Wednesday, November 21, 2007
The roads here are really great, the best I've seen outside Oregon. Very well maintained. Every 50km or so we pass a maintenance crew doing some sort of work on the roads or bridges. There are very few major roads running through this country. You pretty much don't need a map and you can't get lost. Just follow the signs to the city you want to go to.
There are tons of single lane bridges all over the South Island. You have to be courteous and give way to oncoming traffic. It works quite well. I guess it helps that there are very few cars on the roads. But overall I do find drivers to be very friendly here (all the people here are always friendly). People pull over and let you pass if you are faster than they are!
I saw a sign today that said "Speed cameras: anywhere, anytime." I hope I haven't already been caught!
Toilets here (and a lot of other places outside the US) have two separate flushes so you don't waste a lot of water when you just urinate. Why don't we have these?
Gas here is very expensive (as it is anywhere outside the US). It cost me nearly $100NZ to fill up the Focus. With the weak US dollar, this is painful! Food here is also very expensive. We've been eating some really great food, but it's just not worth the money we're spending on it. Maybe NY has spoiled me since I can get great food for little money.
I'm seeing sheep everywhere. Well, there are sheep everywhere. But sometimes I see rocks on the side of the road but then up close they turn out to be sheep. And now, I think I see sheep but they turn on to be large, white rocks.
Shout out to etrade for their awesome international ATM policy. The best exchange place we found in Australia gave us $105AU for $100US. My etrade ATM billed me $90US for $100AU, effectively giving me $1.10 per $US, a full 5% better than the local exchange shops. There's no reason to travel with cash or travelers checks, just use the ATM!
I've noticed a few people here eating meat with a knife and fork, holding their knife like a pencil. The back of their knife is up in the air instead of in the palm of their hand. Seems like this wouldn't give you a lot of cutting power. Is this common?
There are tons of single lane bridges all over the South Island. You have to be courteous and give way to oncoming traffic. It works quite well. I guess it helps that there are very few cars on the roads. But overall I do find drivers to be very friendly here (all the people here are always friendly). People pull over and let you pass if you are faster than they are!
I saw a sign today that said "Speed cameras: anywhere, anytime." I hope I haven't already been caught!
Toilets here (and a lot of other places outside the US) have two separate flushes so you don't waste a lot of water when you just urinate. Why don't we have these?
Gas here is very expensive (as it is anywhere outside the US). It cost me nearly $100NZ to fill up the Focus. With the weak US dollar, this is painful! Food here is also very expensive. We've been eating some really great food, but it's just not worth the money we're spending on it. Maybe NY has spoiled me since I can get great food for little money.
I'm seeing sheep everywhere. Well, there are sheep everywhere. But sometimes I see rocks on the side of the road but then up close they turn out to be sheep. And now, I think I see sheep but they turn on to be large, white rocks.
Shout out to etrade for their awesome international ATM policy. The best exchange place we found in Australia gave us $105AU for $100US. My etrade ATM billed me $90US for $100AU, effectively giving me $1.10 per $US, a full 5% better than the local exchange shops. There's no reason to travel with cash or travelers checks, just use the ATM!
I've noticed a few people here eating meat with a knife and fork, holding their knife like a pencil. The back of their knife is up in the air instead of in the palm of their hand. Seems like this wouldn't give you a lot of cutting power. Is this common?