Oops... did i miss my flight?!

i have never been overseas before (since the Americas don't count!), and i have to say that this whole time zone thing is blowing my mind.

i arrived in Singapore after over 30 something hours of no real sleep, only to spend the day out and about. how could i not? i was in Asia for the first time! i met up with someone at the hostel and we spent the day on an island near the Malaysian border (can't remember the name)... but quite literally, it would have been a 2 minute swim to the water-border-fence-thingy.

we rented bikes and rode around the relaxed rural island. on the far end we found a beach (not worth swimming at) and passed out on benches in the shade for hours and hours... every once in a while coming to and agreeing to sleep longer.

on the way back we kept thinking that we were lost...that we didn't get off the bus at the right place. but in the end, the people were so outgoing and friendly that we found our way!

the next day we got up and visited a Buddhist temple. it was very peaceful there and i loved it. a very nice man took us around and helped us with what to do. i could have spent the whole day there.

later we went downtown to the harbor front and then china town... once again, i treated myself to a fantastic massage... maybe i should make a career of rating spas all over the world!

okay, so that chilled out attitude ended up biting me in the butt. as the title indicates, i missed my flight to Auckland, New Zealand! i don't know if it was the spaced-out feeling from jet lag or the massage, but i had it in my head that my flight was at 11, but in reality it was at 9. and to make things worse, i only showed up at the airport at 8:40! so i got off the subway and saw that beside my flight it said 'gate closed' in red... oh god! i knew right away what i had done... that 21:00 was NOT 9:00. so i bolted across the airport with a 20Kg pack on my back to unsuccessfully plead with them to get on that flight.

thank goodness on the subway i had met a brilliant British couple (mike and Michelle, to who i now owe my life!) who were taking Michelle's father to the airport. they were sooo sweet to run with me and then Michelle stayed with me as we figured out a new flight. if it wasn't for Michelle's quick thinking and calm attitude i swear i would have lost it! there was no way i wanted to pay for another flight! in the end everything worked out and i just had to stay another night in their hostel and wait stand-by for the overbooked morning flight. i think i had some horseshoes in my back pocket because i was about 4th on the waiting list and still made it on! hint: apparently many people miss their flights and Singapore airlines doesn't usually make you pay for it.

anyways, I'm in New Zealand now and everything so far is going great! yesterday i went to the park for live music in the park and got into an impromptu wheel wagon race with a few kids nearby. the first pic shows how terrible i was!the second pic is when the kids tried to each hold a leg.

last night i got together with sarah (brampton what?!) and dave in auckland and had a good 'ol time... the night was full of plenty of food and laughter - it was great to see an old friend again after over a year! thanks for the great times guys!

lots of love, and thanks everyone for keeping me posted via e-mail!

addy :)