Perth

The journey to Perth was even longer than if we had started off in England, though with more comfort than your economy seat offers. We had a night in KL, where we went up the tower and had a good Chinese meal and then spent the next day on the train down to Singapore. We had a great Indian meal there and Si saw some of the city, while I saw the inside of the Raffles Health Clinic -- my mouth ulcer had become infected and I was running a fever. Feeling better, the next day we flew down to Perth and were met by Mark, a friend of ours from the U of O. He took us back to his new apartment that is a short jump from the city centre, cooked us dinner and settled us in. We spent the week cycling, golfing, swimming in the sea, barbequing and visiting friends. We went to the cricket and to Rottnest Island (guess who did which), south to Rockingham to sea kayak with dolpins, walk with penguins and swim with seals, north to Yanchep National Park to see koalas and to the beach to hang out as much as possible. We met loads of his friends and family and were pleasantly overwhelmed by the friendliness of everyone. We spent a few days with Brian and Lizzie and visited friends of theirs and generally enjoyed a relaxed 10 days. E