mrsjono

Everyone has heard of Cambodia and nobody asked me geography-related questions this time (though I suspect some people think that Cambodia = Vietnam = Laos). Instead, they asked me why I go to Cambodia and what's interesting there. I thought the answer was obvious. No I am not going there to build schools or toilets. It's sad that people know Cambodia as a poor country and nothing more. No one remembers its glorious past and the great empire who built Angkor in just 30 over years when cathedrals in Europe took a few hundred years.

Life is not good when you're in a country with a stronger currency and a higher standard of living. Australia was the first country/continent I visited outside Asia and it was quite a painful experience. I can't imagine how I'll survive with EUR, GBP, USD and JPY. I'll save the story for another day when I eventually get there. The exchange rate prior to departure was S$1=A$1.28. Here are 9 pointers on how to get by in Cairns:

1. Rent a vehicle.

If you plan to travel to other towns/cities and you don't have a driving licence, you better get one before your trip or travel with someone who can drive. Bus to Port Douglas costs A$70 pp return, renting a car (auto) is about A$62 for a day (exclude petrol for unlimited km). That's half the cost! Our hostel recommended A1 Car Rentals, a short distance away from where we stayed. The lady at the counter has a bad attitude though.

Globetrotters has a strong network with the tour operators and offer very competitive prices. Brian, Linda and John are nice folks who provided useful travel advice, arranged our transfers, outdoor activities and more importantly, settled whatever claims the operators were trying to make when we have already paid.


The hostel has basic kitchen facilities, free wifi, breakfast and evening meal at Woolshed. The only downside is its location; Lake Street is about 20 mins walk to town.




And the pain continues with food. A decent meal here costs around A$10. I can eat 4 meals with A$10 back home! We ate Chinese food for several days because it was the most value for money. A vendor even chided us for stacking too much food on the smallest plate!


We got really sick of Chinese food and switched to Western food. Shared a pathetic steak burger and chips (A$10) at Hides Coffee Cafe. There's free wifi and free flow of water from the dispenser! If you run out of water, you know where to go ;)


Another Hides-affiliated cafe selling English breakfast.


A happy boy jingling coins in one hand and holding a big scoop of mango gelato (A$3.80) on the other hand. Bellissimo Gelateria at Cairns Night Markets has a wide range of flavours in generous serving at affordable prices.


Lenard returned us the wrong change and we got away with free kebabs. Heh Heh. Actually, buying frozen food didn't help save much money. Grab whatever you can from home.


Staying in the burbs was boring. Even in town, there's nothing interesting to see or do. We hung around supermarkets on overcast days. Although Coles is quite far away from Lake Street, it has more deals than Woolworths.


Look for Saigon Hut in Rusty Market. Quite popular with locals. After sharing every meal for 6 consecutive days, we finally decided to have a bowl to ourselves (~A$8 pp). Nice home-cooked food prepared by a Vietnamese family. This is what I call real food.


This is the day we've been waiting for after scrimping and saving for so many days. Can't leave Cairns without having seafood, even if it costs A$30 pp!


Barnacle Bill's was recommended by Linda. Scallops and prawns were very fresh. This was the first time I felt so relieved to be back in Singapore. Fishball noodles and kway chap taste extra good!

Port Douglas, Australia

Cairns offers a wide range of outdoor activities but because we visited during monsoon season, we could only do the following activities below. It was raining and flooding for several consecutive days. We didn't even get to visit the beach. Bummer. Don't waste time waiting for the weather to clear cos it usually doesn't happen.

1) Balloon
I grew up associating a hot air balloon with the cartoon Around the World in 80 Days. It never occurred to me I would be able to see one or for that matter fly up into the sky in a basket for real one day.

I know I know it's 4 good months into 2011 and I've not posted a single entry. Sorry for the long hiatus! I just completed my first trip of the year and a series of frequently asked questions were "You look tanned. Where did you go? Which part of Australia? Cairns? Huh? Where's that? How did you spell that?" Tired of explaining, I tried to answer in another way "Oh you went to the Great Barrier Reef...and where's that? (Even if I tell you you also don't know ask so much for what.)