Day 1 Part 1 - Finally In Auckland

So here I am, finally in Auckland, having booked this trip 4 months back. I didn't get much sleep on the flight, there were a couple of technical problems with my seats and I had to change seats two times. Didn't really get a good rest on the flight, so I'm feeling a little tired right now. It's 11pm, I feel like going to bed, but I thought I better be consistent and start writing my Auckland adventures before I start forgetting them or become too lazy to do so. I don't have internet access while I'm here, so I'm actually writing all these in my laptop and backdating the entries to the time I start writing.

Auckland airport is small compared to Singapore's Changi Airport. There's nothing much to see. I boarded the Airbus shuttle to Auckland City area. I brought along my NTU student pass and showed the bus driver, and I purchased a return ticket at the student rate. Nice. I'm staying at this place called Latitude (http://www.latitude37.co.nz/)



While waiting for my friend to come join me from a later flight, I took the opportunity to explore the streets of Auckland. The streets remind me very much of Australia. I was feeling a little hungry, so I went to grab a bite.. I went to a food court, and the prices were really quite expensive. About NZ$10 for a meal/main without drink. I eventually settled for a MACs Quarter Pounder combo meal as it comes along with fries and Coke, the fries should ensure I would be full for the next few hours.









As I was walking down the streets, it was kinda easy to spot fellow instructors. The instructors would typically be a small group of very fit-looking people, in the smallest sized top their body can possibly fit. Somehow I think many instructors like to reveal as much skin as possible, possible to show off their huge muscles. Otherwise what's the point of working so hard right?

I saw a group of 4 guys, they looked like Europeans to me, and the shirt that one of them was wearing captured my interest. From the back view, it was a white sleeveless with the NEW Les Mills rectangular logo, with the words TURN IT UP! at the bottom. Was quite intrigued, and later managed to see from the front that it was actually a Nike sleeveless top. While waiting at a traffic junction to cross, I asked the guy, hey did you print the logo yourself? The fellow acknowledged so. Upon further conversation, I discovered that they were from Sweden. Then looking at the rest of the group, I then realised one of them is the International Presenter for BP62 Petter! He looks huge in person with his bulging frame.

They were walking towards the LM gym, and so was I. Along the way, we bumped into another star. Who else but Rach from BC! She was busy entertaining the members of her fan club (and her fan club is probably not participants, but master trainers and instructors). I'm a fan too, but too bad there's too many pple crowding around her.

So I proceeded towards the gym.My first stop at LM gym was the clothing store. It's not what I quite expected it to be, but it's also more than what I expected. There were several designs not available on the website, and stuff were going for 20% off. Imagine saving on freight costs and getting that 20% discount! Immediately, I spent about $100 even before I started any activity. Sales was very good and the popular sizes were being cleared off the shelves. So I thought I better not wait.

After that, I just waited for my Taiwanese friend to arrive. He's non other than Ed, and appeared in the front row of the BC30 DVD. His shuttle from the airport was delayed, and we virtually dashed to make it for the 5:10pm BC class.

(Sidetrack a bit. I am pretty annoyed by Les Mills cos I felt exploited and ripped off. Firstly, instructors who are attending the filming this time round have to cough up NZ$250. On top of that, we still have to pay extra to use the gym facilities and attend the classes. Two days before arriving in Auckland, I actually emailed the manager and was quoted NZ$10 per entry, but upon arrival they changed it to NZ$15. Sucks big time, but we haven't had a choice as our asses were already there.)

While waiting for BC, we sat in durin the last 2-3 tracks of Bodystep by Mark Nu'u, and 4 other guest presenters. They were doing the new release Bodystep 72 (preview) before official filming over the weekend. The way he taught it, he was completely wet by the end of the class, and so were the other instructors.