On The Verge

This time of year in Perth means spring cleaning.  Perthites are breaking out of their long, dark winter dormancy and busily preparing their homes and gardens for the summer ahead.  Generally this involves fertilizing the lawns, pruning the gardens, cleaning and treating swimming pools and proactively spraying for insects.

The municipalities are also getting in on the act.  Every year, around this time, the city of Perth and surrounding municipalities (including our "city" of Sterling) arrange for what's called "Verge Collection".  Essentially, the city will pick up your unwanted trash for free once a year.  The municipal governments send out a flyer (which will eventually make it's way back to them by way of rubbish collection) which states the date range of the garbage collection.  People will plan accordingly and place any unwanted junk on their curb (or verge) shortly before the collection is scheduled to begin.  Usually there is a 1-2 week window for the collection to occur.  So, in some cases there could be piles of trash lining an entire community for two weeks.

Here is a pile of unwanted stuff in front of our neighbors home.  This is a common site during the verge collection and can have an enormous negative effect on the aesthetics of a community.

Perthians will save up their trash for an entire year for the verge collection.  When we moved into our current home in November 2012 we had just missed the verge collection.  So, by the time this year rolled around we had a great deal of junk to dispose of: most of it directly related to moving house.  It was a great relief to finally "bring out our dead" (a common expression here based on a scene from Monty Pythons Holy Grail).

In general it is a great service that's provided.  In previous years, whenever we've had a build-up of junk that we need to dispose of it usually meant that we had to take a trip to the city dump.  This included loading up our vehicle (often several times), driving to and through the dump (which is not a pleasant smelling experience) and hope that our car/van didn't get stuck at the foot of the mountain of garbage.

In addition to collecting trash once a year, Perth also takes the responsibility for weekly trash collection including recyclables.  In Canada, we had a bin for garbage and a bin for recyclables: cans, bottles, paper, plastic, etc.  However, here there is one bin that we fill and wheel out once a week.  The bin may contain trash, bottles, paper or anything else that isn't toxic or considered dangerous.  Apparently, at the waste management facilities, the recyclable material is separated and properly dealt with.  There is no reason for people to hold onto bottles or cans as there is no deposit.  The positive of this is that we don't have mountains of cans and bottles stacking up in our garage.  The negative part of this is that since there is no financial incentive to hold on or collect these, you often see them discarded in parks and on the streets.  The irony is, while trying to make it easier for people to dispose of waste and keep the city clean, instead it has created more public littering especially around bars, pubs and liquor stores.

Leavers!

Every society has it's own traditions and rights of passage. Some cultures mutilate their bodies with tattoos, peircings or even scars. Some undertake elaborate rituals that include dancing, meditation, chemical induced intoxication, spiritual journeys and hallucinations. The Australian right of passage can often include all of these, although, the ceremonies are generally less formal and usually include a night out of binge drinking and stumbling into a tattoo parlour. But the more common approach for young Australians entering adulthood is to go on "Leavers". This is the tradition where, upon graduation, the soon-to-be unleashed upon the world young adult has one final fling of freedom as they travels with their mates to another region or even continent. And so it is with our young men, Zaren and Cyrus, that their turn has arrived to experience "Leavers".

The expression of Leavers really is just another example of unimaginative Australian slang. It's kids going on leave upon completion of their secondary education, also known as vacation or holiday. Every year around this time, thousands of recently ex-secondary students travel near and far with their friends for one final adolescent fling of freedom before the inevitable thud of adult life arrives complete with all of it's pain-in-the-ass responsibilities.

Many Australians "Schoolies" travel to Bali, Indonesia. It's a relatively cheap flight and the cost of vacationing there is also modest. Unfortunately, what this means is that there are thousands of perpetually drunk 17 and 18 year olds in a foreign country where the regard for human life isn't necessarily at the high level that they're used to. Every year there are stories of the Bali Schoolies on Leavers (sigh) getting arrested, assaulted, injured or even killed. There are also many stories of "Toolies" (young people that are already in the blue-collar work force that graduated in previous years) crashing the parties and causing trouble. Fortunately, neither Zaren nor Cyrus are going to Bali for Leavers. Instead, they chose to go to a much closer and safer location in the south of Western Australia.

Zaren is travelling with 10 friends to the Margaret River region, which is well known for it's holidaying and wineries. They arranged to rent a cabin for a week for all of them to share. They left on the 3 hour drive yesterday.

Cyrus and Tanya (his girlfriend) have chosen to rent a camper van and travel from Perth to Busselton, Dunsborough, Margaret River, Denmark and Albany. Or in other words, basically the exact same trip that we want to do at some point. Cyrus departed this morning for a week. They may meet up with some friends during their journey.

So, for the next week we are getting a preview of life without our sons. Of course, we worry like any parents would but we know they are responsible young men and they both have a good head on their shoulders. The good news is that our grocery bill, water consumption and internet use will be drastically diminished over the next week.

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 Both Nadia and I are both employed and we are comfortable financially. We have a very comfortable living arrangement. We are still able to participate and enjoy new experiences that wouldn't be available to us in Canada. We are generally enjoying the life that Perth has to offer and we've really tried to make the most of it. That said, we are fairly certain that Perth is not our chosen destination for the next few years.

My company is being acquired by a very large international corporation that I just happened to work for once before. One of the cornerstones of that company's philosophy is a mobile workforce. The new company has offices all over the world including the US, UK, Europe, Middle East, South America, Australia and Canada. So, when the acquisition is complete I am going to try to get a transfer to the east coast of Australia, preferably Brisbane or Sydney. Brisbane is the most likely destination as it has a lot of work that would suit me. From the east coast it is much easier to travel to the Great Barrier Reef, New Zealand, Fiji and of course, most of the other major cities in Australia. So, if we're fortunate, perhaps in a few months we'll all be going on our own version of Leavers minus the binge drinking and stupid tattoos.

Catch A Wave

Western Australia is home to a great many surfing aficionados.  There is, what seems like, an endless coastline for surfing opportunities.  However, the biggest wave in WA isn't on the coast but rather 400 km east of Perth.  There is a peculiar rock formation about a 4 hour drive from Perth that is known as Wave Rock.  This formation is part of a huge granite outcrop in the heart of the WA wheat-belt near the town of Hyden.

