C'est LA viE

so the first mission after 24, walked 18km in a day!! Woaah

believe or not, I have no idea about this when I said yes to sophie that I will go with you guys this saturday....

I had no idea we are going for hiking, even tho I guest that we would, I really did not expect that we would walk for 6 hours!!

OMG! I was not prepared, half bottle of water, 2 slices of bread, 1 can of smoked chicken.....and also very thin clothing with legging, are u kidding??

and I only realized that after I hopped on the car, wow, can I say NO?!

of cz not, so yes, I walked~hahaha

It was the whakapapa crossing, and the final destination was Tama Lake on top of the moutain~ yes mountain!!

  

on the way to our tramping site, notice the skiing kiwi bird? haha cute!

  

the moutain is always in our vision, but no matter how far we walked, the moutain is still the same distance from us, so u can imagine how long is the walk....

and the walk path is actually very flat at the first 2 hours, and also easy to walk, but don't u think there will be short cut, is a long, and continous walk, we had no idea what was in front of us, and also had no idea how far we need to walk to reach our destination~

  

  

bright sky, we are the world! haha

  

behind me is whakapapa ski field, not sure if the name is whakapapa moutain or not, but is very cool to have this close view~ we also able to see the ski field in very tiny size.....and I actually climbed up to a small hill to take this photo~

  

see, I was at middle of no where, no signal on the phone, no water around, and we dint bring any emergency pack or warm where, cant imagine how brave we were~

  

ok, heading for lunch after nearly 1 hour walk I guest, see the rock behind? We planned to have lunch there~

life is good when I had an apple from sara and watching this amazing view!

others also enjoyed their lunch before continue for another long walk~

no flowers, no green....cz is volcanic walk, so this is the plant around, I was sitting on top of this, is like cushion =P

  

ok after this photo, we continued our journey

  

finally, finally, we see a sign after nearly 3 hrs walk (which include lunch), and our destination is lower tama lake 14 min, upper tama lake 45 min~ what!!!, ok actually when I saw this sign, I was so excited, I was so looking forward for the view!!! and means we were near!!

 

  

  

and yes! finally lower tama lake!!! nice~ I wondered if any life in the lake?? so isolated, so difficult to access....this one is definitely a volcanic lake~

  

and then we continued our walk to the upper tama lake, and this path really killing me, I felt that my life was actually treatened when I start walking this, seems like easy, but actually this way is nearly vertical! And the path is very rocky....my shoes is kinda worn off, and was so easy to slide bcz I was walking on rocks, not road! I was thinking to give up at the begining, but all people were willing to climb so I had no choice, and kept on convincing myself, is not too far away, just be careful, the view on top will be magnificant!

we suddenly saw this on the way to upper tama lake, I am thinking maybe this "statue" is a symbol, or probably the way people pray for the moutain, the natural? well, inspired from the latest japanese drama starring takuya kimura, haha continue read my blog and u will find out which drama i mean...

anne was really brave enough! haha, as u can see, is ice, yes, is nearly melted....and here actually supposed to be cold and chilly, but since we walked continuously for so long, of cz we wont feel cold....and thank god the weather was good, and winter had gone....

u see the little building? well, is very small in this photo, and is quite far, I should include a pointer....well, there is where we started walking from...see how far we had walked?!

of cz photo captured by sophie, the way to upper tama lake.....

finally, finally!!we reached!!! haha, of cz I completed my mission, and must took a photo to prove!!!

  

and then we continued our journey, but back home, and yes the way went down from upper tama lake really very risky, i was so scared, walked very very slow, and really afraid one mistakened step will kill me.....thanks for the girl for being patient for waiting me....

then, finally I touched the  flat ground! wooah....relaxed...but the way back was really tiring, I thought it would be just walk back, but seriously very tiring, and sara walked damn fast as she was very exhausted as well....then, I was really worn out, and wanna just take a break, and was nearly pissed off that time when they continued walking... however, I understood I should not complaining as everyone was tired as well...We eventually had like 5 mins rest, and I also dehydrated.....

after 2 hrs I think, we chose another way back to where we were, which is the way that will pass by the waterfall

    

yes, the waterfall also nice, but seriously I was very tired to have fun at the fall....

