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Oceania » Australia » Queensland » Cairns » Cairns City
March 31st 2009
Published: May 23rd 2009
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The greyhound from Mission Beach was one of the more modern buses we had ever traveled on.
After a somewhat short bus ride from Mission Beach, Hillary finally reached Cairns on Mar 31, 2009! Making it to Cairns really made it feel like we had just accomplished something big. This was the first leg of our journey, and it seemed like we had just put one quarter of our trip behind us. For the first time, traveling around the entire country actually seemed plausible. Lol

So what’s Cairns like? Well, it’s like a city on the shoreline, that isn’t very big and has very few tall buildings. Everything was within walking distance. The Tuesday that we arrived, we walked down to the YHA and checked in our stuff. The fact that we were in a city and that it was Tuesday meant that we could go see cheap movies that night, so we dashed out to see Knowing, the one with Nicholas Cage. It was fine. Afterwards I actually stuck around and saw Watchmen again. Even better the second time. Lol

Wednesday was a slow day that allowed us to explore a bit. We checked out Cairns Central, which was the mall (a big mall) and its train station. The train though wasn’t for distance travel,
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Is it just me or does that police car look like it could do a bit od drag racing?
more for sightseeing. Then we saw the lagoon. Great little swimming area, and plenty of people soaking up the sun. That night Hillary went off to see Confessions of a Shopaholic, so I dropped by the casino. lol

Thursday we went looking around for a new hostel. The YHA was nice, but a little pricey. We found a place called Shennanigans, which was basically a bar with accommodation on the second floor. It was a lot cheaper, and even right around the corner! The rest of the day was spent hanging out at the hostel. But around dinner time we went down to the kitchen to make some food, and saw some pretty crazy stuff in terms of food preparation. Lol Hillary and I don’t usually make anything very extravagant. One of the main issues is the variety of food needed. Since we’re always on the move, we usually grab the basics (like pasta, some canned stews, bread, instant noodles, some fruits/vegetables…) and make whatever we can with that. But on Thursday we sat in the dining area (kitchen was too busy) and watched the great looking meals a lot of people were preparing! And the majority of the
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Plenty of mountains to check out during the drive.
“chefs” were men, taking their turn to cook for their little traveling group. I just remember Hillary leaning over and saying to me “Look at all the vegetables that guy is chopping up for his stirfry!” lol

Friday we actually moved into Shennanigans. The rooms were average, but they were private double rooms, meaning we could take a break from the dorms. Sharing with other people makes for a nice experience in meeting new travelers, but having people come in at all hours of the night, and others usually packing up to leave very early in the morning can get tiring. Washrooms were shared, as well with the kitchen, but we did get our own little mini fridge. It’s hard to believe how much you’ve been missing until you find yourself sharing a few fridges with a hundred other travelers and everyday is a challenge in terms of finding a good place for your little bag of food. Lol

Saturday started out the usual way, getting up around 9am, walking across the street to the Cairns Central mall and using some of the McDonalds free wifi. The mornings tends to be pretty good since there’s no one around,
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I was taking so many pictures during the ride, one of the other passengers offered to take a pic of the two of us!
and since it’s in a food court, you’re not as tempted to buy food. Though when lunch starts rolling around it’s hard to say no. lol That afternoon we did laundry, and as you may have heard us already say by now, it’s a whole day kind of affair. But we did find room to drop down to the bar that night and watch some of the live music! Hillary loves live music, and we could hear it from our room, so it would have seemed like a missed opportunity if we didn’t go. Lol When that was over and done with, I dropped by the 24 hour McDonalds which was a few streets away. I really wanted to work on a few blogs, and Hillary wanted to be well rested for her Cape Tribulation trip the next day. A got a few hours under my belt (until 3am) and then decided to turn in. Surprisingly enough, the McDonalds was still packed by this time. Everyone was dressed fairly well, so I suppose the clubs weren’t too far off. And with the alcohol wearing off, I guess people were ready for a late night snack. lol Now that’s something I
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Even more mountains.
can relate to, there’s not much better than heading out for some late night food with a good friend and chatting away until the sun comes up. Lol

Kevin (and Hillary)


Additional photos below
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The city definitely had a tropical climate.
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This was our traditional look when walking from the bus to the hostel.
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Is it just me or has the Michelin Man really let himself go?
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This was the first place we stayed in Cairns.
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A view from the second floor of the YHA.
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A view from the ground level of the YHA and the pool.
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Movie ratings are a bit different than Canada.
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The main city square.
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This was Cairns Central, the mall of the city.
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Since you're not allowed to swim in the ocean, it makes sense to have a lagoon to cool off in.
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Funny how there's no water on one side, but the other is like a paradise.
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Checking out the lagoon from the coast.
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This was Shenannigans.
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In the centre of the second floor was a somewhat open-air washroom area.
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Our room. Nothing special, but we did have our own fridge.
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We had a nice outside patio right outside all the rooms.


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