My travels so far
The Departure.
There really wasn't much pomp and circumstance to my departure from Wellington, NZ. Frankly, I was glad to get going. Sure, I'll miss my friends and my favorite haunts, but I'll get more of those in life. I consider myself pretty damn lucky to have had the month that I had before leaving New Zealand. First I got a visit from Lisa, then a visit from my parents, then Welly-bff Liz M. returned for a visit (she'd been traveling around the North Island for the past few months), and finally, Kate and Andy returned from to Welly from their travels around the South Island. I couldn't have planned it any better. My final month in Welly was full of joy and an absurd amount of good times. Sure, there was some drama with my flatmate, but the goodtimes I had in those final weeks far outway the bad. My final weeks in Wellington included my first rugby and cricket matches, coffee (platonic) dates galore, pizza night, a dinner party, a big night out, an Indian dinner to see me off, and ridiculous amounts of love. I got pretty lucky. Ironically, I ended my time in Welly living at the YHA hostel, just like I started my time in the city. It felt very "full circle". I left happy, but ready to go. That's the best a person can ever ask for.
The Cooks.
I didn't know where the Cook Islands were located before living in New Zealand. I blame both my American education and the fact that they are really, really small. I choose them for two reasons, 1) What doesn't sound good about being on an island in the middle of nowhere? Who doesn't need a little time alone? (I know the answer to the questions now.) And, 2) If not now, then when? The Cooks are a pain to get to if you're not coming from NZ. To cap off those two reasons, there was also a deal for a resort on the island of Rarotonga making the advertisement rounds and I'm a gal that likes a deal.
My week on Rarotonga was quiet and for the most part, uneventful. Would I go back? Probably not. Why? It's expensive there and with so many islands dotting the South Pacific, I would much rather visit a new one than return to one that I was just "Eh" about. The scenery and water there was amazing, (the island is surrounded by a coral reef), and it was good to spend some time alone. The food there was sad though - and expensive to boot. The best food I had was some pricey pizza. (What?!?!) I got a chance to watch some movies and read some magazines. I rented a bike and road around the island, (literally). I went to the Saturday market. I got caught in massive rain while taking a walk. Hmmm... but overall it was a very quiet experience.
Melbourne. Melbourne. Melbourne.
After Rarotonga, I headed to Australia. I stayed in the St. Kilda/Port Philips area of the city which I quite enjoyed. I took several walks there and found some lovely houses that I liked to pretend looked like my future houses. I went to my hostel's wine and cheese tasting, did some reading at the local library, and ate cheaply. My second day in Melboure I befriended a Canadian named Debbie and together, Debbie and I befriended the other girl in our dorm who was from Holland. Together we all explored the Melbourne CBD, ate Mexican food (not bad!), shopped at Target (a welcome sight after all these months), and then eventually enjoyed a big night out with one of Debbie's other friends that included cheap happy hour drinks, Asian food, and very rich hot chocolate.
Singapore. My love.
My favorite city so far on this trip has been Singapore. So much so that it perhaps deserves its own entry, but for now, it's part of this one. Upon arriving in Singapore, I joined a food tour run by the owner of my hostel right away. It was an amazing way to spend my first seven hours of time in the city. I must have tried 40-50 dishes (just a bite of each) and there's no way that I would have done that without the tour. I was by far, a highlight of my trip. The next day I relaxed until it was time for me to go to the touristy island of Sentosa to see one of my all time favorite bands, Jimmy Eat World, play. They were great, and even better, no one is more polite than a Singaporian concert goer. I really did have a great time at the show and was a little bummed when it was over since although I'm sure I'll see them play again, I don't know when -- and like I said, J.E.W. is one of my all time favorites. Saturday and Sunday were spent surrounded by friends from the hostel exploring Chinatown, Little India, and going to the Night Safari, (a zoo of sorts). Singapore has a reputation for being pricey. And it can be. But, realistically, that's only if you stick to the highly touristy areas and stay in hotels. I've found that Singapore can be reasonable the way I'm doing it, by staying in a hostel (8 bed dorm room, yo), buying your meals at hawker centres (food courts, of sorts), and limiting alcohol (booze is pricey here). I also enjoyed one of my best days yet in Singapore when I joined two of my hostel-mates on a trip to an island off of Singapore for a water-soaked bike-ride with lots of nature-viewing, (and mistaken mountain dew drinking... ewww).
I need to catch a plane now, so I gotta cut this short. More on my love of SE Asia later.
