Hiya Nora,
Thanks for your text. Sorry I
didn't reply but I don't have credit and Vodafone don't cover New Zealand.
Are you sure about the Douglas Post going bust? I hope it hasn't.
I'm quite fond of it but it might explain why I haven't heard anything
from them in a while despite the fact that I'm sending stuff every week.
London was great. Much more
interesting than I expected. We found a hotel on Priceline.com for 60
quid a night off High Street Ken. The hotel is naff, but the location was
superb. Again, fabulous weather. The first morning we decided to do
a little fitness and walked down the high street drooling at all the shops,
then veered into Kensington Gardens which merges into Hyde Park. We found
ourselves on Hyde Park corner and I very cheekily asked a lovely copper whether
there was anything to do around here. He airily replied that it happened
to be the Queen's birthday and if waited a minute or two I would hear the 41-gun
salute. I wouldn't normally cross the road for that sort of thing but
sure enough we were surrounded by rows of horses pulling heavy artillery with
soldiers in full colours. The noise of the guns, the whiff of dung and
the sheer spectacle was intoxicating. The first gun nearly gave me a
heart attack and set off several small children and babies. The fly over
of military jets was exhilarating.
Neil wants to go into every Hard Rock
cafe of every country we visit. When we
lived here, the Hard Rock cafe used to have queues at least 30 feet long so I
had no real appetite for it, but the lustre must have worn off since because we
had no problem getting in. They were celebrating their 30th birthday and
who should come in as we were leaving but Robbie Coltrane who plays Hagrid in
Harry Potter. He walks just like Hagrid too. The waitress was super
bubbly and she introduced us to Bernie from Dublin who was one of the original
waitresses when they opened in 1979. Bernie is now 70 and travels the
world as their ambassador.
We went up to Lords cricket ground to
cheer on Ireland against Sri Lanka but since the match was the warmup to
England v India, there wasn't a hope of getting in.
Singapore was lovely but dull.
One week was far too long. Because of swine flu, the schools closed early
and most of our friends were heading home. We managed to catch most of
them in the first three days. The jet lag kills me. Whether I fight
it or succumb I am robotic for a week. But I battled on drinking jugs of
coffee and then taking Melatonin at night. One friend, I met up with had just lost his
job. The recession is affecting everyone and if even if you do live in
paradise, discontent nibbles at your toes too. Three days in paradise was
more than enough. Neil would love to move back there, and we had several
discussions bordering on fights as to the merits of living there. I think
it's unnatural to live in such a bland, antiseptic place. He argues
what's wrong in living in a crime free country. Several of our friends’
children attend university in Australia or England having had their entire
education in Singapore and they get mugged. This is because they are
brought up without street awareness and are not equipped with the body language
and antennae needed to fend off would be beasties.
Hong Kong was fantastic.
There is a certain serendipity to the place: my mobile doesn't work
there (Vodafone don't have coverage there) but you still manage to bump
into people, who tell you where the other people are and next thing you've met
everyone. Via Facebook, we tracked down two
of Conor's friends, but we could not find Colin who was Conor's absolute best friend but has the most shocking attitude problem. When he was
five years old his surliness was cute, but now that he’s 12, it's
worrying. In order to absorb the complete HK experience, we travelled as
much as possible in the rattle trams that shuttle East to West all day
long. 20 cents a ride it's the best value for money. We
were on the tram and coming down the stairs for our stop when Colin's mother, who was downstairs and was also disembarking, recognised Conor. Colin and
Conor were reunited for one afternoon and my little Buddha was happy
again. Joe (9) has sleepovers, Tom is 15 and independent, Conor at
11 is caught in the middle. Hong Kong was hot and very rainy. It's
their rainy season but I love the rain there: it's so dramatic. We got
caught in several downpours and lived through a typhoon warning. Lots of
wind and lightning.
On Sunday we went to Ocean Park which
is HK's answer to Disney land. No one in their right mind goes to Ocean
Park on a Sunday but we were tourists and so weren't thinking!! It was
packed with mainland Chinese which HK’ers are determined to distinguish from
their sophisticated non-crime committing selves. It poured rain and every
ride had 40-minute queues, but it must be a measure as to how mellow we are
becoming. We, or certainly I, surrendered to that over which we have no control
and we had a great afternoon.
We stayed in a family room clearly meant for
mice. I thought I would explode with cabin fever. Neil said to stop
complaining. I told him I was merely expressing my feelings! The feeling
passed and the benefits came through. The room consisted of two queen
sized beds jammed together with barely tip toeing room to get around.
Since Joe was so popular with all his sleepovers that gave us less bodies to
step over. One night the boys stole our pillows, so we stole their duvet
and all hell broke out. The rooms must be very well insulated: we've had
no complaints. My sons are little bastards when they gang up on me which
happens a lot. They wouldn't dare do it Neil, but I seem to say things
that set them off. In the crush of bodies, the little gangsters pinch,
tickle and pull hair and I've no idea where it's coming from. Tempers
deteriorate very rapidly. If I pinch, I'm a terrible mummy. If they pinch, I have no sense of
humour. Tom has snapped out of his grumpy-passive-aggressive-I'm-a-teenager
mode and is exposing his sunny side. I still don't know what he says
though. Joe is a showman who just loves this undiluted attention from his
family. Conor fluctuates between black moods to debonair wit.
