Sunday 26^th July Singapore

Today was the final day of the Intrepid trip. So we slept in – especially as outside the window, there was heavy rain. Then I turned on the computer and got our Indonesian visas organised – at a cost of 524,500 rupiah (this comes to about $A40). After 9am (to avoid the breakfast bunfight) we went down to the last item on the itinerary, breakfast. We didn't hurry, had a chat with Dani and Ruth, and said goodbye to Mike and Morna, and to Paul.

Back upstairs, we re-packed, checked out, and walked the 500m along to the Wanderlust Hotel, in Little India.

Unsurprisingly, our room wasn't ready. So we left our bags and went out for a walk. It was very humid. We had not much of a plan, vaguely heading for Orchard Road; first finding ourselves walking over Mt. Emily, and then on Mt. Sofia Road. This was a very swish area, and we found the road did a loop but didn't go anywhere, and you couldn't get off it except at the beginning. While we were there, the humidity turned into very heavy rain. Umbrellas up, and we sheltered a bit.

The rain lightened. We found Orchard Road, and walked along it. By now, we were looking for a nice little cafe for coffee and cake. We didn't find one – only lots of very expensive-type shops. So, we headed for home. This took us to Fort Canning Park – yet another hill, as high as the other “mountains”. There were lots of people there, but we were getting hot and hungry. We found our way out, in the end, through the museum, and back down Bencoolen Road; where we stopped at a food court we'd seen and had a Vietnamese lunch.

Back at the hotel, it was after 3pm, and our room was ready; so we went and unpacked a bit, and made ourselves (at last!) a cup of coffee. And had a rest for a while, and sorted out a few things for the next few days.

The rain had stopped. We were in a much better state than this morning, and went out for a walk again at 5pm; a nice peaceful walk along the Rochor Canal. We ended up following it all the way to the sea, and then along the seafront; but here we ran into what became clear was preparations for the Singapore Grand Prix. Not what we were interested in, and it made it a bit difficult to get out of the area. But eventually we did, and walked home through the street market we'd checked out earlier; but a lot of it had packed up. But we found a nice little Vietnamese eatery and had a good dinner before coming home to two cups of tea.

Monday 27^th July Singapore

Today was much better. Not only was there no rain, we had a good sleep, and a good start to the day. We put on a load of washing in the (free) guest laundry here, had a cup of tea, put the washing in the dryer.... and went out to look for breakfast.

This is not such an easy thing, here. Most of the eateries supply an Asian sort of breakfast, with congee and noodles and such like. But we came across a “Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf” shop not far away, who supplied us with coffee, croissant, semi-poached eggs, and a tiny muffin; at a very good price.

With the washing out of the way, we set off. Today, our walking was more planned: MRT to Kent Ridge station, then walk across / along the southern ridges (one of Singapore's “green” areas) to Mt. Faber. And that is what we did.

Though when we got out at Kent Ridge station we found an underground shopping mall; all underneath a large hospital. Tthere were lots of people there in scrubs, and some patients too. We treated ourselves to another coffee and muffin before setting out, finding our way into the park quite easily and going along the elevated Canopy Walk; then along other tracks, through Hort Park, across Alexandra Arch, along a diversion where some elevated walkway was being repaired, and in the end to Mt. Faber. We had good views of the enormous dense city and the enormous dock area, from an area which was variously jungle or park.

We descended to the Harbourfront MRT station, and took the MRT home. Where we went out and lay in the hotel's dipping pool for a while, before having a shower and putting the last of our clothes on to wash. We plan to leave Singapore tomorrow with no dirty laundry.

We went out for dinner somewhere, looked around, and ended up at an Indian eatery just around the corner. A delicious dinner.

