TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE DIARIES

Paying by cash or by Chinese Yuan (RMB) money is slowly going extinct in China. This is for real. You can see the blue and green barcode / QR codes for payment scanning.

China is a multifaceted country that is changing through the times and growing its economy and much more at breakneck speed. It is unbelievable to see the transformation of a once communist country into one of the (if not the) largest economies in the whole wide world. At the Maglev Airport Station

The last leg of my road trips in New Zealand was Christchurch. The iconic Christchurch city (tour) tram. Christchurch hit the world headlines when an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.3 on the Richter scale struck the city back in 2011. The city has never been the same again and traces of the quake aftermath can still be seen today. We took the coastal route from Picton - Havelock - Renwick/Blenheim to Christchurch, passing through Kekerengu and Kaikoura. The coastal drive was very scenic and relaxing, although we had some delays because of the roadworks. We originally planned on taking the other route via the Nelson Lakes but the coastal highway is the fastest route from the north to Christchurch so we took heed. Christchurch is the third-most-populous city after Wellington and Auckland. The coastal road in South Island. One of the bay areas in Kekerengu. We stopped here for coffee at the Kekerengu Cafe. The very interesting design of a bus stop in Ka...

I must say that this is one of my favourite places in New Zealand, the Marlborough region in the South Island. Marlborough is known in New Zealand as the wine country but it is also home to beautiful coastal waterways, peninsulas, islands, and fjords which are called "sounds" there. It is a lovely place that has bitten me. Many people have told me that the South Island is beautiful so I was quite expecting it really and I can only agree to it. However, I have only managed to see a part of Marlborough and Canterbury and I am aching to see more of the island! I need to drag the Dutchman here in the very near future. Entering the Queen Charlotte Sounds in the South Island via ferry. Picton in the distance is a small town in the northernmost part of South Island. All ferries from Wellington goes to Picton. Moi on the ferry as we were about to dock in Picton. Wellington = Picton and vice versa ferries go every day and frequently during the summer months....

Wellington is the capital of New Zealand. It is also the windiest capital or city that I have ever been to. It can get pretty windy here in the Netherlands but nothing beats the wind in Wellington. The Northerly and Southerly winds are funneled through the passage on Cook straight slapping Wellingtonians with approximately 100 km/ph winds, which have become quite normal to the locals. Newbies faced with these winds tend to run and shelter themselves but Wellingtonians just see it as another breath of fresh air. In the south of France, they have a name for a similar strong wind, the Mistral. In Wellington, they just call it the Northerly or the Southerly. The city is also quite small, smaller than its northern sister, Auckland. I have earlier mentioned in my previous Auckland postcard picture entry that Auckland has a small city feel to it. Wellington, on the other hand, much smaller, has a town city feel to it. So just a few pictures of this windy capital for now. In ...