Dental treatment.... What a treat!

Hmm.

Today, my class was supposed to start at 10am, and since I had a dental appointment, I had to wake up by 7am, (one hour earlier than usual) just to get to my dentist by 8:00am.

getting up, I realised that I had to take a bus down to the National Dental Centre (which is where I have my appointment), and I don't know what bus to take. So, my mother realising this since the night before decided to help me find the right bus to go there all the while scolding me about how useless I am in such matters blahblahblah.

I got ready and went down to breakfast, and I was told (by my mother) to go by a certain bus route which would then allow me to expand my travelling options by transferring to different bus routes. In the end, I mentioned that all the routes have to reach a certain point. Since the original bus which I took, without transffering buses, could give me a direct journey instead of a fragmented one I could have not neede to hear all that stuuf about transferring buses. Mother wasn't happy.

She then proceeded to scream at the top of her lungs (even though I was just ten inches away from her, so you can imagine the blast from her voice) about how ungrateful i was and that my brother didn't give her such trouble blahblahblahblah. I just sat there and let the storm blow over. But I do remember that my brother gave her more arguments in one month than I ever had with my mother.

So I took the bus route, and reached the dentist's at 8 am. I took my number and realised that my appointment was 8:30 am. Bugger. So I spent another hour waiting for the dentist to get herself settled down enough to attend to me at 9am. She didn't have any reason to scold me for being late this time.

My dentist, a late-twenties chinese lady let me sit down in those long dentist chairs that resemble torture platforms. After letting me rinse my mouth, she told me to open my mouth.

'Hmm, you didn't brush diligently right?'

'Ohhhrrr yerrrrs I deeeyd (oh yes, I did)' my mouth was open.

'Then why are your gums still so swollen???'

'Yeehrr the dentishhh, you telll me dhhat (you're the dentist, you tell me that)' mouth was still open.

She discovered that I also had a mouth ulcer, and proceeded to prod it whenever she dressed on the subject of my swollen gums (which incidentally consisted about 70 % of her menagerie). So I was wincing all the time and didn't have the mental capability to hear her through the pain.

I got the hell outta there after twenty minutes, so I managed to escape her once more, but only for two weeks.

See, I am in my second year wearing these darn metal objects. They have supremely disenabled me from having a proper social life (all the gals are scared away by the amount of metal and rubber on my teeth) and also causing great discomfort (ulcers popping up every other day).

So my dentist said that if I saw her every two weeks (ample opprtunity for her to prod my ulcers) she'd be able to help me get them bloody braces out by christmas. Hopefully. If my gums aren't that swollen.

Anyhow, I'll just have to get back to my drawings of my futuristic vehicle designed to flatten anybody who tries to emulate my design. Apparently, there is an ongoing plot amongst Alvin's classmates to try and burn my drawings if I do too well(just kidding). I just hope they don't burn the wrong ones... I did about twelve to fifteen concept drawings.... Muahahahahahaha... Man I am so cocky.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Kvirks At Vurk (Quirks At Work).

Grrrr.......

The Crawldaddy is mad. Oh, boy is he pissed. He is angry with his workplace, and it's uncannily insensitive people to worker's freedom and working hours and feelings.

Today, I came to work earlier, and since I have to sign in at the office, I decided to make for the office to sign my 'papers'. It was locked. Bugger.

So I waited. I was there at 6:50 in the morning, and I waited until 7:10 before someone (a supervisor) came to unlock the office door, and let me in. Talk about punctuality on OUR part.

Signed my stuff, found out which area (I am working in a convention centre) I am assigned to and found a trolley (cuz you never know when you need it). I reported to my supervisor, and started work.

Besides me, there was also a full-timer working alongside myself. Her name was Conny (not her real name). However, since she was in charge of one room, and I the setting up of a chinese lunch in another, we seldom saw each other in the morning. She always disappears. Talk about RESPONSIBILITY.

So I finished up my set-up of the chinese lunch, and decided to help Conny manage her room, which was the venue of a small exhibition, showcasing (and selling) their healthcare products. As the only guy worker in that area, I was the sole person able to carry heavy stuff whenever the organisers called for it. stuff like boxes, swivel fans and the like were always there for me, the only bloke down there. Whenever I was busy trying to do something, Conny would be chatting animately with the organisers, and ignoring everything else. Even the number of used glasses began to get alarming.

The two things about today which make me pissed are two things: the water container for the guests and the velvet rope across the corridor, preventing the guest (and myself at times) from going beyond into non-guest areas. The water conatiner (which can hold up to at least 15 litres and weighs about 8 kgs dry) was constantly empty due to the number of people who came and went, each time only drinking about half of what they poured into their glass. I had to top it up about four times today (imagine the number of people required to empty 60 litres of water). Also i had to clear away at least 700 glasses and replenish just as much in the process by lunchtime.

the situation was just as bad after lunch, even though I didn't have that empty feeling in my stomach. I was also forced to stay overtime for half an hour, and I don't think I was paid for that half hour.

What a BEAUtiful day. I hate my job. I hate those excessively bothersome people. I wish they'd just don't bring their kids as well. the kids always fool about with the velvet cordon. I hate them.

No Cheers today, mate,

Crawldaddy

Harmonica blues....

Hmm.

My good pal (and band mate) Alvin told me he only discovered harmonics recently. If you are a guitar player (especially with at least one year's playing experience), you'd know that along your fretboard, if you lightly touch your strings with your fretting fore finger at the seventh, ninth or twelfth frets, and subsequently hit the strings and release your finger immediately, you will get some harmonics.

What are harmonics? I just mentioned above. They are very useful, especially with controlled feedback.

Well, basically, harmonics are just some form of notes which can be played on the guitar (or simply any stringed instrument) usually at the seventh, ninth and twelfth fret and beyond. Apparently Alvin discovered this trick from me.

I had composed my song 'Search Away, Spring In Christchurch', which consists of two parts (as the name shows), a segment of normal strum and sing, and the latter segment an instrumental. the instrumental is further broken down into two parts, one with strumming and pick/strum parts where I pick out individual notes and simultaneously strum (as the song is in Open E tuning) without much clutter, the second with lots of strummed harmonics (a la Jimmy Page and 'Bron Y Aur Stomp' ). See, I take from my influences.

So Alvin discovered harmonics from me... big deal. I sometimes make fun of those who donch know what harmonics are. I tell them that harmonics are created when you touch the strings with a harmonica and you'd get that interesting sound (complete bull-crap, I know, but it's fun to see their reaction!).

Guess what? I just got a harmonica today.

A harmonica isn't what it's all banged up to be. Apparently, it coveres lots of octaves with the C, E, G and D notes, but it cannot play in sharps or flats. Sigh. I wanted to try some weird sounds with it, but that is dashed as the harmonica is supposed to sound either very cheerful, or sad (barely). Mine is in the key of G, so I'll be trying to find songs to play along with it.

I'll also see whether I can really create harmonics with it (heeheehee).

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Musing about music today

Hmm.

Whenever you listen to a record, what are you listening to it for?

Is it the fact you want to feel happy, therefore you hear an upbeat or energetic song?

Is it because you feel down and want to sooth your mind, hence you listen to something calming and smooth?

Or is it you are just pissed about anything you tune into something grinding and harsh-sounding?

What ever it is you listen to in any situation, have you considered the why and how music can turn from classics into disposable crap (aka Simple Plan)? The answer: MTV.

MTV's role in today's fickle world of musical tastes is simple: take, market like siao (crazy), and then dispose of the used 'artist' (hopefully Simple Plan). Fun huh?

If you look back over the years, any singer (notice I say singer) who's debut album turned them into MTV's Artist of The Month only lasted less that three years on the popularity charts. Eventually people wonder where they went (good examples: Ricky Martin, Sum 41 etc). Of course, then MTV pushes out a book or TV programme which shows what they (the discarded people) are doing at the moment, and then come back to forcing idiots (like Simple Plan, Hoobastank and 50 cent etc) down your throat.

One thing: due to their overly-excessive marketing of these people (or simply punk-whiners and bullet-riddled gangsters), the ability for truly talented people who want to be heard and have the talent to show for it are dutifully shunned aside because.... They don't want to be just another tool of MTV.