There really wasn't much pomp and circumstance to my departure from Wellington, NZ. Frankly, I was glad to get going. Sure, I'll miss my friends and my favorite haunts, but I'll get more of those in life. I consider myself pretty damn lucky to have had the month that I had before leaving New Zealand. First I got a visit from Lisa, then a visit from my parents, then Welly-bff Liz M. returned for a visit (she'd been traveling around the North Island for the past few months), and finally, Kate and Andy returned from to Welly from their travels around the South Island. I couldn't have planned it any better. My final month in Welly was full of joy and an absurd amount of good times. Sure, there was some drama with my flatmate, but the goodtimes I had in those final weeks far outway the bad. My final weeks in Wellington included my first rugby and cricket matches, coffee (platonic) dates galore, pizza night, a dinner party, a big night out, an Indian dinner to see me off, and ridiculous amounts of love. I got pretty lucky. Ironically, I ended my time in Welly living at the YHA hostel, just like I started my time in the city. It felt very "full circle". I left happy, but ready to go. That's the best a person can ever ask for.
The Cooks.
I didn't know where the Cook Islands were located before living in New Zealand. I blame both my American education and the fact that they are really, really small. I choose them for two reasons, 1) What doesn't sound good about being on an island in the middle of nowhere? Who doesn't need a little time alone? (I know the answer to the questions now.) And, 2) If not now, then when? The Cooks are a pain to get to if you're not coming from NZ. To cap off those two reasons, there was also a deal for a resort on the island of Rarotonga making the advertisement rounds and I'm a gal that likes a deal.
My week on Rarotonga was quiet and for the most part, uneventful. Would I go back? Probably not. Why? It's expensive there and with so many islands dotting the South Pacific, I would much rather visit a new one than return to one that I was just "Eh" about. The scenery and water there was amazing, (the island is surrounded by a coral reef), and it was good to spend some time alone. The food there was sad though - and expensive to boot. The best food I had was some pricey pizza. (What?!?!) I got a chance to watch some movies and read some magazines. I rented a bike and road around the island, (literally). I went to the Saturday market. I got caught in massive rain while taking a walk. Hmmm... but overall it was a very quiet experience.
Melbourne. Melbourne. Melbourne.
After Rarotonga, I headed to Australia. I stayed in the St. Kilda/Port Philips area of the city which I quite enjoyed. I took several walks there and found some lovely houses that I liked to pretend looked like my future houses. I went to my hostel's wine and cheese tasting, did some reading at the local library, and ate cheaply. My second day in Melboure I befriended a Canadian named Debbie and together, Debbie and I befriended the other girl in our dorm who was from Holland. Together we all explored the Melbourne CBD, ate Mexican food (not bad!), shopped at Target (a welcome sight after all these months), and then eventually enjoyed a big night out with one of Debbie's other friends that included cheap happy hour drinks, Asian food, and very rich hot chocolate.
Singapore. My love.
My favorite city so far on this trip has been Singapore. So much so that it perhaps deserves its own entry, but for now, it's part of this one. Upon arriving in Singapore, I joined a food tour run by the owner of my hostel right away. It was an amazing way to spend my first seven hours of time in the city. I must have tried 40-50 dishes (just a bite of each) and there's no way that I would have done that without the tour. I was by far, a highlight of my trip. The next day I relaxed until it was time for me to go to the touristy island of Sentosa to see one of my all time favorite bands, Jimmy Eat World, play. They were great, and even better, no one is more polite than a Singaporian concert goer. I really did have a great time at the show and was a little bummed when it was over since although I'm sure I'll see them play again, I don't know when -- and like I said, J.E.W. is one of my all time favorites. Saturday and Sunday were spent surrounded by friends from the hostel exploring Chinatown, Little India, and going to the Night Safari, (a zoo of sorts). Singapore has a reputation for being pricey. And it can be. But, realistically, that's only if you stick to the highly touristy areas and stay in hotels. I've found that Singapore can be reasonable the way I'm doing it, by staying in a hostel (8 bed dorm room, yo), buying your meals at hawker centres (food courts, of sorts), and limiting alcohol (booze is pricey here). I also enjoyed one of my best days yet in Singapore when I joined two of my hostel-mates on a trip to an island off of Singapore for a water-soaked bike-ride with lots of nature-viewing, (and mistaken mountain dew drinking... ewww).
I need to catch a plane now, so I gotta cut this short. More on my love of SE Asia later.