Saturday, February 24, 2007

Hamilton Gardens and the one-legged duck

Around 2 hours drive from Auckland going down to the South is the city of Hamilton where they have the Hamilton Gardens, a 58 hectare area of a variety of different gardens. The gardens are grouped into 4 garden collections. It is owned and is well-maintained by the Hamilton City Council and admission is free (kudos to the Hamilton City Council! ;)

Missy's sisters, Ate Jojo and Ate Joan, left us there to explore the whole afternoon and would come back for us by late afternoon. So Missy, Beth and I toured the first two garden collections and on the way to the 3rd collection where there was a Rose garden, we decided to get some coffee and then rest on an open field and as the grass was too inviting, we took a nap and by the time we were woken up by the rehearsing country band for a concert that night, Ate Jojo, Ate Joan and John (Ate Jojo's bf who resides in Hamilton) still found us on the grass slouching and we could only grin when Ate Jojo asked how was the Rose garden.

We had a picnic of a bucket of KFC chicken (by the way, there's also no gravy sauce in KFCs in NZ like in Singapore where there is no gravy but chili sauce...I wonder now if is it only in the Philippines that there is an overflowing supply of gravy in KFCs?) with a number of ducks that seemed to want to join us and the other picnickers. This is how we discovered the one-legged duck. We thought the duck was just hiding his other foot under its feathers (to amuse us and get the food? hehe) but after more observation, we saw that it just really had one leg. But the amazing thing is the one-legged duck looked healthy and seemed like it doesn't have difficulty with having one leg as it just did a little duck hop instead of duck walk. It looked cute but at the same time it made you feel pityful, as obviously this one-legged duck was singled out by the other normal ducks. So we gave the special treatment to the one-legged duck, it was only to it that we shared our food (the bread we had and not the chicken, ok? :-P we didn't think a duck would like to eat its relative, chicken). Funny how even animals behave like human beings on singling somebody out because of its being different from the usual. I admire this one-legged duck for despite its abnormality, it has managed to survive healthyly and was moving with the other normal ducks. This makes me wonder, how people who are called "abnormal" could actually live normally and are happy while some people who are born "normal" feel incomplete. But the again, is the one-legged duck really happy?

Friday, February 23, 2007

The City of Sails

That is Auckland, New Zealand.

It is the most dense place of New Zealand, having more than 25% of the population of the country residing there. It is very understandable though, because indeed this city has so much to offer. It has a charm that attracts you and makes you want to stay...

What makes it different from all the other cities I've been to is that amidst it being a busy and dense (but not crowded) area, you can have your space and relax. Perhaps because it is a city that blends the beauty of urbanity and rurality. It has the usual huffs of a city -- the cars and traffic jams, the tall buildings, the people walking along the streets, the bars, the red light district, the lights, the urban ambiance but at the same time the sky is clear, the air is clean and fresh, there are beautiful parks and amazing harbours that simply make one tiring busy day conclude with a big smile on your lips for sure. They have the perfect summer weather: sunny but cool. It is very conducive to having nice strolls and naps in the parks, something I found hard to do in the summer of Singapore (too hot), or the summer of Ireland (too cold), or the summer of Paris (too unsafe). It's no wonder I felt at home in Auckland, it was like I am so familiar to the place that I enjoyed going around the city by myself during the day, lie down on the grass in parks, and end in Starbucks to wait for Missy and Beth after office hours. What happens after we meet up is even a whole new wonderful and exciting adventure around the city, so exciting that time can be forgotten and you realize the car got locked in the parking lot! :)

There are many things to see and do in Auckland but aside from the natural landmarks like the harbours and volcanoes (oh yes, Auckland is surrounded by 50 volcanic fields!) there's two man-made landmarks that you shouldn't fail to go to:

Skytower - this is like the Eiffel Tower is to Paris and the Empire State building is to New York. It is the tallest structure in the Southern Hemisphere. Though it does cost a bit much to go inside it (23NZD), I think it's worth it because you can get to see a good view of Auckland from the observatory above. Plus, the interesting thing is, the Skytower has this device called "The Eye" where you can zoom in to areas around Auckland in real time and you can get a clear visibility of the place, too clear that I actually had an ingenious (i think) idea: that it is a perfect spot for proposing marriage -- you could for example, ask someone to hold up a "will you marry me?" placard in the garden of Albert Park, and then you go into the tower with your girlfriend and you innocently ask her to zoom in to Albert Park and voila! Sweet as! :)



Auckland Museum - is one of the best museums I've been to. As you know, I am not really into museums so it took me quite some effort to convince myself to go inside Auckland museum. It is quite a big museum, all 4 levels of it but amazingly, I enjoyed going around it because the exhibits are really interesting and interactive. Plus, the museum staff are really friendly and accomodating.