Travelling south-east from Perth you quickly leave the city, enter thick forest for about 50 km, and then suddenly hit the vast plains of the wheat belt, also known as the Golden Outback or Australia's Breadbasket.  There is a stretch of hundreds of square kilometers of golden wheat fields surrounded by dry Outback and littered with pockets of salty plains, forests and rocky outcrops.  The most interesting aspect of this area is how vastly and quickly the landscape changes from forest to desert to wheat fields to rocks.  The forest is so thick and green that it almost feels like you're driving through a rain-forest.  The desert could be mistaken for the African savanna.  The wheat fields make you feel like you're driving through the North American prairies (including southern Alberta).  And they all happen one right after the other, almost without warning.

 In some parts of the drive to Wave Rock the area was so reminiscent of the African Plains that it felt like a herd of Wildebeest should be milling about.

The fields of golden wheat were a stark contrast to the red rock and green Gum Trees.  At times it would have been easy to confuse this area with Southern Alberta.

 Here is Wave Rock itself along with Nadia and Keva playing on it.  This is a small part of a much larger rock formation in the area that is similar (although much smaller) than Uluru (Ayers Rock).

 Another interesting rock formation in the area is called the "Hippo's Yawn".

 Also, there was a small cave close to Wave Rock which contained some Aboriginal rock paintings.  The legend says that a local Aboriginal made this cave his home after showing a great deal of anti-social behavior and being ostracized from the tribe.  The story goes that he was so desperate for food that killed several people including some children.  Eventually, the tribe caught him and he was punished with death and left out in the desert for the ants to devour.  I think they should have tied him to a tree and let the flies harass him.  Now THAT would have been torture.

The drive out to Wave Rock is quite scenic and the rock itself (and adjacent rocks/caves) are pretty cool.  However, the drive itself is quite a long way from Perth.  Unfortunately, at this time of year the flies are at their worst.  As a result, it is almost unbearable being outdoors in certain situations.  This was one of those situations.  After driving for 4 hours to get to the rock we couldn't do a 1.6 km hike because the flies were so bad.  If you stopped fanning yourself with branches or whatever else you could find, you'd immediately be swarmed by a dozen or so flies attacking primarily the face.  We explored Wave Rock and it's surrounds as quickly as we could.  After driving for 4 hours we only ended up staying in the area for about 2 hours before driving back for another 4 hours. 

However, as they say "sometimes the journey is more important than the destination".  In this case, when we were just outside of Perth we used the GPS to locate somewhere to have dinner.  The first restaurant it took us to was closed.  The second restaurant was a beautiful place overlooking a forested valley in the Perth hills.  We managed to sneak into a table without a reservation and had a wonderful dinner, scenic view and beautiful sunset.  

Overall, despite the flies this experience was an interesting one.  However, if we travel away from the coast again it will probably be in the winter when we don't have to worry about the flies.

It's Been Two Years (So Are We There Yet?)

Tuesday 5 November marks the 2nd anniversary of our arrival in Australia. It was two years ago that we left our home, jobs, family and friends in Calgary, Canada and leapt into the great unknown of Perth, Australia. Austensibly, the reason for moving to Perth was for work. I got a really good job offer that was in my field but different enough to make it new and interesting. They also promised to pay me much more money than I am actually worth. The deeper truth was that we really enjoy travelling and experiencing different cultures and we always wanted to come to Australia. It was an opportunity to see a new part of the world (on someone else's nickle) in a relatively safe location, where English is the primary language, the weather is amazing and with many of the same British colonial attitudes and norms that helped shaped the Canadian cultural landscape. In other words, it was an adventure but a relatively safe one. Also, it allowed all of us to get knocked out of our comfort zone and experience life from a different perspective. The bit of irony that comes attached to this is that we have now, more or less, settled into a new comfort zone.

Two years later I can say with some confidence that Australia has delivered on a lot of what we were hoping it would. However, it hasn't been without it's share of struggles.

One of the reasons (or perhaps justifications) for moving to this part of the world was to see this part of the world. It's much more convenient and economical to visit parts of Australia, south east Asia and other areas of the eastern southern hemisphere when you're home base is relatively nearby. Over the last two years we've managed to visit parts of Australia including the Gold Coast, Melbourne and Margaret River. Our long term plans also include visiting Sydney, the Great Barrier Reef, Uluru, the Kimblerly and Ningaloo Reef. Also, we've used Perth as a launching pad to travel to Bali (Indonesia), Japan, Singapore and a business trip to Shanghai. Cyrus has also visited New Zealand. Our future plans include trips to Thailand, Vietnam/Cambodia, Malaysia and New Zealand. Living in Calgary, these trips would have taken us decades. However, living in Perth we may manage to squeeze most of them in within 4 years. Perth itself is a very nice city. It is relatively modern and, as such, it doesn't have most of the problems that many of the worlds more established cities experience. It is clean, surrounded by ocean and rivers, warm and dry and generally safe. In human terms, Perth is like an adolescent: it's no longer fresh and new but it also hasn't matured yet, but it has a great deal of potential. The city is experiencing a lot of growing pains in terms of infrastructure, culture, crime and economy but it has a solid foundation to grown upon.

Our initial reason for coming to Perth, employment, has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride. Yes, both Nadia and I are employed. However, since we've lived here our pay has consistently gone down for a number of reasons. First of all, the tax benefit we received for being non-residents was legislated out of existence by the previous federal government in July 2012. It doesn't appear that the new government is planning on reinstating it any time soon. Secondly, the original project I was working on, which came complete with 2 seperate bonuses, has evaporated. The original intention was for me to work on that project for 4 years but less than half way through, the client scaled back their operations due to cost uncertainty and a volatile market. Since I moved back to my parent company I've had very little to do at work and my days are generally filled with boredom and frustration. Nadia's job is fine, although, it certainly isn't challenging her in any meaningful way. The kids are struggling to find work, although, Keva is already on her 3rd job.

Zaren and Cyrus recently graduated high school here and Keva is finishing grade 10. At the moment neither of the boys have any long term plans other than trying to find some work and come up with a long term plan. In general, they're all doing well and going through the normal teenager stuff that we all have to live through.