Tuesday 28^th July Labuan Bajo

It was a nice relaxed start to the day. No alarm, a cup of tea, and then walk out to the Bugis Centre for a repeat of yesterday's breakfast. And it was just as good. On the way back, I decided to buy a bahn mi from the Vietnamese restaurant we'd eaten at, to have for lunch at the airport. We were down to SGD 14.15; the bahn mi cost SGD 8.00. While it was being made, Alison found a nice pair of pants in the shop next door for SGD 6.00. So using up our Singapore currency has been very precise; we were left with 15 cents.

We returned to Wanderlust, did a final pack-up, and checked out. Onto the MRT to Expo, and thence to Changi Airport. Over to Terminal 1, and a straightforward check-in; they wanted to see our passports and our onward ticket from Indonesia.

We'd planned to go and visit some other terminals, but never made it; we wandered around, until Alison suggested going upstairs, to the lounges area. It was a good idea; there was a large area with a lot of empty armchairs. So we sat and ate the bahn mi, and an orange; and it the end set off on a long walk to the departure gate. And got on our plane to Labuan Bajo.

This was a relief; we'd both been a little worried about this flight, on Scoot, who said that they overbook. And with the boat trip starting tomorrow morning, not getting there would have been a disaster!

The flight was uneventful. About 5pm we landed in Labuan Bajo – where I found the QR code for our arrival card was no longer on my phone. Why? But after a bit time with people mucking around on the phone, it was found; and then an official asked us our ages, and then took us to bypass the queue!

We got out of the airport. I went to an ATM to take out IDR 9,000,000, but it would only give me 1,250,000. But at least we had money. We took a taxi to the Golo Hilltop Hotel. This was fine. We walked down the hill to a restaurant and had a so-so but not expensive dinner overlooking the bay at dusk. Then walked further down into the town – very busy and touristy, and I was glad not to be staying there.

We got a bit more money from another ATM, and walked home for a cup of tea. Unfortunately I tidied up a bit of stuff on the computer (we will have limited internet access the next week) and Alison found she can't find the VISA card she used on the train to get to Changi. So it's not been a very relaxing evening.

In the end, I mostly emptied the VISA account, so we don't have to worry about it; and we lay on the bed, and thought about how travel like this has lost its lustre. Perhaps we've been to too many places, too much.

Wednesday 29^th July Day 1, at sea

Today – hugely different!

We slept fine, got up and went to breakfast; and I managed to pay for our room. They are very relaxed about things like that, here.

We were sitting waiting at 9am, and – up turned the same taxi driver who brought us here last night! He took us to the boat terminal, and left us with the tour guide, Tinae; who promptly took us through and put us in a zodiac, which took us out to the Pinisi (traditional wooden ship), the “Katherina”.

We were given a welcome drink. It is a lovely boat; timber, lots of shaded outside spaces, and our cabi – small, of course – is very comfortable, with a small en suite. We looked around the boat, and eventually the zodiac returned with more passengers:

Richard & Emilie (London)

Ian & Viv (NZ)

Andrew & Rachel (USA, living in South Korea)

Nigel & Mark (UK)

and Marta, a tour guide from Italy.

The morning was nice and quiet. We had a briefing before lunch, then a very good lunch; after, I was able to finish and upload the website, while we still had connection. Mid-afternoon we had a visit from some people from the nearby village, about a coral restoration project; then all got into the zodiac and went ashore at another island to tie coral onto frames, which were put in the water. This was followed by snorkelling.

The snorkelling was good; there was a lot to see, and Alison handled it very well. But it did go on a long time; I was getting cold and waterlogged. We returned to the zodiac, and to Katherina, to a nice hot shower and clean clothes.

At 6pm, we were gathered on deck to see the fruit bats, which fly out from the mangroves at dusk, over to the island where they feed. And it was not just us; Alison counted over 100 boats there to watch them. Most had come from Labuan Bajo, and returned after the bats had done their thing; only ~ four remain for the night.

Then a talk about traditional Pinisi boat building, dinner, and then an introduction to the crew (13 of them), before the crew did a little musical performance, and got some people up to dance. Not me!

