Emzie & Kaik!

Found Coopers Beach (Day #5 of roadtrip)

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It was our last full day in the Bay of Islands and we were all hit with the feelings of sadness that our trip was nearing an end. Emzie and Ana are morning people where as Kaik and I prefer a sleep in. The four of us made sure to promise each other we would be up early each morning to make the most of our time! Another reason for being up between the hours of 7-9am was so we could enjoy the benefits of our complimentary breakfast. The basics of coffee, tea, toast and cereal were provided. I disappointingly found out the hard way; the later you got up in the morning the less selection of cereal!

After buying a few gifts and trinkets in the shops we headed off to find Coopers Beach. Another sunny day another search for a beach! While pulling over at a random gas station for a quick bathroom break we came across a unique Jandal fence and took a few minutes to admire it. While heading towards Coopers Beach signs advertising for a market caught our eye. We detoured in hopes of discovering a great big shopping market. The market we came across didn’t quite live up to our expectations. Luckily the detour led us to a great view of Doubtless Bay.
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The drive was around an hour and half after having to stop in and ask for directions. We were so close to it (but again we found) the signage for the place to be so minimal that we weren’t able to spot it from the roads.  The beach was gorgeous and lined with beautiful trees. We spent the afternoon lounging and reading on the beach before heading back to our hostel.

 

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The girls cooked up an awesome BBQ dinner before we began indulging in yummy adult beverages. We engaged in another great round of Jenga. We wanted to hit the town on our last night in Paihai. We ventured out to a pub which we thought looked promising but ended up to be pretty quiet with a small showing of people.  So we had to start the dance floor ourselves before leaving that bar to head to another one with more dancers in attendance. A nice stroll along the beach and some greasy burgers (for some) was a lovely way to cap off our final evening of the roadtrip.

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Thanks Ana for your undying commitment too the blog 🙂 You are an exceptional co-writer!

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xoxo Buddha Blessings,
Amanda and Ana

Beaching it inThe Bay of Islands (Day #3 of roadtrip)

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Thursday January 10th (Day 3 of our Roadtrip)

We left Pukenui around 10am. We all had an earlier than usual morning as members of our hostel were super LOUD for a long time in the kitchen this morning. The large family did not realize it might be courteous of them to whisper if they were planning to cook and eat around 7 in the morning! Even though we started the morning off a little grumpy our moods all picked up when we realized it would be another gorgeously sunny day! We arrived in the Bay of Island after a fairly quick 2 hour drive. We drove straight here with no stops as we didn’t eye any Thrift Stores or souvenir type stores along the way. The Pickled Parrot Backpackers hostel is a very cute and quirky place that we are finding to be very cozy. We did find it very hard to spot from the roads as the signage was pretty small and minimal.  We are in a 3 bunk bed room and only 1 of the beds is vacant.

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We unpacked the car then went for a walk around the town lots of touristy stops. We saw the (noisy early birds) family that was at the hostel we were last at and had joked about running into. We all secretly hoped they weren’t perchin’ at the parrot like us! We dined on yummy fish and chips on an outdoor patio then walked back home. We were able to grab some cold drinks en-route to the hostel before jumping into our beach gear and heading straight to the beach. We had fun tossing a frisbee around and enjoying some drinks on the beach. It was pretty evident that we weren’t the only ones who had the idea to have a refreshing drink on the beach. The evening menu is any college students staple meal of: noodles, crackers, cheese and left over sandwich meat.

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We were easily entertained by Jenga and throwing in little rules and playing “never have I ever during rounds”. I have never played a more entertaining round of Jenga before playing with Kristy and Ana! Kristy was also christened with the new nickname of Kaik, which is pronounced cake. We went to 2 bars and really got to see there was not much of a nightlife on a Thursday night here. We played pool and tried to teach Emzie how to handle the cue. She wasn’t haven’ any of it and preferred to watch the 3 of us struggle through a game.

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During our first night on the town we can say we were fortunate enough to meet an Irish lad and unfortunate enough to meet 2 Aussie’s one of whom claims to have been a contemporary dancer…years ago. Without getting into too many details I can say we left the bar after receiving a “phone call” from another friend who wanted to meet up with us. After drinks, cowboy shots and 2 rounds of tequila shots we all got home safely. We were able to get into out beds and get somewhat of a good night’s sleep. The heat is so hot and is pretty harsh on the people who are stuck on the top bunks but we are managing. We DO keep the windows open at night but all the moths and flies love to LAND on our bodies. NOT fun.

