Cairns - Gateway to the Reef

Days 454-456, February 24-26, 2012

Coming to Australia so soon after getting my dive certification, it shouldn’t be any wonder that a trip up to the Great Barrier Reef was high on my list of things to see and do. Even with its immense size, probably the easiest jumping off point to visit the Reef is from the small city of Cairns in northern Australia.

To get to Cairns, I opted to fly. Strangely enough, flying ended up being much cheaper, and obviously faster, than any other mode of transportation available to me. And so, at stupid o’clock in the morning, I left Paula’s home, caught a bus to central Sydney and walked to the Central Train Station to grab a train to the Domestic Terminal.

It’s so empty

The Capital Often Overlooked

**I am going to try something new with the photos on my blog, making them bigger in the first place so you don’t have to click for a larger image. Please let me know if you prefer this or the previous way I did things**

Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam. Even though it is also the second largest city in the country, few people seem to come to Hanoi for little more than to escape to either Ha Long Bay or Sapa, or both. There are plenty of museums(none of which I actually went to) and things to see, but the two outer excursions tend to overshadow the city.

I found myself drawn into Hanoi as a place to relax before and in-between my trips into Ha Long Bay and Sapa. And with the help of an iPod app, I managed to meet a couple really cool guys to hang out with on my down time.