City Land River

Singapore is a city, at the same time a country and on top of that its capital.

Singapore is very close to the equator, so that the almost vertical sun exposure in combination with the tropical climate (the palm house at the zoo has that temperature for a reason) create some kind of gigantic sauna.
From the pleasant flight, where I got to know a very lovely family, I stepped into this sauna.

The bus got me to a ‘close’ place in the city, from where I started walking towards the hostel. Giant skyscrapers, magnificent buildings and even a McLaren P1 (I think my jaw dropped) got me an impression I would verify later: Singapore is filthy rich!!

But back to me an the weather. So, in this gigantic sauna I walk for 2,7 kilometres my way in full clothing and with all my luggage.
I must add that this luggage is not some you would pack for a 10-day-Southeast-Asia-Stroll, but the one for more than a year abroad…

Finally, I arrive at the hostel and have to be told I have booked the wrong period. I am one day early. If it was the change of the month or the changes in my life, I can’t say for sure. So I get the room for one of two night to myself…
Now I finally realise, what air conditioning is actually worth!

Originally, I wanted to spend only one day in Singapore, as it is said to be expensive there. Now I had one more, which made for some ease at planning my route though the big city.

I went discovering on both days then, as I wanted to know what Singapore is about and to get a taste for the Asian food.

Come along!

Blossomlet on the side of the road.

Is this from the riddle with the man in the red/blue/green/yellow house? 😀

In Singapore, you can always spot the ever-present difference between huge, modern and down-to-earth/ historic buildings. Though shabby none of the areas I visited had looked…

 

 

To eat until satisfied for little money is hardly possible in countries like New Zealand and Australia. At small hawker stalls it is quite easy. That way, both, the culinary desires and the wallet get happy.
I mostly visited the many hawker centres, simple food courts featuring diverse cuisines.

Fried Kway Teow. Many textures and tasty flavours.

This is what it looks like in the Maxwell Food Centre.

 

 

This serves as a confuzzling picture.

 

 

Singapore’s landmark, the Merlion.

Not a P1, but my dream car. The McLaren MP4-12C.

On night I tried the omnipresent fish balls. They taste like fish and are a little denser than jello.

Durian. The high-praised fruit. I got to taste it in the shape of ice-cream. Tastes like fart and fruity. It is said to smell VERY MUCH like fart as the whole fruit. 😀

 

 

Bak kut teh. Very tangy.

Here the making of my favourite beverage: Freshly squeezed sugarcane juice!

And whoever goes for the adventure of the little food stalls, will find oneself far from forks. Here your skills with the chopsticks get challenged.

I once more left the ‘simpler’ districts of Singapore, to walk into riches and pomposity again.
On Sentosa Island you find so much of it, it starts to feel weird. But well, supply and demand…

 

 

Little snack on the run: Fried carrot cake. Doesn’t include sweetness or carrots, but was all yummy. Even when you have to handle those lumps with chopsticks…

Marina Bay Sands. Presumably the most eccentric building of exclusivity. Next to a shopping mall it holds a hotel and who knows what more.

Inside the hotel lobby.

Behind the structure you find the gardens. At that point, I asked myself what would be special about this. Too much wealth makes things seem cheap.

Singapore is a colourful Asia-Mix. As a ‘westerner’ you are often sole in the masses and you can feel properly a stranger. Just like travels are meant to be. 🙂
Singapore is very rich, so you can’t find as much authentic Asia in this small area.
I have found myself inside countless (perfectly air-conditioned) breathtaking shopping malls. Any individual of distinction can satisfy their materialistic needs there. The more iconic the place in town, the more noble it is.
Thanks to English being an official language among others, communication was not hard at all.

Now I am sitting inside my room in Penang, Malaysia, and ask myself whether the fat cockroach, which just zoomed across the wall, will come out behind the cupboard at night…

The bus ride was a hard case, by the way. The proceedings at the border from Singapore to Malaysia were no big deal, though. You get out of the bus, get your exit stamp and drive across the bridge. Then you carry your luggage past the Malaysian authorities and you are there.
But I hope the 3 hour delay didn’t trouble the others as well. At least the seats inside the bus were comfy. 🙂

The underground, which I should have chosen over the bus in the beginning, is a good way to cross the city.

I am hungry, but before I can dive into the culinary amusement I need cash. Wish me luck, I will report back in time. 😉

South Island, Final Take

I have come a long way.
I sit inside the premium lounge on the newest Interislander ferry, eat the complementary breakfast, get free coffee from the Jura fully automated coffee machine, charge all my devices with my dearly held multisockets, around me only older, quieter people and I am all good with myself and the world.

