July 10, 2011, 1331 pm
My sheer excitement and happiness was so palpable during the last week of June knowing that I will be leaving for Australia on Friday, July 1st. I went to the barber shop on Thursday for a haircut. The Filipino barber asked “Boss, what type of haircut? Do you want regular men’s haircut or something special, something stylish”? I responded by saying “No, nothing stylish, but not regular men’s either. US Navy cut, 0 on the side, 1 inch up”. And that he did! I was happy, and so ready to fly out! My youngest brother saw the haircut when I sent him pictures from the trip. He said it was nice, but also noted that I am sporting a light mustache and asked me why. Why? I really have no idea why – maybe just a change, that’s all!
So this Cairns Australia trip was actually a necessary one for me, albeit not being part of the Fellowship experience itself. My PNG visa is a Short-Term, Multiple Entry, Business Visa, where maximum stays of up to 60 days are allowed per visit. On or before the 60th day, the visa holder must get out of the country and re-enter again if needed. The NGO paid for my flight and one night worth of stay in a hotel. I paid for the second night myself plus all of the incidentals during the trip.
The hotel I reserved is on the outskirts of the touristy area of Cairns and is serviced intermittently by a shuttle bus to pick up and drop off patrons to the area attractions. I thought this will be the best case scenario since it will still be quiet and peaceful at night.
Friday – July 1st: I woke up early so I can pack my luggage. Nothing too extravagant since it would only be for 3 days and 2 nights. I still ended up bringing along a good size luggage with me anyway. My personal hired driver—Gary—and I had made plans for him to pick me up at 0700 AM since my flight is at 0920. He was nowhere to be found at 0700. I figured since all the locals operate on PNG time, I decided to give him a grace period of at least 15 minutes. When he did not show up at 0715, I decided to call him. His phone was disconnected. I must’ve called him about 20 times to no avail. Of course I started getting antsy. I did not call any taxi service because who knows what can potentially happen to me. It was already 0730 and still no Gary; not picking up the phone either. Finally, I just decided to call the NGO’s driver Aloise and told him my predicament. It took him a few minutes before he (Aloise) showed up since he also dropped the Senior Technical Officer in the office first. We arrived at the International Airport at 0815. I was beside myself because I do not know if I am going to make this flight or not. I like to be where I need to be early so that I can plan on an alternative in case something unforeseen comes up. Thankfully, everything went smoothly during the check-in procedure.
The Qantas Link flight was smooth and uneventful. I arrived just before noon and after exchanging travelers’ cheques, I called a taxi and went to the hotel. Cairns Colonial Club Resort was only 10 minutes away. The resort itself was situated 15 minutes away from the Esplanade—the touristy area of Cairns. After I checked in, I decided to check out what the hotel’s amenities were. I immediately made notations as far as where the fire exits and fire extinguishers were just in case, you never know. I surveyed what the local tourist attractions were. There was a lot to choose from—hot air balloon rides, wildlife tours, rainforest tours, snorkeling, diving, beach, parasailing, bungee jumping, glass bottom reef marine show, etc… For Saturday, I decided to book for the Green Island tour aboard the Big Cat, a tour of the Island, then Glass Bottom Boat ride with marine life show and fish feeding. In the afternoon, I booked for a wildlife tour at the Reef Dome. Then at night, I decided on a Dinner Show, a modestly uppity up dinner at Monde’s followed by a show by the famous Australian magician Sam Powers at The Reef Casino. At 2pm, after booking my selections, I took the shuttle bus and went downtown to the Esplanade. It felt good to be this closely immersed to Western civilization once again. I felt absolutely liberated! Understand that for two months, I was not able to walk outside of the apartment complex I am staying in and venture out into the community I lived in. So to celebrate this short freedom, I decided to take the afternoon opportunity to scale up the town I have never been to before and see the interesting places, ON FOOT! I walked north, east, south, and west, up, and down, left, and right, you name it! I was so giddy with excitement as I strolled and walked into the markets, seeing people of various ethnic groups from around the globe, this place being a tourist attraction after all. Most importantly, I felt so free to just roam around by myself not thinking about pick-pockets, robbers, muggers, and the likes. The streets are clean and free from litter. The air, ambience, and environment are just very different, very positive, and just plain welcoming!
I mentioned before that my first mission was to find a good pub with nice ale and homebrew as well as a good cheeseburger, just like Frodo and his Hobbits (well, not really the cheeseburger part), but as I strode down Spence Street, I chanced upon this little market section where a foodcourt is located. To my surprise, Chinese food also made it here, and I mean the same kind of American Chinese food that we have at Imperial Wok and Golden China in Howe Street New Haven! There were chicken on skewers, orange chicken, mandarin chicken, General T-Sos chicken, Egg-foo-young, dumplings, sautéed shrimps, eggrolls, and crab legs!!! It’s been almost three months since I had Chinese food so even though my gastric mucosa was churning and really yearning for a good Grade A USDA beef burger patty, I decided to have Chinese Food instead, the Australian kind that is. I am now beginning to think that there is a set of universal recipes shared only amongst the Chinese population on how to make these food items because they taste exactly like it is at Pacific Buffet and Grille in Wallingford and Panda Buffet in New London!!! After dinner, I walked to the other side of the town and found a nice, uppity up coffee place. Unfortunately, there is no Dunkin Donuts in Oz as a good French Vanilla or Hazelnut light and sweet would have sufficed. But since I saw a perfectly round, decadent, and delectable tiramisu on display, I decided to really treat myself and indulge. The cappuccino was ok, so-so to say the least, but this heavenly creation of lady fingers soaked in vanilla, mocha, and coffee syrup and covered with a smooth, velvety, rich, and creamy whipped up creation was really out of this world! Remember the movie “When Harry Met Sally (or is it When Sally Met Harry???, not sure now)”, well, maybe I was almost just about to become Sally as soon as the first bite hit the taste nerve endings, but I controlled myself and just let the taste buds go wild!!! After that succulent indulgence, I continued my walk until evening time. I watched a street side show of a guy who claims he’s the master of flames. Real good and artistic bloke… Even though I was tired, I had a good first night. I stopped by at the liquor store and grabbed two beers for the night. I did not get back to the hotel until past 11 pm.
