Christchurch, New Zealand

After a quick night in Queenstown, I left early for Christchurch, which is a 8 hour bus ride. Christchurch is the second largest city in New Zealand, clocking in at a whopping 380,000 people, putting it on par with Spokane, which I found vaguely funny with all the Kiwis referring to it as a "big city". Really, the only thing to see is the cathedral, which was just outside my hostel and the city is pleasant and quaint. But I found some fun people. The night I left, I drank with some Kiwis and jet-lagged Irish girls that kept me out until 6:30, we were kicked out of no less than four bars as they were closing. Needless to say, I slept well on my overnight plane ride later that day. The flight out of Christchurch was one pain after another. First, since I was flying through Brisbane, Australia on route to Malaysia with Pacific Blue, they made me get a visa for Australia, for my five hours there when I simply could keep all my luggage carry-on and move towards international connections. But it was much less of a hassle than I imagined it. But by the time I had it sorted out, I was the last to check in and so I got stuck in the back of the plane, which turned out to be the "flying with young children" section. I counted 8 infants in my immediate vicinity. Needless to say, I sprinted to the only open seat at the front of the plane as soon as the doors closed and had to argue with the stewardess for ten minutes just to keep it. But my Malaysia Air flight to Kuala Lumpur was quite pleasant though. Below is the famous cathedral, with people playing giant chess out front. Also are some shots from stops on the bus ride.

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Some details:

I took a 6:55 intercity bus ($20) because it wasn't any more expensive than the nakedbus this time. It leaves on Athol St. in Queenstown, just one block from the iCenter in the center of town. I think the cross street is Shotover, the main street through town. The bus drops off right by Cathedral Square and the Base, the hostel I stayed at is located on one corner of Cathedral Square. The hostel is basic, but has the necessities and a good bar for meeting people. The also do a shuttle transfer to the airport for $3 every hour on the hour, which was especially convenient for me planning on leaving. I left Christchurch ($17 departure tax) going to Brisbane on Pacific Blue ($98). I had to get an Ozzie visa for my 5 hour layover ($13) and then checked in on Malaysia Air to go to Kuala Lumpur ($418). I just found out that Air Asia actually serves this same route, for around $100 or $200 (but not nearly as comfortable). If you book on affiliated airlines, they will check you through and you won't have to get the visa.