What happened to those days when we could call a song a classic? Is a 'song of the summer' considered a classic? Whatever happened to Rock N' Roll? It's been torn apart by MTV and mutilated and mutated into stuff that isn't considered Rock N' Roll anymore! (eg Simple Plan)

What can we do? Simple: Boycott MTV. Ignore their ridiculous charts and artists of the months, and songs of the summer. Remember: these 'artists' aren't long term (eg Britney Spears) and tend to resort to desperate measures to get publicity (eg Paris Hilton, but she ain't in music).

What else you can do.... just stick to YOUR tastes, YOUR opinion (just like me), YOUR own self identity. Most important of all, just peel MTV off your television choice channels. It'll do you good. Absolutely.

Cheers, (I did say I hated MTV right?)

Crawldaddy

Recording and editing....

Hmm.

Recording and editing songs have never been so fun, yet tiresome at the same time. Take last night for example: I was staying up until 1 am in the morning just recording overdubs for 'Stairway To Heaven' which I intend to cover. I mean, what's so great about it is you get to mess around with the arrangements (not that I really did that, the recording is about 25 seconds shorter than the original, so it's a bit faster overall).

With all my overdubs and stuff like that, it really sounds like the original (the music at least) in terms of feel, and energy. I think I did a good job of recreating the song, considering I only used one electric, one acoustic and one mike. Panning also plays an important part.

Overdubbing is a very tedious process, because you can record your stuff with the right timing, but due to the nature of my style of over dubbing (hearing the recorded layers through headphones and recording while I play the overdubs), the process of mixing the files will take a while due to the few milliseconds lost when I push play (for the recorded layers) and pushing play (for the recording function). When I even out the mix, It'd have to take about at least fifteen minutes just to do it, and subsequently make sure the volume is correct and there is a good balance between the pre-recorded stuff and the overdubs.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

All Apologies...

Hmm.

Yesterday, Alvin and I covered 'Stairway To Heaven', but we converted it into a parody. the name of this parody is 'She Can't Sing For Nuts', and we received a couple of feedback notes about our song, which poked fun (insulted is more close) at Zelda.

The feedback from my classmate was this: I should not have sang the song and given away who i was singing about, because it showed a sense of malice and insensitivity on my part. I completely agree... I couldn't have been more rude.

Therefore.... The Fuzzy Green Grass has hereby agreed never to sing 'She Can't Sing For Nuts' in open, only to ourselves, and reserve our thoughts about Zelda's lousy singing to ourselves (if Zelda will allow it anyway). Anyway, even if we don't say anything, your ears'll be bleeding when you hear her singing.

Here's the Lyrics:

She Can't Sing For Nuts (Stairway To Heaven)

There's a lady who's sure, all she utters is gold...
And she cannot sing for nuts.
When she gets here she'll know, why our ears are all closed...
with a word to shut her trap up.

Ooooh, ooooh, and she cannot sing a song for nuts.

There's a sign on the wall, but she wants to be sure
Cuz you know sometimes words have two meanings.

If you read our book, you will find what you read
isn't always underrated.

Ooooh, makes me wonder.
Ooooh, makes me shudder...

There's a feeling I get, when she opens her trap
and my spirit is crying for leaving.
In my thoughts I have seen her stoned in the streets
by those who can't stand it any longer.

And it's whispered that soon, if she will sing in tune
then she will finally listen to reason.
And the new day will dawn, for those who suffered long
and our voices will echo with laughter.

If there's a bustle in your earhole don't jump the gun now
it's just her building up on lame steam.
Yes, there's a certain way to ignore her, but if it ain't fun
there's still time to throw the rope at her.

Your head is humming and it won't go because we all know
that she is calling and we're running.
Dear lady can you hear our ears groan, and did you know?
That you are making such a great din.

Aaaah, aaaah.

Solo (first the banjo then the electric guitar)

And as we run on down the road,
her voice is louder that our soles.
Here comes the lady we all know,
who can't sing and wants to know
Why we are feeling oh so cold
And if she listens very hard
The truth will come to you at last
Why everytime we catch no ball
Guess everyone will surely know.....

That she cannot sing.... for nuts.....


Ok, fine, Me and Alvin are two very wicked people when it comes to such matters (parodies), and we always try to top oursleves, so watch out dudes!!!

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Recording techniques

Hmm.

Whenever Alvin or myself choose to record a couple of songs for an album, what usually happens is that I go over to his place in the morning armed with my electric and acoustic. We would then talk about what songs we want to record, and what songs either of us haven't heard before and would like to should show the other. This would eventually lead to us playing impromtu songs which we only learnt several moments before.

Apart from choosing the best songs to record and put on the album (so to speak), we would also attempt to improve the record by miking techniques, which I am very well versed in. I believe that the mike should be placed a distance away from the whole group so as to pick up a bigger sound, hence, allowing a more transparent sound what doesn't sound strained or congested. As Alvin's mike is a cheap 10 buck piece of computer hradware, my voice (which incidentally, has loads of emotion whenever I sing) tends to sound like some whiny punk from MTV's newest 'hot group'.

After recording the album and hearing it, I was severely disappointed with my voice, and decided to use my own computer and high-end mike to record my songs. I eventually tried to use my computer mike first until I found a way to fit my mono microphone (which sounds better) into the computer. I discovered that gently fingerpicked songs using the cheap microphone sounded muffled, while hitting it hard would literally drown out the vocals. Sigh.

I managed to record four good-sounding songs using the cheap mic, and I finally found a way to put my high-end microphone into the computer.... a secret for myself. I managed to record two very good-sounding songs and it even has resonant effects. Wow.

The next time Alvin and I are planning to record an album, it'd be at my place... cuz I've got a better mike and I am also able to burn my CDs without divine interference from my folks. Muahahahahahahah..... watch out you feeble acoustic players.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

The Fuzzy Green Grass Storms the Keep!

Hmm. (or maybe for today...YEAHHHH!!!)

Today, I was looking forward to two things when I went to school for lessons: First is to show my sketches of futuristic vehicles to my lecturers and simultaneously laugh viciously at my weaker classmates who can't seem to make their vehicles less like motorcars (NOT!!!, just kidding about this one ok?); Second is the Debate session which would involve Alvin and myself trying to entertain some people who have and have not heard our songs (those who have heard our songs are our classmates, those who haven't aren't our classmates).

So here I was walking into NYP, with my B.C. Rich Mockingbird in its case strapped to my back and with my A2 folder and sling bag and trying not to look like a bull in a china shop. I think I made it alright. So I entered the studio to get my guitar out to practise 'Stairway' which is THE highlight of that afternoon, and since I turned it into a Parody which really pokes fun at Zelda's absymal singing. We (Alvin and I) renamed it 'She Can't Sing For Nuts'.I'll post the lyrics soon enough.

After getting out my guitar, I put it on my lap and turned on my discman to play to 'Black Dog' from Led Zep IV. Almost at once I noticed that there was water flowing from my bag. SHIT. My water bottle had opened by itself (it has those flip caps yarh?) and bea=gan to leak all over my bag. Putting my guitar down non too gently, I rushed to evacuate my items from the bag, and simultaneously tried to de-moisturise my bag. Guess how I did it.... tissue paper, about thirty squares of the soft stuff was used up before the situation was under control. DAMN. I missed Black Dog.

So lesson started, we all geathered around and discussed how to improved my sketches (I already asked my other lecturer about how to improve my stuff two days back). So I presented my sketches to Ms Liu, and she said her stuff, and rounding off by commending me on being hardworking. Gosh, what a beautiful thing to say, but really I don't think about it too much. After seeing Alvin's stuff, I felt that maybe mine was really a bit too futuristic, but that's what it's all about.

After a boring Materials and Manufacturing session, I walked back to Block R to wait for Alvin to finish his work before we made a move on to Debate. We went off for the session at about 3:15, and reached there at about 3:27 (or so...). We went in and started to straddle up.

The thing about the first few songs Alvin and I did was that I kept screwing up because the room was friggin' cold and there were so many unknown faces. I decided to be bold and tried not to mess up after about three songs. we paused for a 'recess' after about five songs or so. We settled down to chat with people who were extremely interested in Alvin's banjo.... I was not left out that much, but hey, not many people have really seen a banjo right?