Saturday, July 2nd: Big day today so I got up early. I had a nice “big boy” breakfast at the hotel’s Homestead Restaurant. After showering and getting dressed, I headed downtown again and checked in at the boat tour. It was a grey and dreary day; I thought the trip was going to be hampered by showers. The boat trip was ok for the most part, but there were some moderate waves going to the island. I was still OK at this time, but a lot of the Japanese tourists ended up needing to take anti-emetics. Ginger candies to the rescue… Green Island was really small; I toured the entire area reserved for tourist in about 20 minutes despite the occasional drizzles. I decided against having cocktails because I knew the motion sickness will probably get the best of me on the way back. Besides, we still had another boat ride in the Glass Bottom boat tour. The Glass Bottom boat tour was ok, the glass bottom was not as clear as we would have liked it to be but we were able to see the corals and marine animals of the Great Barrier Reef. Supposedly, the Great Barrier Reef is one of the largest in the world, it accounts for about 1/5 of the entire reef around the globe. The one elusive animal we did not chance upon is the Green Sea Turtle, supposedly there is an abundance of these creatures but we didn’t see one. How interesting is that? Sure enough, the motion seasickness got me on the trip back home. When we reached Cairns, I decided to go back to the hotel and rest for a few hours. I felt like most women feel during their first trimester. In the afternoon when my stomach had settled, I had a light lunch at McDonald’s. I was feeling good again because it tasted just like home, even the golden arches were the same. After lunch, I went to the Wildlife Dome. Different birds, furry animals, and reptiles were in this small sanctuary. There was an animal that resembled a small kangaroo. There were three koala bears. Huge pythons were in the cages. I did not see Tarzan or Jane… J The dinner at Monde’s was awesome. I had another spicy creation, a Malaysian curried beef over white Jasmine rice, pickled eggplant, and another rich and decadent chocolate lover’s cake. It would have been nice to have a company, or a date, to spend the splendor of the night. The forming and glistening beads of sweat in my forehead due to the spicy curried dish was offset and tempered by the nice sea breeze off of the Cairns Beach shores. After dinner, I went to The Reef Casino for the magical show. The Illusions Show by Sam Powers was simply, magical in all sense of the word. Aside from all the magical artistries and abilities he possesses, he is not bad to look at. As a matter of fact, he is a very nice, young, handsome Australian bloke that he is! And I was exhilarated when he picked me as one of his participants in a panel when he did his card trick. It was a very nice end of the night show indeed. Afterwards, I ventured into the casino floor to see what kinds of games they have. Blackjack, Reef Poker (their version of Caribbean Stud Poker), Baccarat, Sic-Bo, and Roulette for table games. Surprisingly, there was no craps table or players yelling “seven” or “yo eleven”. The slot machines were in abundance, though, the place is still relatively small compared to Mohegan Sun or Foxwoods Resort Casino. I was ready to sit down at the Reef Poker, but I decided against it, because if the game would have gone well and on my side, I really would have hated to vacate my seat to go home since my flight is the next day. My mantra when gambling to go on and continue as long as the tide is on your side, however, when the tide turns, then it’s time to get the “colors in”. I figured it will be best to not just play this time. Maybe next time, maybe…
Sunday, July 3rd: Time to go home after a two short days of blissful fun and refreshing change of scenery and pace. After a robust breakfast in the morning at the Homestead Restaurant, I showered, got dressed, and packed my luggage again. I noticed that the belt felt tight again. I thought that all the weight I lost within 2 months of time living in PNG I gained back so easily within 3 days. Oh well, I deserved it! J I checked out, settled my bill, and headed for the airport early. I stopped by at Cairns Duty Free shop to get a few items for the NGO colleagues, especially Aloise, the one who rescued me Friday morning. I got him a 200 ml Jameson Whiskey to which he was overly ecstatic! He told me it has been a while since he tasted a good, imported whiskey like Jameson. I grabbed a few chocolates for the NGO staff as well. Then I brought home with me a 200 ml Bacardi Rum and 200 ml Tanqueray gin. These two are exclusively for me, to somehow keep my sanity at night for the next 2 months.
At 3 pm Sunday, I was back again in Port Moresby and to all things PNG. The now familiar sound of the native tongue Tok Pisin, the constant traffic, the betel nut stained pavement, the heightened security, the safety alert, the escorts and chaperones to go to places, the PNG time, and most importantly, back to work again. Cairns Australia was indeed a nice, much needed break. I hope that I painted you a vivid and visceral picture of what my short travel was like, and that you were able to imagine and feel the freedom that I felt even for 2 short days, and that you enjoyed the mental travel overall as you read my accounts here. I certainly enjoyed this place and I will never forget the experience. I don’t know though if this is going to be my first and last here, but if it is, I certainly have no regrets, only memories! So, in respect of the Australian tongue, I bid all of you “Gid’day mate!”
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