I am very impressed, so far, with the boat and the arrangements. Laundry is done every day; there is tea, coffee, biscuits, and chocolate available all the time; alcohol is available at cost price (though we haven't used any). Everyone has been allotted mask, snorkel, and flippers. It all seems very well run and thought out.

Thursday 30^th July At sea – off Tambora Island

There was a bit of rocking of the boat overnight, and the engine went on at 3am to start sailing; but we both slept quite well. We came up to breakfast; a very reasonable breakfast. I could have had more, but restrained myself a bit. Then, at 9am, it was off for another snorkel from the zodiac. The water was clearer than yesterday (we are not in such a busy area, now); I saw >50 types of fish, lots of corals, some lobsters... we were in the water for an hour or so. Back to the Katherina, a rinse on the deck; coffee, and a read upstairs. After taking a Dramamine, as we're going to be going into some choppy waters.

Lunch, and we went upstairs again. Even had a little lie down. We were in the shade at the back, the two younger couples were sunning themselves at the front upstairs, and the two older couples were in the shade downstairs.

At 3pm there was more snorkelling on, followed by a trip ashore at 5pm to see the Pinisi boat being built there. We opted out of snorkelling, and went ashore, instead, to walk on the black sand beach. It was a reasonable option, but the boat felt they had to send a crew member with us as a minder – in case something happened to us. I understand this, but didn't like it; he could have been doing something more useful. But I did get a walk the length of the beach, and saw a lot of the small village, and its gardens, around the huge boat. With lots of goats, chickens, and a number of buffalo.

The others came ashore a 5pm and we saw over the Pinisi boat under construction. It is a most impressive undertaking, and is estimated that it will take five years till completion.

Back onto the Katherina, another welcome drink and snacks; a shower, then a talk by Marta about corals; and another good dinner at which I was more restrained than last night, and Andrew & Rachel were presented with a wedding anniversary cake.

We're going to be sailing all night, and have both taken another Dramamine. Which I think knocked me out, a bit.

Friday 31^st July At sea, off Moyo Island

We were motoring all night, but slept well enough; we didn't wake till 7.30am. After breakfast, we went ashore at the village of Labuan Aji; we loaded into wooden benches in the back of a jeep (except for a couple who went on the back of motorcycles) up a very rough road, concreted in parts but washed away in others, to the National Park and Mata Jitu waterfall. Famous here for, among other reasons, Princess Diana having visited. A short walk brought us to the waterfall; a quite beautiful spot, with tufa similar to Lawn Hill at home and Pammukale in Turkey. Unsurprisingly, there were quite a few people there; but it was a largish area and it was easy to get an uncrowded spot for a swim in the cloudy blue, limestoney water. It was pleasant; we walked back across the top of the waterfall.

It was close to midday when we got back to Katherina. Lunch, and siesta time; and Alison considered what to do about snorkelling, due at 3pm. She opted for using her old contact lenses, which expired in 2004. And had a much better time snorkelling, as she could see the corals and the fish.

But nonetheless, after more than an hour in the water one gets cold. We came back aboard; not the first, but by no means the last. Hot shower and wash hair. Another briefing, this time about whale sharks, which we may see tomorrow. And then another very nice dinner.

The sea has been much calmer today.

Saturday 1^st August At sea, off Labuan Jambu

There was six hours sailing in the middle of the night, and we woke up in Saleh Bay – one of the world's top whale shark viewing spots (partly because the local fishermen pour loads of plankton into the sea for them to feed on.) So we had to get up early, at 6am, to be ready. We were ready, but the whale sharks weren't; we waited for perhaps ½ hour until we got the call that one had arrived. So over we went, and spent over an hour snorkelling with them; we were meant to stay at least three metres away, but often the problem was getting as far away as that, when they moved. At one stage I looked down and saw the back of a huge shark gliding past, only a few feet below me. By the end three whale sharks had turned up, but I saw only two of them. But I did see them together, at close range.

