As my readers likely gleaned from the way the Day One travelogue ended, my medicinal strategy to Jedi Mind Trick my physiology for minimal jet lag more or less worked. I was able to sleep for a significant portion of the 13 hour oversea(s) flight from San Francisco to Auckland NZ, via a combination of a strategically timed dosing of melatonin and hydroxyzine (an antihistamine with both anti-anxiety and sedating properties), ample leg room (due to a pre-paid seat upgrade), comfortable footwear and clothing (including a fleece balaclava that allowed me to regulate the temperature of my head), and good earplugs (to block out all but the most obnoxious ambient noises). I now believe I have international travel comfort locked in about as well as it can be. I would say I achieved at least five hours of good sleep on the flight, which is acceptable.
Our plane landed in Auckland NZ at about 9 AM local time. The customs and immigration process went fairly smoothly. My Australian passport is recognized by New Zealand, without the need for a visa. Deborah had a valid visa for her American passport. We were a bit unsure if some of the food we brought with us was prohibited in NZ, but we declared what we had and were transparent about it. I was most worried about the packages of raw nuts (shelled pecans and walnuts). A trained contraband sniffing dog honed in on my bag of food, but we think the dog was simply attracted to the peanut butter of our PB&J sandwiches, because the customs officer waved us on after determining we had nothing forbidden with us. We exited customs and entered Auckland NZ proper.
A pre-arranged limo driver named Gary met us near the airport exit, holding up a tablet with our names on it. He was good natured and told us quite a bit about NZ's sociopolitical climate (in summary, it's miles ahead of the US on many quality of life metrics) on our roughly 30 minute drive from the airport to the Sudima Hotel in downtown Auckland. When we arrived at the hotel, our room wasn't ready yet, because we got in so early. However, one of the reception staffers offered us a complimentary upgrade to a nicer room that was ready, and we headed there.
Now, if this room was an upgrade, I cannot imagine what the original room was like. The room we got was tiny and austere. Basically a bed in the center of the main room and a bathroom off of that. There was a microscopic mini fridge, capable of containing almost nothing, and a small shelf with coffee/tea making amenities. There was a TV too, but we didn't have much interest in watching it. The room served our purposes, a safe space to sleep and bathe, although a microwave might have been nice. We deposited our bags and settled in a bit. Deborah took a shower, after which we took a short walk over to an eatery called the Sunflower Vegan Cafe. It was good plant-based eating. They did not skimp on the portion sizes. It was a bit heavy on oil, but it was tasty and filled us up.
Upon returning to the hotel, we succumbed to intense power naps for a couple hours, catching up on the sleep deficit acquired on the long journey to get here. It was hard to shake myself awake from the nap, but I eventually did.
We had dinner at the vegan friendly hotel restaurant, called EAST, which I cannot help but point out is an anagram for EATS. It was Asian themed. There was no skimping on portion sizes here either. I got a pho noodle bowl. I can't recall what Deborah got, but I will replace this sentence with that information if/when I do.
After dinner, we decompressed in the hotel room for a spell, and then went to bed, fairly satisfied with the day.
Fin.
No comments:
Post a Comment