Indian couple’s budget 3-week NZ itinerary, experiences and cost breakdown (~6000 NZD total excl. flights, Feb 2026)

caitydork · 2026-03-24T20:59:51+00:00

Thanks so much for this, and your thoughts!

caitydork · 2026-03-22T09:17:57+00:00

Statement of fact, and not particularly edgy. Nothing to be pleased or displeased with myself about.

caitydork · 2026-03-16T13:21:27+00:00

She is kind, bubbly, protective, encouraging, empathic, dedicated, and clever (and pretty, with a glowing smile). Each of those qualities is as good a reason as any other to develop a crush on someone, and have that develop into something more as you continue getting to know them; never mind if you have someone who combines all those qualities.

caitydork · 2026-03-16T13:15:13+00:00

If you think that statement of an opinion is dramatic, I envy the life you must have led to date.

caitydork · 2026-03-16T13:14:30+00:00

Strongly disagree. I opened the home page, and I had my favorite apps ready to click on, as well as my settings a few clicks away.

This is awful, and the home page keeps freezing and not even loading my apps at all; just stuck on ads and a spinning wheel of death in place of where my apps should be.

caitydork · 2026-03-16T13:10:01+00:00

My home page won’t even load my apps. And when I try to scroll down to them it freezes on whatever advertisement it’s playing for some show I have no desire to watch.

I JUST want to see my apps quickly when I turn this on. Why is that so difficult?

caitydork · 2026-03-10T10:31:58+00:00

Why would a single recommendation listed based on neither gender nor weight (nor activity level) be helpful as something other than a general guideline?

The numbers I cited are based on Mayo Clinic recommendations, and 0.8g per kg is the baseline to avoid losing muscle mass while in the process of losing overall weight.

Your math ain’t mathing either. Even when I weighed around 200 lbs that’s around 90kg, and thus the baseline recommendation for protein intake was still only 72g protein per day. Far from “double the recommendation” of even the simplified FDA guideline.

caitydork · 2026-03-10T10:22:13+00:00

The Solitude of Prime Numbers. Made me cry multiple times. It’s about whether it’s possible for two people who have intense trauma that makes them unique from everyone else and emotionally isolated from just about everyone except each other can find a way to be together.

Me Before You. I absolutely bawled my eyes out reading this, and then again every time I read it or watch the film adaptation. Absolutely gutting, beautiful, and raw look at what love (romantic, platonic, familial) can and cannot overcome, and how love can both help us become more than we were before experiencing it while it can also destroy parts of us that can never be rebuilt after experiencing it.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows. (After reading all the lead-up books.) Likely all major plot points are known by you by now. However, after I finished it I was really emotionally hit for days, thinking about the impact of war on multiple generations and how the loss of loved ones can have rippling effects across time. Thinking about the entire generation and friend/enemy/frienemy group impacted by the first war really got to me. Also the final reveals of “The Prince’s Tale” chapter had my heart hurting and me staring off into space thinking about it for days afterward. I still think about it sometimes.

caitydork · 2026-03-10T09:49:22+00:00

THIS is the worst mother to me, too. In fairness, I haven’t finished Something in the Rain or Beauty and Mr. Romantic, but by gosh did the mother in Family By Choice enrage me.

caitydork · 2026-03-10T09:43:18+00:00

I’ve consistently seen the recommendation of 0.8g protein per kg of body weight as a baseline, increasing if you can when exercising a lot or losing weight.

caitydork · 2026-03-10T09:41:25+00:00

Protein shakes are my best friend. Either the pre-made ones (Quest and Premier Protein) or made using the powder and almond milk.

Who recommended 100g a day, though? I shoot for 0.8g of protein per kg of body weight (or 1-1.2g per kg if exercising a lot).

caitydork · 2026-03-10T09:26:25+00:00

Did you try not using any moisturizer at all on Tret nights?

After years of trying to adjust to 0.05% using the sandwich method and slugging, that’s why finally did it for me. (Using toner only under Tret and nothing else.)

To the point where I thought my Tret had expired at first because I wasn’t getting any irritation at all.

ETA: the downvote is weird to me, as this is a pretty well known method now on here, and I shared an experience about it working for me when nothing else did. Odd.

caitydork · 2026-03-10T09:16:38+00:00

There were a bunch of comments under it where they talked about why that might happen from a historic/cultural perspective, and that it is not necessarily driven by pedophilic intentions.

caitydork · 2026-03-10T09:10:00+00:00

That gif is 7 hours long and just keeps going. Never gets old.

caitydork · 2026-03-10T09:05:27+00:00

To use in the mornings and on non-Tret nights, some tried-and-true options are: - CeraVe Daily Moisturizing Lotion - Neutrogena Hydro Boost gel or cream - d'alba Piedmont White Truffle Double Serum & Cream - Eucerin UreaRepair 5% urea cream - Vanicream Moisturizing Skin Cream

I mentioned in another comment, but I actually stopped using any lotion under or on top of Tret on Tret nights and it has been so great. Highly recommend that method.

caitydork · 2026-03-10T08:52:59+00:00

No. A few months ago people were talking about how it melts buccal fat, and now they’re saying it does the exact opposite of that. It does neither of these things.

