Thursday, May 14, 2009

Last night in Auckland

Tomorrow I fly out to the islands. Woe is me.

I called Fiji today to make a reservation at a hostel there. The lady on the phone said, "There'll be someone waiting for you at arrivals with our name on the sign, but before you come through, could you pick something up for us?"

Huh? I thought. "Uhh, okay?" What is this all about?

"Could you pick up a bottle of Fiji Bounty Rum? It should be about $19 a bottle. Just bringit to the front desk when you check in and we'll reimburse you for it."

"Okay, sure." I guess if this is a joke, then I'll just have to drink the rum myself. I'm sure I could handle it.

This is the first time I'll be bringing rum to my hotel. I wonder if they'll sell it back to me at a higher price?

In other news, I completed my New Zealand Taxes today. It took about five minutes, in comparison to the two days that the US taxes take. I did, however, have to call the IRD three different times to get it done. But here you can actually talk to a real person after only about 2-5 minutes on the phone. It's quite amazing.

The rest of the day was spent wandering, visiting my favorite cafe, walking along ponsonby road and chatting with travelers in the hostel.

Tomorrow I fly out at 1:00PM. I'll be sad to leave Verandahs Hostel. It's one of the best in New Zealand. I think if I'd have discovered it sooner, I might have tried to be a longer term resident here. It's quite the place.

Au Revoir, Kiwiland! I'll see you in my dreams.

1 comment:

auntie dj said...

I think you are a Rum Runner - Ross says that is what bootleggers in Oklahoma used to be called - they made moonshine - you are just transporting it!
Tata and good night.
Auntie dj and unka jr