When autumn comes to San Francisco, spring comes to New Zealand and Australia. When we boarded the 13-hour flight to Auckland, we knew were heading for a change of seasons.
We reached there on a lovely Friday morning. Our room would not be ready until the afternoon. So we decided to stroll past the sailing boats in the harbour, some of which had been victorious in the America’s cup. We checked out the numerous shops and markets and later took the ferry to Davenport.
Once there, we checked the varied architecture of the island and sampled local fare at one of the restaurants. On the return ferry we got a great view of Auckland’s skyline.
On Saturday, we visited the Auckland Domain. It is home to a large park and to a war remembrance museum which sits atop a hill. Not one or two but three cricket matches were being played there.
The War Museum had an entire floor dedicated to the Great War (World War I), and another floor devoted to World War II. The displays and the sacrifices made me wonder why a nation so small and located so far away was pulled into the Great War whose action was confined to the continent of Europe.
Of course, it had been demanded by the British Empire. A hundred years later, the Union Jack remained embedded in the flag of New Zealand as did the Queen’s face on the currency.
Artifacts from the country’s rich Maori history were on display on the ground floor (many of the large traffic signs on the freeways were in Maori as well as in English).
Also on the ground floor of the museum was a space set aside for Diwali celebrations. We had missed the dances but we did see women lining up to get their hand decorated with henna.
After a lot of walking, we went for a Thai massage, a reminder that Thai’s knew how to market their masseuse skills (and their culinary skills) so much better than most other countries. I glanced at the magazines on the rack and noticed that Imran Khan had made it to the corner of the cover of an Australian woman’s magazine. The caption read, “Imran Khan’s rapid rise”.
We walked over to the 328-meter high Sky Tower, took the elevator to the top, and saw an aerial view of the city. Visible were the harbor bridge, the ocean-going freighters, the ferries that ply from the city to the islands, and a variety of different urban architectural styles.
We walked over to the 328-meter high Sky Tower, took the elevator to the top, and saw an aerial view of the city. Visible were the harbor bridge, the ocean-going freighters, the ferries that ply from the city to the islands, and a variety of different urban architectural styles
On our last day we noticed that every restaurant along the harbour had a long line of patrons waiting to be seated. They were dressed in fancy party attire. Full-sized model horses were standing next to two of the restaurants. All of this was in commemoration of the Melbourne Cup. While the two countries are often at odds, they also had a lot in common.
Then we flew over to Sydney. Our hotel was located in Martin Place, a short walk from the Circular Quays, with its eclectic collection of restaurants and shops. The area was within walking distance of the Harbor Bridge on one side and the Opera House on the other side.
Our taxi driver was a native of Peshawar. In Urdu, he told us that the first two years under Imran Khan would be years of sorrow but then they would be followed by years of prosperity. He said that Pakistan had suffered for 70 years under corrupt leaders and religious bigots but sufferings would end under Imran. I bit my tongue and smiled.
He also told us that there were only 19,000 Pakistanis in Australia and that Indians outnumbered them by a factor of ten. He said that the Indians had done a tremendous job of marketing their culture and Diwali was being observed throughout Sydney.
On our first full day, we took the ferry to Manly Beach. We had put on our rain gear since it was raining on and off. But the views were superb. Once we got to the beach, we discovered a group of school children from Japan. They were dressed in smart school uniforms. What has stayed with me is a picture of the children standing near the beach, each one holding an umbrella to ward off the incessant rain. That evening we watched the play, Julius Caesar, back at the Opera House.
The Westfield Shopping Mall was not too far away and we decided to check out the many shops. I have always been impressed by the high state of fashion in Sydney and was not disappointed this time. Some of the men’s vests, jackets and suits were very smartly coordinated. Our goal had been to engage in window shopping but some of the items proved irresistible and got bought.
A local couple invited us to have lunch with them at iconic Bondi Beach. The seafood at North Beach Fish was incredible and also provided great views of the beach. Later, they took us to Surry Hills which had a few Pakistani-Indian shops and restaurants. We had gulab jamun and jalebi there with chai and samosas. The woman, whose father was English, asked me for my views on Imran Khan. That question seemed to dog me wherever I went.
We had dinner one evening with my nephew and his wife at a Moroccan restaurant with exquisite views of Darling Harbor. At some point, fireworks were launched over the water, giving the evening a magical feeling.
The next evening we had dinner with another nephew and his wife at an authentic Italian restaurant. We talked about the long delays in the construction of the light rail in the central business district of Sydney and how Muslim extremism was often discussed in the Australian senate.
The next day we walked through the expansive Botanical garden to the Opera House and then onto the Harbor Bridge. We had lunch at a great Italian restaurant in the adjacent Rocks Market, which provides an assortment of souvenirs, and dinner at a Greek restaurant, 1821, near the hotel.
On our final day, we walked through Hyde Park, admiring the statutory on display, and then boarded a taxi to the airport. The driver turned out be of Indian origin whose grandfather had served in North Africa and whose father had been a brigadier during some of the wars with Pakistan.
So I asked him about the Indo-Pak wars and he quizzed me about Imran Khan. The time went fast. Soon we were on the flight home.
Published in Daily Times, November 21st 2018.