By: Kimberly Ng
Today is one of our free days in Cairns. After waking up, I had a mixed berry smoothie and an amazing banana bread from the Swedish cafe, Cafe Fika, next door to where we were staying. The barista and I made small talk and that's when I learn that she recently traveled to NYC with her mom and loves stand up comedy. I bumped into Anthony and we decided to work on our journals together in the common area. Soon after, most of us decided to go eat lunch at Green Ant Cantina. Unfortunately, it was closed when we got there because it turns out that it opens from 4 pm-12 am. Even though we couldn't eat lunch at Green Ant Cantina, we ended up having a delicious lunch at the Pier Bar.
I ordered the thai beef salad and a side of sweet potato fries. The salad was a perfect mix of sauces and the fries were really good. Everyone's food looked and smelled yummy as well.
After finishing our lunch, the girls went shopping together while the boys went back to the hostel and napped. Soon after, a few of us napped while some went for a run and I went for a swim in the hostel's pool. It was super relaxing and soothing for me as being in water always felt like home.
The girls and boys separated for dinner but decided to meet up after dinner for karaoke night at PJ O'Briens. The girls ate chicken tenders and burgers at Evo Burger which has a really chic vibe. It turns out that when the stores and restaurants say "open till late," late depends on how many people are out and what the night would be like. If people are out, restaurants and stores would stay open longer and if not a lot of people are out and about, the restaurants and stores would close earlier. The employees set their own closing time based on their observations which is really cool.
When we finished dinner, we met up with the boys at PJ O'Briens for a karaoke night. Matt attempted to rap Enimem, Ryan sang Piano Man, Jocelyn, Emma, and April sang Dancing Queen. This was followed by Brad singing Drops of Jupiter and Anthony and Ryan singing Sweet Caroline. It was a night full of singing and laughter. Everyone had a good laugh and lots of fun as we sang to different songs together and cheered each other on. It was definitely a bonding and unforgettable night.