The second part of our song-singing and playing session involved three parodies ('Lament for the Bald Head' which is about a lecturer Alvin adn I know; 'Libyan on a Jetplane' which is a funny version of 'Leaving on a jetplane' and of course... 'She Can't Sing For Nuts', a rippoff of 'Stairway To Heaven'). It was fun, especially 'Libyan', and 'She Can't Sing For Nuts' went well.

The best part of the whole session was when Ms Gail (the debate lecturer) asked me and alvin to put music to different situations and feelings, among which were: rain, snow, the feeling of a baby in a womb, a baby being born, and the devil coming out of hell. The first involved me using a chord progression from my song 'Starry Night'; the second from my instrumental 'Spring in Christchurch', the third was just me using the tunings for 'Spring' (open E major) and playing harmonics; the forth was just me doing a pick slide and the last was just a blues progression in the key of F. Man it sounded dangerous.

the most interesting part of the session was me playing my souped-up dangerous version of S'pore's national anthem. Don't ask me to play it for them ever again: once is enough.

Ms Gail was constantly asking us questions, and she rounded off the day with a commendation that we were exactly what we described ourselves to her during the first debate session (we said that we had loads of energy, and were very loud and punchy just to summarise it). she also said what we did was impressive. WOW.... now that was something especially since the common response to our music was 'SHUT UP YOU BLITHERING IDIOTS!!!'.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

School Stuff

Hmm.

Today at school, I was required to create a model of a tape dispenser which would eventually be made into a real, working tape dispenser made from clay. I had already done three previous prototypes, and I had already decided on a basic shape and dimension for the tape dispenser. All of the models I had done were made from blue foam, which is a very fine version of your average styrofoam. It is also blue in colour.

The thing about blue foam is that it is very easy to cut, as long as you have a very sharp knife. Along with your penknife, you need a junior hacksaw and surform to remove the material effectively so as to get your desired shape. I basically made the model in about three hours, which is considered very fast.

Later in the evening, I had rendering class. Being required to design concepts of vehicles which can travel in air, space, water and on land, decided to consult my rendering teacher.

Mr Bowy (not his real name) is a designer by trade and he designs stuff like remote controls and handphones. Being reffered to this guy by the lecturer who first set me this task of designing concept vehicles, I was surprised that Mr Bowy declined to say much about vehicle renderings (which he says he isn't that fantastic at). I don't blame him, this kind of stuff is very tough to do, and only professionals who do such stuff everyday can come up with good renderings.

I decided to get down to doing the stuff which Mr Bowy teaches us: 3D and 2D renderings. I have made good progress on this area of drawings and such, so I was able to have lots of fun pointing out suggestions to my classmates. I tried not to be overly-imaginative and stuck to what was needed to say.

I ended the day discussing rendering tricks and tips with Mr Bowy, and I managed to get a good idea on how to improve my renderings. Wonderful.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Quirks With Zelda Part One

Hmm.

Going to NYP everyday is not as bad as trying to escape going to NYP everyday by bus with a terrible pain in the arse...... Zelda.

Let me explain: Zelda is a person (is she??), a girl of 1.7something height, approximately 80kilos ( I'm only 72 kilos) and the voice that can raise the dead.... along with terrible communications skills. Luckily she is in Alvin's (giantzucchini.blogspot.com) class (Thank Goodness!!), and while she is not trying to irritate people with her 'oh i'm so clever' speeches which punctuates people in the middle of conversation, she is singing to herself, and the rest of us, who desperately try to block the horrible sounds out. We fail miserably everytime.

So one day I got my bus pass (which enabled me to take an unlimited number of bus trips while paying only a fixed sum per month) and decided to take an alternate bus route. Lo and behold, there was Zelda waiting at the bus stop as I sat in the bus and the bus went over to pick her up. When she got onboard, I could almost hear the bus groan under her weight and as she grinned brilliantly at me, I tried very hard not to break down and surrender to her endless barrage of nonsense.

This continued for three days, and finally when I went for lunch with Alvin and the rest of his classmates I decided to be very horrible to her.... hopefully try to knock some sense into her thick skull which is responsible for most of her weight.

So here we are eating lunch, she starts telling me something:

'blahblahblahblahblahblah'

'Mmm....' I pretend to hear her while just looking at my fried rice.

'blahblahblahblahblahblah'

'Mmm Hmm....' I'm still pretending to hear her as I simultaneously enjoyed my lunch audibly.

'blahblahblahblahblahblahblahblah'

At this point, I decided to show her that I wasn't really listening:

'You were saying something Zelda??'

This earned me a slap on my shoulder, and i pretended as though I was hit by a car, earning more slaps while Alvin laughed his head off.

Alvin continued our conversation about our capabilities in the fields of math and engineering and suddenly Zelda jumped in saying:

'I really can't do blahblahblah, and I also can't do blablahblahblah...'

So I said: 'What CAN you do Zelda??? Apart from irritaing people I mean...'

I earned a few more slaps on the shoulder causing more laughter from Alvin and the rest of us, and left quickly after crushing my drink can with one hand.

I really can't stand her singing. She was singing while walking with me one day, and I decided to say something cunning:

'Zelda, can you hear the walls moaning...the ground shaking whenever you sing???'

She rsponded with a slap to my shoulder and grinning foolishly. She said:

'Hey, I almost made it into a recording company you know...'

'Yeah... What about that "almost" huh?'

Another slap. She the said:

'The recording company said that I had to lose like 10 kilos before I was viable for selection'

'Yeah.... BIG surprise Zelda... I bet that was just an excuse you know, but a good one nontheless.'

Another slap.

She started singing again, this time in a crowded corridor, and she was very audible, so I said:

"I think it's for the sake of the everyone's good you just shut up right now and spare the innocent people Zelda....'

You can Imagine the rest. Arkarkarkarkark....


Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Going To NZ Overview

Hmm.

Going to New Zealand. Literally the lowest country in the world, I was really thrilled to go there and see firsthand the beauty of that country, and simultaneously appreciate the wonder of God's creation. This is what I learnt:

1. New Zealand is one very beautiful country, and the people are usually friendly, and sociable especially in small towns.
2. New Zealand has one highway going from top to bottom: Highway 1. We often used that Highway by the way.
3. New Zealand has very beautiful cowbone carvings, but you won't need to worry about getting the best bargain: it is availible all over the country.
4. New Zealand is very dry especially in summer, but it's quite cool. So if you do want to go there, just prepare and arm yourself with sun tan and moisturising lotion.
5. New Zealand has loads of roadkill (especially rabbits and Possums) so try to ignore it as best as you can and try to run down as many possums as possible, the NZders will be grateful.
6. New Zealand Highways have a speed limit of 100 Km/hr so if you do get pulled over, just say you are a foreigner and forgot to observe the speed limit (they won't blame you).
7. New Zealand has the best mountain scenery along with simply amazing forests. The best places to go are those far from the big cities. Especially the North Island. for the South Island, visit Mt Potts Station and a place called Erewhon ('Nowhere' in reverse) near Mount Hutt (I think).
8. New Zealand has so many sheep, the ratio is literally one man to sixty sheep.
9. New Zealand is a great place for the family: just forget about your constantly quarelling parents and fumbling, snotty brother who tries to be gung ho with everything and droools in his sleep.
10. New Zealand is a great place to visit, and really, two weeks is simply not enough. Just try to leave Wanganui out of your journey: it's really a dead town and the fish and chips sucks.
11. Finally, just try not to feel envious if you can't go to NZ, just watch Lord Of The Rings, and you'll be having enough fun.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Going To NZ Part Sixteen (Christchurch explored)

Hmm.

That morning, we woke up and decided to visit the surrounding areas near Christchurch. One place we wanted to visit was Akaroa, which was situated south of Christchurch. The journey by car (as usual) to Akaroa would take take us past Lyttelton, Teddington, Diamond Harbour, Port Levy, Duvanchelle and finally Akaroa, situated on Banks Peninsula.