I've been asked several times if we have any regrets. That's a hard question to answer at this stage. We were cruising along just fine in Calgary but who knows if that would still be the case had we stayed. I certainly feel that this experience has broadened my horizons and enriched my views but the same could be said for many experiences, including war, jail and torture (Note: I am not comparing living in Perth to war, jail or torture). I guess I don't really believe in regrets but rather I do believe in growing and learning. We have certainly done both as a result of the move to Perth but to what end, we're not yet sure.

The other question we're often asked is if we are going to stay here. That's another tough question to answer. On the one hand, we miss being "home" in the culture we know, with the families that raised us and near the friends that support us. On the other hand, it's hard to imagine going back to Canada any time soon. There's a risk of romanticizing our previous lives in Canada. Our lives weren't perfect there. We experienced many of the same frustrations that we do in Perth, but they were, more or less, familiar frustrations. Certainly, we had a much better support structure in Canada.

After two years in Australia we are eligible to apply for Australian citizenship. At this point, we do not plan to do so. There are a few reasons for this decision. The first being that we don't feel like we want to stay in Australia or at least not Perth. The second is, generally speaking, we don't like Australians. Maybe that's a little strongly worded. It's not that we don't like them necessarily but rather we don't feel like we fit in the culture and, at this point, don't want to fit in the culture. There are a lot of similarities between Canadians and Australians. There are a lot of really good things about Australia and Australians but the things that aren't so good are tough to overlook and some of the differences are difficult to overcome. Additionally, if we become Australian citizens our tax status may change although we're not clear on all of the repurcussions yet. One of the repercussions we are clear on is that if I become a citizen my employer is no longer is responsibile for sponsoring my work visa and can make me redundant any time it's convenient for them (like it would be right now). Lastly, if we do decide to get our citizenships and then leave Australia, there is a possibility that one or more of the kids will stay here without us. That's a deal breaker at the moment.

My visa is good for 4 years. As of tomorrow, we are half-way through that committment. That said, we can leave anytime but it may incur a financial penalty with my employer. Either way, at the moment we are intending to stay and see how things play out over the next two years.

So, are we there yet? We've enjoyed a lot of our experiences here; experiences that would have been almost incomprehensible living in Canada. There are days when we want nothing more than to simply be back home, although those days are more and more fleeting. There are also days when we can't imagine leaving here, although those days are quite rare. It's almost impossible to quanitify if our time in Australia has been a net gain or a net loss. There have been some ups and some downs. It feels like the journey isn't complete but it's hard to know when you're uncertain of the destination. But it doesn't feel quite as odd anymore to call this place "home".

Sweet & Sour Summer

In Perth, late October and early November finally brings some relief to the weary Perthonians from the harsh and grueling winter. By "harsh and grueling" I'm referring to the weather from May to September where the daily high is usually in the high teens to low twenties and the overnight low is normally around 10 degrees C. Okay, so maybe the weather in Perth, in what is officially considered to be "the winter", isn't so bad. However, this winter Perth experienced one of it's wettest and coolest periods in decades. What we'd normally expect to see from Perth in the winter is partly cloudy skies with the occasional shower and the aforementioned temperatures. This year, instead of the occasional shower we received occasional rain; that is to say that there was more precipitation than normal. Although, someone from London or Vancouver would be breaking out their bathers and sunscreen, in Perth it was really wet and cold. But since we've lived here for almost exactly two years now (gulp) we've certainly become acclimatized to the weather and as a result we are completely within our rights to complain bitterly if the mercury falls below 20 and/or a single cloud is spotted on the horizon. In other words, we've gone soft mate.

Just this last week we finally got a reprieve from the frigid conditions and it appears as though summer is finally here. For weeks it's been about 22 degrees everyday and then it rocketed straight up to 37.  Summer in Perth is a double-edged sword. There is the good and the bad. So without further adieu here are the good (sweet) and bad (sour) things that summer brings to Perthites:

Good: Sunshine! Lots and lots of sunshine. We could potentially go days or even weeks without seeing any significant cloud cover.
Bad: UV! The weather forecast in Perth always includes the UV rating. In general, from November to March it's unusual to see a UV rating below "Extreme". If you're lucky you might get a day where the UV rating is only "High". So, this means sunscreen: lots and lots of sunscreen. Melanoma is a major concern here and many people that grew up in this area before sun safety was a thing are now experiencing some form of skin cancer. It's so bad that many employers provide an annual free skin cancer screening in their offices.

Good: Did I mention sunshine? Yeah, it's really sunny here a lot.
Bad: It almost never rains in the summer and when it does the amount is negligible. That means that water is in short supply which results in high water utility prices, limits on water use, browning front lawns and short showers.

Good: Which way to the beach? There's nothing better than going to some of the beautiful beaches that Pertharians enjoy on a hot summer day. There are some really good beaches in the Perth area. The best time to go to the beach is in the morning before the afternoon wind (or "Fremantle Doctor") kicks up. Often, in the morning, the water is calm and clear and perfect for swimming, snorkeling or simply wading.

Cottesloe Beach in Perth.

Bad: Rip tides, sharks, jelly fish. Two years ago Perth had a really bad problem with shark attacks. There were about 5 attacks in the span of 18 months making Western Australia the (temporary) shark attack capital of the world. Hurray for us!? Granted, the attacks didn't happen at the beach or even in the shallows but still it's a little intimidating to go into the water when you know there are Great White Sharks (and Bull Sharks, and Tiger Sharks, and Bronze Whalers...) swimming around looking for something to eat. However, the sharks are low on the list of beach dangers. More dangerous are the jellyfish. There are lots of jellyfish in the waters around Perth. Most of them are harmless or just a minor irritant. All of us have been stung by jellyfish since we've been here and it wasn't a big deal. However, at certain times of the year the Box Jellyfish move into the area and they ARE dangerous. Fortunately, their movements are monitored very closely and if they're anywhere near a beach the authorities close it ASAP. However, the most dangerous thing in the ocean is the ocean itself. Specifically, rip currents (also called "rip tides" or simply "rips") are responsible for more ocean deaths than all other factors combined. A rip is what happens when the water receding from the beach can't escape as fast as the water coming into the beach. As a result, it creates a strong current of water flowing away from the beach and literally can rip people out to sea. Generally, the rips are relatively easy to spot and there are warning signs in rip areas but, even so, many people get caught in them and some of them end up panicking and drowning.

