November 8th 2009, Mysore

In a climax of compelling speakers, TED India got everyone out of bed (no mean feat when the final night was such a riotous affair) and back into their increasingly delirious brains. A lack of sleep, a lack of food because there was just no time to eat, somehow the intellectual sustenance remained the food for thought. The ability to let us listen to stories. Stories which have the power to transform.

The girl inside

I have to start with Eve Ensler, and her vibrant description of what it means to be a girl in “I am an emotional creature”. She roused the stage with her passionate description of a society which had stolen its girl side, both men and women, and left itself inept and broken by placing value only on those hardened characteristics which associate themselves with male victory. The language that correlates vulnerability and emotion with weakness has been displaced. The language that allows men to sell women and their daughters has been strengthened. The verb “to please” which is encouraged  in women from such a young age that they forget to defy, create, activate has been planted. Eve’s declaration that being a girl is so powerful that the world has had to teach everyone not to be like that struck a strong chord. She talked about the mass rape of women in the DRC, and their use of taboos and traditions to force peace talks onto the table. She talked about the Masai father who was ready to sell his daughter to an old man for some cows and blankets, and disfigure and disempower her with mutilation as part of the bidding, a father who was proud of his daughter when she ran away to seek help and returned a year later, educated and with new ambition, promising never to cut her whilst she promised to fight her father’s corner always.

Soft power and the cellphone revolution

Soft power.

The subject of Shashi Tharoor’s talk, a charismatic compelling political speaker who painted a picture of a world in which India’s ability to use its influence and values to attract others could be a force for good. He described India as a country which works  partly because of its government, and partly in spite of it. A country which has been selling fifteen million mobile phones per month, emerging from a country where the phone was a rare luxury just a couple of decades ago. Who is carrying those cellphones, he asked? The man who climbs a coconut palm to bring down the right number of coconuts, the fisherman out at sea who can get the best price for his wares in the best market, and the farmers (who have been committing suicide in mass droves) who also can find a way to sell their produce more efficiently.

Soft power. The ability of Bollywood and Indian music and television to have the same influence that MTV, Hollywood and McDonalds have had for the United States. The popularity of Indian entertainment, for example, in Afghanistan where the country stands still enough for robbers to know when to strike, as everyone sits down to watch the Indian equivalent of Eastenders. The economic value of Indian restaurants in the UK who now employ more than the coal and mining industries together.  

He talked about Indian influence in the region through its pluralist democracy, in a country which an Italian-origin Roman Catholic woman, Sonia Gandhi, was elected with a Sikh Prime Minister, sworn in by a Muslim President. That, he said, was India being itself, sustained above all else by its pluralist democracy.

He is right, of course, and he used the power to tell stories compellingly. They are all true, although as previous articles will tell you, I fear that India’s ability to propagate is pluralist democracy without coming to terms with its State-sponsored violence and failure to account to itself and its people is also its biggest barrier to progress. You can’t please all the people all of the time, but you have to ensure at the very least that you don’t kill them.

 The power of children to transform society

Soft power, through Sesame Street, or Galli Galli Sim Sim, changing children’s lives across the sub-continent.  Soft power through the Riverside school in Ahmedabad, set up by Kiran Sethi whose favourite word “contagious”, in these days of swine flu, has inspired her to allow children to make a change, shutting down the city’s main streets once a month to allow it to be transformed into a children’s playground, inspiring children to teach their illiterate parents in rural Rajasthan to read and write, bringing children out onto the streets to demand an end to child poverty by making the pupils roll incense for eight hours so they understand what it feels like.

The power of children and sport, developed by Matthew Spacie who founded Magic Bus, who in searching for a way to engage girls in the slums, developed a football league for their mothers, which led to the grandmothers demanding their won league and ultimately which led to them coaching the very daughters they initially sought to engage.

Ring the bell and end domestic violence

Bell Bajao. An advertising campaign encouraging neighbours to ring the bell when they hear the strains and shouts of domestic violence from the next door house or street. Step in. Help. Don’t leave everything to the State.

