We landed in Cairns, Australia in the wee hours of the morning on 7-Feb. We had chosen Cairns deliberately. This was the closest airport to be able to get to the Great Barrier Reef. This is definitely a small airport with not too much traffic. After repeatedly warning me about my early morning sneezes, Arpita sneezed right in front of the immigration officer. It was hilarious and scary at the same time. But we were through. Only to have all of our bags scanned by the customs officer. You could tell that they have a lot time at this airport. The officer had us open our bags and looked at packets of nuts. Reminded us that we are not supposed to say ‘Yes’ on the form as we were carrying them and not declaring it. He did say that there could be a fine of $300 for this but let us go eventually.

It was close to 5:30 am and we had a 40 min drive to the Hotel. It was drizzling. To our surprise, a limousine waited for us. It was the first time for all of us in a Limo. We arrived shortly at the Pullman Hotel in Palm Cove who had kindly obliged us with an early check-in courtesy Vimal. With the travel and jet lag, we decided to catch a few winks.