Darwin Diary: First 24 Hours in Darwin City

Hello from hotel room no. 503 somewhere in Darwin. I have been here for almost 24 hours. The first thing I noticed is the disproportionate number of people wearing Akubra (cowboy) hats at the airport and around the city today. I regret not packing mine because I thought it would not be appropriate for Darwin City.

Today, we slept in, went to the Parap Village Markets, and walked around the city centre. We wanted to go to the Deckchair Cinema, but the movie playing today was not something we wanted to watch. So we continued walking and stumbled upon the buzzing Greek Festival. We wanted to try honey-glazed doughnuts, but the queue was too long. Instead, we walked into a random Woolworths, stocked up on snacks, headed back to the hotel, and ordered dinner from UberEats.

We paper-scissor-rock-ed who would pick up the food from the lobby, and an hour later, we had just finished two curry rice meals from Saffron, the so-called award-winning Indian restaurant in Darwin.

I got a Butter Chicken and Aloo Mutter combo, and Jik had Lamb Curry and Chickpea with garlic naan on the side. The whole thing cost us $70+ (food in Darwin, we quickly learned, is expensive). Thankfully, the food is good, and the rice is plentiful.

Also, I have developed a very healthy appetite for Butter Chicken recently, so it was extra satisfying.

Man, we overate, and it didn’t cross my mind that we shouldn’t have eaten so much this late. I regret it now, but I am glad we tried it. After an underwhelming Indonesian breakfast (Ayam Penyet for me and Mie Jawa for Jik) and an equally sad Italian lunch (Focaccia, Arancini and Cannoli — none were good) at Hello Darling, the Indian takeaway from Saffrron finally hit the spot.

Alright, guys, more tomorrow. I am getting tired and ready to sleep with a full tummy.

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