Sleeping in a bed felt good, and having access to the internet in the lobby before anyone was awake was a bonus. Breakfast for me was all fruit, something that I had sorely missed while we travelled through the parched outback of Oz. Then it was off on our bicycles again, this time to explore the park behind the hotel, where we found a little cafe overlooking the park and stopped for coffee.

Then we ventured into the city itself. Perth is one of the oldest towns in Australia, and it has done a fine job of preserving its historic buildings and incorporating them into a modern streetscape. Several blocks of the core are blocked to traffic, although service vehicles have access through a system of metal posts that can be retracted into the pavement and are activated by a computer console on one of the posts. Many of the stores were closed for New Year’s which limited traffic and gave us easier and safer access to the city.

Perth is truly a lovely town, well laid out, with bus and rail lines all interconnected, wide boulevards showing off its clean and tidy buildings, and plenty of trees for shade. There are also the most playful sculptures scattered throughout its streets, a bit like what you find in Basel. But after several hours of this it was time to head back to the hotel to pack for home. We decided to take the camping chairs back to KL with us, but souvenirs were not on our list of priorities for this trip, so packing was pretty easy. We crashed at 7 pm and woke reluctantly at 2 am for our flight.

Perth’s airport is pretty small, but we were surprised by how many people there were at that hour. Air Asia was up to its usual efficient best, and we were airborne right on time, and back in KL by noon. Wish I could say that we were happy to be home, but that is the problem with great vacations: you hate them to end! Thanks for tagging along on our journey. I have uploaded the pictures that were meant to accompany these posts, and Pam will load the Flickr bar with the rest when she gets the time. Now it is back to our regular lives, which incidentally are pretty great at the worst of times, and a new year to plan and pray for.