hotels | Jason Around the World

Short Stay in Medellin, Colombia

Bolivia and Ecuador plus Medellin, Colombia, hotels, Restaurants 2 Responses »

Jun 022014

Unfortunately, I didn’t get many pictures for this part of the trip. I’ll chalk it up to good conversation and not really “playing tourist.” Despite that, I got a fantastic intro to Medellin!

It was nearly 3pm by the time my taxi safely delivered me to my hotel, the Four Points Medellin. The taxi fare was fixed from the airport, so there was no need to negotiate or anything. So far, I was enjoying Medellin – all the people I encountered were quite pleasant, and the city seemed quite green, clean, and fairly orderly.

Got to the check-in counter, where I had to wait more than ten minutes to check in due to just two other customers in front of me. Then, ran into part one of the problem – neither of the front desk workers were willing to (or were unable to) speak any English at all. I finally got my point across to them: I wanted to check in, I was an SPG platinum member, and would prefer an upgraded room or suite with one bed. Unfortunately, the hotel was completely sold out, and the only room they could give me on my cash and points rate was a basic room with two beds. Ugh. After discussing for a bit they told me to go up and use that room, and they would see in an hour what they could do.

Got to the room, and it was clean and comfortable enough, with plenty of outlets/etc, and the air conditioning worked quite well and the room was a comfortable temperature. More importantly, the speed of the WiFi was quite good, and I had no trouble doing a high-bandwidth teleconference for work. After about an hour they called back, and they had indeed found me another room. Would I like a room with a patio and a king bed? Absolutely…and they sent staff up to get my bags and do the move for me. Quite a nice touch, although still not a single word of English was spoken by anyone.

The view of the patio in the upgraded room:

Unfortunately, I got stuck on several work calls in a row, and it was after 5pm when I was finally able to venture out and explore. First stop was a quick trip to the mall/grocery store around the corner to stock up on water and a few basics. It was a very modern well-stocked store that would have been at home anywhere in North America – I was incredibly impressed.

After I got back to the room, I managed to get in touch with Judd, a member of FlyerTalk who I’d been getting some advice from on things to do. Unfortunately it was really to late to go explore the city, but he was walking over to my hotel, and there was a good place to get a beer within walking distance. Count me in! He’s an Australian who’s been working in Medellin for a couple of years, and had some fantastic insights into the city. I love meetings like this, because you get a much deeper appreciation in a much shorter time when someone who knows the city well offers to show you around.

Found a nice quite place for a beer maybe a 10-15 minute walk from the hotel, or two…or three. I forgot that Australians consider drinking a competitive sport! By this point we were quite hungry, and it had started to rain, so we hopped in a cab to find somewhere to eat. I’ve forgotten the names of all the places we went, but hopefully Judd will chime in and I can update this post. We ended up for dinner at a brewpub type place, that had hundreds of bottled beers on the menu, along with their own homebrews which were really quite good. Add in a quite good burger and it was the perfect end to to a long day. No, I didn’t get to go out and play tourist, but with work running way longer than planned, I still feel I got a nice intro to the city…and can’t wait to go back!

After a good night’s sleep I was up early for a short run around the neighbourhood, and it was nice seeing the city come to life. Check-out of the hotel was slow and inefficient, just as check-in had been, but the staff were incredibly friendly and tried hard. They just seemed very new and unsure of how to handle some rather basic procedures.

Mid-morning Judd and his wife picked me up at the hotel, and offered me a ride to the airport…with a stop at a local restaurant for breakfast on the way. It was absolutely delicious, good local food (including chicharrón – YUM) and supposedly the President (I believe it is?) stops by here when he’s in Medellin as well. Good, local, non-pretentious cooking…and it was the absolute perfect ending to a short into to the city.

I’m incredibly grateful to Judd and his wife not only for showing me around, but also for the lift to the airport. Their generosity made this short stop so, so much more than it would have been otherwise, where I would have been at the whims of TripAdvisor etc! Soon after a late breakfast they dropped me at the airport, and it was off for the next stage of the adventure!

Uyuni to La Paz, and La Paz Part II

Airports, Bolivia, Bolivia and Ecuador plus Medellin, Flights, hotels, Restaurants 1 Response »

May 182014

Originally when I’d booked the trip, my flight back from Uyuni to La Paz was scheduled for 9:35a, which would allow me to sleep in slightly, and still get to La Paz in time to have a nice relaxing day to see the city. Unfortunately, once again, Amaszonas had other ideas. Points to them for communications, but 48 hours before my flight I got an email that the flight had been moved to 6:45am. Are you KIDDING me people? UGH.