In which way could the 8th and last crossing between the islands look better? Maybe if I could have shared the luxury with Elvis, but there was only one coupon to my Nautical-Miles-Card. That one I only own for saving one to two dollars at the ferry…
Well, even best friends need a break from each other from time to time. 🙂

I am convinced that no other backpacker takes the ferry a crazy eight times from one island to the other. But it had to go this way. One time for a almost magical weekend with the best au pairs in the world, one time for an unknown future, one time with my parents and one time with Elvis. That’s how I traveled the South Island. My readers are in the know. 😉 And I always came back content and happy. And I always look forward to see beloved Wellington again.There it all began and there it all will end…

The last days on the South Island were filled with pondering about this ‘last time’, as expected. And we made the most out of these last times!

 

 

A last and unique goodbye from Ric, my flatmate/ landlord for 2 weeks in Dunedin. A funny bloke, but not too little on the nice side. 😀

born ’94

After the farewell visit in Dunedin, we made our way up north to Queenstown. One adventure after the other was awaiting us!

 

 

The ‘Remarkables’, a spectacular mountain ridge!

Part of the adventure was the food! As you know, in Queenstown you find the Ferg chain and enjoys its legendary status. For one last time we ate the unbeatable burger, some incomparable ice-cream and one inimitable meat pie there!

 

 

Even the menu of the Ferg Burger is a work of art in itself! 🙂

 

 

Queenstown offers all kinds of sports and activities imaginable. But it didn’t lure us onto the water…

Instead we were being attracted towards a rugged canyon in the outer areas…
The same, with its depth of 134m, is home to the highest bungy in New Zealand.

 

 

The abyss opens up deep and vast.

 

 

Not from utter fear, but from pure anticipation my heart beat fast. The own decision when to jump, which I missed at the skydive, would be in my hands now.

Without any thought about going back I jump. Free for a few seconds, only the sensation of the fall and the increasing noise of wind in my ears, I rush towards the ground. The bungy cord gets me and lets me bounce up and down for a few times.
Awesome! And if it were not for the pretty high cost and the scheduled departure, I would have done it again right away!

 

 

So, we worked ourselves up to the north of the South Island. All the closer to the area that I saw first of this wondrous island…

 

 

The rocks on the shore of the Pelorus.

 

 

The fjord we spent a weekend with my dear friends back in the day at.

Thus, the chapter is concluded. The last path I take off the South Island is the same we took onto it back in the days…

And I sit here and think about the time. The time to come and the time that lies behind us all. And what effect it had on us.
And we can all be but happy about this grand opportunity. And the times to come shall be not less great as those we look back at in satisfaction!

 

 

A component of my sumptuous breakfast at the premium plus lounge. As I said, you might just deserve something nice as a smelly backpacker. 🙂

Time to Leave

Initially, I would have wanted to select the pictures of the trip and use them to illustrate the last days. But you have seen the areas we went through already.
Plus, I would write too little then about the last days’ happenings. And even though there is limited time to deal with the computer, you should still stay informed…

Where am I right now?
I am sitting on the couch in Dunedin, the same one I have been sitting on for the 3 months I lived here. It is all the same, only that this is the last time sitting here in my time in New Zealand. Also, Elvis is here. That is equally crazy as having had my parents in this place.

It is time to say goodbye. I have already done so to my workmates at the last major station here in Dunedin. Now, it is my last flat’s turn.
Until a few days ago, I told the people everywhere that I will come around again. But now it is serious, there is no going back.
Also, to the most magnificent latte in New Zealand I had to say goodbye.

This was the third and the last latte at the cafe Oyster Cove in Bluff.

 

 

We are camping with Elvis. And I can say but one thing: You won’t be the same after having eaten baked beans from a gas cooker in the wild and crouched into the tent for the night afterwards.
At least you don’t have to book those campsites beforehand these days. That makes for some liberty, as time allows of course.
Though we haven’t traveled as ‘campers’ for long, every other night has its own adventure!

 

 

 

 

There is not an unlimited amount of time at our hands and many goodbyes shall take place in the time to come. Thus, you have to pick very carefully who to grace with your visits. In Dunedin, it is the Mexican Iced Coffee at the cafe Kiki Beware for sure. Many more of those ‘last times’ should follow!

 

 

Chilled milk + vanilla-anise-syrup + espresso + cinnamon stick for a straw = Mexican Iced Coffee

 

 

Do you remember as back in the day, before departing from Germany, I wrote a lot about goodbyes? Back then I didn’t know anything about how many of those I would have to go through in the future. A journey in itself is parting. From people and places that became precious to you. From circumstances and environments that you get used to much too easily.

