Cairns is a city in North Australia that I chose for the family holiday simply for the "exotic-sounding name" factor.. Aside from the fact that it's a popular base to explore the Great Barrier Reef..
Dang this town is so calm.. in a nice way.. When we first came we couldn't believe we've arrived at the city center because all we could see was one storey buildings unformly built in beach bungalo style, painted in pastel colors.. Green, lush mountains form the backrop for the city, while the beach peeps from in between the buildings...
It lends new meaning to the phrase "the good life" ... (Though I was talking to the hotel receptionist and got a glimpse of just how bad the racial separation problems between the white Australians and the Aborigines are..)
Well.. went snorkeling with middle bro and Dad, which is an achievement because it took a lot of my persuasive powers to convince my Mom that it is not dangerous.. Mom and Grandma, in turn, enjoyed the beauty of the reefs on a semi-submarine..
Took a 7km cable car ride atop mountainous rainforest, of which the highlight of my day was when my Mom went into the forest, saw the big trees and thought them pretty cool (she normally would not be found in these kind of 'habitats'...) Ended up in an Aborigines cultural village, tried out how to throw a spear and a boomerang (not as difficult as I imagined, and fun!)
Family going back tomorrow while youngest bro and I will stay back 3 more days for, hopefully, more exploring and walking. Been really enjoying Australia, and the company of my family.. Guess one great thing that emerged from this is that I get to show my parents the activities I usually like to do, the way I usually like to explore, and they've been pretty cool about it. Glad for that.
It's true that people live through their experience.. that days count more if you experience new things everyday, while they don't count if you just live a monotonous life..
And boy, I've been living it up this holiday!
No comments:
Post a Comment