This meant instead of getting breakfast and leaving for the airport at the sane hour of 7:45 or so, I would have to leave for the airport no later than 5am. Yes, this meant another 4:15am wakeup call. UGH.

I went out front at 5:15a as agreed with my driver, and he was there…sleeping in his car….with heavy metal music blaring. I was slightly disturbed, but after knocking on the windows to wake him up, we had a safe 30-40 minute drive to the airport. All the stars were out, and it was gorgeous in the complete darkness.

There was already quite a long queue to check in which took 15 minutes or so in the semi-open air terminal, and I was stuck in the back of the plane this time. No big deal. The problem was, after security, we were in a waiting room that was semi-open to the elements and it was -5C outside. It was absolutely freezing, and I hadn’t brought a jacket. I sat hunched up in a little ball for about 30 minutes and ran for the plane the minute they let us board. There was absolutely zero to see or do in the airport, except freeze and wait for the plane.

Amaszonas flight 301
Uyuni, Bolivia (UYU) to La Paz, Bolivia (LPB)
Depart 6:45, Arrive 7:35, Flight Time 50 minutes
Canadair CRJ-200, Registration CP-2733, Manufactured 1998, Seat 11D

This flight was completely full, and I had the pleasure of an overly chatty Indian seatmate from Mumbai who insisted on talking for the entire 50 minutes. Even when I put in my earbuds, he prattled on and on. Ugh. Not at this hour, please. Impressively, for a full flight of 50 people and only 40 minutes in the air, the flight attendants made two full passes with drinks. I was impressed! The Coke Zero was the only thing keeping me going.

Landed in La Paz right on time, but there was one problem. It was rush hour, and it took nearly 90 minutes to get to the Radisson. Fortunately I knew the fair price this time, and the taxi driver was happy to accept it. Got to the hotel just after 9, but my room wasn’t ready yet…so they invited me to go up to the executive lounge for breakfast. Well, that was nice! Had a small breakfast, and by the time I was done my room was ready.

They’d upgraded me to the executive floor for some reason, which was slightly nicer in furnishings than my previous room. I collapsed on the bed, and caught an hour nap to try and feel somewhat human.

After I woke up, I headed out to walk the city. My first stop was the office of Crillon Tours, where I had to pay for my trip to Lake Titicaca the next day. The walk there was about 15 minutes, and it was a good chance to watch the city going about its business on a week day. There was, once again, nearly no English spoken in the office when I got there, but eventually I found the person I needed, got the tour paid by credit card, and I was off to walk some more.

I was headed to the old part of the city where some colonial buildings still stood, but on the way I ran into a group of…zebras? I have no idea what this was all about….

Just ten minutes further along, I ran into a chain gang of prisoners doing some hard manual labour repairing a road. And being supervised by….a police dog? I was beginning to wonder about Bolivians and animal costumes….

Finally, after a 20 minute walk uphill, and stopping frequently to catch my breath, I reached Calle Jaen, where some old colonial buildings stood. The streets were narrow, and the angle of the sun made it hard to get a good pic, but this was my best attempt:

I kept walking back through the city, and my next stop was the Mercado de las Brujas – the witches’ market. You could by all sorts of interesting “ingredients here” including dried llama fetuses. Supposedly when you’re building a new building, be it a house, office, or whatever, you bury one of these dried llama fetuses in the foundation for good luck. Go figure….

La Paz to Uyuni, Bolivia, Hotel Luna Salada, and Salar de Uyuni Salt Flats

Airports, Attractions, Bolivia, Bolivia and Ecuador plus Medellin, Flights, hotels, trains 2 Responses »

May 162014

When I’d originally booked this trip, the flight from Bolivia to Uyuni was at the annoying hour of 6:30am. That would mean getting up around 4:30a at the latest to head to the airport on my second day in Bolivia. UGH. Just as I was leaving DC I got an email…the flight had been retimed to 5:35am, and the reason was given as “due to a maintenance service in the International Airport EL ALTO in La Paz city and will be closed at about 4 hours, from 12:00 pm to 16:00 pm during all month MAY.” Uh, exactly how does that affect a 6:30 flight? No clue. However, I resigned myself to a 3am wakeup call to get to the airport no later than 4:30…an hour before my flight, and hopefully a little sooner.