Though I wanted to try to take the public transport to go around the city and be non-touristy, I decided to take the Explorer bus anyway, a hop-on-hop-off shuttle service that tours you around the city as I could not afford to do a lot of experimenting since I didn't have the luxury of time (besides, I have a high tendency to get lost whenever I do my "experiments") . And I am glad I took it because it was really worth it for 30NZD -- you get to have a recorded commentary which is very informational and you could chose where to spend your time among of the 14 attractions it goes around to.

(Sigh) Ahhhhh...the awe of Auckland...

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Backpacking in the Northland

On February 16th, I went straight from work to Changi airport to catch my flight going down under (way more down under than Australia, dude :). Ten hours later, I was looking out from the window beside my seat and I was already amazed at how New Zealand looked from a bird's eye view.

New Zealand is divided into two major islands, the North island and South island. Our plan was to take the up-to-the-North-then-down-by-the-West route starting from Auckland.

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Day 1: Kia ora!* The perfect way of getting to know New Zealand (see the red arrow in the map)

From Auckland airport, we went to missy G-clef's house and met up with Beth. Two hours later we were on the bus going to the Bay of Islands. Four hours later we checked in to Peppertree lodge. We were given room 13 (hmm..I wondered if that was a good sign or bad sign, hehehe.) Since it was almost evening we looked for something to spend the night with and decided to watch the cultural show at 7pm in Waitangi. It was a great start of my New Zealand experience, as the cultural show oriented me with the history of New Zealand. Now I know that the first settlers of New Zealand were polynesians, called Maoris, and then the British came in the 1800s. So today the New Zealander people, or Kiwis as they refer to themselves, are composed of the native Maori, the polynesians, and the British Kiwis. We ended the night with our stomachs full from missy G-clef's very delicious cornedbeef pasta (yum yum!)


Day 2: The Dune Rider experience (see the green arrow in the map)

This day we were to have the Dune Rider day trip tour of the Northland. What we knew was that we will be picked up by 7:30am so we woke up at a few minutes before 7am, only to find out that the tour guide was already there at 7am and was looking for us! So we just grabbed our things, and just went up the truck without having been able to actually freshen up for the morning. I had no idea what this tour was, missy G-clef didn't give me the details so I had no expectations and oh boy, little did I know that I was to be in one of the greatest tours of my life. We were with around 20 other people, composed of Germans, Brits, Australians and Spanish. We were the only Asians in our group. The tour guide/driver introduced himself as Spike. While he drove, he did the narrating as well, how cool is that!
From the Bay of Islands, we went up further to the North. First stop after having breakfast at a local restaurant, was at Manginangina Kauri Walk, a reserve of Kauri trees. Kauri trees are one of the biggest trees in the world. They are now protected trees in New Zealand because they are endangered. After a brief walk around the forest, we headed on and drove a few hours going up to Cape Reinga, the northest tip of the North island where the Tasman Sea and Northern Pacific Ocean meets. It is a sacred place for the Maoris, because they believe that this was where the spirits of departed Maoris go. Indeed it was a very serene and magnificent place. The sights are just simply tantalizing. Next we went down at a nearby beach where we had a break and were given the time to eat our lunch and have a quick swim in the beach for those who wanted to. Then we headed further on to our next cool stop (see the upcoming irony here..) -- sand surfing! Oh yes, I couldn't believe that New Zealand had sand dunes and I was so thrilled to do my first sandboard surfing. Walking up to the top carrying your surf board was a struggle for me, but it was all worth it when you slide down the slope head on. I managed to stay on the board half way thru the ride but half way thru the end I went tumbling down like a rolling ball, ahehehe. It was a fabulous experience! Then after sand surfing, we drove going down by a long stretch of beach called 90 mile beach (although in realityit is just 64 miles long). We stopped briefly to get some seashells which we ate instantly and surprisingly, for a raw state, it tasted really, really good! (better than oyster I tell you!) The 90 mile beach is known also for having wild horses in the land across it, although we were not lucky enough that day to have a glipmse of them. Then we went on and drove down and stopped at a souvenir shop then at a restaurant beside a harbour and we ate of course, yummy fish and chips (fries) and made a last quick stop in front of one orange farm in Kerikeri (place in NZ known for having lots of orchards of citrus fruits) for those who wanted to buy some fruits. Finally, at around 7pm we were back in our lodge. We spent the rest of the night at an Irish bar across Peppertree lodge with Elena, an Italian backpacker that we shared our room with. What a fantastic day! Sweet as! ;o)

