Fatima and Faye were due to arrive today, though I wasn't sure which spot they had selected as a hotel.
I explored my way to the beach, which was an OK beach but it was too busyt with cars and there wasn't really anywhere I could just lie on the sand and enjoy the sunshine and surf.
I found a restoran that served nasi ayam, and then made my way down the main road looking for somewhere to rent a bike. After making my way all the way to the tourist information place, I had failed to find anywhere, but had managed to locate all the duty free shops, which I was sure would be handy later if I wanted cheap beer!
At the tourist information shop, I suspect that they were not prepared for someone who wanted to rent a bicycle, because they went off elsewhere after my question, and returned to advise me that it would be 40RM for 24 hour rental This was almost twice the price of renting a motorbike, and adding on the required deposit, I wasn't sure if it was something I was willing to invest in after all!
I made my way back to the hostel through the back roads, which had a much better local look than the new main roads, and it made me very aware of how much the whole island had become a tourist hotspot, and causing it to lose the magic that had originally attracted the tourists in the first place.
Once I got back to the hostel, I headed along the road to the local food place to get some nasi goreng, where they seemed impressed that I was able to order using Malay rather than English.
When I got back to the hostel, Manu, from Austria, had arrived there and was looking for the reception staff. I explained to her that it was very quiet and she could probably just grab any of the rooms or any of the beds that looked free.
I also took the opportunity to invite Manu to come along with Fatima and Faye and myself to the Skybridge, which was the plan for the next day, and there was definitely going to be enough room in the taxi for one more.