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Complimentary breakfast is offered from 7-9 daily so we all plan on taking full of advantage of the free food. Tomorrow we have another beach day planned out. It’s a hard life sometimes 🙂 I forgot to mention that Ana did an excellent job of taking Myrtle for a quick spin yesterday. She did a wonderful job of staying left and working the indicator lights! Proud of her.

Thanks for reading – and I hope the snow isn’t too much of a nuisance for those who are getting lots of it right now.
Lots of warm thoughts to you all,
Amanda

Is there a camel coming for us? (Day #2 of roadtrip)

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Wednesday January 9th (Day 2 of our Roadtrip)

We left around 10 to rent sand carpets. The first place we stopped at was disappointedly CLOSED so we ended up driving closer to the sand dunes and renting foam boards with smooth plastic bottoms…aka  boogie boards.  The rentals of the boards alleviated our unneeded stress of not being able to ride the dune and we were reenergized to ride down the big sand dunes. To our dismay we somehow passed the little turnoff and ended up travelling 10 kilometers before realizing we missed the exit and turned around to head back. We were so thrilled when we found the turnoff.

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Combination of our emotions and thoughts that ran through our heads as we reached the parking lot of the Te Paki sand dunes: ‘overwhelmed, joyous, fearful, excited, oh sh!t I have to walk up that hill! holy fu@k that sand looks hot, are we in the desert?, where are the camels?’

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After around an hour and  a half of adventurous playing and fearful apprehension of dehydration and death we ventured back to the safety of Myrtle. We quickly GUZZLED water. After our lovely lunch break we headed on back to a baby hill for some pictures and last minute adventures before needing to return the 4hour boards at the rental place. At one point during our long trek in the hot sand I told the girls I felt like I was part of the 2nd Sex and The City Movie and a camel was going to appear with Mr. Big. I am so grateful to Emzie for remembering her waterproof/sandproof camera so we could capture ths shots of us onto of the hills. Thank you also to Ana and Em for taking some gorgeous shots of me in action after our lunch break. I felt a little naked not carrying my iphone on the dunes but I felt it best to leave it in the car safely away from all the sand. We treated ourselves to some cold refreshing ice cream before our drive to another beach destination.

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Rarawa Beach time!!!  Only about a 15-20 minute windy road drive followed by gravel patch to a glorious white sand beach. We only stayed for around 45mins because we knew we had another beach stop right after. The sand was so fine and white and Ana LOVED that the sand was squeaky. The water was so clear! We could see our feet through the water. There were millions of shiny beautiful shells. So glittery and small. We took some pictures of the water and collected shells before climbing back into our hot hot car.

IMG_6837Last stop of the day was spectacular. The drive to 90 Mile beach wasn’t too bad. We were all really keen to get there since we had; read, seen, and heard so much about it. We were kind of surprised by the lack of signage considering it’s popularity among the travel books and postcards. We drove along long gravel roads with gorgeous trees on either side. As I was driving, I couldn’t help commenting how it felt like I was living out a poem or scene from a movie or book. I didn’t REALLY know what the feeling?! It was so weird that we were driving through a huge forest that only had a two lane gravel road so we could get to this breathtakingly beautiful 90mile long beach. I don’t really know how to explain it. It wasn’t déjà vu but it just felt – unfamiliar – but somehow I was completely amazed and aware. No one else in the car really understood what I was feeling but it was just such a weird feeling of driving through this massive forest on a rock road to A BEACH. I couldn’t verbalize the sensation correctly because I have NEVER FELT it before but it was a sense of comforting awe?…still don’t really know but the feeling of nature and going towards something so incredible made me feel like I was LIVING. Let’s move on from that topic before everyone starts to think I am crazy!!

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When we arrived at the beach I was looking for parking but THERE WAS NO DESIGNATED lot.  I just drove on the beach and it was an indescribable feeling of joy. You could park anywhere on the beach. Some cards were driving along while others were parked. We drove a ways down the beach before settling on a place to park. I won’t lie: I was thrilled to be driving on the beach yet paranoid that the car would struggle through this unexpected adventure. The waves were so strong. We were startled to feel the waves powerful force the first time we almost got dragged away. It knocked me off my short legs and I was soaked in minutes! We wanted to go swimming in the ocean but quickly changed our minds when Ana spotted the first jelly fish. As I had never seen one before I thought it was just floating seaweed. We got to take pictures of them all along the beach and loads of pictures of our All Star Myrtle (Myrtle the Turtle is the car my Kiwi family fondly named the Au Pair’s car) then moved her back a ways as the tide was coming in quickly. After lots of frolicking on the beach and a million pictures we decided it was time to head on back to the hostel…but not before a mini drive to the other side of the beach.

