Lake Mapourika and Franz Josef Glacier

Yesterday dawned cloudy and a bit rainy, so we were immediately confronted with the question of whether we should hike the glacier or kayak on the lake. Hiking the glacier is fun and provides lots of great views in any weather, so we tried to join the morning tour but discovered that they were fully booked. The only thing available was kayaking on Lake Mapourika, which is usually perfectly reflective (see photos from an optimal day):





However, on a day like yesterday, it was pretty choppy and rough. Luckily our guide, Wayne, was amazing and gave us a splash-guard for the kayak, hand guards, and warm hats! It rained a bit and the lake itself wasn’t reflective, but we went up into a lagoon and it became super calm. The view was amazing!! IT WAS SO FUN. The mountains in the background were totally stunning and the entire experience was great!













We got back to the hostel around 2 and napped for a couple hours until our dinner of soup and bread. I do love the free soup we get here, it’s super tasty and tomorrow we’re going to make grilled cheese sandwiches to go with it. We also bought some fixings for s’mores and made them in the hostel’s fireplace, followed by watching the movie Ever After. We have a VCR in our room, and it’s only us 4 even though the room fits 6, and we have a kitchen, our own shower, and a bathroom.

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Today we hiked the glacier!! They gave us rainproof pants, a jacket, clampons, and boots, and we spent about 5 hours out on the glacier and surrounding area. The Franz Josef glacier is one of only 3 in the world that’s surrounded by a temperate rainforest – that’s right, a RAINFOREST. It was unbelievable. It looked like the mountains of Hawaii or Taiwan, except that we were standing on a block of ice millions of years in the making. Truly incredible! I was basically open-mouthed in shock and awe the whole time, I just can’t get over the fact that we hiked a glacier in the rainforest while in New Zealand!











Our guide, Cliff, was a character and very nice and informative.







The hike itself wasn’t too strenuous, and we never got too cold. I wish they had given us gloves, but apparently they “aren’t necessary” for a half-day hike. We definitely could’ve used them though, since many of the ice-cut stairs were so steep that we had to hold on to ropes to keep from sliding off!

Drinking water from a glacial pool:



There’s also the possibility of seeing an All Blacks game – New Zealand’s rugby team – when we’re on the North Island!!! We’re going to have to adjust our plans a bit but it would be totally worth it and super amazing to see a rugby game live. And the All Blacks are one of the best teams in the world! They still have $90 tickets available so we’re going to try to buy those once we figure out if a bus can take us there in time. AHHH!! Today was just an awesomely epic day, and things seem to have worked out really well so far. This island is amazing. I could seriously live here! And there's still so much more to come!

Christchurch and TranzAlpine

I LOVE NEW ZEALAND. As soon as I got off the plane, I knew I was going to like it here. The customs and passport people were super chatty and friendly, and I hopped on a $7 shuttle straight to my hostel. It’s located in Cathedral Square, which is right in the center of town and I met up with KL and Erikka when I arrived. We immediately headed out to the Willowbank Wildlife Reserve in town and saw lots of baby ducks – we even picked them up!! And we saw eels in the water, and petted wallabies. SO CUTE. IT WAS AMAZING. The wallabies were super tame, and the one I’m petting had a baby in its pouch!











We headed to the botanical gardens afterwards and walked around for a bit. The trees were blossoming even though it’s winter here and it was SUPER chilly! Especially after Singapore and Hawaii! I’m very jetlagged but I’m excited for the train ride tomorrow. It passes through the glaciers and we’ll end up in a location where we can hike the glacier and rent kayaks around a pristine lake. YAY!

So far, I’ve been really surprised by New Zealand. It’s so British! The kids all have matching school uniforms and blazers, and everyone is very proper. It’s a very wholesome feeling, and I like it!

We took the TranzAlpine train today from Christchurch to Greymouth. It was a 4 hour ride and absolutely stunning! It was advertised as one of the most beautiful train rides the world, and I believe it. The rivers were beautiful, the mountains were covered in snow, and the train captain narrated as we passed towns so that we knew a little bit about the history of the train and New Zealand. It was really nice! We switched to a bus and ended up in Franz Josef, a small town that’s the base of a couple really awesome activities. It basically exists so that people can climb the glacier and kayak on a perfectly reflective lake, which we planned on doing until we woke up this morning and saw that it was RAINING, and found out that the glacier hike was totally booked! We hadn’t scheduled anything because we knew the weather would be a bit funky, but I guess it’s a busy day so we’re out of luck for our planned stuff. Now we’re probably going to hang out at the lake for a bit and then try 4-wheeling later in the afternoon, which is supposed to be really fun in the rain. We’re not sure though – looks like we’ll have to do a bit of adjusting of our plans.








