Category: Whitianga

The first time I left NZ was in 1973, off on the required OE, bound for Southeast Asia. Boy, was I excited. During the flight I sat next to an effeminate guy. We chatted away and before touching down in Bali I woke up and realised my sleeping head had been resting on his shoulder. I apologised profusely but he was very nice and patted me on the leg and suggested I go and stay with him in a flash resort at Nusa Dua. I politely lied to him that I already had accommodation booked at Kuta Beach, and thanked him for his kind offer, despite the fact I was sure he had ulterior motives. Tip number 1: have some plausible stories ready for unforeseen situations.

I have just returned from Japan after visiting my partner’s family. On arrival at Narita Airport at 9pm, we were met by Hiroshi, my partner’s brother, who said “We go to onsen (Japanese hot baths).” After flying for 12 hours, this was indeed a welcome treat and we basked in 40 degree pools of different depths, some shallow with stone pillows to gaze up at the planes taking off every few minutes from the airport a kilometre away, and some with pummelling jets of water that massaged away the aches from 12 cramped hours on Fiji Airlines.