The road to Akaroa involved driving past or on hills with terrific views of country houses, and we even came across a stretch of mud which was near Akaroa. Stopping by the road, we discovered it was really just a bay which was at low tide. At the edge of this bay, there was this sign which read: 'PLEASE BRING HOME YOUR RUBBISH'. It actually makes sense not to put there something which we see oh so often in Singapore: '$1000 FINE FOR LITTERING'. I believe it is a very good way to put the message of not littering across to the people because it simply makes more sense and allows people to feel that they are responsible citizens of their country not little kids who must be disciplined.

We went through Akaroa which was almost exactly the same as any other New Zealand Town with the exception that it was next to the Akaroa Harbour. We stopped over at a small town to check out their shops which sold small collectibles. I purchased a small wooden bowl. Apparently the area was so rural, the old couple who ran the shop accepted our credit card, but used the old 'apparatus' which involved using something to slide over the card and imprinting ink over a small slip of paper.

Heading back to Christchurch, we rested at the hotel after lunch before deciding to visit an art museum and then moving onto the Christchurch Museum. It was a grand building, and it showcased lots of interesting artefacts which I'd never seen before (as it belonged to eras before this century) and some other items which really cause you to think. I'll not go into details here.

We decided to visit this park next to the museum and we had a great time just enjoying the afternoon under the shade of those huge trees. It was such a tranquil environment, we also saw ducks bathing and swimming in the streams through the park.

That evening, we ate at a bar cum restaurant, and had a taste of beer for a very long time. It was great.

We would be going home tomorrow, and I was feeling pretty happy despite all of the trouble needed to pack up that evening.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Going To NZ part fifteen (Cromwell To Chirstchurch Via Mt Cook)

Hmm.

We started off from Cromwell, going back across the single bridge, and went on to Taraas, Lindis Pass, Omarama and Twizel. Twizel was one stop before our 50 km odd ride to Mt Cook. The area around Twizel was really just bare lands (which was flanked by rows of hills) covered in yellowish grass. We took notice of a nearby dam and stopped to enjoy some fresh air after the journey from Cromwell that morning.

We started off to Aoraki or the Maori name for Mt Cook. According to Maori legend, the first Maori explorer who sighted New Zealand also sighted Mt Cook at the same time, and he name New Zealand Aotearoa (land of the long white cloud), and Mt Cook Aoraki (I dunno the meaning, and my memory may have garbled the facts to this legend, so sorry if it's inaccurate).

The road to Mt Cook meant we would be travelling alongside Lake Pukaki throughout. We managed (or more accurately myself for most of the time) to take some fantastic photos of Mt Cook in the distance, and we simultaneously managed to enjoy the fresh mountain air. We reached the base of Mt Cook and went to the nearby lodges which had gift shops. We managed to see a statue of Sir Edmund Hillary (the first bloke to reach the summit of Mt Everest, and also Mt Cook) in bronze.

We also climbed up the forested side of the mountain which faced Mt Cook, and took more photos. Getting down, we decided to head back to see the Ben Ohau Range which was one of the locations for the filming of The Lord Of The Rings in The Return Of The King where the Riders of Rohan gather on a ridge to see Minas Tirith burning and besieged by Orcs.

After seeing the location, we headed on to Christchurch by the towns of Lake Tekapo (along the way still managed to take some distance-shots of Mt Cook and it's neighbourign peaks), Burke's Pass, Kimberly, Fairlie, Allendale, Geraldine.

At Geraldine, we had officially entered the Canterbury Plains, and it was drought season in that region. The summer had left little good grass for the sheep to graze on, and we saw lot's of varieties of sprinklers (rotational spraying, huge structures a good fifty metres wide spraying from a very long hose, etc. Also lots of Roadkill.

From Geraldine, we moved on to Rangitata, Hinds, Winslow, Ashburton, Chertsey, Rakaia, Templeton and finally Christchurch at 4pm in the evening. We managed to settled down our stuff at a hotel before eating out at a restaraunt and refusing to sit outside (it was very windy) much to the amusement of a local: 'It's the summer!' he said. Clearly no understanding of us Asian people. No Fish and Chips nor lamb chops that evening, it was roast steak.

The night passed easy, it was really the last day the day after tomorrow, so we tried to stay clam and not cry about the prospect of leaving New Zealand (NOT!!!!).

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Going To NZ part fourteen (Invercargill on to Cromwell)

Hmm.

Invers was bade goodbye (and none too sadly: I was really spooked by that crazy lady at Bluff), and we went on past Edendale, Gore, Waipahi, Clinton (yeah, but not the former US president), Balclutha, Chrichton, Waitahunta, Lawrence (not of Arabia), Beaumont, Raes Junction, Ettrick, Alexandra, Clyde and Cromwell.

Cromwell was really a small town which accessed acrossed a river by one single bridge. If we wanted, we could have hopped over back to Queenstown, but we were decided on going towards Mount Cook. We discovered a small, well-priced motel to stay the night, and ate another home-cooked meal (minus the mess), had some fruit and finished off the night watching the TV half-asleep. Yawn.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Going To NZ part thirteen (Going to Invercargill)

Hmm.

Milford sound over, we decided to head for the City of Invercargill (apparently the 'lowest' city in the world; I couldn't wait to get dizzy) via Manapouri. The drive would take us back past Te Anau Downs, Te Anau and finally Manapouri, settled next to Lake Manapouri. Unfortunately, there was a disagreement between my mum and dad when we reached Manapouri, and I was forced to sit and tolerate the noise (my brother was sleeping as usual) while both of them rambled on at each other.

We went on past Manapouri to Blackmount, Clifden, Tuatapere, Pahia, Riverton and finally Invercargill. I remember we reached Invers (as per one curious NZlander who asked us about our travels) at about 3 in the afternoon and we didn't really go around town, just the areas near the New World supermart. We also decided to visit the lowest point of the South Island mainland: Bluff.

Bluff was a bit of land which was really a hill stuck atop a spit (land formation sticking out into the sea), and the view of the sun setting from there was spectacular. The journey involved driving for half an hour, and meeting some crazy people (yeah, this lady who had a twitching head and troublesome teenager who literally stuck his head into our car). And 'attractions' signboards leading to cemeteries. Spooky.

Dinner was supposed to be an interesting, 'home'-cooked affair.

We settled down at the hotel, and to my mother's utter delight, there were some glass bowls and cookware to stir up some dinner. With the lamb meat and potatoes, carrots, spices and 'special sauce' from the supermart, we had dinner ready and the table was laden.

As we sat down to eat, (I'm not making this up) the glass bowl holding our stew just crumbled before our eyes, leaving a mess on the table. Shrieking once more about the incompetence about the things and people around her, we cleaned up and managed to salvage most of the stew, after trying to ignore my mother's rantings.

Sigh. Invers, what a low, crazy city that night.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Going To NZ part twelve (Milford Madness)

Hmm.

We settled down into the ferry, and even got to do our own sheets and bedding. Gathering our cameras, we got onto the deck, and were greeted by the Captain's voice over the intercom which was half garbled by the wind as we went out onto the deck.

Apart from oursleves, there was a Japanese family, some Belgian people, a family of New Zealanders and one Brazilian headed by a ruddy-faced man (who went by the name of Paul). Apart from them was two German ladies and a small NZ family with two children.

The day passed with seeing several parts of the Sound, when we came into a cove and the day's major activity event took place: Kayaking. My mother simply disallowed any notions of myself swimming, which was rational: the water was very cold.

An eager kayakist myself, my brother went down first, and I followed a few moments later. The cove was about 500 meters abreast, and after strapping on the safety floating vest, I paddled out to meet my brother. I eventually circled the Ferry twice just to practise Kayaking (The last time I did such a thing was the year before last). My brother was greenhorn to all this Kayaking.

I decided to visit the southern side of the cove where there was a small waterfall. I got near the waterfall, even next to the point where the water flowed down from the rock into the Sound. After that, I decided to move onto the north edge of the sound, and as I was paddling from the south point to the north point I heard someone's voice.

'Help!' I heard the distant voice.

'Heeeellllllpppp!!!!' I heard it again. Searching the Cove, I saw a person hanging onto an upturned kayak at the middle of the cove's entrance, and decided to help.

Turning my kayak around, I paddled to fast, i could feel the water slapping the bottom of the kayak as I sped toward the person who was drenched with water and shaking with cold. As I paddled as hard as I could, I saw a speedboat moving toward this person, and I heard in the distance 'Man overboard, man overboard!' over the Ferry's intercom.