(Caitlin, Erikka, and KL)

It’s completely gorgeous here and the people are ridiculously friendly and nice. I love it! I wish I had the time to spend a semester here doing that Geology program through Frontiers Abroad, I can see myself living here really easily. Who knows, maybe I will someday!

Goodbye Singapore, Hello New Zealand!

My last few days in Singapore were really great – I can’t believe I’ve already left! Saturday I hung around the hostel in the morning, which was very relaxing and comfortable. I love my hostel!! If you’re ever in Singapore and want a friendly place to meet people and have a tasty breakfast, the Welcome Inn Backpackers Hostel is great! Andrinna, the owner, is probably in her early/mid 30s and super super friendly. She makes a great atmosphere so there are always people chatting and meeting and hanging out in the lounge, walking movies or drinking tea. I went to the community swimming pool right by the hostel with Charlotte and Janice, two girls in my dorm (Charlotte is the one in the photo). It only cost $1.30! Crazy! It was really nice, the three of us just chatting and swimming around.

Saturday night I went on the Night Safari, which was AMAZING. I saw a slow loris!! SO CUTE! And lots of other very cool, very active nocturnal animals were out and about as well. At first I felt like it must be fake because the animals were all standing very prominently in their enclosures, facing the tram, but I could see them breathing and moving and eating. The tram narrators were also excellent; as a tour guide, I can appreciate how much character they gave their presentations and really enjoyed it! I also saw the “Creatures of the Night” show, and ended up sitting next to an Australian guy so we chatted a bit. The show itself was quite good, and the MC was a super hilarious Hindi woman who spoke about 6 languages fluently at the beginning of the show. Verrrry impressive!

After the Night Safari, I met up with Wen Bin at Clarke Quay. There are about 100 clubs at Clarke Quay and it was very busy with lots of drunk tourists and locals. The view from across the Singapore River was gorgeous!

We ended up just walking around and talking until about 4 AM – yet another late night.

I seem incapable of sleeping in, so I woke up at 9 on Sunday morning and walked around a bit before meeting James in Chinatown for dim sum. It was SO TASTY. I love dim sum =) and James knows all the best places to eat! We also got this crazy shaved-ice concoction, with little green jelly worms on top and red bean underneath. I think I prefer normal shaved ice, but it was interesting and another Singaporean treat to add to my list. We also had some peanut dumplings which were delicious! Mom, they remind me of the ones at Loon Wah, except in soup instead of rolled in peanut dust. Still delicious!

We headed to the New Asia bar afterwards. It’s located at the top of the Swissotel, the tallest hotel in Singapore, and we had a great view of the city lit at night. I tried Tiger Beer (very appropriate) – very tasty lager! And I also had a bright blue drink and a lichee martini. We were there for about 3 hours and had pizza and fries, so it was a very nice evening and a great way to spend my last night in Singapore. James, Nim, and Wen Bin joined me and we talked until pretty late.

Monday was uneventful. I packed my stuff, hung out at the hostel for a bit, and then Wen Bin came to accompany me to the airport and see me off. We had Singapore coffee (with condensed milk instead of cream/sugar), toast with kaya, and toast with sugar and butter. So good! We walked around the airport until it was time for me to go through security. I arrived at my gate about 2 minutes before the plane started boarding, so I think my timing was pretty excellent! When I went through security, they asked for the stub of my immigration ticket. Luckily I kept it, since they never said I would need it to leave and it only had my name on it so it didn’t seem important. When I asked the security woman, she said something about having to stay an extra day if you don’t have that slip. But I couldn’t really understand her English so I’m not sure what exactly she was saying.

The flight to Australia was very comfortable. I was sitting on the aisle and there was no one in the middle seat so I could stretch out, and we had our own little TVs so I watched “The Hangover” and “Ghost of Girlfriends Past.” Both were good! And I slept for a couple hours… which is good, since it’s currently 3 AM in Singapore and I’m not going to sleep for another 12 hours or so. I’m definitely going to start this school year fresh and ready to learn. Kinda. But it’s worth it!!

Friends and Fun

I LOVE FRIENDS! Today I hung out with all my Singapore friends from IDEA and had a really really wonderful time.

I first visited Wen Bin at NUS (National University of Singapore). Wen Bin called me while I was waiting for the MRT, and the guy standing next to me thought I was talk to him since he didn't see the phone. So funny! As soon as I got off the MRT, it started pouring rain and I was worried that it wouldn't be fun to tour around campus, but it cleared up. Nim met us at NUS and the three of us had lunch and walked around for a bit. I wanted to get an NUS sticker so we went to the gift shop, but they didn't have any! I met a pretty cute guy and got a kiss out of the trip though (see photo).