Emzie's Iphone 5 took this panorama photo!!

Emzie’s Iphone 5 took this panorama photo!!

We had a quick dip at the hostel’s pool to try and rid our bodies of sand before jumping into the showers. After we were all cleaned up we enjoyed some noodles and yummy drinks. For our evening entertainment we watched slideshows of all the days’ pictures. It is always a good laugh to see what pictures we have taken from our 3 (good quality) cameras, 2 iphones, 1 itouch, and a water proof camera! Lots of the same angles are captured but also many candid pictures. WE all love to take pictures of people taking pictures but hate BEING CAUGHT taking them 🙂

Tomorrow we need to pack and be checked out by 10am. I think we are getting free wi- so I will be able to post these blogs. So far this road trip has been a blast and so many AMAZING memories and countless photos captured.

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“The END” Emzie proudly declares before slipping her eye mask over her head and calling it a night.
Buddha Blessings
xox Amanda

*Thank you so much to Ana, Em and Kristy for their very insightful contributions – I typed and we all spouted out suggestions so this blog could be completed! TEAMWORK!

Arrived in Pukenui! (Day #1 of roadtrip)

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Monday January 7th

We were leaving for our roadtrip tomorrow so we had to get Emzie’s house all cleaned, and we had to be all packed and ready to depart the city early in the am. We all helped to clean the house and get the recycling and garbage sorted out. We all packed our bags and filled Myrtle with bags and road trip necessities.  We dropped all our bags at home before going to grab Subway for lunch. We walked to Brown’s Bay and enjoyed our picnic lunch by the water. Besides the WIND we had a lovely outdoor meal. We spent a little time walking around the shops and popping into a few souvenir shops before heading to Pack’n’Save. We did a big grocery run to buy food for meals and snacks so we could save as much money as possible. All four of us are on a budget so we are trying to cut corners on food whenever possible. By the time we got home we were all exhausted and decided to go to bed early.

Tuesday January 8th (Day 1 of the Roadtrip)

We were all up around 6 so we could eat breakfast and have our lunches packed by 7:30. With everything packed and us all caffeinated we were ready to hit the road. We stopped at a St. John Thrift store to see if there were any cool finds. Bought some cassettes and magazines but was disappointed to not be able to work the cassette player.

The roads were really straight or super windy. It kept reminding of a mixture of Ireland, Vancouver Island and New Zealand with all the rolling hills and greenery.

Arrived at our Pukenui Backpackers Lodge right around lunch time. We were “on a budget” so we were staying right beside the motel with its quality waterfront units. I think we got the best bang for our buck considering all the accommodations have the same view 🙂 It is like paradises here with it’s clear skies and palm trees. We were excited shocked to see that the two flag poles outside were a Wales flag and a Canadian one. We felt like Sock’s was REALLY with us in spirit. (The next day we discovered that the flags are interchanged daily).

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After a picnic lunch by the water’s edge, we set off for Cape Reinga’s “The Meeting of the Oceans”. From the edge of the cliff you witness the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean mixing together. The blue and green water is beyond gorgeous.

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This was transcribed on one of the wooden pillars:
The meeting point

Te Rerenga Wairua (Cape Reinga) marks the separation of the Tasman Sea (to the west) from the Pacific Ocean. For Maori, these turbulent waters are where the male sea Te Moana Tapokopoko a Tawhaki meets the female sea Te Tai o Whitireia.

The whirlpools where the currents clash are like those that dance in the wake of a wake (canoe). They represent the coming together of male and female – and the creation of life.

