Travel Guides and Stories

I took the earliest 6am flight from Sydney (since it was too early for buses, I had to take a taxi to the airport - Australian taxis are so expensive, from the city to the airport it cost 22 AUD for just a 10-minute ride) and transferred in Brisbane to reach the Great Barrier Reef in Cairns. At 10am, I finally arrived at this beautiful place. Cairns is the central hub of tropical North Queensland and an important gateway to the Great Barrier Reef and the York Peninsula to the north. Located at the northernmost point of Australia's east coast, it's the closest tourist city to the Great Barrier Reef - one of the world's seven natural wonders. To reach Papua New Guinea, Thursday Island (famous for pearls), York Cape's Gulf of Carpentaria, the Great Barrier Reef and other famous holiday destinations, you must pass through Cairns. Close to the equator, Cairns is known as the capital of the tropics. It's backed by magnificent mountains and still maintains large areas of pristine tropical rainforest. The equatorial tropical rainforest is called the "Earth's lungs" and is vital for regulating global climate. When I arrived, it felt like a small town, so natural, and it was raining... I prayed the rain wouldn't continue (because when it rains, the sea isn't as blue and you can't see the coral clearly). After checking into the hotel and resting briefly, I went out for lunch, but the restaurant was quite far - a 20-minute walk. So the next day I changed hotels to one much closer to the city center, which was much more convenient. There's a famous night market where you can get affordable meals - you just pay for small, medium, or large plates (9, 15, or 20 AUD) for buffet-style dining. You only get one chance to fill your plate - how much you can pile on is up to your skill, haha. In the evening, I walked along the seafront - unlike Chinese beaches, it felt so peaceful and clean. The second day was basically a rest day waiting for better weather. I spent the day swimming in the outdoor pool. After dinner, there were many travel agencies along the street. I went into one and chose Sunlover Cruises for a day trip that included scuba diving, snorkeling, and submarine viewing of the underwater world. It sounded very tempting... The ticket price was 160 AUD.

I was looking forward to my final day in Australia in the Coral Sea. On the third day, I got up early and went to the boarding point as scheduled to start my journey. After less than 2 hours of sailing, we reached the inner part of the ocean - it was so beautiful! I marveled at nature's wonders. The beautiful Coral Sea was incredible. I couldn't wait to jump in and start snorkeling. Looking underwater - wow! Everything I'd seen on TV was right there - a living ocean world. I saw clownfish (Nemo) and vast expanses of coral... Time flew by so quickly... After more than 2 hours, we returned to shore and went back to the hotel. That evening, I went to the airport and flew back to Melbourne, then transferred to Shanghai. Reflecting on my Australian journey, I feel it was worth it. Here are some travel tips for everyone planning to visit Australia: bring power adapters from home (Australia uses 240V with three-pin flat plugs). I didn't know this at first and had to search for a long time before finding one in a Korean supermarket, and it cost over 10 AUD - much more expensive than in China, so don't forget this before traveling. Many Australian flights don't provide any food or water (I'd never experienced this in China). Alcohol here isn't readily available everywhere like in China - you can only buy it from limited specialty liquor stores, and buyers must be adults. But why are there so many drunks here? Perhaps because there are so many bars with relatively low prices (those who've been to Shanghai's Xintiandi or Hengshan Road bar street know how expensive bars are in China). People can drink freely in the bars here, which makes it easy to overindulge. After leaving the bars, you can see drunk people wandering everywhere, unlike in China where drinking usually happens at gatherings with family and friends who can take care of you if you drink too much - you rarely see people acting drunk in public. Also, don't assume lobster is cheap in Australia - it's actually very expensive, as shown in this photo from an unremarkable Cantonese restaurant in Sydney's Chinatown... In short, before coming to Australia, you must be mentally prepared because things here are about twice as expensive as in European and American countries - even water costs 3 AUD. The only cheap thing is milk, which is even cheaper than in China and tastes good. Finally, thank you everyone for your attention. I haven't written articles in a long time so my writing might not be great, but these are absolutely genuine impressions. I hope you'll be understanding.