My first 9 days in Australia were in Perth, where I flew into, and I think it’s fair to say the temperature in Perth was considerably warmer than I am used to. The day I arrived in Perth the temperature was a chilly 32˚C, let’s just say I was glad the following day that I arrived a day earlier as although 32˚ was warm and I sweated cobs lugging my bergen around, the 45˚ the following day was simply impossible. Never have I been so warm that it was an effort to sit in the shade and drink!
Fortunatly over the following days it steadied to around 32˚. Perth was a very nice place – last time I was in Oz I only had a day in Perth and was determined to see a bit more of the place this time around. I was staying in a suburb called Northbridge, which was a 10 minute walk north of the City Centre, or the CBD (Central Business District – for those who don’t remeber their Geography school leasons)as they like to call in around here. A little like Roath in Cardiff I thought, before I come across the multitute of pubs and clubs that immediately drew comparisons in my mind with San Antonio, Ibiza – only I couldn’t ever remember Ibiza feeling as hot as this! I stayed in a hostel called the Witch’s Hat – which I kept calling the Witch’s Tit – which was a very nice, air-conditioned hostel well worth the $32 a night, if not slightly a bit further out than I would have liked. As for Perth itself (the CBD) it was quite nice, not what I was expecting, not as big I guess but it was surrounded by water, green spaces are abundant and it is basked in more sunshine per year than any other capital city in Australia. There’s a free bus service called the CAT which operates three services on a loop, the red, yellow and the blue CAT – which serviced Northbridge – not of course that the other forms of public transport was expensive. A day pass on the Transperth train service was only $8 or to get to Cottesloe Beach it was $3.50 each way, the service was very good and reliable and operated a normal service and a high speed one (every half hour I think) and went as far as Freemantle, I used this service to go out to Cottesloe and Freemantle.
One thing I did find quite odd about most of the pubs in Northbridge was that you had to be smartly dressed to go into in the evenings, no filp flops or thongs as they call them and only a shirt with a collar! I mean come on this area I full of backpacker hostels and ergo, travellers - how many travellers do you think pack for temperatures of 30+ with the dress code of Australian pubs in mind? little bit silly and a little bit similar of now defunkt nazi-like dress policies of British Pubs and clubs in the 90's. I have since found that this is quite wide-spread in Ozzy pubs / clubs and a rule I am not a fan of.
