We got up yesterday morning at 5.00am (yes, the middle of the night!), got ready and left our hostel, after Sarah made (not so much made, as asked) Laura to run to the 7/11 for cotton wool buds (they're cheaper in Asia!), this run was not a successful one and on return to the hostel Laura was nabbed by a hostel worker for our money (we had forgotten to pay the day before for our bed). Realising we didn't have enough money put together, Laura had to make another lightening bolt dash for the ATM, she paid and we made a dash for the first early MRT train to the airport - the guys (Ian and Bevan) in tow (they had a flight at a similar time to Cairns) and didn't know where the MRT station was. We managed to get our ticket and get to the platform with a few minutes to spare. The journey was pretty quick and once we'd checked in our bags (the check-in lady didn't even mention that Sarah's bag was just over, weighing 21.3kg, Laura's was spot on at 20kg) we grabbed a coffee and bagel breakfast deal at The Coffee Bean, which included free re-fills (we could only manage 2 cups). By the time we'd finished, we had enough time to take a leisurely stroll through the duty free shops and arrived in the departures lounge half an hour before we boarded.

Boarding was late and we didn't set off to the skies until about 10.00am (supposed to have been 9.05am), but the flight time went really quick and was really nice. We had films and TV on demand, with a large selection to spoil us. The inflight meal was salmon in a white wine sauce, with a bit of veg and sweet potato, salad, a bread roll and a Cadbury Timeout (perfect for dippin!), washed down with water, apple juice (how good were we - no alcohol!) and coffee. Shortly after our meal we were had a snack of a choc-ice, followed by Cadbury hot chocolate, with marshmallow and then a banana! Before landing we had a 'snack' of a chicken and mayo sandwich, fruit salad, orange juice, coffee and a biscuit. We cleared immigration quickly, with no problems and got our bags straight away and just had enough time to get some money from the ATM, before being whisked away in an 'airport shuttle' (a shared mini-bus taxi) and dropped off right outside our hostel at approx 9.00pm. We checked in at YHA Railway Square Hostel and wandered round the nearby area and grabbed some supper of pumpkin soup and bread, which we had back to the hostel (it has marvelous kitchen facilities, massive common areas inside and out and a TV/DVD room!) before flopping in our four-bed shared dorm.

We really could have slept all day, today! We awoke about 11.30am-ish after one of the best and longest nights sleep. We had a lazy morning, or should I say, early afternoon! We made breakfast (just toast and a coffee) and put some washing on before having a lovely HOT shower (- a distinct rarity) and left the hostel at 2.30pm and headed straight to the OX Experience office down the road, to make some enquiries before making our way to the Harbourfront (Sarah, obviously couldn't resist Krispy Kreme and succumbed to a glazed blueberry ring donut!) where we took in the views of the Harbour Bridge, Opera House and the Botanical Gardens, before taking a slow stroll back in the surprisingly cool 'Summer' weather. We stopped by 'Woolworths' (not the same as back home) - a supermarket and grabbed some cheap do-it-yourself dinner (bacon pasta carbonara, cheesy risoto, instant coffee and mince pies - the first place we'd seen proper ones!) and took to the kitchen, in the hostel, to cook a'la student style! We settled in front of the final episode of The Vicar of Dibley with our coffee and a mince pie, with some fellow residents in the TV room, which set us up for the rest of our lazy evening.