Will you change my world?

Change the world, or let the person next to you change it for you, if you are open enough, said  Balasubramanian, an installation artist, painter and sculptor who sought to answer philosophy through sculpture hanging off the walls of a gallery. How do shadows define our sense of self? Where there is dark, must there be light?

And where there is blindness, individuals with passion can bring light to thousands of people in one of the most inspiring talks of the session. Ravilla Thulasiraj whose Aravinda eye hospitals have been inspired by the founder’s philosophy to create a McDonals of eye care, breaking down access barriers to the poor in innovative ways that reduce budgets and costs dramatically, provide transportation where required for hospital treatment and using technology to deliver telemedicine in the most rural places.

The power of serenity

And finally, to His Holiness, the 17^th Gyalwang Karmapa, who brought serenity to our twisting minds at the end of the conference, looking for positivity out of negativity. Talking about the Bamian Buddha statues which had been felled by the Taliban, he talked of looking for the positive, as though the action may bring about some peace between two religious communities helping them to understand each other without the barrier of a physical wall.

He told us that we had taken a million collective breaths this week, and although we may not see coarse changes, we needed to watch out for the subtle changes. The little symbols of happiness in every breathe that we took. He asked us to take the good, the momentum, the positivity of the fortune of such a diverse group of people coming together to form a strong approach, and to plant those qualities in every corner of the world.

And so these are not the articles to consider more deeply the consequences both of what we heard and what we did not hear. This is the place simply to note some of the people who left the biggest footprints this week. It has been an intense learning experience from which I am bound to take the positive.

The future beckons and India is ready to take her place at the front of it. There are people ready to seek creative solutions to seemingly intractable problems that perpetuate and expand poverty, whilst recognising that there is a long way to go. There are people all over the world who seek a common framework of inspiration.

I am not ready to leave, but I am certainly ready to sleep.

I am all for the soft power of new friendships and transforming ideas.  Stories which have the power to transform.

 I am a girl, an emotional creature.

Food for thought, indeed.

Cosa spinge un ragazzo di 22 anni ad abbandonare tutto quello che possiede per intraprendere un viaggio solitario verso l’estremo? Si perchè Christopher McCandless aveva solo 22 anni quando fresco di laurea decide di partire per il viaggio della sua vita con obiettivo finale l’Alaska. Mollare tutto, rifiutare il monotono e schematico modello americano saturo di ipocrisia per lanciarsi in un’avventura… alla ricerca della felicità.  Poche cose con se, fra cui alcuni libri e un fucile calibro 22, nel suo viaggio attraverso gli Stati Uniti. Durante i 2 anni trascorsi on the road incontra tanta gente, sfiora l’amore, vive e ascolta le storie di chi come lui ha vive la strada in un viaggio continuo. “La felicità è vera solo se condivisa”, purtroppo lo scopre troppo tardi… quando libertà diventa solitudine e la tanto agognata natura selvaggia una trappola. Il Magic Bus che lo accoglie per 112 giorni diventerà la sua tomba, Sean Penn lo immagina sorridente nel momento del trapasso, il momento in cui capisce di aver perdonato i suoi genitori per l’ipocrisia e l’incomprensione che lo hanno portato a quella fuga, vorrebbe riabbracciarli e si chiede se loro in quel momento avrebbero visto quello che vedeva lui adesso. Grazie Alexander Supertramp… anzi grazie Christopher McCandless… perchè ogni cosa va chiamata con il suo vero nome. Ci hai insegnato che oltre la materialità delle cose c’è molto da imparare. Ti immagino sull’uscio del bus 142 che sorridi… riposa in pace Chris!

Hey everybody… so I don’t really have a theme this week. I think I’m just gonna go a little stream-of-consciousness on y’all. Free things up a bit. Get a little bit random…

Yesterday I was on my way back from a small photoshoot for Oakland magazine, when I spotted a couple graffiti murals out of the corner of my eye. I circled back to get a closer look and passed this wild ride on my way…

I had just been thinking, literally the day before (while posting my modified truck w/ diamond plated flames), “where have all the art cars gone?” I feel like you used to be able to see them all the time, but lately I haven’t seen as many. Then, BOOM! This gem.