The view was EXTRODINARY. My pictures will not do the view justice. It is the furthest point you can travel in New Zealand. The tourist destination is fondly referred to as “Far North” There is a working light house where the light shone for the first time in May 1941. It is one of the first lights that shipping observes when arriving from the Tasman Sea and north Pacific Ocean. The light was fully automated in 1987 and the lighthouse keeper was withdrawn. The operation of the light is now completely automatic and is monitored by a computer and Maritime NZ staff in NZ. We made sure we took lots of photos. We all wanted our hair down for photos but found it to be so beyond windy for any of us to handle. Eventually all for our us put our hair up in some form so as not lose all sanity. The wind would not give us a break.I think at one point Kristy’s hair was blowing so much that she and Emzie were starting to eat it!

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On the drive home we stop at the Local Store for delicious ice cream. The staff was so friendly and very generous with the scoop portions!

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We headed back to the hostel for some instant noodles and drinks. We went to the local bar (literally right across the street) and each purchased what we believed to be have been ciders. Instead we ended up just buying 8% energy juice –NOT peach and apple ciders. It was annoying but made for a good laugh. Instead we headed back home and drank and hung out in our room.

The single beds are located on the house’s porch that was then enclosed. Our carpet was never properly trimmed to fit the room when it was installed so the door doesn’t close and the door knob falls off if you pull too hard. Nor does the door lock from inside or outside. With all that said we have been given lots of windows and a decent amount of common room space and nicely stocked kitchen. The place is an old house with 4 rooms with showers and toilets. It has a lot of character and quirks and much more accommodating then a hostel. More of a welcoming cottage vibe here 🙂

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Buddha Blessings
xox Amanda

(All photos from this blog except for one of the group shots was taking on my iphone. I will be trying to post more photos from the other cameras in the future. They are usually a better quality but it is easier and faster for me to just post my own pictures as they are already loaded onto my computer.)

Endless thanks xox

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Thanks to all those who have shared their kindness and motivational words. I love reading comments and receiving emails and texts. With a smile on my face I can happily announce my spirits are soaring high these days. My slump is over. It’s so comforting to realize that people are interested in my life. A dear friend of mine who I have known for years (who I think fondly of despite rarely keeping in touch) emailed me to tell me “I’m so very proud of you and the adventure you continue to be on”. I can’t express HOW heartwarming it is to receive such expressions of love from all of you!!!

Sorry for the lack of posts recently. Not a day goes by that I don’t feel guilty over my laziness. I would like to post smaller updates so I am updating more frequently– but it just hasn’t been happening lately. I THINK ABOUT my blog EVERYDAY…please note that I am always going back and editing my blogs. No matter how many times I read over my post before submission; I always find errors once it’s been posted to the site. So within a few days of the original post I  have edited at least a few times…I still comb over my early posts and correct errors!

A family member sent me this message: “I hope that you will keep up with your blog, as you have a real gift for writing”. It made me so proud of myself because I have always enjoyed writing. I try hard to keep my work  reasonably structured. I try to follow the basic rules of grammar. That said -I prefer my writing take the flow of sounding like the thoughts in my head more than literary works. I wish for my writing style to come across as natural, connecting and sharing my thoughts expressively through writing.  (I hope that made sense!!!)

Now to share my happy news with you! I am no longer residing in a hostel. My quest to find a friendly kiwi family to live with has PAID OFF! I was finally able to: take down my job postings, stop submitting electronic resumes and meeting up for interviews. What a relief. I moved to New Zealand to be an Au Pair and for a while I was wondering if I would ever find another family.  

I live in Torbay, New Zealand which is located near a handful of beaches. Less than 15 minute drives from my 3 floor house. My room is located in the basement which will stay the coolest come summer. I love the trampoline, basketball net, and PALM trees in my front yard! I feel so fortunate to have found the family I did. Such a vast difference from when I moved here almost 2 months ago. I am just so thankful I had the courage to recognize ENOUGH WAS ENOUGH and it was time to seek out a better opportunity for myself.  I have a lot of people to thank for their strength and endless support during those trying times. I’m so glad I listened to everyone and took your advice to heart. Thank you for believing in me! My homecoming started off so warmly with the Mom baking a cake for dinner the next evening.

I feel like my life is quieting down and I am settling into a comfortable routine. I mentioned in an older post that Emma and I were able to enjoy a lovely day at the beach a few weekends ago. It is exciting to know we have many more beach days ahead. I can’t wait for December and January to BE HOT AND SUNNY. Dream come true for this (not brown enough) body. The browner the better. I am seriously addicted to the sun.  