Woke up, out the door in about 20 minutes, and soon I was queued up to check in at El Alto. I can’t say I’ve ever seen an airline bragging that they fly a “new fleet of CRJ-200s.”

Check in was super quick, although I was kicked out of the bulkhead I’d reserved online, because I was told my Spanish wasn’t good enough to be sitting in an exit row. Boo hiss. It was still about 1:15 before the flight, so I had time for a quick (and pretty awful) coffee in the check in area, with a much better chocolate muffin.

Security was completely painless and took maybe two minutes, and soon I was in the rather decent departures area:

Boarding was called about 30 minutes before the flight, and we walked probably 300 meters across the tarmac to our plane:

Upon boarding, the flight attendant handed each passenger a goody bag:

Amaszonas flight 300
La Paz, Bolivia (LPB) to Uyuni, Bolivia (UYU)
Depart 5:35, Arrive 6:35, Flight Time 1 hour
Canadair CRJ-200, Registration CP-2742, Manufactured 1997, Seat 2F

Upon boarding, for some reason, the seats on this plane looked and felt really familiar. Only when I pulled up my phone to check out its history did I see why…it was a former United Express plane, and still had the United Express seats. So, this is hell. My least favourite aircraft (the CRJ) with vestiges of United Express. Great. Door closed about 5 minutes early with the seat next to me empty…and we started to taxi….a few minutes later, we headed back to our parking position and opened the door.

A rapid stream of spanish followed from the cockpit, with the simple english translation of “something wrong with the plane.” Great! Well, ten minutes later “something” was fixed and we were off! The flight was a quick 45 minutes or so, and the flight attendants did do a quick beverage service from the trolley. Can’t really complain…beats United Express!

Landing in Uyuni, it was cold. Really cold. -4C or about 26F according to my phone, and I was just in jeans and a lightweight pullover. Brilliant planning Jason, brilliant. I’d prebooked a driver/tourguide for the day, since I’d been told there were essentially two options in Uyuni: hang around town for one of the 6-people-packed-into-a-Landrover backpacker trips for about $50 a person, or book a private driver. Since I only had one day and no clue when I’d come back, I opted for my own driver so I could do what I wanted and stop however long I wanted.

My driver was waiting in the arrivals area as the sun rose, and we threw my backs in the vehicle and were off. He waid we had to wait for a permit from the police in town, so we had about an hour to kill before we could head out. We headed into a small restaurant/cafe for coffee and a light breakfast, and slowly after us it began to fill up with backpackers who’d taken the 10+ hour overnight bus from La Paz. They all looked like death, and I was beginning to think the extra money I’d paid was well well worth it.

Permit obtained, we headed out to the “train cemetery” at the edge of town. Not much to see, but since it was featured in just about every travel article I read on the town, I figured we should stop. At least it was a cool contrast with the brilliant blue skies:

Stopped in town to pick up some snacks and waters, and in the centre of town was this…unique…sculpture:

Next stop was my hotel, the Hotel Luna Salada. It’s a good 30 minutes out of town, right on the edge of the saltflats. The hallways/common areas are open to the elements, so it got very very cold. This was the walkway to my room…note the floors, which are made entirely of crushed salt:

We were set to head out on the tour at 10, so I had an hour nap which made me feel much better after having gotten up at 3am! The hotel was cold…quite cold….since the salt walls don’t really insulate things much and it drops below freezing at night. There were electric blankets on all the beds (a first for me) and they kept me nice and toasty warm!

The drive to the salt flats (with the obligatory 15 minute stop at a local craft market along the way) was pretty good…and upon entering the salt flats the driver really gunned it. It felt weird to be speeding across the salt with no roads, no markings, just a sense of direction.

I’d told my driver I wanted to see an area where water had gathered, to get a pic of the salt with the reflection. He knew right where to go, and we found an area where water was a few inches deep. We had to drive very slowly in this area, because supposedly if you drive too quickly the water splashes up on the car’s undercarriage, and will corrode things, shorting out the electrical systems due to its high salt content and stranding you:

Overnight at the Moana Surfrider in Honolulu

Hawaii February 2014, hotels 1 Response »

Mar 072014

After picking up the car at Alamo (which is actually off-site at the Honolulu Airport) we endured the typical slow evening traffic into Waikiki. Gave the car to the valet, and headed to the desk to check-in. This was my first stay since the renovations, and was looking forward to seeing what sort of room we’d receive. The app looked promising, with something called a “Penthouse Ocean” room.

