Tasting Asia in Auckland

Trust the Asians to discover all that is Asian no matter where they are in the world. Or perhaps my Thai friend, Bird (because I cannot pronounce her real name), is just really homesick. Either way, since I am crazy for Asian food and fashion I don’t complain.

While walking down Queen street, which is one of the main shopping areas in Auckland, she is the one who discovers all the little alleys with Japanese and Korean fashion stores. What strikes me the most about these shops is how they get the balance between sweet and cool just right. It’s simply irresistible and after trying on a few items I am forced to swipe my credit card. This is, after all, not cheap and cheerful Chinese offerings but Japanese fashion – although store names such as ‘Pinky Girl’ can hardly be taken seriously.

More serious New Zealand fashion brands are the likes of Kate Sylvester (see http://www.katesylvester.com/), who wowed fashion editors and fans alike at the latest New Zealand Fashion Week. I find her store in High Street, amongst other popular local labels such as Workshop and Moochi. The summer collection at Kate Sylvester is very girly, with balloon prints as well as balloon shaped tops (which, sadly, doesn’t suit me at all). Hoodies bring some street cred to the collection in store and after trying on a few items I am quite happy to live in the comfy grey and red with-a-bit-of-bling garments.

We decide to give our credit cards a break and opt for lunch instead. Back in Queen street, Bird finds a food court and heads straight for the Thai counter to order Tom Yum soup while I decide on Chinese barbeque pork with noodles. I buy a rosewater drink while we wait for our food to arrive. Both dishes end up being fresh and flavourful, as well as good value.

My Chinese dish is about half the price of the mussels I had at the Waterfront Café in Quay Street on the day we arrived. The shellfish was prepared in a French style – and while it didin’t compare to having it in France (with some French champagne, of course), it was really fresh and comes highly recommended. There’s just something about having seafood while watching the sunset and hearing the waves.

Auckland seems to be the best of all worlds. A safe and organized city by the sea, with all the Asian flavours that I desire. It is much more tropical than I expected, which gives it a wonderful wild edge just so the sweetness doesn’t get boring.

Auckland reveals a mystic truth

“The true artist helps the world by revealing mystic truths,” the American artist Bruce Nauman once said. ‘Mystic Truths’ is also the name of a current exhibition at the Auckland Gallery, according to the guide I picked up at the airport...

With its slate houses and neat streets, Auckland looks sweet, but what am I doing here - apart from my job?

... perhaps I should go.

Our hotel is opposite a volcano (which has reassuringly not been active for the last 600 years or so). Fancy that. It looks more like a little hill though and not dangerous at all. On top, university students are making sexy eyes at each other against a backdrop of jungle trees and a birdsong soundtrack.

At the foot of the volcano and just down the road, sits the gallery. I enter just in time for the daily guided tour, which starts at 2 pm. First up we look at the collection of historical art and I am surprised to see how much colonial Auckland looked like colonial Cape Town. Same as my hometown, this was also a Dutch and British colony at respective times.

It is interesting to note that Europe managed to transform the whole world to their concept of ‘civilized’ society. In New Zealand this has lead to a loss of culture for the Maori’s. Twenty years ago the gallery put together an exhibition of 174 Maori treasures to celebrate the culture, This exhibition ended up touring the United States and introduced Maori culture back into the world.

Across the globe people are turning to original culture for inspiration and wisdom on how to live. Culture is a human need and the more modern society guides us away from it the emptier our lives will become.

In South Africa the new government is desperately trying to claim back the African roots that got tangled up with Western culture. In the process I am losing my culture, which is unfortunately a product of Apartheid and therefore surely doomed. This does not make it any easier to lose the soil I grew up in. It is still a process of grieving.

I treat my eyes to the rest of the gallery once the guide finishes her talk. Some pieces make me smile. Others make me cringe.

One turns me inside out and makes me feel hollow. It is a small painting of a jug and a lemon on a table - a simple still life by Picasso. The description reveals that Picasso wanted to capture ‘the physical sensation of absence’. Whether it’s the absence of hope, love, family, friends or material things are not specified.

For a while this painting keeps me spellbound. This is why I travel. To keep filling the empty spaces. I refuse to allow the sensation of absence a power over me.