The universe provides, people. Don’t forget it.

This baby’s got it all… Yellow Submarine, Ziggy Stardust, My Little Pony, Mr. Potato Head, and more. And why the hell not?? Let’s all get a little bit random! (SOV)

“I’m going to paraphrase Thoreau here… rather than love, than money, than faith, than fame, than fairness… give me truth.” (Into the Wild)

Emile Hirsch and Sean Penn

I don’t know how many times I’ve caught Into the Wild on HBO, but I can’t get tired of it. It is an excellently-made movie telling the story of a man who dared to live without money, society, and rules but the rules of his own. I am so amazed at how this man decided to live. I’m wondering how it would have turned out if he was able to write his book about his travels. Would it voucher him a win?

It seems that he had won over the influences of capitalism and the money-mongering mindset that is so prevalent–but only for a short while. But, can an individual really live for that long without having their society? Even our sick society. Because we are social creatures.

The question is… Can a person really survive with no ties to anything or anyone?

“Happiness is only real when shared” – Christopher McCandless

The Real C. McCandless:

Download:

Globe Thistle is very soft

Hop on the Magic Bus.  Naw – it’s just part two at the Market.   More vegetables and items of curiosity.   Fantastical clocks at Arts on King,  a visit to the bank, and we discover that Charlie is a master at parallel parking.

A clock adorned with a feather at "Arts on King" Toronto

Listen to it here:

• HotFRM 175 (20Mb)

A provocative piece from the book:

Heather was in a crowd of other Western travelers, some of them from the Magic Bus ride from Istanbul. They’d been gathered together by the Afghani army and were now being ordered on to buses. She tried to head back to the center of the city towards Danny, but armed Afghani soldiers hampered her effort. She saw the older couple who sang for them in the Iranian desert, fearful and running to get on one of the five buses that appeared to be waiting for them.

“What’s going on?” She asked them

“Just get on the bus!” The man was terrified.

They leapt onto the bus. But Heather hesitated. She couldn’t leave, not without Danny. She took two steps back towards the center of the city, and the Afghani soldiers forced her back towards the buses.

“Why are you doing this, what gives you the right?” Her protests led to more force from the soldiers. She witnessed terror in their eyes. Something was definitely happening. She pleaded with them that she needed to go back.

“No Miss, get on the bus, now.” They blocked her way and turned her around, pushing her onto the bus with the barrels of their guns.

Heather had just placed her foot on the first step of the bus when a bomb blast rocked the city. A shockwave quaked the ground. The sound of the explosion was horrific. Life went to chaos then seemed to stand still. All around, people collapsed onto the ground, jarred by the impact of the explosion. The center of the blast issued up from the direction where Heather thought Danny went. She was shaking, maybe screaming his name. No one was hurt around her. The impact from the bomb had been far enough away not to do them damage, yet, close enough that they could smell the pungent smoke wafting through the area. Gunfire and screams, and more gunfire could be heard resonating throughout the entire city.

Chaos and panic had descended. People ran for their lives, shouting, terrified of that war had come to Kabul. Heather never felt so helpless. She desperately wanted to find Danny. But the Afghani soldiers were intense, forceful. They gave her no option. If she wanted to save her life, she had to do what they ordered, and that was to board the bus, and fast.

Smoke drifted throughout the entire region. Heather became more and more despondent. She cried out, feeling powerless. She couldn’t believe she was being forced to leave Danny. She knew nothing of his condition.

Reluctantly she took the last seat on the bus. The engines revved up, and the Afghani soldiers advised all five buses to move out. Out of Kabul and out of Afghanistan.

Dragon View is the sequel to Drakkhen, which probably means ‘dragon’ in German, or something.  See?  I’m full of awesome trivia!

