Perth - living it up - 30th July to 6th August

Ok, I know I said I wouldn't write, but I always put those "It'll be quiet things" up when I'm about to update loads... No photos til I get back though, and they're the best bit, right?

30th July We flew into Perth late on 29th July, and Elissa had been at work all day, so she was understandably prety tired. I went to secure food for the both of us, and we slept like babies in the nice hotel we'd booked on Wellington Street. In the morning I woke up, keen to use the hotel's facilities. To my surprise, and Elissa's initial disbelief, I managed to rack up 100 lengths of the hotel's 10m swimming pool, though I felt it later. A guy working for the hotel said "Do you want the sauna switching on?" and I was all for it. He told me it was an electric one though, and I wasn't to throw water on it. Some of the guests do, even though there's a big sign on it, and they risk electrocution (sauna heaters run on ridiculously high ampage, which makes it very dangerous). I asked him if he'd ever lost any guests, and he said "Unfortunately not - those are the guests we'd like to lose".

Down by the river, we were lucky enough to see dolphins herding fish - fetching their lunch, which was shared by opportunist pelicans and cormorants. This is something I haven't seen again since, in the week I've spent here, and I keep checking. At one point they were only 30m from the shore, easily visible and audible. That was a real privilege.

Kings Park was as beautiful as everyone says. One particularly beautiful bit was the view from the top of Jacobs Ladder. A hell of a climb, for someone as out of shape as me, but well worth it. Elissa spotted Kevin Rudd (Australian Opposition Leader and strip club frequenter, for the uninitiated) recording a commercial in the park, looking very orange; presumably makeup for the cameras. The wildlife in the park was incredible too, all kinds of birds, some lizards and some beautiful plants. It's a day's entertainment in itself.

We rushed back into town and grabbed a bite to eat and jumped into the cab to the airport. The driver confirmed, yes we were lucky to see dolphins in Perth. Then we flew to Singapore (which I'll cover in a separate post).

5th September We arrived late again on 4th September, and went for dinner in a well priced and suitably dingy bar. The music was excellent, mostly, and the food was plentiful and very affordable. Elissa drank a Smurf (not sure what was in it, but it was blue-green and milky) and swore never to do so again. The hotel room was beautiful, soft, enormous bed, big TV, spa, all the things you hope for when you book. Breakfast was included so we woke up just in time and made the most of that. Elissa made some enquiries about Rottnest Island, but it seemed the only way to see it was overnight, and we'd booked the hotel that night, and Elissa was due to leave the next day. We settled on taking the ferry down to Fremantle. When we got there we had some excellent Gozleme in one of the cafe areas, and headed to the markets, to discover they ran Friday to Sunday. It was Wednesday.

Pottering round Fremantle was nice enough, but Elissa and I eventually agreed a beach was in order, so we jumped on the train to Cottesloe, and walked out to the beach. We joked about the golfers on the course by the coast, and applauded one somewhat unsuccessful player for not swearing more (quietly of course) and to my surprise, Elissa suggested we grab a few drinks. Normally if there's a suggestion of drinking, it's from me. We sat at a bar by the beach waiting for the sun to set and drinking a few beverages on the outside area. Unfortunately the sun wasn't setting nearly fast enough for either of us, so we caught a bus back to town, and made our way back to the hotel.

6th September We woke for breakfast, just in time again, and headed down to James Street for a few games of pool. Elissa and I have a running tournament for every new location, (which she will insist she's winning - I think it's a draw by now) and so the Western Australia round had to be played. Naturally it would be ungentlemanly of me to say anything about the result...

Elissa got herself a massage and I went to investigate a new camera in town. We made our way to the airport shortly afterwards, and said some emotional goodbyes over a drink in the airport bar. Needless to say, I'll miss my closest friend on this side of the world for the next few weeks while I'm travelling, and there's already been a lot I've seen that I'd like to have shared with her, but I'm sure the next four weeks will fly by, and I'm looking forward to being in Sydney again, with lots of stories to tell.

The next part of the Perth story is about the rougher end of travelling - no spas or saunas anymore!