I still didn't slow down, and when the speed boat stopped to drag this poor person out of the water, I saw something I never expected: THAT PERSON WHO OVERTURNED HIS BLOODY KAYAK AND SCREAMING FOR HELP, WAS NON OTHER THAN MY FRIGGIN' BROTHER!!! There was no mistaking the hair and jacket he had on.

Deciding to save him the embaressment of seeing him completely soaked to the bone, i turned about, and headed back for the ferry.

I discovered my brother in the shower. He was apparently attempting to drown himself with the shower due to the embaressment of falling into the sound. All I could say was: 'Hey. At least you got to swim in the Sound, Mum wouldn't let me, mate.'

That night, when I asked for cool water, the crew mistook me for my brother, and one of them asked me: 'Aren't you already tired of cold water???' I corrected him immediately.

After dinner, I saw a guitar in the corner of the main area, and fingers being itchy, I decided to tune it up to play some tunes on it. I was eventually approached to play for everyone, and it was my turn to be embarassed because i didn't know any common songs. Sigh. I eventually handed over the guitar to Paul (the ruddy-faced Kiwi), who seemed to know every country and folk song.

Apparently, we were making such a ruckus, the head of the Japanese family came up to tell us all to shut up because the kids were sleeping. The mood shaken, we decided to retire for the night.

The next day, we saw loads of dolphins, to everyone's delight. We docked at 10 am in the morning. Milford was over. Sigh.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Going To NZ part eleven (The most exciting part yet: Queenstown to Milford Sound)

Hmm.

Queenstown was bade goodbye, and we moved past the towns of Frankton, Kingston (I once knew a guy by the name of Kingson. Freaky.), Garston (notice the town names end with a 'ton' everytime?), Lumsden, Mossburn (not a popular activity there), The Key (whose or what it is I really dunno, but maybe 'the key' to Milford Sound?), and finally Ten Anau, the gateway city to Milford Sound.

We drove into Te Anau, which was settled next to Lake Te Anau, and went about looking for a place to eat after the 150 km-odd journey from Queenstown early in the morning. As we parked and alighted, something really interesting happened: the sole of my right shoe gave way, and I was forced to sit down while my Dad and brother went to the nearby New World supermart to get some glue to patch it up.

After patching up my nike shoes (such reliable shoes aren't they?), we proceeded to get some lunch at a nearby restaurant. One thing i noticed, is that despite all the sheep farms, the menu in NZ eating places rarely include any lamb or meat coming from a sheep. Apparently, the meat is directly exported for foreign markets, and the locals get exterior meat coming meat to consume.

Lunch over, we drove on to Te Anau Downs, all the while able to see the Lake Te Anau on our left. The journey to Milford included travelling through dense forest, going into a tunnel through the mountain, seeing ice forming on the mountain side.
Then we came into a valley which slowly decended into the sound itself. We managed to see a Kakapo, a rare, flightless, green bird only seen in mountainous NZ areas. EXCITING.

We finally came into Milford Sound, and saw the grand monument of Mitre Peak (the main symbol of Milford Sound) and went into the ferry terminal. The entrance into the Sound just bending away to be hidden by mists. It was 2pm in the afternoon. We packed our clothes and got ready for the overnight ferry journey.

The ferry was called The Milford Wanderer, a veteran of Milford journeys crewed by a group of cheerful people and one very weird photographer. We boarded, and were given an introduction by the captain of the ship, who promptly introduced himself and the crew. The contents of his short speech included: when mealtimes were, what to expect and what the weather was like, so as to expect something unexpected (what?) and also what to watch out on the ship (raised door frames to keep out water etc.) and also to have a great time.

The best is yet to come.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Going to NZ part ten (Haast Village to Queenstown)

Hmm.

Haast village, settled on a piece of land near the sea, along the west coast of NZ was near the shoreline, so after dinner (see part nine) that evening, we went to see the coast line. It was very stony, the beach was, and we passed by some sheep farm, and saw more roadkill along the way.

The next morning after an itch-free night, we paid the hotel bill, checked out, and went on on our journey. The town of our next night-stop was Queenstown, which was very near Milford Sound (the eightth wonder of the world). The journey would include travelling down Lake Hawea and onto Wanaka.

Lake Hawea was a pristine body of deep blue waters, mirroring the surrounding hills and the sky. It was cool and breezy that day, so I took out my camera and took some of the most beautiful photos I have ever taken. I believe the two photos I took would have been unmistakeable for those travel photos sold in tourist shops.

Moving onto Wanaka, we discovered that the town was settled next to the lake which shared the same name as the town. The moment we got out of the car, we were treated to some scottish bagpipes played by a couple, sitting next to the lake and joyfully blowing away into their intruments.

While my parents went to inquire for more info at the info station, my brother and I decided to take a walk around town. The town had so many shops we were spoilt for choice, and eventually spent about two hours while waiting for my parents to confirm our Milford Sound ferry tickets.

We came across this shop which sold home decorative items, but also sold Maori necklace carvings. Buying another Hei matau (but this time in cow bone), i attached it to the other two around my neck. My brother favoured a small ring, and we moved on.

The next shop we came across sold various small stones which had mystical properties. I had a feeling it belonged to a pagan, as the shop evoked a sense of the feeling where magick was practised (lots of pictures of greek gods, those 'magical' fonts etc). I bought a haematite ring (iron ore, a stone), and got out of there. And after talking to the owners (two old ladies), I felt that maybe the shop was harmless, just selling polished stones which were frankly very colourful and beautiful.

We drove on to Queenstown after lunch in a cafe in Wanaka, and We passed by Cardrona before reaching the night-stop at 3pm in the afternoon. The town of Queenstown was situated next to a lake, and our hotel was on the outskirts of the town itself, which required a five minute drive just to get into the main shopping area.

The town was equally varied in shops just like Wanaka, and we had dinner at a restaurant cum pub which displayed various farmign tools used long ago by New Zealand farmers. I took to a habit of spinning my haehatite ring on the table and imitating Frodo in LOTR: '...Baggins....(rolls eyes).....Baggins......(fingers the ring).....BAGGINS....' you get the idea.

We went around the town once more and retired to our hotel at night, after watching some local gameshow and the 9 o'clock news.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Going To NZ part nine ( Greymouth on to Haast Village)

Hmm.

Leaving Greymouth, We decided to head along the west coast, for the town of Hokitika. The journey was approximately 40 km, and we reached Hokitika around lunchtime. We explored the town, and came across this glassware maker who made these interesting glass ornaments like glass kiwis in various sizes, dolphins etc, all in multi-coloured hues.

My mother, being enthralled by the beauty of the creations bought two glass kiwis, in mother and child form. I was more attentive to a different issue at hand in the shop itself: the glassmaker at work while people could see him create his works from a short distance.

Another shop caught our attention: New Zealand Green jade. Not surprisingly, it's main draw was those famous Maori necklaces which came in various forms: the Hei Matau (fishhook), Koru (spiral shape), Manaia (part bird, man and fish), and double or triple twists (resembling molten glass being twisted into these interesting forms) signifying bondship. Of course, any of these forms could be welded together to provide more interesting forms and enhancing its meaning. The shop also sold many other forms of jewellery and even raw rocks cut in two and polished to expose the jade contained within.

My mother bought a set of jade earings, while I chose a chrome-plated pewter Hei Matau (I told you I was obsessed with the fish hook design) which incidentally incorporated a koru inside it's design.

The journey continued with us goign past Ross, Hari Hari, Whataroa and finally the main draw of the day: Franz Josef Glacier.

A glacier is basically a river of ice which moves very slowly (otherwise it'd be called a avalanche) about 15 cm per day. Along the road towards the glacier were several signs signifying the various points where the glacier had been in 1800, in 1900 and 1950 as we headed towards the glacier. I was simply thrilled to see a glacier (for once).

We reached the small town which offered helicopter rides (simply taking advantage of the tourist draw to offer ridiculous prices) and of course the roads which motorists can take to see the glacier itself.

