June 3, 2002, Tony Humphreys, Auckland, NZ

To the Ends of the Earth

Image Caption: Aucklandcomma New Zealand. Cityscape as taken from Devonport across the bay

Aucklandcomma New Zealand. Cityscape as taken from Devonport across the bay

Submitted

"Flight MH137 to Kuala Lumpur now boarding" flashed up on the screen, my cue to embark on a trip to the ends on the world. I boarded the plane and took up my 6 square feet for the following 13 hours. Much later, with breakfast over the sun rose over the Bay of Bengal as we began our decent into the heart of Southeast Asia. With a screech of the tires onto the boiling runway my travels notched up continent number three. I strolled through the spotless terminal into another world, a world of taxi touts, bargaining, unpronounceable food and mopeds - millions of them. Dodging the onslaught of "taxi, sir" I made my way outside, as the electric doors parted so silently, the tremendous heat hit me, a blistering 30 degrees centigrade and just 8am. Kuala Lumpur is a city under construction. Building work has resumed on projects abandoned during the paralysing recession of the nineties. Immense infrastructure projects are under way with highway construction taking place everywhere you look. Acceptable housing, Office space, Industry, Leisure and all the trapping of the West are appearing in months. The goal of the nation is to become a first world country by 2005. All this does not mean that poverty has been iradicated. Current conditions for many Malays' are very different to the elite. 'Sheds' is the best word to describe the housing on the outskirts of the city, although this could be in preference to the crumbling high rise condominiums in the suburbs, with bars on every window to reduce crime in the deprived areas. With great contrast the center of the city sparkles with glass clad skyscrapers, the most dominant being the twin towers of the Petronas Corporation, the tallest towers in the world. Second place goes to the more sedate KL communication tower, a mere 421 meters above the streets. Back at the airport I took to one of my favourite pastimes, window shopping, as I waited for yet another eleven-hour flight to the Southern Hemisphere. Later, much later, I boarded the plane and my second leg began. Upside down, back to front, and in the middle of winter. A land down under creeped into view as the clouds parted to reveal the metropolis in the pacific. From the seclusion of a pressurised tin can I stepped out into another country, continent, and hemisphere. Auckland International airport seemed small compared to the worldwide hub of Kuala Lumpur. I zoomed through the terminal and out to my rental car in on a deceptively cold winter's afternoon in July, there is definitely something wrong here. I made a beeline downtown and into the city, the lights and the shops. As big cities go, Auckland is a breeze to drive in. Navigation was easy and kiwi's drive on the right too. I was in the shadow of the Skytower in 30 minutes flat, no fuss, frustration, and just 10 bucks for parking. Wandering around the City of Sails with total disrespect to the city's most famous harbour I proceeded to the shopping district, sort of by-the-side-of and two-blocks-down from the Skytower. Full of boutiques, malls and hundreds of record shops some how, all with names I have never heard of. So refreshing for the English speaking world. Wide awake the next morning and still attempting to figure out what time zone I was in I took to the road for a 500km trip across the Island to my cousin, Phil and wife Mary's home. Eight hours later I arrived to the greeting of a roaring fire. "This is the end of the world" was among the greetings, and this was absolutely true. Gisborne is the first city in the world to see the light of each new day, as every single leaflet, brochure and road sign declares. Well I was not quite at the end of the world myself, the mighty pacific was a couple of kilometre's away, and the actual point where the esteemed Captain Cooke landed, he did not stay long though. I can only guess what the first settlers thought of the area though, naming it Poverty Bay. A population 35,000 lives, works and plays in the little city fed by the main industry of agriculture - although here sheep are not the dominant income, that accolade is reserved for wine. The Chardonnay capital of the country is what the area is known for down under. Sheep stations (huge farms) are around, but not as prevalent as in other areas. The sub tropical climate is ideal for the growth of traditional Mediterranean produce, with the area on a comparable latitude to Gibraltar. The center of Gisborne is typically Austrilasian, based around the High Street. The city is a far cry away from the commercialisation of Auckland. There are no malls, billboards, and not even much neon, just wooden stores stocking what the locals need. There are only two supermarkets, one of them is Woolworth's - a distant relative to our own store. One Cinema is the sum total of entertainment in the area, that is apart from surfing - of which there are plenty of shops for everyone, and the surf to match. The countryside of the North Island is much more inhospitable. 3000ft and higher hills surround the towns on the pacific coast. Native bush (forest) still grows inland, accessible only by unsealed (gravel) roads which also serves generally as the only route to many stations and hamlets. Now served by telephone and mains electricity, most country dwellers have a modern lifestyle. Water is another matter though. Many houses on the edge of cities, in addition to country folk, are supplied by roof water using huge tanks that store months of water. Due to the climate of the region this arrangement is more than acceptable to many families. The pace of the nation is slower. People are more at ease. There is a lot less of a rat race evident, even in Auckland. Recently the countries first national Christian radio station took to the air after similar troubles with the Government that UCB is experiencing right now. New Zealand has been described as a larger Wales, but to me it is a little bit of the states, and Malaysia is another experience altogether.