Livin' Easy in the NZ

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Now this is easy traveling. I wasn't convinced that I'd actually make it here until I was on the connecting flight from Bangkok. Last few days in Nepal were fine, but they passed slowly. Did sightseeing in the Kathmandu Valley. Was impressed by Kathmandu Durbar Square (every village back in the day had a religious center in each city, which is full of very impressive Hundu temples). Took a lot of photos of one of the temples which was pretty much the wood carving version of the Kama Sutra. I'll be using one of those photos for this year's Christmas card. I was also blown away by the Bhaktapur Durbar square. I left during Dashain, a 9-day Hindu festival that involves a lot of animals being slaughtered (I missed the big climax of the festival - 108 sheep were going to be slaughtered in one of the squares). But the Bhaktapur Square was hopping and is just full of this incredibly Newari architecture (very detailed wood carving).

The festival delayed my flight out of Kathmandu for some reason and had to sprint through the Bangkok airport to make my connection. But it is nice being here. No street beggars, reliable public transportation, roads that are paved and maintained, everyone speaks English, I can drink the tap out of the water, I can walk down the streets without being accosted every five seconds to purchase Tiger Balm, pot, or a thousand other things, and I can eat MEAT without wondering whether it'll wreak havoc on my lower digestive system.

Spent a few days in Wellington and Auckland. Toward I head to the South Island to start the real fun with a 4-day hike along the coast in Abel Tasman national park. Not too much to say about Auckland/Wellington. They're kind of like small version of Seattle. Auckland has the Sky Tower (they're version of the Space Needle) and ferries to island bedroom communities (see Bainbridge Island). But I pick up on their huge passion for Rugby. Their national team, the "All Blacks" lost, in a big upset, to France in the quarter finals of the World Cup of Rugby (which, as I'm sure you all know, was won yesterday by South Africa over English 15-6, no trys). The Kiwis *love* the All Blacks. You can buy their gear *anywhere* and NZ is hosting the 2011 World Cup. You've got to check out their pregame routine. Go to www.youtube.com, type in "haka all blacks war dance" to see it. I love it. I was hoping to catch a rugby game while I was here, but the NZ national finals were held yesterday, so had to watch it on TV.

But, in a nutshell, I really like New Zealand so far. Should Bush manage to change the Constitution and find a way to stay in office for another either years and you're looking for a change of venue, I would highly recommend New Zealand.

Also gotta say something about seeing Wisconsin garb all over the world. I got a huge kick out of seeing a "Manitowoc County Ice Hockey" being worn by a porter on Kili. That'd be in Tanzania. In Africa. Also ran into a Yoga instructor in the Annapurna region of Nepal who was wearing a Wisconsin baseball cap. I even followed a trail of "I closed Wolski's, Milw. Wi." bumper stickers on the windows of tea lodges all the way up to Everest Base Camp. And here in New Zealand, there is a chain of burger joints called "Burger Wisconsin." (google it). Notably absent in my travels is any reference to Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, or for that matter ... Minnesota. Need I say more? I don't think so.

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