I left India at the end of August - all my travel plans went well, except for a heart stopping train ride as I left Thiruvalla train station on the local train to get to Kochi Airport. The train was late but I wasn't unduly bothered as I knew I had factored in some extra time. It was also crowded and I thought that it was ironic that my last ride on public transport in Kerala was standing! Then I remembered the spare plastic bag in the top of my big pack (thank you Kim and Trish for the Ryman Stationary bag given to me at Heathrow all these months ago!). I whipped out the bag and sat down on the floor close, but not too close, to the open carriage door and was happily day dreaming when the train ground to a halt and we all just sat for ages. Of course, no means for an annoucement and I won't have understood it even if leaves or cows on the track was possible to make. Then I noticed how much time had gone by and how little time I had left until my check-in time at the airport. Of course, there is absolutely nothing you can do except start making feverish calculations about the estimated time of arrival at the airport if you get out at an earlier train station and take the fastest taxi possible. Fortunately I met someone who worked at the airport and who spoke good English who was very reassuring about the journey and how much time I really needed to check-in... so I started to breathe again.
Arriving in Mumbai could have been terrible but I had just decided to treat it as a stop over and not to do any sightseeing.... I had booked myself into a nice hotel not too far from the airport who offered free pickups from the airport. So yes, there was someone at Mumbai airport holding up a placard with my name on it! I felt like royalty as I was ushered into a posh car and whisked away to a very nice hotel where I was met with a complimentary flower and a fruit juice! I could get to used to this sort of lifestyle... so long as I didn't think about the millions of Indians living in Mumbai who haven't a hope in hell of getting used to that sort of lifestyle. So I treated the hotel and being in Mumbai as part of my transition from India to New Zealand - a kind of neutral traveller situation.
And so to Auckland (via Singapore and Brisbane)! And into a country where no one was staring at me, and most of the people here have the same colour skin as me and dress in similar ways and a lot of women have short hair. I started to think that Auckland was the nicest city in the world (apart from Paris) but then I realised that I was judging it by having flat wide pavements, traffic that obeyed some rules, cars that kept their distance from each other, absence of people living and working on the pavements. Maybe Auckland is the most boring city in the world - I don't know - but it was jolly nice for me! To be able to be in a city and not to feel hassled was brilliant. Not that I was really hassled in any of the Indian cities I was in.... it just the incredible numbers of people, the assault of difference on all your senses, the constant motion of traffic, the feeling that it was all crazy yet it all worked. However Auckland felt ordered and calm and had lots of open spaces, parks even, and beautiful sea and great views and beer and wine and poached eggs on buttered toast and real coffee.
I didn't stay very long in Auckland to savour the cultural highlights - things were building up to the opening of the world rugby cup which I wanted to avoid - just long enough to get a fill on lattes, get a good hair cut, and a few essential clothes. Then off on the ferry to the Coromandel peninsular and to start my first wwoofing placement. That's Worldwide Working Opportunities on Organic Farms. The deal is that you work for 4 - 5 hours in return for somewhere to sleep and your food. Currently I'm in Kauotunu (think I have got the vowels in the right order!) and it's absolutely amazing here. Not only are the hosts really hospitable and easy going and relaxed, the house is very comfortable, the work very easy but the views and the countryside, especially the beaches are truly awesome.
The local beach is called Matarangi and is a brilliant wide white sandy beach stretching on and on until eventually after an hour of walking you reach an estuary. At the end of the beach are views of mountains, after mountains. It all has a vast, unfilled, unpopulated feel to it (ok I know I'm experiencing out of season and I guess in holiday season there will be alot more people around). The roads are wide and there are hardly any traffic on them - a far cry from M25. Everywhere has a relaxed easy going feel to it which I am sure is partly true at least. I know I'm just here as a visitor and indeed I feel more of a tourist here than I did in India, so I'm getting a very different sense of the place.
