And there it goes. Just like that. Perth again.
My time in Perth never lasts long and yet each time I turn up at Melody’s door it instantly feels like home. My fascination with Australia started way back in the days when my good friend Mel moved half way across the world. I was devastated. Now my fourth visit to Australia and now with even more of a reason to visit. Mel and Shaun’s baby, Joey, has just turned one.
Joey’s the most adorable little boy and has played a big part in my new found fondness for little ones. The first day I arrived Mel had to work so I went for a walk in King’s Park, one the my favourite places in Perth. Despite it being a little nippy, I managed to fall asleep on the grass in the sunshine. My mixed berry cheesecake and chai latte in the Botanical Gardens Cafe was particularly nice and I spent the afternoon blogging.
That evening I went for a delicious roast dinner around Garry and his wife Willi’s house. If you don’t remember, Garry is the Aussie truck driver that I hitched a lift down the western coast of Australia with in October 2015. Once you drive his road train, you’re pretty much part of the family.
It took me a while to recover from three long-haul night flights to get me from London to Perth and I slept in A LOT. Mel, Joey and I took a trip to Yanchep National Park as I said I wanted to see Kangaroos and Koalas. We’ll pretend that was Joey’s idea. Sure enough, I saw plenty of cuddly creatures and enjoyed a huge pub lunch at the Yanchep Inn.
The week involved plenty of outings to the shops doing adult things like grocery shopping and converting poor Dad Shaun’s snooker room into a new playroom for Joey. I also joined Perth’s yummy mummys by taking walks with the buggy along the beach. One thing I’ve noticed since I’ve returned to Australia is that everyone is so image conscious and I’m not sure if I really fit in any more. Melbourne may still be different, I hope.
You are probably aware of the Pokemon craze that has taken over Australia and so it seems, the entire world. In Perth it was total madness. At one point on my walk around Hilary’s Boat Harbour every single person I passed was on their phone hunting for Pokemon. It was even going on in the local night club that evening!
I’ve not sure where I’ve been hiding but I appear to be oblivious to all these recent crazes. Mel introduced me to another, Cake Smash. Please don’t go confusing this with the term Cake Smashing (see urban Dictionary to find out!). A Smash Cake or Cake Smash is a staged photoshoot where a baby destroys a beautifully decorated cake. The photos are typically used on first birthday invitations or in our case, just for memories. It’s no surprise that the housewives of America originally came up with, what in my eyes, is a ridiculously stupid idea and a terrible waste of cake. It was Joey’s birthday though and if he wanted it, he gets it. How can I say no to someone so cute?!
Despite enjoying a hearty roast dinner followed by rhubarb crumble at Mel’s parents house, a trip to San Churros on the way to the airport was totally necessary. We had a little walk around Leedaville which is definitely my kind of scene and one I will be exploring on my next visit. I dropped my thermal base layer (yes it was that cold) on the floor when getting into the car which resulted in having to turn back on the highway on the way to the airport. It was worth $200, there was no way I was letting that go. With just 20 minutes until check-in closed I was rather relieved to learn that my flight was delayed. I’ve previously told you about my dangerously relaxed attitude to flying and my many near misses like in my last post “An Idiot’s Guide to Flying“. If you play with fire you’re going to get burnt and that time had come. Before stepping onto the plane, the last one as usual, I realise I didn’t have my passport. I tipped my bags out in the hunt for it but it was nowhere to be seen. How could it have disappeared?
“Miss, we’re going to have to close the flight. You need to make a decision whether you fly without your passport or be taken off this flight”
I explained that not only did I need to catch the flight to Sydney, I also had an international flight to catch when I got there. The next flight wasn’t until the next evening so missing this flight would mean that I missed my international flight. Tickets weren’t cheap either and totalled more than my flight from Delhi. I felt sick. The staff had a look where I’d been sitting but found nothing. I couldn’t go anywhere without my passport so I had no other option than to go back and look for my passport. I headed in the direction to where I was Facetiming my mum and caught a glimpse of it under the chairs. I sprinted back to the gate but it had already closed. I could see the plane just 50 metres ahead of me and knew my bag was still in there but they wouldn’t let me on.
I know it was my own stupidity that led me to miss both my flights but I was unbelievably frustrated that they would rather spend the time to look for my bag and get it off rather than let me walk 50 metres onto the plane. Rules are rules but logic is logic. It was now 1:30am and I was preparing myself for 24 hours in Perth Airport and a 500 bucks charge for a new flight. Thankfully I got lucky once again and there was a delayed flight to Melbourne leaving in 20 minutes. What’s more, there was only a three hour lay over before the onwards flight to Auckland and I only had to pay $75 to change it. It was a wasted $75 I didn’t want to spend but it was a hell of a lot better than paying for two new flights. Winning.
I had a great time in Perth with Mel, her family and friends and it won’t be long until I am back. It was only on the way to the airport that I said to her that this is the first week of 2016 where nothing terribly crazy has happened, what with Nepal, India and travelling through eight international airports in the last six months. I admitted that I was a little bit sad about this matter as it meant I hadn’t much to share with you all. Next time, I will think twice about saying such a thing.
