by Mandeep Gaygoat
For breakfast, Sangeet made fried tomatoes, mushrooms, potatoes which turned out to be mashed potatoes, fried onions and baked beans, we sat on the balcony whilst we ate the scrumptious breakfast.
Saturday morning is market day which is held on the west side of the town centre. Punanga Nui Market starts around 6am and finishes about 1pm, there you can buy pearls, clothes, fresh local produce at much cheaper prices than the shops, great smoothies and ready made food to eat there. We took the clockwise bus into town which stopped at the market. The temperature was around 30degrees C, perfect to have a smoothie, we chose mango and passion fruit it was delicious and very cooling. We had a wander around the stalls, the clothes sold here are floral in design and very bright colours. We bought some bananas which looked good and were much cheaper then the supermarkets most likely because these are home grown and not imported from New Zealand. Afterwards, we had a wander around the other stalls.
After the market we walked further into town and found a nice spot next to the beach. we sat there for a while watching the waves crash against the lagoon and topped up our tans. we are so black! Then we headed towards the information centre, we are looking to do the cross island walk from north of the island to the south and wanted to check guide prices, the guy at the information centre said that it is worth having a guide though the walk is well marked and it is not a must. He recommended ‘Pa’ who knows the land and its history very well. There was air conditioning in the information centre so we hung around chatting to the helpul and friendly tourist information rep before going back into the heat. he told us companies like McDonalds, Sheraton and Hilton are trying to get into the Cook Islands, though Rarotongans have managed to resist he said they are fighting a losing battle. It is good that there are no big chains here but I kept on thinking at least I would get free wifi if McDonald’s or Starbucks were here!
It was around 2pm, most things in town were closing, luckily Foodland was open so we topped up on a few items. After 1230pm there is no anticlockwise bus and the service becomes hourly therefore we caught the 3pm clockwise bus back to the hostel.
At the hostel, Sangeet relaxed on the balcony overlooking the beach and continued reading her book ‘A Walk in the Woods’ by Bill Bryson which we bought from Ferndale library for US$1! I tried to relax but found it difficult…..my mind never seems like it can relax. So I took out the garbage and had a wander to the Chinese restaurant to have a look at the opening and closing times.
When I got back Sangeet was sleeping on the balcony….as I was bored I made coughing sounds to wake her! When Sangeet woke up, she prepared crackers with sweetcorn relish which was very nice. She also made chickpea pasta and for dessert she had Watties strawberry yoghurt dessert, Watties is Heinz branding for Australasia, also the dessert is for babies (Sangeet enjoys baby food desserts!)
by Mandeep Gaygoat
Today we got the cleaner to clean the shower, which she did, I was so happy and just jumped into the shower. I really do think that one cannot stay in a hostel in such an idyllic location. Perhaps it is just me, I really am too used to luxury and am finding hostelling quite a challenge. We first travelled the world in 2005 for three months, we were very fortunate to find (on the whole) clean accommadation. Nowadays it seems more of a challenge. I am just so tempted to pull out the American Express platinum charge card and blow it on luxury accommodation!!
Afterwards we went to the hostel dining room to find Phillip from Croatia and Jacob from Australia. Great guys who have been here for a while, they gave us some good information. They also invited us to the hostel barbecue they have organised for tomorrow night.
There is a bus service that runs around the whole of the island one clockwise and the other anti-clockwise, you cannot miss it as it says this on the screen. It runs every hour, there are some designated stops around the island, this is more so you know roughly what time it will be at the stop. Alternatively if you see a bus coming you can flag it down regardless of where you are. A single fare, regardless of distance costs NZ$4 a return fare costs NZ$7, we bought two return fares. We headed clockwise to Avarua town north of the Island to get off at Cooks Corner, a ‘sort of’ bus station. Our hostel is on the west coast. The bus was full of tourists. The locals seem to get around mainly by scooter just like Aitutaki. After a quick visit to Foodland supermarket much cheaper than the grocery we went to yesterday and much more to choose from, they have vegetarian cheese! This island has a lot more in stock then Aitutaki, perhaps because the cargo will come here first from New Zealand. Saying that the prices for imported goods is still very high. We picked up some tomatoes, mushrooms potatoes and onions as usually the best veg goes pretty quickly.
