PHUKET TO SYDNEY
We had a short flight from Phuket to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. The airport was very modern and had a funky "rainforest" in the centre of it where you could go outside and walk through. It was pretty tiny and didn't feel quite real but at least it gave us something to do while waiting for our next flight. It wasn't too long and pretty soon we were on the longest flight we had been on for a long time. It was a night flight so we hoped to get some sleep as we winged our way to Sydney, Australia.
SYDNEY - DAY 1
Our flight arrived early in the morning at Sydney International Airport. It was a long time since we had been in an English speaking country and it was all a bit a unsettling. We were now very close to home. We caught the train from the airport and into town. Our hotel was not far from the station and fortunately we were even able to check in early. Although we had some sleep on the plane, it hadn't been good sleep and we were happy to get a couple more hours. Marcus was still feeling terrible so stayed in bed for the rest of the day. Jess got up and had a look around the neighbourhood, but didn't venture too far, other than to grab some food.
SYDNEY - DAY 2
We only had a couple of days in Sydney so no matter how Marcus felt we were going to have a look around today. Jess had managed to do it across half of South East Asia, so Marcus could do it here. We found a local cafe and got some breakfast. It was still very disconcerting to have everything in English. It felt like it was all too easy.We continued on down George Street towards Circular Quay, popping in to the odd shop along the way, including a walk through (but no money spent) in the old Queen Victoria Building, a Victorian style covered shopping arcade.
We arrived down at Circular Quay and took our obligatory photo of the Sydney Opera House. We then walked back around the waterfront and out to the point around the Opera House and looked back towards the Harbour Bridge. We carried on around and into the Botanic Gardens which run up along the side of the CBD. We sat down and watched children playing amongst the bushes and sculptures and then went for a bit more of a walk. We cut back into the city again and paid a visit to the big David Jones Department Store. There was plenty for sale but nothing that caught our fancy, so wandered back through the centre of town for a a bit of a rest at the hotel in the afternoon.
We ventured out again at dinner time on the hunt for a meal. We went for a walk in the other direction down to Darling Harbour. We had a look at the restaurants along the waterfront, but with Marcus' stomach still pretty delicate we didn't see any point in having a fancy dinner, even if this was our last night away...We eventually found a restaurant in the shopping centre overlooking Darling Harbour which served some nice but not too fancy fare. It was a quiet walk back to the hotel before tomorrow...a very big day...
SYDNEY TO WELLINGTON
It was with great apprehension that we arose today. Only a train ride and a plane ride and we would be back in Wellington, with our family and friends who we grew up with. Our big adventure would be over. The train took us to the airport, we check in our bags and waited for our flight to board. It was fitting that we had left New Zealand by Air New Zealand and that our flight back to New Zealand was going to be Air New Zealand too. We were actually paying for this flight with the airpoints earned on that initial flight out.
As soon as we boarded the plane we could tell that we were surrounded by New Zealanders. The familiar (yet a little forgotten) accent and that relaxed look that comes from living somewhere with lots of space. We were both feeling pretty anxious on this flight. It had been a long time since we were going home. This was the end of a long journey. Would we enjoy being back in Wellington again? Would it be the same as we remembered it? Would people be the same as we remembered them? Would landing at Wellington airport be like a roller coaster?
After a few short hours we would have answeres to these questions and more. The plane came in over Makara and through the strait over a glorious, sunny and calm day in Wellington. It touched down without incident, we made our way through Customs and before we knew it we were exiting into the Departures Lounge to see our smiling parents waiting for us. We loaded up our bags into our parents cars, Marcus with his parents, Jess with hers and seperately drove out to Marcus' parents in Lower Hutt. There was the odd new building in Wellington, but in general it was all just as we remembered it. We arrived at Marcus' parents, tired, sick and thinner, but home. Before long we were joined by the rest of our family for an afternoon of catching up.
