Friday 9th December 2022
It was a very early 4.30am start, as our flight departs at 7.10am. Luckily we were staying very close to the airport so had booked our taxi to arrive at 5am. We’d already borrowed some scales from our hotel the night before so knew our bags were both within the 7kg carryon limit for AirAsia.
The airport was (perhaps unsurprisingly) very quiet, so it was quite quick to clear passport control and find our gate. We sat down by the gate, only for someone to come around 10 minutes later and tell everyone to leave, while they set up a security checkpoint. We then had to queue so that they could manually search all bags before we could return to the seats we’d just vacated. I was really surprised they don’t have the usually security scanners and instead rely on manual bag searches to remove liquids, banned items etc.
We had about an hour to wait until we could begin boarding. As we boarded they told everyone masks were compulsory, which again I found surprising as we’d not needed to wear a mask anywhere in Bali.
As the flights almost 4hrs we’d paid to get the extra legroom seats and so we’re right at the front of the plane. The flight itself was comfortable and uneventful and I was pleasantly surprised by how reasonably priced the food and drinks were – we bought a couple of bottles of water and they were just 10k rupiah (about 50p) each.
We landed around 11am, and had to go into a special lane and have our bags scanned going through customs as we’d been in Indonesia (where there’s currently a foot and mouth outbreak so they’re very concerned about people bringing in animal or plant products)
After we cleared security and customs, we ordered a Grab car to our hotel, the Riverview on Mount Street Hotel. It cost about £18, so way more than in Asia, but we were tired and didn’t want the hassle of getting the train then a bus (there’s no direct route to the hotel).
We checked into the hotel and dropped off our bags. We chose the Riverview on Mount Street Hotel because all the rooms are studio apartments, so it’s gives us a bit more flexibility to do some cooking. We’re also here for 8 nights so it’s nice to have a bit more space.
After dropping our bags, we walked down to Elizabeth Quay. The temperature is noticeably cooler than it’s been in Southeast Asia, which may be partly to do with a sea breeze. It’s a nice change to not be sweaty all the time!
Elizabeth Quay is a very pleasant area, with lots of restaurants and bars. There seemed to be a fair few groups of people out for Christmas parties, which felt a bit strange to us – with all the sunny weather it doesn’t feel the least bit Christmassy!
Around Elizabeth Quay, there’s also several festive sand sculptures. I guess it’s their equivalent of ice and snow sculptures that you sometimes see in London.
By this time it was early afternoon, so we crossed the bridge and went to Milky Lane Elizabeth Quay for a late lunch. It’s a hamburger and milkshake joint, and the food and drinks are very over the top! We got a burger each and shared some loaded fries. I also had an alcoholic bueno shake, and Pete had a crunchy milkshake. It’s not the cheapest place (especially after coming from Asia!) and our bill came to over $100, or about £55. The portions are huge though, and very filling. We couldn’t actually finish everything, and that’s saying something – neither of us have small appetites!
After lunch we walked to the shopping district and had a wander around the malls. Our main aim was to get an Australian SIM with mobile data, which we managed to do without too much difficulty (although ended up getting a physical SIM rather than the e-SIM we ideally wanted). We also went to Coles supermarket to pick up a few groceries, and to a wine shop for a couple of bottles of wine.
It was now around 5pm and we were both feeling very tired, so we walked back to the hotel to relax with a glass of wine and plan what to do for our next few days in Perth.
Emma and Pete’s Asian Adventure 