The rough water between the arrows is a rip current.

Good: Despite temperatures that are regularly in the high 30's or even low 40's, almost every afternoon a cooling westerly ocean breeze gives the city some much needed respite from the heat. As mentioned above, this is referred to as the "Fremantle Doctor". "Fremantle" because that is the city/suburb southwest of Perth which is the same direction and the breeze originates from. "Doctor" because it provides so much relief from the soaring temperatures.  And it sounds close to the name of the AFL team the Fremantle Dockers.
Bad: The same southwesterly wind that provides relief to the overheated Perthers occasionally picks up a little more 'oomph' than is comfortable and can cause significant damage, including damaged roofs, trees uprooted and flying debris.

Damage from the most recent "storm of the century"

Good: Late spring brings wildflower season to southwestern WA. The fields come alive with the blooms of the myriad wildflowers. In some areas huge swaths of what was barren desert are blanketed with purple, blue, yellow, red, green, white and every other colour imaginable.

WA Wildflowers in spring

Bad: With the flowers come the (dramatic music) bugs: the flies, spiders and other irritating insects that make life outdoors, at times, unbearable. The flies in Perth are particularly miserable little bastards. They attack like kamikaze pilots and seem to have little or no concern for their own mortality. They swarm and buzz and constantly harass until they are either outrun or summarily dispatched to their great stinking rot heap in the sky. The warmer temperatures, in general, also means that there are a lot more of every insect and they are all on the lookout for whatever it is they lookout for. In some cases, that results in them looking out for stuff in our home. So a constant part of summer is clearing out the crickets, silverfish, moths, spiders and caterpillars from our house.
Ugly: This isn't really a "good" or "bad" but occasionally you run into a cool looking bug like this centipede that got stuck in our pool and died. This thing would be a lot less cool if it was still alive when we found it and even less so if we were in the pool with it.  It was about 8 inches long.  This is the stuff nightmares are made of.

That is a dead centipede.  He's met his maker, pushing up the daisies, left the reservation, he's snuffed it!

Good: Speaking of pools, summer means that we can spend more time in our pool. Not only is the temperature more conducive to swimming but now that there is also more daylight it allows us to go into the pool after work before the sun goes down.
Bad: Cleaning the pool, buying the pool chemicals, maintaining the pool system. That's the price one must pay I suppose. At this point, I'm still happy to do so.  I'm even happier when I can convince someone else to do it.

Good: With the warmer weather comes more available quantities and varieties of fresh fruit and vegetables.
Bad: Hmmm...I can't really think of a downside to this, after all, more food=good. Well, I suppose there is one thing. While we're supposed to be out and active and getting back to our svelte summer beach physique (yeah right) there is more opportunity and temptation to eat and eat and eat and...

Good: Spring/Summer in Perth means that it's Autumn in the civilized world (ie. Northern Hemisphere). That also means that all of the new US television show seasons are starting and we finally have something to watch on TV besides Big Brother Australia, Australia's Got Talent, X-Factor Australia, The Voice Australia, Beauty and the Geek Australia and Breaking Bad.
Bad: Oh God! Breaking Bad is finished, like, forever! All of these crappy pseudo-reality talent shows go on forever and yet the greatest television show in history only has 5 seasons and ends in it's prime. But I digress, the real issue with the additional home entertainment options is that we should be outdoors doing something but instead we're hypnotized learning how a bunch of autistic nerds with a hot neighbor survive in the city; how some guy met someone's mother; what a modern family looks like; who's winning the game of thrones, etc. This also contributes to my un-svelte summer beach physique and general brain-rot.

Good: At this time of year it means that my favorite sports are in full swing. Both the NHL and NFL have begun in earnest. Yeah, hockey is back!
Bad: I can't watch any of the fricken hockey games. Most NFL games are played on Sunday's, however, here it's a Monday and I'm stuck at work. Good luck trying to find hockey on TV here anywhere. Not only that, but the only semi-decent popular Australian sport has just finished it's season. The Hawthorne Hawks beat the local Fremantle Dockers in the AFL (Australian Football League) Grand Final. Original name, that. What we're left with on the Australian sporting landscape is cricket. Oh god, just kill me now!

Good: The kids are finishing school. Well, Zaren and Cyrus have basically already finished school and only have some of their final exams to complete. Keva has another month left. This means more freedom for them but also more options for all of us to travel together.
Bad: The same applies for all families and as a result EVERYONE does the vast majority of their holidaying during December and January. The airlines and hotels, bless their hearts, have noticed this trend and jack up prices to travel anywhere from or within Australia. Even so, they all get booked fully and booked early. We tried to find some accommodation in the South-Eastern part of WA, near Albany. It is supposed to be a more forested area with a temperate climate in the summer. It also has some new activities that we haven't tried like a tree top walk. We started looking in August to book a place in December: sold out! Apparently, some people are starting to book now for December 2014. For a country that is mostly empty there sure aren't many vacancies when you need them.

Good: Outside of working hours, for the next 5 months I likely won't have to wear anything more than shorts and a t-shirt.
Bad: Those around me will see that, outside of working hours, for the next 5 months I won't be wearing anything more than shorts and a t-shirt. [I was going to include a picture but decided against it as I consider myself a humanitarian]

Good: No more nights freezing in bed. As I may have complained about once or twice before, the homes here have no insulation. So, in the worst winter nights when the temperature plummets to 5C outside, it's not much warmer inside.
Bad: No more sleep. Soon the evening temperature will likely be in the high 20's or even low 30's. The amount of money that we alone spend on electricity running fans and air conditioning on the hot summer nights could be used to power Okotoks for a year!

Good: The warmer weather means that all of the beautiful bird species that live in this part of the world are out in full force. There are parakeets, cockatoos, lorikeets, conures and so many other colourful and intelligent bird species that it is truly outstanding.

Rainbow Lorikeet: a common sight in our backyard.

Bad: The #*$^ing stupid @#*& birds get up at 4am and crow at full volume right outside our open window...EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.  I HATE THE BIRDS!


