G'day Australia!

"I think the dingo ate ya baby!"

Yes, it is statistically proven: there are more species in Australia that can kill you than any other country in the world.  The land "Down Under" -- can't beat it my friends.

A 5 1/2 hour flight from Singapore landed us in Perth on a Saturday night.  We stayed with a Couchsurfing friend (again, Couchsurfing is simply AWESOME) and spent a few days navigating the city.

As most know, Australian weather is seasonally opposite to most of the world's population.  So as we approach Christmas and one of the coldest periods of the year for Americans and Europeans, it is sunny and dry in lovely Perth.  It makes it very hard for me to get into the proverbial Christmas spirit.

But I must say, after living in 90%+ humidity weather for the past 9 months, it was quite nice to sit it dry weather.  The landscape was so different than Southeast Asia; it was a breath of fresh air.  The unending rows of eucalyptus trees brought back memories of the little eucalyptus forest I played in growing up.  Between the people, the weather, the surroundings, Perth had a "home" feeling for me.

Perth is on the Australian coast, located in the Southwestern part of the country.  It is the largest city of the state of Western Australia and has a population of nearly 2 million.  The people are very friendly, down to earth, laid back and social.  It was easy to strike up conversation with bus drivers, people in the park, at the store, etc.

Perth has a growing economy with many job opportunities.  The biggest boom in Australia, which Perth sees much of, is the burgeoning mining industry supplying resources to China and India's insanely booming economies.  Accompanying that boom is an increase in minimum wage and thus many other things, namely, food and day-to-day expenses.  So if you are planning a trip to Perth or any part of Australia for that matter, pack some change.

The main target in coming to Perth was to get a job shortly after arriving.  Within just 3 days, we had a job fully secured, starting the very next week.  Australia in general is very traveler oriented.  People visiting Australia for the first time can apply for a working holiday visa which allows a working opportunity for up to 12 months for an unlimited number of visits in and out within that period.

Before leaving for our job (which will be thoroughly detailed in my NEXT blog post), we wanted to see as much of the city as possible.  Below are some shots from around downtown Perth, King's Park and the Swan River.

Walking along Swan River.

Shot from King's Park.

I know I mentioned in my last post that I had something very exciting to tell you about.  Sadly, I am going to postpone that because I feel it needs a blog post completely of itself.  It relates to what we're now doing for work in Australia -- and it is quite adventurous and unique!

Until then my friends!  Thanks for reading!