Perth- A week wasn't enough !

Nature has given a lot to Western Australia

7 hours is hell of a long time to spend at an airport in transit and when you are struggling to catch your connecting flight even after that, then it is a comedy of errors. As I strolled leisurely to the gate to board the flight to Perth, I was informed that for Australia flight no liquid more than 100 ml packing is allowed even if it has been bought at the duty free shop and is sealed properly in tamper proof bag. These countries do everything to make your life exciting by making funny laws. I was tempted to throw the bottles in trash can but they gave me 15 minutes to return the whisky I had bought and it was indeed 15 minutes of excitement as I was sprinting all around trying to save some money. I did succeed and was thankfully on time for the flight to the Western Australian capital. 2 bottles of Johnny Walker certainly were not worth missing a flight for.

Bangkok airport called the Suvarnabhumi Airport is a bustling airport with miles and miles of concourses full of people enjoying duty free shopping. I am pretty familiar with this airport and always enjoy spending time there. The place buzzes with people and I took a walk from concourse A to G and then went around again. Actor Fawad Khan and I bought the same after shave from Kings Power duty free shop and I decided to have some duck and fried rice at Thai restaurant called Mango tree. The food was excellent and service was efficient. The Thai airways had served some terrible food and their choice of drinks was poor. I had walked around at the Airport quite a bit, so required that my feet get some massage. At 800 Bahts I had a very nice foot and neck massage at concourse G at Chang's massage. I was ready for another walking round but decided to spend time in the Louis Tavern first class lounge.

American express cards had offered me to join Priority Club without any membership charges. As I had long stopovers at Bangkok Airport while going and coming I jumped at that idea. The card gives you access to several lounges at airports and 2 accesses a year are without any charges. The concourse G had a huge Louis Tavern CIP first Class lounge which was spread over a few floors. I used this nice lounge on the way back. It even had showers and wi fi. While going my flight was from concourse C, so I used the smaller lounge there. This was very tiny but had some decent snacks and plenty of Black Label scotch to keep me happy.

The story behind the visit

It was in the month of August that I called up my friend Rajat in Perth. Rajat has been in Australia for more than 20 years but I have never visited him. He was earlier at Adelaide and shifted to Perth a few years ago where most of his wife Farah's family stays. My mind was working towards planning a trip for next summer. We wanted to go to a cool place as Delhi gets unbearably hot in June with temp as high as 45 deg C. Last few years we have travelled to USA, Europe and South Africa during summer break. Rajat wasn’t very pleased about our coming at that time of the year as it could get very cold and windy and wet in Western Australia. He encouraged us to come in December when the atmosphere is festive and beaches are full. He tempted me with this idea and as I easily fall for such temptations, within next 30 days not only did I have a ticket in my hand but also the visa for Australia. The downside was that this trip was for me only as kids had their school exams and board exams from Jan to March. So, Devicka and kids had to opt out but encouraged me to go. It so happened that Farah and the girls were in USA at the time of my visit. It was going to be a bachelor's party in Perth at new Years time.

Day 1, A perfect start

The weather was nice when I landed at Perth in morning on a Sunday. I had left a cold and foggy Delhi where minimum temperature had be around 4 deg C. In Perth the day gradually became warmer and reached a nice 28 deg C as we had lunch at the picturesque Matilda Bay restaurant overlooking the Swan river .The restaurant was upmarket but served great grilled fish. Rajat has forgotten his 'jat' habits and is now a very fit Indian-Aussie. He decided to eat some shrimp salad.

Australian families were out in the sun having bar-be-cues and picnics near the river. Youngsters were skating, cycling and busy playing Frisbee. As we finished our lunch and planned a small swimming pool party with Farah's family for the evening, Kohli and Rahane hit magnificent centuries in a counter attack to Australians in the Melbourne boxing day Test. This fantastic weather, the great atmosphere and the cricket scores were a good omen for the week ahead.

Pleasant start to a New Year – on the beach.

The crowds increased as the day progressed.

The week ahead turned out to be busier than I thought it would be. Perth is much more laid back than Sydney or Melbourne. It is a small town which has grown but not grown as much to make life hectic. Rajat told me that he had started his life in Australia as a student in Perth 25 years ago. I did remember the time when Rajat had left for Perth . Perth had just one high rise at that time. Now it has a modern city centre with a lot of buildings. At this time of the year people were in a holiday mood. Even the restaurateurs decided to close shutters for a few days starting 1^st January. Even they needed to have fun with their families. For us also the New Years day was a day of relaxation. We decided to spend the time at the beach on the morning of the New Years day. The water looked lovely and even though days were warm in Perth, the water was pretty cold. It did take me some time to gather courage to jump in. Once inside, it was pure bliss. I did not come out for an hour and later went for a dip again. Cottesloe beach was full of people and it made a pretty sight. I loved this atmosphere. We took a full round of the beach and then went to a restaurant for some chilled beer. We got some fish from Amberjacks and the amount of chips they give with fish is not funny. The place was very popular and the fish they served was pretty good. Just the night before we had had a nice evening at Foreshore ushering in 2015.

The New Years eve and some selfies.

The New Years party at Foreshore. The fireworks were dazzling.