For instance, DID YOU KNOW that 16 percent of SNES games beginning with ‘D’ have the word ‘dragon’ or ‘dragons’ in the title?  Heh, bet you didn’t know that.  And DID YOU KNOW that Dragon View for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System utilises MODE 7 GRAPHICS? Do you even know what Mode 7 MEANS?! Neither do I, but I’ve heard it’s in Mario Kart and it’s probably the menace behind this ugly-ass overworld as well.

U-G-L-Y, you ain't got no alibi! Yo' ugly!

It just goes to show that after 15+ years, game developers still haven’t figured out that overworlds suck and get in the way of, you know, PLAYING THE ACTUAL GAME. The Mode 7 sections of Dragon View are probably only there so that Kemco could advertise it on the box art, and really only serve as a vehicle for getting from level to level (it’s only appropriate then, that when I collided with a shrub next to a doorway, I had to reverse out, steer, and drive back in as if parking a bus).  As I drove my magic bus through fields of green, watching poorly redrawn sprites blink in and out of the frame, seeing enemies flutter towards me like spotted silver clouds, I thought to myself, perhaps this is the ‘dragon view’. Perhaps this is how a dragon views his world; here and gone in the blink of an eye; his enemies reduced to tiny, silver clouds.

If there's one positive thing about my overworld experience, it's that I found a 3D Triforce on the ground, which will please Zelda fans to no end (OMG 3D Zelda before Zelda 64!!!).

When I hit a silver cloud (in my magic bus), I got a taste of the real game.  And that is, side-scrolling slash ‘em up (slmup) action!  It was kind of like bullfighting once I’d worked out the patterns.  Slash them front on, move out of their path, let them charge like a moron, then get behind them now that they’re facing the wrong way and stab them in the back like the yellow-bellied coward I am!  (Flash fact: the evil butterflies are more dangerous than the scorpions!) These encounters are good for level-grinding, which I needed to do to stop dying in the actual game.  Thing is, I could avoid them altogether by simply driving around the silver clouds.

(Protip: make sure you read your map and check your compass regularly, or you could be stuck in Mode 7 hell FOREVER.)

When I wasn’t getting lost or killed in the overworld, I was speaking with villagers in a strange narrated format (“a blessing upon your house, sire”, he said, “and upon your children, and your children’s children”) and doing fetch-quests for them.  Then I’d get a priest to record my valiant deeds [save game] and trudge my way through the overworld again to find whatever damned thing I was supposed to find, and bring it back.  One such example was having to go to Tylon’s storeroom (which is a cave filled with demons and A GIANT SCORPION) across the other side of the overworld to get him some more dynamite, so that he could make some more bombs for me, so that I could blow up some fallen rocks, so that a lady could get home via Galys Pass.  Now, if you hear your grandparents jabber on about how they had to walk 50 miles to school everyday barefoot in the winter snow, you can tell them to shut their damn faces.  Here’s why:

This is "on the way home" for your typical Dragon View shopkeeper.

Notice the falling rocks, the craggy cliff face and the skeleton wedged under a rock! Hot-damn this game is hardcore.  More hardcore than your grandma, bitches.

“I want it, I want it, I want it…(You can’t have it!)”

I guess Pete Townshend knows that feeling.

Why do so many of us want the things we can’t have? Or the things we can’t seem to get? Is it the desire of something forbidden? The yearning to gain something not yet conquered? Is it just being stubborn?

Any of us who have been through that gap in time between interviewing for a job and being hired might have that sense. Especially if it’s one of those jobs you just know you’re not going to get. It can also be the time between applying and being asked to interview. Time seems to slow exponentially. You can’t imagine why these people are taking so long to recognize everything you can do for them. What are they waiting for?

It’s difficult to remember that everyone else isn’t working from your timetable. They’ve already got jobs to do, and many of their goals don’t necessarily include getting back to you right away. Of course, contacting job applicants in a timely manner would be the courteous thing to do, but it seems that many companies have lost the ability to get their HR people and hiring managers to offer that courtesy.

