A Messy Day in Auckland

Finally I’m finding the time to catch up on my writing so what I’m writing about actually happened yesterday which for most of you back home is today because it’s Sunday night here and I’m now about to begin packing my bags to get ready to fly to Dunedin tomorrow on the South Island here to begin my next adventure but before I go any further let me just finish the story at hand which started off with me waking up at the Presidents hotel which is ok but not the best place I’ve stayed on my trip so far . Out of the 5 places we’ve stayed at so far I would say it is the second best lodging even though the bed kinda sucks here and the cleaning staff haven’t done the best job since we’ve found a pair of someone’s socks in the room and they have neglected to clean our room until we had to go ask them too ... whatever they will enjoy the smell of my gear when I leave lol ! That shit hangs around hehehe . 

In order to get some exercise and see the city the best thing to do in my opinion is to always find a Free Walking Tour  which of course we did so that is how we began our day . We walked down the road and turned onto Queen St and went down to the wharf to meet the tour guide who was there waiting for the group to build up and head off into the city cutting through alleys and looking at art and architecture while getting a splash of history thrown in . Our guide was named Martin and did a great job at keeping us all entertained and safely out of the way of traffic whether it be pedestrian or vehicle . We were introduced to a cool local app to find public bathrooms also called Flush which in my mind is pretty good to know on those days when hiking around the city . Not sure if it’s just a local thing and I haven’t downloaded it but it would be good for those with weak bladders 😜 our tour was roughly 3 hours and along the way we went by a coffee shop which is really small and it was called Atomic Coffee and I had my first experience with a flat white instead of opting for my normal cappuccino and it really changed my life ! I think I’ve found my new way to drink a good coffee as it’s a couple shots of espresso with some foamy milk to top it with all the bubbles in the milk knocked out .... just telling you if you’ve never had one as I’m sure I’m the only idiot whose never tried this fantastic innovation . 

Martin took us through an Asian part of the city where he recommended a bunch of great restaurants and took us by an alley with some great pubs and one particular place that caught my eye ...The Gin Room ! Apparently this place is haunted so do I need to say more .... we are definitely popping in later . We went through a park and he even showed us a place to get free hand lotion from this really expensive place which I’m sure all the ladies enjoyed but I didn’t like that greasy feeling on my skin . I don’t even put sun tan lotion on because I don’t like that shit ... firstly I don’t really burn thanks to my family genes and our olive skin and secondly if I’m gonna get cancer from the sun because I was in it for a bit then so be it , shit happens . And thirdly I’m a stubborn old git 😜. When our tour ended we were back near the wharf and there was an open market with all kinds of yummy food but we opted to save our appetite for later . As all free tours are operated it’s customary to tip the guide as we always do but you’re not forced into it and Martin sang us all a customary Maori song to say goodbye which was very nice and we gave our tip and went back to our room . 

Kathleen has booked a trip on a sailboat and I’m not a water guy so my plan is to either take a nap or catch up on my writing ....instead I opted to deal with my luggage issues and called Air New Zealand and what a royal pain in the ass that was !!! I called in and spoke to the person on the phone and told her I would like to book my hockey sticks as my second bag and she asked for the dimensions ... I told her they are hockey sticks , I guess about 5 feet long and skinny . She then asked for the weight and I then snidely said they weigh less then the babies they allow on their flights for free she then asked in a confusing way how big is the stroller and I felt like I totally threw her for a loop and had to explain to her that I’m not pleased by the fact that someone can bring a baby onto the plane for free and my two stick which weigh 5 pounds at the most cost me $160 to get here from Sydney on their airline ... she was so confused and didn’t comprehend and I felt like I was talking to a complete idiot . She then asked me to spell what I need extra baggage for , I wish I was joking ! I C E H O C K E Y S T I C K S , by this point I went from being snide to being a bit embarrassed for her and then she said oh I see it on our website ! Yeah that will be $39 for domestic , ok book it and gave her my credit card number . Now let’s book my other flights extra baggage to Perth from Dunedin 😤 now you think getting that done was hard ? Ok this got stupid .... fast ! My booking is using my Aeroplan points and it is three flights from Dunedin to Perth and the first flight was booked with one bag and the other two flights I had an allowance of two bags so I suggested just book my one extra bag for the first domestic flight and I will be happy to pay the $39 . She can’t ? In fact if she did book it then it would cost me $100 which is more then I would have paid from Sydney to Auckland if I booked in advance which is international also , I told her that and she spoke to her manager and the final outcome was that I had to contact my booking agent which is Aeroplan . Now the Aeroplan phone number which I have to contact toll free is not available and I can’t call it and the operator says it is blocked here 🤔 so I bite the bullet and make the long distance call and had to explain to them that I’m trying to get my sticks onto this flight and they are more understanding 🙂 I had to explain that Air New Zealand won’t book my bag and they told me to contact them and they can discuss it amongst airlines . Aeroplan sorted me out and added my extra bag to my first flight free of charge so now bags are sorted and Kathleen’s sailing tour is just about over so no time to nap or write or do anything aside from putting my shoes on and heading down to the harbour . 

