99 days in Perth

Backpackers leave their own legacy across the world. In Australia we are frequently, however endearingly, referred to as ¨bloody backpackers¨, with a reputation as scroungers, freeloaders, scaffers or similar connotation.

I wouldn’t quite use those awful insinuations though… and would argue its much more the case that us ´travellers´ will fairly quickly learn of the most inexpensive (preferably free) places to eat, drink, sleep and be merry on any given day, and dutifully spread the word among our many associates. After 3 weeks in perth, then, I had discovered the cheapest promotion drinks and/or meals in any given restaurant or pub from Sunday-Thursday, and the happy hour times for most. It comes in handy when all your plates and cutlery have been stolen by your fellow hostel mates, something I got thoroughly fed up with! (I could go on forever with traumatic hostel nightmares – stolen cultery is much more palatable than extra occupants in the dorm bed below you…)

I feel quite guilty at resorting to summing up 3 months and 8 days in Perth in one ´chapter´. I wouldn’t want you or those in Perth to think it had any less of an impact on me than any other of my travelling destinations. in that spirit, ill try and summarise as best and entertainingly as I can : )

After wandering around the city centre with my CV in hand and scouring the internet for jobs – 8 job agencies and 2 ½ weeks later I finally got some work through one agency. The first 10 days or so were odd days of work here and there, which included admin at a local mental health clinic and manning reception at a small gas and petroleum company. The work was appreciated, but always more difficult when you have only a day or two in one environment.

I really did end up landing on my feet, however, and in a third time lucky mentality found myself manning the reception desk of the Commissioner for Children and Young People (CCYP). I could not have hoped for a more friendly place to work. Where I had assumed I would be shafted into a corner as the admin (´bloody backpacker´) temp – instead was warmly welcomed in typical western australian fashion, and 2 ½ weeks became 2 ½ months in the blink of an eye. It was wonderful to be part of such a fresh office on the brink of some exciting ventures, and I will genuinely miss all the folks at CCYP. I´m not sure if I will ever discover a workplace with quite the same atmosphere – though I will live to hope!

Considering WA is the largest of the Australian states – and considerably so, you may have thought that Perth, as one of its major hubs, would be a much more bustling and wide-spread commerce oriented city. In reality, its city centre is fairly small, and has the rather irritating aspect of completely shutting down after 5:30pm.

The Aussie phrase ´too easy´ is nowhere more apt than Perth, where there is no rushing to work in hyperactive ant-like fashion, and where most things can wait until mañana, (no worries mate!). On the surface, everything in Perth is as any other city, only slowed down a notch or two from ´frenetic´ to ´normal´ pace.

This is a city where employees ´rock up´ to work or parties, and where there´s none of this convoluted directing of ´the second exit on the right´ – no indeed, keep it pure and simple and ´chuck a left´ or ´chuck a right´ – easy as!

Time too, in WA is less valuable as an appointment calendar bulging at its seams, and more flexible to accomodate what I call the ´human factor´. Western Aussies take their time with you. Time for a colleague to recommend a weekend destination or tasty restaurant. Time for a courier to tell you a silly joke after dropping off a parcel, or a random stranger to surprise, and notice you, by buying you your morning wake up coffee. Time for even stranger locals to proclaim loudly to you on the street that it is indeed, ´a wonderful morning to take down the bourgeousie!´ Time simply to ´chillax´ with a beer or a glass of wine in the backyard or park with friends and acquaintances, and just enjoy the moment, and the sunshine.

This is what characterised my time in Perth, with the excception of a few weekend and day trip getaways to a few stunning location on offer in and around the south west. And these I will leave to my next (and to be much more recent) post… : )