There is no mee goreng in India

I'm going back to India! This will be my third time! I went in 2002 for work/play/Nepal, then again in 2003 to Yuksam, Sikkim, then back again in 2006.

Our rough itinerary:

1-4 : Calcutta
5-12 : Yuksam, Sikkim
13-15: Darjeeling
16-22: Rajasthan
23-26: Delhi

So if anything THING happens.... you'll know where to find me.... hahahahahahahahahahhahhahahahah.

Leaving in about 7 hours time. Bored. Here a tip

What to pack for a cold country:
1. Good face moisturiser ( dry/cold weather needs a richer cream than what we are used to in our tropical weather)
2. Body moisturiser
3. Vaseline (esp if you are very prone to cracked skin)
4. lip balm
5. Vitamin C and Vitamin E (for face)
6. Heat packs
7. 100% polypropelene thermal long johns (heavy weight everwarm brand (made in NZ) is good)
8. A good sleeping back esp if u are trekking (get goose or duck down)
9. Good trekking socks so you wont get blisters
10. A good waterproof parker
11. Good fleece
12.Ski gloves (keeps your hands nice and toasty)
13. Remember to layer up with dry fit stuff and woolen stuff.
14. Beanie or balaclava, pref windproof.
15. Raincoat

Well, thats all for now, I'm going back to pack my stuff.

There is really no mee goreng in India, despite many indian "mama's" selling it here. They have however chinesised noodles esp in Calcutta. Looking forward to batura and pokara and momos. yums. No yak butter tea for me please.

Till then, take care, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

Around in Rotorua

Gorgeous View the area near OPC.


Driving along Lake Taupo I think. The lake is the size of Singapore! the population in NZ is the same as Singapore!


Haka Island in the distance. Its where the Haka was invented.... 'It is death,it is death it is life, it is life'


Spent quite a bit in this shop run by a Singaporean family who has migrated there. Coole! I wanna migrate too! they have an excellent fish and chips store next door.


Fish and Chips in News paper! Yumms!!! We had chili for the first time in 7 days!

Out and About in OPC, NZ

Fish curry rice. Really good!


Ubique chalet. It has 2 rooms of 10 for kids and 2 rooms for teachers at both ends. there are 2 drying rooms, one for boys and another for girls, 2 bathrooms, several sinks and wash areas around for the kids to wash their own clothes. Each dorm has a heater and the teacher's dorm is way coole! if only all the hostels were like this!


The main OPC centre where we have our meals, debrief and table tennis and a shop. lovely 2 storey building where kids can play, chat and do stuff.



Inside the dorm where the kids are preparing a gift for the instructors.

More of NZ, OPC

Jyothi is the OPC cook. Fujian Indian who has been working in NZ for a while. Sweet mama she is.


Kids helping to prepare dinner. It was fun!


We walked on this volcanic mountain and there were hardly any insects or nasty creepy crawlies.Despite the rain it was a nice walk, we were well layered with thermal, fleece, overtrousers and parker, 2 socks to prevent blisters and leather boots. We crossed rivers and rocks and had to go up and down steep elevations. Coole! The mountain trekkers hut. With all the wet stuff outside. It was raining the entire day and we walked and walked and walked in the cold.But its not too bad when u are well layered.





The toilet outside the mountain trekkers hut. No flush but ways cleaner than some of our toilets!


Inside the mountain trekkers hut. Its super clean, well maintained and has everything u need to survive except a tv. Haha... I'm the urban gal but it was nice and peaceful. Carrie taught the kids this game called mafia and they loved it! they all slept in sleeping bags in the bunk beds.




The instructors slept in sleeping bags on the floor near the fire. There is a shed for firewood and a tap and sink. Way cooles! No electricity!

More Adventures in OPC, NZ

Well, this isnt exactly and adventure but they kids were given a duty to do so this group had to sweep up leaves..... are they really leaves? Have a closer look...


They are moths!!!.... some evolutionary/camouflage/nature this that occured


Having lunch in the middle of nowwhere after caving. Din take pics during caving cos the camera will get wet and you have to squeeze through tiny holes and crawl through minute spaces in the dark, anyway, caving was dun with glow worms, streams, pit holes and lots of kids to lead the way.


We went back to OPC after caving to get geared up with wetsuits, life vests, etc for gorging. Gorging is like walking in the river.The waters were icy cold and got really high, so we did not walk far... but far enuf to have a bit of fun. and we slid down this thing. superb!

