It’s my last night in Auckland, and it has been such a good day. Here is a recap of it:
I woke up today before than the alarm, feeling fully rested. A quiet morning is rare for a not-a-morning person, and I used those few extra minutes to meditate and write my gratitude journal. I met my colleague in the hotel lobby, and off we went to the Auckland office.
The office had a full-blown barista machine, and we got a crash course in cafe-style coffee from the on-site IT manager. We also were visited by the Christmas Cookies Lady, who brought tubs and tubs of Cookie Time Christmas Cookies. We had the choco-chip cookies accompanying us for the rest of the day’s meetings.
I left the office a wee bit early today as I wanted to do some last-minute Auckland sightseeing. Still, the weather was so gloomy that I ended up reading Joanna Cho’s People Person and having a hot choc in the hotel restaurant while waiting for my colleagues to finish their work bits to go out for dinner together.
Train Station Style Mumbai Street Food in Auckland
We had an Indian street food style dinner at Victoria Terminus, New Market. It was a suggestion of a colleague who seemed to have done extensive research on Auckland eateries, as this was his third recommendation in a row that hit the spot with all of us.
We had share plates of Pav Bhaaji (potato mixture with onions served with butter-drenched buns) – my new favourite, Vada Pav (potato dumplings), Medu Wada (Indian doughnut fritters), Kiwada Prawns (battered prawns with pickled onions), Paneer Maska (cottage cheese cutlets) and Lamb Biryani.
A Stroll in Auckland Countdown
We then walked to Countdown, the equivalent of Woollies in Australia. My plan was to get Fafa a bar of Whittaker, NZ brand chocolate that’s famous. Still, we ended up exploring the whole supermarket and having silly little discussions in different isles about how it differs from the Woollies back home.
Well, for once, they have a dedicated South African food section, that’s unusual. They also called Skim Milk as Trim Milk.
Giapo Ice Cream
After all the walking, somehow, we ended up at Giapo. I have been to Giapo before, but the Giapo I saw today was different from my fragmented memory of Auckland years ago. Maybe it was an impact of Covid, but I am not sure. Their ice cream, though, was still as good. This time I got the selfie ice cream and continued the silliness saga with my colleagues.
It’s almost midnight. I have showered, plastered my face with a facemask and taken plenty of zoomed pictures of the apartment building opposite the hotel. I have yet to pack, but the sound of the city’s night hustle and bustle is lullabying me to sleep. Maybe I’ll do it tomorrow instead if I manage to wake up early, like today.
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