I love Christchurch. I love it so much that if you asked me to spare only 1 city from a plague of flesh eating zombies, Christchurch would be it. It is not to be mistaken with this Christ Church though.

For a supposed city, it doesn’t come across as too metropolitan. There’s no skyscraper in sight, and a generally very relaxing city to chill in. It’s the biggest city in New Zealand’s South Island, and was established in 1850 by English settlers, notably Anglicans. Its English heritage shows in the older buildings, especially the Anglican Cathedral in the Square in the very center of the city. The River Avon flows through the central city and disrupts the regular rectangular layout of the city streets. It also acts as a major point for people starting or ending their stay in the South Island.

I particularly like the Cathedral Square which rests right in the middle of the city. If I ever had to built a city, I’ll make sure there is a square to chill smack in the city centre.

People will just sit around relaxing, watching the street performers, eat from the various stalls and market setups, or even listen to a street preacher. It’s fantastic! Everyone just congregates there.

Or even play chess.

And when you’re in Christchurch, do take the tram. It takes you round the city on a 2 day unlimited pass, which means if you’re lazy to walk, you take the tram. It’s old school.

And from there, go visit the Christchurch Art Gallery.

I’m not a fan of art, but the building itself is pretty spectacular I would say.

If you feel like it, you can take a punt down the River Avon. It’s a relaxed ride, with the punter giving a commentary of stuff we passed by. You don’t even have to listen, you can just close your eyes, look at the river, play with the ducks, and believe everything is wonderful again, Everclear style.

Overall, Christchurch is a nice city to be in. Not too crowded, enough walking and cycling space, good public transport systems, and nice people in general. The photos don’t actually do enough justice to the city, so do google the city up yourself if you plan to visit the place.

Plus, we managed to catch Paramore while in Christchurch. That will be an update for another day.

In all my life, I’ve never planned for a trip as detailed as the one I just went on. It’s so good, that if anyone of you ever wanted to go to New Zealand, I can actually plan the whole trip for you. It’s that good.

I started out by flying Air Asia to Melbourne, and then flying Jetstar to Christchurch. Believe me when I say it’s cheaper than flying straight to Auckland with any other airline.

From Christchurch, we visited Oamaru, followed by Dunedin, and then Invercargill - All taken by bus. Then we rented a car and drove to Te Anau on the Southern Scenic Route, embraced Milford Sound, then dropped the car off in Queenstown.

After that, it’s a short bus ride to Cromwell, hung around for 4 hours, and then to Wanaka. A long bus ride to Fox Glacier begun, and then it’s another long bus ride to Greymouth, where we took the Transalpine train service that goes through, well, the alpines all the way back to Christchurch.

Then it’s another bus up to Kaikoura, another bus to Nelson, another bus to Picton, then a ferry that took us up to the North Island city of Wellington. From Wellington, it’s another long journey to stinking Rotorua, a bus to Auckland, another bus further up to Paihia, and then it was back to Auckland. From Auckland, we flew on Virgin Blue to Gold Coast, Australia, and flew Air Asia back to good old KL.

So, after 37 days, 19 cities/towns, 20 hostels, 10,000 bus miles, the trip was done. Sounds too fast? Well, it is.

Being a bus driver in New Zealand is a friggin’ difficult job.

Not only you’ve got to drive passengers from Point A to B, you’ve got to:
- Know your history of the route you’re driving
- Understand the geographical location of the area
- Explain the geological changes that occurred to that particular landscape
- Drive safely (Hardest part I think)

and most importantly, be funny. Be it sarcastically or cynically.

Sounds like a whole lotta fun!

The 1st attempt. Not too shabby.

I think, I might be onto something here.

Something great.

I think.

Nothing beats home cooked food - Period.

“You’re a baby killer!”

That’s what they all say.

Now, here’s travel tip no. 2.

1. Pay about 5,000 Dong for a duck egg, Make sure it is a duck egg, and not a normal hard boiled chicken egg.

2. Dig in with salt, and some ginger. Make sure all juices are drank up.

3. Lick your fingers and order 1 more if you really liked it. In my case, dinner was next.

The egg seller might look at you with a horrified face asking: “You can? You can? You can?”. Just nod your head 3 times.

“You’re a baby killer!”

How can I be a baby killer, when it’s already dead?

I used to have this phobia of babies (I still do!). Give me a baby to carry, and I can give you a thousand reasons not wanting to do so.

I’m not a fan of children, and children definitely are not fans of me. Face it, I’m gonna be a lousy dad in the future.

Monday morning 9.59am, a healthy baby boy was born weighing in at 3.08kg.

Asher Josh Liew, son of Mr. & Mrs Joel Liew, welcome to the world! With such a cool name, who needs a Chinese name? (Just like me ;))

Looks like we’re getting off to a good start!

Asher, when you’re finally 18, I promise to bring you out for a beer, and then we’ll have a good jamming session where I’ll introduce you to Coldplay, Muse & Radiohead, who no doubt will be what you call an ‘oldie’ by then.