Where the new journey begins..

I made a decision over a year ago to book a flight and get on a plane to London and travel through Europe. Not on Contiki or Top Deck but travel in my own time to places of my choice, to gain independence, learn things about myself I couldn’t do at home and to clear my head, get some perspective and have a break. So as it went, I deferred uni for a semester, packed my very large backpack, finished my last uni exam for at least 9 months and hopped on a plane 4 days later to a much larger, more populated and cultural land.

If you’ve travelled and been on a small enough budget to stay in hostels (they aren’t as bad as you think- just do your research people!) you’d know it’s the best way to come across a lot of interesting people. However being Australian I can guarantee you, you will meet a whole lot more of Australians overseas. In the very large handful, or should I say 10 very large handfuls of Australians I met in my 4 months travel, there was a significant number of people from Perth that seem to have a common trait. We were away for an extended period of time- 4 months to 2 years, and the ones that had gone home, got back on planes to Europe as soon as they could afford it.

Why?

I have to admit, I did, in amidst my sadness to running out of money and having to come home, believe that even though Perth is a beautiful place, it was slow, quiet, so far behind other cultures and ideals and just… well kind of sheltered and boring.

I have been home now for almost a month and after many days and moments of sadness and frustration at my current pause in travelling, I decided that I was being a bit of a sad sap (with the help of friends telling me also).

‘For those days in Perth’ is a journey I have started myself on whilst adjusting back to Perth life after backpacking through Europe for 4 months. I know I have caught some kind of bug, originally thinking it was the travelling bug but I have decided it’s the discovery of the once unknown I’m addicted too.

After all,
‘The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes’.

Marseille, France 2010