Cairns, Australia!

Our ten-year wedding anniversary (yes, TEN) is next week, so Lyana and I booked a trip to Australia to celebrate . . . without the kids!!  Why Australia?  Several reasons, in fact.  One, it’s cool.  Two, only one hour time change, which means no jet lag, which means we can have more fun without being tired.  Three, ask Lyana about her “most embarrassing/funny story” from her childhood.

So anyway, we flew out of Tokyo on JetStar, Australia’s discount airline, direct to Cairns.

A few words about JetStar:  If you ever fly with them remember to bring your own food, headphones and blanket (yes, a blanket, because it’s colder than an igloo with a sunroof and I foolishly wore shorts instead of long pants and a parka).  Of course you can purchase these items for roughly $20, $3 and $7 respectively, which isn’t a whole lot except the ticket to fly did not seem very “discounted” in the first place.  So who wants to pay more for extras that should be included anyway?  Oh, and the flight attendants don’t smile.  But enough negativity.  Let’s get on with the fun.

As soon as we got off the plane, we found that normal Australians are very kind and helpful, especially to a couple of random Americans from Japan.  Quick side story:  After a nice sit-down dinner tonight, we were getting ready to pay our bill, but we weren’t sure about tipping customs here.  So Lyana went to the next table over, where a couple of semi-drunk elderly ladies were sitting, and asked.  The ladies were extremely friendly, especially after finding out we were Americans, and told us that people don’t normally tip here.  So we went with that, paid our bill and headed out of there.

All right, I ‘ll try not to get too far ahead here.   Jumping all the way back to the Tokyo airport.  You ever get that feeling that you need to brush your teeth, but your toothbrush is packed away in your checked luggage?  Well, buy yourself a pack of “NOTIME” gum and you are on your way to cleaner teeth and fresh breath (neither of which actually last more than 5 minutes).

So jumping ahead again, we arrived safely in Cairns (pronounced “Caaaaaannnns” or something to that effect) and the first thing we did after getting to our hotel (little apartment with  bare walls but hey, it doesn’t cost much and it’s perfect, which is not actually in Cairns, but in Trinity Beach, which is 20 minutes north of Cairns) is we went to the beach!!  It’s amazing how relaxing the beach can be when it’s just the two of you.

Leaning against palm trees . . .

 

Taking photos of yourselves . . .

Staring off into the distance, thinking of those ten wonderful years of marriage your husband gave to you . . .

Getting your feet wet just because you want to and not because you are chasing your 2-year old into the ocean . . .

Trinity beach is only about 1 km long, but it’s not at all crowded (at least right now), so it’s just right for a little relaxation.

On the way here, I mentioned to Lyana how strange it is that this is the first English-speaking country she has been to in two years.

I guess there should be one more picture of me, in my new hat ($1 at the thrift shop down the road) and shades (from the pharmacy next to the thrift shop).  Next time Lyana will pack my bags so I don’t find myself at the beach without them.

Till next time,

Robert