Chapter 6 - Cairns and Port Douglas, Australia

Cairns is about as touristy as a town gets. Every other shop sells useless crap such as stuffed kangaroos, keychains, and other trinkets. Here is a picture of one so that you get what I mean. There have got to be 300 of these shops in a 5 block radius.

The best part about Cairns is the lagoon. It is another one of these community pools where everybody goes to chill out during the day. Not as much beauty as Airlie Beach, but still worth the price of admission (free). It's one of these disappearing edge pools so you almost feel like you're in the ocean. There is no beach, just a muddy area that comes and goes with the tide.

As a solo traveler I noticed a few significant changes in the experience. First of all, I didn't have Steve as an icebreaker for meeting people. For those of you who don't know him, he's the kind of person you could probably drop into North Korea and before long he's making them laugh and people are offering to help him out. I, on the other hand, tend to intimidate others because of my imposing physical stature. So my first assignment for myself as a solo traveler was to smile more and meet people. After working out the kinks, I realized that this backpacking lifestyle is the perfect environment for such a challenge. It's like social boot camp. Most people are very nice and eager to hear about life in America. I think most of you would be surprised at the eagerness of the young people I've met to get closer to our American "culture". They listen to our music, watch our movies and television shows (especially the Simpsons), and they are just as fascinated by Paris Hilton as we are. I think this develops an affinity for America that does more for our diplomacy than our government has ever done. Before I left the U.S. I had this image that people abroad had a distaste for us; Not true. It may be true that they dislike President Bush, but they don't hold that against Americans (mostly). I love talking politics, and I'm happy to say I haven't backed down on a discussion yet. Most people are against the war in Iraq, but they realize that the American public isn't responsible for the problems in our government. We also talk about more important matters, like why the English eat baked beans on toast for breakfast? (nasty!)

Cairns has a very good nightlife. There are lost of pubs and clubs and its a good mix of locals and tourists, depending on where you go. This is a picture from a place called the Wool Shed, which is a typical backpacker hangout.

Another thing about Cairns that I have to mention is the giant fruit bats. As the sun goes down the sky gets filled with them. When I first saw one I was reminded of the scene in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom when the bats are flying around the jungle. These bats are huge. They are probably between 3 and 4 feet across and they glide around the sky in groups groups of 10 or more. I snapped this picture where you can see the silhouette as compared to the street light.

I went to a place called the Rainforest Dome at the top of the casino and saw some of the native creatures. Koala Bears are pretty funny. They sleep all day and eat Eucalyptus. In the wild, they never have to come to the forest floor, because they get their water from the Eucalyptus leaves. They enjoy a very chill lifestyle.

This is the one and only crocodile that I saw in Australia. Sure it was in captivity, but I'm fine with that. This guy was big and I wouldn't want to run into his cousin in the wild.

After I got my fill of Cairns I took a ferry boat to Port Douglas. Its more up-scale than Cairns and it seemed like a place where Australians go on vacation. It also seems like the place to go on a honeymoon. Here are some pictures of the scene.

Thats all I've got about Cairns and Port Douglas. In the next installment, I go hunting in the jungle for the elusive man-size hairy bird known as the Cassowary.

-Thanks for Reading-