  

and the final review after we reached the place where we started our walk....see the pointer "you are here"? and the two blue lake on the right of the "you are here" are the upper and lower tama lake, so seems very short distance on the map, but no way~ I am not goin to repeat this walk anymore =P

 

yes I agree, is one of the great walk! I actually felt very great after this walk, regardless of the tiredness, I felt relieved and refreshed! Was like a challenge for me, but then target achieved, felt so good!

And I now realized that I did enjoy hiking, although somehow felt very lazy to do it, so need a push from others, and also be more tough to stand against the laziness....

life is good to have this type of hiking activities, this magnificant view isn't it? =)

 

  

 

just like the title, spring is in the air!!! I went to welly today with Nicole for the first time, and it was definitely a great trip!

Good drive, good conversation, good view, just shitty weather, anyway, we arrived safely, and took the cable car up to botanical garden for the spring festival!!!

And we bought the famous gelato sold at the cable car site, and enjoyed in the cable car!

 

So we actually come for the tulips! And nicole called this morning to ensure those flower had bloomed, and tada!!

  

Haha, I saw tulips before, but not that many....is always beside the road, with only a few bouquet, but not like these in the photo....

  

nicole really knows how to capture good photos, and I felt so sorry for her, cz my poor capturing skill, which unable to capture great photo for her TT

and the sakuras here bloomed!!! But too bad, welly botanical garden seems like only had one sakura tree, and was raining...darn! So, not a good idea to stay in the rain, we decided to leave, and lunch time on!!

And I finally went into the sushi train place!! Although it was really pricy, but the food made by truely Japanese always worthy!!

  this is how far we could get? Oh hell NOT, was too expensive to eat until "full"~

And then we just walked around the city, was trying to shop for a bit, but not much sales on....then we found something interesting!!!

Is wellington Batucada!! which is is a Brazilian word used to describe the syncopated, African-influenced samba music played by a large percussion group (bateria) as part of a street parade or carnival.
I think it was for the rugby world cup, and they dint stop even in the rain!! It was awesome, nicole actually filmed abit, but I had no idea how to upload it on here, well probably will find the link from Nicole's facebook....and reattached.

And guest what, while walking along cuba st, I found this cool french cafe!! Simply Paris!! http://www.simplyparis.co.nz/

Finally found a great place selling French style dessert, and I just could not stop persuade myself from getting all of them, oh well I spent nearly 25 dollars for these!! But is worth!! I would like to buy more other types of dessert!! Patisserie, always the best!!!

  

Is actually crashed abit due to the rain, damn....sigh...but it did not influence the flavor!!! AWESOME!!! And I also, finally found macaroonz at Welly!! It was a box of 4 from the Moore Wilson market, and is not cheap, 7 dollars for 4, omg!! But ok, taste was not bad...

  

It was a great travel to welly, and it was so nice of Nicole, and we actually found alot of common interest between us, it was good to meet her!

Again, I went to a trip with sophie and sara, but different is, it was a day trip, and another new french gal from Fonterra joined us!

We went to the bird park at somewhere (oopssy I forgot the place again...because I always sleep in the car, and I do always leave the journey to sophie and sara, hmmm I am wondering if they want to kidnap me, is just a piece of cake!)

we stop at eketahuna for a bit, and found this massive kiwi bird, as the main highlight today is to see the kiwi bird at the bird park, so we decided to take photos with this giant kiwi! And see, it wear all blacks too!!! The rugby world cup heat is spreading everywhere!

Then we arrived the bird park, and walked around, eventually we also done an hour of tramping, walked through the nature jungle and bush~

  

And of cause, the birds and kiwi!!! But, actually we dint get to see a lot of them, and many displays were actually empty....So kinda not worth to pay 20 dollars for the park. Anyway, I finally see alive kiwi for the first time!?, I seriously not sure if I saw them before at south island, anyway, they are very cute!!!

   

They had to stay under dim red light all time, and they move very frequently, so is actually very hard to capture them with the lens....This is the only clear photo we able to get.

  

and the bird park also hatched the kiwi, well we missed the time when the little baby kiwi born, sigh...anyway, i can imagine how fragile they are to be stayed in this small hatching box....

So, after the kiwi park, we had lunch, then move on to the next stop: the OTAKI GORGE!!!

  

This brigde is really scary!!! And I actually really inconfident to walk across the gorge, omg!!