Afterwards we walked to an Indian restaurant called Raviz, the manager is over from Auckland as they have branches there, he has been here for 7 years. As we entered the restaurant i noticed ‘Ek Onkar’ written on the cupboard, it gave me a good feeling to know the restaurnt is run by Sikhs, who, hopefully would know the inportance of cooking veg and non veg dishes seperately. We ordered dhaal, butter paneer, jeera rice with mango lassi, dessert was mango kulfi. It tasted nice. I just know I will suffer later!!
Whilst eating a elderly man Derek approached us and asked if we were from Punjab, we said yes (well technically we are!) he said that the happiest years of his life were in India studying in the foothills of the Himalayas, he and his wife have been coming to the Cook Islands for the last twenty years, this year they were celebrating their 58th wedding anniversary. He left India in 1947 as things started to feel less safe. He said he loved India and the people…..not sure where in India he went that he loves the place and people! Anyway, in 1947 he went to England and joined the RAF where he met his wife Edith (she worked in traffic control for the RAF). Derek was a very friendly and chatty genetleman and I think he was excited to see a couple of Indians.
After lunch we met the chef Baburam Sharma he had been here for 7 years and was bored, said its a good place to visit but not to live there was nothing to do, dont think his family are here with him. Made me think that sometimes you look at a place and think I could retire here but then what would you do? The mind should always be kept busy.
We had a long wander around town saw the Para O Tane Palace famous because the treaty accepting the Cook Islands as a British protectorate was signed here in 1888. we went to the information centre and also found out about yoga (Ashtanga) classes that run on weekdays. Yoga is everywhere! then we got ice cream as the temperature was soaring, it was around 30 degrees C. I am still trying to get free wifi and have come to the conclusion that even on this main island it does not exist. Probably another reason I could never retire here.
We carried on exploring the town and the beach near Trader Jacks cafe there are a few ATM points ANZ and Westpac, the latter charges for withdrawals (around NZ $4.50) whilst ANZ has been free.
As the bus service stops at 4pm and resumes service at 6pm we decided to go to Cafe Salsa for a coffee, Sangeet had a hot chocolate with soy milk, I had a cappuccino.
We then went back to Foodland supermarket to stock up on more food and water. Usually at the checkout Sangeet and I have a competition to guess the total amount of the shopping to see who is closest, on this instance I guessed NZ$62.00 Sangeet guessed NZ$65.00 the total was NZ$116.00!!! I nearly fainted!
We walked to the bus stop and caught the evening bus clockwise only and went around the island so we did full circle of the island today. It was a cheap way of seeing the whole outer part of the Island. The inner part is not developed lots of greenery and an extinct volcano.
Once we got back to the hostel, Sangeet cleaned the kitchen and fridge before we put any food away, the hostel has laundry facilities so I took the clothes there, it cost NZ$4.00 there is no drying facility. Suppose in this hot weather you just naturally dry the clothes.
Afterwards Sangeet finished off the curry leftovers. I dare not eat it as it caused me an upset stomach so had some bread, butter and relish instead.
We went out to see the stars, quite amazing on how many stars are here we saw a couple of shooting stars which was exciting, one was very long, also got to see a lot of satellites.
by Mandeep Gaygoat
The mosquitoes in the Cook Islands are vicious! Nothing seems to distract them , we bought the local repellant called Bushman but that has not worked, we even tried locally made deterrents but that has also not worked. Perhaps we deserve it for all the sweet treats we had in America!
by Mandeep Gaygoat
After a good walk along the beach we decided to grab some lunch, the restaurant was a five minute walk away. When we got there we found out they do not take card payments, so we had to walk to the ATM which was around 20 minutes away. As the day was getting much hotter and the restaurant was only serving lunch for another 40 minutes we decided to head back to the hotel to pick up a couple of bicycles. The cash machines belongs to ANZ and the transaction was nice and easy as they accepted Visa. We then cycled back to the restaurant:
Tauono’s Garden Cafe
PO Box 1,
Aitutaki,
Cook Islands
T: + 682 31 562
w: www.tauonos.com
e: [email protected]
This restaurant is great, they grow all their own vegetables and fruit. They do offer some meat dishes, here in Aitutaki it is not possible to find an all vegetarian restaurant.
