Our idea of a free nights accommodation was not so well thought out! We boarded our flight from Singapore at 00.40am and took off at 01.20am. The flight was fairly empty but we couldn't get seats to lay down on. Also, with a good choice of films & food, we only got about an hour sleep each. I suppose the only good thing to come of this was i got a free Singapore Sling whilst, probably, still in Singapore!!

We landed about 6am in Perth and had a long old wait through customs (don't tell anyone but we failed to declare our wooden items!). We got through ok, even after we declared our sweets - it says any food must be declared. We were expecting a reduced price pick-up from our hostel so we gave them a call, as advised, but there was no answer. The answerphone said they don't open until 9. Great. So were forced into paying a bit more for the airport shuttle.

Got to the hostel at around 8 and the door was locked so we waited next door in the cafe until someone passed through. When checking in, we were put in two separate dorms even though we'd pre-booked two beds in a mixed dorm. They told us they don't have mixed dorms even though Sam was sharing with 3 men!!

When we got into our rooms we slept until about 2pm in order to make up for lost hours! The afternoon was spent like any other day we've arrived somewhere, by walking around the city and eating!

The public transport system here is brilliant i.e. buses around the centre are free! There are 3 free bus routes that take you to all the important places - McDonalds, Burger King etc. (just kidding!). The food prices take another increase from Singapore and we're now encountering more similar prices to back home, hence the need to start cooking for ourselves.

Day two in Perth was spent.... yes..... you guessed it..... walking!! We had a good look at all the 'touristy' places ending up in the lovely Kings Park with superb views over Perth and Swan Lake. In the evening we met up with Rod, who toured Thailand with us, and he took us for a reminiscent Thai meal in the Northbridge area. This is where all the pubs, clubs and restaurants reside.

On wednesday we took a train to Warwick and, from there, a bus to Hillary's boat harbour where the Aquarium is located. The harbour area was pleasant and reminded me a lot of Cowes but with a nicer beach!! The aquarium was excellent and had a similar tunnel system to that of Sydney Aquarium (for those that have been). The evening/night was spent learning card games from a group of Taiwanese girls staying in our hostel - a very funny night.

Our final day in Perth included a trip, again by train, to Freemantle - another town by the sea with many attractions. One of these was the prison which was a suprisingly interesting visit. There's a chapel, probably like most prisons, that is still registered to carry out matrimonial ceremonies and former inmates have been known to return for their weddings. The prison was our first stop in 'Freo' and as we left the heavens opened. This was our cue to walk around the shaded parts of town and make a sharp exit to the train station! It was our turn to take Rod out tonight and we then went on to a few pubs to sample the local flavours!! A fitting end to our Perth stay.

The weather in Perth was not too kind to us as it was a bit chilly and the sun rarely came out but that didn't bother us too much, especially after the heat we've endured thus far! The rain only affected us a couple of times but this was all good for Perth because we still really enjoyed it even without having fun in the sun!

We're now almost two months in to our adventure and eagerly awaiting our break in Adelaide. As we've pretty much seen the main points, we'll not bother with any sightseeing to start with and enjoy time with the family.