Darwin - back on home soil!!

 

 

We jumped from the gangway to step back onto home soil. We had planned a very relaxed day because we have been to Darwin many times, and most places are closed early on Saturday.

After finally completing the customs details, we headed off to the taxi rank with our friends, Colin and Judy, to go to the Casuarina Shopping centre.

At every port we have visited in all parts of the world, there has always been a long line of taxis at the port eager for business, but not in Darwin!! A long line quickly formed in the hot sun as we waited for the elusive taxis.

We had been handed a map of Darwin as we passed through the terminal, and so I spied the phone number of a taxi company among the ads, and phoned them to come down to the pier cause there was a line-up of about 40 people – within a few minutes they did arrive so we were on our way quickly.

We had a few things that we wanted to do, get some cards, a new watch battery and it was great to walk around and see the familiar shop names again.

After a few hours, we took a taxi to Callum Bay with Colin and Judy, to a café they had been to before – the Buzz Café – famous for their seafood. It was a very hot day outside, so we spent a couple of hours relaxing on the waterfront, sharing a glass or two of white wine and a delicious lunch – a perfect, relaxing  end to our last port day on this cruise.

After a visit to the gentlemen’s facilities, Colin and Arnold came back to the table laughing and told us that the men’s toilets were ‘interesting’ and we should visit them – so after checking with a male patron that they were empty, we went in with another lady to investigate– to discover that the glass wall around the café was in fact, one way glass, so the men could see back into the restaurant while standing there – if you get my drift!! – a bit daunting, I would have thought!! The seats in the cubicles were clear, with red backed spiders embedded in the resin – remember that old song about a ‘red back on the toilet seat’ – only in Darwin!!

Back on the ship, our last sail away party at the back of deck 11 lasted until well into the night – we are blessed to have made some wonderful friendships in the past three months, and we have had a lot of fun.

Now we have five days before our next port, Sydney, which is the disembarkation port for most of the passengers.

We are staying on until Brisbane, but we are so excited, because Rob and Ruth are flying to Sydney and will be cruising back with us for the final two days – we can’t wait to see them again!!

 

 

 

 

 

Flying High in Kuala Lumpur

Back in the city, we drove past the Petronas Towers and CK asked if we wanted to go to a vantage point to take photos, since it is difficult to get good photos of the perspectives of the towers from close up. He took us down a side street and we were able to get great photos looking back across a car park and grasslands.

We went up the KL Tower (aka Menara Tower) which was hosting an international base jumping weekend – we took the rapid lift to the 300metre observation deck …… my heart jumped into my throat a few times as we stood at the window of the deck …… and suddenly a body tumbled past us rapidly falling to the ground below…. some even went in tandem……waiting till the last minute before opening the parachutes…….nerves of steel!!!! I am pretty sure that base jumping is illegal from buildings in Australia - and I can see why - it really is taking your life into your hands!!

Just as we were leaving the KL Tower, we were in time to see the midday performance of a traditional Malaysia cultural show - great colourful costumes and enthusiastic dancers.

CK dropped us off in the Bukit Bintang area for a couple of hours - a mix of more oriental style shops and some very modern western malls, as well as the traditional Chinatown style food stalls and street vendors.
 After lunch and a wander around the Bukit Bintang shopping area, we decided to fill the time with  a Thai massage since we weren't really interested in the shopping.

We have been to Kuala Lumpur many times before, but we noticed the amount of modern development and construction that is going on …….. as well as the expansion of the residential areas further out towards the port ……  it is becoming a very modern cosmopolitan city which we enjoyed again…. I could quite happily come back and spend more time here.