On the morning that I left Melbourne I realised that I had done A LOT of shopping and that my bag was already at 20kg... that is before I have eben hit the markets in Thailand... Balls!
I waved goodbye to Kirsty and got on my Virgin Blue flight to Perth and chatted away to the entire plane, telling them that I was about to see my twin cousins who I had not seen for over ten years. I nearly burst into tears when I saw Karen at the airport and spent the next couple of hours in a bit of a whirl wind.
Karen took me back home and gave me the grand tour. Perth seems very American to me. Unlike Sydney and Melbourne it is incredibly spread out and gives the illusion that it is bigger than it actually is. Karen's house is a one story open plan house - with a pool I might add. She has a cool watering system in the garden that automatically turn's itself on at 5am and waters the front lawn. We went to pick up the twins from the station but before hand went to the "drive through bottle shop" - yes you did read that properly! How amazing is that?!? The bottle shop looks a bit like a car wash you drive in. Order your booze and it is loaded into your car. You pay and drive off. I was so impressed I took a few photos!
At the train station I saw the twins making their way towards me. A far cry from the little blond giggly girls I used to know. They had grown up so much, dyed their hair dark brown and covered themselves in tattoos. I could tell instantly which one was which - despite the fact that they both have the same hair style and dress sense. I am very proud of the twins they are awesome girls and we had a great laugh.
My first day in Perth was spent alone - in the garden sun bathing. I caught up on some blogging and washed every single item of clothing that I owed. Perfecto!
The next couple of days Karen and Vic took me around Mantra and Freemantle. Mantra is where all the rich people live. I did hang out of the back window and try and find myself a handsome man but it did not seem to be happening for me... Vic - adopted his "Terry's tour guide: status and took me around the city of Perth and up to Kings Park where I saw the most amazing view of the city and took a stroll around the botanical gardens.
Karen and the girls took me to their local - The Swinging Pig which seemed quite lively but in need of some music. The average age was about 18 in this pub so i felt some what old... But helped myself to a pink of "Oink" and all in all had myself a good night. I met all of the twins friends who are equally as mad and lively as them.
When Kirsty arrived we drove around Freemantle and had some lunch. Freemantle had a lot of nice bars that you could spend a long time in. It totally spelt out Sunday lunchtime drinking to me!
Kirsty and I booked a couple of trips to the Swan Valley winery and a chocolate factory. We then booked ourselves onto a day trip to Rottness Island. The Swan Vallery trip was a bit disappointing because I was hoping to learn a bit about wine tasting - what to look for and stuff like that. Insted I was presented with ten different wines to try - and finish with the group. So not ALL bad..! 😊
Our day trip to Rottness Island was amazing. The weather was perfect. Not too hot and sunny but warm enough. We got on the ferry in the morning and were armed with a couple of mountain bikes and were invited to just go and explore the Island. Whoever said that once you learn to ride a bike you never forget it - lied. It took me a while to work out what I was doing, though that might be because I was lauging too much at what Kirsty and I looked like in our oversized crash helmets. I spent a lot of time vigerously shaking my head trying to get the flies out of my face - which out falling over. Not such an easy task.
We cycled around and found lots of different bays that were picture perfect. A lot of people stay on the Island which had we had more time I would have loved to have done. There are no cars allowed on Rottness - just bikes which keeps the Island unspoilt and not too touristy - which was perfect.
There was hardly anyone on the Island and for most of the day it felt like Me, Kirsty and the whole Island. I felt like a character out of Lost - with a bike of course!
One night Vic cooked a BBQ for us and upon my request put a load of shrimps on the old barbie. Though I was told by Emma one of the twins friends that they don't call them shrimps - they are big prawns... mmmm.
Kirsty and I had two very eventful nights out in Perth. The first with the twins and their friends going to all the bars that the young kids go to. Live bands and rock music - it was quite entertaining. Everyone in Perth gets really dressed up to go out. I felt a bit underdressed in my jeans and top - but as I have already said I had bought WAY too much stuff already. Kirsty and I spent a lot of time chatting to people and finding out what they thought of Perth. The reaction was mixed some people thought it was too small and too sleepy and some people thought it was paradise. I was just impressed with a train back to Warnbro (where Karen lives) at 2am! Why don't they do that in London???
The Second night out was with Karen's work - an Ocktobrefest social event. Kirsty and I drank a shed load of Champagne and I got emotional about leaving. (I blame Karen for constantly topping up my glass!)
Vowing that I will be back in Perth at some point I have said goodbye to the twins and made them promise me on pain of death that they will come over the UK so I can show them what it is like to go out in London. - They may get a shock!
The whole time in Perth flew by and I did not feel as though I had seen enough or done enough in the city. I loved spending time with the twins and taking a break from the backpacker lifestyle to be reminded of what it is like to have a family around. It made me feel quite nostaligic and for the first time I started to think about home.
Vic picked us up from the Ockobrefest party and drove us through Kings Parks so that we could see the city skyline one last time. We then swang by the Casino and I grabbed myself the biggest burger you have ever seen. We were then dropped off at the airport where I fell asleep on a bench for a couple of hours before boarding my plane to Singapore.
I was not looking forward to waking up in Singapore with a hangover....
Upon turning 25 I decided to do the responsible thing and leave the country and get myself into a mass load of debt. I see this trip as a quick stab of freedom before I grow up and get myself a morrgage.
The company that I work for as allowed me three months off and so I have booked to jet off to Hong Kong, Sydney and East Coast Australia, Melbourne and Perth and then onto Vietnam, Thailand and down to Singapore.
I'll do my best to keep this blog as up to date as possible but will ensure that I am back in the UK in time for ... full info
