Perth is Just Purrfect

There is a spirit of curiosity and adventure that comes with the gift of travel. I say this with a heavy heart, with the empathy that some people were unable to travel, and even to this day are not able to fully appreciate the gift of travel for a myriad of reasons.

This nostalgic trip to Perth, Australia dates back to around mid-October 2018. I recall this trip being booked a few days prior to travelling, with all of my ducks seeming to land themselves into a row. Just as well, as I was feeling pretty exhausted from the stresses of the corporate world. And I had a nightmare of a tenant in my investment home. With no valid passport, travelling overseas was out of the question, and therefore a trip across the other end of the country, with the enthusiasm for Perth, rather than repeating myself with Melbourne and the Gold Coast manifested; a trip to the other end of the country was calling.

If I did not have a small holiday (albeit, a semi-working holiday) at that time, I would have snapped well before 2019 rolled along. Little did I know that a virus would close the borders to Western Australia a short year and a bit later.

In summary, this is how this awesome trip to Perth unfolded.

P = Photography and Pilates.

Please let me explain. At the time of taking this trip, sales management for a property company was my main gig, while I was a freelance photographer on the side. Perth pleasantly surprised me with some beautiful images that one of my clients wanted of Australia, and with another client, taking photos of hiring signs on shop fronts to help the people of Perth find work was also so satisfying. Getting a copious amount of exercise in, while making some great coin was so satisfying.

The hotel I was staying at offered me a complimentary pilates session at nearby Heartbeat High, at Barrack Street near Elizabeth Quay. I was a yogi at the time, more so than ever; yet I could not get into the groove when it came to pilates. This studio was incredible, and changed my thinking around pilates for the best, and for forever. My legs felt stiff for the remainder of the trip, but in a pleasant way. Thank you Isaac (the instructor), and Olivia (the lovely host, who also offered me some kombucha prior to class). I am thrilled that this place has survived the pandemic since, and they even said I wished that I lived in Perth, so that I could attend more often. Confession time: writing this article about Perth for Vocal Media's Travel Snaps challenge is now inspiring me to leave Sydney and move to Perth. Sydney feels so blah right now; yet I have an elderly family member in a nursing home in Sydney (last blood family member remaining), and thereby I need to be close to him right now.

E = Empowering

And the joy of fitting in some more exercise. Walking around Northbridge was a delight, with some incredible street and other art to admire. They say that all good things come in threes, and therefore spending three nights in Perth was certainly a sweet spot. Lululemon stores were running complimentary yoga sessions in store on Sunday mornings at the time, and therefore I got to enjoy some yoga (on top of the pilates the day prior) at their Perth City store before heading over the water to Booragoon, where I got to meet Kikki.K founder Kristina Karlsson, while she was in Perth launching her new book on helping people live their dream life. Lo and behold, not to impress, but rather to impress upon; yours truly is living that dream life right now. It definitely takes take some chutzpah and heavy lifting though. It was incredible and inspiring to meet her on the same trip, and her company certainly empowered me, taking home a copy of this autographed book.

R = Relaxing (And discovering Ruby Chocolate).

It was a blessing (and one is still grateful) to have flown business class with none other than Qantas in one of their international cabins in my sky-bed with no neighbours. Rare, but it is a gift when it happens. I still pinch myself to this day that some frequent flyer points got me across the line, despite saving up for them. The downside was having to board this flight at 6:05am Sydney time, yet spending a bit of time in the business class lounge prior was a luxury. And my hotel room (deluxe king) at QT exuded relaxation, with a deep bath tub, and a comfortable room all round, with unlimited free movies included in my stay. Just staying in and chilling to some few incredible movies was what the doctor ordered, not knowing that I would be drowning in emails upon returning to the office.

On the flight, I had the luxury of ordering what I wanted to eat (two meals, as it is a five-hour flight from Sydney), and this was something that I was not used to. I even remember the cabin crew who looked after me in business class. They had been working for the airline since 1996, and the Customer Service Managers name on this flight was Mel.

Cats are relaxed, and these animals like people who are relaxed. Therefore it was also fitting to spend some time at Perth's cat cafe in Subiaco at the time, petting yet another ginger, among a variety of other felines of the cat variety. Purrfect.

Back in 2018, Ruby Chocolate was all the craze, and there were no shortages of that particular type of chocolate at the time. This Perth trip gave me the opportunity (and should I say yet another gift) to try this chocolate out. The key lesson learned on this trip was to really seize the day, as the world has been undergoing tumultuous changes ever since.

T = Timely (and should I say Terrific)

Enough said. I was well overdue for a holiday, and as I had the inclination to write an article about this nostalgic trip to inspire others (as well as myself) to travel, as a timely reminder of things to look forward to; it really just goes to show that this particular trip to Perth was both timely and terrific on my part. At the time, I also brought a fashionable blue work tie for my partner at David Jones for a better than expected price, and I recall the sales assistant and I hugging one another. What a special moment. What about treats? Yes, enjoying some ad hoc treats like trying a beetroot latte for the first time also solidified some pleasant memories of Perth. Perth's Transperth public transport system was also efficient, except back at that time, it was a pain that you needed to pay bus drivers the exact money in cash for your bus fare. The bus fare from the airport to Perth CBD was cheap as chips. Why would you bother with hailing a taxi? The T that I did not like so much was having to pay to go to the toilet in Perth while out and about at the time, as well as having to pay to top up your water bottle at bubblers. We can't have it all, as they say.

H = Healthy

And this trip clearly boosted my happiness, and the money spent was truly an investment in a lovely Spring month in Australia. That is how us humans should see travel as.

See travelling (regardless of the destination) as an investment in your life, health, and wellbeing, because it truly is. Travel is also an investment in mind appreciation, as our worlds open up beyond the confines of our sofa and four walls. Eating healthy food was nourishing too.

I think I have just proven that you do not need to take too much time away in order to travel, and to ultimately reap the benefits of such. When abundances and treats come your way on such trips (like the case with this particular one in Perth, Western Australia); this is clearly a sign from the universe that you were meant to take such trips.

I get that travelling comes with its challenges. When challenges arise, that is healthy of course, because if you embrace such challenges, then you are clearly building resilience and character, which in turns helps you get through the tough moments in life.

Such trips (challenging or otherwise) are adventures to appreciate. What do I think about that? That is just bloody purrfect.