It sort of feels familiar here and yet it is totally unfamiliar.... green fields, rolling hills, pine forests, sheep, cows. The you look again and see that the houses have a different shape and design, there are "strange" trees in amongst the pine forests, giant ferns, different sort of birds and birdsong, old volcanic rock features. Oh heck, I really am in Lord of the Rings country and I haven't even been onto the South Island yet!
Off now to bake some apple muffins for Ann and Brian's return - have been house sitting and dog sitting whilst they have been to a family do. I've been left in charge of the dog, the cat, the generator, the wood burner, the well stocked fridge....
love
bee
Arriving in Mumbai could have been terrible but I had just decided to treat it as a stop over and not to do any sightseeing.... I had booked myself into a nice hotel not too far from the airport who offered free pickups from the airport. So yes, there was someone at Mumbai airport holding up a placard with my name on it! I felt like royalty as I was ushered into a posh car and whisked away to a very nice hotel where I was met with a complimentary flower and a fruit juice! I could get to used to this sort of lifestyle... so long as I didn't think about the millions of Indians living in Mumbai who haven't a hope in hell of getting used to that sort of lifestyle. So I treated the hotel and being in Mumbai as part of my transition from India to New Zealand - a kind of neutral traveller situation.
And so to Auckland (via Singapore and Brisbane)! And into a country where no one was staring at me, and most of the people here have the same colour skin as me and dress in similar ways and a lot of women have short hair. I started to think that Auckland was the nicest city in the world (apart from Paris) but then I realised that I was judging it by having flat wide pavements, traffic that obeyed some rules, cars that kept their distance from each other, absence of people living and working on the pavements. Maybe Auckland is the most boring city in the world - I don't know - but it was jolly nice for me! To be able to be in a city and not to feel hassled was brilliant. Not that I was really hassled in any of the Indian cities I was in.... it just the incredible numbers of people, the assault of difference on all your senses, the constant motion of traffic, the feeling that it was all crazy yet it all worked. However Auckland felt ordered and calm and had lots of open spaces, parks even, and beautiful sea and great views and beer and wine and poached eggs on buttered toast and real coffee.
I didn't stay very long in Auckland to savour the cultural highlights - things were building up to the opening of the world rugby cup which I wanted to avoid - just long enough to get a fill on lattes, get a good hair cut, and a few essential clothes. Then off on the ferry to the Coromandel peninsular and to start my first wwoofing placement. That's Worldwide Working Opportunities on Organic Farms. The deal is that you work for 4 - 5 hours in return for somewhere to sleep and your food. Currently I'm in Kauotunu (think I have got the vowels in the right order!) and it's absolutely amazing here. Not only are the hosts really hospitable and easy going and relaxed, the house is very comfortable, the work very easy but the views and the countryside, especially the beaches are truly awesome.
The local beach is called Matarangi and is a brilliant wide white sandy beach stretching on and on until eventually after an hour of walking you reach an estuary. At the end of the beach are views of mountains, after mountains. It all has a vast, unfilled, unpopulated feel to it (ok I know I'm experiencing out of season and I guess in holiday season there will be alot more people around). The roads are wide and there are hardly any traffic on them - a far cry from M25. Everywhere has a relaxed easy going feel to it which I am sure is partly true at least. I know I'm just here as a visitor and indeed I feel more of a tourist here than I did in India, so I'm getting a very different sense of the place.
It sort of feels familiar here and yet it is totally unfamiliar.... green fields, rolling hills, pine forests, sheep, cows. The you look again and see that the houses have a different shape and design, there are "strange" trees in amongst the pine forests, giant ferns, different sort of birds and birdsong, old volcanic rock features. Oh heck, I really am in Lord of the Rings country and I haven't even been onto the South Island yet!
Off now to bake some apple muffins for Ann and Brian's return - have been house sitting and dog sitting whilst they have been to a family do. I've been left in charge of the dog, the cat, the generator, the wood burner, the well stocked fridge....
love
bee
Hi Bee, hope you managed to make it to PIha and Kare Kare beaches?
ReplyDeleteCoromandel Peninsula ahhh hotwater beach and so much more..
Branwen