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Day 3: The start of a marvelous road trip and camping (see the pink arrow in the map)

We started the morning by having a hearty breakfast - one loaf of toasted sliced bread, one pack of bacon and 6 eggs. Yes, a big breakfast could be an understatement. The two German guys on the next table told us they were so surprised to see the food at our table and was wondering how could 3 girls could eat all of it while two big guys like them were just eating bread and jam. (well, had they known about Filipinos' love for eating that should've explain it, hehehe). It was our last day in Peppertree lodge. We rented a car and missy would be driving us from the Bay of Islands going to the West and down. We stopped first at the historical place of Waitangi again to go around the place. Then we drove down down down to Opononi and Omapere where we had a spectacular view of the Hokianga Harbour. We camped out with our tent at a camping area across the beach in Opononi. It was another whole new experience for me. Our plan was to have some drinks on the beach side while watching the sunset but because we have forgotten to bring a flashlight and it took us a while to cook our dinner, this didn't happen. The sun seemed to have set so fast but it was ok, we still had a fun fun night eating another hearty dinner because besides for our fried chicken, we also cooked and ate some fresh mussels which were given to us by two camper Hungarian guys who went fishing that afternoon.




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Day 4: The unexpected highlight of the road trip (see the purple arrow in the map)

Before mid day, we got ready to start the long road trip going back to Auckland. A few meters from the camp site there was a sign with an arrow pointing to the right of the road which says, "scenic view". We decided to check it out and we were amazed at what we've discovered -- indeed a marvelous view of the Hokianga Harbour. We went down to the beach (together with 2 senior American couples we met there) and was just hypnotized at the beautyof waves splashing on the rocks in front of us. And so we stayed at the place longer than we expected. After realizing we had enough basking in the sun, admiring the beauty of the New Zealand Northland, we headed on to continue our road trip. After around an hour's drive down, we stopped at Waipoua Forest where Tane Mahuta was located. Tane Mahuta is the oldest and largest existing Kauri tree in the world, dating to about 2,000 years old and measuring a girth of 13.77 m (45.2 feet) and a trunk height of 17.68 m (58.0 feet). Such a wonder how this tree could live so long, withstanding all the storms and earthquakes for centuries. After consuming our packed lunch and an icecream for dessert, we continued our journey. After an hour or two's drive Missy G-clef said she wanted to have a quick stop at a waterfalls or any body of water so we tried to look for a waterfalls along the way. We didn't find any waterfalls but we did find a sign that says Lake Kai-iwi if we turn right. So we did, and followed the long road leading to this lake. When we got there we saw a couple just going up from the lake. They said they had a swim and told us the water was perfect for swimming. So we went down to the lake and found ourselves to be the only ones there. We went in the water, and indeed it was perfect to take a dip, too perfect that we decided to do the unimaginable -- skinny dip!!!! Oh yes, we did it in broad daylight! We took off all our clothes while inside the water and just enjoyed the place like it was ours. A first time for all of us and Missy, Beth and me all agree that it was the highlight of our road trip. The perfect highlight to conclude our adventure. The travel from Lake Kai-iwi to Auckland would take around 4 more hours so halfway through, we stopped at Dargaville to have a quick coffee -- on the roadside beside the river, literally. We sat on the ledge that divided the road from the river, drinking our coffee and eating hotdog in waffle. Maybe people driving by probably wondered if we were suicidal...hmm, not really because the brown water from the big river was not that inviting, hehehe. So finally, we got back in Auckland in the evening. I had my first view of Auckland skyline at night, with all the tall buildings and the Skytower shining brightly in red. We concluded the night with a fish and chips dinner along Mission Bay. Ah yes, now I'm about to see the City of Sails....






