So after a short early-morning flight down the coast from Kota Kinabalu to Kuching we had a good nine hours to waste in and around a very small airport. This being Malaysia and this being a country with a short history of corporate coffee shops the staff in Starbucks actually seemed like real people, happy in their role to serve you coffee without the typical look of disdain. We were in their for seven hours and they were wicked, really lovely people in the way they wanted to know all about our trip and talking about their lives, little things I know but pleasing nonetheless.
Anyway, our flight over to Singapore was at 7pm and as we approached the gate we were told, typically without any reason, that our flight would be delayed for two hours. Again the time came and went, meaning that in the obvious event of a cancellation we would be without any means of getting over to Singapore for our 9am flight to Perth the next morning, a flight that if we missed would render our RTW ticket null and void, shithouse.
As you can probably guess the flight was cancelled. Meaning two things. 1. Several minutes of panic and 2. An hour of, and I think this is where we have grown as people, planning an alternative route and pleading with our travel company, the unbelievably good travel nation, to book us onto a later flight. This they did, for 7pm the following day meaning all we had to do was get to Singapore. Problem was that the only flight left with the fabled Tiger Airways the same time the following night meaning paying over £150 for two tickets to Johor Bharu the following morning, just over the border from Singapore. The big upside to all of this was Tiger Airways putting all 'foreigners' in a hotel for the night....a five star hotel! Definitively, the nicest and most luxurious hotel we have ever stayed in, complete with buffet breakfast. We just wish we had more time than six hours in it!!
Anyway, we caught our excellent flight to Perth without any hindrance, flying metaphorically on a Valium induced haze until we reached the delights of Perth 1am the next morning.
After catching a 70 dollar taxi to the northern suburbs, Bill, our couchsurfing host, had left the door open for us, so we just let ourselves on whilst he put the kettle on.
The next morning Bill went off to work leaving us to hang around his place and his pool to recover from the previous two days. I spent the afternoon cleaning his pool, it wasn't dirty really, just wanted to repay some of his amazing generosity! We also did mundane things like shopping for fruit, bread and baked beans that normally would carry with it about as much a excitement as say, cleaning a sink, but after six months in Asia it was bliss. The ability to purchase products that are familiar, comforting and without the hazard of including chicken gizzards made us incredibly happy, even if a tin of beans cost about as much as an entire restaurant meal in parts of Asia. That night, Bill took us to meet a group of his friends, all ex-pats that meet up usually at the end of a hard working week and usually at the same place, a huge house complete with spa room, huge outdoor pool and pool room adorned with a sickening amount of Liverpool memorabilia. Everyone there made us feel incredibly welcome and we had an absolute blast. They were all mancs and Scouses and told us all evening that we should get ourselves out here, I could not agree more...We stayed all night and expectedly drank our weight in beer and cider before returning back to Bills to crash out.
The next day, Bill took us in his big landcruiser up to Yanchep Park, about 20kms away. The park was stunning. Getting there just before dusk meant that we saw things that you wouldn't normally expect to see. Firstly, all the weekend visitors to the park had now vanished, leaving us with the feeling that we had the park to ourselves. Secondly, With no one around and the sun creating a technicolour show on the lake, all of the park's creatures slowly came to life. We saw wild koalas, very tame kangaroos, lots of wildlife and a chorus of different animal songs. We took some beers down and had a good old natter and took some incredible photos with our incredible new camera that we purchased from Singapore airport (the most impulsive of impulsive purchases).
Waking at six the next day we knew we now only had two days to explore Perth properly. Heading down into Perth our first stop was a cruise down the Swan River, Perth's aquatic artery, where we boarded the captain James cook that would take us down river to Fremantle, a quaint Coastal down directly south of Perth. On the way we passed scenery and city scenes that were simply perfect. I know I'm an excitable person but this was so stunning you just couldn't believe that these lucky people got to enjoy this after work, never mind at the weekend. We passed some fantastic property on the way, property so expensive that it would be some of the most expensive in the world, not just in Perth. The funny thing was that due to city planning laws no property was allowed to build right up to the waters edge anywhere in the swan river or in the harbour, allowing for public access all across the city. Meaning a five metre space between these imposing properties and the shoreline. You can imagine now the guy who buys Australia's most expensive property but then has to contend with 'Brad and Sheila' bringing along their stereo bleating out their Men at Work greatest hits compilation, just outside his mansion, brilliant!