Coming up on the next episode of The Klamers of Oz..."It's Been Two Years- Are We There Yet?"

Slinging it in Singapore!

We often get emails for travel deals in Perth.  Some of them are really good and some are just okay.  So, when we received a good offer to go to Singapore we jumped on it.  Singapore is a relatively short trip from Perth and is in the same time zone.  So, all in all, it's very convenient to travel there if you live in Perth.  Nadia and I ended up going to Singapore for 4 days.  Here's a brief run-down:

 Singapore is basically an island cut off via straights from the rest of Malaysia.  It is a very different place than anywhere in Malaysia however.  One of the features of Singapore is the water.  It is surround by, what is essentially, ocean rivers and the ocean to the south.  It also has several canals running through the city.  In these canals are "quays".  These are places for boats to dock and for people to gather.  Some of these quays have been turned into evening hotspots and tourist destinations.  Above, Nadia is sipping a beer overlooking a canal.

 Our hotel was right in the heart of Singapore and around the block from the train station.  So, it was very convenient to either walk where we needed to go or take the train if we needed to travel a little further.  Also, the view from our balcony was pretty good.  In the foreground is a central monument and in the background is the famous Marina Bay Hotel.  While we were in Singapore the streets were being set up for the upcoming Formula 1 race.  Unfortunately, we were two weeks too early for the race but nonetheless it was kind of cool to see how it all came together.

 A visit to Singapore wouldn't be complete without a trip to the iconic Raffles Hotel.  Here is the courtyard of the hotel from one of the walkways above.  Legend has it that this hotel is where the "Singapore Sling" cocktail was invented.  We looked into having one at the hotel but it was over $20 dollars for one drink!

 Here Nadia is in front of the "Gardens by the Bay".  This is a man-made attraction within an urban garden.  In addition to the natural waterways and flora, the Singaporians built several "Avatar" like tree structures.

 This is the view from the Marina Bay Hotel, mentioned earlier, looking down on the "Gardens by the Bay".  The Marina Bay Hotel itself is remarkable.  It is very tall and was built to look like a huge ocean ship sitting atop three pedestals.  In addition to looking cool, the hotel has an amazing pool at the top of the building that looks down onto the city and gives you an over-the-edge sensation.

 This is basically the view from the Marina Bay pool.  Here you can see most of the central business district of Singapore. While we were able to tour the hotel and go up to the top, the pool area was restricted to guests only. 

 One of the attractions of Singapore is it's lively and large Chinatown.  Within Chinatown you'll find lots of eating spots, shopping areas (mostly hawkers) and old, historic buildings.  One of the activities that we indulged in while visiting Chinatown was getting our feet eaten by the particular fish that do a good job of it.  It was a little uncomfortable at first, mostly ticklish, but after a few minutes we settled in and enjoyed the experience.

 We finally did have our Singapore Sling, but not at Raffles, and it only cost us $15 each!

 Singapore is a unique city within Asia.  It is very clean, very organized and very rule oriented.  It also has embraced it's history by way of keeping and nurturing it's historical buildings, but by also respecting the nature that surrounds it.  Yes, the waterways are very polluted but the general amount of pollution compared to most major Asian cities is small.  Above the modern meets the ancient:  a new and impressive series of condos are being built not far from a city park and wildlife sanctuary.  Also in this photo, although it's difficult to see, are some monkeys playing in the trees.

 Not far from where the monkeys were was this little snake just hanging out near the handrail on the bridge.  Fortunately, we weren't holding the hand rail when we spotted this.

 Near the park area is the cable car that takes you to Sentosa Island.  This island houses several theme parks including Universal Studios Singapore.  We didn't go to any of the theme parks but we did explore the small island.

 Also while on Sentosa, we managed to have a break at the beach with a drink.  We didn't drink everywhere we went but it was close.

One of the hot attractions in Singapore is the zoo.  This particular zoo doesn't have cages and instead relies on ditches, moats and other natural type of features to ensure that the people and animals don't get too close.  In addition, this zoo offers a night safari.  It starts off with a tram ride going around the zoo and then you have the option of going it on foot.  The great thing about night safari is that most of the animals are more active at night.  The unfortunate aspect, however, is that they are harder to see and even harder to photograph.  Above is about the best picture I managed to get.  I think it's a raccoon but can't be sure.  Also, flashes weren't allowed as they could damage the animals eyes.

All in all, we really enjoyed Singapore.  It was, in a way, like taking a large North American city and plunking it in South East Asia.  The only downside is that we did so much walking in Singapore that we may have done some permanent damage to our feet.

An update in photos

Hey,

What's up internet?  It's been a while.  Hope you've been well.  Everything here is fine.  Most of the days, there isn't much new to report (or complain about).  But there have been a few things worth mentioning. Here's a run-down with some photographic evidence:

Zaren and Cyrus have really found it hard to find work here.  They had a job in December/January 2011 but it was only temporary and that's the last time they've been able to find work.  Then it occurred to us that they could do something hockey related.  As a result, they took the hockey linesmen training and got a few games in as linesmen before the season ended.

 Here they are just prior to their first game.  They managed to get 3 or 4 games before the end of the season and they enjoyed the experience thus far.  Since then, they have both taken a barrista course and subsequently Cyrus has gotten a job at a cafe close to our house.  No such luck for Zaren yet.

A little while ago we were in Melbourne for the second time.  One of the things I mentioned about Melbourne was the graffiti in several designated laneways.  Here are a few examples: 

When we were in Canada we were constantly running around, getting the kids from one activity to the next.  For Zaren and Cyrus, most of their time was taken up with hockey and music lessons.  With Keva, she also had music lessons in addition to gymnastics, dance, lacrosse and several others that don't immediately spring to mind.  When we arrived here we registered Keva for gymnastics but she didn't like it.  Since then, we've had some issues trying to find a decent activity for her.  We decided to try martial arts, specifically Zen-Do-Kai, and she's enjoyed it thus far.  Here she is receiving her yellow belt with her class.

 Keva was placed into an adult class and is by far the youngest in the group.

Last year, Nadia and I bought a pair of kayaks.  We only managed to use them 3 or 4 times last summer, which was unfortunate.  We did manage to get them out on the water already once this year, even though the weather wasn't ideal.

