Time to explore more of Indonesia. I flew from Surabaya in East Java to Makassar in South Sulawesi.

At Juanda International Airport in Surabaya I was saddened to discover that I had no lounge access in the domestic terminal. There was a business lounge there but I couldn't get in with my Lounge Key membership that I get free with my credit card.

It's rare that I'm in a situation where I don't have lounge access at an airport. I usually only fly in economy if it's a short flight, and the Lounge Key normally gets me into a lounge on those occasions.

So this time I was forced to pay for an overpriced and mediocre quality nasi goreng in the food court, followed by an overpriced Coke Zero from the Circle K.

The Lion Air flight to Makassar was quick at just 90 minutes.

Thankfully, getting from the Makassar airport to my hotel was smooth as there's a Grab pickup point right outside the terminal exit. There are many Grab staff there to help you book a ride on the app if you need their assistance.

I appreciated that. There was no need to get into a bargaining match for a fair priced ride, like what happened when I arrived in Surabaya.

Arriving at my hotel, The Rinra, I was very impressed. The lobby was beautiful and the hotel was joined onto a mall, giving incredible convenience.

My expectations for the room were high. $120 per night is a lot for a hotel in Makassar, where decent hotels can easily be found in the $40 a night range.

The hotel itself was meeting those expectations up until I got to my room. It looked pretty small and basic, as well as a bit worn out.

I had paid $120 per night for a premier room, rather than $60 for a standard room. It was double the price but also supposed to be double the size and with a balcony.

I quickly discovered that the balcony was huge and that's what they were counting as the extra space. So I basically paid $60 for a standard room and another $60 for the balcony.

I was quite disappointed in how worn out the room was. Everywhere I looked I could find scratches and grubby marks. Some of which could easily have been cleaned or painted over, but weren't. And there was what looked to be black mold in the shower area. Not nice!

The internet speed was atrocious but after talking nicely with the staff they were able to give me a code which allowed me a faster connection, which was a bit closer to a reasonable speed.

On the plus side, the swimming pool was awesome and I had it mostly to myself.

The connection direct to the mall was also a massive plus. I made use of that every day to buy snacks from the big supermarket there.

All in all, I'd say the hotel would be worth it if you stay in a $60 standard room but the $120 rooms aren't worth the price.

After settling into my Makassar hotel I headed out into the city to explore for street food.

Perhaps the most famous street food in Makassar is Pisang Epe and it was so easy to find. At Lossari beach there were dozens of vendors, who sold almost exclusively Pisang Epe.

Pisang Epe is grilled banana that's then squashed and covered in syrup. Yum!

After enjoying a 15,000 rupiah ($1 USD) portion of pisang epe, I explored further. I was looking to try the local soup, Coto Makassar, but found a vendor grilling up some Sate Ayam, sticks of chicken satay. The smell was so enticing that I couldn't resist.

8 sticks of Sataya Ayam covered in a tasty peanut sauce were just 20,000 rupiah ($1.35).

So I spent just over $2 for dinner and dessert. I did eat my dessert before my dinner, but it was still a satisfying evening street food hunt.

I bargained with a local guy to take me back to my hotel on the back of his motorbike and ended up paying about double the normal rate. That's what happens when you don't use Grab, guys. But still, the bargaining banter is always fun.

Good night and see you on the next adventure in Makassar!

0:00 Surabaya Airport
2:02 Nasi Goreng
9:55 Lion Air Flight
17:36 Grab Taxi
23:41 Luxury Hotel
46:14 Losari Beach
49:33 Pisang Epe
59:30 Chicken Satay

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