The next day we decided to make the most of being in another new (but old) city. After catching the train into town we wandered the streets, checking our Lambton,, Cuba, Courtenay, Frank Kitts and all the other neighbourhoods around the CBD. We signed up for cellphone numbers and we were back in society again. A proper coffee and a (expensive) beer and we were integrating ourselves back into what it was all about to be in Wellington. The next month was spent catching up with our friends and family, and all the babies they had made since we left, Marcus returning to work to pay off our trip, Jess finding a new job and then finally returning to our house. Once we moved back in we felt we were really home and we had decided we were happy to be here. Once we got used to the fact that things run a bit more slowly and people need their personal space we knew that this was where we wanted to be. And so, after three and a bit years of adventure it was time to settle down and see what kind of life we could make for ourselves here.
We had a short flight from Phuket to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. The airport was very modern and had a funky "rainforest" in the centre of it where you could go outside and walk through. It was pretty tiny and didn't feel quite real but at least it gave us something to do while waiting for our next flight. It wasn't too long and pretty soon we were on the longest flight we had been on for a long time. It was a night flight so we hoped to get some sleep as we winged our way to Sydney, Australia.
SYDNEY - DAY 1
Our flight arrived early in the morning at Sydney International Airport. It was a long time since we had been in an English speaking country and it was all a bit a unsettling. We were now very close to home. We caught the train from the airport and into town. Our hotel was not far from the station and fortunately we were even able to check in early. Although we had some sleep on the plane, it hadn't been good sleep and we were happy to get a couple more hours. Marcus was still feeling terrible so stayed in bed for the rest of the day. Jess got up and had a look around the neighbourhood, but didn't venture too far, other than to grab some food.
SYDNEY - DAY 2
We only had a couple of days in Sydney so no matter how Marcus felt we were going to have a look around today. Jess had managed to do it across half of South East Asia, so Marcus could do it here. We found a local cafe and got some breakfast. It was still very disconcerting to have everything in English. It felt like it was all too easy.We continued on down George Street towards Circular Quay, popping in to the odd shop along the way, including a walk through (but no money spent) in the old Queen Victoria Building, a Victorian style covered shopping arcade.
We ventured out again at dinner time on the hunt for a meal. We went for a walk in the other direction down to Darling Harbour. We had a look at the restaurants along the waterfront, but with Marcus' stomach still pretty delicate we didn't see any point in having a fancy dinner, even if this was our last night away...We eventually found a restaurant in the shopping centre overlooking Darling Harbour which served some nice but not too fancy fare. It was a quiet walk back to the hotel before tomorrow...a very big day...
SYDNEY TO WELLINGTON
It was with great apprehension that we arose today. Only a train ride and a plane ride and we would be back in Wellington, with our family and friends who we grew up with. Our big adventure would be over. The train took us to the airport, we check in our bags and waited for our flight to board. It was fitting that we had left New Zealand by Air New Zealand and that our flight back to New Zealand was going to be Air New Zealand too. We were actually paying for this flight with the airpoints earned on that initial flight out.
As soon as we boarded the plane we could tell that we were surrounded by New Zealanders. The familiar (yet a little forgotten) accent and that relaxed look that comes from living somewhere with lots of space. We were both feeling pretty anxious on this flight. It had been a long time since we were going home. This was the end of a long journey. Would we enjoy being back in Wellington again? Would it be the same as we remembered it? Would people be the same as we remembered them? Would landing at Wellington airport be like a roller coaster?
After a few short hours we would have answeres to these questions and more. The plane came in over Makara and through the strait over a glorious, sunny and calm day in Wellington. It touched down without incident, we made our way through Customs and before we knew it we were exiting into the Departures Lounge to see our smiling parents waiting for us. We loaded up our bags into our parents cars, Marcus with his parents, Jess with hers and seperately drove out to Marcus' parents in Lower Hutt. There was the odd new building in Wellington, but in general it was all just as we remembered it. We arrived at Marcus' parents, tired, sick and thinner, but home. Before long we were joined by the rest of our family for an afternoon of catching up.