*Kia Ora is the Maori greeting for hello or good day.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Hinagdanan cave in Bohol


I have to write this entry to mention another must see in Bohol -- the caves. We only managed to go to one cave in Panglao, the Hinagdanan (meaning "laddered") cave but I read that Bohol actually has many caves giving it a nickname of "Cave Country".

Hinagdanan cave is an underground cave and is indeed beautiful. Inside it is a pool of water where you could swim. We didn't see it in its full glory, though, because we went there at almost sunset. The best time to see it is perhaps early afternoon, or as long as the sun is shining high because it is quite dark without the sun, it is just quite warm inside, since the entrance is a small hole on the ground and then you go down inside the cave.



I really hope to go back to Bohol someday and see the other caves and more things of interest. Anyone willing to let me tag along when you go to Bohol in the future? :D

Wide awake under the sun in Bohol

I surprised my family when I came home on Friday and announced I'm going with them to Bohol. I am so glad I decided to go because as expected it was sooo fun with us cousins goofing around and just laughing our hearts out (although it would have been the best if all of us cousins were complete) and I was able to be with Daddy M and Mommy B for even a few days. We owe a lot to our "adopted cousin", Tita T, for organizing everything for us. ;)

I am so proud of my beloved country, the Philippines for it's beautiful places like Bohol. This beautiful place is even supplemented by its beautiful native people, the Boholonians.

Bohol is most famous for the Chocolate hills. I was really awed by seeing the chocolate hills for the first time. They indeed look like how they are in my gradeschool history textbooks. The Chocolate hills are a range of more than a thousand hills. They are called as such because of their brown color brought about by the dried up cogon grass that grows on them during the dry season (they are actually green in the rainy season so perhaps the name could vary to the Chocolate-Mint Hills at this time? hehehe).





Bohol is also famous for the Tarsiers. These are the smallest primates (i.e. monkey) in the world! See how small it is as it sits on my shoulder? They are cute but I find them actually a bit scary because of their big eyes, hehe.





Another thing that you should not miss if you're in Bohol is to cruise the Loboc River. This river has a grand ambiance, I find it fascinating, with its clean, green waters, and the coconut trees that grows on both sides of it. This river extends to the sea but on the other end, the river ends with waterfalls. Loboc river is also a source ofspring water. There are springs on its sides but the water is not hot since there are no volcanoes around. This river is also popular for fireflies watching at night, which we did not see since we cruised the river in the afternoon but I was happy enough to learn that there are still fireflies existing because I used to see them like a usual thing when I was a child but I noticed as I grew up they seemed to have disappeared so for the younger generation, like my brother who's 7 years younger than I am, seeing a firefly for him would perhaps be extraordinary.









The beaches in Bohol are also superb. And I heard that the people of Bohol would like to keep their beaches to be as natural as they are so the government does not allow the construction of commercial buildings/structures near the beaches, land owners of beach side lands are required to turn their place to a resort only. I think this isgood because it makes the Bohol beaches a tranquil and serene place where you can enjoy and relax.