I found Kathleen almost immediately and she enjoyed going sailing and said the ships crew told her this place called Oyster & Chop  has good oysters so off we go to start our evening of debauchery 🤪 it was happy hour there which is not for drinks but for oysters and the special today is called Te Kouma  if I recall correctly and they were $2.50 a piece which is cheap . We tried 6 first to see if they were any good and they were delish so we grabbed a dozen after they also had a good selection of beer and one particular brand I enjoy is the Lagunitas IPA which they have on tap and I enjoyed a few of those and with a big smile on both of our faces we decided to head over to The Gin Room where we are greeted and sat beside a window and our server is Tomas from Germany who is very knowledgeable and we had a million questions about certain guns we wanted to try , he was very patient and super helpful along the way through our experience and at one point I asked about the bar and if it was actually haunted ?(http://www.hauntedauckland.com/queens%20ferry%20hotel_20120426.htm) He said we don’t talk about this here and politely switched the subject then I looked it up online and found out that when someone mentions the ghost in the bar the bartender usually gets sprayed with water so when Tomas left we begin testing the theory and as far as we know nothing happened . There is also a story that the men’s washroom is a hotspot for activity so when I went in there I tempted the ghost to make an appearance but nothing happened 🤨 regardless I didn’t ask Tomas about the ghost again even as we became friendlier with our host . One thing I have to mention is that this place is selective about their clientele and refused 4 guys who were running around celebrating a stag do . I overheard Tomas telling them that this place is a speakeasy style bar and they can go across the street for their type of festivities which I’m sure is because they probably would have been inclined to bother all the other people in the establishment so I was happy they have that policy as this place should be for alcohol lovers . I highly suggest anyone that likes a good gin and tonic go to this place before it closes ... yeah unfortunately their lease is up and it’s time they moved to another location which is kinda sad because the place and location is great even if it’s haunted . 

With a nice buzz we recalled there being a hookah joint around the corner and we decide to go for some sheesh which was great but probably a massive mistake ... we both don’t smoke and if we do it’s gonna be sheesha but the last time I smoked any of that was a few years back in Egypt . We went to Habibi Cafe and paid a whopping $37 to smoke and we plopped ourselves ina couple seats at a table and began sucking back some tobacco which at first was nice but almost an hour into our experience we began getting dizzy and I felt really fucked up and dizzy and at that point we decide to go get a pizza from Sal’s Pizza around the corner ... we were both messed up from drinking and smoking ! I would say mostly from smoking and by the time we got to the pizza joint we just decided to get a full pizza and take it to our room . That walk back with that pizza in my hands was horrible as every step I took I pictured myself either falling or dropping the pizza and then we hit the hill we had to go up to our hotel and that hill burned my lungs like no tomorrow !!! My chest hurt and felt like it was on fire 🔥 oh the burn ... ouch . I had this same dizzy feeling in Egypt the first day I smoked there but nothing anywhere as horrible as this and to be honest I think this might be the last time I ever smoke sheesha . When we got to our room we devoured that pizza which was nice and greasy and just what we desired .... my bed was calling and tomorrow is our last day in Auckland . Time to call it a night 😴