Oz - Monday Afternoon

Well, this morning got off to a poor start. Firstly, I've got to say that I'm sleeping damn well here. More so than I do at home. I typically wake up to some noise or other at 4 something, but then soon drop off not waking again until 8-ish. So much sleep!

Anyway, This morning I woke to rain. Not good. There isn't a lot to do here when it's raining. I've done the shops etc and I'm afraid that the art galleries don't really inspire me.
Well, I planned to chill in my room until maybe 11.30, then head down to the lounge and read (whilst people watching of course) until maybe 12.30, then pop to the bar a few doors down to grab a couple of beers and a bite to eat before returning to some of the same.

I duly carried out the first part of my plan. It got round to about 11.50 and I noticed that it was getting decidedly brighter outside. Back up to my room to deposit my book and grab my jacket. I headed out.
Within seconds, literally, it was drizzling. Never mind, I'm out now. I headed for the nearest Red Cat bus stop (note - I wrongly reported it as Central Area Transport, that should have been Transit). As it was a weekday, they are much more frequent, so only 3 minutes to wait this time.
I jumped off somewhere near the shopping mall. Sure enough, the clouds had parted, I removed my jacket and wished that I had brought my sunglasses.
I wandered about for a bit and my head started to absorb where everything was. I think that some people do this better than others. No doubt someone can explain why, but some people are much better at sussing out directions, landmarks and the like to form a map in their head, whereas others have no idea whatsoever. I like to think I fall into the former. Indeed, I pride myself on being able to navigate myself around Center Parcs (Elveden) pretty much blindfold. Jealous aren't you? I can tell. Anyway, I digress.

Erm, yes. Onto the mall. My plan was still to have a wander around the shops for about an hour or so and then have a slow walk back calling at the aforementioned bar on the way home.
So I wandered. I was pretty sure I had got the hang of the little arcades both under and over ground. I decided to dive into a particular food hall (underground), expecting it to be full of greengrocers and the like. After about 100 meters, it opened up into a huge space. I had to stop and take it all in. What was in front of me was a massive diamond space full of tables. These were bordered by every single possible food outlet that you could imagine!
You know me, I'm a real "foodie". To see Indian next to Thai next to Cantonese next to Mexican next to Sandwiches next to Chinese next to Italian next to Burgers.... well, you get the idea. I had to wander round the whole place about three times to take it all in. Of course, the idea at calling off at the bar on the way back to the hotel was long since shelved. Choices, people, choices!!!
I dwelled, not for long, on taking some photos and decided that I would look like some sort of idiot, but it will stay in my head for future reference.
So after a few circuits I descended upon a particular Chinese spot. BBQ Combo Soup looked good (well, it did on the pic). At this point I must declare my utter surprise at which outlets were the busiest. Bearing in mind there was everything you could wish for on offer, the queues were at... Hungry Jacks (Burger place) and Subway (Sandwich Bar). Unbelievable! Still, I got served straight away. My server picked up a bowl. Now I will make a point of not exaggerating. It was about 200mm diameter and 150mm depth, seriously! She chucked loads of noodles and beansprouts in with a handful of pak choi. This was followed by a huge helping of clear soup. On top was placed liberal helpings of pork, and I mean liberal. Finally topped with a mound of chopped spring onion.
The cost of this? $9 or £3.75. Absolutely unbelievable.
I had a spoon, fork and chopsticks to tackle it all with. Being the professional that I am, the fork was cast aside and I practiced my chopstick skills and used the spoon for the soup.
Needless to say, there was plenty left, but I was stuffed.

So that was lunch!

Afterwards I had wander, took in a lovely phonecall from H and generally chilled.

I felt like a sitdown and a read, so headed to a bookstore. I gave the magazine rack a fair hearing, but a lot of them were UK/Euro issue and so overpriced (£8) and last months editions. I searched the biogs, but most were Aus orientated. Eventually my eye was taken by the true crimes section. Again, a lot of the books were Aus centered and so not strictly relevant. However I did notice the (Jeffrey) Archer prison book. Now I have this thing about Archer. He's one of those blokes that I want to dislike. Indeed when I see him on TV or interviews in the press, I no doubt end up cursing him. But I've always been taken with his novels. I decided to give this book a go (although there are 2 further books). So, I went into it with a slightly cynical head on, especially as I now have some insider knowledge of the prison service.
Damn you Archer!!! The man has got an amazing talent for writing. It is an absolute pleasure to read. I started it at a coffee bar in town and set off back to the hotel, pausing at that aforementioned bar to have another couple of chapters. It's really rather good you know.

So, the day improved weather wise, and I had a nice relaxing day. It's now 6.45 and I'm relaxing with a nice glass of red.
Sorry if I've gone on a little in this last entry!