I flew to Perth with three Irish guys I'd met on the trip down to Adelaide: Gerry, PJ and Mike. We stayed at the YHA in Northbridge, which is the area with the city's restaurants and bars. Perth seems like a commuter town; it's bisected by a railway line and framed by motorways. Everyone lives in the suburbs, which spread 90 km up and down the coast, and 40 km East, so the CBD empties at night. We went to the Bell Tower, where you can climb up to a viewing area and also watch the bell ringers. I visited the Museum of Western Australia (where you could see a rare pickled shark called a Megamouth) and the Art Gallery, as well as King William Park. Freemantle, a town about 20 minutes away by train, is an interesting place as it was where the settlers first landed. There was a fascinating museum and a free bus that took you around.

The beaches in Perth are lovely, and I spent some time at Cottisloe and Scarborough. I have been pretty diligent about putting on sun cream and wearing a hat, but I went for a swim and then sat for about 10 or 15 minutes in the sun to dry off and my thighs and back got absolutely roasted.

I was told to stay out of the sun for a while and this turned out not to be a problem since the company I had worked for in Sydney got in touch and asked me if I wanted a job in Russia for three months. They told me they'd replace my round-the-world ticket and fly me back to Perth afterwards so that I could continue with my trip, so I agreed, and after a week in Perth they flew me back to Sydney. I said goodbye to the guys who were off to South Africa, and boarded the red-eye flight, which because of the three hour time difference means you only get an hour of so of sleep. I was delayed in Sydney for a week while I waited for my letter of invitation from Moscow to enable me to get a visa, then I took a flight to Siberia. Random, eh?