Free bagel breakfast, which was quite incredible. Then a 3-hour journey through a spectacular, if somewhat odd, museum. Te Papa (Maori for 'Our Place') has quite the smattering of attractions: laser shows, modern art, traditional canoes, a car made of corrugated tin, collections of precious metals, an interactive floor with earthquake simulators and videos to watch, a restaurant, playground, and exhibits that actually make history and politics fun. Yes, even politics-- they had a whole exhibit on the Treaty of Waitangi, the 1840 document that guaranteed the indigenous peoples of New Zealand all the same rights and protections as English settlers. Right about that time, teams of men were walking coast to coast in Tasmania and shooting every Aboriginal on sight, and in the states, the US Calvary was handing out small-pox blankets to the American Indians and lodging bullets into children's heads all over the Great Plains. As Homer would chant: USA! USA! USA!
But I digress: I did laundry in proper facilities for once, took a very long and very hot shower and ate some spicy as Malaysian beef stir fry. And I didn't drink. It sucks, but I'm attempting a sober week here, given how ridiculous my drinking got in Fiji. Glad I chose the country of local breweries and a pub on every corner to do this in... thankfully the hostel has no bar of its own, but the bottles of wine in the entrance to the grocery store are mocking me. Steinbeck is making things better though, and I would highly recommend Sweet Thursday--essential reading, even if you've never even heard of Cannery Row.Drink Count: 0
Thundercats, HOOOOOOOO!
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