We walked around a bit more and I took a photo in front of the "I Was Here" sculpture. So bizarre, but I figured that I could be the exclamation point. I WAS HERE!

Photo of some of the dorms at NUS - apparently they look nice on the outside, but are really small inside.

Nim's little-bitty car!

Wen Bin had to go to class, so Nim and I went off to the Suntec mall and went on the Singapore flier, a giant ferris wheel that gives you a wonderful view of the city. Here are some photos from the journey! And it was only $10, rather than $30, because we're students!



An outdoor theater overlooking the Singapore river. They had some live music when it got dark and it was really nice!

We saw the other merlion statue. Awwww =) I think the merlion is adorable. I want a real one that I can train to fetch things and do tricks. Apparently Singaporeans say you are a merlion when you throw up, because of the fountain. Teehee!

I met up with the rest of the IDEA people to have dinner and walk around the mall.

I tried Durian, the smelliest fruit ever, and it wasn't half bad! WATCH THE VIDEO!! It wasn't good either, but I really expected to die. I think the fresh fruit is ok, although the texture is pretty gross. We got the least expensive durian, so apparently the more pricey stuff has a better texture.

And of course, the Singapore night skyline is gorgeous:

It was super fun hanging out with everyone - I think this trip is mostly about the people, not the things I see. Tomorrow I'm going to the botanical garden and the night safari with Joanna, and am meeting up with IDEA people again afterwards. I'm having a fantastic time!! I love the food, the company, and everything in between!

Sentosa

I'm currently running on about 8 hours of sleep since I woke up on Monday... I think that spreads out to about 2 hours a night. And I'm partly to blame, since last night I had a choice - go to one of the clubs with James, Michelle, and Wen Bin, or sleep. Obviously I chose to go out for a night on the town, meaning that I got back to the hostel around 4 in the morning and my body woke me up around 7:30 AM and wouldn't let me fall back asleep!! So if this entry makes even less sense than usual, it's due to massive sleep deprivation.

Anyways, the club was really nice. There were 3 rooms with different types of music: R&B/Hiphop, 80s rock, and then a live salsa band!! The salsa band was great and I wished that I had some salsa-dancing friends with me, but unfortunately I was out of luck. We spent most of the night in the hiphop music room and had a lot of fun just dancing and hanging out.

Today James and I went to Sentosa, an island off the southern part of the city. We met at this wonderful food court full of lots of local specialties - I had beef noodle soup (see photo) and it was DELICIOUS. The broth was amazing! I also got a green onion pancake. The food here is ridiculously good and crazy cheap! Luckily I'm only here for a week or I would definitely be in danger of getting fat. The tram to Sentosa island left from the same mall that had the food court, so we were able to just hop on after eating. The tram ride wasn't too exciting, although we did get to see the incredibly organized shipping yards and the Universal Studios rides that are still under construction. I can't believe there's going to be a theme park right off the island!! It's opening in 2010 so I just missed being able to go, but there's still so much else to see.


I walked around in this super whimsical fountain on the island. It's such a crazy design and it stretches for probably a hundred feet or so, with lots of places to crawl around and pop your head out (see photo). Behind me is the MERLION!!! A lion - mermaid!! Haha apparently the first European explorer to get to Singapore claimed that he saw one. I think it's cute =)

We also stopped by Siloso Beach, which is huge and beautiful and had volleyball courts. It was WAY too hot to play in the sun, or even walk in the sun, but I can imagine having a lot of fun at the beach. James said that every year there's a huge foam party at the beach and anyone can go!! Haha I think that's amazing. I'm not sure he knows exactly what a foam party is though, so I think he may have meant something else.

I'm going to try to catch some more Zzzzzzzs now because I am super tired. I'll probably sample some food around Little India tonight and stay close to the hostel, but who knows what the future will bring! James lent me his spare phone, so I'm probably going to hang out with Wen Bin and check our the NUS campus tomorrow. I still have tons of stuff to see!

SINGAPOREEEEE!!!!

I made it to Singapore!!! And all my luggage made it too, and my laptop still works, and life is good. The 7 hour layover in Thailand wasn't as bad as I expected - I got some dried fruit, got WiFi, and napped on an airport bench between 3:30 and 5:30 AM. An older Asian airline stewardess was sitting near me for most of my nap time, and kept giving me sympathetic looks every time I adjusted my awkward fetal position. I was very surprised by how busy the airport was even in the wee hours - there were a LOT of people out and about, and most of the food stands were open. I had a danish with a HOT DOG in the middle (see photo)!!! AHHHHHH!!! Haha I love traveling =)

The flight went by pretty quickly, which was lucky because I got a little queasy towards the end. I think it was probably 5 consecutive airline meals that finally got to me; they were tasty, but definitely a bit heavy. When I arrived, my luggage took forever to appear but appear it did, and James was waiting outside the gate to greet me. It was perfect! The back of my customs card said that death will be dealt to all drug traffickers - so all you drug traffickers reading this blog, beware! Luckily they didn't find my secret stash of Bubblemint gum, or my hands would've been cut off.

