Karl's Adventure - Part 2

So here I was, in the Nadi Airport, Fiji. With puke on my pants. My stomach was extremely unhappy - still. I was beginning to think that I was actually sick, and not just motion sick. Either way I wasn't happy about getting back onto a plane. Nibbling ginger cookies and drinking lots wasn't a cure.

Issue #10: I still stank. Another trip back to the bathroom, with more scrubbing with lots of of handsoap from the bathroom. I was semi-clean and smelling musky from my fancy deodorant, so I felt sort of ready to head out on flight #4 in a row.

Issue #11: No sick bags were provided on the next flight. So I asked for one. It did end up getting used, but not by me and not in the way I expected. At the end of the flight, the flight attendant snatched it out of the seat pocket and walked up and down the aisle asking for change. Turns out that's a common practice on flights in this part of the world, kind of like a waiter getting a tip at a restaurant. I had no Fijian or New Zealand money to give, and I wasn't feeling generous anyway by that point.

Issue #12: Customs line in Auckland. Just as agonizingly slow as every other customs line I've been through.

Issue #13: When Karl has had a lot happen already, he lets his guard down multiple times.

I headed into town by bus and listened to commercials for campervans and bungee jumping while we stopped and started repeatedly. Stomach was still unhappy, and my environment wasn't helping. So when I saw the Sky City tower, I happily hopped out and started heading toward the hostel I'd booked. I got about half a block before I wondered to myself why my backpack was so light. It was because I only had 1 of 2 backpacks with me - the small one. I sprinted back to the bus in full panic. Probably half the people I pushed by on the busy sidewalk though I was going to mug them. But I had no intention of letting all my clean clothes head back to the airport on the bus. Fortunately, my guardian travel angel, who had until that point been in hibernation, had awoken and held up the bus until I caught up and could snag my bag back.

Issue #14: I was not ready to get onto another bus to get to the hostel. I was determined to walk there with all my stuff, despite the crazy maze of streets that Auckland is. Fortunately, Kiwis are incredibly nice people, and they all tried their best to get me to where I needed to go. Of course, since I'm direction-deaf* I turned a 1-mile walk into a 2-mile walk.

* Give me a map and I'll find it. Explain it verbally, and you might as well not be speaking my language. Especially if you've got a Kiwi accent.

Ahhh - home away from home. Ponsonby Backpackers, a nice little hostel. Most of all, a place with a clothes washer and a shower.