Things people do when they stay awake for 30 hours

Well, whaddya know. Just when I was grumbling about not having fate l to be scheduled for any Auckland flights, I got called up for one. SURPRISE!

The weather was lovely when we got in, which was slightly before noon. The sun was shining, but the air was cool and dry at the same time. We could head out in shorts and a thin cardigan, which was awesome for a change. The only challenge was that we were exhausted from the flight, and fighting to stay awake till nightfall so that we could get a proper night's sleep and adjust our body clocks to Auckland time (which is 5 hours ahead of Singapore). And so we did.

We were lucky to have caught the annual Auckland Santa Parade where thousands of people lined Queen Street to watch a spectacular parade of colours marching, dancing, singing and even rolling past. We saw floats of Disney characters, an elaborate Willy Wonka set among other beautiful things that were showcased. Love how Auckland has such a culturally diverse population. Craving some pad thai? No biggie, just turn the corner and you'll see three different Thai restaurants to satisfy your needs.

Walked around Auckland city for a bit, taking in the sights and sounds, sneaking something to eat in between before trudging up an inevitable steep hill to our hotel. Even then, we couldn't sleep. The plan was to meet the boys for dinner at 7.30. So we hung out in my room, trading pictures, making stupid videos and doing our best to keep each other awake for dinner.

There was a perfectly adequate bed nearby, but we insist on sleeping on the carpeted floor. 

We still looked pretty damn gorgeous even after 30 hours without sleep, eh?

Dinner.

We came back from dinner at Occidental around 10 pm, which was an ideal time to take a shower and prepare ourselves for bed (while trying not to think that it's just 5 pm in Singapore). I was knackered, but not sleepy. But I had to sleep because I was going to meet my girlfriend for a tour of Auckland the next day! So after a nice hot shower, and catching up on Agents of SHIELD on my Macbook, I caved in and went to bed.