Having had a leisurely breakfast with Sally, TC and the two Jos (now known as Jo M and Jo F; I've only just realised a surname would have helped to distinguish them from each other in my blog!?), I collected my ever faithful backpack and passport as I was to be the first to leave; TC was catching her flights back to London that afternoon and the two Jos were staying another night before travelling around Bali for two more weeks.
My taxi arrived, I stood up and said: "I'll cry", TC said "She will" and, I did! Pathetic maybe but I'm just not good with goodbyes! I wouldn't mind, but we'd all agreed to meet up in Bournemouth in the summer anyway, plus TC and I live close enough to get on each other's nerves on a regular basis back home in London!
And so I was off to the airport in Denpasar (the capital of Bali) where I was catching a three and a half hour flight to Perth on AirAsia! I'm not one of the most calmest of flyers, so I'm sure you can imagine how nervous I was feeling, considering the week after I had booked the aforementioned flight, one of the Airasia planes 'fell' out of the sky!
I got to the airport with plenty of time to spare and enough wifi to download The Killing - Season Two, (sorry TC but at the risk of getting fired from work, you should have stayed on with me!)
Having found a nice restaurant to have lunch, I dutifully 'Whatsapped' TC to let her know exactly where the toilets were, (her stomach was still not behaving), and to let her know the food was really good - she was ever so grateful.
Then I texted my friends Caroline and Pierre in Perth, to inform them that I was about to board the plane and to go over my requirements: "100% thread Egyptian cotton bed linen and an Adonis with a hairy chest and tight butt cheeks to serve me breakfast in bed every morning". Caroline texted me back and said that Pierre was hers so I'd have to make do with Thi the dog but he did have a hairy chest and tight butt cheeks too!
Caroline moved from London to Australia over thirty years ago, where she met Pierre (originally from New Zealand) and they eventually settled down in Perth. It's been quite a few years since she last visited the UK, so I was really excited to see her and Pierre again, let alone visit Australia and to finally be able to wear all the 'forbidden' vest tops and sundresses I had schlepped around Java!
Caroline was the youngest of three kids growing up next door to us in East Finchley and being that much older (sorry Caroline but it's true) she used to babysit my brother, sister and me on a regular basis. As far as my parents were concerned, Caroline was a bit of a hippy and my dad used to joke that she was a bad influence on us. But I have fond memories of sitting in her bedroom, listening to music, staring at the psychedelic wallpaper and inhaling the strong sense of patchouli, whilst her older brother Johnnie would take my brother Daniel on scary adventures around the cemetery in the woods at the bottom of our road! (Nothing wrong with that?!)
Thankfully my flight ran smoothly; I watched three episodes as a distraction and I managed to get through customs in Perth without anyone questioning the wooden bangle I had bought in Bali! (Australia has strict laws about not bringing in ANY food, animal or agricultural products, so much so that even the bottle of water I had bought in the airport just before boarding the plane was confiscated off me!!)
I passed through customs with flying colours and looked around to see where my friends were, but there were no warm smiling faces to greet me, or arms open wide for a welcoming hug! Panicking that I may have flown into the wrong part of Australia, I texted Caroline and asked if she was hiding? She told me to hang tight that Pierre was on his way, there'd been a slight problem but not to worry. Apparently for some reason, the Airasia website had said my flight was delayed five hours and not due in until midnight!
Having only met Pierre once, many years ago, I couldn't remember what he looked like and asked Caroline if he would recognise me, or did she suggest that I just blindly climb into the back of a car with any strange looking man that approaches and says: "Goodday!"
I looked up just as a man walked up to me and asked if I was Rosalie? Now considering that my name really isn't such a well known one, nor is it ever pronounced correctly by anyone who doesn't know me, (plus he did nod when I said "Pierre?") I quite happily gave him a hug and we set off for their home in Wembley Downs.
It was so nice to see Caroline again, as well as meet a couple of their family members (originally from Scotland) and the infamous and gorgeous dog Thi, that they are currently fostering whilst he gets over his Anxiety Attachment Disorder. (He's on Prozac now and pretty chilled out!)
Then I was off to bed (the sheets were 100% Egyptian cotton!) and immediately fell asleep; though somehow missing the nightly ritual of TC shuffling around the room, counting her mosquito bites before getting into her bed and announcing: "If there's anything you need to say, then say it now because I'm about to put in my ear plugs!"
I woke up the following morning still not quite believing I was in Australia and hoping that at some point this week I would fulfil one of my life long dreams of seeing Kangaroo and Koala bears!
Downstairs Caroline was already up and playing Candy Crush (that is so last year Caroline, you need to move onto Bubble Witch Saga now!) and Pierre had gone out Quadbiking for the day with his son, grandson and their friends. So it was going to be a girlie day for two.
Caroline asked what I wanted to do, I told her the most important thing was for me to get a leg wax! She just stared back at me aghast. When she realised I was being serious, she then informed me that it was Sunday so no salons would be open and if I was that desperate I should shave them. I stared back at her aghast! (OMG! That is sacrilegious for a beauty therapist like myself!!)
Having consoled myself in the fact that we would not be going to the beach that day, I took great pleasure in putting on my 'forbidden' sundress and we went out for a nice leisurely lunch that took all day and caught up on all the gossip from both sides of the equator - though she wasn't much interested in what was going on in Coronation Street (top British tv soap running for decades!)
I was already loving Australia and by pure coincidence I was going to be there to celebrate Australia Day the following day! (But that did mean a Bank Holiday and yet again, nowhere open for me to get my legs waxed!)
The following morning I woke with a smile to see the sun was shining brightly outside. And after a quick breakfast Caroline, Pierre and I went down to the ever popular Cottesloe Beach to watch the annual 'Havianas Thong Challenge'! Whereby every year, people buy a giant 'inflatable thong' sponsored by Haviana, to float on this particular part of the Indian Ocean. All done in competition with various other beaches around the coast of Australia.
I was quite shocked and confused as to why and even how anyone could float on an inflatable thong! To my relief Pierre pointed out 'a thong' in Australia is what we would call a 'flip flop' in the UK! I was quite relieved and cleared the thought of embarassing chaffing in unwanted parts from my mind.
Suffice it to say, Cottesloe Beach won with an impressive total of 2210 inflatable Haviana thongs out on the ocean! I was so proud!
After a few hours relaxing on the beach, in the hope no one would notice my hairy legs, we went over to friends (all originally from Scotland) that live in a beautiful city apartment by The River Swan, (think of a City of London apartment overlooking the Thames.
We had a really nice meal on the balcony (I avoided the kangaroo burgers as that was not what I meant earlier by finally meeting a kangaroo) and then we sat back and watched the stunning fire work display.
I asked if Australia Day was their Independence Day, the response I got was: "Well sadly it's more like the day that the white man came over and savaged the Aboriginees".
"Oh?" I said and carried on chewing on my lettuce leaf ...
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