A week was enough for me. The boys could have had more. I love the
moodiness of Hong Kong. At this time of year, the clouds hang low over
the mountains, the humidity and the rain make for quite a sensual
atmosphere. Our last day was bright and clear. At the airport I
told the boys to say goodbye as I doubted, we would be this way again.
They got upset. Thoughtless me. I told them when they're adults they
could come back independently. That didn't console them. They
either like me or they expect me to fund them....
We got into Sydney at 7am. The
immigration lady told us it had been raining for a month and it was 6
degrees. My heart sank. We left behind a heatwave in Cork only to
arrive into winter down under. But we got lucky. By the time we
emerged from the terminal building, it was clearly gearing up for a bright day,
but it was definitely cold. Thank God for my Aran cardigan. I may
look like a yankee tourist in Killarney, but it is my new best friend in
Sydney. We couldn't check into our room in the Holiday Inn in Darling Harbour,
so we dumped our bags and walked through rush hour traffic, through the parks
down to the opera house and Circular Quay. The air is so bright and clear
here, it's like it went through the spin cycle and an Ariel wash the night
before. The harbour just sparkles.
It's busy and lived in and still manages to be clean. When I was 21,
I was hungry to get to New York. If I had my time over, I would head
south instead. Sydney is friendly and as casual as any small town but
with all the big city benefits. It is staggeringly expensive
though. Everything costs as much as if you were in Ireland.
We have been in New Zealand since
last Saturday. We hired a camper van from Auckland. Talk about bloody
winter. What retards go from their summer to someone else's winter???? I can't complain as it was my suggestion to
come down here since we were in the region.
We got to the airport in Sydney super
early which was just as well because the flight was leaving at 9.30 am and not
at 11.30 am as we were told by the travel agent. The check-in clerk clearly
hated us: after reading our forward schedule he commented "It must be nice
to have loads of money" and seemed more inclined to bump us off the
flight. But his supervisor kicked in and made sure we got there with
minutes to spare.
We got into Auckland at 2.30pm but by
the time we got possession of the camper van and got going on the road, it was almost dark.
After several wrong turns and some tense periods - Neil was driving and
I'm a terrible back seat driver - we eventually found the caravan park.
The rain yammered down all night and the caravan swayed in the wind. By morning,
the rain had slowed down to a steady drizzle and we heard on the radio that we
had just survived a storm with 240 km winds. It was a relief that this
wasn't normal winter weather. In fact, it hasn't rained since and while
it is cold, it's very manageable. I bought my first beanie hat yesterday
and now I understand why everyone wears them.
People are incredibly nice and
friendly. They are very keen to chat and when you make an enquiry, they
not only answer the question but volunteer more stuff too and the next thing
you are having a conversation. It's lovely. Last night we went to a
hotel to have dinner and watch a Maori performance. The women came into
the audience looking for 'volunteers' and I was one of those picked. I
had three ciders, and this did nothing to enhance my performance. I had
one hand on hip and the other held out in gentle reflection as instructed but
when I attempted to sway my hips in time to the music, Conor said I looked like
a tea pot about to tip over. We got chatting to this very nice couple
from Auckland who were there with their young daughters. I was saying
that I thought possum wool was nicer than I expected and not at all like roadkill.
The dad told us that possums are hated here because they have no natural
predators and therefore grow to four times the size of Australian ones and they
destroy the vegetation. When drivers see them on the road, they go out of
their way to run them down. He also told us that at their daughter's
school fair, the principal herself had a stall – ‘How Fast Can You Skin a
Possum?’ and ‘How Far Can You Throw One?’
On Sunday, the boys and Neil hired
bikes and went mini golfing while I volunteered to stay behind and 'clean the
caravan and do laundry'. Joe loves golf but has no etiquette. He
insists on being the first to tee off but then marches off to find his ball
before the rest of us are ready. He has no qualms about having his head
cracked open by a stray ball. There is a park and playground behind
the caravan park full of geothermal activity. We are going to a living
thermal village this afternoon, but we decided to look at these boiling pools
of mud as well. The boys can't comprehend that the heat of these pools
comes from below the earth's crust. Tom studied the earth's plates for his
geography exam and this information makes him nervous.
Motor homes are big business
here. Last night the caravan park was full so it's good to know that we
are not the only lunatics who go on holidays in winter. We attempted to
go 'Zorbing' yesterday, but it was too windy. The boys are very keen to
do as many challenging and dangerous things as possible. We might try
again this afternoon after the thermal village. Neil and I are taking it
in turns to drive the camper van. I love driving so I'm a terrible
passenger. After the first night - Neil drove - I was in a shocking
mood. I drove yesterday after we stopped at the Ultimate Cafe for the
most gorgeous coffee and divine brownies. Driving a campervan is like driving
a train and I love being so high up. The engine is diesel which makes it very
noisy and casual conversation is an effort. You are bigger and wider than
most other vehicles on the road and you have to take corners very carefully so no
sudden moves. It's like getting older really. I
think you can judge the patience of a country by how many times you are honked
on the road and despite the engine cutting out several times while in mid
traffic, not moving when we have the right of way and not being the fastest off
at the traffic lights. One lady was
even kind enough to get out of her car, tap on our window and explain the right
of way system at that particular junction so despite all those gaffes not once
has anyone beeped us and for that we are grateful.