Perhaps they don’t want to get people’s hopes up. If someone doesn’t rate a second look, maybe they don’t want to hurt people’s feelings. I’ve been on the hiring side, and frankly, it can be a drag. There have been situations where I’ve had resumes and cover letters from several people I’d like to have hired, but had to turn down when word from above put a position on “hold.” I hate sending boilerplate rejection letters, but sometimes, that’s easier that making the effort to let someone know personally. It’s nearly as tough emotionally to reject as it is to be rejected.

There have also been times where I’ve confused myself. That’s when I have something perfectly good, but dwell on the fact that I’m unable to have something else. And as it usually turns out, the grass only seems greener on the other side. I can look back at jobs that, at the time, seemed soul crushing, but I’d probably still have if I had just been satisfied with sitting still.

I thought of that when I ran into a photographer from the Commercial Appeal the other day. I first met him when I started working as a reporter in Memphis in 1990. He had been at the paper a while then. Here it is, 19 years later, and he’s still there. I’ve had a couple of jobs last 7 or 8 years, but have always gotten the itch to move on. My oldest brother started the job he has now in 1974 – so he’s got his 30 and then some.

Maybe with the next job I can learn to sit still.

News & Notes

Tuesday’s blog is full of grace…

Interesting statistical anomaly with the blog. The number of readers has been spiking every Tuesday for the last few weeks. It’s good Monday & Wednesday, but always higher in between. Are things slow for you guys on Tuesday?

Heading north…

I’m running an errand this week. I came up to Chicago yesterday on a quick trip and will head home tomorrow. If anything incredibly interesting happens, I’ll have a rare weekend post.

this girl wants to hit the beach.
///
she’s waiting for “the magic bus” to take her to the next playa.
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“thank you, driver, for getting me here”.
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but the magic bus seems to be a bit late.

merci à precarious m qui nous a envoyé la photo.

Cor, I am feeling rather nostalgic now. Someone (@technicalfault) on twitter posted a picture of an old bus, which in turn made me remember the old orange livery of the GM buses that used to be all over Manchester when, following deregulation in 1986, Greater Manchester Transport was dissolved and GM Buses rose from the ashes.

If you are as geeky as I am, I think you’ll love this website: www.GMBuses.co.uk (visit the pictures section to see some cracking shots of Manchester back in the day, including the old Arndale bus station!)

(the 22 is a special favourite of mine as we used to be able to get from my childhood home directly to my Nana and Grandad’s house on it!)

The buses used to be really old, very musty, and have a faux-wood panel interior with brown/yellow/mustard/orange seat covers. Straight out of the 80s!

The tickets, OH THE TICKETS, how I miss them!!

With such a ‘yuk’ factor in today’s world, you may be surprised to know that they still operate some of these GM buses – they were sold to Magic / Stagecoach and are still heavily used on the student routes across the city.

Oh, and of course you mustn’t forget… you must ALWAYS get your feet off the ground if a Ring-and-Ride comes past…!

Back on the Magic Bus

The drive out of Paihia was really lovely and our Magic Bus driver stopped to let us take some photos from a lookout over the bay. We also took a quick look in the Hokianga Historical Society to watch a video about Opo the Dolphin.

Opo swam into the bay in 1955 and created a tourism boom as news spread that there was a dolphin there who did tricks, played with children and would let people swim with or ride him.

The video shows Opo making everyone happy (except for the little girl whose ball he takes to bounce on his nose), and leaves you feeling like you really missed out by not living in this simpler time when everyone was kind and happy and could be entertained for hours by a dolphin with a ball. I gave a $2 donation because the elderly woman who started the VCR for us seemed very hopeful that we would get out our wallets, and because the video of the playful Opo put me in a pretty good mood.

Welcome to Opononi, home of the murdered dolphin.

Then our driver told us that what the video left out. Opo was found dead after just a few months, possibly killed by a local who was sick of all the traffic and crowds the dolphin caused.

Yeah. Kind of a downer.

There was one more stop on the way to Auckland, to see Tane Mahuta, the tallest kauri tree in New Zeland. I had really hoped to have an extra night at the end of my trip to do the Footprints of Waipoua trip, where you go into the forest after dark to see the trees. It’s one of Lonely Planet’s “Code Green – Experiences of a Lifetims” and I read nothing but good things about it.