Fremantle itself was a superb little town. We jumped off the boat and went to see if we could hire a couple of bicycles. We went into the hire shop and got told, with a smile, that we could take them for free, as long as we brought them back by 4.30pm, result! So then off we went to explore this beautiful little town, almost like a mix between Southsea and Chichester but spotlessly clean. We cycled through neighbourhoods with oodles (I hate this word but I can't think of anything else right now) of charm before arriving on a stunning White beach encircled with exactly the same fortifications that you would find in Old Portsmouth. It all looked so familiar. We then made our way down to the quayside which oddly enough housed some of Australia's most prestigious Fish and Chip restaurants. Just another one on the long list of items that we share with our antipodean cousins! Anyway, we knew they would be expensive and had psyched ourselves up for the cost but at £22 were definitely the most expensive we have ever bought! They were absolutely delicious though. But no mushy peas, or gravy, or beans (have they nowt moist!!!!)
Anyway from there we rode around this beautiful town and stopped in the centre and locked up the bikes before walking around the cool little shops. I guess due to the heat we had started to bicker but as we turned a corner we were met with a busker who was simply astonishing. I mean, not just good in the way that some buskers can be, but breathtaking. His name was Mike and went by the name of Passenger. Look him up. Anyway, we spoke to the guys he was playing with who told us that he had played in the Eastney Cellars back in July, it was really strange having a conversation about Southsea's canoe lake with a couple of buskers in Oz! We bought his cd, will be great for the campervan, before carrying on down the road with his own very unique versions of The Smiths and Paul Simon still ringing on our ears.
The next day was our last day in Perth so decided to give it a real go. We got up with Bill who gave us a lift into the city at 7am so headed straight for one of the myriad coffee shops serving the hordes of office workers.
From there we walked through the city, a superb vision of gleaming modernity, to the Perth mint. Although we were not allowed to take photos inside of the mint we were given a demonstration in front of a replica gold prospecting camp, complete with tents, shovels and Aussie hats, just like the old photos. He told us we could go ahead and take some photos so shell and I took full opportunity to look like yokels decked out in full regalia, they came out a treat. We were also given a demonstration of how they make gold bars, really fantastic stuff, as well as weighing ourselves in gold (we both weighed the equivalent of £2 million). We also had the chance to pick up a gold bar, it was so heavy!!
From there we took the free bus up to kings park where we munched on picnic food and took in the picture perfect views of this well...perfect city. Nothing is out of place and everything has a purpose, Shell says it's like being in the Stepford Wives! It was also meltingly hot, not humid like much of Asia but so hot the sun seemed to wear away at your skin whenever you were in it. We even traversed the glass walkway through the park, a walkway between the trees, 200 feet up with spectacular views of the city.
Back at Bills, we packed up our swimming gear and headed down to the beach, about a 5min drive from his place. It was a fitting end to a perfect five days. The sea was warm and although windy we sat around and drank a couple of beers and watched a perfect sunset for an incredible end to our brief but amazing WA experience.
Although we obviously met Bill through couchsurfing we're both in no doubt that we will leave as firm friends. Bill leaves on a 1 year RTW trip next month and I think he really appreciated having a couple of people there who could share their experiences with him. As our first couchsurfing experience I doubt it could be beaten but it certainly repays some of your faith in humanity! If your reading this Bill, thankyou my good man and stay in touch!
Next , onwards to Melbourne for a four day stay with our second couchsurfing host, this time a guy called Greg. He's got a lot to live up to!
Much love, Tommo and shellface xxx
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