Eventually we all returned to Katharina. Here, the crew put up all the sails – seven of them. Really, just for photographic purposes; they took us out in the zodiac so we could see the ship from the water. Then, more motoring along to the village of Labuan Jambu. We had lunch, and then were able to dive into the sea from the Katharina, and have a swim.

Then, the next activity. Buffalo racing. We went ashore, and were taken in an oldish bus (no seat belts here) for ~ ½ hour, to a little village. The buffalo are used to run through the mud where they are going to plant rice – a form of ploughing. It's not really a race, as each pair of buffalo run one pair at a time. A person stands on an A-frame between them and sort of urges them on – but in reality just tries to stay on the A-frame. Some of our lot did it; Alison, not surprisingly, did it three times and was the best of them. The side-effect of it was all participants getting very muddy. But – it was interesting. I thought about doing it, but decided against it because of my less than perfect left knee.

Back to Katherina, and a shower and clean clothes. The usual briefing and dinner, and we played cards with Viv and Ian, while everyone else disappeared. I think everyone was tired.

Sunday 2^nd August At sea, off Satonda Island

Today was different. To start with, we went ashore on Satonda Island – a volcanic caldera, and essentially a lake, with stromatolites, surrounded by a caldera, in the sea. (The lake is much more saline than the sea.) We began with a little kayak on the lake, but then went ashore and up a track to the rim of the caldera. It was quite a steep walk, and we weren't wearing appropriate footwear – only crocs. But it was good to have a walk, despite there being no view at the top thanks to the dense vegetation. We did see scrub turkey mounds and later found out that they do have scrub turkeys.

After 15 minutes back on Katherina, we went back to snorkel in the sea off the island. The big attraction here is turtles, and we saw two – for extended periods. Then it was back to the boat for lunch.

There was more snorkelling in the afternoon, but we opted out of this. One snorkelling session per day is plenty for me. We sat upstairs; a wind had sprung up and the crew took the awnings down. Alison rigged up an umbrella to shade our legs.

We retired for some playtime; while there, the wind became stronger and the boat set off on its next move. The sea was very rough and I became quite queasy; I had to go upstairs and sit outside watching the horizon. This settled me a bit (and also wet me a bit – there were large troughs and crests); when I felt up to it, I went upstairs (taking a dramamine on the way) and Alison and I sat at the back watching the horizon.

It was very a very rough sea. After ½ hour or so, Tina (who had been checking on people) told us they were going to turn around and return to the shelter of the island we started from. And we did, and it was much calmer, and everything and everyone has settled down.

Monday 3^rd August At sea

Today did not go as planned.

We set off, after dinner; through very rough seas. Breakfast time was discussed, and agreed to have it starting at 7.30, rather than 7.00, am. It was very rough in the night; but we both managed a bit of sleep, and didn't feel seasick. I got up at 7.30 and came upstairs to find – some of the crew, but no passengers, and no breakfast. The door to the lounge was closed, sea was washing over the deck at times, it was very rough; and the boom had fallen off the foremast, and was dangling from it crossways.

Eventually people appeared; and then the boat did a U-turn and headed for the coast, where we anchored in a more sheltered spot. Breakfast appeared; in the lounge, as eating on the main deck is not safe with the boom hanging overhead. Tina took some (only three) snorkelling, while the rest of us relaxed and watched the progress on the boom. With considerably less health and safety than in Australia, on crew member climbed the mast (wearing thongs!); eventually they managed to put a strap around the boom, connect it to the anchor winch, and with a lot of guidance by pulling on ropes, slowly lower iit to the deck. Where it now rests, securely lashed to the side.

Lunch in the lounge. The sea, out to sea, is still rough and no-one is quite sure when we are going to head off again.

It was about 3pm when we set off again. We pulled into a sheltered spot (sort of – no wind, but still a big swell and a lot of rocking) for dinner at 8pm, then out again. Alison and I stayed up talking to Andrew till after 10.30pm.