Sangeet ordered the bread fruit lasagne (not cheap!) which we shared, it tasted great. I also had coconut bread which was also good. After a tasty meal, Sonja, the owner, came out to talk to us and the family sitting next to us, they were from Auckland, New Zealand. She told us how her trip to Aitutaki was only for the day, 15 years ago. This is where she met her husband and has stayed ever since. They have a couple of plantations in the hills where they grow everything, unfortunately a cyclone hit the area a couple of years ago and has devastated one of the plantations, this is where they used to grow coffee and bananas. This all happened 3 months after her husband passed away. Sonja is a keen believer in getting WWOOF’ers onboard to help with the gardening, unfortunately the plantation which is damaged needs to be bulldozed and started again from scratch. She is a very interesting lady and seems to have many stories to tell. She told us about her travels and also how much Aitutaki has changed in the last 15 years. She is a real defender of the mud crabs!
Bread fruit lasagne:
She then asked us all what do we do, I responded that I am in IT so was Whiston from Auckland. She said her Apple Mac had sound issues, we responded by saying we are PC/Window’s guys and get a PC! We then offered to take a look so she brought out her Mac. So now you have four people around the Mac, Whiston, Tyler (their son) Sonja and myself, I powered the laptop, so I class myself as first line support, Weston who we class as second line support has a quick look and passes it to Tyler who said they have around 300 Mac’s in their school. He resolved the issue!!
Tyler resolving the issue:
Problem solved!
The tech team!
Sonja was happy but commented that the two IT professionals did not know a thing! This sounds about right!!
It was a fantastic lunch, full of good food, good company and good laughter! You just could not script this!
After lunch Weston, Helen and Tyler mentioned they were hoping to have a look around Etu Moana, we invited them to come along with us. They came with us and liked the resort. We had good conversation and then they decided to head off for a swim.
Sangeet and I grabbed the bikes and cycled into town….well the one grocery shop that is there….the canned foods, cereals, cheeses, chocolates are imported from New Zealand so are very expensive. Take for example a box of coco pops is $10 NZ which works out at £5 British pounds! Sangeet’s small fruit and nut chocolate cost us $3.50 NZ!
The staple diet of the island is fish and chicken…..you can see chickens / cockerels everywhere, they wake you up VERY early you almost cannot blame the locals for eating them!
On the way back to the hotel we passed three other grocery stores. All have similar produce, at one store I asked the lady “who offers free wifi?” she responded “nobody you will just have to hack in!!” Okay that sounds like a challenge! We bought the following from the groceries – there was very little choice!
Crackers
Peanut butter
Tomato soup (concentrated!)
Vermicelli (made from green beans)
Soya milk
Sugar
Fruit and nut chocolate
Sprite
In the evening we watched the sun set over the ocean which was fantastic.
I enjoyed peanut butter with crackers and sameeya (sweet vermicelli dish) for dessert.
The hotel we are staying at had a selection of DVD’s we borrowed one, called “The Holiday” it was a good movie, unfortunately I fell asleep before the end…………….Sangeet filled me in!
by Mandeep Gaygoat
When you are on an island where food is limited for vegetarians you learn to have a VERY good breakfast, especially when it is free! So I spent some time over indulging in bread and fruit, basically so we could go without lunch.
We got talking to a couple (Joanne and Keith) from Huddersfield (Sangeet’s home town!) we exchanged travelling experiences which was fun. It felt like we were talking for a few minutes, it was actually a couple of hours!
Afterwards Sangeet and I grabbed the kayaks and snorkelling gear courtesy of the Etu Moana and went into the lagoon. It was a fantastic sight, there is a good trick, to paddle up to the coral and then stop paddling, just let the kayak glide over it, that way you do not disturb the sea creatures. You see fish in between the coral. I also paddled 50 feet away from the strong waves which were hitting the coral reef with huge force, it got a bit scary so I paddled back!!
Sangeet swam out quite some distance, I found it strange to be able to look underneath the water and still breath though I have been snorkelling before, it was quite some time ago! You automatically want to hold your breath. I got quite a lot of cuts from the coral on my hands and feet. They feel like paper cuts.
