Day 75

Yahoo! Finally a good day at the beach. We got down there before noon, so the water was still clear and perfect! I henceforth name the Perth exercise regime as such - get to beach, lay down blanket, jump into water, splash about, feel refreshed, lie on beach blanket (or in my case, cover myself with beach blanket - no skin cancer for me!), get toasty warm, jump back into water (in bikinis of course!), repeat the rinse and dry cycle as many times as desired... and then back home for lunch :) Andrea and I also had a try with the $50 coffee machine - well, the machine was ok (as ok as $50 can be), a bit slow, and for first-timer baristas - not bad.. although we left the coffee on for too long, so it came out bitter. Little Nicholas came over to give Justin a hand with adjusting his bike and then Justin, Andrea & Andrea went out for a motorcyle ride along the coast... Mmm Aussie summers.

Day 74

Another sunny and gorgeous day in Perth - are there any others? Went to Trigg Beach in the afternoon, most of Perth's beaches gets really windy, and the water choppy, in the afternoon that this was the "most" sheltered beach... which wasn't very sheltered. But white sand, clear water FTW! Quick trip to the supermarket for a big Italian dinner by Frederica - but I had to get going to meet up with John and the rest of the Perth crew. It is feeling really good to get out there again - also seeing Perth city in the twilight was rather unreal. The Perth crew are close like family - brothers and sisters training alongside. Today was more social and we moved around to more spots including in front of the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) building and other places in the CBD. And what do you know, I got home at the same time as Justin and then we all had this huge lasagne dinner with chocolate cake after. Soooo famished - so today there's only photos of empty plates. The dinner guest list consisted of Aussies, Brazilian, Italians and me! Haha, United Nations are we!

Day 73

A slightly mundane day today , but a necessary one. I needed to go to the bank in Perth city, being away for so long means that I have tie up loose ends and as much as I appreciate the security measures that banks employ to keep my money safe, I have to admit that yes, it is a pain and unfortunately it's better for me to get everything done in person.

Justin gave me some grief about "avoiding" his housemate and his ex-girlfriend. A bit harsh considering I have not yet even met either of them, was just really tired last night and he's been telling me that his ex is psycho (but hasn't explained why yet). Plus I have been waiting all weekend to get to the bank...

I'm regretting my decision to spend time with a friend at the moment - yeah ok he's going through some issues, but from what I've finally learnt - I'm not going to judge. Holidays right? Holeeeedddaaaaaayyyyysssss....

But after continuously rejecting dinner (no thanks I have a stomach ache) and then finally accepting a small bowl and I realize: He's offered me beans and pasta... Beans? With a stomach ache?? Sigh. Straight up to the loo after dinner. While I don't expect special treatment (hey, I cleaned his entire house while he was gone), I didn't expect to be given grief over little things.

Even though his ex isn't here, she comes by every night (invited by him or his female flatmate), he checks his phone every 15 minutes and/or calling and/or psychoanalyzing his ex every 15 minutes. "You see, I thought that Sabrina was like.." "Yeah, Sabrina's like that, she does...." "Sabrina said this.." And best of all "Yeah, Sabrina didn't show last night even though she said she would. She just makes plans and breaks them, you know? That's what I like about her. She does what she likes."

Ummm... what? Anyway, before I came, I thought that it'd be nice to just hang out, go to the beach, cook at home, chill out - instead it's turned into "the world revolving around Justin's ex" drama show. I am going to keep myself out of this mess. Really sucks though, I was looking forward to just hanging out. Here's a cool little picture from the alley between the shops at the Hay Street mall in Central Perth.

Day 72

My cousin picked me up today after lunch and we sent the afternoon catching up. Cousin dearest is the main reason for this stop in Perth, he was bitten by a shark a month ago while surfing in Balian, Bali Indonesia. He was lucky that it was a small shark, because he still has his fingers, but his thumb required microsurgery, I think about 30 stitches or more.. and 6 months of rehab. So I wanted to come look in on him and spend some time... now that he is not jetting around the world :p

It was great to see family again, the best part was going to Coco's Restaurant in South Perth. I read a quote, that if a restaurant has a good view then the food does not have to be as good or as special. I think that the strengths of Australian food is simply the quality of its produce. The best produce doesn't need much done to it - so remaining true to that philosophy, I ordered a steak with red wine jus which was so firm, juicy and tender.. ahhhhhh.

