Bye bye 2010

To be honest, this year FLEW by so fast that I was lost in its wake. Its time again to review what I have managed to achieve from my wishlist.

Able to read chinese newspaper - Failed
Somehow i could't find time anymore after I found the site which should help me understand the Chinese words

Air-conditioning for the house - Failed
The money had to be used to pay my father's hospital fees so we will stick with fans for another year

Fix car's external problems - Failed
Somewhat similar to the above, was hoping that my bonus would enable me to finally fix the dents all over my car :(

Goodbye Tiger - Failed
Although there were several really good prospects BUT none were actually successful. Another not so happy year ...

Really say Goodbye? - Unsure
Again I don't know what to do, very confusing.

To weight <=75kg
I didn't even try to really attempt this. For health reasons, I should somehow get this achieved.

Use my passport again before it expires - Success! 17/9/2010 - 3/10/2010
Initially was quite disappointed that none of my friends would accompany me to go on a trip. Frustrated, I decided to travel alone and visit some friends overseas. Very enjoyable although it did set me back a cool 8-9k

Aotearoa - 16 days in 1 post

A picture collage summary of some of the places I went during my trip to New Zealand. I suppose this is better than reading a wall of text from my recollection.

Day 1, Auckland : Views from Teresa's place, Brunch @ Coffee Club

Day 2, Auckland : One Tree Hill Domain, Late brunch @ De Fontein, Mission Bay, other places in Auckland

Day 3, Christchurch : Views around Cathedral Square, Christchurch Gondola & Tram, Bridge of Remembrance, earthquake affected buildings, Hotel SO

Day 4, to Mt Cook : Pictures taken from bus en route to Mt Cook ie Canterbury Plain, Lake Tekapo & Church of the Good Shepherd, Lake Pukaki, Mt Cook (Aoraki)

Day 5, Mid-Autumn festical @ Christchurch + Auckland : More views around town in Christchurch, International Antartic Centre + Hagglund ride, Mid-Autumn celebration with friends in Auckland

Day 6, Auckland : Sky Tower, views around Auckland city, Train ride to and fro Panmure, flew to Wellington and had dinner with Pauline

Day 7, Areas outside of Wellington : Cape Palliser, Ngawi, Pinnacles, Stonehenge Aotearoa

Day 8, Wellington : Wellington Botannical Gardens, Wellington Cable Car, Devil's Gate + Red Rocks, Oriental Parade, Weta Caves, Carluci Land

Day 9, Wellington : Around town taking pics of famous buildings, Old St Paul's Church, National Museum of Te Papa Tongarewa, deserts at Strawberry Fare

Day 10, Wellington to Taupo : Enjoyable whole day drive, Subway lunch, Turoa ski fields, Taupo

Day 11, Taupo to Rotorua : Huka Falls, Araratia Rapids, Te Puia, Mitai Maori Village' Show and Hangi

Day 12, Rotorua : Around Rotorua, Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland, Waimangu Volcanic Valley, Rotorua Skyline + Luge, Hell's Gate Mud Spa

Day 13 + 14, Rotorua to Auckland : Geyser view from my room, Rotorua Museum, Kuirau Park for free geothermal attraction stuff, Tirau's iconic i-Site buidling, view from Mt Wellington, around Auckland

Day 15 + 16, Auckland : Horse riding @ Muriwai Beach, Nando's lunch, Bethell's beach walk, views from Michael's home

What I liked :
- Very nice people during working hours
- Very informative signs everywhere
- People really do follow the speed limit
- Breathtaking sceneries and attractions
- Creative car plates
- Fantastic roads to drive on
- Big food portions
- Honest people
- A lot of creative designs of buildings, tickets, cars, etc
- Relatively cheap chocolates and amazing variety
- CLEAN and FREE toilets everywhere with toilet paper!

What i disliked :
- Unpredictable weather
- Places with super slow speed limits eg 30kmph zzz
- Our lousy currency rate
- Very cold outside, very hot inside ...
- Maoris reminds me of ... Malays :x
- Bone chilling winds and gales
- Similar attractions at the major cities

Others :
- Black swans are EVERYWHERE!

Another wishlist completed =D

The damage even before i board the plane

After a very long absence from vacations, i finally managed to grow enough balls to want to go on a vacation which does jive with my new year resolution to want to use my passport at least 1 more time before it expires next year. As with most vacations, there will be costs involved for the travel. Being a calculative person, i do keep track of my expenditure from time to time especially when im on a tight budget.

Now let's take a look at the damage before i even board the plane to my destination :

MAS return tickets to New Zealand : RM2880 + 9% interest for 12 month installments ~ RM261.6 per month
JetStar return tickets to Christchurch : NZD132 ~ Rm303.6
Air NZ Auckland to Wellington : NZD60 ~ RM138
Car rental from Wellington to Auckland : NZD152.75 ~ RM351.33
Accomodation at Rotorua for 2 nights : RM400

Misc preparations :

International Driving License : RM150
Sunscreen : RM25
Shoes : RM100
Waterproof camera bag : RM100
Socks : RM75

So in total that's already more than 4.5k before i even leave the country ...

Im planning to bring NZD2k so that's another 4.6k, 10k for a trip because i don't have a travel partner who wants to go to nearer destinations like HK, Taiwan etc :( What to do, everyone have gone to those destinations before or have made other reservations later this year.

Some randomness to end my post :)

The stuff which are going to be in my backpack, maybe not the waterproof camera bag :p

Some test pics which i took with my camera inside the waterproof camera case :

Perhaps it works better underwater?

A long time coming

Pfft, can't believe its May and i just started my wishlist :p Seems reasonably achievable

Air-conditioning for the house
Pretty straightforward IMHO

Fix my car's external problems
Though its only bringing me to the LRT station everyday but i want it to look like its old self not the current dented here and there :(

Goodbye Tiger
To be finally able to leave

Really say Goodbye?
No explanation necessary

To weight <=75kg
The below chart shows that im in the overweight section :(



Use my passport again before it expires
As straightforward as it can be ;)