Perth Again The Second Time

2013 has not been kind to me. In November 2012 I was diagnosed with a major ailment that changed my life. After the diagnosis my spirit and stamina took leave by going down hill that left me all but bed ridden. I thought I would never ride again. With sadness I packed my bike and stored it in the store room thinking well it had been a good cycling life and I could not be greedy by asking that the good things should last forever. The days passed very slowly and painfully. I was confined like a prisoner in a house arrest. And this explained the absence of new postings.

However starting from the Id in August things started to get better. I felt stronger and the the desire to move again slowly returned. It got so much better that I started planning for the Perth trip, perhaps not expecting to go at full speed like I had done previously.  Just going and coming back in one piece would be considered a major battle as being won.

Unlike the last trip this time around the party was big. Zahir was going for the convocation ceremony at Curtin University, Perth and his whole family including the two infants and his wife, his grand mother and my spouse and I, and that made a group of 5 adults and 2 kids. Travelling with hyper active toddlers and grandma ? Well you know the answer.

Coming back to the same place for the second time give a curious feel. I had been here before so there is no novelty anymore, yet there were tons of places I had not really been to. Short visits do not qualify you to be an expert but still the excitement of a new place is somewhat muted.

Perth this time is seen and felt with a different perspective. It is the perspective of someone not able to grasp things that somehow is now out of his reach. I could not explore like before because of my limited physical condition. Thus the smell, the feel and the air seemed to me to be very different compared to the last visit. But I am glad to make it as it is like making a statement to the world, "hey look I am still kicking and alive"

How I love to have this Volkswagen Combi and go around the continent. I used to have one before and I tell you it is a wonderful vehicle, the ride and the  handling are superior to other competitor and I cannot forget the whine and the purr of its engine. But like all old engines it eventually sputtered and belched white smoke from the exhaust. I decided to sell it when going up hill was only achieved after a laborious struggle.

Easy rider in Fremantle. Motor bikes do not filter, they follow the queue.

Rainbow seen from our apartment. An omen of good luck ? It rained continuously for 3 days at the end of our stay, with tornados accompanying, a rare event in this semi desert country. 

Sunset at 30, 000 feet over the Indian Ocean on the way back. At this height I estimated from my phone app that the sun disappeared about 20 minutes later than if observed at sea level. After 30 years of travelling economy, for this trip I splashed on the business class.  What is it like ? To me it is similar to the feeling of sitting in the reserved class in the Lido cinema in Kota Bharu after years of excitement in the 65 cent seat. The movie is the same but there is a smugness of looking down on the hoi polloi.