We were met at the airport after a day of travel by our local guide from Siti’stanjungputing Tour – Desi. Desi got us ensconced in a local hotel (see below review about our experiences with the Grand Kecubung Hotel) and gave us a quick synopsis of our tour to begin the next day. Desi was professional yet warm and made sure we were taken care of for our room. Desi told us our local Orangutan guide would pick us up from the hotel the next morning at 9:30. He would let the front desk know to call us when he arrived. We were all set for a great adventure!
It was a long day and we went to our room and freshened up for dinner and then went down to the Hotel restaurant. We walked in and were being seated and asked if we wanted the buffet (we said yes, please as I love a good buffet!). Then another waiter rushed over to tell us they were fully booked for dinner (even though there were empty seats and booths)! This was a surprise as we were almost seated already. He asked if we would like food sent to our room, I quickly envisioned how we would eat a meal in our room without a table or chairs and said no thank you. He again insisted we could have room service (at a higher price?) But, I could not bring myself to sit on the bed and eat a meal after a very tiring day!
So, we decided to go on an expedition to find a restaurant serving dinner! It was prayer time in this small Muslim area and the Mosques were calling to prayer. We looked for any restaurants that were open. The only one we found which was recommended by our tour operator was across the street from a mosque with a very loud speaker. So, we gave up and went back to the hotel after checking every place on a couple of streets that were a little quieter.
When we arrived back at the hotel about an hour later there was actually no one in the hotel restaurant! I was shocked and amazed and could not determine the reason why we were turned away. Chock it up to an unpleasant experience! And continue on…
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TravelSpirit-The Hungry Traveler 