I promise you all—more blogs to come.
xox Still Smiling!
Amanda

–> Let me know if you ever have any blog suggestions or requests.
—>Feel free to send me any questions you may have 🙂

Rotorua/Taupo Road Trip (Oct 19-22)

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This weekend trip was ALMOST a month ago but I am just getting around to posting it now…better late than never 🙂 I will work on getting the pictures posted on Facebook too.

Countless people raved about Rotorua! We could not have heard more about how great our weekend trip would be.  It would be well worth the short drive for all tourists near and around Auckland. With that in mind, we excited made plans to have Rotorua be our first roadtrip. We scheduled to leave on our first long weekend together. We made plans and were eager to depart before my unemployment came into play. Being “between jobs” (thanks brother!) had me second guessing if I should be heading out of town or laying low in the hostel. With some gentle coaxing by Emzie and my eagerness for some laughs, we set out on our first official New Zealand Sumzie Roadtrip.

Friday I packed my bag (which at this point had been getting far more use then I ever would have imagined—very glad I went with my gut and bought the pricier..but more gorgeous and more user friendly backpack!) Our ride up to Rotoru could have been dryer. We both lost track of how many times it rained. The drive took around 3.5hrs and probably rained at least 7 times. We stopped in Cambridge to get out and stretch our legs and grab some much enjoyed coffee. Sadly there was no Tim Horton run for us. Our Starbucks watch was unsuccessful as we found out the locals had never even heard of it. We did drive through Tirau which was a very decorated town of corrugated metal.  Their metal creations were seen everywhere.

As soon as you get near Rotorua your nose starts to tell you are heading in the right direction. The home of spurting geysers, steaming hot pools and and exploding mud pools leaves the air filled with its sulphuric aroma. We arrived in Rotorua around 4:30 and checked into our hostel. We were fortunate enough to get an all-girls room. The hostel was fully booked due to on the road swim teams. It was “interesting” to have the hostel be all ages. Kids running around and teenagers playing in the pool was not what I had become accustomed to during my hostel days.

We ate dinner at the restaurant Fat Dog. It came highly recommended to me by someone who had just been a week or so before. She was visiting from Austria and assured me the food was delicious. I will admit the restaurant overwhelmed me at first; as the menu is all written on the walls in chalk. You order and pay at the register and they come and bring you your food.  It is a very quirky place with delicious food and I would for sure go back again! Em had her first “hostel experience” when we arrived back to our room to find that the bedroom lights were off with the air thick of burning incense. Our roommates were singing along and swaying with an enthusiastic guitar player. Emzie’s pillow pet might have felt a little claustrophobic as it was nearly being squished to death by the musician! I wish I could have captured the look on her face when she opened the bedroom door!!!!!!!! Needless to say the roommates were all really nice and we had a lovely time getting to know them over the next few days. Even the girl who spread her makeup all over the foot of my bed (when she thought I was sleeping) so she could apply her makeup.

Saturday was a fun filled day full of planned activities. We were praying that the rain would hold off so we could enjoy our luge rides! We rode up a really short gondola ride and then rode down on plastic luges! We were fortunate enough to get the eight-seater gondola all to ourselves as we rode to the top of Mount Ngongotaha (487 metres above sea level). Through the spitting rain we saw Lake Rotorua and the city. The luge ride down was awesome! Emzie bought our Skyline Rotorua tickets on the grabone website (similar to groupon) so we were able to get a good rate on riding 3x down the hill. We did the scenic track that was 2 kilometre ride through Redwood trees. There were a few pit stops where you could get out and take pictures. We both really enjoyed the 1 kilometre advanced luge track that was much steeper and had more turns. The Jelly Belly factory turned out to be super disappointing. Definitely very over hyped and not worth the money to buy anything from it. We both love jelly beans and couldn’t bring ourselves to pay around 50cents a jelly bean.

Afterwards we took a walk around Kuirau Park (a free attraction) to see some hot springs. The park was nearby and gave Emzie the opportunity to see her first hot pool.  Let’s just say Em was under amused by them. I had seen some before in Canada but being her first time…she was unimpressed by their lack of entertainment. The volcanic area had an eruption as recent as 2003 which covered most of the park in trees. We got to see the boiling mud and plenty of huffing steam. The cheap thermal thrills were not as exciting as I had wished! Luckily we found a friendly popcorn vendor who was super friendly and had delicious stock.  We continued our walk around and randomly stumbled upon a festival. We searched for a caricature sketcher but were not able to locate any. We could have done without the creepy clown! We did see lots of antics and homemade crafts. There was also a zombie apocalypse (was an annual event to raise money and awareness for brain injuries).