  

u see the holes!!! You see what underneath!!! And from the photo, it looked like the bridge is close to the gorge, but actually it is not, it is so HIGH!!!! And to date: is a suspension bridge!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I really believe myself that I have acrophobia....(fear of heights) now....I was being pushed and encouraged to walk, still remember sara, sophie and eveanne shouted at me: vivian u can do it!! come on, is safe!! Look at the view, is so beautiful!! dont look down, look at the view! .....haha thanks gals!!! =) I am impressed and proud of myself

  

so I walked, and sara just followed closely after me, to ensure I am alright, thanks sara, u were so sweet! And u can see, the bridge is so long, and I really not dare to look down, or even the view, just hold the handrial very tightly.....==

But luckily sophie took some photos of the amazing gorge!

   

  

I am so proud of myself, so on the way back, I finally confident enough to stand, and ask sophie for taking a photo of me!!! XD

and we also saw little white lamb on our way back!! SO CUUUUTE

and also moon in a day!

  

finally the end of our trip! with kiwi! =)

 

yesterday was so sunny, so sophie decided to go for a trip, at first we planned to go kapiti island, however, the unique island is closed as still winter, so we changed our destination to wellington.

Well, goin welly is not a big deal to me, as I went there quite often since i got my job at palmy. Ya, palmy is too boring, so I always go to wellington, and moreover janis and paya are there. And recently I also just realized that tania and teresita had moved up to this capital city too.

ok, back to the title, this welly trip is awesome, we (me, sophie, sara, anne-cc, gaetan, anne-michelle) have alot of fun!! I just realized that it was a good experience to travel with european. The way they think is very different from asian, and they actually quite stubborn with trip details...

haha, we drove in quite early morning, and chit chat, music in the car. Sophie's driving skill is smooth and yet kinda brave, love it =)

and the sun always shine throughout our whole trip~=) thanks for the good weather! After check-in at the backpackers, we spent our lovely morning at the harbour, around water-front. OOps, and we spent some time to find sophie her french travel book too.

gaetan is so crazy, he always climb here and there, although somehow it can be quite annoying....but well, guest u get different experience to travel with different people.....

sara and me~

 

we have our awesome lunch at the water front, I forgot to take a photo of it. We were waiting for our burgers at front of the cafe, sophie was snapshoting everywhere, so we got captured. =)

and anne-michelle joined us later, with a wonderful weather at water front~ (from left to right: anne-cc, me, sara and anne michelle)

In the afternoon, as expected from the frenchies, they wanna do some tramping, even at a city...

so we walked up to mt victoria, for nearly 2 hours walk while other ppl drive up to the summit. But, it was a good walk, and a good way to exercise, at the same time, u can get to see the awesome view the whole way.

    

after 2 hours, we finally climbed up the summit, and is so worthy to walk up here~ because after u see the awesome scenary, u will feel so released and forgot how u sweated and gasped just now....and the walk is quite easy as the track is so clear and smooth to walk.

all of us!!

and we got a chance to relax at the green field on the way walked back to city. See the city behind us!! =)

Then, we head back to water front, and luckily the famous gelato shop had not closed yet, so we get our delicious gelato (hmm, forgot to take photos...)

of cz, later, is dinner time. Sara's travel book is out to date, so we missed the maori restaurant, and in turns went to a mexican (probably) cafe. And I order this delicious gumbo~

  

sara and sophie with their awesome tacos!

and then we went to an irish pub to have beer and relax abit, listen to some funky irish musics....life is good!

haha, dint realize sophie is taking photos....see the pub atmosphere is good rite?

  

and night in welly~

Guest what, we saw some little cute penquins at the harbours on the way back to our backpackers, we tried to figure the way to help those cuties, but seems not working....No many people care, and even some drunk ppl are playing around. I sincerely hope they are alright now....

and no photos for them, cz too blurry, and I still not figure out hw my camera night mode working....

I guest because of the walk in the afternoon, we dint manage to continue drinking when we back to our bed. And after a good shower and sleep, is the time for us to leave...TT

But we went to the botanical garden via cable car and get to walk a bit.

 

  

After the botanical garden, we made our road trip to the south of wellington to see the beach~ we bought some lunch at new world, and cool, begin another road trip~

our rented car~

then we found this cool area, so we decided to have a picnic lunch here ^^

life is awesome!

then we have some walks around the beach....

    

LOL, they are so funny to do this shot~

haha, I tried to jump so hard....but just not that nice jump as sara....

I am really impressed by the wonderful natural-made rocks at the beach....

a death fish on the beach....

