Australia 2000, Part 4

WEDNESDAY 26 JULY

Woke up early - 7am - to say goodbye to Brian and Lee who'd booked a short
holiday in Esperance before they knew the exact date of our arrival. We now had
the house all to ourselves.

Went back to sleep, go up leisurely, had a leisurely shower and breakfast and
went out for the day with the appearance of having all the time in the world
even though it was nearly 11am. Faffed around more in trying to buy camera
batteries before hitting the city.

Still more work with the rail pass - the Lebanese girl, who apparently speaks
'Lebanese', forgot to give us one of the coupons - and so we had to stop by at
the rail station once again. After we headed towards a park near the river from
where we could hire bicycles but paused in a shopping square for a street
magic/comedy show. The guy, who was quite funny at times, first released
himself from a straight jacket bounded by a metal chain and then shoved 14
swords down his throat. The usual stuff but it was good to see it live, so much
so that I didn't mind volunteering 1USD.

And so on to Langley Park. Ate lunch, prayed Zuhr and hired a bike. Had a '2
for the price of 1' voucher but Mustafa decided to go to a forest. Could only
hire for a couple of hours as the hire shop was to close at 4pm. 

I cycled along both sides of the river, stopping on too many occasions to take
pictures, South Perth (the zoo was too expensive) and the city centre on the
best bike since London. It was a very comfortable ride (unlike the last one in
Maninjau) and it felt so good be on a bike again. 

Took a free bus to the Central Mosque, prayed Asr, went to the Hari Krishna
place again but they still had the dhal and cauliflower mixture, returned to
the mosque for Maghrib and then had an orange to keep me going. Did some
groceries and writing before heading for Wembley. Met Mustafa at the Central
Station.

This was the first time that I'd cooked something since leaving London. Yes, I
went through more than 5 and a half months without cooking! Nothing fancy but
rice and omelette is always a good combination for me.