Afterwards I went for a walk, I am desperately trying to get free wifi the rates here are pretty high. The wifi in our hotel is provided by Zenbu, http://www.zenbu.net.nz/
The rates are as follows (correct at time of writing)
Price is NZ dollars
$6 for 20mb
$12 for 40mb
$18 for 60mb
$24 for 80mb
$30 for 100mb
$45 for 150mb
$60 for 200mb
$75 for 250mb
$90 for 300mb
Also the speeds are not great. I walked past houses, to see if they had open wifi, everybodies wifi is locked down……pity!
When I got back to the hotel Sangeet and I decided to walk up to the highest peak on the island, it takes about 20 minutes, on the way we passed a hotel called Paradise Cove, the hotel prices are very reasonable and most overlook the lagoon…..I think this is more geared towards backpackers. Yes, I know what you are thinking “but you two are also backpackers!” This part of the trip we decided on a bit of luxury!
The walk to the peak had amazing views of the lagoon as we got to the top, we sawis access to that peak.
On the way back we passed through a restaurant called Puffy’s and asked what vegetarian dishes they do, the answer was “none!”
We decided to walk back along the beach. We saw some fish on the sand obviously they were dead….I think they committed suicide. Here we saw plenty of fish swim very fast towards the beach and then jump up out of the water then swim back.
As we arrived back at the hotel we got chatting to an American couple from California (Phil and Candy) who have been coming here for the last five years, we sat with them and watched the sunset. Another couple passed us, they were from Leeds (20 minutes from where we live!) they got married here a couples of days ago. Phil and Candy asked us if we wanted some of the fresh vegetables they bought that day and gave us a bag of lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, onion., carrots and capsicum as we left. It was very generous and nice of them.
In the evening we cut the salad, which tasted very nice, Sangeet also made tomato soup with with the fresh tomatoes. I also had crackers and peanut butter.
by Mandeep Gaygoat
After two and a half months in America it is sad to leave such a beautiful country. Some great people and a lot of fantastic sights.
I am a bit angry at people just trying to be nice at face value. We had a lot of invitations to stay, “Mandeep and Sangeet when you are in…..you must come and stay with us,” we get to their town and call them, they respond “so which hotel are you staying in”!?!?!?
Also we got told on the teacher training that we are part of the big KRI family where ever in the world you go, the ashram will have accomadation, this has been so untrue, we have contacted ashrams only to be told NO or been told “call this person they can help”…when you call them…”you need to call….” It goes round in circles!
Or even the small things “lets stay in touch……..” Afterwards you will never hear from them again.
We would like to thank Gurrinder Singh, Sonpreet Bhatia, Hari Nam Singh, Supreet Singh Manchanda, Sartaj Alag, Harkirat Singh who either accommodated us or were genuinly willing to accommodate us.
People are trying too hard to be nice or positive when in fact they do not mean it….why can you not just be honest? I remember on one of the trips I was honest about something but people did not like it…hey that is just me!
During the teacher training course I have made some great friends……remember guys you are never too busy just to send a quick email even just to say:
“Wahe Guru Ji Ka Khalsa, Wahe Guru Ji Ki Fateh/Sat Naam/Hi – delete as appropriate!
How are you?”
I would also like to thank Iris Yan for keeping alive during the course, Alex Seaman for being the only one to laugh at my jokes, and Yiota Kotokis for helping me especially before my practicums.
Deva Singh, he helped me so much, especially at a time when I wanted to leave the teacher training…..he is truly an honest guy and says things as they are….I remember going to him and saying I want to leave….he did not give me the speech of why, what has happened, try and stay, he just said “you leave I will never talk to you again!” Just the kick I needed.
Finally I would like to thank Shanti Kaur Khalsa. She is truly a fantastic sister and a great inspiration….look her up on YouTube, her lectures are amazing. This lady truly lives the Sikh way of life, a trip to Espanola is never complete without seeing her.
We are genuine when we say come and stay with us, we truly mean it…there are no charges, you will get fed and any other way we can help we will do…..in fact we would be offended if you stayed at a hotel in our town!
Saying this, America is the only country I am trying to move to the last thing I want to do is die in England, just with the current economic climate it is difficult. If anyone knows any way please do let me know!
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