Tane Mahuta would have been the greatest Ent ever.

Luckily the Magic Bus includes the forest as a stop, and while I don’t think it’s quite as moving as seeing it at night, at 51 meters tall and more than 1200 years old, Tane Mahuta is still damn impressive during the day. Our Magic driver told us that before the forest became a sanctuary in 1952, many of these trees were cut down. Because of their size they were difficult to move, and some ended up at the bottom of rivers and lakes, too big to float downstream to the logging plants.

First the death of Opo, then the pointless slaughter of these majestic trees. This really wasn’t the happiest day of the Magic tour. Maybe going back to the big city wasn’t such a bad idea.

Next: I meet a Hot Kiwi Guy, then leave the country.

We're not in Auckland anymore.

Flying back to New Zealand from Sydney, I thought about all the things I wanted to do in my last few days before going home. I had to go back to Cuba Street and shop, spend a little more time in the Botanic Gardens and maybe have another look around Te Papa.

Then I realized that all of those things were in Wellington. I was flying back to Auckland.

Hmmm.

Leaving Paihia behind to look for dolphins and big holes.

For the rest of the flight I kept telling myself that I was going to Auckland, but pictures of Wellington kept popping into my head. Unfortunately, it was too late, mid-flight, to change my destination.

Luckily, I only had one night in Auckland before getting back on the Magic Bus (woo hoo!) and heading north to the Bay of Islands. And thank goodness for that. I stayed at the International YHA and it was one of the most miserable nights of my trip. Noisy, dirty and uncomfortable, I was up even earlier than I needed to be just so I could pack up and get out of there.

I only had two and a half days left in New Zealand, so although I would have loved to go all the way to the north tip of the North Island and gone sandboarding at Cape Reinga, I only had time to make a trip to Paihia and back. Not that there’s anything disappointing about Paihia.

In fact, there were five English guys in my dorm room at base backpackers, and they’d been in Paihia for four days, swimming, playing volleyball, and just hanging out with other travelers. They said they’d meant to only stay a day and then go further north, but they were having such a good time catching up on sleep during the day and hanging out at the Pipi Patch bar late into the night, they just never got around to leaving.

There are the dolphins.

When they all came into the room after dinner, I assumed they were on their way back out again and would stumble in drunk around 3:00 a.m., obnoxiously waking everyone up. So it was a big surprise when, after chatting with everyone in the room for a couple of hours, one of them said, “It’s 11:00, should we get to bed?” Then they all brushed their teeth, got into their bunks, said goodnight, and turned out the lights.

I suppose even the most hardcore English pub boys need a good night’s sleep every now and then.

After Sydney and Auckland, it was a nice change to be in a small town. Paihia has two main roads, a handful of shops, a row of hostels, pubs and restaurants, and tons of activity providers.

And there's the big hole.

If you want to relax, try a cruise out to the Hole in the Rock. I did the Fullers tour and was shocked at how many dolphins we saw on the trip. They weren’t just swimming around, these little attention-seeking dolphins jumped and flipped and seemed to love having an audience.

You can also swim with the dolphins, go for a sail in a tall ship, or do a kayaking tour into the bay. To learn more about the region’s wild past, hop the ferry over to the town of Russell, New Zealand’s first capital.

Next: Time’s up! Back to Auckland.

Get on the Busabout!

Traveling around New Zealand is really easy with a hop-on, hop-off service like the Magic Bus. You can spend days, weeks or months to get around one or both islands, you have a driver who helps you figure out what sights and activities you want to do, where to stay, and where to get the best deals on drinks. (Yes, that’s an important one.)

If you like that style of travel, you can do it around Europe too. There’s no Magic Bus, but there is Busabout. With Busabout you can choose one of 15 different passes depending on where you want to go. Their routes cover 30 of Europe’s most popular destinations across 10 countries, so you have plenty of options.