James took me to check in at my hostel, and then we headed straight for Orchard Park. It's basically a 1+ mile street chock full of international and local shops (think huge brand names and local styles all mixed together with fast food and really nice restaurants - bizarre indeed!). We tried lots of new foods: laksa (spicy seafood soup), mile (chocolate drink), kaya (delicious marmalade-like spread), Singapore coffee (condensed milk rather than sugar/cream), and a dish of sliced veggies with a spicy peanut sauce on top. SO TASTY. We couldn't find any durian, but it's just as well since they aren't allowed on the subway:



We also went to the top of the Swissotel, one of the tallest buildings in Singapore, which gives a 360 view of the city from a bar at the top. We're going to go back and actually get drinks some night, since the view is great when you can see all the lights. Here's a daytime shot:


I'm severely jetlagged but have decided to not think about it and push through. The hostel is really nice - wifi, breakfast, towel, and a locker all included in the very reasonable price! And a nice location. There's dimsum nearby and the metro is pretty close. James also says he has an extra phone that I can use while here... so we'll see if that works out, because that would be AMAZING. 4 of the kids from IDEA are around Singapore now, so we're going to get Chili Crab on Friday and Tong Win said he could give me a tour of the National University of Singapore (NUS) campus sometime.

More photos from around Little India, where my hostel is located:


I met one of the girls in my room and she said she's going to a club tonight, so I may join if I can rally and wake up a bit. Tomorrow James and I are going to Sentosa, a small island/theme-park just south of Singapore. Should be fun! There's a cable car that gives a great view, or a really cheap bus, so we may take the cable car in one direction and then just bus the other way. Oof. Must rest!

In Transit

BEFORE LEAVING:

Here are some final photos from my time in Oahu:

The Waikiki beach that Kanoa and I snorkeled at:

My room at Kanoa’s!

Overlooking Waikiki at night:

AT HONOLULU AIRPORT:

So today is the big day. I wake up early for my 9:45 AM flight, Kanoa drives me to the airport, and I wait in line for about an hour to check in, only to discover that my plane takeoff has been changed to 1:20 PM!! Oh no!! That’ll teach me not to check the departure times before I go to the airport… silly Liz. I also found out that you can only take one carry-on, so my brilliant plan to bring all my really important luggage in a small duffel didn’t follow through either. Luckily they’re going to put all my luggage through to Singapore, so I won’t have to worry about checking it in again in Taiwan or Bangkok. I guess I’m going to be reading a lot of books since I have so much downtime in the airport and didn’t bring my DVDs. Again… silly Liz! Maybe I’ll just catch up on lots of lost sleep.

AT TAIPEI AIRPORT:

Stupid typhoons!! The plan was delayed for about 3.5 hours because of a typhoon in Japan, prompting me spend the entire flight worrying that I was going to miss my connection in Taipei and have some terrible travel story about shuffling airlines and desperately running through abandoned terminals to get to my plane on time. *deep breath* Luckily the delay ended up cutting into my 5+ hour layover, so I only have to hang out for 1.5 hours in Taipei before I get on the plane to Bangkok.

One of my three tasty meals on China Airlines (they definitely feed us well!):

Bidet at Japan’s airport! I’ve used the squat toilet before, but I figured I'd go a bit crazy and try the new-fangled technology:

Here’s my transit ticket from when we were delayed:

According to my computer, it’s 2:30 Tuesday morning in Hawaii, but it’s 8:30 PM on Tuesday in Taipei. I lost most of a day while traveling! How careless! But I still have my passport and plane ticket, and there’s free wifi in the Taipei airport so things are going well. I also bought a power adaptor, which apparently I don’t need for Taiwan. Sweet! Unless their voltage is different… in which case I’m going to regret plugging in pretty shortly. Hmm. Wikipedia says that I am good to go, and I don’t think I used a converter last time I was in Taiwan, so I think I’ll be ok. Singapore and Australia definitely need the converter though, so I stand by this investment.

I have a 7 hour layover in Bangkok, from 1:05 AM to 8 AM local time, so I plan on sleeping for most of that. Dang… I’ve been in transit for 17 hours now and I still have about 13 more hours to go!! I guess I should be happy that I’m more than halfway. Remind me not to get 4 connecting flights next time I fly to Singapore… I’m sure it will be worth it, but at the same time I’m not sure it’s worth it. Haha yes I might be getting delirious! But soon I shall be in Singapore and I’M SO EXCITED!!!