Upon check-in he confirmed that was indeed a suite, and was on the newly renovated top floor of the tower wing. It was a very large room, with a huge bathroom, and an even bigger rooftop lanai:

We still had about 30 minutes of happy hour left, and went to check out the new lounge that had been added as part of the renovations. Free beer and wine and a decent selection of evening munchies – definitely a great addition to this hotel! It was getting late by this point, so we headed next door to Duke’s restaurant for some beers, burgers, and of course the delicious and famous Hula Pie:

We were exhausted by this point from the long day trekking around Molokai, and ended up crashing quite early. The view from the lanai in the morning east over Waikiki was fantastic:

3 days in Kona at the Sheraton Kona and King Kam’s Beach Resort

Attractions, Hawaii February 2014, hotels, Restaurants 1 Response »

Feb 232014

One problem I was having when booking this trip was the price of rental cars. They were absolutely outrageous, coming in at well over $100 a day for a compact car. Ugh, and that was on the cheapest sites. I spent some time on google, and eventually came across Discount Hawaii Car Rental dot com. Checked their rates…and it seemed too good to be true…plus they weren’t even asking for a credit card to confirm it! I booked, they told me it had been booked with Alamo, and I checked Alamo’s website…and it was there. Wow.

Fast forward to Kona, and I get to Alamo to pick up the car. As promised, it was a two door jeep, and the price was as promised as well. Wow…score another win for teh interwebz!

Short 20ish minute drive, and we were at our hotel, the Kona Sheraton. Parking was an absolute bear, with no spots at all in the lot. Eventually I just gave up and gave the car to the valet…which turned out to be good, because when I checked in it turned out valet was complimentary for Starwood Platinum members. Something they should probably alert you about in advance maybe?

There was good news, however. We’d been upgraded to an “Ohana Suite” which was an amazing room with an oceanfront view. Found out one other disappointing thing at check-in: it was 9:15pm and all the hotel restaurants were already closed. Seriously, I know it’s a resort and it’s Hawaii, but no food after 9pm?! We ended up ordering room service (which delivered only until 10) and had two outrageously priced burgers and beers for like $60. At least they were quite tasty.

Then, it was time to brush the teeth…or so we thought. Turned on the faucets…and a stream of brown water came out for like 30 seconds. What is this, Sochi? I know well enough to avoid “dangerous face water” but it was running clear after a minute, so figured it was at least good enough to shower in. Called the front desk, they apologized profusely, and sent up several bottles of water for drinking…and then we passed out.

Woke up reasonably early, maybe 8a and the view outside the room of the pools was amazing:

The hotel had a great little coffee shop/stand, and we grabbed some great kona coffee and small snacks for breakfast. This is something I wish more hotels had: a local coffeeshop with great food and drinks so you don’t have to have a giant breakfast in the morning.

The pool looked awesome out our room, so we opted to spend the rest of the morning being completely lazy and sitting by the pool until check-out time. It was fantastically relaxing and just what I needed to start the trip off. Yes, I said check-out. We were in Kona for three nights, but ended up booking each night at a different hotel. When I booked, the Sheraton was only available the first and last nights, and the King Kam Courtyard was only available the middle night. Odd, but at least I’d get two Starwood stay credits!

We checked out at exactly noon, and drove to the King Kamehameha Hotel to check in. It’s right in the middle of the city, and I’d stayed there many times 15+ years ago when I used to go to Kona each fall to volunteer at the Ironman. The hotel was in much rougher shape than I remembered, but maybe that was partly to do with the lack of the festive atmosphere I remember from Ironman…who knows. They did give me a free box of chocolate covered macadamia nuts, however, for being a Marriott Gold Member. Heh. The hotel was so-so and really musty smelling, and I don’t know…I just had really good memories of it and it was a bit of a let down.

Walked to lunch at the Kona Brewing Company, about a 10 minute walk from the hotel:

Very tasty Cuban sandwich with Kailua Pork, and even tastier samplers:

Praia, Cape Verde – Day 1

Attractions, Cape Verde, hotels, New Years 2013-2014, Restaurants No Responses »

Feb 052014

Got to the hotel, no problem with check-in, but the only oddity was that the only rooms with queen or king beds were the suites…and “they are all taken by the Royal Air Maroc crew.” Uh, ok. So two twin beds pushed together would have to do. Kind of strange for a resort hotel, no? Since the TAAG crew had ate all the nomz, I was starving…and yes, dinner was still available…for 5 more minutes. Ran to the hotel bar, ordered a sandwich and some wine to my room, then went to crash.