  

 

so that's the end of our trip, well looking forward for this type of trip again ^^

rainbow = promise, which means if u see a rainbow, that's a promise~

Last year during ski trip at queenstown, we made a promise that we will go for ski trip together again this year, our promise was reminded by the 3 rainbows we saw on the same day!

however, I guest promise sometimes in meant to be broken, hehe, negative right? But indeed we couldnt make it, as hueyyee back malaysia, jen and jo at south island, wann zhen at auckland and me alone in palmy. I was hoping that it is possible for us to make it, but....well

wann zhen texted me on the last minute to go for ski trip 2 weeks ago, and ya, what u expect??

so, eventually I went to ski trip with my colleagues, but is not a ski trip for me, as I hurt my back last week, so I decided to skip it. Well actually I am quite regret to go with them.

I felt so lonely sitting in the cold and wet bench, surrounded by the snow and chilly air and freezing rain....while everyone were having fun with the snow~

I rang up sze abit, but it only last for an hour, and for the remain hours, I did nothing.....

my feet was so cold, and I felt uncomfortable with the cold and loneliness, what the heck I am doin here!?

and ya, is a wrong group of people to go with, I am thinking, eventho my back is fine, I will be left out as I am not skillful as them, as most of them are europeans....As asian, we are definitely lose in physical~

oh well, is a good lesson to learn, must be more consider next ski trip, if I still have the chance...

I missed ski trip last yr at the remarkables, despite of how I hate the ski boot, it so tight and hurt my feet!! Well, I am glad that at least I have a very good ski experience last yr, and this yr ski trip made me more appreciate the last ski trip i have =)

from left to right: guena, sara, uma, ping, susannze, me and sophie =)

all of us with our big 12- seats van! and really thumbs up for guena drive us back all the way =)

  

ok, no ski for me, but one photo to prove that I am at the ski field~

 

and last, whakapapa ski field is the largest ski field in nz, but it is not beautiful as the wonderful remarkables field at Queenstown, and sooo crowded!!

I am still feeling better to skip the ski this time. =)

Finally, I have make my first move to welly after staying Palmy for a month!

Last friday, well, I wore differently as usual, with my new black girly laced dress and legging, and cool boots to office...

and well, with my bulky tiny backpack too, as I am heading to the bus depart to welly straight away after my office hours... WEEE =P

I was so happy, haha, and left around 5pm and take the public bus back to square, and well was abit struggling to find a dinner option....hmmm....

then I eventually dined in sushi house at broadway avenue, with superb speed, haha, I think the cook is shocked with my ugly eating look =O

but thumbs up for his ultimate fast cooking speed with a delicious taste and appealling dish!

 

Then, I gone into the naked bus, and discovered that the seat is not adjustable.....darn, I was so tired, but still, able to sleep....

met paya at Wakefield st 2 hours later, and had my second dinner, phew.....the rojak at that Malaysian restaurant is not really great tho....

So the main reason why I am in welly was because of the first chocolate festival in NZ, I was super excited...

so now I will talk about this chocolate fest, so I spent 20 dollars for the entry, and well, I am confident to say: it is very worthy!

There were nearly 30 stalls, and most fancy and unique chocolates were displayed, we had the opportunity to taste approximately 2 pieces in every stall, and we did, as Nicole (a penang gal who I just met) said: we paid for this! True! why not?

here are some photos, but not much as we thought we were not allowed to take photos at first, then when I realized, it was too late....

   

entry to the chocolate festival (paya was not focused! haha)

 

the chocolate fest was actually held at inter-continetal hotel function room....suit the way fancy chocolate is...Elegant!

  

this was how the chocolate displayed, and now u know what i meant, is not just simple commercial chocolate, is all about fancy!

 

  

believe me, this is all chocolate!!! wooah!

 

If you think we were only tasting chocolate at different shop's stall, then you were totally wrong, you wont know how much did you miss out...hehe

There was a chocolate fountain which allowed us to dip in our mashmallow into, and there was chocolate tasting section, the special cook taught us how to taste 5 different types of chocolate in his authentical French accent...now I have learnt, even chocolate has it special way to be tasted.....This give me a great lesson: everything has it unique way to be learnt and appreciated....wooah!

  

the chocolate fountain!!