Busabout doesn’t operate all year, but any pass you buy is good from May to October, which gives you all summer and then some to travel. And right now, Travel CUTS is giving you 20% off Busabout Flexitrips, Flexiroute loops and Flexitrip one-way passes if you purchase between April 1st and 30th.

If you know you’re doing Europe this summer, take a look at this deal. If bus travel isn’t for you, give them a call anyway to see what they have for you in a Eurail pass, or maybe just a couple of cheap flights to get you from Paris to Lisbon, or Rome to Munich, or wherever your adventure takes you.

Show me the American deals!

Show me the Canadian deals!

Day Six

Today was mostly a Magic Bus day. It was tempting to relax and sleep a little on the bus, but there was just too much to look at as we cruised through the country, heading south from Taupo to Wellington.

In fact, I would call this a postcard drive, because every few minutes the scenery would change and I sat there thinking, “That could be a postcard. That could be a postcard. That could be a postcard.”

Here’s my day in pictures:

The scenic Magic Bus.

Stop at the Flat Hills Cafe

A sheep comes running up to me to be friends.

Volcano

This is what I imagine the help wanted ad for a Magic Bus driver looks like (based on Driver Greg and a few other Magic drivers we’ve crossed paths with along the way):

“Must be somewhere between totally cute and ruggedly handsome as well as charming, knowledgeable about the local sights, cheeky, and full of stories about your own travels in and out of New Zealand. Must also be able to drive a big bus.

Decent taste in music optional.” (Seriously, I’ve heard more Hootie and the Blowfish in the last two days than I have in years. It’s cool though, it’s a different culture here. They seem very pro-Hootie.)

Driver Greg has been with Magic Bus for almost three years now. No stranger to bus travel, he’s been around the world twice, including a trip to Europe for a 40+ day Contiki camping trip across 17 countries.

Every morning Greg gives us our itinerary for the day, lets us know his own recommendations of what not to miss and where not to waste time, and he always invites us up to have a chat if we have any questions.

You’re going to have questions, so go up and have the chat. Using your driver’s inside knowledge is the best way to make the most of your time any money, and it probably helps him to pass the time on the road.

For example, Greg let us know that although a lot of travelers plan to wait until they get to Queenstown to do the big adventure sports (sky diving, rafting, bungee), the exact same activities are most often cheaper and sometimes better in Rotorua and Taupo. Sky diving is a good $100 cheaper in Taupo, so that’s a big savings.

Magic Bus drivers are a relaxed group – they have to be to do what they do without going insane – and they’re the kind of guys (Do they have any female drivers? I’ll have to find out.) who you’d like to hang out and have a beer with at the end of the day, so why not offer to buy your driver a drink?

Sit him down, find out where he’s been, where he’s going next, what kind of travel wisdom he has to share. I didn’t get a chance to drink with Driver Greg, but I wish I had. Maybe the next time he’s in San Francisco we can catch up and talk about old times.

Every day on the bus, you’re the one who ultimately decides what your vacation is going to look like, but your driver is the person who can help make your travel dream a reality, so don’t be afraid to ask for help.

To learn more about the Magic Bus and other transportation options in New Zealand (I think most of them have cute drivers), talk to the student travel experts at Travel CUTS. They helped me plan my trip and they can help you too.

Day Three

“New Zealand begins where Auckland finishes.”
- Kiwis who don’t live in Auckland

The problem with most big cities is that they’re all about the same. They have different art in their museums and different skylines, but mostly they all offer shopping, dining, cafes, more shopping, some statues, a park or two, several Starbucks and more shopping.

Some cities still stand out. I would never tell anyone to skip Paris, or New York City. But most of the time, I think one full day in a city is enough. After that, head out of town and start to see the rest of the country, which is exactly what I was ready to do.

There’s nothing like starting the day with a bus ride and stroll through town with 50 pounds of luggage strapped to your body. Well, maybe 20 pounds, but at 6:30 in the morning, everything is heavier.

