AUCKLAND - Bob Hope and Bing Crosby are nowhere in sight, but I am on the Road to Singapore today, the next stop on my round the world trip on Star Alliance member carriers. Actually, in my case, the road is a flight path. I'll be taking my second Star carrier, Singapore Airlines, to the airline's home in Singapore, the glittering, lush, island city-state.
Singapore is one of the best food towns in the world -befitting a crossroads city, as it's been since the 19th century, when native Malays, Indians, Chinese, British colonizers and - more recently - international corporate expats, put down roots. Humble hawkers' stalls are the glory of Singaporean food - they sell savory, cheap fare in sanitary conditions, something that can't be said of much of Asia, or for that matter, much of the world. Singapore's got it covered at the high end of cuisine, too. And it's a beautiful place to look at, festooned with restored colonial shophouses and modern highrises.
I'm looking forward to getting there, and getting back on the road.
But I will miss Auckland. It won me over right away with friendly, funny Kiwi hospitality, fresh food and drink, and velvety green volcanic nubs poking up amongst urban clusters all over town. There are dozens of peaks within the city limits - but no worries, mate, they are no longer erupting. Best of all is Auckland's beautiful harbor, criss-crossed by high-speed ferries and graceful sailboats. Auckland is known as "the city of sails'' and it's not a misnomer. I'd return to New Zealand - with a road map in hand, to see more of it - in a New York minute.
Showing posts with label Auckland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Auckland. Show all posts
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Jump!
AUCKLAND - I never would have agreed to a walk around the outside of this city's Sky Tower if I had fully grasped what it entailed: Perambulating outside on a 4-foot-wide walkway, in stiff winds, sans handrails (though with a safety harness and a guide), all kitted out in orange jump suit. When the harness was slipped on, and the light bulb went off in my head, I declined the invitation to, um, skywalk up there, 192 meters (about 600 feet) up. I looked out over the sprawling, waterside city from inside the observation deck, instead.
Of course, the walk is nothing compared to the jump - I said jump - that a chap was doing from the tower while I was there. He was trussed in harness and pulleys, aiming for a bullseye painted far below on a platform, which he approached at 50 to 60 miles per hour.
"It's not bad,'' shrugged Haley McCrystal, an Air New Zealand marketing person who was showing me around her hometown. "The only bad part is when the ground comes up at you so fast.''
Haley, a young, fit New Zealander, has done the SkyJump, as it is called, from Auckland's Sky Tower. She has done the SkyWalk that would definitely have induced vertigo in yours truly had I ventured out on the narrow platform. "I've done it about 20 times.''
She has, of course, bungee-jumped, as well. Bungee-jumping, invented and popularized in New Zealand, has almost the status of a national past-time. "The only thing is, you are upside-down sometimes in bungee-jumping. I lost my stomach,'' she said.
Airborne derring-do doesn't appear to deter many Kiwis, though. Verily, they seem to be a nation of thrill-seekers, and hardy and robust they are, too. The Auckland marathon is coming up this Sunday, and McCrystal is participating, running a half-marathon. It's a long way, but, hey, it's all on the ground.
Still, there's something about jumping.
"We jump off of almost anything,'' she said cheerily. "We like rafting on fast water, too. And there are tour companies that take you along underground rivers. The tops of the caves can be pretty low, you have to duck way down.''
After leaving the Sky Tower, I took a harbor - er, harbour - tour on a mid-sized boat from the Auckland Ferry Building. The craft paused under Harbour Bridge,next to a painted sign on a concrete pillar that said "Caution bungee jumping overhead.'' I thought it was a joke. It wasn't. While we waited, a chap plunged toward the water, to cheers and applause from onlookers, before our eyes.
Another New Zealander. Jumping.
Of course, the walk is nothing compared to the jump - I said jump - that a chap was doing from the tower while I was there. He was trussed in harness and pulleys, aiming for a bullseye painted far below on a platform, which he approached at 50 to 60 miles per hour.
"It's not bad,'' shrugged Haley McCrystal, an Air New Zealand marketing person who was showing me around her hometown. "The only bad part is when the ground comes up at you so fast.''
Haley, a young, fit New Zealander, has done the SkyJump, as it is called, from Auckland's Sky Tower. She has done the SkyWalk that would definitely have induced vertigo in yours truly had I ventured out on the narrow platform. "I've done it about 20 times.''