We took the latter course and came to the carpark where the cars were parked. Apparently, there was a three-hour journey awaiting us to get within ten metres (which we only discovered after we came back). We travelled through forest, and came across this stretch of rocky surface which had been the home of the glacier some thirty years ago, and now reduced to a rock field. There's something about those rocks at the base of glacier: they were a grey colour, but reflected light at a certain angle, and that was good enough reason for me to collect about four to five of those rocks.

We travelled across that rock field (which spanned about 3 km from forest to tip of glacier) excluding my mum, who stopped halfway to rest. So the three of us: Dad, brother and myself travelled to see the huge chunk of ice sticking to the side of the mountain.

The journey away from Franz Josef after getting back to the car involved getting a glimpse of Fox glacier which we were simply too tired to walk to see. We took a snapshot of the ice formation through a break in the trees (whether intentional or no). And continued onto Haast village.

The 100 km-odd journey from Fox glacier to Haast Village allowed us to see the marshlands along the south island's west coast and discover the various names of creeks which filtered mountain water into bigger streams.

Haast village was reached in one-and-a-half hours at about 5pm in the evening, and we settled down to the hotel, and got ourselves some dinner (fish and chips for me, which I finally came to like again after Wanganui), served by a very pretty waitress who kept stealing looks at me (I'm not kidding, especially with my very ugly mug). Trying not to keep her hopes 'dashed', I showed my appreciation of her table service by slipping a whole two-dollar tip under my plate
and finishing every chip on my plate.

The night passed with me desperately trying to keep itch-free due to the dry weather which caused my skin to turn dry and itch in return. It involved a 'ell-lotta moisturising lotion and I learned that bath soap was a very big culprit for the itch (it dries the skin of its moisture).

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Going To New Zealand part eight (Hanmer S. on to Greymouth at the west coast)

Hmm.

Hanmer Springs over, we set off at 7am in the morning for our next over-night stop: Greymouth, which is over at the west coast of the south island. Going on to Culverden, Waipara, Amberley, Rangiora, Oxford (not the one in England), Sheffield and Springfield (no, not the one in the Simpson's either), we came to Arthur's Pass.

Arthur's Pass, as you can most probably know (if you have a good sense of geography) is a road through the mountains of the southern alps of NZ. we just drove on by, past the dry-grassed hills (it was summer) and then came across a few lakes. Not a huge lake, mind you, but one where you can swim in (see where my mind is wandering off to?). Taking several pictures, I decided to comprimise by wading in one of the lakes, which turned out to be not a good idea after all.

The shore of the lake was five inches of silty, muddy muck, and as soon as i stepped into the water, my foot sank in to the bottom, covering itself in four inches of mud. Stepping hastily away, I decided to take a break from this and hurry back: my mother was literally howling.

The journey through Arthur's Pass involved travelling down the road which was next to a mountain river, crossing a wide valley on a highway structure, and seeing for the first time, a drain (or should I say a huge concrete funnel) diverting the river's water away from the road. We travelled a little down further and finally came to the marker of the end of Arthur's Pass: a statue of Arthur himself perched atop a hill looking back at the pass named after him.

We carried on past Otira, making northward past Jacksons, Inch Bonnie (what a name!), Rotomanu, Stillwater (no, not the band in 'Almost Famous'), Dobson and finally Greymouth. Journey's end for the day.

Greymouth (or as my mother pronounces it: 'graymerth'), is a small coastal town which is literally split into two sections by a river. Our hotel was right next to the river and there was a sign: 'DO NOT ENTER THE RIVER. WASTES AND TOXIC CHEMICALS MAY CAUSE DEATH' so I decided that maybe Greymouth was not such a great place to swim.

we went to the New World Supermart (we went to it at every major town) and decided to get some stuff for the next day's breakfast after that afternoon's McDonald's lunch and Burger King for dinner. The norm was fruits and bread, and for some reason, my brother threw in some ice cream: two point five whole litres of the solid stuff in a tub.

The night passed watching the TV programme 'The Naked Chef' after seeing 'The Darkness' featured on the news.

Breakfast: bread spread with margarine and hazelnut butter with the handy swiss army knife brought along by yours truly. the issue at hand was how to finish off the ice cream left over from last night. there was about two thirds left, and as we left Greymouth, my brother and I sat in the car taking spoonfuls of the chocolatey stuff and rubbing our sore stomachs. Sigh.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Going To New Zealand part seven (East coast to Hanmer Springs)

Hmm.

We had gone on from Picton down to Seddon, Ward, past Wharanui and Hapuku, where we stopped by in Kaikoura. There wasn't much in kaikoura, we stopped at the visitor information station and checked about for the next best town to stop by in. The town which we decided to visit next was Hanmer Springs (which, incidentally was a volcanic area like Rotorua, with much less vomit smell).

Exploring more of kaikoura involved us going onto the peninsula until it's tip. there, we had a pleasant surprise: there were sea lions sunbathing in the afternoon sun on the rocks next to the sea. while there were notices all around not to feed the animals, not to get too close blah blah blah, (in typical singaporean fashion) my brother and i inched so close, we were within a coin's toss of the animal. Settling down to take some photos (no flash: it'd be suicide), I got some really good ones with my brother grinning with the sun in his eyes (squinting bloke).

The journey to Hanmer Springs would involve travelling down to Waiau (further south-west) at least 60km, and then on to Rotherham (10 km) and finally Hanmer (25 km north from Rotherham). It was on this journey we discovered where NZ's veal (deer meat) came from. I had never seen deer in farms before (much less heard of deer farms) and i took some photos as usual.

The remaining journey steadily turned more hilly (we were near or past kaikoura range) and we reached Hanmer Springs at 5pm in the evening. As usual, most of the shops were closed except the bars and restaurants and my parents developed an interest in the real estate of the area (i have no idea why).

It was in the evening, after dinner which we bought at the motel's nearby dairy (minimart) consisting of two frozen ready-made pizzas, a couple of plain buns and some eggs, we settled down and treated ourselves to NZ's television station. It was pretty good, 9 o'clock news along with Alias at 10 pm (my brother was so excited). Sleep.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Going To New Zealand part six (Wellington on to the South Island)

Hmm.

Morning in Wellington. Getting up to get ready for the new day, I suddenly realised that we had only spent four days in the North Island, and we still had ten days left to go (we had two weeks for the trip). I was still sleepy, and my brother was still sleeping and drooling. It was one of those days when the whole family would get up while my brother would refuse to get out of bed, and only after maybe an hour of vomiting blood with him, he would open his eyes, and say "huh?"

Breakfast was simple: cereal with toast topped with some coffee in the hotel restaraunt, packed our stuff into the car and headed for the cross-island ferry terminal. We reached the terminal, parked the car in it's designated lot (we had to drop the car off on the north island, before picking up a new one on south) and headed to the waiting area with luggage and various items in tow.

The cross-island ferry was really a scaled-down cruise which could hold up to maybe 20,000 odd passengers (i really don't know, it's just a whole load of people), and a couple of hundred of cars. there were two types of cruisers: the smaller, faster sort, of the pregnant-duckish types which we took. The journey was slated to take about an hour or so.

Getting on, I met the pleasant group of New Zealanders whom I previously met at the hotel pool last night. I helped tehm take some photos while finding spots to take my parents and brother (who thankfully removed the drool off his lips after his nap).

The cross-island journey was great: I finally discovered what a slipstream was after messing up my hair while sticking out my head over the handles of the deck balcony. It was like a calm weather, then as I stuck out my head, wooossshhh, I almost lost my glasses.

We arrived in Picton, the terminal city where the ferry docked. After finding the rental car, we loaded up and set off for the east coast of the south island.

The city (or town) of Picton went by without us noticing much, and we headed off to find the east coast, map and excited person (me) standing by to guide us. We headed for the town of Blenheim, had lunch (totally ripped off by this chinese restaraunt, which four out of five dishes were almost the same) and had the car air conditioning checked (it was really too warm).

The east coast of the south island wasabsolutely reminiscent of those BMW adverts where you'd see this BMW 5-series goign down the winding road with the hills going by. This was the same until we saw the Ocean. We drove until we were up right next to the Pacific Ocean, and the wind was really going. Oh, there's something I forgot to talk about.

