Cairns Cucaracha
At one in the am when you've just retreated from the Karaoke bar (and a frightful version of "Livin' On A Prayer") the last thing you need to see is La Cucaracha flying down the wall of your room.
These buggers are fast and this one eluded me.
The Hostel, "The Asylum", was living up to it's reputation.
You don't have to be crazy to stay here but it certainly helps.
The room number is seven. Anna, co-owner of this joint, reckons it's seventh heaven because it's just across from the kitchen. Yeah, that's what the cockroachs are thinking no doubt.
Anyway, the amazing insect life is just part of the makeup of the tropical location of Cairns. This is the end of the line for backpackers coming up the coast and many of The Asylum's "inmates" are here simply because they've run out of money.
They're either waiting to go to Asia or they are waiting to head home. The reef dominates everything of course but there is rainforest just on the doorstep and the place appears to be a popular tourist stop for the Japanese. My flight from Sydney was actually carrying on to Tokyo.
I'll detail my experience with the reef in a seperate entry, so I'll just talk Cairns style for the minute. It's a small town that comes alive during the week and dies at the weekend, the nightlife is like a poor man's Ibiza, the local cattle-marts advertise Wet T-Shirt contests and Pole Dancing shows. Thankfully I've found a home in Johno's Blues Bar where myself and Michael, a laidback swiss dude who joined me on the reef experience, recovered from the day's activities. We were joined by Yann, a Norwegian Asylum inmate, chief party animal and leader of the pack for the Karaoke. And a fresh arrival, Samuel, from Italy.
Anyway, strolling around Cairns there is a heavy segregation of tourists from locals and then the aboriginal population from everyone else. It's bizarre and slightly disturbing to see.
The weather is what you would expect for the tropics. A steady 25 to 30 celsius everyday and not becoming much cooler at night. No wind and just the odd shower, I only saw rain Thursday night but I was thankful for it. Air conditioning for all the shops and stores is absolutely essential.
I'll come back to Cairns, or rather the reef, but I think a live aboard stay on one of the boats is really the only option.
There's really not that much to see here.
Move along.
These buggers are fast and this one eluded me.
The Hostel, "The Asylum", was living up to it's reputation.
You don't have to be crazy to stay here but it certainly helps.
The room number is seven. Anna, co-owner of this joint, reckons it's seventh heaven because it's just across from the kitchen. Yeah, that's what the cockroachs are thinking no doubt.
Anyway, the amazing insect life is just part of the makeup of the tropical location of Cairns. This is the end of the line for backpackers coming up the coast and many of The Asylum's "inmates" are here simply because they've run out of money.
They're either waiting to go to Asia or they are waiting to head home. The reef dominates everything of course but there is rainforest just on the doorstep and the place appears to be a popular tourist stop for the Japanese. My flight from Sydney was actually carrying on to Tokyo.
I'll detail my experience with the reef in a seperate entry, so I'll just talk Cairns style for the minute. It's a small town that comes alive during the week and dies at the weekend, the nightlife is like a poor man's Ibiza, the local cattle-marts advertise Wet T-Shirt contests and Pole Dancing shows. Thankfully I've found a home in Johno's Blues Bar where myself and Michael, a laidback swiss dude who joined me on the reef experience, recovered from the day's activities. We were joined by Yann, a Norwegian Asylum inmate, chief party animal and leader of the pack for the Karaoke. And a fresh arrival, Samuel, from Italy.
Anyway, strolling around Cairns there is a heavy segregation of tourists from locals and then the aboriginal population from everyone else. It's bizarre and slightly disturbing to see.
The weather is what you would expect for the tropics. A steady 25 to 30 celsius everyday and not becoming much cooler at night. No wind and just the odd shower, I only saw rain Thursday night but I was thankful for it. Air conditioning for all the shops and stores is absolutely essential.
I'll come back to Cairns, or rather the reef, but I think a live aboard stay on one of the boats is really the only option.
There's really not that much to see here.
Move along.
posted by Christophe at 7:16 a.m.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home