Why Auckland is awesome.

This morning I woke up with a baffling paradox of feelings. I was hit by the bus that says "REALITY CHECK: YOU'RE LEAVING NEW ZEALAND IN 20 DAYS". Okay, wow, time to freak out now. What do you do?


Around this date in 2009, around this same time, I was reading a blog post, written by somebody who went to New Zealand, listing the reasons why she doesn't want to leave this place. I thought she was just exaggerating, but I had a hunch that I would love it here too.

And damn right I do.


Since I have never been all touristy and actually wrote why New Zealand is different from Malaysia like every other bloggers who went overseas for studies did (I always thought I'm not that zealous to begin with), describing every little thing, let me do it once and for all, in hope that whoever is going to New Zealand soon would be as excited as I was when I read that person's blog :)

1. First of all, I know when you hear "New Zealand" you'll automatically be reminded of Fernleaf's ad, so you'll be expecting to see LOTS of milk cows and sheep, right? If you're gonna be living in Auckland, SCRAP THAT IMAGE OUT OF YOUR HEAD. You will NOT see cows and sheep everywhere, you'd have to actually go to the suburbs. Auckland is actually a really urban area. Exhibit A:
    
   this is the view from right outside my house. So, you think I'm kidding you?
   
2. Auckland is a very people place. Expect super friendliness from everybody, smiles from strangers and "How's it going"s from practically everyone you know or possibly don't. So to prepare yourself to this, equip selves with lots of thank you's, smiles, and "Hey"s. I mean, even the bus drivers would say Hi to you, so are you gonna just stand there and feel awkward about it? I hope not.
   
3. In New Zealand, it is easier to carry a Visa Debit or EFTPOS around. EFTPOS is your ATM card, but carries the functions of a visa debit. Which means it is basically like your Maybank Cherry card, without the ability to use it as a credit card. What's really good about this is you don't have to carry cash around, which is one of the reason New Zealand is one of the safest country. And don't worry, almost all places accept EFTPOS, including convenience stores.
   
4. Auckland, specifically, has a lot of beaches. You can choose from the very touristy but nasty (but still look pretty) Mission Bay (the one I went with Naim last time), another tourist attraction Takapuna Beach, Long Bay Beach, Murray Beach, or surfers' paradise like Piha or Muriwai Beach. Or if you long for a brief island getaway, you have Waiheke that offers A LOT of pretty beaches, from Oneroa to Palm Beach, Onetangi, Stony Batter and lots more. Or you can visit Tiritiri Matangi Island for a day, and lots other islands to choose from. Satisfaction guaranteed for beach, waves and tides lovers.
   
   
   
   Takapuna Beach
   Waiheke (Palm Beach)
   
5. In Auckland, you don't have to worry about Halal food much. There's a wide variety of restaurants that offer halal food; from char grill to steak, kebab, or Asian fusion. So all you have to do is choose (and ask, of course).
   
   
   or you can cook ;)
6. If you were scared of snatch thieves in Malaysia, that's why you only wear your handbags for brief moments in Malaysia (like, two hours, and then you leave them in your car or whatever), that's not one of the worries over here. Girls rock their handbags hard here yaw (and guys too)!
   
7. People here, other than nice, are also VERY open minded. You've heard cases of Islamophobia, that doesn't happen here :) They don't judge you based on what you wear, but more of what you say. Which means, don't give out racist slurs or remarks. That's plain rude, anyway. On what you do, well that depends. If you go all crazy in the streets, most people here won't care, but if you suddenly act violent of course people would -.-"
   
8. The weather and the sky here is unbeatable. Nuff said.
   
9. The people here are very proud of their culture. No I don't mean their urban culture (drinking, partying blah3) but culture culture. Like, where are they from, what their people do and everything. And I assure you, you'd love them, especially the Maori culture. The way they bring it (with pride) makes you just fall in love with them. They do flash mob in the streets, just like we do, but guess what? They HAKA instead of dancing to Justin Bieber. I gotta admit I was a bit embarrassed in that department :(
   
   
10. Speaking of drinking and partying, I suggest you to go out and experience Friday night in the city. And I don't mean "go clubbing", just go out and see how Auckland looks like on Friday nights. At first, you'll feel intimidated or maybe even scared because it's not a normal scene in Malaysia. But trust me, it's fun and very entertaining.
    

I think so far that's the 10 reasons why I love Auckland so much. I was talking to Naim last night. I told him how I can't wait to go back, and his response in exact words was "Alah, awak tu sekejap je tak sabar nak balik. Tak lama lepas tu rindu Auckland balik la apa la". Well, can't say that he's wrong. I am gonna miss Auckland. But I just can't wait to see him and my family again :)