Confused in Auckland
Trip Start
Nov 08, 2004
1
7
Trip End
Jun 31, 2005
Auckland, New Zealand
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
Although i shouldnt be jetlagged as it was only a four hour flight from sydney, i am shattered and completely spaced out! Im in a kind of suburby miny town called Mount Eden, the houses are one story wooden chalets with corrugated iron roofs and white picket fences. I thought it would be a nice place to recover, get my barings and make some plans. Peace and quiet, trees and cable television. WRONG!
I left the safety of my hostel to forage for food. the hostel is weird enough. its really clean and has a dining room and living room and a garden. its like a home. it was along walk up and down suburban hills to find a long road full of shops and cafes. However, they all seemed to be chinese. I've travelled to China by mistake! help!
I found somewhere that did the obligatory Bryony coffee and cake. Imagine my confusion when the waiter didnt know what a Latte was and went to fetch a women to translate. She then began to talk to me in a strange but familiar accent and suddenly i realised that they were both deaf. Further investigation revealed the handy man fixing the lights was also wearing a hearing aid.
I sat down to drink my rather cold latte. the song 'Dont call me baby' was playing on the cd player for so long i thought it might also be a gay cafe, playing a two hour 'dont call me baby' dance mix. But no, the cd player was skipping but, as the entire staff were deaf and i was the soul customer, nobody had noticed. I debated with myself whether to tell them but wimped out and listened to it for at least 20 minutes. its an evil, evil song, and must be stopped!
I then found the aforementioned burger bar (after eating half a packet of timtams, help me!) crossing the road Bangkok style, as the pedestrian crossings take so long! and am now in an internet cafe contemplating walking up that darn hill again. welcome to newzealand!
