This is going to be quite a long post so for the TL:DR version see the bottom.
The flight over here was one hell of a drag. I left Heathrow about 12.00 on Monday 15th and landed at Auckland about 00.00 on the 17th local time. Auckland is 11 hours ahead so that works out to roughly 1pm on the 16th in the UK. Add on to that the fact I got up 8 hours before my flight and it makes for a killer journey.
At Heathrow there were the standard emotional family goodbyes that you'd expect when a loved one is going to the other side of the world for a prolonged period of time. That was probably the hardest bit of the experience so far. Annoyingly at check-in the woman at the desk said that she didn't need to weigh my hand luggage as "it looked like it'd be fine." Cheers love! Now I discover that there are staff at Heathrow airport who can weigh bags with the power of sight, when is this new method going to be rolled out to other airports? Or is it only going to be available on certain flights? Maybe as an optional extra? "Save the hassle of taking your bag off your shoulder with our new baggage service, we'll tell you if it's OK without you having to move a muscle - for a nominal fee." If I'd known this was going to be included I wouldn't have bothered taking a load of stuff out of my bag. I can't be too harsh on the woman though. When I checked in there was only one seat that she could get me on the flight which turned out to be stuck in a middle seat in the midst of a group booking. I don't know if she saw that I was a solo traveler or maybe it was the look of parental concern on my mum's face, but she told me to go and talk to her supervisor to see if he could sort me out a window or aisle seat. Thankfully he was able to do just that. I got an aisle seat right at the back of the plane - I could put my seat all the way back without ever having to worry about smashing into someone's knees...win!
At Heathrow there were the standard emotional family goodbyes that you'd expect when a loved one is going to the other side of the world for a prolonged period of time. That was probably the hardest bit of the experience so far. Annoyingly at check-in the woman at the desk said that she didn't need to weigh my hand luggage as "it looked like it'd be fine." Cheers love! Now I discover that there are staff at Heathrow airport who can weigh bags with the power of sight, when is this new method going to be rolled out to other airports? Or is it only going to be available on certain flights? Maybe as an optional extra? "Save the hassle of taking your bag off your shoulder with our new baggage service, we'll tell you if it's OK without you having to move a muscle - for a nominal fee." If I'd known this was going to be included I wouldn't have bothered taking a load of stuff out of my bag. I can't be too harsh on the woman though. When I checked in there was only one seat that she could get me on the flight which turned out to be stuck in a middle seat in the midst of a group booking. I don't know if she saw that I was a solo traveler or maybe it was the look of parental concern on my mum's face, but she told me to go and talk to her supervisor to see if he could sort me out a window or aisle seat. Thankfully he was able to do just that. I got an aisle seat right at the back of the plane - I could put my seat all the way back without ever having to worry about smashing into someone's knees...win!
The flights themselves were fine in all fairness. All the food & drink was complimentary and was actually quite nice. The staff were friendly and helpful, and the entertainment on the plane was very good for such a long journey. The only bad part was the amount of turbulence that we experienced over the Bay of Bengal. What I did find interesting on the first flight was that the stewardesses kept one of the TV screens in their reserved seating set to the compass display - which included the direction of Mecca. I soon found out the reason for this. Around one of the rear exits was a curtain and neatly folded by the door was a prayer mat. Malaysia Airlines ensured that there was a quite area of the plane where Muslim passengers would be able to pray during the 12 hours flight. I was impressed by this consideration as it displayed the forethought of the airline when ensuring they covered the needs of all passengers. The second flight was interesting just for the sheer number of under-25s travelling to Auckland for work, study or general travel.
After arriving in Auckland I had to (obviously) make my way through passport control with my nice shiny arrivals form which proudly stated I was carrying medication and my walking boots (a.k.a. a biosecurity risk). I was expecting to be in for a long night but the border security guy simply asked what the medication was for (anti-malarials if you're asking) and sent me on my way to baggage claim.
Once I had my holdall in tow I made my way for customs where, once again, I had to show my now slightly defaced (courtesy of the border security guy) arrivals form. This time I was directed to go and join a queue of people waiting to have their bags checked. As I joined the queue one of the staff told me to cut round to an empty queue, which saved me heaps of time! After showing the sole of one of my boots to the customs guy I was on my way out of the airport.
At this point I knew the name of where I was staying for the night but I had no idea how to actually get there. Being the tired naive traveler that I was I just waved down a taxi. When I told the driver where I wanted to go he turned round and said "mate there's a free shuttle bus for that hotel just over there." Well, that was a refreshing change! Here was a cabbie who could have made a quick buck out of a tired traveler and instead he actually helped me on my way.
I'll admit I didn't get a fantastic night's sleep due to sleeping on the plane and having absolutely no idea what time it was (crossing multiple time zones, seeing two sunrises/sunsets and being fed at odd times tends to screw with your body clock). After waking up between 4.30 and 5 I decided to stay up. I was treated to a nice sunrise because of this...
Once I had been picked up from the airport hotel by shuttle bus I began making my way into Auckland proper. I'll be frank and say that my first impression of the city wasn't great. I was tired, a little lost, a bit homesick and here I was in a city which wasn't visually that inspiring. I hoped deep down that when I eventually reached my accommodation that things would be different.