Hop aboard the Magic Bus

I was on my way to the Magic Bus office on Albert Street, ready to get out of Auckland and see more of the North Island. My Magic driver, Greg (pronounced “Grig”, just like Bret is pronounced “Brit” – I freaking love those Conchords), picked people up at several hostels, then drove us up to the top of Mt. Eden, an old volcano, for a full panorama of the city.

Once you’re on the Magic Bus, the driver passes around lists of activities for the day and accommodation for that night. Prices for everything are listed, and the Magic price for most activities is $5-10 cheaper, sometimes more. You sign up for whatever interests you and your driver makes the booking. Want to catch a cultural Maori show? Do some whitewater rafting or bungee jumping? The driver can help you decide what you can fit into your schedule and budget.

Just sit back and relax.

In the busy summer season it’s not a bad idea to book your own accommodation ahead of time, especially if you and a friend really want a room to yourselves, but if you just need a dorm bed, you should be ok waiting to book until that day. Your driver will let you know if you should book in advance for a town a couple of days down the road.

After a quick snack stop in Hamilton (birthplace of the Rocky Horror Picture Show – I’ll bet you didn’t know that) it was on to Waitomo for black water rafting and glow worms.

Next: Tell me about the glow worms!

On Friday morning I flew from Auckland, North Island, to Christchurch, South Island. Arriving in Christchurch – it rained. And it was COLD!!! My long, thin trekking pants did NOT keep me warm - walking around the city I was constantly cold   So I ended up buying a cheap pair of jeans. Feel better – and warmer – now

Furthermore, I did some research on cars and buses, trying to figure out whether to buy or rent a car, or buy a travel pass with one of the NZ bus companies. By Saturday afternoon I had decided on the MAGIC BUS and I bought a travel pass with them that will take me around the South Island (up the East Coast, down the West Coast, up the East Coast again) and then – after a ferry crossing – up north on the North Island from Wellington to Auckland, where I have to arrive on March 7th at the latest in order to make my flight to Nadi, Fiji, on March 8

Here’s the website for anyone interested:  http://www.magicbus.co.nz/

Saturday evening the Chinese Lantern Festival in Victoria Square celebrated the Chinese New Year – the year of the Ox. Really nice

In a little more than two weeks I’m heading to New Zealand for a long-awaited vacation. I’m starting in Auckland and working my way down to Christchurch, then flying on to Sydney to spend a few days with friends. 

New Zealand is a student traveler’s dream destination. It’s affordable, full of adventure and very easy to navigate on any budget. Part of that flexibility comes from the number of transportation options you have. What you should choose depends on your style, your situation and the experience you want to have.

I Want Total Freedom
If you don’t want to be on anyone’s schedule but your own, you’re best off traveling by standard get-me-from-point-A-to-point-B bus. Book as you go, picking the times that are best for you, and answer to no one!

You might also consider renting a car, especially if you’re traveling with friends and can split the cost.

I Want Some Freedom, But Don’t Want to Plan Every Detail
The hop-on hop-off bus is for you. These services stop at different sights between pick-up and drop-off points, can help you organize activities like skydiving, rafting or pub crawls, have drivers who can tell you about what you’re seeing, but also let you jump off whenever you like. Passes are typically good for 12 months, so you can get back on the bus days, weeks or even months later. You aren’t stuck with the group like you are with a full-on tour, so you have more flexibility in your itinerary.

I’m doing most of my travel by Magic Bus, with some day trips of my own thrown in between stops. This way I don’t have to worry about booking lots of separate bus trips, but I can also take time to do things I want to do that aren’t included in the usual schedule. I’ve also used the Oz and Kiwi Experience buses in the past and had a great time.

I Want Someone Else to Plan It All For Me
You need a tour company, like Contiki. All of your transportation and lodging will be planned for you and some meals will be included. You won’t have to do anything except show up on time and enjoy yourself, but you also won’t be able to abandon your group and hang at the beach for a few extra days if the mood strikes you. If you’re on a tight budget and only have a fixed number of days for traveling though, this can be a good way to maximize the amount of ground you cover.

Once you decide how you’re happiest when you travel, you’ll be able to narrow down the options and find what’s right for you.