Holiday Inn Hotel Plus Sunday Afternoon In Darwin

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Accommodation at the Holiday Inn, Esplanade

Our room is very nice. Quite spacious. We have a very large window looking down over the pool but instead of curtains there are wooden shutters on the inside that can be slid right back. We have a queen sized bed with all-white bed linen. There are plenty of lamps in the room. We have two comfy armchairs plus a writing table and a coffee table.

 

 

 

We discover the Holiday Inn is divine

The bathroom is perfect with both a shower and a bath plus all the usual complimentary things such as little shampoos etc. There is an invitation card from Management suggesting we ask for any personal item that we may have forgotten such as shaving cream, toothpaste etc. This would be provided free of charge.

 

There is the usual well stocked mini bar plus tea and coffee making gear. There is a huge range of teas available. The green teas and camomile teas will be well used by Jean, and Ian will enjoy the normal tea bags because he prefers those.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After reviving ourselves for an hour or two we set off to get acquainted with the locale. By the looks of the sky we thought we would be treated to a top-end thunderstorm but we were disappointed. Just a dark sky, some light rain and that was it. We wandered across the road at the front of the hotel where we found a beautiful grassy area with lots of shady trees and lush tropical vegetation. Unfortunately, we also found lots of drunk Aborigines and a couple of drunk Caucasians too. It became a very common and sad sight in during our stay in this city.

 

Darwin CBD on a sunday afternoon

It was Sunday afternoon and the central business area was quiet so it was good to have a wander and stretch our legs but it was mighty humid. The humidity drained our energy. We came across a youngish vagrant lady who was dressed in a hippy fashion. She seemed to be dragging her life possessions around the streets with her. In one hand she carried (believe it or not) two large cat carryingboxes plus two supermarket bags stuffed with her belongings. The other hand was used to pull her trolley which had another cat box on it plus more of her gear. You had to admire how she managed it all. We weren't close enough to see if there were cats or other critters in her cat boxes.

A land of colourful tropical plants

Darwin is lush and tropical but it is also grotty and littered. Perhaps this is just because it is Sunday. Maybe the council workers will be around at day break to make it all nice and smart. Written later - it didn't get tidied up.

We hadn't had lunch - just some biscuits in the hotel room with our cuppa - so we were quite hungry. We continued wandering but as it got closer to six p.m. we realized that many of the cities restaurants weren't going to open.

The Noodle House in Darwin

Then, strangely, an Asian restaurant opened right in front of us. We shot in the door after establishing that it was air conditioned inside. We had a really tasty and well presented meal. The restaurant soon became busy and was obviously a popular haunt on a Sunday evening. The meal was so large we could barely eat it all. These chefs really know their business.

The front staff let down the kitchen staff though. They were totally disinterested in what they were doing and unfriendly. When asked by another customer for a take-away menu they couldn't supply one. Dismal girls in general but the meal itself was superb and not expensive. We're including details of the restaurant here as it was well worth visiting. Most importantly it was open on a Sunday evening - and not many other places were. It's called The Noodle House and it is located at 33 Knuckey Street, Darwin. Telephone (08) 8942 1742.

 

Back at the hotel we've finally had well needed showers. It's divine to sit in an air-conditioned room with a lovely cuppa looking through brochures of places we will visit tomorrow.

 

Next page - Playing the tourist in Darwin, Part 1