Sunday 20th March – Footwear!
Now in Paihia, Bay of Islands to sleep. I arrived in Auckland about 7.30 and got a taxi to Camel Nomads and my bed for the night. It was a pit of a place – like an apartment with a living room/ kitchen with ‘bathroom’ off and then 3 rooms of each with an 8 bed dorm of bunk beds in them. A very kind German girl gave up her bottom bunk for me to sleep on the bottom bunk. The bed was clean. The curtains were falling off the rails. The bathroom floor was flooded. One of the two showers had no door! I had a very brief shower and got into bed not caring if I snored or not!
Up at 6.30 and off to Paihia by 7.30. My milk had gone off so I had some black tea and threw half of it away. Many of the girls there were Chinese doing an English course. I felt so sorry for them. I complained about the bathroom on my way way out.
Footwear! I can’t remember if I have raised this subject before but flip flops ( to us) are the most popular footwear for females and males around here. Here they are called jandles but in Australia they are thongs! Many butch young men and women go barefoot. This to me breaks all the rules of travelling. Look after your feet!
Most do have a pair of trainers for walks.
In Paihia I have booked into the YHA in a private double room! Very expensive at $90 a night – £45. All I have done since I arrived yesterday lunchtime is get bread and milk, had 2 beers, done my washing and slept. Wifi is very poor so in cafe now to do this having had another 2 beers today with a sandwich.
Bliss! I am really tired and after this I am going to the supermarket for fruit and back to my bed! My cafe is brilliant. It is like a pier jutting out into the sea, overlooking the islands. All white furniture and sail like roofing. The sun is glistening on the water and I know why I go travelling! That’s me in my aussie soles jandles (first ever not to hurt me between my toes!) over and out for now!
Tags: Travel
Freejan