Back From Auckland

I'm back in Singapore! Landed this morning and I thought I better write something because I know once I get back to work, this entry won't come or it will only come 2 weeks later. It has been a good week in Auckland, I enjoyed myself there immensely (gym, casino, lotsa rest) and it's time to come home and face reality again.

While I was in Auckland, I did write many entries as drafts, preparing to post them here, but the more I read through them again, the more I thought I better leave these unadulterated entries out. Too much of my personal feelings and emotions attached to these entries.

Truth is, in this short period, there were many thoughts and reflections going through my head, I was thinking of many things and as they came, I just wrote them into my laptop.

This time round, there are much less pictures than before (if I intend to upload any in the first place). Few reasons - stricter controls by the filming staff this time, bad timing schedules which left everyone in a rush and with no time for pics and of cos laziness, there were several times I just left my camera in my bag. It would be unfair to say that I have lost enthusiasm because I still love attending filmings otherwise I wouldn't go all the way there again.

As I'm writing this, my thoughts are starting to drift as well. I think I'll leave the fitness part of my trip in a separate entry, so people who are only interested in the releases can read that, and they don't have to read all these gibberish here.

This time round, there was a little Singaporean contingent there. Total number of people from Singapore amounted to double digits. I'm not going to say who was there, just do some sleuthing around the internet and you will see pictures galore. And right before BC41 filming started, Rach even made a joke... "Singapore must be empty by now"

Given that this trip is not solely for filming but for my own vacation, I shall make some comments on the flight and hotel.

Flight - Took business class flight on SQ to Auckland, it was fantastic. The plane was quite empty in fact, only 6 of us in entire business cabin and lotsa more empty seats at the back, looks like economy is affecting travel? But the return flight was full! And I travelled economy on that so it paled in comparison after the wonderful flight experience there. On the way there, everything went so smoothly, I had a good sleep, I was one of the first to leave the plane, cleared immigration early, and my baggage came out almost instantly and I was on the cab to the hotel in no time at all.

Hotel - The hotel (Sky City) was a big disappointment. There was no broadband cable or remote control for the TV, and when I requested for them to be delivered to my room, the staff was exceptionally grumpy. When I called room service at 2am, no one picked up despite the fact it's 24 hrs. And I didn't call once, but three times in 5-10mins interval. Was absolutely famished and a hungry man is an angry man. The reason why I chose Sky City was because it's where the casino is at. My last 2 trips there I stayed at svc apartments replete with washing machines/dryers (especially important if you go gym alot), microwave oven, large fridge, etc, but somehow I didn't fancy walking all the way back after my late night casino trips with lotsa cash in my pocket. Heard from locals crime rates have picked up so I didn't feel secure.

Casino - I could write a long entry detailing my adventures in the casino, but I would bore you guys to death. Let's just say that I made this trip free again. I am quite happy to keep on visiting Auckland again because I seem to have some decent luck here. Unlike Macau... And also I attribute my winnings to discipline. Once I win and hit my desired target, I stop and consolidate my position. I know the winning streak is not going to go forever. And I stick to my own personal rules, never bring all my cash or a single ATM card to the casino, and quit the table once I lose 3 times in a row. So far the strategy has worked so I'm not going to stop.

Cost of living - Given that I was here twice last year, prices haven't really changed that much, given the recession I would have thought prices would fall but no they haven't. A taxi ride from airport to city costs me NZD70 (ridiculously expensive) but I got it back from the casino anyway. Meals about NZD10-15 per meal. The only thing is cos the portions are huge, I am ok to survive on 2 meals a day.

Les Mills gym - Sometimes I wonder if the locals realise how lucky they are because so much money is being pumped in into the gym on a global scale. Each time I come, I see more and more money being spent in the gym. The marketing images, posters, banners, they don't come cheap and you only have to admire how they could have made such a vast leap if they didn't have the funding. Just look at the recent DVD packs and anyone could tell the difference.

But what hasn't changed is the professionalism of many of the instructors I see. They take pride in their teaching and they keep their body fit. Exemplary role models and it's easy to see that this is the epicentre of fitness revolution. It was my pleasure to attend classes from their local instructors who were presenters in some of the releases).

I attended quite a few. Eg, BC from Grant (BA presenter but his BC technique was awesome), BA from Mark Sinclair (that man is a little scary and looks like he's capable of fitness torture), BJ twice with Chris (BJ presenter) and I enjoyed all the classes I attended.

I especially like Chris' BJ because I like his style, there's usually not much Latin/Samba music which I don't really appreciate, but more house/club music. Somehow the tracks that he played are all those that I liked! The highlight was doing the UF-Oh block on the first class and the Contemporary Rock on the second class. I love the Contemporary Rock block but no BJ instructor in Singapore seems to like that. They always keep doing the old stuff - pre Gandalf - which I don't exactly appreciate.

International fanatics - There was quite a sizeable Japanese contingent over there this time round, not surprising given the NZDJPY is at such a low now which means the japanese can stretch their yen much further. Got acquainted with a few Japanese who were not instructors but because they like the LM programs so much, they make an effort to go all the way there. Kudos to them.

Besides that, this filming is a little more packed than the last one because it coincides with the GFX, which is their quarterly workshop, which means we got to attend the new releases as well. So it's two for the price of one, BC41 filming and BC40 workshop and the list goes on...

And talking about two for the price of one, we also have the ESK back in BC41... and it's in BJ50 too! Will talk about that in the next entry.

Carnival - In conjunction with the GFX and filmings, there was a Carnival party going on. I made a huge boo-boo, after all the filming classes, I went back to my hotel deposited my bags and returned to the gym without my wristband. Wasn't allowed entry unless I pay the $30 entrance fee or I go back to the hotel to retrieve my wristband. So I just cut my losses and went back to the hotel where I had fun in the casino instead.

There you have it for now, I'm going to stop here and rest for a while before I post another entry about the releases. I'll add on more if I can remember.