Although I did not get the tan I was hoping to get even if I had myself barbecued under the sun (either my sun block was too effective or the morning sun of Bohol is too mild), I got all the warmth I needed -- from my family. :)


~~~~o~~~~
Going to Bohol from Singapore in a not so big budget:
Option 1 - Take Cebu Pacific Air going to Manila and then take a connecting flight to Tagbilaran
Option 2 - Take Cebu Pacific Air going to Cebu and ride a ferry (2 hours) going to Tagbilaran
You may also take Option 1 route via Philippine Airlines if you feel like spending twice as much. :)

For more information on Bohol visit their website: http://www.bohol.ph/

Monday, February 05, 2007

Outgrowing my pink

One of the things I enjoy about having a routine is that I am amused with how my routine can sync with other people's routines especially my neighbors' and it makes it like a group dance, everything is in harmony and I have different dance partners depending on which routine I choose for that day. For example, if I wake up early and decide that I want to be in the office before 9am I have a group of people I expect to be waiting with me at the bus stop and another group if I chose to go to work a bit later.
It's been around a couple of months that I have been taking the go-to-work-a-bit-later routine and today I chose to take my go-to-work-early routine. I chanced upon my neighbor and her cute toddler daughter in our condo's elevator. There was one time before, that when we saw each other I was wearing my pink outfit -- pink pants, striped pink and black blouse, and pink shoulder bag; and I think the mom liked the whole ensemble that she couldn't help but tell me it's nice that I was all pink. So today, as like déjà vu, I was wearing my pink outfit again, but in a more subtle version -- same pink pants, floral blouse with beige base, beige hand bag, and pink stud earrings. She first noticed my new short hair though and afterwhich the "pink compliment": she said she liked my whole outfit, she said it's so pink. I told her I have not outgrown my pink. She said I shouldn't have to because "that color is you", as per her words. That made me smile, as a simple conversation like that can be really perceptive. Pink color is usually associated with little girls' clothes and things and usually as girls become ladies their color preference also change to the "mature colors". This made me ponder: why do we need to give up our pink when it suits us fine indeed? Why do we need to give up the child within us when this child makes us see life in an innocent and magical way?
I believe we all each have our own pink, and the question I leave to you is: have you outgrown yours?

Saturday, February 03, 2007

One hot and steamy week

And it's over, thank God.

Last Saturday, me and my housemates had a date with the aircon contractor for our bedrooms' regular aircon cleaning and maintenance. I didn't have any problem with my aircon before that but after last Saturday's service I noticed that the air seemed to be not cold. I thought my sleepless nights were just because of my long hair, my pajamas and my thick blanket or maybe even just my imagination but after one week I knew it was the airconditioner who was making me have those oh so hot nights. And so today I had another date with the aircon contractor. It turned out my aircon compressor ran out of gas (leaked apparently). I was not happy of course, because aside from the contractor being late, I had to pay for the gas top up (which was almost double of the cleaning service fees!). But well, even if I was convinced before that, that the reason for my aircon's regression in performance had something to do with last week's service, I just had to shrug it off and accept that it was just coincidential. Acceptance is, anyways, the start of moving on, you just have to accept and give the benefit of the doubt and trust. In the end, I chose to be happy anyhow since all's well that ends well.

So to celebrate the end of my hot and steamy sleepless nights, I endulged myself in a relaxing bubble bath, thanks to: Kimage hairsalon, The Body Shop's Papaya Foam bath (now on 20% sale from usual S$19.90), the candles lit and Hayley Westenra's angelic voice in her Odyssey Album.


Sometimes, all you need to get consoled is that embrace from the warm, fragrant water and the tranquility you experience as you close your eyes and feel your body relax in it's most natural form of nakedness.


****
Photo credits:

~Candle in l'alcazar bar , Paris

Thursday, February 01, 2007

10 things I think about this month

1. Get some sun

2. Review my French to prepare for the start of class on the 28th

3. Spend more time in the gym

4. Read my backlog books to read

5. Enjoy Kiwi Land

6. Consider that job in the US

7. Have ampalaya on the 14th

8. Buy a tumba-tumba and do cross-stitching (dapat gantsilyo pero para naman mas modern, haha)

9. Have a haircut (a very short one)

10. Stop blogging


It's the start of another month

If I look back on the month that has passed, I would say it felt like one year has passed. Indeed, the year 2007 has a lot in store for me and it has already started with overwhelming happenings that I never expected would happen. Amazing how things happen in one's walk of life, on some parts the road is smooth, on some the road is rocky. The funny thing is even if you thought you are walking on a smooth road, you can still trip along the way in surprise no matter how careful you are in your strides. And you wonder how did it happen that you can actually trip on your own feet and fall. Then you look up and realize that you bumped in another person walking too close beside you. You don't know what to think, as in the first place everyone knows that in walking the road of life we are each equipped with an invisible privacy bubble, and the trail you walk as far as you know, is a trail where nobody crosses each other's bubble. But then you just get up on your feet and decide to not think about it anymore because you have to continue your walk. Some things are better left unexplained and perhaps even be forgotten, so you just keep silent and carry on smiling as you stride and perhaps even do a little glide, towards the end of the road you chose for the walk of life, because you are sure of who you are and where you are going to.


And so I walk, still holding flowers in my hands.

~o~