Off to Perth!

A New Beginning
12Feb, and I am off to Perth! It was hard bidding farewell to friends. It wasn't easy leaving my room, my all-too-familiar Ang Mo Kio neighbourhood. It would be nice to be back come late November.

Flight
As I boarded my plane, an Airbus A330, I noticed an equal number of caucasian and asian faces. A phrase previously mentioned by a friend came to mind. "Singaperth", he said. hmm. I've appreciated airline food all along, but not this time. The fusilli wasn't particularly appetising. Ditto the pickled cucumbers.

I noticed an interesting contrast in the beverage preferences. The asians were having fruit juices or soft drinks while the caucasians were having beer, wine or tonic water. So I thought, why like that one? And I ordered a Chardonnay. At least, it warmed me. And put me to a light sleep.

Quarantine was a bit of a hassle. We had these police dogs, on leashes, sniffing all luggage. My bag got picked out after an x-ray. Had I forgotten to declare something?! That could mean a hefty fine. The customs lady exposed my balls. My juggling balls, that is. Not that I could juggle well. Yet. She said "seeds". They were afraid the seeds within the balls were of plant origin. Thankfully, the seeds were plastic. Relief.

One piece of my luggage was taken by mistake. No thanks to the ubiquitous army duffel bag. An identical bag was lying right with me. This young punk had taken my bag accidentally, but returned it promptly to the baggage dept when I had an announcement made. Ok, he's no punk - just another student who had completed National Service recently too.

Weather
Just as I'd come to expect, the humidity was terrifically low. The sun, however, was just as hot as back in Singapore during this summer period. There was no sweat on the skin even after walking under the hot sun. Neither was there any sticky sweat residue on the skin at the end of the day. Nice.