Lazy days in Perth

Perth is an interesting city. It has a different vibe to Melbourne and Sydney. The clubbing and bar scene relies heavily on local bands covering the hits which are interspersed with dance music or chart stuff.

It's an interesting time here. There is very low unemployment and are currently more jobs than people - an interesting situation because it doesn't necessarily mean things are great. Some businesses are struggling to get people to do simple jobs like kitchen hands and can't afford to raise wages and are having to close.

Perth is the sunniest city in Australia and one of the driest. So even though it is winter, days are still sunny and bright (mostly) and warm. On Thursday, Welsh lady Lisa and I went to Cottesloe beach for a sunning session and met up with Sabina, another girl from our hostel.



It was about 29C and beautifully sunny with cloudless blue skies. We lay for hours chatting, reading books and soaking up the rays before heading back to Perth on the train (about a half hour ride) with an ice cream.

Days since then have passed uneventfully - chatting to friends in the hostel, another interview with a job agency, coffee in a nearby cool cafe, reading in the sunshine of the courtyard, having dinner with friends, catching up on sleep, wandering around Northbridge (where the hostel is), Perth CBD, and trying to get over a nasty cold which is heading around the city at the moment.

Have also been celebrating one of the lad's birthdays - Mark of the rolling in the leaves fame - so of course it was obligatory to go out to Black Betty's for a beverage or two.



Caroline, our crazy fab stalker friend we met in Melbourne and fellow mad Take-Thatter, arrived in sunny Perth last night after a stunning trip to Uluru (Ayres Rock). So we met her at Moon Cafe - a funky place nearby - with her friends and caught up on all our news.

Things are going swimmingly but I've found it quite hard to get into the swing of things here. I'm looking forward to getting on the road properly, going up the west coast and seeing and doing some proper stuff - even though it's going to cost a bomb.

As we have been remarking this week, travel is great for broadening the mind (and wasitline), for meeting new people and seeing new things. But it can be quite a lonely experience to be thousands of miles from the people who know and love you best.

When you're getting up for work and are in the same old patterns you would be in at home - just in an unfamiliar and probably sunnier place - it can seem a bit pointless at times.

When you're feeling low and like getting away from everything - there is no where to hide in a hostl. You are surrounded constantly with people judging you, getting mad at you for making a noise, complaining if you decide not to go out, looking at you strangely for mad acts and it is hard to completely relax.

Of course, there are moments of just absolute fun and wonder - seeing a west coast sunset, sitting up debating til the wee hours of the morning with new friends, the feeling that, even though you've just met this person, you have a connection and you can rely on them for all sorts of things, the sunshine on your face when it's raining at home, seeing life through the eyes of people from all over the world, taking in another point of view, listening to new sounds...

But this is all to end soon - I have booked my final flight home. I will be leaving Christchurch on New Zealand's south island on November 30, and arriving in Birmingham on December 1 ready for a family Christmas in Lanzarote. Some people have all the luck, eh

Exploring Perth

So what is the most remote city in the world really like?

Well, Perth doesn't feel that far away. It is a spacious city with sprawling suburbs that cover a wider area than Sydney.

As a fairly new city, it has been designed with wide roads, plenty of open spaces, tree-lined avenues and thoughtful buildings. The CBD (central business district) is more compact than Melbourne or Sydney.

The main part of the city is north of the Swan River - and I am staying in Northbrirdge - which is north of the CBD but very close. It is a studenty/backpackery area with plenty of bars and restaurants and, by the number of Chinese and Asian restaurants and supermarkets, is home to a sizable south-east asian community.

On Sunday afternoon, Danielle and I took the train to Fremantle (or Freo as they call it here) - a popular spot for backpackers and similar to Manly and it's relation to Sydney in a way - touristy, a short distance from the centre, and a self-enclosed and self-important town that is still tied to the big city.

We wandered to a pedestrianised strip, sat and had a sandwich at a pavement cafe and enjoyed the hot, hot sunshine.

We then wandered back up past the station and to the famous E-shed markets by the port - everything from belly dancer costumes to chocolate-covered bananas and knicks-knacks are sold here.

We wandered past some odd statues (pictured above)to the edge of the port and to the Maritime museum, where we looked for potential relatives - Spratts, Devlins, Lowes, Mackenzies... - on the lists of immigrants arriving on ships in the years gone by.

It had turned decidedly chilly by this time so we abandonned our walk and headed back to the station to take a ride on a free bus (the CAT) around Freo. A much easier way to see things than walking headfirst into the cold wind!

It is winter here but still pretty warm - until these cold gusts of wind come along and clouds gather. Rain tends to be hard and fast and then gone again. Mostly it has been sunny and warm.

On Monday, I made attempts to find gainful employment and signed up to an agency for work, and met Danielle for lovely (and warming) pumpkin risotto for lunch. In the evening, we headed to The Deen bar for free backpacker barbecue and free beer and a quick boogie.

Yesterday (Tues), I wandered Northbridge a little and then met Tanu and we drove (a very windy route) to Cottesloe Beach - one of the most popular (below).


It is a lovely beach - with an Indian-style tearoom built over the beach by the British many moons ago - and the sun was hot and wind mild. However, for some mysterious reason there were high cliffs of seaweed along the shoreline. Really odd and Tanu was rather embarrassed by it.

After a lovely afternoon becoming hyper on coffee (me) and being freaked out (Tanu by me), I went to meet Danielle for ingrediants for Tijuana Tuesday - we were making faijitas for dinner! woo hoo! yummy.

An early night was intended and successfully completed by Danielle. However, I was accosted on my way to fill up my water bottle and ended up with a bottle full of vodka and diet coke and chatting about the merits (or not) of journalism, the free free, Margaret Thatcher, unions, the miners strikes and living in the antarctic and whether you get SAD there.

In return for being allowed to stay in the kitchen area past bedtime (11pm), the group of us had to clean the kitchen from top to bottom - so sleep was sadly lacking.

Today, I sent out a load more CVs, finally signed up to Medicare (their healthcare system) so I can go to the doctors, sat in the park drinking chai tea and reading the job section in the hot, hot sun and generally chatting and reading and trying not to stress about lack of current job...