Perth (Australia)

Perth

After four months of crazy living in SE Asia, it was finally time to move on. A five hour flight from Sinagpore took me into a new continent and a new adventure. The country was Australia and my first stop was Perth.

Immediately you notice how completely different Australia is compared to their Asian neighbours. Of course, you expect the culture to be more like it is at home (England) but I really didn't expect it to be so similar. It's easy to fit into life here because almost everything is the same. There are a few things which differ - the landscapes and wildlife come into mind, but the people and general living is just like home. However, the first thing you notice when you arrive from 4 months of Asia - is the price. You now realise how cheaply you were living in places like Thailand - and living so well. Asia is like the January sales but the store got all it's prices wrong and everything is far cheaper than it should be - you end up having a field day. Australia though, is like taking your goods to the checkout and them telling you that - yes there was a mistake and you need to add a couple of 0's to the end of those prices!!! It's about as expensive as England and as a result my traveling lifestyle would have to change. It was dorm rooms from now on, cooking for myself (I'm thinking mainly toasted cheese sandwhiches) and fending for myself as cheaply as possible - it was university days all over again - yet thats not a bad thing.

Perth is the capital city of Western Australia and the main hub of all things on this side of the country. It's known to be the most isolated city in the world and it's an interesting place, for while it appears a modern city, it still has a country-town feel to it. The streets are outrageously clean - enough to fight it out with Singapore for the cleanliness top spot, it's people are friendly and it is one of those places that you can tell - the people just love living here.

I spent a few days checking out the town, relaxing and walking around (Perth is a very - out-door city). I strolled over to the scenic King's Park which has great views over Perth and you can see some interesting flora here. I actually got completely lost in this park and ended up walking round for an hour and a half before ending up where I started - which just happened to be two minutes from the exit - but I took the wrong turning!!!

The Western Australia Museum is also interesting and a good place to start when you want to know a bit about your new home. They have great info on Aboringanal people and the scary wildlife that roams the landscapes.

I was returning to Perth in a weeks time to see more - this was just my first taster of the city and I liked it. First though, I was taking a trip north to explore the West Coast and my first experience of Outback Australia.....