Boston, MA
The city of Cairns, Queensland is my favorite city in Australia. Its a tropical paradise with perfect weather year round and home to one of the last remaining pre-historic rain forests in the world and the city is also gateway to one of the greatest natural wonders : Great Barrier Reef. Cairns also happens to be a major urban center in northern Queensland. It is a city that balances nature and development with such an ease.
That day in mid June 2014 it looked like it had rained all day and thick fog covered the city, sun was dipping fast into the horizon when flew in to Cairns. On our ride to our hotel we got the first glimpse of Cairns as I thought about something that happened earlier that day : a cheerful Immigration Officer asked us where we headed as he checked our passports in Sydney airport, we told him we were flying to Cairns next, when he exclaimed "Its beautiful up there. You will like it", I had no idea he was being literal. The suburbs of Cairns looked stunningly gorgeous with lush thick green forests all around us. There was something about the place I could't put my finger on. It wasn't until we unloaded our bags from the taxi at the hotel, I took a deep breath and realized it was the air, how clean and fresh the air was in Northern Queensland. Wait there is something else, it is the tranquility. Although we were in a city the place was totally quiet. I looked around and saw Gum trees every where, the air felt cool and fresh, made me feel relaxed. The gentleman at the front desk came out and greeted us said "You must be Ven" I smiled, grabbed his outstretched hand, said indeed as we shook hands. He picked one of our bags and said "C'mon let me show your room".
Next day we got up late to a wet morning but was starting to let up and could see some signs of sun trying to crawl back out of clouds. A full night of sleep did little to give us any sense of repose as we were totally exhausted; we had been through umpteen time zones. Catching our flight at O'Hare airport in Chicago a week ago seemed like a distant memory. Our 4-day stop at Auckland New Zealand did some wonders in terms of adjusting to the climate down under. Back in Cairns we decided we would go hit the town, get something to eat, buy supplies and some groceries.
The couple who managed the hotel were very friendly. They had been together for the last 5 years, had done their share of ratrace in a big town in the south, raised their kids, their both marriages fell apart, went through divorces, met up, accepted an offer to run a hotel and decided to move up north in search of a new life. Presently the lady gave us pointers as where to eat in town and things to do around the city. The guy tells us Cairns is typically dry in June and rain is quite unusual for this time of the year; I guess we brought rain from Chicago with us.
The Captain Cook highway(Rt 1) also called Sheridan St in the town runs through the business district along the coast, a quarter mile away from it, splitting the downtown area right in the middle. This is where you would find most of hotels, stores, markets, gas stations, restaurants and all sorts of businesses located on either side of the busy street. Our hotel was on the north end of the city and it took us about 30 minutes to walk to the town center. The town center "Cairns Central" as they call it is where everything comes alive. The young European tourists barely in their early 20's who had been on a month long trip outback on a camper just got back in town to check into a hostel. A local housewife came here from western part of the town to do her shopping and fill their prescriptions. An older couple who sent their kids off to college came up from Melbourne to see Great Barrier Reef. Two aboriginal buddies came down from Port Douglas to catch up with their friends...
==Thank You==
The city of Cairns, Queensland is my favorite city in Australia. Its a tropical paradise with perfect weather year round and home to one of the last remaining pre-historic rain forests in the world and the city is also gateway to one of the greatest natural wonders : Great Barrier Reef. Cairns also happens to be a major urban center in northern Queensland. It is a city that balances nature and development with such an ease.
That day in mid June 2014 it looked like it had rained all day and thick fog covered the city, sun was dipping fast into the horizon when flew in to Cairns. On our ride to our hotel we got the first glimpse of Cairns as I thought about something that happened earlier that day : a cheerful Immigration Officer asked us where we headed as he checked our passports in Sydney airport, we told him we were flying to Cairns next, when he exclaimed "Its beautiful up there. You will like it", I had no idea he was being literal. The suburbs of Cairns looked stunningly gorgeous with lush thick green forests all around us. There was something about the place I could't put my finger on. It wasn't until we unloaded our bags from the taxi at the hotel, I took a deep breath and realized it was the air, how clean and fresh the air was in Northern Queensland. Wait there is something else, it is the tranquility. Although we were in a city the place was totally quiet. I looked around and saw Gum trees every where, the air felt cool and fresh, made me feel relaxed. The gentleman at the front desk came out and greeted us said "You must be Ven" I smiled, grabbed his outstretched hand, said indeed as we shook hands. He picked one of our bags and said "C'mon let me show your room".
Next day we got up late to a wet morning but was starting to let up and could see some signs of sun trying to crawl back out of clouds. A full night of sleep did little to give us any sense of repose as we were totally exhausted; we had been through umpteen time zones. Catching our flight at O'Hare airport in Chicago a week ago seemed like a distant memory. Our 4-day stop at Auckland New Zealand did some wonders in terms of adjusting to the climate down under. Back in Cairns we decided we would go hit the town, get something to eat, buy supplies and some groceries.
The couple who managed the hotel were very friendly. They had been together for the last 5 years, had done their share of ratrace in a big town in the south, raised their kids, their both marriages fell apart, went through divorces, met up, accepted an offer to run a hotel and decided to move up north in search of a new life. Presently the lady gave us pointers as where to eat in town and things to do around the city. The guy tells us Cairns is typically dry in June and rain is quite unusual for this time of the year; I guess we brought rain from Chicago with us.
==Thank You==
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