After checking out of the Arts Factory, we rushed over to the Greyhound Australia station to try and get onto the 10 AM bus to Surfers Paradise. It was 9:40 when we got there, but they had room, so we snagged a ticket and hopped over to Subway for a quick bacon/egg sandwich brekkie. Then we loaded our bags in the storage compartment and slid into some seats near the front of the bus. This ride was much better than the Sydney to Byron Bay trip, mainly because it was only about an hour, instead of 12 hours, and it was during the day, so we could see the countryside. When we got to Surfers and off the bus we realized we hadn't written down what hostel we were booked at, so we had to find an e-cafe and check our email confirmation, then walk about 15 minutes to the hostel. Surfers Paradise Backpackers Resort is the new place to call home for 2 nights at least and it's wonderful. Me and B have a room to ourselves (lots of open beds in it that may fill up later though), free wifi, free washing machine, volleyball court, little pool, sauna, bar, big kitchen. It's like a backpacker's dream. The city is really nice too, with a feel and appearance like Cancun or Miami. Lots of big hotel/condo highrises, a long, beautiful beach, pleanty of shopping, etc.
After a hearty meal of McDonald's, I bought a skimboard for $15 and we walked to the beach. I forgot that I waxed my skimboard at home, so the first attempt here I slipped off and bailed, but a couple more tires and I got a feel for it; just need to step a little more gently than I'm used to. The conditions for skimming could not be more ideal, the waves break and a thin layer of water comes up onto the perfectly smooth sand for like 25-50 feet. After wearing myself out running and skimming, we headed back to the hostel, I changed into dry clothes, put in a load of laundry and then went shopping for groceries. Went with sausages for dinner and then ham and eggs for breakfast. No more noodles. Ever. The sausages were good, especially complemented by cheese and bbq sauce in fresh buns. We had wanted to buy hotdogs, but they don't seem to have traditional hot dogs here. Dessert consisted of cinnamon donuts and white chocolate Tim Tams. Tim Tams are probably the most delicious treat I have ever eaten. (they're rectangular cookies with chocolate in the middle and chocolate coating. Taste sort of like Twix but chewier and meant to accompany tea). After eating we took a bus over to a night club called Sin City with a bunch of other peeps from the new hostel here. Free bus, entry and one drink. Hooray! The club was dark and modern, with pumping music. Had a couple drinks to complement the bottle of wine that served as pre-drinks and hung out for a couple hours. Then walked the lengthy distance back to the hostel and so ended the night.
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