Day 2 in Gold Coast: Mermaid Beach and Surfer’s Paradise

August 21, 2013

Even in the middle of winter, beaches in Gold Coast are not to be missed because what makes Gold Coast famous are their sun, surf and sand so how could we miss out on at least the sun and sand even if we couldn’t surf? Gold Coast is built right next to a long stretch of unbroken beaches, so all you have to do is walk straight towards your left/right (depending which way you’re facing) and you’ll eventually reach a beach or coast at some point. The boo and I discovered this one afternoon by accidentally coming across a beach that was serene, quiet and wonderfully clean by the name of Narrowneck Beach, but that’s a post for another day.

Mermaid Beach is famous with surfers and even in winter there is no exception as the water is surprisingly and pleasantly warm when compared to the cold wind and sand on the beach. Only issue is after you’re wet from all that seawater and a breeze blows right through you, you can seriously get the chills! On our second day at GC, we made a trip to Mermaid Beach and made a beeline for their famous seafood.

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Seafoods on Mermaid is located just a stone’s throw away from the beach and serves up a wide array of seafood choices. There’s a chiller at the counter where you can pick fresh oysters, mussels or calamari, salmon or prawns. The shop is pretty small with only three to four tables, so the boo and I ended up sitting outside and freezing in the cold. :(
Except it’s pretty pathetic for me to admit that I was freezing since the locals were dressed in a string vest/shorts/slippers combo and sitting outside like it was just another warm summer’s day while we were wrapped up in jeans, shawls and stockings.

More photos after the jump.

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True to the recommendations we got, the seafood was fresh as a peach. The boo and I shared a mixed platter which consisted of oysters, calamari, prawns and fish. No complains (albeit fried again) since everything was top-notch and super fresh. Although on the second day of our trip every time I saw chips I vomited a little in my mouth. Too. Much. Damn. Chips. With. Food. In. Aussie.

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Remember that seafood salad which I was ranting about in one of my previous posts? That red salad is exactly the one I was talking about. Can you believe that actually cost about 6.90AUD??

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Because it was my first time walking on sand (or so I remember; I forget the things I did when I was very little) and the sand at the slope towards the beach was so soft from all the repeated foot traffic, I was clutching on to the boo for dear life while screaming and screeching all the way down ahem. Actually more embarrassing was that Jane and I stood on the head of the slope for a couple of minutes before actually going down ourselves. In my defense I was afraid of getting sand in my shoes as I was wearing stockings on that day.

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The seas seem to be extraordinarily blue in Australia. It really is quite mesmerizing. <3

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We’ll get back to this girl shortly.

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This is the little sister of the girl I photographed at the beach just now! Turns out that the boo’s dad and the girls’ dad were striking up a conversation on the benches above and when we joined them, this little girl ran up to me and touched my necklace and glasses and kept saying “your necklace is so nice, your sunglasses are so nice!” Too cute! Yeah and Jason fell in love with their bulldog.

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After having a great time shooting and playing with the little kids (as well as getting my first encounter with sun damage) we headed down to Surfer’s Paradise for dinner and a walk around the Beachfront Markets.

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Surfer’s Paradise is home to various nooks and crannies hiding some of the best Asian food there is on Gold Coast! Notable mentions are the ramen which comes highly recommended by Malaysians (BangsarBabe included) and Australians alike, and Korean food! Korean food is so so so so good there!!

There’s a lot of nightlife and clubs there too (and also a swanky Hilton hotel) that we discovered while wandering around at the end of our stay at GC. I think Surfer’s Paradise is probably the hub of activity for young people in GC.

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At Surfer’s Paradise beach (more beaches). Yes we never get tired of taking photos.

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I was so excited to see a Movenpick at Surfer’s Paradise! The boo had it when he went to Switzerland and I’ve been sooo jealous since. I had panna cotta and mint chocolate chip for my first time and it was heavenly. A million times better than NZ Naturals/Baskin Robbins and even Haagen Dazs back here in KL. I loved it so much I had it a total of three separate occasions. I really indulged a lot on this trip!

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Jason snapped this photo of me. I don’t know why I looked so fierce. Probably telling off the boo about something again hehe.

Dinner was at The Coffee Club. IF you’re about to judge us or *facepalm us for having The Coffee Club, please bear in mind that it was only our 2nd day and we are tourists after all, with no idea of what’s good to eat in GC!

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The boo and I actually returned to Surfer’s Paradise on our own a couple more times. It was a great place, albeit a little seedy and dodgy at some areas with some hidden gems of good food. We found a place for convenient parking too, at Circle on Cavill. Basement parking where we paid only 10AUD for almost 6 hours of parking, and no need to keep topping up your parking meter like on street parking.

Stay tuned for Day 3.

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