Woke up at 06:00, got ready and tidied up because we just opened everything up last night and went to bed.
Got to breakfast at around 08:30, not many people there but it filled up. I’ve dispensed with the mask, I don’t want to wear it on holiday but might change my mind on the boat if people are ill.
It looked like a decent spread with the usual suspects – baked beans, sausages, bacon, hash browns, plus some local food like mee goreng.
I went for the traditional English fare and it wasn’t very nice and wasn’t hot at all. Luckily they also had some mini croissants and Danish pastries so I had a couple of those. I’d decided to get a coffee from a Starbucks which was supposedly in the shopping mall over the road because my experience of hotel coffee wasn’t good, but plenty of people were having it so I made a cup. It was terrible.
Went back to the room to cool down, it was really humid and about 30c already.
Song had booked a brilliant location; ten minutes from the airport and directly opposite an air conditioned shopping mall. It’s too uncomfortable to go anywhere with the humidity, so we’ll either stay in the room or potter about the shops. We needed to buy a couple of tea mugs because the ones in the room (and probably the cruise) are tiny. I also forgot to pack an HDMI cable so needed to get one.
Crossed over the road to the shopping centre, Starbucks was shut, as was the shopping centre, they didn’t open till 10 but there was a coffee place open so got one there. It was so humid I was already sweating and it didn’t help that the place didn’t have air conditioning. There was a woman asking for an almond milk latte with caramel and the guy didn’t seem to get it so his colleague had to step in. I ordered my soy latte and we went back to the room to cool off, it’s uncomfortable even just going over the road. I don’t see why people come here for a holiday, the weather is awful.
I took a sip of my coffee only to discover the guy had given me the almond milk latte with caramel. I wasn’t going back to complain.
Sat in the room for a while then went over the road to the shopping centre which turned out to be a bit of a let down – mostly clothes shops and a lot boarded up, it looked as if it hadn’t been open long and not many leased out.
There was a supermarket so got some fruit and then went to look for a place to eat. The humidity was brutal, sweat dripping off, and we thought about going back to the hotel but since we were pretty uncomfortable we thought we’d keep going. We walked to the beach thinking there would be plenty of places, and every second guy asking if we wanted to hire a scooter or need a taxi. Saw lots of grubby dogs wandering around and also some chickens in cages just in the street.
Found a place on the beach and I ordered grilled king prawns and rice and Song ordered Mee Goreng but we shared. To mark the fact that I was on holiday, I had a beer, Song had a coconut.
Food was decent enough, cost about $25 aud.
Walked back to the shopping mall to get the obligatory fridge magnet, sweat pouring off, looking forward to getting back to the hotel and that sweet sweet air conditioning – sorry Greta. We decided to stay in the hotel for dinner.
I decided to try the pool, I haven’t been in a swimming pool for about 20 years – the thought of hundreds of screaming kids put me off. There was only one couple sitting by the pool reading so I had it all to myself. For about 5 minutes when 3 kids decided to come along so I got out. At least they weren’t noisy. Sat by the pool and read, the water drying kept me cool.
Spent about an hour by the pool, then went back to the room and watched some downloads, then down to the restaurant. I ordered a club sandwich with chips, Song had pork ribs and we shared a cesear salad, plus I had a beer and Song got a mocktail. The beer was a Bintang Radler (lemon flavored) and Song tried some and ordered one for herself, unheard of. I thought I’d better have another.
The food was good, and all cost about $55. We can see why a lot of Aussies retire here, stuff is really cheap.
Full up, went back to the room, watched some downloads again and then to bed. We have to be at the cruise terminal at 11:00, so not an early start, the hotel said it will take a maximum of an hour to get there. We’re pretty close to it, but places like this can get busy.