She has, of course, bungee-jumped, as well. Bungee-jumping, invented and popularized in New Zealand, has almost the status of a national past-time. "The only thing is, you are upside-down sometimes in bungee-jumping. I lost my stomach,'' she said.
Airborne derring-do doesn't appear to deter many Kiwis, though. Verily, they seem to be a nation of thrill-seekers, and hardy and robust they are, too. The Auckland marathon is coming up this Sunday, and McCrystal is participating, running a half-marathon. It's a long way, but, hey, it's all on the ground.
Still, there's something about jumping.
"We jump off of almost anything,'' she said cheerily. "We like rafting on fast water, too. And there are tour companies that take you along underground rivers. The tops of the caves can be pretty low, you have to duck way down.''
After leaving the Sky Tower, I took a harbor - er, harbour - tour on a mid-sized boat from the Auckland Ferry Building. The craft paused under Harbour Bridge,next to a painted sign on a concrete pillar that said "Caution bungee jumping overhead.'' I thought it was a joke. It wasn't. While we waited, a chap plunged toward the water, to cheers and applause from onlookers, before our eyes.
Another New Zealander. Jumping.
Monday, October 26, 2009
With Air New Zealand to Auckland
AUCKLAND, New Zealand - I hadn't flown Air New Zealand in a decade and I had never visited New Zealand - until today, when ANZ flight 7 from San Francisco touched down just before dawn under weepy skies at Auckland International Airport.
I'm glad I rectified the oversight. The Kiwi carrier is the first of eight airlines I'll be taking on Star Alliance member carriers over the next 27 days. I'm on a round the world trip booked at Star Alliance.com (details coming in my next post on good ways to use that site.)
Air New Zealand was real good: friendly, efficient staff, flat-bed seats in business class that were actually flat and actually comfortable (not a given with many airlines), modernity everywhere. Even the food was good, the equal of what you could find on the ground in a good restaurant. That's very hard to pull off at 37,000 feet in a cramped compartment, but ANZ did it well. My dinner was chicken breast stuffed with pumpkin, designed by celebrity New Zealand chef Peter Gordon. It was preceded by a sushi sampler and followed by a cheese course, all accompanied by a nicely structured New Zealand Pinot Noir. New Zealand is best known in my part of the world - North America - for its Sauvignon Blancs, refreshing whites that can nonetheless come on a bit too lemony and grapefruity for my taste. This was a welcome change of pace. It was an overnight flight. I managed to sleep a bit - rare for me - and caught up on some reading. Between reading and snoozing and eating, I didn't set aside much time to sample the in-flight entertainment offerings, but the choice of videos, music, games, et. al looked extensive and well-chosen.
The 13-hour, overnight flight had a few weather-related bumps over the Pacific but nothing really untoward. Mostly, the flight was uneventful - and that's good. We touched down at Auckland's bright, modern, clean and well-organized international airport 10 minutes ahead of schedule. Unlike some airports I have been in during off-peak hours - we landed at 5 a.m. - the international terminal was jammed, and most airport businesses were open. At such moments, I could almost ask myself "What recession?'' Though that would be silly, as we've all felt the effects of it, and the travel biz has taken its share of hits.
The Airbus, which runs between the airport and downtown Auckland, costs just NZ$23 return, departs every 15 minutes, and takes 45-50 minutes to reach downtown. From the stop I got off at downtown, it was a short and pleasant walk around the edges of gorgeous Albert Park to the Hyatt Regency Hotel, where I am staying.
I'll be blogging daily about all aspects of this trip in the weeks ahead. Tomorrow: How to use the booking feature on the Star Alliance Web site, should you want to take a similar round-the-world journey, customized to your interests, schedule and budget.
And more soon about the city of Auckland. From what I have seen at first glance, it is pretty, big enough to be interesting but small enough to get your arms around, defined by its relationship to the water and a love of fun with a derring-do edge. There is a big bungee jumping place right downtown - two jumping places if you include the controlled dives off the landmark Sky Tower, which soars above the city and serves as a landmark on the skyline.
