Daily Detours for the Week of June 26

If relaxation is like a foreign word to you, then it’s time to enlist the help of the professionals. Slide into next level chill at Beyond Rest with a private floatation experience. As you step into your flotation room, you’ll be faced with what looks like a big, enclosed bathtub. This is your floatation pod, designed to eliminate all distractions, including sights, sounds, tactile sensations and even gravity. After a few moments in the pod, you’ll feel like you’re floating through space since the salt water is buoyant enough to support you entirely. The water is also heated to body temperature, so you can’t tell where you end and the water begins. Floaters report increased energy, feelings of calm and total relaxation. Life is nuts, take time for you and float away all your stress.

For a place named after somewhere hellish or hidden, Netherworld is all rather inviting. Shelves of board games. Rows of arcade games. A wall of old-school consoles with retro televisions to match. Daytona given pride of place. The sound of The Simpsons’ theme filtering through the playing space. Brisbane’s first arcade game bar is sure to become your new favourite hangout. From the moment you walk into Netherworld, you’ll notice a laidback vibe — and games a plenty, unsurprisingly, all urging you to leave your workweek woes at the door. If you like hitting flippers, smashing buttons and passing go, all while eating juicy burgers and downing homemade sodas, you’ll like it here. Trust us.

Feed your stomach, your hard-earned thirst and your brain at Shady Palms on Wednesday. Yes, all three are possible at once, and they’ll only set you back a crisp blue note. Mid-week is trivia night, as well as $10 chicken wings with a Young Henry’s night— and you know you’ll feel more knowledgeable once you’re full of those tasty wings. In fact, it’s the kind of deal that really could tempt you to Stones Corner every week and you’d never get tired of it. If filling your head with seemingly inane facts and titbits is your claim to fame among your friends, you really do owe it to yourself to go along.

The Story Bridge is a Brisbane icon, an icon you can climb. Even if you haven’t spent much time driving or running across it, you’d still be used to the sight of people in daggy grey and blue jumpsuits marching up and down the length of it. So, we reckon that this Thursday you should throw all inhibitions and fashion cares to the wind, and add ‘bridge climber’ to your CV. Sign up for a Twilight Climb to see some pretty spectacular sites as traffic whizzes by below. It’s time to get over that fear of heights because there’s not much else that is as Brisbane as the Story Bridge climb. Book in and see the city from a truly unique perspective.

Bongo’s Bingo is a games night like you’ve never seen before. Part club, part rave, and, of course, part bingo night, this unlikely fusion event has been wildly popular in the UK since 2015. Now, they’re taking the show on the road and launching in Australia this June. Tonight at The Tivoli, patrons can expect all of the debauchery of the original British version of Bongo’s Bingo, including rave intervals, dancing on tables and a loose kind of bingo that you definitely never played with your nan. The victorious players can win everything from big cash prizes to a Hills Hoist — there are some absolutely ridiculous prizes on offer. The Brisbane launch event will be presided over by founder and comic ringleader Jonny Bongo who, as one would expect, is a character in the truest sense of the word and even holds the world record for the biggest ever pub quiz. Tickets are $40 and include six games of bingo.

While your favourite Thai restaurant and their pad thai will always have your heart, there’s something pretty special (and impressive) about being able to recreate those flavours at home. This Saturday, kick your culinary skills into overdrive, and get down to Vanilla Zulu for their Thai Fusion cooking class. During three fragrant, mouthwatering hours crafting your very own three-course meal, build up an appetite learning your way around Thai curry pastes, then demolish your creations feeling fully satisfied with your work. Seasonal availability means that the dishes are always changing, but expect to whip up something along the lines of massaman beef and basil spring rolls, yellow Chiang Mai curry and coconut and lime gelato.

It’s all in the name. The sheer amount of food on offer at Eat Street Markets is astonishing. Hand over your $2.50 to get in, and then scuttle around the food stalls trying to weigh up the virtue of Pizzeria 4007’s spicy salami pizza versus Japanese pizza, all while telling yourself it’s totally fine to have churros for dinner because you’re an adult and can make decisions for yourself. There are also plenty of retail stores and shops to keep you occupied, but let’s be real, you’re here for the treats. Come with a group of mates because there are plenty of food options to suit every want and need. Though the market can be crowded, the atmosphere is simply alive and buzzing, and the air filled with tempting aromas wafting from the stalls. The only real issue here is deciding where to begin, and maybe when to stop too.

Personalise your next adventure via The Playmaker, driven by Mazda3.

By Laura Dawson, Sarah Ward and Marissa Ciampi.