We arrived in Perth and checked into Bam'bu Backpackers which our friend Shane (who we met back in Darwin) had recommended to us. The hostel was pretty cool, decorated in an Afrcian kind of style, very hard to explain unless you've seen it but it has a really good vibe about the place. The owner is not really around much either so it is run by backpackers.

Shane said his brother and his mates were staying at the hostel so we were keeping an ear out for some Irish voices; problem is the Irish are everywhere, we didn't stand a chance! But as we were talking to some Italian people, a couple of lads came over and we soon worked out it was them. They said Shane had told them to keep an eye out for a blond and brunette, but with Sam being brown now, they were a little confused.

We were planning on having an early night after the long drive so after saying goodnight to Kev and Tom we were finishing our drinks and were intending to go to bed. Just as we were about to get up, they suddenly reappeared saying that we were all going to the Dean, which is a Backpacker Bar opposite the hostel. Hmmm, bye bye early night! Kev and Tom both had work the following morning, one at 4.30am and the other at 5.30am but this didn't stop Tom instigating shots!

The following night Shane came to Bam'bu with his housemate Matthew because on Fridays they have a DJ at the hostel, then everyone heads out. We ended up in Mustangs which is a bar/club with live bands. Great for a bop! We all had a really good night except for poor Tom who got beaten up in the kebab house by some pissed lads =( Great kebabs though! (Dani's opinion). On the way back he spoke to the police to report the incident but they weren't much help as they were dealing with a guy who had been kicked out of a bar and was lying on the floor refusing to move claiming his back was injured. Easy enough to deal with one would think, but no. There were 5 police officers stood watching him and another 4 on horses chatting amongst themselves!

The following night we were invited to Shane's house for a BBQ and were in for a treat! We had a nice Ozzie BBQ with prawns, burgers, sausages and lamb and the nicest potatoes and carrots we've ever had! Needless to say Sam didn't go near the prawns but Dani did and they have now been added to the list of new things she eats! We were the only non-Irish people there but absolutely loved the sing a long with the guitar, it was brilliant. Transit van was definitely our favourite! We have also decided that blockbuster is our favourite game, thanks to Jack… 'Can I have an F please Bob?' ha ha!

Sunday it was decided would be a roast dinner day before going to the Rosies Irish Bar for drinks, then up to Shane's where Matthew cooked us tea. Monday night we were invited over to a family's house who Sam knows from home for a BBQ. It was a nice evening (as always in Perth) so we sat outside chatting away about our travels, having some lovely food and drinks from the bar in the garden, which has beer on tap =) We think every house needs this (hint hint families)

On the way home we were wondering if we'd be able to get away without buying an extra train ticket because earlier we pressed the wrong button so had one all day (the correct one) and another one-way ticket. So as the ticket guys were checking our tickets we were hoping they wouldn't notice, which they didn't, phew! What we hadn't thought about was the ticket man at the station exit, oops! Anyways, we played the stupid card (this is where we both should still be blonde) saying we thought they were the same type. Clearly the guy didn't believe us as one ticket obviously said ALLDAY and the other one didn't. We weren't the only ones with the wrong ticket, so as he was writing a fine for two French lads, we contemplated running. We decided we wouldn't get very far so asked him if we should just buy a new ticket. We weren't expecting him to respond with "No, I'm going to fine you as well", but he probably didn't expect us to respond with "Well, we aren't paying it!" He looked a bit confused, but after we told him we were on a tourist visa and leaving the next day, he told us what we already knew, you can't fine tourists, ha ha!!

You may be noticing a pattern forming in which the days are spent doing nothing and the nights spent socialising, well this is true apart from our last day when we actually decided to do something. We took a train to Fremantle where we went to visit the old prison, which used to be the Western Australia Maximum Security Prison that was built by the prisoners themselves. Back in the day, people were going to start leaving Western Australia due to the lack of skills the residents had, so the government asked the UK and Ireland to send over convicts to boost the economy. The idea was they would work in the community all day and then sleep in the prison. Once the convicts had completed their sentences, they were encouraged to stay in Western Australia, so in a way, Western Australia is a convict state!

We learnt a lot of interesting things during our tour about life inside the prison, which wasn't very pleasant. Seeing the conditions they lived in makes it hard to believe it was operational until 1991, when the prison closed. We saw the punishment equipment used and heard some stories that went with them. Did you know…. The phrase "cat got your tongue' comes from when the prisoners were receiving lashes. Fear of a whipping with a cat-o'-nine-tails, or "cat" for short, could paralyse a victim into silence. And the phrase 'rubbing salt into the wounds' refers to the pain a prisoner would be in after they would put salt in to the wounds, after the lashings, to prevent infection but also add to the punishment!

After the prison we met the Irish lads for tea and a few drinks as it was our last night. We were a bit sad to be leaving as we'd only been in Perth for 5 days and were having such a good time. Because our flight was only domestic, we didn't need to be at the airport until half hour before (yay more time in the pub). Tom offered to give us a lift which meant we didn't need to mess around with buses (what a star) but we should know by now that things are never easy in the world of Sam and Dani, so thanks to Sat Nav taking us the wrong way, when we arrived at the airport we had missed our flight……by 3 minutes!! Great!!