Surfer’s Paradise, Gold Coast
My short time in Surfer’s Paradise could be described as a “reading break” of sorts, just some downtime in preparation for all the more exciting adventures to come. It turned out to be a relaxing two nights spent with my nose in a book between visits to the vegan buffet. That’s a bit of an exaggeration since I only went twice to the life-changing all you can eat paradise more commonly known as Govinda’s, but then again I was only in town for two nights so I’d say I spent a decent amount of time there.
Like I mentioned before, this is considered the Miami of Australia and is meant to have some pretty crazy nightlife, yet in typical me fashion I had some of the most chill nights of my trip so far… and I’m even here on a Friday night. I can hear the music of the buzzing city from my room yet here I am, curled up in bed, completely absorbed in a book. Why am I such a grandma????
On my one full day here I woke up early and enjoyed the complementary breakfast, which I was less than enthused to find was merely some white toast and cereal. I know this is a hostel and I’m a backpacker paying a measly price to be here, but I was really hoping I would come down to one of those elaborate breakfast spreads you find at 5 star hotels with an array of fresh fruit and a variety of breads and buns and bagels and all those magnificent carbs that I love so much. Regardless, the toast and jam hit the spot and I headed out for a morning walk on the beach feeling happy that breakfast didn’t do any damage whatsoever to my bank account (aka more $$ to go towards my buffet outing later in the day).
My walk was lovely and I realized along the way that I am quite passionate about the oh so cliché “long walks on the beach” and if I had to make an online dating profile, that would probably be very important information to add. It makes me so happy to hear the soothing sound of waves crashing while my toes sink into the sand and the sun beams on my face… after lathering some trusty SPF 50 all over it, that is. There’s nothing cute about skin cancer and premature wrinkles my friends!!!
After said long walk on the beach, I settled into a spot to dive back into the book I’ve been reading. The wind was crazy and kept blowing sand all over me while rudely flipping the pages at a far more rapid pace than I could keep up with, so I picked up and went to a bench further away hoping I would be more sheltered from the wind. No luck. I had to shut the book and accept defeat, which was painful since I was just getting to the good part.
I went for lunch at the vegan buffet after trying really hard to convince myself to go somewhere new and to save my final Govinda’s experience for dinner. My attempt to wait came to no avail as I convinced myself I was famished and in desperate need of a bottomless plate of vegan goodness, so I quickly walked to the conveniently located restaurant. I ate until I was painfully full, as everyone should at an all-you-can-eat, and then returned to my room to read in peace without the disturbances of the wind.
I’d forgotten how the world feels so different when you’re in the middle of a good book, like how even after you close it you still feel like you’re seeing the world through the eyes of the main character and like your reality is somehow intertwined with the events in the story. It has been far too long since I’ve been engulfed by a book that I just couldn’t put down. I’d forgotten the joy of reading for pleasure and I am so glad to have rediscovered it. By this point, I’m already almost done it! The Girls by Emma Cline. I highly recommend.
After ploughing through a few more chapters, I decided it was time to eat again. I wasn’t kidding when I said my time here revolved around reading and eating. But come on, those are two of the best things in life. I wandered outside to catch the sunset and then found myself at the beach where a line of tents had been set up. I walked through the mini market and then returned to my hostel to enjoy the smoothie and Subway sandwich I had picked up. I know, so unadventurous of me and it was so not worth it since I paid just as much for a 6-inch sub here as I do for a whole foot long back home. AND they don’t even have sub sauce here. That is so essential to the Subway experience. What a rip off.
After my underwhelming dinner that left me wishing I could hit up Govinda’s one last time, I headed up to my room to do what?? You guessed it: read. I’m really into this book if you couldn’t already tell. I just started it yesterday and I’m already nearly done.
So that’s that. Nothing exciting here and I have to partially put the blame on my hostel set up that prevented me from meeting anyone. The only person I actually talked to here was some middle aged man who was grossly tanned to the point of looking crispy, who started talking to me while I was reading on the beach. It was really random and kind of unusual but other than that encounter, my human interactions here have been kept to a minimum. I really didn’t mind though because my book has made up for any social aspect I was lacking.
Tomorrow morning I am off to Brisbane for a few days, so once I’m done this book I can hopefully get back on the socialization train and make an effort to meet new people. Pr