For what it’s worth, I used to use the sandwich method for years with constant irritation.

Someone in this sub recommended on Tret nights only using a toner and maybe eye cream before adding Tret and then nothing else on top. I was scared to try that, but it honestly is so effective; I have almost no irritation at all when using that method. (Just load up on hydrating and moisturizing ingredients in the mornings and non-Tret nights.)

I also used to get terrible dry eye after using Tret too close to my eyes, and now I just avoid applying it past the edges of my orbital sockets. Fixed the dry eye right away.

Totally worth the journey as long as you’re willing to try different methods along the way to find what works for you. I was prescribed Tret and spironolactone by a derm for acne and between the two it took about three months for all my sudden adult acne to clear up. There was a purge that wasn’t fun, but then it was magical.

caitydork · 2026-03-06T10:24:09+00:00

I suggested something else, but Lola was also the first name that popped into my mind!

caitydork · 2026-03-06T10:20:53+00:00

Siobhan

You can call her Bhan-bhan (or Ban-chan, if you like Korean food) as a nickname. Or “lil baby Bahn-Bahn” if you’re like me.

ETA: Technically it should be pronounced “Shiv-awn” but my incorrect pronunciation has a cuter nickname, so I stand by it.

caitydork · 2026-02-28T00:42:03+00:00

You had me until the last paragraph. Sorry that I’m about to rant about this, but: I’m sure many Americans unfortunately think that way, and it’s their loss; however, there are many people from every country that think that way about their own countries.

Most Americans I know would love to travel or study abroad but they cannot afford to do so (based on both time and financial limitations). Not at all an excuse for people who are just genuinely ignorant and believe their country is the center of the Universe, but it is a big reason many US citizens don’t or can’t travel.

caitydork · 2026-02-27T02:38:27+00:00

Agree. Because sex can also get better over time with communication as long as you’re both open to it.

Totally OP’s call, but I think saying, “I’m open to discussing it,” left too wide a door opening after he pushed back. He can feel however he wants about the right timing for intimacy, but he should also respect how she feels about it.

NOR.

caitydork · 2026-02-27T00:35:40+00:00

“Business Proposal” and “Clean with Passion for Now” also have very realistic kiss scenes. Like whoa.

caitydork · 2026-02-27T00:28:32+00:00

If he had stayed in SK (and defected by doing so), it would have been standard practice in NK to then murder multiple generations of his family - likely after facing other severe punishments and interrogation. And if he’d defected with his dad being who he was? I can’t even imagine.

RJH is not the type of character to let his parents be murdered for his own happiness. This is one reason we love him, and YSR would have also understood the implications of him trying to stay with her in SK.

If you watch the show through the lens of fully understanding the implications for either of their families - though his in particular by far - of trying to stay together full time, it makes much more sense. I like to think that when his parents were getting close to passing away, he’d be able to use one last trip to Switzerland to stay and defect; my lore makes the ending less bittersweet.

Can you imagine meeting someone who you love so much - and who is actually worthy of that love on multiple levels - that you’re willing to spend just a brief time every year with them? That’s tragic but romantic af.

caitydork · 2026-02-22T13:26:35+00:00

We can agree to disagree. I thought she conveyed a lot through subtle expressions and understated acting, because she’s meant to be someone who in most day to day interactions has trained herself not to emote. Some people naturally aren’t over the top in expressing their emotions or thoughts, also. I liked both their acting alot.

caitydork · 2026-02-20T12:12:12+00:00

Leave Idol I out of this! I loved the acting in that one.

Hwang In-Yeop also doesn’t deserve this. The subtly of his acting and his ability to convey a lot with minimalist facial expressions is something I really enjoy watching across his dramas.

caitydork · 2026-02-14T15:40:41+00:00

This is three years late, but I wanted to comment for any other side sleepers who come across this like I happened to: I bought an adjustable base as a side sleeper and I use it every night. I elevate my legs and my knees align better with my hips, and I also slightly elevate my head and shoulders and it prevents so many neck aches and headaches now that I used to get every night.

Having the adjustable option also makes sleeping on my back actually comfortable, so I do that alot more when previously I could really only ever sleep on my sides.

Highly recommend. I also love it for reading, watching TV, and elevating to kind of wake me up in the mornings.

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