That, with a glass of pinot noir meant that I was ready to get a much deserved good night's sleep. My friend Justin would be back tomorrow, so I could have a good night's rest (less than 5 hrs sleep on the plane), recover from the parkour session and leisurely clean up my stuff (bags everywhere!)....

Only thing was, 10 minutes after my family dropped me off - I overheard that he would be back in 10 minutes! Eeek! Sweaty and 100% Australian beef and wine in my bloodstream, I started frantically dragging my bags, picking up random cosmetic bottles and socks strewn around his room and transferring it to the spare room - which had been vacated earlier that day by his ex girlfriend...

..and 2 minutes later he pulled in... whew.

"Hey Shi, why are you looking so frantic?"

Sigh.

Day 71

5am: Pilot's announcing that we are beginning our descent into Perth. Feeling kinda bleary, kinda good. I was really glad that the flight was only 5 hours long because the seats were narrow and hard. I came prepared with a big cushy pillow and my own blanket: Comfort pack costs extra. Welcome to the world of budget air travel...Then the smoothest plane landing ever, which almost made up for the 2 hour queue at Kuala Lumpur's Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT). In such a good mood, yay, I'm finally back in Australia! Feelin' friendly, cheery, joking around with the nice immigration people, I make my way over to the baggage collection area.

Well, since my seat was at the back of the plane, I was the last one out, and at the now stopped and empty luggage carousel, I see only 2 bags left. A red one, not mine.. and another one, 90% identical to mine.

Oh..no...

80 anxious minutes later, a flustered Indian girl came back to the airport with my bag. I should be thankful that it wasn't the Indian family who said that they were going to Karlgoolie :P And also that she put on a local phone number, I found out later that my phone number has been disconnected... All this drama even before 9am! Surprisingly the weather was cool and nice and not steaming hot like in the tropics. I'd forgotten how good the weather can get in Australia... blue skies, cool weather and very, very hot sun! (Don't forget to slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen and slap on a hat)

Met up with John, an old friend who's moved to Perth from London, and Fizz who's also from London. John's helping run the Australian Parkour Association classes in Perth and he's said that I can help out in the classes - yay! Meeting up at the main Perth station concourse, we have a bit of a session ourselves before the actual class. It's a nice close group, I meet Fizz (London), Graham and his sister and Matt. The energy is nice, everyone is just moving and trying stuff and the weather is blue-skied, sunny and a cool breeze is blowing. Excellent.

A few hours later, classes are on! Big-ish group, at least 40 people in the year's first class. I'm helping Matt run the first-timers class. The format of the class is simple, we do a warm up: First warming up through a range of motions, the joints: wrists, elbows, knees and neck and then quadrepedal motion, up and down the lawn, crab walks, a kind of "gorilla konging movement" and table-position walking. Then we split up into 2 groups; first-timers and experienced people. We move through different spots and the classes are going well, until a council man comes along and informs us that we are blocking a public ramp, and Matt explains what we're doing, how we're making way for people using the ramp and agrees to move on. I'm sort of easy-going about it (mostly because I'm on holiday, because the council man is like every other council man I've dealt with in work) and also, I think that Matt handled it remarkably: calm and responsible, but his mood has been slightly dampened and he's trying to keep it to himself....

At the end of the session Matt agrees that John has not run this class as tough as he normally does, probably because this is the first session of the year. But it's been a good day.

Day 70

Last day in Perth and last day in Australia. Justin was still pretty tired so we just had a swim at the beach. Basically it gets all blown out by the afternoon, so we went in the morning and it was gorgeous as usual. Drove around the city, just catching up with what's changed. King's Park is a lot greener than I remember, I guess they must be switching on the sprinklers although Perth went without rain for 60+ days! The Perth skyline has changed a little - it's good to see more tall buildings, and a few new mid-rise buildings. Not like Sydney, it's all built up, nothing much new to build, I suppose...

And then walked around UWA in the day time. It's just so surreal being back someplace that I've walked around for years, and then left for almost a decade, and then came back again. Everything's the same, but slightly, ever so slightly different. A fresh pasta dinner and an early early wake up tomorrow to catch a 630am flight to Asia.. boooo

Good bye Australia for now...

Day 69

Scarborough beach late in the afternoon today, the wind had really picked up and it was a very different atmosphere from the weekend before! No more calm clear waters, instead it was choppy and we could see dark clouds on the horizon. The wind surfers were having lots of fun though. Later the lightning rolled in and the lifeguards put on the shark siren. Dinner and a long game of Uno later!