Tuesday 4^th August

We both slept very well. But when we got up at 7.30 for breakfast, found that the Katherina had had to turn around in the middle of the night because of rough seas and seawater getting into the exhaust pipes; so we've not made nearly as much progress as we might have done. We are now well behind the planned schedule, and a lot of today will be spent sailing across relatively open seas.

It was. At least the sea was significantly calmer than the past day or two. It wasn't until after 3pm that we finally rounded Komodo island, and got to Manta Point – where we, at last, went snorkelling again. It was a welcome relief after spending the day sitting on the boat. We saw a couple of large manta rays, then went across to another spot and saw a couple more, and a turtle. And lots of other snorkellers! The sea was thick with them, though after 4pm they thinned out a lot as many were on day trips from Labuan Bajo. Alison and I were some of the first ones to call it a day with snorkelling, as we'd seen enough and were getting quite cold. It was a delight to have a hot shower and wash our hair.

With everyone back on board, the Katherina is heading to a sheltered cove for the night. We went to our cabin and tried to work out tipping – a thing I hate, and the SeaTrek brochure in our cabin suggests an obscenely high tipping amount. Grrr!

Then we had the evening briefing, with the usual “amazing!” and “beautiful”; which started in Thailand, and has continued here. And people saying what a great day it has been, when, until 3pm, we were sitting on a boat motoring slowly through fairly rough seas.

And then we had dinner, which felt a bit odd because there was no rocking in the boat – it was stable!

Both Alison and I feel rather out of touch with the others. Perhaps we haven't had enough alcohol pre-dinner.

Wednesday 5^th August

It's our last full day on the boat. Hooray! Eight nights on a boat is too much for us, and I don't think we'll ever do it again.

We had to get up and leave on the zodiac at 6.45, over to Rinca Island, part of Komodo National Park. Her, we met the ranger and went for a short walk – seeing 3 Komodo dragons, warming themselves in the sun. Big lizards, yes; but I was a bit underwhelmed. We've seen big lizards before – not quite as big – in better, more natural, settings; not surrounded by groups of people.

But we've seen them now. On the walk out we saw a sign saying there was no scientific or anecdotal evidence to suggest that menstruating women were at higher risk from the dragons; this flatly contradicted what our guide, Tina, had said. And we passed a deer resting in the shade; someone said “I'd like to see it attacked by a dragon. But not killed, though.”

But I don't think dragons attack deer for fun.

Back on Katherina, and we set off for the next spot – Messa, a sea gypsy village. They have settled here because they have been provided with schools; it is a small island – you could walk across it in five minutes – intensively settled, with hardly any space between houses. (Which are all 2-storey, to cope with occasional inundation). Power from solar panels on the only hill, and water needing to be brought in a bought. We walked through the village, past the mosque, across the square, to the elementary school.

Sea Trek brings us here, to give the school some gifts, and to show the children that there is more they can aim for than living the life their antecedants have. They sang a song for us. But it was very noisy with children's voices, and I was saddened to see the uniform had all the girls, from well before puberty, wearing a hijab. It is so unfair to girls!

We walked back to the zodiac, went through all the rubbish in the sea surrounding the island, and returned to Katherina. Lunch; siesta time; and then we moved again, over to the next (and last) snorkelling area, and had another hour in the water. It is enough for me; I don't need to go snorkelling again for a very long time.

Back on Katherina, envelopes for tips had appeared in our room; they had been expected. Tonight is our “farewell dinner”, a barbecue on the beach, which seems to me an unnecessary amount of trouble to go to. (Especially as guiter and speakers are being taken there.) But perhaps that's just Alison and I; I feel some of the other passengers seem to have a sense of entitlement, which we don't have; and some parts of this trip have been a bit “over the top”.

The farewell dinner was not what we would have liked. We went ashore to a beach; lights had been strung up, stools put out, and dinner (the usual buffet-style) arranged at one end.