I'm glad I rectified the oversight. The Kiwi carrier is the first of eight airlines I'll be taking on Star Alliance member carriers over the next 27 days. I'm on a round the world trip booked at Star Alliance.com (details coming in my next post on good ways to use that site.)
Air New Zealand was real good: friendly, efficient staff, flat-bed seats in business class that were actually flat and actually comfortable (not a given with many airlines), modernity everywhere. Even the food was good, the equal of what you could find on the ground in a good restaurant. That's very hard to pull off at 37,000 feet in a cramped compartment, but ANZ did it well. My dinner was chicken breast stuffed with pumpkin, designed by celebrity New Zealand chef Peter Gordon. It was preceded by a sushi sampler and followed by a cheese course, all accompanied by a nicely structured New Zealand Pinot Noir. New Zealand is best known in my part of the world - North America - for its Sauvignon Blancs, refreshing whites that can nonetheless come on a bit too lemony and grapefruity for my taste. This was a welcome change of pace. It was an overnight flight. I managed to sleep a bit - rare for me - and caught up on some reading. Between reading and snoozing and eating, I didn't set aside much time to sample the in-flight entertainment offerings, but the choice of videos, music, games, et. al looked extensive and well-chosen.
The 13-hour, overnight flight had a few weather-related bumps over the Pacific but nothing really untoward. Mostly, the flight was uneventful - and that's good. We touched down at Auckland's bright, modern, clean and well-organized international airport 10 minutes ahead of schedule. Unlike some airports I have been in during off-peak hours - we landed at 5 a.m. - the international terminal was jammed, and most airport businesses were open. At such moments, I could almost ask myself "What recession?'' Though that would be silly, as we've all felt the effects of it, and the travel biz has taken its share of hits.
The Airbus, which runs between the airport and downtown Auckland, costs just NZ$23 return, departs every 15 minutes, and takes 45-50 minutes to reach downtown. From the stop I got off at downtown, it was a short and pleasant walk around the edges of gorgeous Albert Park to the Hyatt Regency Hotel, where I am staying.
I'll be blogging daily about all aspects of this trip in the weeks ahead. Tomorrow: How to use the booking feature on the Star Alliance Web site, should you want to take a similar round-the-world journey, customized to your interests, schedule and budget.
And more soon about the city of Auckland. From what I have seen at first glance, it is pretty, big enough to be interesting but small enough to get your arms around, defined by its relationship to the water and a love of fun with a derring-do edge. There is a big bungee jumping place right downtown - two jumping places if you include the controlled dives off the landmark Sky Tower, which soars above the city and serves as a landmark on the skyline.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Rounding the World with Star Alliance
I am heading off tonight on a round the world trip, booked on Star Alliance member carriers. I'll be blogging here and otherwise writing travel pieces during and after the trip, as well as tweeting: http://twitter.com/armstrongtravel.
It's a big trip: 10 countries, four continents, eight airlines, 28 days. It'll be challenging but I don't expect to be bored.
First up: Auckland, New Zealand, on Air New Zealand. It's a 13-hour, all-night flight. But Air New Zealand is a good carrier. I flew with them once before, to Sydney, a decade ago, and liked them.
After Auckland, the journey will take me to Singapore, Mumbai, Cape Town, Cairo, Rome, Barcelona, Lisbon, London and San Francisco.
I booked the trip on the new - it was launched in July - Star Alliance Book and Fly function at Star Alliance.com, which allows you to plan and finalize a RTW trip. You can accomplish the same thing by calling a travel agent, ticket office or airline call center, but I did it on the Web site.
More details on that, and the trip itself, to come.
It's a big trip: 10 countries, four continents, eight airlines, 28 days. It'll be challenging but I don't expect to be bored.
First up: Auckland, New Zealand, on Air New Zealand. It's a 13-hour, all-night flight. But Air New Zealand is a good carrier. I flew with them once before, to Sydney, a decade ago, and liked them.
After Auckland, the journey will take me to Singapore, Mumbai, Cape Town, Cairo, Rome, Barcelona, Lisbon, London and San Francisco.
I booked the trip on the new - it was launched in July - Star Alliance Book and Fly function at Star Alliance.com, which allows you to plan and finalize a RTW trip. You can accomplish the same thing by calling a travel agent, ticket office or airline call center, but I did it on the Web site.
More details on that, and the trip itself, to come.
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