The Sky Tower.

8th October 2006.

It has been a while since my last update, the reason being that I have done very, very little. I am not sure that Auckland is as exciting a place to be as I first anticipated. It os probably my own fault though. I have been feeling a little bit fed up of moving constantly and I think that, despite my initial opinion of Auckland, I will stay here for a while and take a break from mooching. It isn't that AUckland is a bad place at all. It is quite cheap and there are plenty of bars to drink in on a night time. It is just that I have been stuck (by my own choosing) in the city centre and it is a bit underwhelming. I think that I have been spoilt by the stunning city of Sydney. Auckland seems a lot like England but without the hustle and bustle of somewhere like London. I am quite tempted to jump ship on Auckland and go to Wellington and hope that I feel more at home there. I am saving the South Island for later in my trip. I was drinking with a bloke called Mark last night and he told me that Napier is loads better than Auckland, but I think that was because he is a Napier lad, so it was more drunken loyalty! In the same way I would always say that anywhere in Yorkshire is better than anywhere in Lancashire. But then again, Lancashire is the arse of the country, so that isn't too controversial.

I have been trying to find a place to live while I am here and I am cought in a dilemma. Do I rent an apartment by myself or look to sharing somewhere? Now, When I have shared places in the past they have always turned out quite well. Take when I moved to Glasgow. I moved in with Jerry and Coops and they were fab! They looked after me and were great fun. Bt I am older and less tolerant in some ways now. Those that know me will appreciate that I REALLY like my own space. So it is a dilemma. If I was to move in with others then they might good for going out on the pop, but they might be a pain in the rear too. As I am travelling relatively lightly then moving in with others might be wise, as between us we should be able to furnish a house in some degree of comfort. But what if they get on my nerves? Also the places that are asking for flatmates might not be that nice. I would have to get off my ass and go to view these places. The estate agent I am going to see tomorrow about renting what seem to be quite flashy apartments has pictures on a website, so I have an idea what to expect. Plus, as they are in blocks and relatively new, the facilities look good. Swimming pools and gyms etc. I suppose if I moved into a flat on my own I would get chatting to the neighbours so the drinking buddy aspect can still be covered. And if I can believe what I read on the website, the price would be higher than flatsharing, but not by much. Hmmm....Your thoughts below please!

When I got to Auckland I knew that my intention was to stay a while, so I bought a mobile phone. I now have three. My normal one from England that I can't get unlocked. One from Australia on Vodafone...that I can't get unlocked. Now I have another on Vodafone NZ. Even the Vodafone Australia one can't be unlocked or used here! I thought, "Ram it.....if they are ripping me off in NZ Vodafone, I will use a different supplier!" Unfortunately...There are only two providers in NZ and the other one wasn't very good! Damn! How can phone companies justify locking phones? If you buy a phone and then choose to use a different provider, you have still paid for the phone! So it is still yours! It is like buying a car from a garage and then being told that you can only use Shell petrol! The car won't run on any other fuel! How stupid is that? So I am angry with mobile phones!

I expected to meet lots of different people while travelling, and looked forward to meeting all races, cultures and creeds. I have changed my mind. I have read and heard previously, before I travelled, that Japanese culture is incredibly polite. Not the ones that are in Auckland! And it is the girls that are worst! In a bar, restaurant, cafe, strip club, abatoir or wherever, they just barge into you and then look as thought it is your fault. Even if you never moved a muscle from the wall that you were leaning on! They just ram you out of the way! Little tiny Japanese girls in full shoulder barging incidents. Maybe it is because Tokyo is so highly populated and they have to, but not near me Charlie! And it was a Japanese girl in Sydney that scared away the cockatiel! Maybe the Kamikaze pilots weren't suicidal afterall. Perhaps they just wanted to land and nothing or no one was going to stop them!

I forgot to mention the drama on the flight from Sydney to Auckland. As has been quite regular, the check in girl at Sydney gave me the emergency exit seat to accomodate my legs. There is not much extra room, but any is better than none. I was in the aisle seat and a small woman, who looked a bit like Anne Robinson, was in the window seat. A fellah called Steve was in the middle. The moment he could, the bloke in front of me tried to recline his chair, in turn crushing my knees. I leaned forward and asked him not to. M previous story like this was on a flight from Toronto when the small Chinese guy had moved to the seat in front of me and then started shouting at me untilI stood up. I was onlt showing him that I was tall and that was why it caused trouble for me but the Chinese guy ran away! Not so this time with the ignorant Kiwi. I explain about how tall I was and that his chair was crushing my knees. His response? " I haven't reclined it completely so I have compromised and so should you." Now as far as I am concerned, a compromise is about considering each others situation, not just doing half of what you want. I pushed his chair up straight, reached around the side and grabbed him by the neck. Leaning forward and squeezing his throat, I told him "If you want to lay down, then I can organise a nice seat for you on the wing". The man coughed and said nothing more all th flight.

Well maybe that's not entirely true. Maybe what really happened is that the Ignorant Kiwi carried on being ignorant and the small Anne Robinson lady offered to change seats with me and gave ignorant Kiwi a mouthful as we swapped. Maybe ignorant Kiwi really did have a sore back as he claimed.......Maybe I should have grabbed him by the throat! Then again, not the best first impression as you enter a country! Being lead away in handcuffs.

So, I am here in Auckland and giving it the benefit of the doubt. feel free to get in touch and keep me updated on what is happening at home. I apologise for this one being a bit boring but I will try and inject more fun into it when I am sorted and I have had a chat people that I need to.

Bowel Check = Diabolo