We ate our dinner – a fairly usual sort of dinner, for the Katherina; but accompanied by a glass of (not very good) red wine. This was OK.

But after dinner, out came the guitars, and the crew played a few songs – with enthusiasm, but not much talent. And then they got everyone up “dancing” (meaning swaying to the music). Not us, though – we really don't like this sort of stuff.

When the crew band finished, on came recorded music. “Normal” popular music, which I don't particularly like; but most people – passengers and crew – kept on “dancing”. Till ~10pm, when we were able to be returned to Katherina (after watching phosphorescent plankton in the sand, at the water's edge.)

We went straight down to bed in our cabin. The party persisted up on deck for a little while.

Thursday 6^th August Labuan Bajo – dry land again!

Not a good sleep. We turned off the aircon when we went to bed, turned it on againat 3am when it was getting hor and stuffy, and at 4am the anchor came up, the engine was turned on, and we started moving again. So we were awake, and packing our bags, before breakfast started, at 7am.

We had the mandatory group photo with the crew at 8am, and at 9am went ashore, back into Labuan Bajo. The number of boats in the harbour there was extraordinary; something well over one hundred, and perhaps over two hundred. We piled into three taxis, and were driven for ½ hour up to the village of Melo. Here, after an introduction ceremony which involved chewing some betel nut (not very nice) and drinking some arak (also not very nice) we watched a “whip dance” performed by some men, followed by a “bamboo dance” by the women. We all (including us) had to get up at times and “dance” with them, and Rachel, Emilie, and Alison did some bamboo dance as well.

I was feeling a bit stuffed after a poor night's sleep. We finished, some went to the airport, we went back to the marina, and back to Katharina for lunch. We stopped at an ATM at the marina where we were able to obtain some rupiah for tips.

Lunch, final pack, and at 1.30pm we took the zodiac back to the marina and were put on a taxi to our hote, World BnB. This is inland from the airport, well away from the busy, touristy coastal strip.

We have a nice quiet room, with a swimming pool not for from our door. And a bed which will not rock, and no engine will be starting in the middle of the night. We have windows, too, though they are not openable.

We had a swim and enjoyed doing little else for the afternoon. At 5-ish we went out for a local walk; dusk arrived, and we ended up eating a good dinner in “Flobamor” timorese restaurant for IDR 4,000 (~$A3.18). We rounded it off with an icecream and a beer from the supermarket, but the whole thing came to $A4.00.

Now I'm looking forward to a good solid sleep and a more awake day tomorrow.

Friday 7^th August Labuan Bajo

It has been good to have a “day off”. We slept in till 8,30, had a nice low-key breakfast here, without a superabundance of food; and at 10am left to walk into the town centre / waterfront.

This was a fine walk, taking an hour or so. We saw thousands of motorcycles and motorscooters, but not one solitary bicycle! When we got to the main street lots of other western faces appeared (most of them were European, not English speakers); the street was full of dive shops, tour agencies, cafes, hotels and hostels.... Alison commented that it was very like Cairns, and she was right. We walked down to the fish market street, then walked back again – stopping for a coffee and croissant at the “Komodough” bakery. (Here, I had the idea of driving the motorhome to Darwin next May, flying home for a couple of months, then flying back and driving home via inland WA.)

I felt glad to be staying where we are, well away from the town centre. We returned home, stopping to buy beer, chips, and iceream before getting home. Where we had a coffee, Alison read her book, and I... ended up having a lie down for an hour or more. I don't think I slept.

Then I had a swim in the pool, we had beer and chips by the pool, and playtime. And that was all nice.

But then - I tried to check in for our flight tomorrow, only to find I needed to do it via their app on my phone; so I put it on, only to find that, because we had luggage, we had to check in at the airport anyway.

Then, we ate dinner at the Italian-type restaurant here; my eggplant melanzone was fine, but Aison's fettucine (which she'd seen being made at breakfast this morning) had the barest minimum of any sauce on it, no basil, and no cheese – though the couple at the next table, later, did have it on theirs. Disappointing.

