Day 1: Pacific Fair/Surfers Paradise

On this Day 1 of our one-week vacation, we had planned to take it easy. After freshening up, we drove to Pacific Fair down the road. It was within walking distance but probably not advisable under the blazing sun. We headed for the Food Court to grab a quick bite as the children were starving.

The Food Court easily had 20 stalls but the choice was limited as far as the children were concerned. Son No 2 wanted to eat yong-tau-foo, lol! Besides a Vietnamese and a Japanese stall, all the stalls sold Western food offering all types of burgers, spuds, doughnuts, chicken (grilled, fried, roast, natural) steaks etc. To me, it was like a giant fast-food restaurant. After walking one round, Son No 3 chose a simple hot dog. After walking two rounds, the two older boys settled for KFC, though they had to swallow their disappointment as there was no “hot and spicy” flavour. Hubby chose a steak burger. As for me, I already had my eye on the spud right from the start.

Some of us might remember the recent debate in the Singapore forum pages on whether patrons should clear their own dishes after eating at the food court. As I was having my lunch, I observed my fellow diners with interest. My verdict was that about 95% of the patrons would dump their used crockery into bins and left a fairly clean table behind for the next patron. They were gracious, even the group of young tattooed bare-bodied Aussie males. But there was an important difference to our situation in Singapore. Here, all the crockery used was of the disposable kind, from the plates to the forks and spoons. And things like hot dogs, burgers and chicken were packed for “to go”, whether or not one was dining in or taking away. There was no soupy stuff, very little steaming hot food and none that required deboning or shelling that left food remnants behind. It was thus easy to dispose the paper-based waste and the diners mostly cooperated. There was a cleaning lady - a Chinese foreign worker, in baggy overalls, not in cheongsam - whose job was mainly to wipe the tables. She was largely invisible and unintrusive.

After lunch, we headed for Coles, the local supermarket chain. Along the way, there was a Santa Claus booth. The Santa here looked more authentic than others – I surmised it was because, besides the mandatory red costume and white beard, he bothered to put on a pair of gold-rimmed spectacles which was perched low on his nose bridge. Son No 3 went up to shake his hands and took a photograph.
Whenever I visited another country, one of my favourite activities was to browse in the local supermarket and get a glimpse of what the locals lived on. This was not possible with the three boys and hubby in tow. At Coles, we managed to load up our trolley with fruits (cherries were in season, hurrah), snacks and breakfast items, including a disproportionate amount of Arnotts biscuits *grin*

That night, we explored Surfers Paradise, the heart of Gold Coast. The last time we were at Gold Coast, we stayed in Surfers Paradise, instead of Broadbeach. Surfers Paradise was a more established and colourful tourist area while Broadbeach was cleaner and the buildings were newer. Those who liked an action-packed holiday would not go wrong with Surfers Paradise.

The night air was cool. There was a night bazaar along the beachfront, with buskers and artists providing street entertainment and vendors hawking their wares ranging from t-shirts, homemade soaps and souvenir items. Pubs and cafes lined both sides of Cavill Avenue with patrons spilling out onto the pavement. There was a lot of hustle and bustle that was missing in Broadbeach, if one liked that sort of thing. For those who preferred a quiet holiday, Broadbeach or beyond might be a better choice. The Gold Coast had a long stretch of beach that stretched miles and miles. There were many other beaches in less commercialized – and hence, cheaper - areas, if one dared to venture beyond.

We shared a pizza and pasta meal at a sidewalk cafe. Son No 2 gave the thumbs-up for the pizza for its generous topping of pineapple and ham. Another thumbs-up for the marinara from hubby. But Son No 1 gave the thumbs-down for the carbonara fettucine for its non-creamy sauce. I suppose Son No 3 and I were less discerning on our food – we found most of the food ok.

That night, we walked along the side of the beach (without touching the sand), just to give the children a prelude to what was to come – they couldn’t wait to go to the beach. We saw white dots of seagulls gliding in the night sky and in the night sky, the stars gleamed. I spotted the Southern Cross.