Today is my last day in Cairns, and I have been trying very hard to come up with words, sentences, and paragraphs to describe Cairns.
Cairns has always been on my Australia-to-visit list after I moved here. It’s higher on the list than Brisbane and Perth ━ maybe even third after Uluru and Tassie.
But this Cairns trip wasn’t a planned one.
We booked a very last-minute flight ticket after finding out that we (1) wouldn’t be able to go overseas due to visa issues, (2) Byron Bay, our first domestic choice, was still flooded, and (3) desperately did not want to waste the most extended annual holiday period, the Easter break.
After a week here, if asked whether I’d recommend Cairns to fellow travellers, I’d say yes because it’s a gateway to many Unesco world heritage sites and natural wonders ━ including the oldest rainforest, Daintree. Seeing Lizzie, the iconic saltwater croc in Daintree, up and close easily was one of the highlights of the trip.
I said it’s a gateway because Cairns city was, well… I can’t think of a better word than bland.
The food in Cairns is expensive and bad, including in the two Indonesian restaurants I visited here. Yes, it has markets and galleries, but it didn’t seem enough without seeing a single indie bookstore during my whole week here.
Cairns is one of the very few cities I have ever been to and couldn’t see myself living in, even temporarily. Even the thought of another version of myself in a parallel Universe living there (maybe even happily!) makes me sad.
You’d be surprised then to know that I am planning to revisit Cairns ━ hopefully not shortly ━ I envision a girls’ trip, where we spend our days on one of the islands, driving down to Port Douglas, snorkelling the barrier reef, chilling by the beach and finally try some Indian food here like Mango Chicken in 7 Spices.
Update: A devastating news, Lizzie was killed in 2023 🙁 Why would people do such a thing is beyond me. I hope the killer is found and prosecuted.
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