New Zealand Day 1 | Auckland Layover Experience ✨

✈️ China Southern Airlines 00:10-16:30 (Guangzhou to Auckland) — this flight time is perfect! Slept through the whole journey and arrived refreshed, no jet lag at all. Ready to kick off the trip with full energy 🌍～ Smooth customs process after landing! Headed straight to get a Skinny SIM card at the airport — only $2 each, even cheaper when using referral codes with friends. Stable internet, connected right away for navigation — super convenient 👏～ Stayed at Holiday Inn near the airport: a two-story building with a small garden, cozy atmosphere, but surprisingly no slippers 😱? A bit unexpected, glad we brought our own～ Had some extra time after checking in, so we spontaneously decided to explore Auckland City! Target locked: Mt Eden, an extinct volcano relic in the city center 🌋～ Took a taxi directly to "Whau and Friend Cafe" (navigate here for easy access to the halfway point), then walked 10 minutes to the summit! The view is breathtaking — the huge crater looks exactly like the one in "Your Name". Enjoy 360° panoramic views of Auckland from here, every photo is a postcard 📸～ Met a friendly grandpa walking his dog on the mountain. He saw us staring at his dog and asked if we had dogs too～ We even looked at photos of our own dog Bagel on the phone together 🐕 — such a warm moment of kindness in a foreign country! After descending, took a taxi to Alma for the famous kina rice bowl. Walked in and only bar seats were available, so we settled for that～ Unexpectedly, the kina rice bowl was just so-so, but the pork rib tacos and beef tongue were amazing — delicious seasoning and perfect texture 😋～ The only downside: service was extremely slow! Waited forever, was starving by the time food arrived. Felt exhausted after eating, so we rushed back to the hotel to rest～ #NewZealandTravel #AucklandLayover #AucklandTrip #MtEden #NewZealandDay1 #FirstTravelExperience #AucklandFood #FamousRestaurantCheckIn