  

and this is 5 pieces of different chocolate given during tasting section, imagine how many times the demonstrator need to eat in order to show the audience the correct way to taste the chocolates...??

besides, there are different demonstration seminar, ya, although is 5 seminar continuously, the topics were totally different!

we actually went to 1 and a half, hehe, cz we missed the begining of the last demonstration, about how to make chocolate dessert with traditional old fashion way vs. with modern speedy way~ and ya, we got the chance to taste all output from the demonstration, yeah!

 

oooh....nitrogen dioxide? or wat? shit, my chemistry gone worst.....=P well, this is from the demonstration section, and below is the outcome! hehe, homemade raspberries sorbet, with chocolate mousse and chocolate! 

you wont know how much chocolate we had in total, until we were so full that we were not able to get dinner, so what a special day, chocolate had filled into my dinner plate

so, i met janis after my "dinner", and yes, even the pricey slices at Starbuck were not able to appetite me...haha

Captain America in the cinema theater was a very bad decision, cz that movie, indeed, SUCKSSS

well, this called balance ey, life is imperfect, so that we could understand, and appreciate and move forward to our life!

The nite was great at Janis house, we had abit of chat before we slept (dont get me wrong, in different bed!) Janis is a good treater! haha, and we had dimsum (finally) after so DAYS....and I am so falling to it, but actually the food there was not that good, and I still unable to eat alot...guest we need more ppl~

So, this time, I did not manage to get my lovely macarons, but able to buy many chocolates!! (You wont guest how much I spent...=P), and also thanks to janis, bought over 50 dollars grocerries at the Asian stores, the difference between Palmy and welly was so obvious!

 

Can't wait until the next trip to welly!

well, if you claim that auckland is "little", i guest u might have used to live with this city
for me, as far as i noe, it is HUGE!!

been here for a month, yes, a month
but i am embrassed to say this: i havent really discover auckland...
today, finally!!
well is just a random plan from me and carmen...
we just decided to look around the city....

It is a big decision! because is not an easy decision....
well getting ourselves to city centre, we need to spend 9 dollars for return bus ticket
and 2 hr bus drive (include return) so dont u think it is a big decision??
- -

ok just my random thought and weird opinion.....

we woke up super early today, to make us spend more time at the city, so that the ticket is more worthy....
money money money....is so important to us atm....
so, we stopped at city, and walked about 20mins to ponsonby to try the famous and only macarons in nz at Dizengoff cafe
finally i have found you and saw u trough my lens!!!
my dear macarons!!



finally tasted it! it's flavour, it's texture.....is ultimate!!! THE BEST
not even kidding!
love the appearance, love the flavour, love the color, love the texture...
it just crushed btwn ur teeth, and it's soft flavoured cream just sneak into ur mouth, moved around ur tunk...
wow!!!is just the feeling wow! at first i am still worried, if i was bluffed by the evil macarons appearance
ya they are so evil....cz they melted my heart by just looking it! haha
nt to mention their price man! but if u understand how difficult is the baking process and how creative and effort the chef is putting
u definitely think it is worth!
haha sorry about my misbehavior, i am too excited.....==

well after the macaron experience, we went to the harbour to find the fish market
well is not the fish market we thought, is just a random place....with few seafood shops....
we were expecting too much i guest....then we just walked around the harbour....
again, i have this kind of feeling....an unique one....the city is soo busy, but if u really stressed, the harbour is just close
u can take a breathe here....auckland workers are so lucky to have one!
same as wellington, or even hong kong...i guest there are still a few eh?
but in comparison, i prefer the city structure at welly....is more colorful, and organized...
missed courtney place, missed the waterfront too....
ahhh, i missed welly alot...!
haha, ithink if auckland city is "alive", it definitely will kill me....
actually auckland is really unusual....many different skin colors...many different languages....
many different cultures, but all of them just mixed at this crowded city....
and the outcome is....very randomly amazing....
and everyone just adapt to it, well, obviously and of cz they have to

we walked alot, queen st is long, and crowded...
i am suprised as i am not having culture shock when asians walking around me
i thought i will nt like this scene, but is actually alright (or mayb i ald expected)
is hard for us to find a japanese restaurant, bcz there's too much~
haha, but actually the famous one, is at parnell st...well one day will try it...
and we dint actually discovered much...as we are not planning to shop...
but there's alot of asian fashion boutique....so if i am definitely leaving to palmy, i will come back to shop!XD
and finally we back nearly 4pm (i actually expected even later...)
so that's the day!

so highlight of the day: delicious macarons and the big little city myth!