 This is the estuary near the CBD in Perth.  I'm on my kayak just in front of the Narrows Bridge.  We came from behind where I currently appear in the picture, under the bridge.  We were exploring the shoreline when a couple of dolphins surprised us and came to check us out.  Dolphins are fairly common in the estuary as there are plenty of fish to be had.

Also, last summer we went whale watching just south of Perth.  The conditions were cold and wet, the whales weren't particularly cooperative and most of the passengers on-board ended up sick.  A couple weeks ago we booked a whale watching tour about a 30 minute boat ride from our house.  It was still a little choppy but otherwise good and the whales were putting on a show.

 I managed to get only a couple of half-decent pictures of the Humpback whales breaching just off the coast of Perth.

While kids have just gone back to school in Canada, the kids here are just finishing their year.  For grade 12's that means graduation from high school and the next step into whatever fits them.

 Cyrus receiving his diploma.  Unfortunately, the picture is a little fuzzy.

 Here's Zaren walking off the stage after receiving his diploma.

 ...And here's both of them with their proud mama.

A couple pictures up, I mentioned the dolphins in the estuary.  My office is right beside the estuary (as are most of the offices in the CBD) so I often go for a walk by the water at lunch.  I quite often see fish, birds trying (and often succeeding) to catch fish and jellyfish.  For about two weeks this spring, when the water was calm, a pod of dolphins would come into the estuary looking for fish. 

Here are a couple of the pod that were swimming less than 10 feet away from where I was walking.  

Who's The Boss?

The last blog entry was about our latest trip to Melbourne.  That was our second visit to Melbourne.  The first trip took place several months ago under the auspices of going to see Bruce Springsteen in an iconic outdoor venue.  It was the best concert that Nadia or I have experienced.

So, when we heard the announcement a couple of weeks ago that Bruce Springsteen was coming to Perth for the first time ever we were very much looking forward to seeing him again.

First of all, I see it as a very positive sign that Bruce and bacon arrive in Perth this year.  Perhaps the worlds most isolated city is beginning to reach out to the world a little bit more.  If this keeps up, before we know it Perth will have insulation in the houses and a Starbucks on every corner.

Like many in Perth, we were really keen to see "The Boss".  The show is taking place in the new Perth Arena that has been functional for several months but is still not quite completed.  The arena itself has been the source of some controversy.  It was very much over budget and schedule and, because it's location is in the city right beside the main train station, the construction has caused a great deal of clutter and traffic chaos.  Plus, many people here absolutely despise the design.



The arena has been called "bold, imaginative, unique and unmistakable".  That's all true.  But it's also completely out of place with the rest of Perth.  This is a building that belongs in Melbourne and it also demonstrates our suspicions that the modern Perth is trying to model itself after Melbourne.

So, that's where Bruce is playing.  Then we looked into the prices.   For a single ticket in the Perth Arena it ranges from $150-230.  So needless to say, we aren't going at those prices.  At first blush you might think the prices are so high because it's Bruce (freaking) Springsteen: an iconic, historic performer who's live show has been called the best in the world.  But in fact, in most US and Canadian cities the price for this concert is at least half as much.  All concerts in Perth are expensive.  There are a few reasons for this:

1)   It costs a lot of money to move a big concert, including equipment and crew to an island in the south east corner of the planet.
2)  Everything is expensive in Australia, even more so in Perth.

The bottom line: we're not going. :(

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There is a very popular soap opera in Australia at the moment.  It's been dominating the Australian television screens for about 4 years and is the talk on the radio and around the water cooler the next morning.  The plot is a little like Dallas or Dynasty in the 80's.  It goes something like this:

About 4 years ago Kevin assumed control of the business.  Kevin took over from the previous boss who was in charge for almost a decade and was fairly popular and charismatic.  Unfortunately, Kevin is not charismatic but is rather a bit of a nerdy intellectual who has a tendency to be snarky and sarcastic when he is challenged.  As a result, the companies shareholders start to lose faith in Kevin almost immediately after he takes over.  Kevin's former ally on the board, Julia, sees this as an opportunity to challenge Kevin's leadership and take over.  Julia is a charismatic, outgoing, polished leader.  She convinces the board that the shareholders would have more faith in her than they would in Kevin in the role of leader.  So, Kevin is ousted and Julia takes over.  Unfortunately, Julia is all sizzle and very little steak.  While she is strong politically she makes many business decisions that alienate her customers and only serve to strengthen her allies on the board.  Meanwhile, Tony is an outsider who is trying to take over the company.  He is trying to convince the shareholders to sell to him and let him get the company back on track.  Tony is a typical corporate raider.  He is well dressed, polished and a bully.  He was born into privilege and believes that the best way for the company to prosper is to cater to it's biggest, richest and most influential clientèle.  Very quickly into her reign, it becomes apparent that Julia is not popular with the shareholders nor the companies client base.  As Tony's position becomes more and more credible and his message is heard the board decides that they will turn back to Kevin as leader so that they can stave off the challenge from Tony.

By now I'm sure you've realized that this daily drama is Australian federal politics.  Kevin Rudd is the current Prime Minister after ousting Julia Gillard in an internal leadership battle, as the polls were showing that their Labour Party had no chance in the election against the Liberal Party and Tony Abbott with Gillard at the helm.  The election itself is taking place in September.  The choice for Australians (not us since we're dirty foreigners) is thus:

1) Vote for the liberal Labour Party and their classic "tax and spend" tactics.
2) Vote for the conservative Liberal Party and their classic "cut spending and give tax breaks to business tactics.

Often in Western politics the left and right parties try to paint the other party as falling into the "classic" categories above.  Usually, it's not so simple.  In Canada, all of the parties are either, more or less, centrist or left leaning.  In the US, all of the parties lean more to the right.  But in Australia they seem to follow the text-book definition of the political spectrum.  There seems to be less pragmatism and more ideology in federal politics here.  The result is a messy political system that doesn't really work for anyone and results in a lot of drama but not a lot of good for the Australian public.  When the political parties here make me pine for the Canadian federal party's you know it's bad here.

