The open-air markets of Australia are a bit like the Malaysian pasar malam.

I was looking for frogs to take home as souvenirs, and I found scores of them at Queensland’s Port Douglas Sunday Market. They came in all sizes and mediums – ceramic, clay, rubber, plastic, copper, stainless steel and even in paintings.

There were froggy accessories, key rings and fridge magnets, frogs in water and stuck on walls, too. Eureka! I struck gold!

A friend had kindly driven me to Port Douglas (PD) from Cairns, and what a lovely drive it was. Hugging the coast, the Captain Cook Highway offered a fantastic view of the sea and sky, and the famous Four Mile Beach.

Aboriginal fruit bowls made of leaves.

At the highest point called the Hump, I was asked to look out for hang gliders, and sure enough, I spied one taking off from a cliff and flying effortlessly in the thermals. His encased body was horizontally suspended from the glider that looked like a giant dragonfly.

PD is situated 100km north of Cairns in northern Queensland. Founded in 1877, PD was meant to serve the Hodgkinson River gold mines. Its population swelled to a record high of 12,000 at one point because of the gold fever, the mining of silver and tin, sugar cane cultivation and the logging of cedar trees. But by 1960 when all the minerals were exhausted, the population plummeted to just 100!

It was only in the 1980s that PD slowly recovered because of the flourishing tourist industry centred around the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest. PD is a paradise for foreigners as well as Australians wanting to escape the cold winters.

Recently, the much-publicised tragic death of Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin in September 2006 off the coast of PD drew the world’s attention to this small town.

But me, I just wanted to visit the Sunday market.

As we joined the throngs of people making a beeline for the open-air market by the sea, I marvelled at how unafraid of the sun the Australians were. Shorts and sleeveless tops were the order of the day and there was not a single umbrella in sight! Even though I had brought a brolly, I did not use it for fear of sticking out like a sore thumb!

Native art

Sun visors, hats and caps, on the other hand, were more popular. In fact the first stall that attracted my attention was one manned by an Aboriginal couple hawking hats and sunshades made from long leaves.

A fat jolly man by the name of Uncle Friday sat on a low stool, dexterously twisting fronds into fruit bowls and baskets. He could create a mobile frog in five minutes, much to the delight of an admiring customer who stood close behind him to watch his every move.

Spread out before him was his display of “Unique Bush Crafts”, as he called them, a collection of practical ware and collectibles of animals and insects. Indeed this was as near as one could get to authentic Australian native art.

Another spot which made me linger for a while was an exhibition of Aboriginal paintings. Stunning portraits of native models show them in various moods: pensive, angry, worried, laughing-out happy.

The artist has his own style as his paintings all look as if they are being viewed from a windowpane trickling with rain. Each painting of a person, flower or animal draws you in like a magnet, holding your attention to study it in quiet admiration.

I also loved the copper tooling, glass staining and stainless steel depictions of Australian wildlife. The Australian tree frog is, of course, featured in all these mediums, tempting me to spend big bucks on them. I bought three small mementoes but with currency conversion rate being what it was, there wasn’t much else I could afford! So I just took lots of pictures instead.

Quenching thirsts

The drinks stalls attracted the longest queues.

One stall, Tropical Snow, offered gourmet shaved ice drinks. It had a long string of adults and children waiting patiently to quench their thirst with a tall cool drink.

I was particularly drawn to a stall owner still making use of an old-fashioned ice shaver. Hey, we are only supposed to see that in small towns in Malaysia, lah!

Remember those childhood days when we used to rush to our favourite drinks stall after school to get a five-sen ice ball? Watching this man Down Under cranking the metal handle to shave ice sure brought back fond memories. I think his patrons just loved to see him working that antiquated ice shaver because they had never seen one like it before.

Those seeking relief from aches and pains of the body and soul will find a solution here. Massage beds in tents are discreetly screened from inquisitive eyes with translucent curtains billowing in the wind.

Who would have thought they would have ice shavers in Australia?

Thai massage services vied for patrons with Swedish masseuses. A palmist read the palm of a young lady obviously having emotional insecurities amidst posters offering similar services like clairvoyance, aura reading and others.

If you feel hungry while browsing the open-air market, you couldn’t go wrong with the famous Port Douglas Mocka’s Pies, the best I have ever tasted!

Bursting with tasty minced beef from cattle grazed on the Tablelands, these homemade pies have been satisfying customers since 1969. Freshly baked, they are removed hot from the oven as each customer makes an order. As you bite into them, the delicious filling almost burns your tongue even as you suck in air to cool it down.

A pie in hand, one can continue strolling among the stalls or sit by the beach to enjoy the sea and the constant stream of gaily clad visitors walking by. I enjoyed the fashion parade of sorts, especially the girls in their mini shorts and micro skirts and the guys in their outlandish garb and freaky hairstyles.

Very much like our pasar malam in Malaysia, open-air markets seem to be mushrooming all over Australia offering great varieties of wares and services, mainly reflecting Australian culture and art.

The Port Douglas Sunday Market is situated in Anzac Park on Macrossan Street, and has 175 stalls. It is open from 7am to 2pm every Sunday.