we checked out our great accommodation at 10am,
ah~ I will miss kaikoura very much
while waiting for our returning bus to Christchurch
we just enjoying our time, sitting at the little garden
Ken is aiming for the monster burger, and the shop is opened at 12pm and our bus departed at 12.35pm
and I think the shop is quite famous as a lot of people there and we need to wait for our burger~
I am so worried that time, afraid that we might miss the bus~
We ate so fast until I can’t really taste the burger~ and Dennis get a giant burger, LOL
We went back Christchurch again, we have to spend two hours there before we took the bus back Dunedin at 5pm.
i spent this 2 hours by getting a some stuff from Japanese bakery. This time I bought the puff, and some other products. I should have bought the Japanese green tea cake, too bad.
Then, I bought some food from the Asian shop again, and ken accidentally found out a shop that sold okonomiyaki!!!
We have our early dinner at 3.30pm, haha, I tried the takko curry rice, it was good!!
The Japanese restaurant we dined in was really original, in Japanese style
They serve free white rice and miso soup if u dine in…..
And really feel good that can get rid of instant miso soup!!! ^^
We went back Dunedin in late night, and that’s the end of our journey~

Kaikoura really is a beautiful place!! As we arrived here at night last night, I woke up early in the morning again just to see how this place looks like~
Of cause, I dint get disappointed…
We went to new world and get some food, finally we started to cook for our lunch and dinner for the first time in this trip~
We also went to town and the beach!!! However the wind is too strong, we cant spend much time to stay there~

Kaikoura is a place that suitable to live, relax~
However, if you really looking for getting some activities, u might need to ensure you are rich enough!
You can go dolphin swimming, whale watching and blah blah blah~
Therefore for us, we just walking around and do some stupid things
For example: having fun in the railway? Haha =)

Dennis is the chef tonight!!!!
We have beef and the big mushroom, it was so tasty!!! Good on you, dennis~
Having beer again tonight, corona, the expensive mexico beer~

I have my Dorayaki and chocolate bun I bought from Japanese bakery yesterday for my breakfast, really feel I am in heaven~

We use our remain time in Christchurch wisely as we going to kaikoura in late afternoon
We went to cathedral church again, but this time, we climbed up to the tower~
Is not that hard but not a piece of cake as well~
Therefore is not a big deal for getting the certificate for successfully reached the top of tower~ LOL


We bought us some fudge from the fudge factory before we have lunch at the food court
Then we begin our trip to kaikoura ^^
Our bus driver is passionate, but I think he can take part in the fast and the furious movie.
He drove so fast, and moreover the road to kaikoura is hillside road along the edge nearby the sea~
I am really sick and feeling not well in the bus, luckily it just took 2 and a half hour
Another lucky thing is dennis have been to kaikoura 3 years ago,
It was dark everywhere when we arrived, and our backpacker is far away from town….
Still remember that we were starving, and ken is aiming a cray fish for dinner
And we did find a cray fish,
Three of us, paid nearly NZ25, sharing 2 dishes, a half-cray fish and a seafood dishes
The cray fish, famous in kaikoura, actually is lobster~ it was delicious but it was expensive!!!


Of cause, we were still hungry~
We went home and have instant noodles, haha^^ and I found the UNO card from the dining lounge.
Finally have chances to play UNO again since high school~
We dint have chance to see the star in kaikoura as it was raining~ and ends up playing card in room~

My brain keeps on reminding me I have to go to the Japanese bakery, take the gondola and eat my dim sum~
We went to richarton again, in the early morning
Cant believe I spent too much in Christchurch, I went anz when dennis racing his car again~
Ken have joined the game in timezone, but he was playing the time-crisis (some shooting game)
We went to the asian shop and I bought a pack of ginseng sweet and some noodles for the breakfast in following days~
Then, we went to have the famous yum cha in richarton,
The dim sum is good, maybe cant compare with Malaysian or Hong Kong, but in nz, it’s really rarely found such a good taste
And moreover, is not that expensive as I thought~

We should have taken the gondola at night time on the Saturday we arrived Christchurch
However, we just found out the gondola running in night time only available from Thursday to saturday~
Too bad, we missed the night view of christchurch~
In my opinion, Christchurch gondola is not that high as queenstown,
But is still a good attraction~




Right back to the city center, we went to the fudge factory
Too bad the fudge factory was closed, but we found something surprised!!!
The art centre is surrounded with creative idea~