Anyone that knows me knows that I tend to lean a little to the left.  I'm more or less a fiscal conservative but a social liberal.  So, it may come as a surprise that if I were able to vote in this election I'd vote for the conservative Liberal Party and their silver-spoon bully leader Tony Abbott.  The reason is simple.  The left here has gone too far left and frankly I don't like their brand of politics.  The Labour Party is in close cahoots with the unions here and tend to follow the unions "suggestions".  During their time in power and certainly during the election they have made many xenophobic comments like "Australia for Australians".  They've raised taxes on non-Australians, even though we were paying a lot more to begin with.  They have tried to tax companies that employ non-Australians even though those companies can't find Australians to do the work.  They have raised taxes at least 8 times in the last 3 years including the controversial and largely ridiculous Carbon Tax, which does nothing to help the environment.  They have raised spending but largely on nothing useful.  They have left a budget deficit every year even though the country was going through a boom economy and unemployment was at record lows.  And of course, they pander to the most common of denominators: hatred, bigotry and exclusion.  I don't know if Abbott and the Liberals will be any better but historically in Australia the most effective governments have been the conservative ones.

As it stands today, Abbott and the Liberal Party have a huge lead over Rudd and the Labour Party.  So, it looks like pretty soon there'll be a new boss and the soap opera will begin it's next chapter.

Some Tidbits (delicious little tidbits)

About a week ago Nadia and I arrived from a 3 night trip to Melbourne.  It was our second trip there and it was generally made under the auspices of attending a wedding of one of Nadia's collegues.  But really, we only spent about 4 out of the 72 hours on the wedding.  The rest of the time we spent exploring some new things in Melbourne that we didn't get to see last time, and also re-experiencing some of the things that we really enjoyed from the last trip.

First of all, the wedding was really good and we had a lot of fun.  And now on to the other 68 hours.

Melbourne is a great place if you like to eat and drink.  There are restaurants and bars everywhere.  There are laneways (think back alleys) that are dedicated to just about anything:  breakfast, hiking equipment, jewellery, musical instruments, etc.  So, we tried to explore a few new ones for food and you really can't go wrong.  There are even some laneways that have been essentially set aside for grafitti.  Some of it is really amazing.  Melbourne is a city that seems to have embraced it's darker sub-cultures and incorporated them into the mainstream.  As a result, it seems to me that there isn't so much of an us vs. them dynamic happening.  So, we ate well and to work off the food we did a lot of shopping and exploring.

One of the 'new' items on our Melbourne agenda was footy.  "Footy" aka Australian Rules Football, is the most popular sport in the country (in case you haven't been paying attention).  It is an odd mix of soccer, rugby, American football (called "gridiron" here) and a prison break.  We've seen it on TV but never in person.  Melbourne is really the home of Footy.  Prior to the AFL (Australian Football League) forming all of the teams were located in Melbourne.  Only now is it really a national sport with two teams in Perth, two in Adelaide, two in Sydney, one in the Gold Coast (near Brisbane) and the rest, about 8 in Melbourne.  There are two major stadiums in Melbourne.  One is the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) which holds about 100,000 and is the nations most iconic sporting arena.  The other is Etihad Stadium, which is the only stadium in the southern hemisphere that has a retractable roof.  There were no matches that fit our schedule at the MCG so we went to Etihad.  As luck would have it, our local team, the West Coast Eagles, were playing the Western Bulldogs (from Melbourne).  The Bulldogs won but it was a close game.  The atmosphere was only so-so but considering that there wasn't much on the line for either team I'm not surprised.  Also, there were only about 20,000 in the stadium that has a capacity of about 60,000.  In any case, it was a new experience for us.

In general, Melbourne is a great city.  It is very mature and vibrant.  However, it's also quite well-worn, dirty and has a big-city attitude.  Great place to visit but I'm not sure I'd want to live there.

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This is a big week for us and it is every year.  This year it's just a little bit bigger though.  Nadia had her birthday on August 5 (yesterday for us).  And in two days Zaren and Cyrus are *gulp* turning 18.  Wow.

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Last week we made a discovery in Perth that could potentially rival all others that have been made up to this point.  While out shopping for groceries I was about to grab the same old sub-standard Australian bacon when out of the corner of my eye I spotted something.  After very close inspection it turned out to be, wait for it, REAL BACON!

So, for the first time in almost two years we ate real bacon! 

There is hope for this country yet.

Konichiwa and Sayonara Japan

Last week we returned from a 10 day family holiday to Japan.  There was so much to see and do that by the end of every day we collapsed exhausted.  It was definitely one of our most enjoyable trips.  We started in Osaka (Japan's second largest city) where we spent two days.  We then took a day trip via train to Nara.  [Side note: the train system in Japan in second to none.  You can literally get essentially anywhere in the country in an efficient and relatively inexpensive way.  We did the vast majority of our travel via train with the occasional bus trip thrown in for good measure.]  So, since a picture is worth a thousand words, and a whole lot less effort on my part, here's a visual run-down of our trip to Japan.

 

As mentioned, we started in Osaka.  While there we stayed in the Dotombori area where there is a vibrant shopping and nightlife scene.  Above is a small glimpse of Dotombori at night on a bridge over the canal.

 

 

We also visited the castle in Osaka.  It's about 400 years old and also acts as a museum for the period.  It had quite a few original artifacts from the period including paintings, scrolls, weapons, armor, clothing, etc.  Lastly for Osaka we visited the world's largest aquarium.  It is about 5 or 6 stories tall and houses an impressive collection of marine life, including dolphins, seals, otters, fish, rays, turtles, sharks and more.  In fact, in the largest tank they had a Whale Shark- the worlds largest species of shark. 

 

 





 

After Osaka we were heading to Kyoto, one of the most important historical and culture cities in the world.  On the way there we stopped at Nara for the day. Nara is located in more of a rural setting than Osaka or Kyoto (or Tokyo) and as such it had a more relaxed feel to it.  Nara is dotted with Buddhist temples and shrines which are all overrun by the local species of deer.    There is a local legend of the Buddha visiting this area on the back of a giant white deer. As a result, the deer in this area are protected and have been for hundreds of years.  Not only do people protect the deer but they also feed them.  As a result, the deer are everywhere looking for handouts. 