Today is Friday. Sorry I
started this on Wednesday (you are a day behind us - no offence!) and I can
only do it in Internet cafes. It's not as cold as it was or maybe I'm
surrendering to the inevitable and not being so uptight. Joe is angry
with me all the time. He reminds me of how I am with my mother so that's
scary and needs to be nipped in the bud. Last night, Neil told me, after
much probing from me, that I was bossy. So, is he!! dammit? Anyway,
I took the insight on board and deliberately chilled and the effects were
astonishing. The boys were friendlier to me and Neil relaxed. Joe
still keeps screaming 'Child Abuse' at every opportunity so I am going to have
to take him down to the police station when we get home and hand him over.
I'm only half kidding. If he keeps that racket up, I'll withdraw
basketball classes, daily ice creams, round the world trips and such
like..........
We went to see the new Harry Potter
film last night. It's on every hour, but we could only get the 9pm show
and that's with advance booking. It's different from the previous in that
it is funnier and less death threatening. The boys loved it and Ron
Weasley being lovesick was amusing.
We drove from Rotorua to Napier on
the east coast of New Zealand two days ago. Neil lost his glasses, so I
did most of the driving. With the driving rain, fog and at night-time in
a country I don't know, I was as tense as a cat when we finally got there after
four hours of driving. The next morning dawned bright and beautiful.
Only then did I read the guidebook on Napier. It gets more sunshine
than any other part of the country and thus it's the wine growing region.
Duh! My kind of city. My reason for wanting to go there, I
read that it had an earthquake in 1931 and the entire city was rebuilt in Art
Deco style which I thought was pretty cool. At 9 am I set off - alone -
for the city tour. The guide was a retired gent named Brian who was a
gentle soul and I was accompanied by three others, one Scot, one native and one
wee lassie from California who was surprisingly shy. The city is full on
symbolism which I would have completely missed only that it was pointed out to
me. I walked back to the camp site - it took an hour - but I needed the
exercise and a break from the men in my life. When I got back, they were
very happy - for a change - to see me: they wanted to head back to Rotorua.
I agreed. We arrived back in Rotorua two nights ago and yesterday
morning the boys went Zorbing. You are put inside a giant inflatable ball
quarter filled with water and pushed down a hill. The boys loved it.
At the end they pop out again with a whoosh of warm water. It’s
like being born really. The boys didn't appreciate the analogy.
There was a teenage French girl with a fabulous figure doing it, she got
a lot of attention from everyone! Then the boys and Neil went Sweebing
which is cycling on your back in a plastic bubble suspended from a monorail.
Conor went 'swooping' which is like bungee jumping only you are harnessed
in a body sack and are upright. It’s utterly mad but he's our adrenalin
junkie. He begged to go on the bungee, but I said he could take his life
in his own hands when he's 18. Neil, the-uber cautious upped the thresh
hold to 21. I went for a coffee and a browse in the knit wear shop while
they boys went paragliding. All these activities cost an absolute fortune,
but Neil is indulging them since this is what New Zealand is famous for.
This morning they have gone mountain biking again. We did it in our
first stint last Monday. I went too. It was the second day of my periods,
so I surprised myself: I'm a real ball of misery during those tender days.
I don't mind plunging down hills on a fast bike, but I get nervous doing
it in between trees. I'm afraid I'm going to go over the top and lose my
teeth. Besides my arse is still aching from the last time. When we did
the baby route, I tried to avoid a particularly muddy rut in the path and ended
ploughing into a bunch of ferns but at least I missed the tree. Tom
laughed his ass off. I now know why the fern is the symbol of New Zealand;
it grows rampantly everywhere.
We drive back to Auckland today.
On the way we're visiting Hobbiton to see where the opening scenes of
Lord of the Rings was filmed. Tomorrow we're going to Eden Park to watch the Aussie v All
Blacks match. Neil wants to support the All Blacks and annoy the Aussies.
Munster is really well known here. Loads of men have commented on
Tom's Munster top which is a real compliment since they take their rugby seriously
here. I bet they never heard of Leinster rugby.
New Zealanders wear a lot of black
too. I thought only Cork office workers wore so much black. It
explains the name of their rugby team, they really like that colour. Of
course, it is their winter but honest to God, everybody wears black.
Must go now and meet my family.
I'm a nice mummy. They should be well muddy and sore after the
biking. Neil still hasn't found his glasses, so I'll be driving. I
love the power. Call me bossy now!
Keep sending me texts or emails.
I try and check the emails at least every second day.
Your pal down under
Geraldine
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