It was a special star birthday for me, crossing two oceans and celebrating my birthday across 2 countries!
Transiting through Sydney with 1.5 hour stopover was a breeze, with plenty of time for browsing through a few shops, although the sniffer dogs touching me with their noses triggered all sorts of paranoai of dogs from my childhood days.. They even had a McD which was nice. Ofcourse my family couldn't resist the comparison with Singapore Changi airport, but I doubt any airport can compete with that!
Sydney airport is right by the Tasman Sea, and the travel leg from Sydney to Auckland was all about admiring the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean (well, technically Tasman Sea, but we were travelling in a straight line that goes from Sydney to Santiago). I had heard that just looking at the Pacific ocean is said to bring a sense of calm, and the colour of the water almost matches the sky in a beautiful blend of blue. It didn't disappoint on both counts! With plenty of time for self reflection and a quick nap, given the 1 hour flight delay, we caught first sight of NZ through a series of what appeared to be volcanic mountains dotting the sea, leading into Auckland airport. We caught a glimpse of the undulating surface that NZ is famous for.
With preservation filled traveller declaration, clearing immigration and biodiversity security checks were a breeze, rendering all my prior self scrutiny meaningless. Renting a car, though, was a much bigger hassle than I had expected. First I was surprised when a Chinese guy picked up the phone for the car rental company and I could barely make out what he was saying. We had to figure out the pick up spot and wait for a good amount of time before being chauffeured to an offside pickup spot, which looked more like a junkyard! The guy went through the rental procedure in like a minute, leaving me to do the head scratching and heavy lifting. The first car he offered had low tire pressure which he couldn't resolve with air pumps, so we had to take another car, which didn't have GPS navigation that was requested, the fuel was almost empty, the charger ports couldn't be opened, meaning my USB chargers were useless. It also didn't have auto brake that i had become so reliant on. I just hopes it takes us safely through these 15 days!
The hotel was in a nice location 10 mins from the city center, but we had another surprise when we checked in, the plug points in NZ were very different to what we have seen before, even the adapters we had didn't have the right plug. The Chinese receptionist didn't even know what an adaptor was. Thankfully the convenience store right next door had these items. And an Indian manning it to boot, so we could stock up on some essential items.
After a quick break, we were off to see the Sky Tower, the 60th floor observation deck offering lovely views of Auckland and a nice glimpse of the sunset at 8.30pm, the first time in my life we have witnessed a late sunset. There was a Saravana Bhavan right opposite where we had a sumptuous dinner, although the bill came as a big shock. With a plain dosa costing NZD 15, I wonder how people manage finances in this place! Another nasty surprise awaited as my bank debit card started getting declined. Thankfully I was half expecting it based on earlier experiences and I had a more reliable backup option with Revolut.
Quick drive back to the hotel to crash ended Day 1 with a lot more surprises than I had expected. Hope Day 2 dawns better!
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