And the art gallery right opposite it is beautiful~



We went to pagoda and had a great Chinese buffet steamboat and Chinese buffet meal~
The lamb, beef and other seafood is so fresh~ and the price is a great deal!!!
Our last night at Christchurch~ oh~ really gonna miss it~

Woke up early in the morning again as we are taking shuttle to visit akaroa!!!
I am really panic in the morning, thought that the akaroa shuttle might forget my booking
While in the mean time, dennis and ken is having fun with the pool
Hmmm~ I should relax~
After the shuttle came, we began our one day journey~
We stopped by a small town, named little river…
I bought 2 colorful, shining stones~


Meanwhile, I just figured out that actually our one day trip is like road trip
We passed a lot of mountains and get to see the brilliant view of bank peninsula
Our shuttle driver, Ian, is our tour guide too!! He is so friendly~



I forgot how long we took to arrive akaroa~
I just remember how hungry I am…..starving~
Akaroa is a nice place, peaceful, quiet, BEAUTIFUL!!!
Actually we should have lunch at the French farm winery, but unfortunately it was closed that day….
Nevertheless, we have our awesome lunch platter at Bully hales
We have fresh salmon, mussels and other seafood….various breads with different tasty spread~
Ian was nice, he told us a lot of information about Christchurch and akaroa




We went for a walk after our delicious meal.
We went to the light house, the museum, the little garden~
Akaroa is a small town, but is a hot tourist attraction during summer time!


We went barrybay cheese factory to get some cheese on the way back Christchurch
I have started like cheese, but definitely cant take with bleu cheese!!
It is actually like our Chinese smelly tofu, some people like it, but I really cannot take it~
We have gone straight away to Ancestral at richarton after we returned Christchurch
It was really fun and happy can sing ktv for three hours
And I have bubble tea!!! ^^
What’s a great night!!!

i am tired but still need to wake up in the early morning....
our backpacker actually is nice, but the fan heater really useless~
after having breakfast, we went to i-site to buy triple pass ticket for a combo of tram, punting and gondola
and so surprise! i met ginny!!! she come christchurch with her family and some frens
the world is small!!!!
but indeed, there are heaps of people from dunedin come christchurch for a trip~
however, ginny is the only one i met!!! and she dint tell me she was there...maybe this is fate =)
and then I finally got my 1st bus card in my life....
thanks to dennis, this big bus-fans figure out how the convenient and confused metro bus networks in christchurch works

we have our lunch at a sushi shop before we went for the tram
the tram is fun, although the loop is really short....
it seems like they would like to extend the tram loop, hope it done next time i back christchurch~

we get a stop at the art centre, we are so lucky it is a sunday as there is a market!!!
We tried the nuts and crepes (i wonder i spelled correctly)
the seller fried various nuts with caramel~ and the one so impressed me is the brazil nuts
brazil nuts is the sources of selenium, i always heard from human nutrition class
haha, i finally get a taste, is awesome!!!
after the food, we went for punting...
we should have booked for punting in the avon in stead of in the park
although the punting guy is cool~==haha
but punting is fun!!! i actually scared the boat will drown~

next stop, we went canterbury museum....
again, i felt we were lucky in this trip
we got chance to see the paua shell house, the maori performance and the special human body event...
the paua shell actually was located at bluff, a small town at the end of nz
but after the owner passed away, the museum moved the bouse and exhibit for mayb a short time....
i am not so sure, dint pay attention to the musuem guide....
but the house is impressing tho~

for the human body event, actually is testing our various body part response and reaction...
the museum set a lots of funny stuff (forgive me, i dunno how to describe)....
we went home for a rest and decided to walk pass the hagley park until we reach ricarton
okay, i shall explain....
our backpacker is beside hagley park, and richarton is at another side of hagley park
we were brave enough to walk pass the large hagley park in the evening night in winter~
and finally, we failed....
we dint lost, we just return back to the original place...
we just walk past the hagley park half way, and in between, we walked back to the direction where we came from~
nevermind, we continue walking as we gave up using hagley park as a "shortcut"
again, we end ups get into another park for a shortcut, and i believe actually that is part of hagley park as well....==
we got into a dead end....nevermind, keep walking....

