On the road again...

Its Monday and the van is still running well without a hitch (praise the Lord.. or Padre Pio as Mum would say). Ive left Perth, continuing on southward to Bunbury and ultimately the Margaret River (wine country) before taking a tangent and following the south coast (The Great Australian "Bight"... surely they meant to spell it "Bite"?!?) east to Adelaide, etc.

Ill have to give Rottnest Island a miss since it costs 65 bucks to go there on a day trip (sorry to the two cousins who recommended it to me, but its a lotta money just for a day trip). I want to visit Kangaroo Island along South Australia coast, so Id rather keep the money for that trip...

Im in Bunbury cuz I heard that its possible to SWIM with dolphins here... well time will tell... ooh also bad news: for those of who dont know (as if) Ireland is out of the Rugby World Cup *sniff*... I was in a bar with a few people from the hostel, but I wasnt in the mood to stick around after.

Once again Im back in a "country" town - only 250 kms south of Perth. As in every country, people let their hair down out of the big cities and are not so entwined in the "fashion-conscious/corporate-rush" lifestyle that seems to pervade life in the state capitals. Prior to travelling off 10 months ago, this rat-race lifestyle was considered the "ideal" by me and the rush for big-money in a good job would have been exactly what I wanted. Since I started this "epic journey" (well epic for me anyway!) my travels ultimately led me to appreciate that there are truly more beautiful things in life to experience and better ways to understand others. When I walked through the CBD of Perth during "lunchtime", I saw the rich yuppy rat-race scurrying around in their suits and "enjoying" their designer lunches while they waffled away about how much their latest car cost. Originally I accepted that this was the sort of life I was destined for, like it or not, and in the past Ive worked in places harbouring such "work-like-a-dog" cultures. But now I can see how relatively unfulfilling such a lifestyle would be for me and Ive come to appreciate people on all levels.

Example: I got chatting to a down-and-out busker on the street. Every day he would play his guitar, belting out some fantastic vocals but since he was obviously homeless most "suits" would just walk by without paying any notice. I too would have done that in Dublin, but now I see the world with new eyes and I recognised this guy as someone with a tale to tell. Indeed he did, and I was mesmerised as he told me of his journey from the UK and how he once played regularly in a great jazz club before his world crumbled around him and he was left to fend for himself - even his parents were in town (so hed come to find out) but they would pay him no heed.

Maybe Im just pissed off at the "snobby" nature in big cities like Perth (Its been so long since Ive been in a big city!), and the fact that people would judge you based on the clothes you wear, etc... For example, when I went out with Rico and his friend from Germany, we were almost turned away from a bar because I was "wearing inappropriate footwear". Those are 90 dollar sandals fool! Jeez, I didnt have this problem in small towns like Carnarvon (where I once went in to watch the rugby in my dirty banana-juice-spattered t-shirt and grubby boots!). Ah well, once again being refused entry for wearing sandals is something I would have thought "reasonable" in Dublin, but Perth goes a little too far in refusing people entry into certain clothes shops if you are wearing sandals!!

Right Im done preaching!

Hmmm.. so what sort of lifestyle am I looking to work in? Im still trying to figure it out!!!