Back in Auckland

Arrived in Auckland at 12 noon on 22nd February. Wasn’t on my own this time, took the flight with Huiling (My flatmate/landlord). Coincidentally, Sarah and Magdalene were on the same flight as well. This time round, I didn’t really feel much excitement because Auckland is no longer new to me and I know what to expect. Not surprisingly, I was greeted with the unreliable NZ system. We were promised internet within 24 hours but that 24 hours transpired to 1 week.

Another disappointment was that you can't subscribe to unlimited internet with the NZ Telecoms anymore, even if you're willing to pay. Apparently, they’ve stopped that option cos customers have been complaining that it's too slow. Now, for the same price as unlimited wld have cost, we'll only get 5G. Boo hoo......Man, NZ needs to spend more on their telecommunication infrastructure!!! So, my blog will prob have very few photos this time round. Anyway, I’ve kinda gotten quite lazy to take photos nowadays. :p

2 weeks into life in Auckland, I’ve fully settled down into the ‘new’ environment. Initially, it was quite sian going to school, I guess because I was still in the holiday mood. Hee...

The weather here when I first reached Auckland was really ideal. For once, I can wear shorts in Auckland!! Could never dream of it last sem. Unfortunately, this week, the weather took a change for the worse. It has been raining for the last 3 days. It’s not the typical Auckland drizzle and the rain can be as heavy as Singapore’s downpour. Coupled with wind, it’s unbearable. One night, the howling of the wind was so loud I couldn’t sleep. Hopefully, the sun will show soon! I wanna swim in the sea!!! If the weather stays like it, it’ll be impossible! :(

Went to Brown’s Bay in Northshore last weekend. It’s still crowded at the beach. I guess everyone is trying to treasure what’s left of summer. A part of the beach was really interesting, instead of a sand base, it was a rock base. Really enjoyed myself walking on that part of the beach.

Also attended the Auckland lantern festival. I never knew that the last day of CNY was called lantern festival! It was a 3 day event whereby Albert park was decorated with colourful lanterns and a night market was set up. Interestingly people carried lanterns like those we would carry during mooncake festival. The Malaysian Club of Auckland, (UMSA) had a satay stall there. Huiling and I did our little part by spending one whole Saturday helping to skewer the satays. It was a great success and UMSA managed to make a hefty 4 figure profit.

Went for my first free concert in the park last Saturday (10/3/07). The highlight was the fireworks presentation by Group F. They are the internationally known pyro-technicians who have done events like the Athens Olympics, fireworks at the Eiffel Tower etc. The display was VERY impressive and it consisted for 3 parts, each lasting about 10 mins. My personal favourite was this one that looked like gold dust was dropping from the sky. It was so pretty.