Got up in time the next morning to check out the breakfast, which was included in the room. It was slightly below average, but there were some meats and cheeses, plenty of breads and pastries, along with a selection of juices. I think there might have been eggs made to order too, but there were some hard boiled ones and that did the trick for me.

Jordan’s hotel was supposedly about a 15 minute walk away, so I set out to meet him and explore the city a bit. View on the walk to his hotel:

Mural on a building next to his hotel:

Some buildings in the centre of town:

São Tomé e Principe

Attractions, hotels, New Years 2013-2014, Sao Tome e Principe No Responses »

Feb 022014

As I mentioned before, after a short taxi ride we arrived at our hotel, the Miramar by Pestana. I hadn’t paid a lot of attention, and didn’t realize there were two Pestana properties on the island, only about a 10 minute walk apart. I’d booked a junior suite since it was only 15 euros more than a standard room. We checked in, went to our individual rooms, and then drama started.

My room didn’t have wifi. The hall did, but it didn’t reach my room. Down to the front desk “oh so sorry, that is the only junior suite we have. Would you like a standard room for the reduced price?” Sure. So, off the standard room I go…but…the air conditioning was broken. Thankfully, this time I hadn’t unpacked my bag. Off to try a third room….nope, internet doesn’t reach this one either.

The front desk guy was extremely patient and helpful, and after trying five rooms, we determined there were no rooms available with internet AND air conditioning. Seems Jordan had gotten lucky with his, the first or second room in the hall. I retired to the empty hotel bar to have a beer to ponder my options.

They called the manager (since there wasn’t one on site) who agreed I could move to the other Miramar property, the Pestana Sao Tome if I wanted….but would have to pay the extra 15 euros over the price. Sigh, fine.

They had a rattly old hotel van, which would drive me there. Got there, and asked before I committed to anything to see both a junior suite and a regular room. The regular room was more than fine, except…the air conditioning didn’t work. LOL. Second regular room was just fine, and after almost two hours of hotel hopping I finally had a room. Whew.

Finally in a room, I headed down to the poolside bar/restaurant to get something to eat before bed. The drink of the month was the caipirinha, so I couldn’t pass it up. Along with some peanuts and a decent sandwich, I was happy and finally off to bed!

Woke up the next morning, and checked out the breakfast. Quite a good spread with made-to-order eggs, waffles, etc, tons of fruits and pastries, and really tasty local coffee. Overall, the breakfast was pretty good, and given what I’d expected in Sao Tome I thought it was excellent. The view from my room wasn’t bad either. Right onto the pool and the Atlantic, looking due west:

Luanda, Angola

Angola, Attractions, hotels, New Years 2013-2014, Restaurants 5 Responses »

Jan 292014

Taxi only took about 30 minutes from the airport, and arrived at my hotel, the Epic Sana Luanda, around 10:30am. The hotel had plenty of rooms available, but wanted to charge a half day to check in early. They told me to come back at noon and “maybe” I could check in then with no charge. I stored my bags with the valet, and asked to see a manager about an exception. They ran around for about 20 minutes trying to figure out how to handle someone who challenged their “no” and eventually, one of the front desk guys told the other guy to just let me check in…victory…and he also apologized and offered a room on the top floor. Score!

Originally, I was torn about booking this hotel. Hotels in Luanda are insanely expensive, but after my less-than-happy evening in Cabinda I figured for one night I could afford to splurge. At $495 a night, the Epic Sana was definitely a splurge! Got up to the room, which was nice and comfortable and had great views of Luanda looking out onto the waterfront and corniche, where I’d walk later:

Jordan had gone to check into his hotel, so once I settled in I went across the street to a small market to get some drinks and water, and then set out in search of lunch. I couldn’t really find anything enticing in the immediate area, so settled for the hotel’s third floor rooftop/pool restaurant. The menu came….and the Luanda sticker shock set in again. If I was considering champagne, I had another guess coming! The prices were stratospheric! Continue reading »

Cabinda, Angola

Angola, Attractions, hotels, New Years 2013-2014, Restaurants 2 Responses »

Jan 262014

Right around noon, the taxi dropped us at the only hotel we’d managed to find online, the Hotel Maiombe. Now, “find online” didn’t mean it appeared bookable anywhere, and when I tried to call the only number I could find online it just went to a dead end. So, we were hoping it was there, and not too absolutely depressing.