Wanting to make the most of our day we headed back to the hostel to look through the wall of brochures and pamphlets. We were starting to feel we had exhausted most of our options in Rotorua. Originally we had planned to go white water rafting, parasailing or skydiving during our visit. Seeing as my budget had become tighter we nixed all the fun-adrenaline filled activities. There was a pub and bar conveniently located literally 5 steps away from our hostel but instead we decided to have an early night and head off towards Taupo in the morning.

Sunday We drove towards Taupo which was a under an hour drive away. Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland was only about a 20 It is known as New Zealand’s  most colourful and diverse volcanic area.  The rain was in full force the whole drive. When we got there we were really worried the rain would ruin our visit. Luckily the sky cleared and we got sun from time to time. We took full advantage of the moments where we did not need our umbrellas and hoods to take quick pictures of ourselves. 

The Champagne Pool was an insane experience! “Unique in the world, a fifth of a hectare of bubbling, hissing water, with a beautiful ochre-coloured petrified edge”(Brochure). Em and I could barely see the edge without our eyes trying to shut. It felt like we were being swallowed up by fog. Our glasses steamed up and we couldn’t see ANYTHING!!! It was raining but we were so hot. We never got to see Lady Knox Geyser erupt as we were not there at 10:15am for its daily eruption.

We decided we should check out Huka Falls while we were in town. It was not as spectacular as we were expecting…”Huka Falls! It should be called Huka River or Huka Mini River!” -Emma. Even though the water was a royal blue the falls was very small in comparison to Niagara Falls which we have both seen. (A sign informed us that the ice-blue, snow-white is famous for having about 200,000 litres of water plunge nine metres over the great rock face of Huka Falls, every second. The flow over the falls is son strong it prevents the upstream migration of trout and native fish such as eels which is why there are no eels to be found in Lake Taupo.)

In the afternoon we went to the Polynesian Spa for a hot mineral bath. We wanted to book mud bath back massages but they were completely booked. Instead we relaxed in a secluded private pool filled with alkaline water at a comfortable 38.5 degrees for 30 minutes. (Brochure) Our skin felt so smooth when we were finished.

One of the HIGHLIGHTS of the trip was our movie and dinner in-bed. We watched the Pixar movie The Incredibles and dined on crackers and double creamy brie. We made great decisions. I had never seen the movie and found it very cute and the brie was beyond delicious. Will creamy brie taste plain to me now?

Monday The sun finally came out and it was a gorgeous drive back to Auckland. To Em’s DEELIGHT we stopped off to Zorb. Large, clear, people filled spheres bouncing and rolling  150m straight down a grassy track down the hill (New Zealand Lonely Planet). We had planned to be strapped into the dry Zorb and face each other as we rolled down the hill. To our shock our heights did not fulfill the height requirement and we had to ride WITH NO STRAPS in a zorb filled with water. We were given VERY LITTLE direction on how the two of us would be able to roll down in the same Zorb without seriously injuring each other. The whole way down the hill we were laughing and screaming and shoving each other away. It is a miracle neither of us got a black eye. Someone really needs to bring this to CANADA.

As we drove through Cambridge our helpful Naviman (GPS) mentioned there would be passing a place of worship. It just so happened that there was an annual fair on the church’s property. Besides lots of homemade crafts guess what we found??? MORE popcorn from the same vendor that was in Rotorua. He recognized us and jokingly accused us of stalking him. We didn’t think it would be appropriate to ask him for his summer schedule…but we should have since his sweet and sour popcorn is beyond delicious. Before Em took me back to the hostel I had an interview with a potential family. We met in Browns Bay which is a lot more tropical and scenic than Mt Roskill. We both had our fingers crossed that this family would work out for me.

The long weekend trip was a great opportunity for a lot of photographs and smiles.I am so glad we decided to go! Sorry it took me so long to post this. I am glad it is finally up – I have had this nagging feeling in the back of my mind ever since we returned from our trip. As always, I hope you enjoyed the read and am so glad you are interested in keeping up with my adventures.

