Every day is an early day in Australia.
Breakfast at The Lillipad Cafe -
"Eat like you're on holiday", they say.
I expected Lillipad's breakfast to be quite a large portion and specially planned it on a day which we did not have any vigorous activities after. What I did not foresee, was that it was a Sunday and the place will be packed. We waited for approximately 20 minutes before we got a seat. I ordered a Hamlette (A$14) with long black (A$4) & my bf ordered the Full Monty (A$18) with ice mocha (A$7). The food was served only at 10am (about 15 mins after we sat down), and we had a 10.35am bus transfer waiting for us. When the food arrived, I was wondering how was I going to finish all that in so little time!
That must be the most generous amount of omelette served. The omelette is not the kind in which the ingredients are wrapped within, but more like a burrito with the egg acting as the outer cover. The yummy melty cheese inside is satisfying! I could not finish one of the toast though. The long black is also quite good, and it is a quite a big cup (comparing to the next few days). For the big breakfast, my bf was also struggling to finish it as well. The amount of bacon on that plate is way too much, and they are quite oily. Personally, I like the sauteed mushroom but was too full to finish everything. We had to rush back to our hotel with our very filled stomachs.
Skyrail Rainforest Cableway -
We bought the ticket package with transfer directly online (A$213.75 for 2 pax). According to the customer service staff, it was a peak period and the booking of tickets is recommended. Regardless, if you are choosing the transfer option, you have to prebook anyway.
Our bus arrived to bring us to the startpoint of the cable car. Depending on whether other people are booked for the same transfer, the arrival time will differ. The journey is only about 20 minutes. We exchanged our online confirmation for the physical tickets with the friendly staff at the ticketing counter. It does not seem to be so packed, and you can just hop onto the cable car regardless of the time you have booked.
The ride towards Kuranda is quite a distance, at about 1 & a half hours, including the time spent at the two rainforest stops. You can choose to take towards Smithfield or Kuranda. At the Red Peak station, we got down and had a nice 5 minutes stroll at the boardwalk. If you walk quickly, you can finish it in 3 minutes or so, before you hop on another cable car towards the Barron Falls station. The cable car system is not linked continuous, so you definitely have to get down at each station.
The rainforest trail at the next stop is longer. We saw a big spider before we started and was engrossed with it haha. It was drizzling then and thankfully the Skyrail team provides complimentary umbrellas for the visitors. Since there were so many, we just took one each. It was a great decision to do so because the drizzle soon became a rainfall when we reached the part where we can see the waterfall. There should be another point where the view is better but the rain became heavier! As I felt the water soaking in my shoes, I shouted for my bf to retreat back to base, while running with the GoPro >.<. It was quite funny because the rain became heavier quite suddenly. If we wore slippers, we probably would have continued walking.
The time taken to the Kuranda Terminal is less than 10 minutes. It is like a little village with shops, hotel & cafes. According to the website, there are attractions like the zoo, butterfly sanctuary, koala garden and etc but we went none of those. Our purpose seems to be just to take the cable car & Kuranda train. But we did walk around the area and there are many interesting things to see and buy.
Cafe Mandala -
We wanted some drinks at cafe Mandala because there was just no space for a proper lunch. The juices (called Rockefella & Pandanus A$7.50 each) came decorated with the actual ingredient. The celery sticking out of the glass is just a funny sight! We ordered fries (A$8.50, they call it chips) when we saw another table's order. The piping hot fries seems to be freshly cut from potatoes with the right amount of crisp and softness.
It was a blissful feeling just sitting there and enjoying the carefree afternoon, looking at the man I love. <3
Kuranda Train -
The train sets off at 2.30pm & 3.30pm respectively. We took the later timing so that we have more time to explore Kuranda. When we arrived at our car, there were people sitting in our seats. Getting into our original seats, we realised that the man in front of me has "long legs" and it felt so squeezy. He could have sat up straight seriously. Later on, the staff were adjusting people to empty seats so everyone can have more space.
The train started moving to one of the stopovers nearer to the Barron Falls. Finally, I got to stretch my legs a bit and walk around. When we got back, at least the man sat up straighter now. He was also eating his peanuts and seemingly throwing the shell out of the window. His daughter dropped some food on my bf's shoes and they just kept quiet. Made the area dirty with their food crumbs also. Just amazing.
When we arrived at Freshwater station, they finally moved away and took another row of empty seats as some passengers alighted! I was so bored of being on the train by that time and just napped awhile. Sleeping on the train is quite nice, with the constant chuga-chuga of the train. We were supposed to alight at Cairns station so it was just walking distance to our accommodation.
Cairns Central Shopping Centre -
The station is just beside the shopping centre so we decided to take a look. I knew there was nothing much to see as it closes at 4pm on Sundays. It was a pleasant surprise to see Kmart and Coles supermarket opened! Kmart is just amazing because everything seems so inexpensive. I bought one hot pink sports shorts, white denim shorts, jeans, craft paper & Fifty Shades Darker (Christian's perspective) all at A$50.50!
And then of course, we had to walk into Coles to check out the half price sections! I bought a sour cream and chive rice cracker to munch on the way back. I was starting to feel hungry!
Dinner at Tokyo Dumpling -
I found this restaurant on TripAdvisor and the staff seems very sincere because they reply to all the reviews. We both love gyozas and were excited to try this. We were welcomed in by a waiter who should be a Japanese himself. We ordered a bowl of Tonkotsu ramen (A$16), 12 pcs gyoza (A$12), takoball (A$8) & green tea (A$4). They served us an appetizer that taste like wanton skin and that is nice. The takoball is hot, crispy and tasty. I really liked it and was anticipating the next dishes to be awesome as well.
We were able to mix the gyoza flavours, so we had a mix of pork, chicken, curry beef and potato cheese. The outlook of the gyoza does not look so appealing as they were all flat and sticking together. We could not tell the difference between the pork and the chicken meat, and the filling is quite mushy. The beef and potato flavoured ones are a novelty but with the gyoza skin being so soft, it does not taste like pan-fried at all. You get tired of eating after awhile. We are also ramen lovers and the bowl of tonkotsu was just a disappointment. The broth is too thick and too salty. One word - 腻. I don't know what is the best English translation that this word is equivalent to. Anyway, this might be trivial. But their green tea is bottled (although authentic non-sweetened type) instead of the traditional green tea leaves. I guess Tokyo Dumpling does not bring out the full Japanese culture. The design of the restaurant is also of a modernized casual dining style.
The next day was the day I wanted to "get over and done with"!
SKYDIVE HERE I COME.
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