I blinked as the sun glared in my eyes. The tall skyscrapers barely hid the sun as it towered above. I had just walked out of the hotel I had been staying at, the Chevron Renaissance. I glanced at the pamphlet in my hands, carefully making note of all the interesting things the Gold Coast had to offer. On the pamphlet there was a overhead view of the city. Many skyscrapers populated the city as well as tall office buildings and residential building. The Gold Coast happened to be the home of the Q1, the tallest residential building in the world, standing at 300 meters tall, and as it towered over me, it really seemed to be true.

The pamphlet spoke of a “spooky haunted house”. Dracula’s Haunted House to be precise, which boasted five stories of attractions, with animated, scary sculptures. The supernatural had always intrigued me and I love those cheesy old Hammer horrors, so I decided that the haunted house would be my first stop. Everything in this city was within walking distance so I began my journey. The warmth of the sun fell on my shoulders, I was enjoying the heat.

As I headed off I noticed many things. A church, with words “Jesus saves” written on the billboard. A gas station with many cars lining up. I looked to the left and saw a large building. As my eyes glanced at the bottom to the top, I was amazed -the building dwarfed me. I got dizzy looking towards its pinnacle. It was crazy. I marveled, I had never seen a building this huge before.

I continued my walk towards the haunted house surveying my surroundings as I went. I noticed a young lady walking in the same direction I was. She had dark chocolate brown hair, which was well past her shoulders. She wore a yellow and white floral dress that cut of just above her knees. My eyes then wondered off to the road and I noticed the cars that passed me. Most of them were driven by a mixture of young adults and middle-aged business men. Things seemed to pass by in a mist of shimmering heat and colour.

Everything here felt so different. It was like I didn’t belong. The movement, the skyscrapers, the cool beach air. It was all so different to what I was used too. Finally, I made my way to the entrance of the haunted house. During a brisk walk which was only meant to take around ten minutes, I had seen so many things, and paid so much attention to detail that those ten minutes had turned into two hours. It is amazing what you can see when you really start to notice what surrounds you.

I would highly recommend visiting Dracula’s Haunted House too. I had a whale of a time; I think I laughed the entire time I was in there. It provided such a contrast to the bright sun, summer clothes and business people outside, which was fun. The Golden Coast has a huge variety of things to do. It’s a destination I think every backpacker who has the chance should visit.

Liz writes for UKTravelBug and a couple of travel related subjects closer to home, like hotels in Slough and local attractions in the South of England.