When we got there, yes, they did have rooms, and the lobby area didn’t look too bad, a corner filled with local crafts for sale, and a very festive sitting area:

The rooms? Well, I was less than impressed. Air conditioning was barely functional, standard rooms only had twin beds, and yes, there were suites with a queen bed (but not much more space) for $50 more. The suite also felt a little cooler, so I decided to go for it. Not sure if it was a worthwhile choice or not, but… At least things appeared mostly clean, and the rooms were functional, albeit a bit spartan.

Biggest downside was, it was a complete ripoff. About $160 for a two star (at best) room, or around $210 for the suite. Also, no internet in the rooms at all. Thus, we hung out in the hotel bar/lounge in the evening, which did have internet and very affordable drinks. Around $4 for huge beers, so all in all, it wasn’t bad. Just a total ripoff for the price paid.

Just one other comment on the hotel: when I went to bed around 11 or 12, it was warm in the room – very warm. The small air conditioner was putting out a little cool area, but only enough to cool the area right underneath it. So, I slid the bed right underneath it, and ended up sleeping face at the foot of the bed to get a little cool air – it was finally enough to make the room good enough to fall asleep. At least there were no mosquitos in the room!

So, the minute we checked in, the clerk demanded payment up front – in cash. He spoke no English, but we finally managed to communicate we’d head to the ABM, and be back in 10 minutes. Fortunately there was no shortage of ABMs in Cabinda, and it was easy enough to take care of. Everything sorted with the hotel, we headed out to explore for a bit.

Mission one, find lunch. We headed to the first restaurant Jordan had found, which was billed as a local sports pub that was “popular with expats.” There were precisely two people inside, and one dish on offer, and it just seemed off. Bonus though, it was next to the local football club, which had a cool statue of their mascot outside:

So, we kept walking. There was another restaurant down the road, so we kept walking:

Pointe-Noire, Congo

Attractions, Congo, hotels, New Years 2013-2014, Restaurants 2 Responses »

Jan 232014

Since I’d arrived so late the night before, I made a point of sleeping in a bit, but got up to enjoy breakfast. I guess this would be a good time to talk about the hotel. Based on reviews online, and the fact it came in the middle of the trip, I decided to book at the Atlantic Palace Hotel. I figured by this point I’d want something a bit nicer and more “comfortable.” Let me just say – the premium was completely not worth it in this case. The rooms were comfortable enough, maybe high three star. The beds were comfortable, the AC was nice and cold, and everything was clean. Common areas were also clean, and the pool was nice…but nothing life-changing.

I’d gotten up early for breakfast because I was told the night before at check-in that it was included. Well, first I accidentally put the wrong room number on the receipt, and when I was walking through the lobby later the restaurant hostess yelled after me “THIEF! COME HERE!” Um, honest mistake? Hello? Then, I found out why…breakfast was not included, and no amount of protesting was going to make them care that they’d given me misinformation….I was going to have to pay the 10,000 CFA – over $20. Ouch, I would have just stopped for coffee in town had I known.

Overall, the hotel was “nice enough” but certainly no more than three star. Definitely not worth three price of the other 2-3 star options in town, especially when you factored in the service which left an incredibly sour taste in my mouth. Most of the management staff were Lebanese, and rather rude and nasty to other customers as well from what I saw in a few interactions. I can’t say I was the least bit impressed.

Oh yes, breakfast. Got sidetracked there…it was again, “good enough” although the pastries seemed a bit stale, and there were lots of lebanese inspired dishes, hummous, feta cheese, etc. Again, good enough, but certainly not worth going out of your way for. I wish I’d slept in another hour and gone to the delicious coffee shop across the street.

At least my room had a pretty cool view:

Jordan’s hotel looked to be about 1km away, so decided to walk down to meet him. Was an interesting walk and let me see a bit of the city, so was glad I did it. We sat in his hotel’s lobby planning the day a bit, and once we had a rough plan we set out.

First stop was to head down to the waterfront where the giant Total complex was, to check out a restaurant I’d heard was good for dinner – it was about a 1km walk from his hotel, so we set off. Found the restaurant, inside the Total complex, and it was packed with a busy lunch crowd. Not too busy, however, that we couldn’t get a few pics off into the water from the deck, since it would be much too dark later that evening:

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