– more blogs in the future I promise,
xox Amanda

Still Smiling and SAFE

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9 days later with only one bed swap and I am smiling.  I can now laugh at myself for how terrified I was to move into a hostel by myself. The flooding of fears and anxiety were for nothing. Living in this hostel is like living in dorms. There are communal bathrooms and showers and you are always paranoid that you will forget to bring your key. You try to be as neat, and quiet so as to be as respectful as possible to your 5 to 9 other roommates. I chose the woman’s only quarters so there are only 6 beds in my room. The floors are carpeted and the bedding is clean and decently warm. I have heard from other roommates that the “Sanctuary” hall is nicer than some of the lower floors so I am glad I didn’t go with the co-ed rooms. Sounds like females get better treatment here! Woot! It was a BIG debate in my mind whether or not I should pay 3$ extra a night to have a room with a window or not. I decided the splurge would lessen my feelings of isolation. My bed used to have my head right next to the door. So I jumped at the opportunity to switch beds when one of the girls moved out. Now I am situated closer to a wall outlet and a better view of the window.

Internet is not free! My first day of moving in I was trying to seek out hotspots on my iPhone. A girl from Argentina kindly told me that the nearest places to get it free were McDonalds or the library. It wasn’t unlimited and would boot you off but at least they were nearby locations. So for the first day I tried to survive on just free internet. I found it extremely hard to be job searching, keeping in contact with friends and blogging while trying to remain connected on a free server. So by day 2 I had caved and paid for a 3 day package of internet. Not ideal to have to pay for internet while unemployed but I believe it helped me to stay sane.

I love living downtown. The hustle and bustle of the streets helps me to not feel so alone. I have been walking up and down the main roads every day. It hilly roads are becoming a great source of free exercise.

I have met lots of interesting people since moving in. I wouldn’t go as far as saying I have made many friends – but I have been involved in some great nightly discussions. ALL from my room. I do not talk to people in the lounge or kitchen. I just do not feel comfortable enough to spark up a conversation. So far from my room I have met ladies from:
2x Argentina
Thailand!!!
Malaysia
Dutch
Austria
Washington, DC
Toronto, Canada!!!
India
2x German

It’s been amazing to hear everyone’s’ first time hostel experiences. It really is comforting to know we all shared the same thoughts and fears. I told them how on my first night here I slept with my passport and wallet tucked in my purse and my purse was under the blankets at the foot of my bed with a foot firmly planted on the strap. Another girl said she slept with her purse under her pillow but it was so uncomfortable. Everyone except for 1 lady travelled here with a backpack. We have laughed over Murphy’s Law about needing the item that is at the very bottom of the pack. Or how heavy the bag is to carry but thank goodness we packed what we did. New Zealand is expensive and we are glad we brought all the necessities from home. It has been sad to say goodbye! It sounds like everyone has been having great experiences and I have been encouraging them all to post pictures and blogs so I can keep in touch!

Job hunting has had its good and bad days. I have been in contact with families and had a few interviews and even went as far as making my own post on a website. Au Pair families don’t seem to be too interested in having someone live with them this late in the year. It seems like January is a really popular time for families to want someone to move in. It’s hard trying to stay in touch with wireless and no local phone number but I am doing the best I can. A roommate and I have seriously been discussing heading South and going fruit picking for a month or so. I had never considered doing it alone –but NOW that someone else wants to do it with me my interest has peaked. I opened a bank account and am in the process of getting an IRD number. Summer positions will start to open up soon so we are just looking into accommodations and rates of pay (contract vs. daily).  It would be ideal if I could fruit pick for a few months and build my savings then come back and move in with another family. That way, Emzie and I can still travel on weekends and I’ll have some banked money for Australia — A girl can dream right?!

The other day, someone who loves me unconditionally; lovingly advised me:
“Just keep a vision of the right job/situation in your head and you will find it”
I keep reminding myself to stay positive. This isn’t what I had expected but this is life. I am living and breathing and everything happens for a reason.

Love that people are still reading the blog!
xox Amanda

Sorry about the Pillows!

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I have felt alone before. My thoughts have a way of making me feel small. Feeling mentally alone tortures the soul. But you blink, breathe deep and move on.

Being physically alone. It’s different.

The unwelcome feelings that linger as you desperately try to FIGHT it away.
The more you
fight
the more you look around and realize
how alone you are
in those moments you are completely ALONE.
All alone. ALONE.

To be physically alone, TO HAVE NO ONE was when I HAD to wear my big girl pants. And wore them I did.

