Arrived in Adelaide at 07:20 am Getting our luggage went really smooth and there was a limousine waiting to take us to the hotel (The Majestic Roof Garden Hotel). Arrived at the hotel at around 08:00 am, we had suspected that we would have to wait until afternoon before we could check in, but the room was ready which was a real boost, as it enabled us to get unpacked and settled in. Started to explore the city. The first thing you notice is the broad streets and thoroughfare reminiscent of may European cities. We firstly made our way to Central Market, here they seem to sell everything, the fresh fruit and cheeses look particularly good. There is a Chinese section, and the restaurants food in this section looked really good as we passed through while ... read more

Our last day in Perth! Arose about 07:30, we needed to pack as we leave Perth today on the Indian Pacific train for Adelaide today. We have not been travelling too long but already I am beginning to hate packing (and unpacking). We had breakfast, and said our good byes to Cath. Graham drove us to the railway station. We were truly impressed with Perth, the way of life and particularly the climate which seem to be sunshine each day, which meant no weather dependency, you could plan activities ahead with the knowledge that there was a fair chance that the weather would be sunny and fine. I have known Graham since Secondary School and our time together in in rock band some 45 years ago. We had drifted apart and then Graham had moved to ... read more

Up at 07.00 am and had breakfast outside on the terrace. It was a gorgeous morning. Today was earmark for Graham and Cath to give us a tour of the high spots of Perth. Firstly we went to the Hillarys Marina, a really nice place with shops, restaurants and a family beach. We then followed the West Coast Highway down the coast passing through Scarborough beach. We stopped at Cottesloe Beach, which was really picturesque; we got out of the car and had a walk around. With such a nice beach it was amazing how few people were on the beach, but I guess it was Monday We continued along the side of the Swan River via Dalkeith to get to Kings Park and the Botanical Gardens. Here we had lunch in the restaurant, there on ... read more

An early start saw us taking the 8.00 ferry from Hillarys Marina to Rottnest Island. The crossing is about 19 km and took about one hour and was quite choppy, and they were handing out sick-bags on the journey, although we felt no ill-effects from the crossing. Once we had landed we hires bikes and snorkelling equipment, and set out to find a nice cove. The journey on the bikes included some hills where we had to get off and push. Diane was not impressed by a sign that said beware of the venomous snakes and was on her guard for the rest of the day. Rottnest Island is also the home of the quokka's, these are small marsupials that are part of the kangaroo/wallaby family. Diane thought they looked like "large rats" and was not ... read more

Saturday was our one-day to explore Singapore After having an early breakfast and getting our luggage sorted out for an early start to fly to Perth on Sunday morning, we took the Hotel complimentary bus to Orchard Road for shopping. I needed a brush to clean my camera lens, so I made the mistake of going to a camera shop on Orchard Road. The Indian owner was very helpful and I bought the clean brush. He then enquired what camera I had. That was a mistake, before I knew it I had bought a wide-angle lens, lens protector and two UV filters.!! He said “are you from the UK,? I can see it printed on your forehead”, I replied “I thought that you must see MUG imprinted on my forehead”!! For one of the purchases I ... read more