I'm Going NZ!

First of all, thanks to Lynn (of BODYPUMP and Cycle fame) for inspiring me to start up this blog. The purpose of this blog is to share with everyone (who is remotely interested) my adventures in Auckland. Not sure if I will cough up the time to update this blog , but the good thing is I don't really have to update this regularly, as it's purely for my Auckland trip.

For the uninitiated, I'm a Les Mills junkie who is trained in 2 programs - BODYBALANCE and BODYCOMBAT. Check out my instructor profile www.lesmills.com/zhengjie. Check me out - 5,000 over clicks, amazing given how small the community is.

Currently, I teach BODYCOMBAT at Planet Fitness Singapore and I'm an absolute nutter when I'm on the stage. Off the stage, I'm shy, reserved and quiet. Split personality, perhaps?
For many instructors and Les Mills junkies (like myself), a trip to Auckland to participate in the filming is akin to a pilgrimage. If we're lucky, we get to appear on the DVD!

Due to work commitments, I have to give the Nov 07 filming a miss again. But from the LM website, I found out that Feb 08 filming will be held Feb 10/11, which is just nice, as I can piggyback it to the CNY holidays on Feb 7/8. I won't have to take so many days of leave, and also, many people will still be in the holiday mood. I made up my mind to go this time round and attend the filming of BODYCOMBAT 36, and perhaps other programs too.

I've been clicking around SIA's Krisflyer website for several days, as I am looking to redeem my Krisflyer miles for my flight to Auckland. As there are limited flights for miles redemption, all the flights during the period were on waiting list. Then one fine day, I checked the flights, and saw that the Feb 7 flight was available, I didn't hesitate and just booked it immediately, and a return scheduled for Feb 14. And that was even before I had obtained the leave approval from my boss at work. Flights during the holiday period are at a premium, and furthermore, only SQ flies direct to Auckland now. I'm not going to wait.

I used 46,750 miles to redeem a return ticket which would have cost me S$2,100 had I booked separately. Finally, a dream coming true.

Next up - accomodation. Now the thing is, I haven't found anyone to go from Singapore with me yet, which is not a concern as I will be meeting some other friends/instructors from overseas when I'm there, so I won't be alone. The only thing would be the cost. If I stay alone, the accomodation would be more costly. But I don't really care. It's so difficult for me to get time off work, the last thing I want to worry about is cost. Also, I don't really like sharing with people I don't know well, so I guess it's better that I'm on my own - my 3 days in Paris experience on my own (for work) was one of the best ever, so travelling alone isn't that bad. Lots of freedom and flexibility.

So I went to source for a few options for accomodation and eventually settled for Latitude 37. (http://www.latitude37.co.nz/) They're serviced apartments, and looks cosy and comfortable to me. NZ$800 for a week, that's nearly S$1,000. The budget and low-cost hotels didn't really appeal to me, while the decent 4-5 stars hotel would probably set me back by nearly S$2,000 since this is the holiday peak season.

Ok lah, this is a once in a lifetime thing, don't think I'll have that much spare cash to splash on a filming trip again, considering how expensive the air tix are, and I've just exhausted all my free miles. So I'd rather go all out and enjoy a good one.

With air tix and accomodation settled, my mind has been put at ease. I will probably do some research just before I depart. Don't think I'll be doing much sightseeing, have never a fan of it, but I'll probably spend much of my time at the gym and attending classes from the program directors and master trainers, and be awed by their technique.

It will be an experience for me, I hope I take many pics to show everyone!