This week, Frank and I took our first major side trip from Melbourne to visit Cairns (pronounced “cans”) and the Great Barrier Reef. We arrived early evening to find our apartment’s backstreet reception area dark, quiet and deserted. We were able to check in by phone. After surveying our strange accommodations (large cylindrical glass shower visible to the kitchen?!), I decided to run out to get an underwater camera for the next day’s cruise. We took the elevator back downstairs. Still, not a soul in sight.

We opened a random side exit door and were blinded by the bright lights of an “alternate universe.” Unbeknownst to us, our hotel was located immediately above the Cairn’s Night Market. Countless souvenir shops, cheap massage kiosks and an international food court opened out to the busy beachfront Esplanade. There were people everywhere!

Nonetheless, we slept fine, discovered that a curtain could obscure the shower peep show and found that the apartment was perfectly located for the tours we had scheduled. What’s more, we had a balcony with a wonderful view. While our side of the Esplanade was populated with busy shops and restaurants, there was parkland — walking paths, picnic tables and a huge public pool — between the street and ocean. In the morning, you’d see people of all ages doing tai chi and yoga and every night, backpackers, retirees and families would swim, hangout and relax.

Cairns is tourist town and much larger than we anticipated — about 160,000 people, including some beautiful, upscale beachside suburbs. It is the major gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, so is very popular for tourists (about 10,000 on any given day). Cairns is also located near the world’s oldest rainforest. We spent four days exploring this spectacular area of North Queensland, Australia.