Day 68

,Caught up with Bek today! Went to see moonlight cinema, such a great french black comedy, Jean-Louise. So unexpected and certainly a lot of laughs..although I screamed at the start when a guy's head got blown off, as I blinked and didn't see the shotgun approaching his head...then his head went off like a watermelon. Ewwwww.. but definitely a great plot!

We brought a little picnic with cheeses, chips, fruit, bought a little apple cider, had a picnic on the grass then when it got dark, movie time! yeah!

Went strolling through the uni grounds after, the uni hasn't changed much since I left, the important parts like Hackett Hall and the Unigym are still the same. I have so many happy memories going into the gym for karate! I'm really bummed that karate is off for the end of the year holidays..and also relieved because my karate is so crap now, I would shame myself and the dojo :(

But pretty happy. Perth is feeling like a warm happy fuzzy place..everyone has been great since I got back!

Day 66

First time back in Perth city after 10 years away! It's been far too long.. Things have changed, yet haven't changed that much. Portmans and Sportsgirl (retail shops) are still in the same spot, so is Mr. Samurai (japanese restaurant) but the windows are covered up with japanese newspapers. The inside of Myers and David Jones (main department stores) all look nice and new, like they've been redone recently.

And most importantly, a very nice, efficient and fast train service and an underground train station that exits right into the heart of the shopping area! haha..

The weather has been crazy hot the last few days so having an underground train station is just too good, if only to escape the heat. There are a lot more expensive things here! Probably thanks to the mining boom and all the money flowing through..

Such a walk through my memories, I went to the Post Office Building and also a scoop of cookies and cream ice cream from Gelare's! Forrest Chase is still the same (haha)..and I felt like a young student again. It hasn't changed at all, I was a bit worried I'd come back and things would look old and yellow...but it's all still nice and new looking :) Happy :D

Day 63

Kalwant picks me up early in the morning...where is all my stuff? I panic a little because everything is in several different bags, and back in sydney I had to throw stuff in a different bag because my baggage was heavier than 20kg. A bit of a run around later and I get everything sorted seconds before Kalwant pulls up the front. It is yet another hot day, the sun here is even hotter than in Sydney! I can feel my skin sizzling after a while. It's also a very hot day today (and also for the next 3 days), forecasted to be 45 celsius! We are lucky and get a parking spot for the black (!!) car underneath the only shady tree in the parking lot. The beach is packed! But the water is so crisp and refreshing. A bit of dancing, drinks, me nervously driving a stick (manual) car and dinner later, we are all happy, and playing Wii bowling at K's place. A good day out... all of us needed one for a bit I think!

Day 62

Finally the train pulls into the station! The immigration officer comes through the train to collect any fruit, nuts or honey that we have because of strict laws in Western Australia protecting their local crops. While I wait for my bags, I have a bit of a chat with this cool old couple who are travelling around australia. It's been a big journey, it feels like I've travelled and experienced a bit of Australian history. Now it's time for me to explore a bit of my history - the last time I was in Perth was 10 years ago and I was a fresh faced teenager. Get onto a taxi with no hassles, cost less than I expected and am so happy to get to Justin's place. A bit of drama with the front door key but I'm here!

I surprise myself by eating half a packed of spaghetti (2 1/2 times my normal portion) and I am exhausted and dehydrated. Rest.

Day 61

Wow look day 61! Looks like this blog lives on..haha..

Early early early day today. The train arrived in Cook, Australia's Ghost town, population 4. Most of the houses, buildings and schools are deserted now, when the trains became privatized. It is HOT. We are starting to feel the australian desert/outback now. Had a bit of a run around, that felt great after being cooped up in a seat for days. To my delight I spot wild brumbies (wild horses) running alongside the tracks. Gorgeous muscular chestnut bodies and flying mane...so beautiful. I also spot wild rabbit, sheep and eagles, and I eat even more meat pie. The cafeteria car's air-conditioning is broken and it is a sauna in there!

Much much later, in the evening, we arrive in Kalgoorlie, a gold mining town (not a ghost town). A lot of the mining in Kalgoorlie has fed the growth and boom in Perth city, there is a lot of money to be made in this little country town. Did another town tour and they take us to the "Super pit" (a hole 300m in the ground) and around to the local taverns, hotels and brothels. Everything you'd need in a desert mining town really...

Yet another long night as I try to get comfortable, tomorrow we arrive in Perth and I have lots of luggage to bring to where I'm staying.