The roads of NZ are numerous, but the roadkill is unparalleled is uncomparable to other countries: every twenty minutes or so, you'd see some poor unfortunate creature flattened such that It is no wonder the country's possum fur-trade is thriving (the animal is considered a pest and should be eradicated at all costs or simply when convenience comes). All that the possum-catcher has to do is drive around the country whithin two weeks and he'll be having a huge load of the stinking carcasses in the hold of his truck. No kidding.

We stopped at a roadside tourist store and restaurant, and decided to visit the beach. the beach was very stony, and windy (oh my goodness). The wind was so strong, any kite-flyer would be wild with excitement, that is, until his kite breaks off with the wind blowing and all. There was a photo taken, you can see my brother and myself facing the wind, and our hair is blown back so much, you can see us grinning with the force of the wind.

Cheers, Take care

Crawldaddy

Going To New Zealand part five (Wellington here we come)

Hmm.

Wanganui over, we went past the towns of Whangaehu, Turakina, Bulls (we expected to see lots of them), Himatangi, Foxton, Levin, Otaki, Waikanae, Paraparaumu (we expected to see lots of 'para para' fans doing the dance in the game malls), Porirua and finally the Capital Of New Zealand.

The capital was a settlement nestled within an empty spot among the hills, next to the sea. Reaching the capital, we settled down for accomodation and then proceeded to visit the city's numerous attractions including the famous Te Papa Museum, the surrounding shopping areas and of course, the theatre where there were the Lord Of The Rings premieres, subsequently, we also visited the New World supermart.

Te Papa Museum was very beautiful: well-maintained, clean, and most of all (especially to the Singaporean mind) it's free. I actually donated a few bucks just for goodwill. We went to see the wildlife section and then the we came across something i never saw in my life in the flesh ( or in this case in the foam). There it stood, five meters (i think) tall, the model of the Barad Dur, from the Lord Of The Rings motion Picture. you could say I was almost estatic with joy until i almost went wild with happiness with a LOTR merchandise store just next to the display.

We left the museum after discovering our carpark validity was expired, and decided to move on into the shopping areas. I went and saw the theatre with a gigantic Ringwraith on a fell-beast sitting on top of the theatre's roof. I also saw another theatre with the same ornament, but I purchased my ROTK poster at the former.

Pleased and content, we had dinner in a small diner and had a taste of wine in a long, lonely while. It was ok.

Going back to the hotel with my poster firmly clutched in my hand, I decided to take a dip in the hotel's pool (apparently dismally small). I met some very nice people who were apparently also going over to the South Island the next day (which was Our plan as well).

That night, I slept well but it took a while: I was beginning to get even more excited because I knew we were moving on to the next phase of our travels.

Cheers,

Crawldaddy

Going To New Zealand part four (Wanganui via Taupo)

Hmm.

The farmstay near Te Anga over, we headed for the Lake-town of Taupo. According to one of my close friends (herself a NZ PR), Taupo is one city to visit, and the lake itself, is larger than the whole of Singapore. Fascinating.

We had light snacks along the way, listening to the local radio stations as we passed by innumerable sheep farms and the like. Apparently, the two very commonly played songs were 3 Doors Down's 'Here Without You' and Sheryl Crow's ripoff of Rod Steward's classic 'The First Cut Is The Deepest' both of which I can play. Barely.

The day was very warm, but dry. Very Often we stopped by the road to take pictures (mostly by yours truly once more) or simply to enjoy some scenery while silently knowing that the best is yet to come. We went by many towns: Puketutu, Bennydale, Whakamaru and finally Taupo.

The first sight of Taupo was actually a deep blue stretch of water barely seen between two hills. the Lake was a deep blue, and with the sun shining, I was dying for a dip in the lake.

We came across a small boat jetty, with a small child wading in the lake's shore along with several black swans. Permission from mother given, I changed into my trunks and plunged into the lake. It was absolutely unimaginable: just loads of algae and marine plants growing on the sandy and silty bed which was home to tiny, bony fishes. the water was indeed cold, and I just swam about twenty minutes before being told to get out of the water before I catch a bloody cold by my mother.

Apparently, My NZ PR friend told me afterwards that what i did was incredibly risky, since there were unknown viruses roaming the waters. Ah well, I'm still alive, but wary now. So I went in, swam about in the filth of God knows what, and came out alive. At least I was the only one in the family who swam ever in the North Island's Lake Taupo. I believe that sometimes, we've all got to take a breather and have some lunch, which we did after my dip.

Lunch was a fishy affair as we located a small cafe near to the lake which sold magnificent Fish n chips (which afterward became almost my staple lunch until Wanganui). From Lake Taupo, we proceeded to Turangi, past National Park, Horopito, Tohunga Junction, Retihi, Kakatahi and finally Wanganui. The road to Wanganui was extremely tiring for my dad as the roads constantly consisted of hair-pin bends and the like, which required him to drive slowly, dragging the weight of time even longer.

Wanganui was almost a dead town by the time we reached it at 5pm in the evening. I was singing the theme song for the western movie 'the good, the band and the ugly'. Apparently, most New Zealand towns close for the day by 4pm or slightly later. We searched for the motel in which we stayed in and decided to go get a takeaway for dinner.

We discovered a small fish n chips shop on a corner in the town and when we went back, we discovered to our extreme disgust that the fish and fries were actually non-salted. Sitting there in the seventies-era motel room eating tasteless fish was extremely discomforting and depressing, so my mum decided that it was a waste, but we should eat until we could take no more, and the rest, mostly fries, dumped into the trash.

I was full of fish and chips even by the next day, when we went to explore the town. In fact, there isn't much about Wanganui except that it is a stone's throw away from the tasman sea, and there was an ancient tower stuck on the hill. deciding that there wasn't much about the tasman sea, we decided to go for the tower. Using the road map was easy enough, but trying to find a way when most roads were one way was the pain in the arse for us.

The tower was finally reached, but we had to take a lift up the hill which was very,very,very old. Costing Three NZ dollars each, we went up the hill and emerged at the top of the hill to see the brick-red tower.

Climbing up the tower, we decided to climb the tower, but we could never get the same amount of stairs as the plaque said the tower had. It was more stairs when we went up, but less stairs as we went down. The view was magnificent, so leaving God to his oddities, we left the place and headed back to the car.

Cheers, and keep reading

Crawldaddy

Going to New Zealand part three (leaving Auckland)

Hmm.

Auckland in the evening was very great. Takign the car out to drive as the sun setting in the west was almost romantic (with no one but my folks and brother) and we diecided to explore the outer regions of the city. this included some cliffs and hills across the harbour. we managed to catch the city's skline from the hills. The city's outskirts apparently had a supermarket chai ncalled 'New World'. We stopped to load on supplies such as fruits, bread for breakfast, butter and peanut butter, drinks etc. As you can see, we were fairly low-budget, and such things helped to keep things as cheap but healthy as possible.

The next day, we decided to head for the volcanic city of Rotorua, which we heard, smelled something like an infusion of vomit and dirty, old socks, thanks to the high sulphur content in the air. The journey included travellign through the misty morning past towns such as Manukau city, Pokeno, Huntly, Taupiri, Cambridge (not the one in England, my dear), Tirau, and finally Rotorua.

Rotorua was a very nice, sunny place, if not slightly marred by the gagging sulphuric air that almost caused me to vomit and further cause more bad air. We explored the edge of Lake Rotorua, went for a guided tour of the Whaka Village, a real Maori settlement in the middle of town that allowed visitors and tourists alike to walk about and see the Village houses and meeting house which was very sacred. We also saw a maori dance and song performance and went into a shop to see the many carvings and ornaments significant to Maori Culture. Once again I saw the Cowbone carvings and even ones made of green jade.

soon afterwards, we went to get some lunch (burgerking) and shopping. We discovered a shop which sold all sorts of tourist extravanganza including (surprise!!) cowbone carvings. I bought one for 12 bucks while my brother opted for a fake shark's tooth necklace (why a fake one when the real mccoy was next to it?). My mum bought a cute lamb with those shaking heads that seem oh so cute.

After Rotorua, we decided to head for the Waitomo Caves which were across the Island, and The trip took more than four hours, crossing towns such as Horo Horo, Upper Atiamuri, Whakamaru, Bennydale Puketutu and The City of Te Kuiti.

