Arriving at Gold Coast

After all the packing, and all the preparation, I made my way to KLIA2.. It's funny though, it's been 2 month since I started preparing for this journey and all these time, there was no sadness or emotional hype that I experienced. Perhaps it was because I was so busy preparing that I did not have time to feel anything, but when the moment came to board the plane, tears came running down my cheeks uncontrollably. I couldn't stop them and I felt so silly!

Me after crying like a baby

Anyway, after getting my emotions in check (or so I thought!) I hopped onto the plane (Air Asia - the most budget one stop airline to Coolangatta Airport) with mom, and we were on our way to Gold Coast.

First thing to note, and I kid you not, is the commonality of skin cancer in Gold Coast! The guy next to us on the plane? He had skin cancer. His whole family? They had skin cancer too! Fine, maybe its genetics or maybe they just don't use sun blocks/ love to sun bath too much. But when I got of the plane and hopped onto the shuttle bus to my host's accommodation, I saw sign boards on skin cancer treatments, skin cancer clinics and warning about skin cancer and I was like, OMG, it's really really serious here!

Taken from a website, this sign was created in conjunction with skin cancer awareness month

The sun here is crazy!!! The temperature might be lower than in tropical countries but if you let yourself bask in the sun for a moment or two, it feels like the sun is literally eating you! I've not been known to use an umbrella while walking under the sun but here in Gold Coast, the moment the sun is up, I hide beneath the umbrella. It's that scary. Good thing though, when you feel hot and would like to take a break from walking, you can always sit at the bus stop, and the wind will definitely cool you down.

Anyway, that's it for now..

Until next time!