Day 12: Sunday, October 25
My adventure in Australia and New Zealand has come to and end. I leave, and hope to return very, very soon.
Activities:
Activities:
- 3 AM wake to depart NZ on a 7:30 flight
- Not ashamed to admit I cried a little as I said goodbye to fam. Told the boys (Dhruv and Syon) my goodbyes the previous night. Granny awoke early to give me a hug and a kiss. And then Vivek, Sujata, and Suchi all loaded me up and drove me to the airport.
- I loved every minute I spent in NZ with these folk. I am so proud to call them family. They have a deep love for where they live and it shows. And absolutely boundless generosity and energy. I don't even know how to begin to repay them. But I hope they know how grateful I am for the kindness they showed and how much I love them. I am proud to be a Desai.
I'll be back...
Flights:
- Auckland to Sydney (~ 3/3.5 hours)
- Sydney to LA (~13.5 hours) - I am cursed and cannot sleep a wink the entire flight, though I did have plennnty of time to catch up on movies...
- LA to OKC (~2 hours) - I am now dead to the world
Fortunately, the 2 hours of sleep gave me just enough boost, when combined with the light from the sun, to help me stay up until 9:00 once I arrived back in OKC. I am converted back to our time zone just like that. Huzzah. Body knows what body needs to do I guess...
Fun Fact:
- Qantas somehow broke one of the casters on my bike bag, so it now follows behind me... sideways. Imagine me in LA, luggage strapped to my back, one arm pulling along my carry-on and purse and the other, my bike bag, which is now extended 5 feet out to the side of me, running mad as I can through customs so I don't miss my OKC flight. Only one person ever offered to help me move the goddamn thing. The rest just gaped at me (literally). SMH.
- Qantas, I hate you.
Random Observations and Notes About My Trip:
- American culture is everywhere in both Australia and New Zealand. In fact, we export virtually all our television and movies, to the point where neither country has much entertainment industry of their own. All of our fast food joints (you name it, they have it) are exported, too, for better or worse, though thankfully I never did see that many Starbucks around (Hungry Jacks/Arbys was another story). You can see our influence on their cars, too. I expected them all to be compact and fuel efficient. There are those (Ute's, Maddie? Lol.), but our giant Ford and Toyota pickup trucks and SUVs seem to be increasing in number over there.
- Gas is insanely expensive there. It appears to be the same prices we have right now ($1.89), until you realize it's sold by the litre. 1L ~ 4 gal.
- There is such a thing as a religious person who is actually politically very liberal. They are in Oceana. I don't think they can quite believe how intertwined being conservative and religious is here in the U.S.
- They are far, faaar more green conscious and respectful about the planet (both Oz and NZ).
- Oz has bananas that are, frankly, quite intimidating. They also have delicious locally-grown mangoes. NZ imports their mangos from Mexico. This makes me sad.
- I discussed season 2 of Brooklyn-9-9 with a friend in Adelaide before realizing Holy smokes I am discussing the current season of Brooklyn-9-9 with a person in Australia! Yes, our TV culture is quite prolific there.
- They only just got Netflix and they don't have access to all the same titles we do (no Frasier, for instance), but they do get a different (better?) selection of movies
- Amazon is not a thing there. Not like it is in the U.S.
- I am sick of Italian Coffee Culture! All hail the filter! All hail the filter!
- Tipping is not required there. Waiters are paid actual fucking living wages. Which is nice. Though if they see an American in the restaurant they will get hopeful anyway.
- Australia has flies, flies everywhere! NZ seems to have avoided this problem by breaking with Pangaea way earlier.
- I tried one tiny bite of Kangaroo. It was disgusting and uber-meaty. Never again.
- Australia's relationship with New Zealand is the same love/hate relationship the U.S. has with Canada - we love to tease each other, but ask any American what they actually think of Canada and they will tell you it's so lovely and you should definitely visit. Oz treats NZ like that.
- Virtually every Aussie told me how much I would love NZ. I didn't think I could possibly enjoy my time any more. Then I visited NZ and I couldn't wipe the grin of sheer joy and awe off my face the entire week. It's really the most fucking amazingly beautiful place on the entire planet. And I hear South Island's even better. GOALS.
- All Blacks! (Sorry, Wallabys)
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