finally, after maybe nearly 2 hours or 1 hours (i dunno)
we reached richarton~
we found the ktv restaurant, we found the yum cha place
but we dint go either~ maybe we are too tired
we got our dinner in a korean restaurant
the dishes is really felt like original korean style dishes and until i felt so lost
i dunno if i really in new zealand....cz my 1st thought, this asian thing...asian people is too much in here....
mayb just the night i am too moody and tired~

haha, our trip begin~
I slept quite late the previous night although i need to wake up at 6am this morning
luckily i have already packed up all my stuff
we went to mcdonald have a heavy breakfast before we went to "fetch" ken
our intercity bus depart at 7.30am and our bus driver is so frenly~^^

it was nearly 6 hours drive, luckily the bus is comfortable~
we get our 1st stop at oamaru, is a small town...
juz so sad i missed the hot chocolate in timaru, the second and official stop.
we got 30 mins but we just walking around and took photo....
and the coffee shop was just in front where the bus stop~ too bad
a woman in our bus missed the bus and caught a cab to catch up us
and she actually did reach our third stop, Ashburton
however, she failed....i wonder how much she paid for the cab~
around half past one in the afternoon, we finally arrived christchurch, the garden city!
dennis is always be pro one in direction....i think he can replace the gps system or map....haha^^
we walked to our backpacker, dorset house

after we settled down, we went to town to have lunch....of cz we are starving~
we were impressed (mayb just me and dennis as ken come before)by this "asian city"
i think auckland could be more asian~
we have our lunch at a hong kong restaurant
but according to dennis, the dishes is not hk cz is too sucks, LOL
dennis had top-up his timezone card. he was so excited to find the 湾案Dx game in here
buy the 'kids' here is too childish, maybe i shall say is not gentle man enough....
apparently, they are just 'kids'....long stories
but dennis was enjoying his game, obviously~

we walked around the street in the centre city, is huge compared with dunedin!!!
cathedral square is beautiful, the church itself is so classic and amusing~
and i like the tram so much!!!
we went to the i-site (visitor centre), although dint figure out what we going to do then
finally, we decided to get dinner....==
we cant find the okonayaki (japanese pizza)that ken wanted,
and we just gone to the chinese restaurant

christchurch transport actually is convenient, we took the free shuttle to pak n save
at first, we still intend to buy food for our meals in next few days
but ends up, we only bought 2 tuna cans for breakfast
and dennis, he bought 6-pack steinlager beer....
we had our first night in christchurch with beer and poker cards
i forgot what time i slept, but for sure, is very late~

马六甲之旅还真的累人那！！！
今早翻开报纸还看到有千人到了那里没房间住。。。真是好笑。。。
还有人以为我也是其中之一，这更无语。。。==
去马六甲已不是第一次了，或许因为如此，红屋或a famosa以没任何吸引力！！！
我们在那里竟然还是shopping…..==
拿去哪儿干嘛？而且有趣的是房间的冷气机出了问题。。。我还得在客厅睡。。。==
生平第一次在客厅睡觉。。。。好凄凉~

我们可能太无聊了，还带来羽球拍在房外的空地打起球来。。。我一两年没碰那球拍了，所以都一直被亏！！
但亏我的人也没好很多， 因为他接到的球不到五指。。。他就是我小弟。。。
看来是时候好好练球了。。。。

在马六甲还遇到明星了！！！云美鑫，基本上应该没什么人认识他把， 但像我这种家里没astro 的人就应该会懂， 原来她比我还矮。。。
基本上他并没很出众，因为他站在我面前,迎面而来，但我没看到他，反而看到后面另外一个艺人（忘了他叫什么名）， 还是我妈告诉我的。。。
不懂。。。在马来西亚看到本地艺人，我完全没感觉。。。但若站在我面前的是别国的艺人我应该会打招呼把。。。
或许外国的月亮也比较圆把。。。原来我也有这种心态….hahaha

这次去那里也看了海盗3，我没看海盗2，所以开头都很blur, anyway….不错啦。。。。
越来越喜欢Jonny Dept 了。。。反而还是喜欢orlando bloom 在lord of the ring 精灵的造型。。。
原来海神并没什么作用。。。原来心掏出来还可以活下去。。。原来心真的可以给爱人的哦！！！原来spiderman 3 比较好看。。。。

去马六甲那天，欣清也在家办他21岁生日party, 我没办法赴约不过还真得很羡慕他，因为我没这机会。。。。T_T…..现在还有1分钟就到12点了，最后祝欣清还有micky oppa生日快乐！！！