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Australia
Perth
31 March 2007
Perth, Western Australia
After recuperating from my knee surgery, in what was probably the worst, and sure the noisiest, hostel of the trip so far, I am now able to walk — albeit with a limp — without crutches. We've been spending a good amount of time looking for a used car here, and we haven't even managed to arrange a test-drive yet. It seems like every time we find a car that seems decent and is in our price-range, it's sold by the time we speak to the seller. Surely we'll find something if we just keeping doing our homework!
We're now at our second Australian hostel, after moving from the noisy, dirty, uncomfortable Ocean Beach Backpackers. This place got excellent reviews in several guide books, but it's a real dump (with a great beach, inaccessible to those on crutches!) We've moved to a much cleaner, slightly more expensive place in central Perth, called The Emperor's Crown. It's much nicer, but the prices in Australia for accommodation are clearly beyond our budget. Once we find a car, though, we'll be able to start camping and quit spending so much of our money for mediocre hostels!
It's amazing how similar Australia and the United States seem to be. There are bound to be some major differences, but what stands out (especially after being in India and Southeast Asia) are the similarities. In some ways this is comforting, but we've found ourselves commenting to one another that everything seems — in a vague sort of way — to be made of plastic. Having moved to central Perth and away from Ocean Beach Backpackers, things are looking up! We'll have an easier time finding a car near the city center and soon we'll be off to the Outback!