Today I look at goodbyes the same way I looked at them back then: Happily looking forward. Only that you don’t know at all, when and if you will see those people and places ever again.

But still I am just as hopeful as I was in the past. Because I know that these acquaintances and experiences are just that and that they indeed stay forever. Memories, ages from which you learn beyond measure.
And you should always look in the forward direction. To the things to come and to the things you take away from past times. And isn’t both wonderful and valuable??

 

 

A Significant Interim Report

Sunset over the fjordland:

 

 

One more of times, we arrived at our destination. Every day another great car trip, incomprehensible landscapes and always a different stay.
At the end of each day there is not much time left for the internet, you are tired and you need your sleep for the next even more exciting day.

So, here is a little overview for you guys, just before I go to bed.
Sadly you don’t get a fully crafted report of what I feel and go through, but instead a little palette of visual treats. 😉

Six Barrel Soda, a Wellington gem!

Crossing the Marlborough Sounds towards the South Island. For the first time in daylight. 😀

Upright for who?? 😉

 

 

I kept showing my parents all the places I have been, with all the memories of the good old days attached. 🙂

The west coast. Predicate optional.

Back then, in Winter, there were but little cicadas rataplanning in Punakaiki. 😉

 

 

 

 

You have to accept my apology for posting less than we’d all wish for in these special times. But one thing is the most important. That is, that we are all happy. 😉

And I am just that, for 1000 good reasons!! 😀

 

 

Back to the Future

Dunedin is in the past.

 

 

Who can remember the picture of my luggage before the journey? 😀 Can you tell the differences? 😛

 

 

A part of my Dunedin accompanied me on my trip north, as my dear flatmate Andrej came with me on this great road trip.
We fought ourselves through rain and the dark until we reached the first destination of Hanmer Springs. That’s where it drew lovely Tina. A quirky place where you cannot find much else than the thermal pools and some restaurants. Just the better having friends around then. 🙂

We wouldn’t be able to enjoy our stay too long, as the next night our ferry to Wellington would depart.
So we had another goodbye and went on the stage of our trip…

A river on the way to Hanmer. Almost trivial. 😀

I also found a tube! 😀 But we already knew how to get gas… 😉

There wasn’t much time for photo stops, but sometimes you don’t have a choice.

‘The handsome Andrej.’ A road trip lets the last stage play wake again… 😀

*B A N G*

For we couldn’t find an external cause that might have produced the loud noise, we stopped at the side of the road. After I noticed the back tyre hissing and losing air, it took not more than 10 minutes to be back on the road with the spare wheel.

The tyre had been chafed through. Cautiously we drove from Kaikoura up to Picton without any more incidents and reached the ferry on time.

 

 

What can I say? An adventure! 😀

The last red evening sky on the South Island.

The things that (don’t) get transported between the islands…

After a night in the car (we did arrive at 2am with the ferry) we checked in to the flat in Island Bay. Here in Wellington it is the Summer, you could clearly notice.
As I was told later, after we got both rotten rear tyres replaced, I went full blossom as Wellington tour guide.
Well, in the two days we had Andrej should see the most and the best of my favourite city.

It is an interesting feeling, to be back at a place where you went through so much and that is not the same, still… It is hard to look at the present under all the countless memories. But you can discover new things, though:

 

 

Six Barrel Soda. The absolute best and most unique soda I ever had! (Who recognises the background? 😉 )

 

 

Of course we had to climb Mount Victoria. Wellington from above is almost as spectacular as from within. 🙂

 

 

I have talked about my favourite cinema quite often, the Embassy Theatre in Wellington, but you haven’t seen it yet. So this is the grand auditorium with the insane sound system (notice the ceiling speakers for Dolby Atmos).

 

 

Also, of course, we paid Te Papa a visit. As animation movie fans we were very happy to see the Dreamworks exhibition, where they showed the origins of their most known animated movies.

 

 

Altough we had visited the majestical botanic gardens already at night, but at daylight it is worth it, also. 🙂
Especially worth it is the rose garden, as always…

 

 

What greater thing to say about a person?? (All the benches in the gardens feature a dedication.)

 

 

At the duck pond I noticed a duck that didn’t really seem to have adapted to the whole ‘tails up’ thing. To my advantage. 🙂

 

 

 

 

Also Andrej I had to say farewell to and now I am all alone here at the end of the world. Strange feeling…

But only one time more to sleep. Then my parents are going to land here in Wellington!
I still can’t believe it… You’ll hear from us in time. 😉