First day in New Zealand, after I arrived Auckland by Cathay Pacific, I checked in to Attic Backpacker Hotel what I booked in advance to keep by belonging and refresh myself. At 2.45PM, it was on Sunday. The city center was quiet and many shops and restaurants were closed even it is the largest and busiest city in the country like Auckland. Before I got here, I always heard that shops in New Zealand usually close earlier than other country in weekdays and most were closed on weekend. Now, I could prove with my eyes. ◉‿◉ However, the tourist place and landmark were still open. Time waits for no man, I started by exploration on the afternoon to the first place of the day, Auckland Sky Tower which just 5 minutes walk from the hotel (just next to Sky City Bus Terminal).
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Auckland Sky Tower is the tallest structure in New Zealand with 328 metres height from ground to the top of the mast. It is located in Auckland CBD area where it can be seen from the distance what makes it as iconic landmark in Auckland’s skyline. At night, the tower is lighted with various colors depended on the fesival or event on that period. Auckland sky tower has several upper level for public visitor including Sky bar, Main Observation deck, Restaurant, Sky deck, Hotel, Casino, etc. In addition, the visitor can also enjoy thrilling activities at Sky tower like Sky Jump, Sky Walk or Sky Slide. Auckland Sky Tower is open daily, 9.30AM – 8PM (Friday – Sunday open until 10PM). The last entry is 30 minutes before closing time. The admission ticket could be purchased online in advance from https://skycityauckland.co.nz/sky-tower. The cost is 38 NZD/person (24 USD). With this cost, the visitor can access and enjoy the panoramic view of Auckland from Sky Observation at 51st floor and Sky Deck at 60th floor.
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I spent the time with bird-eyes view of Auckland and enjoy the unique geography of the biggest city of New Zealand where the modern urban and the shore are met. Until 4PM, I went down from sky tower and walk to another place where is just 10 minutes away from Auckland Sky Tower, Albert Park.
Albert Park is the public park located on the hill in the heart of Auckland CBD what was created since 1880s. It has several walking paths that are perfect for a leisurely stroll, and there are plenty of benches where the visitors can sit and relax as well as picnic. In the central of the park, it has Victorian fountain what the visitor cannot miss to get the good snapshot of photo here. Albert park is open 24/7 with free admission for all visitors.
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I spent an hour at Albert Park to take a short walk and sit on the bench to relax. It was on peaceful Sunday evening. The park had many people coming for relaxation but it was not noisy. It was the good place and time for me to stay with myself and think about many things in life. This moment made me think that “sometime the happiness can be unexpectedly come from simple thing“. ☺️ Life is easy if we make it easy.
About 5PM, I felt hungry and just recognize that I did not have anything yet since I had landed at Auckland airport (just had breakfast in flight before landing only). I walked from Albert park to nearby commercial area and main poppulation center in Auckland, Queen Street which is only 5 mintues away. It seemed only this area is still vibrant on the Sunday evening in Auckland. The food shops, souvenir stores, chemist shops and so on are open. The bustle of Queen street made Auckland is colorful. I strolled at this street for 10 minutes to find something for dinner, finally, I ended up with McDonald. 😆 In addition, I did not miss to get the food supplement from the chemist shops as this product in Australia and New Zealand is cheaper than other country.
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Once my stomach is satisfied, at 6PM, after sunset, I walked along with Queen Street to Britomart where is the waterfront area with historic architecture, stylish boutiques, and delicious dining options. The iconic of this area is the railways station and the wharfs with the Harbour view. Britomart is the best area of shopaholic in Auckland as it has plenty of flagship stores. However, as I’m not the big fan of shopping, I could see this area brought me back in time to colonial era. Furthermore, I think this area is very romantic and one of the nice place to stroll around at night to enjoy the view of waterfront view. You may not believe, I spent almost 2 hours to admire the beauty of Britomart and waterfront area by strolling and stopping at interesting points I saw. I made me feel empty in my mind and let my heart indulge with the charm of Auckland. 💖
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At 8 PM, I felt the jet lag symptom attack me because the time in New Zealand is 5 hours ahead Thailand and I just flew the red-eyes flight last night. I decided to walk back to the hotel to take an early rest. Because, the next day, I had plan to go out from Auckland to explore the north island by day trip. Today, it was just the warmup for this trip to get familiar with New Zealand. I hoped tomorrow will be the wonderful day. Good Night 😴
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Written by : Shipy Siwarit Tiasuwattiseth
Shipy-Ship 