I'm beginning to enjoy the launderette more and more! It seems to be the hot spot in more ways than one! First of all, I think I've only been down there four times, so don't think I'm spending all my time there, but every venture has been more productive than I thought possible. A couple of days before we had reached Sydney, I had come in from the pool and decided that I'd go check to see if a couple of washers were free before I jumped in the shower. As luck would have it, there was one lid open which meant that I had to hustle back to the room, sort the darks from the whites real quick and scamper back down the long hall without knocking over any old people before anyone else showed up for a quick wash. Yes, I made it!
I stuck around to make sure the washer filled up to the appropriate level and started it's thing. While hanging around waiting, this lady who lives in Sydney was giving this couple some advice on the beaches and the surrounding area. She even ran back to her to room to grab a map and pointed out all the spots she was telling them about. Well, I'm over there taking mental notes, glancing at the map and hoping that I can remember everything she is saying so I can size it up to my homework that I did before the trip. Well my curiosity got the best of me and I no longer was just an observer, I had to pose a couple of questions myself. She was so eager to help all us 'virgin' Sydney travelers. Well just then I realized I had my hand on a washer with the lid down but no vibration. I opened it to peer in and viola, empty! I hated to leave the conversation but this was my chance to get a second load going. On my mad dash back to the room I met Candice coming in and real fast I told her that I got some info on Sydney and Manly Beach from the laundry room but first I had to get back down there with our second load. She laughed as I dashed out the door. I got back down there just in time for the second of only three washers and went back to the room and laid out the goods on Manly Beach for her.
Then tonight, while everyone was at dinner, we went down to run a load of darks and I struck up a conversation with a couple from Australia. They had been to Hong Kong before this trip so they gave us a pretty good scoop on what we should do, what we should see and where we should go to shop. Very useful information. We always meet the nicest people in there and it's amazing how much you can learn about someone in just ten minutes. Needless to say I just can't get enough from that little party hole called the launderette! Oh, by the way, being able to go out on the side deck with the cushy lounge chairs, read a little Glen Beck and watch the sunset between the wash and dry cycle is a pure delight! Who couldn't stand to do a little laundry in this atmosphere?
On another note at our 'big dinner' in Melbourne we heard a horrifying story from the doctor's wife about this little thing called laundry wars. Seems the San Francisco to Sydney segment was 23 days so there were some battles over these 14 washer and dryers on board and this lady got caught up in one. She told us that she had put her clothes in the dryer and set her watch to go back in 60 minutes to pick it up. She got there and found her clothes in a basket and very wet. Well, this British guy had taken over her dryer and she asked him why he removed her clothes. He told her that she couldn't be tying up the dryers. She stated that she set her watch and they should have been done right now. She said this guy was 2" from her face and spitting as he yelled at her. She went to her cabin and got her husband, who is very tall, and he came down to get things squared away. Meanwhile someone called the purser's office to report him and they had come up to referee the fight. They asked this guy what his cabin number was and what his name was. He wouldn't give it to them. Seems they removed him and banned him from the laundry room. The Americans won that round! Seems there are some pretty uppity British people on the ship and you can spot them a mile away. On one occasion we heard a lady on the elevator complain about this woman getting off the elevator and how she treated her rudely just because she was an American. My, these 'old' British people can be vicious, ha, ha!
All in all I think they should start listing a meeting time for the laundry room in the daily program for informative travel tips and possibly some betting action on the British vs. the rest of the passengers!
Sandy
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