I was told that I would be dropped off somewhere. When asked where I would like to go, I said, “Well I guess a hostel”. To which I got the reply, “I can’t drive you into town! I’ll take you to the train.” No specific time was given – besides the word evening. I quickly packed my bags so I would have as much time as possible to use the free internet. I frantically researched hostel locations, rates and reviews. I WAS actually going to become a “backpacker”. The difference between me and someone who was street entrenched was that I had money to pay for a hotel BUT there was no way I was going to one.  Sure Emzie and I had bought backpacks, but we weren’t actually dead-set on backpacking all around New Zealand and Australia. Maybe a day here and there, maybe more, but we would always be TOGETHER and travelling as a team. Not me fumbling with my bags in some unknown place alone.

Anxiety. FEAR. Depression. Anger. Shock. Pity. Despair. All these emotions were piling up and getting in my way. I plunked myself down beside a wall charger and kept my phoned charging as I sat for hours just waiting for the words, “time to go”. Dismal ratings, great ratings, horrible comments — the internet was inundated with reviews. Would all this preparation be enough for me? Was I going to be okay? Would I make it to the hostel? How was I going to carry all my bags? Would my shoulders and back give out on me?

For anyone that knows me. TRULY knows me. They know I am deathly shy. I will be the first to tell you I have NO confidence when in public. It scares me. In any new situation I am scanning, searching, and praying that there will be somebody to help me. As long as I have SOMEONE I am not alone. New jobs, new classes, new housing, new people it ALL terrifies me! I just need one person, JUST one person – and I am ok. It’s a confidence thing. I LACK SELF ESTEEM and I know it. THE very thought of me travelling to a new town by train worried me! Staying in a hostel petrified me. Living alone with no job had me fighting back tears.

I was feverishly researching WHILE texting friends to update them on my plans. I was beyond thankful that despite the time difference there were friends to talk to. I wanted them to know I was going to a hostel. Their worry for me elevated my fears and made me want to scream. Yet, it comforted me to know they knew what was happening. I needed them to know. I went from one bad situation, to another, and there was no way I was letting this decision be my worst.

Part of the fear was having never been to a hostel before. I have heard horror stories, and gross stories so I was trying to brace myself. I wanted to make the best decisions, that also fit my budget and time frame. If only I knew then what I know now! The worst part was not the hostel but getting to the hostel! And even then the commute wasn’t bad at all. It was really my imagination running wild. The build up of the situation was far more escalated than it ever needed to be.

My backpack, duffle bag and another bag full of food (there was no way I was leaving my food behind!!) were painstakingly heavy! Before Em left for Australia she brought me some of her hoodies, and 2 pillows and a library book. The pillows were such a nice surprise since the one I had been given was a brick that I never ONCE slept on for fear of breaking my neck. BUT unfortunately when it came down to choosing food over pillows I packed the food and had to leave behind the pillows. I very wisely packed the pillow covers so I could one day replace the two pillows. Love you Emzie!!

I was dropped off at the curb and cursing the skies that my shoulders were killing me. I made it onto the train (I was paranoid that it would be going in the wrong direction and asked a few times to make sure!) I had to ask what my stop would be as all I really knew was I was trying to get downtown. I was a little upset that the “train” was basically what we call a sky train or subway. I had really been hoping for a long scenic train ride. Once I arrived in Central Auckland I asked the information desk what bus I would need to take to take me to Queen Street. The person working the information booth was beyond helpful and even went as far as walking me to the bus. (He didn’t offer to carry any of the bags but I really appreciated the directions. He whipped out a paper map and circled where the bus stops were for each of the nearby hostels. Super great at his job!!) The hostel itself was the hardest part to find since it was on the 3rd floor of a building.  The building was LABELLED but I had to walk around the building a few times before realizing an elevator ride up to the 3rd floor was all I needed. (I have since been reassured that I am not the only one confused with how to enter the building. I have helped a few fellow backpackers know that they need to get on the elevator to find the reception desk! Go me!)

Base is on the corner of Queen and Darby and one street away from Victoria Street!!

And there you have it! Thus far, my 3rd place in New Zealand has been the best. Definitely not in terms of income but in terms of general health and well-being.

Next post will most likely be about hostel life…unless my observation blog comes first. We’ll see how I am feeling tomorrow.

Thanks for reading and blessings to all of you xoxo
-Amanda