Flight and days 1 and 2

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We are finally here! We left the house at about 6.30 and after talking to a Jehovah’s Witness from Papa New Guinea all about Australia we set off on time at 9.25pm. The flight was great, mainly due to the fact that we were upgraded (thanks Yvonne!) so we watched a couple of movies, ate and went to sleep. We landed in Singapore and I really wish we had had time to go out and see the country a bit because if the airport is anything to go by, the rest of the country must be mental! It was absolutely HUGE with every type of shop and restaurant and even a swimming pool - if you had forgotten to pack anything, by stopping here, you would have no worries. Obviously Andy wanted a cigarette (but I must say the Nicorretes did him well on the flight because he didn’t seem to crave them or become agitated or anything - well he did a bit near the end but that it totally forgivable after 12 hours!) so we headed outside and OMG was it hot. Neither of us had felt anything like it, it was just a suffocating, intense, humid heat. The smoking area was right next to a “Cactus Museum” (I did say it was mental!) which housed over 40 different cacti from all over the world. We had a look around, seeing both an Orcid and Koi area, and headed to “Harry’s” where we had a VERY refreshing Singapore sling (thanks Simone!) and waited for our next flight. We landed in Perth at about midnight and got a shuttle bus to our hostel and our eyes were truly opened to the world of hostelling! We were booked in for a 8 bed mixed dorm but when we got there only 1 bed was free - and thank God for that! It was the messiest room I have seen - and I live with Andrew! People were constantly coming in and out and security would have been an issue as if anything went missing there would have been 6 different people to choose from. So anyway we headed back to reception and asked if there were any smaller rooms available and so we moved to a 4 bed which was much nicer, 2 sets of bunk beds, four lockers and a small but clean shower room and toilet. It also had a little desk and a balcony overlooking the pool. Unfortunately some Irish lads had decided to get absolutely slaughtered and fight each other, breaking a window in the process, so there was noise all through the night until about 4am! We eventually drifted off to sleep but were woken at 6 by the two others in our room who were leaving to catch a plane. They were as quiet as they could have been but hearing someone shuffling around and showering etc was bound to have woken us - from then on we realised that earplugs are a MUST! Around 6.30 the birds woke up and OMG did they let us know they were awake! The were all just squawking and chirping unbelievably loudly for about half an hour - I was desperate for an air rifle! Then all of a sudden they just stopped and became quiet, it was like they just wanted to say good morning to the world or something. I did manage to get back to sleep but we had to get up at 9 to walk into Perth City centre to get our dive medical certificates which we both passed. After that we took a stroll through Perth City and browsed the shops and the general atmosphere. I would describe it as a mix between London’s Oxford Steet and Covent Garden, there were loads of shops but also cafes and street performers playing organs and singing and all sorts, it was a nice mix. As a country I like Australia, considering it is so far away, it is much like England but sunnier. There is a mix of areas and some buildings are modern, some are old, some are run down and building work is dotted all over the place. Not surprisingly there are a lot of Asian people and right by the hostel is Perth’s China town with noodle shops, sushi, Vietnamese, and Chinese restaurants. Anyway, we headed back towards the hostel, only stopping for lunch on the way, and picked up our towels and togs and headed for the beach! We got the train to Cottesloe (which is much cheaper then in England, it was roughly £4 between us for an all day pass allowing us on all the lines around Perth and also worked as a bus pass) and two friendly Ozzies walked with us to the light blue seas with soft golden sands, it was awesome to say the least! We chilled at the beach for a couple of hours just sunbathing and chilling and then headed to a bar to watch the sunset with a cold beer. We came back to the hostel to find we had two new room mates - A Philadelphian named B and a German named Steven, both of whom were very friendly and had been in Oz a few months so were telling us their experiences and what they had done etc. We headed to the pool for a bit where everyone was chatting and drinking and playing cards and stuff and Andy played some pool and then we headed to bed. Having had such a bad first impression of the Hostel from the first night, the second night really changed our opinions and we were happy to be here. Also B and Steven told us that this was one of the best hostels they had been to in Australia so we were glad we had stayed put.

Day 2
Today, I’ll admit it, we were bums. Tiredness and Jet lag caught up with us and we slept until 2 in the afternoon when we eventually dragged ourselves out of bed, well I got up and dragged Andy out of bed! We spent a couple of hours mapping out our route to Exmouth, because we pick up our camper van tomorrow, and then we headed into town. We stopped at a bar/restaurant called “Queens” and ate a cheap but delicious meal. We then went next store to the “Bottle shop” and bought some beers and wine to take back to the hostel. Alcohol is not available around Australia like it is in the UK and Ireland. There is no chance of getting it in a petrol station and not all supermarkets sell it. You have to go to specialised “Bottle shops”. Not even all the restaurants have alcohol licences so exercise a “Bring Your Own“ system where you can bring your own alcohol to places with you (the clue is in the name!) Some places even specify that you can bring your own wine but not beer - it’s weird. Anyways, so we headed back to the hostel had a chat with Steven about his day and stuff, read, watched a movie (thanks Malcolm!) and went to bed. We are due to pick up the camper early tomorrow and then the adventure really begins.

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Comments

[rebecca munnelly]

=]
hi Ala and Andy hows the great out back ? missing you loads I was looking at pictures of you in Antigua a couple of days ago and came to the assumption that you (Alison) are related to the lobster !! cause you are sooo... sun burnt !! lol so lets just hope that you dont burn and then go pale ! lol wel love you lots and talk to you soon bye for now keep safe xxxxxxxxxxxxx