Adventures in OPC, New Zealand

The Outfitting/Gear Rental. Its huge, and it rents almost all of your outdoor needs except a sense of adventure and guts.



Kids awaiting their turn to get their outfits which consist of thermals, fleece tops and bottoms, over trousers and parker, helmet, gum boots, balaclava (beenie) gloves, an overnight bag and sleeping bags etc. so coole!


Kids with their new rentals, ready for an adventure of a lifetime!


BushWhacking: Literally. There is no trails nor path to follow, we had to trample on new ground, stepped on new growth and killed some bush. Found some new plants and made fast enemies with a few(who got trampled on by like 13ppl)


Ready to Abseil? We whacked bushes will we came to this steep drop off and had to abseil down. It was fun! I abseiled for the first time, again I had to avoid trees and all going down.


Flying Fox. Its way coole, down between the valley over a gushing river, the river was excellent and the ride was super! the kids had this pulley system to pull the person back to the start point.


Flying Fox pulley system. Simple fun and easy. NO complicated machines and stuff.

Rotorua, New Zealand

I cant tell you how much I love New Zealand, I'll just show you pics. A brief of my ultra short 8/9 day trip would be

Day 1: Auckland-Outdoor Pursuit Centre (OPC) off Rotorua
Day 2 :OPC-Buch Whacking,Abseiling, Flying Fox
Day 3 : Caving and Gorging (River walking)
Day 4-5: Snowball fight/Mountain Trekking and Overnight in a Trekkers Hut
Day 6: Short Drive to Turangi Town and Back to Rorotua for Fish n Chips
Day 7: Adventure Thrills and Shopping in Rotorua
Day 8: Rorotua to Auckland

Will give u details with pics k. By the way, I must mention that we did not go there alone, rather with a bunch of 20kids and another instructor. So, if you see kids in the background, they are not mine but they did make our journey to NZ spicier and sweeter at times but can be numbing (at times speechless and bloodcurling) too.... But all in all, I enjoyed getting to know them, exchanging stories and food and J their instructor, our friend.

Auckland Airport


Maori Cemetery: Has to be on a slope with the high ranking Maori on higher ground


Huka Falls


Outdoor Pursuit Centre set up by Sir Edmund Hillary


First Nz Dinner of Beef Sausages in OPC. It was so-so.


Kids making sandwiches for lunch with beetroot, mango chutney, peanut butter, salad, ham, jam, butter, mayo, carrot etc. Of course, not everything goes in the sandwich at once unless the kids make them as such, usually, we get mostly horrid sandwiches will I stepped in to make our own and for our instructor.


OPC Dining/Kitchen. Very much hostelish where u set up and clearup on your own or as a group. Cool system (cos the adults din have to do anything) :)



The kids were split into 2 groups, we followed Carrie our OPC instructor. They kids were having a briefing with her. I was the official photographer.


Bird vulturing a moth. There were tonnes of these greenish yellow moths which look like leaves. Check out my zoom man. this pic was taken from afar.

The Day before a Holiday

So, I'm going to Rotorua tomorrow. Yay!

Had an extremely tiring week. All I can say is that momentum is lame. Like hello...? Still managed to squeeze in sometime for tennis though. Fun. The weather is perfect for tennis after the rain.

Christmassy Air
Can you smell it and feel it? The cool tropical winter breeze, the closest we ever get to a winter season here in Singapore. The first christmas commercial. I used to love the Metro one and its jingle. Anyways.....

Tennis Arena
If there is a Singapore Badminton Hall, why can't we have a Singapore Tennis Hall? Just because you have to play badminton indoor, doesnt mean you can't play tennis indoor as well. Get my drift? Why must tennis players be subjected to the weather condition and badminton players have the luxury of playing anytime they want? Can you hear the thunder? All outdoor sports shd have an indoor court. Ok, I'll have some sportswomanship here, I'll even extend the indoor areas to soccer, rugby, cricket, softball, water polo etc. Like hello..... they are remaking the national stadium the exact same capacity as when we first built it. Like... din our population just increase almost 4 million and u are still building a small stadium.... which SHOULD have the option of a retractable cover!!! Stop thinking of constraints and limitations!!!

Well, I'm tired from a whole day of shopping. See ya!

Loves,
Evielovestotravel

More of Chloe

Chloe Neville

The photos you have been waiting for. One month old, chubby little sweetheart. What more can you ask for.