Now we're back in our room, and she's a bit disgruntled. For which I can't blame her at all.

For the last month we've had very little alcohol, very little TV, very little exercise, and very little sociability.

Saturday 8^th August Denpasar

I have caught up on sleep, now.

Today was a travel day. No hurry to go – we went over to breakfast, then chatted to the couple next door (from Barcelona) for ½ hour. We had a couple of hours before our transfer to the airport; we walked across the road, into the large “Harmony” clothing store; where we looked around, and Alison ended up buying three pairs of undies. A good reminder of the trip!

We looked for a textile shop she'd seen, but never found it; went to the supermarket and bought oranges and a pineapple – for “lunch” at the airport. Packed and it was time to go. The drive to the airport took ~10 minutes, and we were dropped off.

Inside, and onto the end of a long queue. But it kept moving, and within ½ hour our bags were checked in, and we went upstairs and through security. We were there quite a while; our plane arrived, but for reasons unknown the flight was delayed by ~40 minutes. But there was no announcement or advice about it. A flight to Jakarta, scheduled 15 minutes later, left before us through the same gate.

But eventually we left, flew to Denpasar, and disembarked via the tarmac and a bus to the terminal. There was a long wait for luggage, as well; we walked out of the terminal ~ an hour later than we should have, but then things went smoothly; there was a driver waiting for us who drove us to the Holiday Inn Baruna, a 10-minute drive.

We have a fine quiet room. We went out for a walk, along the beach a bit, then got a bit lost but found a suitable place for dinner. We got back to the hotel and had a welcome drink from the bar at the swimming pool (now dusk was falling), then went out to dinner. A delicious Vietnamese meal.

Bali is very different to Flores. Busy, but it seems more affluent, and the Islamic side of Indonesia is much less obvious here.

Sunday 9^th August Home

Our less than 24 hours in Bali has been quite an eye-opener. We were last in Bali in 1992, then 1994; it had changed a lot in those two years, and from what we'd heard, since then it had become worse; more congested, more touristy. And here are, 36 years later, staying near Kuta (where we've never been) and, while it is touristly, it seems no worse than it used to be; and the local people seem better off and happier than those in Labuan Bajo, and other parts of Indonesia we've been in. Is this because there is more Hinduism and less Islam than in other parts?

Our room at Holiday Inn Express Baruna was smallish, but very well thought-out and comfortable. And quiet! The staff were all very pleasant; and we had a late check-out, thanks to my membership of IHG Rewards (I was offered a discount, when I booked the hotel, if I joined up – so I did, of course). Also, while we were at breakfast a lady came up and put an “IHG Rewards” sign on our table; shortly after, we were offered fresh fruit juice. (We had pineapple – it was delicious.)

We went out. Back t last night's restaurant, where we bought a takeaway bahn mi (to eat on the plane tonight – a Virgin flight. While we waited for it, in the outdoor restaurant, one of the staff asked us if we were on honeymoon! I don't know what it is about us.

We wandered back to the hotel, had a shower, put on “going home” clothes – with some provision for cold weather. Went up to the pool, then down to the lobby, and got in the shuttle to the airport.

Then, the not-so-nice part of the day began. It's a sparkling newish airport, where we waited in the queue to check in, for ½ hour or so. Then went through emigration and security screening, fairly routine. A wait inside for over two hours; no water available, except by buying a bottle. Luckily we weren't thirsty. We were meant to leave at Gate 1A, but after a while there was an announcement that it had changed to 6A. On the departure board, though, it still said 1A. We went to 6A, where they were taking any water people had obtained after security screening off them! No water to be brought onto the aircraft.

Then there was minor chaos as people waited around until we were loaded onto buses, and bussed to the plane. A basic plane, suited to a local flight rather than an international one.

5½ hours to Melbourne.