Te Kuiti was somehow small, and I can't remember taht much about it, except that we pumped more petrol into the car and hoped to get to Waitomo by two o'clock in the afternoon. We did reach there, and We then went into the caves.

the caves were home to some form of glowworm which was the larvae of some form of insect (sorry, I can't remember any details here). The spectacel was amazing: they glowed with an eerie blue, and just sitting in the boat with them hanging above you made me feel as though I was in some dark cathedral. I was absolutely amazed.

We had accomodation for us somewhere near Te Anga, so after a light snack outside the car, we headed in the direction of Te Anga. apparently, the accomodation was some form of farmstay, at the top of the hills which comprised of the area from Waitomo to the sea. Our hostess, a pretty 30-something Caucasian who was the sister of the farmstay's owner, showed us where our Cabin was.

settlign down in the cabin was easy enough: a bunk above the main area consisted of two beds for me and my brother. Our hostess's son, a small boy of twelve and his dog led me into the woods nearby to see more glowworms.

Apparently, a cat was also another of the hostess's pets. i simply loved that cat: It was fluffy and warm: it loved to jump onto my lap and have it's ears scratched although one of it's ears were mauled of by God knows what. It Purred and literally vibrated as I stroked it. I have never felt so emotionally attached to an animal. We went out for dinner as some diner, listening to 'the who' which reverberated from a local's car.

The night passed easy with a slightly dirty movie and light supper comprising of sandwiches. i spent some time outside with the cat in the night, just stroking it and feeling happy and content.

Early morning, i was woken by my dad who told me that there was a magnificent sunrise to photograph. It was indeed: the sun's rays just lightly touching the hilltops, while the rest of the world lay asleep. I just stood there and marvelled. i also took some time to stroke the cat some more.

The morning passed with a light breakfast consisting of bread, butter and cereal. We soon left for the City of Wanganui.

Cheers, stay reading

Crawldaddy

Going To New Zealand part two

Hmm.

After getting our car from the airport depot, We decided to find a suitable hotel before exploring the city. this was about 10am Auckland time, so it was pretty cool and sunny: a perfect day.

We managed to get into Auckland city, passing by residential areas and seeing plenty of New Zealandish houses, and of course getting to know the road signs more. Once again, I was so excited I took out my digital camera in the event something interesting came about.

The local information 'station', which was a pit stop for tourists like ourselves to find accomodation and inquiries into fares for attractions etc, was very helpful. Apparently, we managed to get accomodation at one of the city's most distinguishable landmarks: the sky city tower. It was very, very tall, such that we could see it in the distance and never lose our way once we caugth sight of it.

The hotel ws very posh, and it was very, modern if you will: no decorative ornaments, just colorful stone and plants and the such. We settled down into the room, and got ready to explore the city. We had already collected several travel brochures from the airport, and we had a car ready at our disposal, so we decided to travel on foot (my mother's most exhalted idea and command).

The temperature outside was approximately 23 degrees celcius, and we all opted for light jackets and longs (jeans etc). The city was readily planned in a simple grid fashion, so finding our way about was a simple manner. We saw lots of shops selling oddities and with our provisions and drinks ready in a bag carried by yours truly, we headed for Auckland Museum.

Auckland museum was situated on a hill halfway across town, and getting there required either crossing a motorway by foot or simply using a bridge that would require a major detour. As the family's unofficial guide and cameraman, I took the former, and we managed to pass a tennis complex which was hosting some major tennis tournament in New Zealand. We saw the highlights on the telly later that evening.

Reaching the foot of the hill after asking some very friendly locals, we discovered two paths: the normal walk and the lovers' walk. opting for the former since the four of us weren't lovers, we climbed the 120 meter-odd pathway and finally reached the top of the hill at 4pm. The museum closed at 5pm. damn.

Instead of cramming the whole museum into one hour, we decided to visit the museum shop and gain an inkling into New Zealand culture etc. Apparently, the shop also provided me into what became a new infatuation throughout the whole trip for me: cowbone carvings.

Cowbone carvings are part of the Maori culture where they create amulets or necklaces out of cowbone, and carve it into intricate or simple shapes. My favourite was the 'hei matau' or simply the fishhook. I was so galvanised by the design, that at the end of the trip, I had gained three of them.

we made our way back to the hotel after the wuseum closed for the day, and we managed to pass by the city's University. It was a grand building, and we hurried past to get some dinner and hopefull get back to the hotel before dark.

Dinner was a simple affair: we had some turkish kebabs at a roadside shop, and ate it at the benches next to the road. I was so happy, I was smiling all the way. Sounds silly huh?

That night, as my parents and brother were watching the telly in the hotel room, I decided to take a dip in the pool upstairs: it was closed when I had already changed into my trunks and goggles taken out. Sigh.

Cheers and stay tuned.

Crawldaddy

Going To New Zealand part one

Hmm.

Early this year namely in january, I and my folks and my brother went to New Zealand, you know, the country just below Australia? It was an extreme priviledge, to see one of the last untouched countries in the world.

It was quite a trip, we didn't go with a tour group, which would have killed the feeling of the trip. We wanted to use two weeks just to see the whole (or majority of) the country, and in the process get to gel more as a family (hopefully).

Arriving in Auckland International airport, we were in good spirits, my parents and brother had slept the 6 to 8 hour journey, while i failed to get any shuteye cuz I was too excited. The main reason i was excited was because I'm a 'Lord Of The Rings' freak: I absolutely love the movies, I can imitate Gollum's voice quite accurately and I've almost finished my LOTR poster collection. Also, I had my digital camera ready to take any snapshots of my brother while he slept and drooled in the process.

Staying up all night on the plane was quite interesting, I saw a full moon hanging like some illuminated alabaster globe, i saw the heavens filled with stars and just looking at all that caused great wonder at God's work. The sunrise was even better: A purplish glow soon grew into a full-blown rising of an orange ball in it's full splendor.

As we flew over Australia, I caught sights of motorways as straight as a ruler, clouds with wisps of crystal that look like Cupid's breath. I also noticed one thing: there were a group of New Zealanders who were apparently coming home, and they were equally excited. their chatter during breakfast was of an excited one, and also happy.

Breakfast was a comic meal: the steward asked my mum 'fish or fish, madam?' of course all she could reply was 'fish, but what happened to the rest?'. Apparently, the steak was all sold out.

The plane slowly circled down on its approach, and the New Zealanders' chatter grew more and more pronounced. Finally, when the plane touched down they cheered wildly, praising the pilot's skill and their prayers being answered (bunch of weirdos or simply very simple people huh?).

Reaching through the customs, we were preparing to rent a car, but when the car rental bloke (a yugoslavian by the name of 'Vladam' whose face could have popped out of the KGB spy-list) asked for my dad's driving license, My dad couldn't find it, and realised that he'd left it all the way back in Singapore. Sigh.

After an exhaustive episode which included calling the singapore police force to confirm my dad's driving licence's validity, we were able to get our car at long last.

Cheers,
Look out for more

Crawldaddy

Finding my voice.

Hmm.

The 2nd Fuzzy Green Grass Album 'Live At Al's Place (Again)' is now out, and we've only taken one day to record it, given the fact that most of the songs were only finished a few moments before the songs, including a cut finger on my part and Alvin's piano exam looming next week. Of course, like many of our previous songs, there were spontaneous moments of virtuosity, most of them go to Alvin, but I found out that after recording those songs, my voice isn't that satisfactory.

Whenever i sing, I feel emotion before putting it out into my voice. A lot of times, the microphone doesn't pick up this emotion, and consequently allows my voice to seem monotone or even grating. This sad fact is coupled with the girl I fancy. Apparently, she doesn't like my voice when i sing (picture me falling down a bottomless pit going: 'NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!') and she only likes my fancy guitar work. Ah, that's some consolation, but what's guitar work without voice or emotion?

I believe that sometimes the musical instrument and the voice that accompanies it should match, or at least compliment each other. Imagine how sad I am now because I can't sing and hear myself being well-sounding.

I just wish I can find some way to improve my singing voice, hoping that God can help me find my voice.

Sigh,

Crawldaddy