And they were...
I was met at my accommodation by the owners Stephen & Paul who greeted me warmly and took my bag (all 26.6kg of it) up to my room. They showed me around the house, sorted out the payment and told me the names of a couple of other medical students staying down the road at their other property. Since moving in they have continued to be very helpful with any queries that I have had. The other guests I have met and chatted to have been equally as friendly and are from a wide range of backgrounds and countries.
The weirdest moment came whilst talking to an Indian gentleman who had lived as a chartered surveyor in New York State for the past 28 years before deciding to move over to Auckland. During our conversation he asked where I was from, my default reply was, as always, "Just on the English side of the Southern Welsh border" and this normally either satisfies people or results in deeper questioning as they put their geography to the test. This time it was different, Issac (the gentleman's name) immediately replied "Oh, you mean Hereford?"and as we talked it transpired that about 30 years ago he went to boarding school in Lucton, only a few miles outside of Hereford. Damn it's a small world!!
So what have I done since arriving in Auckland?
Well, quite a bit. On the Wednesday I had a bit of a recce along Ponsonby road (awesome) and found the nearest supermarket. In the afternoon I decided to take a long walk to find the hospital which took me through a variety of areas, not all of them visually stimulating shall we say. The sheer scale of the hospital blew me away after the years of studying at a DGH in Cornwall. Following this little mission I resolved to have an early night and did just that....I was asleep by 6.30pm.
After speaking to my parents for the best part of an hour on the Thursday morning I made my way up to Ponsonby Rd. in search of a HOP card (think Oyster card) to make paying for the bus to and from placement/the city easier. After finding a corner shop that sold them I made my way by bus to Auckland Zoo. Bearing in mind it's the middle of winter here in Auckland the zoo was still busy. It made for a few enjoyable hours of wandering and photography, and I even saw a kiwi.
On Friday I decided to have a wander down in Auckland city itself. I began my explorations on the waterfront of the Wynard quarter which is in the middle of a large regeneration project which has a 20 year plan ahead of it. Unlike the UK they have already begun making progress through this plan and I think it'll be pretty incredible when it's finished. At this point I realised that I couldn't find my passport in my bag so in a state of mild panic I made the trip back home and found it sat on my bed... I spent most of my time afterwards on Friday just wandering around downtown Auckland, learning the layout and getting a feel for the city. Downtown Auckland is pretty impressive for someone who has spent most of their life living in small cities in the middle of the English countryside. Whilst it had the look (and the crowds) of a big city it didn't have the impersonal feel of such a place. There wasn't any shoulder barging or the general rudeness I've experienced in other cities, the streets were clean and the most noticeable thing - minimal traffic.
Over the weekend I decided to try to experience some of the events going on for Matariki (Maori new year). To that end I found myself walking about 3.5 miles out of downtown Auckland to one of the domains where a kite festival was being held along with a tour of the Maori structures at the site. I'll write a post in the near future about what I have learnt about the Maori culture. The weather was ideal for the festival, just enough wind to allow the kites to soar but not strong enough to whip the string out of your hands. In the afternoon and during the day on Sunday I had a look around Silo Park which is found in the Wynard quarter. Some of these old industrial concrete silos have been painted by local artists and it is one of the locations where it is easy to see how the regeneration of the area will look as it is completed. The reason I went here was that they were holding a one-off winter market for Matariki and it was a great opportunity to see random bits & pieces.
Well I think that wraps up what happened in my first week in Auckland. I know this post is a bit delayed in getting out, I've just been a bit busy. In the next couple of days I'll try and bring it all up to date with posts that I hope will be a lot shorter!
Dan
TL:DR - Long flights, good airline, trouble sleeping for few days, Auckland is awesome, posting soon about elective placements (and stop being lazy and read the whole thing)
(All pictures copyright Daniel Bunce 2013)
Over the weekend I decided to try to experience some of the events going on for Matariki (Maori new year). To that end I found myself walking about 3.5 miles out of downtown Auckland to one of the domains where a kite festival was being held along with a tour of the Maori structures at the site. I'll write a post in the near future about what I have learnt about the Maori culture. The weather was ideal for the festival, just enough wind to allow the kites to soar but not strong enough to whip the string out of your hands. In the afternoon and during the day on Sunday I had a look around Silo Park which is found in the Wynard quarter. Some of these old industrial concrete silos have been painted by local artists and it is one of the locations where it is easy to see how the regeneration of the area will look as it is completed. The reason I went here was that they were holding a one-off winter market for Matariki and it was a great opportunity to see random bits & pieces.
Well I think that wraps up what happened in my first week in Auckland. I know this post is a bit delayed in getting out, I've just been a bit busy. In the next couple of days I'll try and bring it all up to date with posts that I hope will be a lot shorter!
Dan
TL:DR - Long flights, good airline, trouble sleeping for few days, Auckland is awesome, posting soon about elective placements (and stop being lazy and read the whole thing)
(All pictures copyright Daniel Bunce 2013)
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