Rajat had bought tickets for an open air party downtown at ‘Foreshore’ for the New Year's eve. In the huge lawns reminiscent of India gate lawns a huge stage was set up with a DJ and a massive and effective sound system. The food available on payment was basic and mainly Pizzas and some light snacks. The drinks were all pre-packaged mixtures in cans so that crowds could be served fast. At first we had Bourbon & Cola mix and then switched to Beer. There were thousands in the park. Mostly were unattached like us. They were there for fun and sure they knew how to have fun. No ‘chic’ approached us but it was good fun as many revelers would offer me their drinks and many would take selfies with me. Some groups did involve me in dancing to the rocking music and initially I was a bit scared but then realized that these were all friendly blokes. 2 pretty girls who were dancing near me , at some point came on my either side and decided to take selfies with 'me the foreigner'. So fair were they that my dark face would disappear in the dark background of the night in the photograph. They needed to put on their flash to make me appear in the picture. I wish I had that picture for remembrance.

As the magnificent fireworks came to an end we trudged towards the bus station a few km’s away. People don’t take chance with drinking and driving in the developed nations. As was expected, we missed the last bus and as we had no plan 'B' , and with no cab available, most of the journey home was on tired legs. It was a night to remember.

Margaret River region – a nice place to chill

Wine tasting at Margaret river

300 odd Km’s from Perth lies the Margaret River wine country. This place is eminently popular with tourists as well as locals. The area has so much to offer that perhaps our one day journey wasn't enough to do justice to all that the place has to offer. As you approach the region, you can see the wineries all around. There are several breweries and chocolate factories as well. In route to Margaret river you can stop in at several other prominent touristy places . I saw 2 Kangaroos lying dead on roadsides as they must have been hit by speeding cars.

The magnificent caves at the Margaret River region

There are surfing beaches, swimming beaches, forests, golf courses and the stalactite and stalagmite caves. I had visited the similar caves in South africa near Oudtshoorn and it is really lovely to see such well preserved and looked after natural wonders. They do charge you good money to enter but the audio gives you wonderful knowledge about formations of such caves and the historical and geological aspects attached to it.
A landscape photographer would love the entire Margaret river area. People come here to live for a few days and it is considered to be a very popular holiday place in Western Australia. The quaint little market has some lovely restaurants and the Margaret river information centre. We thought of having lunch at the sea side but then decided to drive to the market for some Mexican food. You could go to any of the wineries and most of them have wine tasting facilities as well as decent restaurants. You can learn a lot from the personnel there about wines. Our hostess was a young Indian lady who had just come to Australia . Her husband was a wine maker in another winery. I did ask a few questions but not too many. Wine drinking was the only priority.

The Sand Dunes of Lancelin

These naturally formed San Dunes are marvellous to look at.

There are many places in and around Perth which makes you fall in love with the place. Lancelin sand dunes were really breathtaking. They were visible from very far and the pure white powdery sand gleamed in the afternoon sun. They were not too far from the sea and the beaches. On the drive here I asked Rajat to stop at a few places so I could see their 'bush' region and could see a lot of area destroyed by the 'bush fires.' It is said that these sand dunes were formed over 4000 years ago along with other dunes in the Quindalup system when water levels rose following the end of the last ice age. The dunes are visible from many kilometres away and have provided a useful landmark for travellers and even the aboriginals over the centuries. I was delighted to see such beautiful natural formation so near the city of Perth and ran up and down the soft sand hills like a child and tumbled down many a times till the legs got tired.

It would have been prudent to travel a little further and seen another great natural formations called the Pinnacles, but we decided against it. It was New Years eve and it was time to go back and get ready for the evening.

My friend Rajat relaxing in sand

Gastronomical Delights of Perth

Australians love drinking and they love eating. The variety in food is tremendous and popular places remain full. I have written earlier that I enjoyed the upmarket Matilda bay restaurant on the first day. We also went to Jamie's Italian for lunch as I was told that for dinner you have to book months in advance. The place was busy and had great atmosphere. More important- the food and drinks lived up to the hype.

My lunch at Jamie's

Twice we went to the happening area of North Bridge at night. We did some pub crawling and eventually decided that North-bridge Brewing Co. was where we were most comfortable. The place was large and lively. The drinks were good but food was limited. Each time we were there we decided on eating dinner at a seemingly popular Malaysian place called 'PappaRich' but by the time we finished with drinks we could get food only at Nando's or Outback Jack's.

Inside the Northbridge Brewing Co.

To a tourist the city and surroundings has much to offer. People throng to places like a Casino for night entertainment as we did one evening and gave away some money to the roulette table. Hillary Boat harbour was for a pleasant afternoon and you could go for swim as well. A lot of kids were jumping from the jetty and having fun while parent's relaxed at the beach. We saw them all from a vantage location while eating fish n chips and then took one big round of the place before settling for some Ice cream. An entire day could be spent at Rottnest island and from there you could take a Ferry to Perth city or Freemantle . Rottnest has everything to offer which a tourist or fun seeker requires.

The port town of

Freemantle

I quite liked Freemantle as it had a very relaxed look about it with some great food places. The Beer always tastes better in such places. The King's park in Perth is one of the largest Urban parks in the world and from high above you get spectacular views of the city. There were many people there and while children played around, the joggers were busy cutting down their fat as they went up and down the jogging path which was shaded by lovely trees and had great slopes and climbs.

As I sat in the aircraft after a week in this lovely city, I carried back with me the following images which will remain with me for a long time to come.