 



 One of the temples in Nara houses one of the largest Buddha's in the world.  In the photo above, you can see Zaren standing at the foot of the big Buddha.  There are also two more slightly smaller Buddha on either side of him.  We really enjoyed Nara even though we were only there for a few hours.  One of my favourite memories of the trip was in Nara: we were walking looking for a garden that our visitors book had suggested.  On the way we happened to stumble upon another garden with a sign that said admission was free for foreigners.  So, of course we took them up on the offer.  It was a relatively small garden but it was very quiet, well kept and peaceful.  The contrast of the zen-ish peacefulness of the Japanese gardens versus the hectic pace of the Japananese super cities is really quite remarkable.  It's even more remarkable that a garden can be in the middle of a bustling city and you can still experience the tranquillity of it.

 

 After Nara we were on our way to Kyoto.  We were spending 3 days in Kyoto and we were also meeting up with Nadia's brother Marc and family (Yumiko, Kai, Karissa).  There were so many places of cultural and historical significance in Kyoto that it was hard to keep it all straight.  Above is all of us in front of one of the temples.  This one is up on the hill above Kyoto and you can see most of the city from it.

 

 

 The "kids" at lunch in Kyoto.

 

 The "Klamers" in front of the Golden Pavillion in Kyoto.

 

 Finding a little zen at the Rock Garden in Kyoto.

 

 Strolling through the bamboo forest in Kyoto.

 

 Trying to find a little enlightenment along the "Philosophers Path" in Kyoto.

 

 Just another temple in Kyoto.  Ho-hum.  There was so much to see and do in Kyoto that it's hard to squeeze it all into just a few days.

 

 Then after Kyoto it was time to say goodbye to the English clan and catch the bullet train to Mount Fuji.

 

 Mount Fuji is a very iconic Japanese symbol.  It is worshipped both by Buddhists and by the traditional Japanese religion Shintoism (although, according to statistics 49% of Japanese citizens consider themselves "non-religious").  On the way to Mt.Fuji we managed to get a picture of the mountain from our bus.  As it turns out this would be the clearest view we would get of the mountain over the two days there.

 

 At the foot of Mt.Fuji is a temple that has stood for hundreds of years and is still used today for travellers looking for a little divine intervention.  Above, Zaren and Keva are praying for world peace and spiritual enlightenment (or more likely they are praying for the ache in their feet to go away and some good shopping in Tokyo).

 

 Here's the crew on the side of Mt.Fuji.  The closer we got to the mountain the foggier it was.  Otherwise, the area itself was quite reminiscent of being in the mountains back home.  It actually reminded me a little bit of Banff, especially how all the store signs were all in Japanese.

 

 We made a stop at the ice cave near Mt.Fuji.  The ice above was actually brought into the cave mostly to impress the tourists, but there was also plenty of natural ice in the cave.

 

 Our journey around Mt.Fuji ended at a picturesque lake at the base of the mountain.  There are actually 5 lakes surrounding Mt.Fuji but this one is the most famous.  As a matter of fact it's even on the Japanese money.  The view of the lake above (minus us) is the same as the view of the 1000 Yen note.  The main difference between the two is that you can see the mountain on the money.  Apparently, on a clear day the view is just like on the bill.

 

 After Mt.Fuji we made our way to Tokyo via the highway bus.  Tokyo is an amazing city.  Actually it's an amazing 23 cities that make up the super city of Tokyo.  Anything that you want to do you can find somewhere in Tokyo.  Despite the enormity of the place we found that it didn't have the big city attitude that many of the world's mega-centers seem to have.  The people in Tokyo (and Japan in general) seemed to be very warm, friendly, helpful and accommodating.  The people of Japan was probably my favourite part of the trip.  It's a really lovely culture of ingenuity, hard-work, respect, tranquillity and craziness.  Above, the kids are in the central park gardens in the middle of bustling Tokyo.

 

 One of the must see places in Tokyo is the fish market, the largest in the world.  Most of the action happens very early in the morning (i.e. 4-7 am) so we missed most of it and arrived basically as they were starting to pack everything up.  Even so, the shear size of the place, the chaotic energy and the myriad number of critters on display was really extraordinary.

 Even though Tokyo is a major modern city it still has it's share of temples, shrines and pagodas as seen above.

 

Tokyo is known, worldwide, as a shopping paradise.  There are plenty of places to shop in Tokyo including the traditional market shown above.

 

 One of the more recent attractions of Tokyo is the Skytree.  It is the worlds tallest tower and it comes complete with three levels of observation decks.  One of the decks includes a glass floor area as seen above.

 

 While we were in Tokyo we wanted to experience a little bit of the traditional Japanese pastime:  baseball!  I've been to one Major League Baseball game in my life and I found it was a lovely thing to do, if you wanted to have a nap.  I don't really know much about Japanese baseball except that they take it seriously and that the Tokyo Giants are like the New York Yankees of the league.  So, we really didn't know what to expect.  We managed to get tickets in the standing area only and, unfortunately, the Giants weren't the home team playing at the Tokyo Dome but instead it was the Hawks (think New York Mets).  Much to our surprise, on a Wednesday evening the game was essentially sold out and we were having to find a place where we could stand and watch the game.  The stadium has 42,000 seats so I estimate that there were close to 50,000 in attendance.  For every single person they handed out a jersey, a flag and a glow stick.  So, almost all of the stadium was clad in purple.

 

 4 out of 5 of us had our first (and only) beer at our first (and likely only) Japanese baseball game.  Honestly, even though none of us really care for baseball we had a great time.  In fact, outside of a couple NHL playoff games I'd say this is the most fun I've ever had at a sporting event.  The crowd was into the game the whole time, chanting, singing and cheering.  There was nothing thrown on the field, the players were saluted and responded by bowing to the audience and the atmosphere was fantastic.  Overall it was an awesome experience.

 

 We also managed to get to the Imperial Palace.  However, you can't go into the palace without booking in advance, which we didn't do.  So, after a quick look around the place we went shopping to the crazy Shinjuku and Shibuyu districts.

 

 

 Both Shinjuku and Shibuyu are electric and wild with many different of shops and even more different people.  Although there were plenty of people that were dressed in a wide range of costumes and apparel, I never got the sense that they didn't fit it.  It kinda felt like anyone could fit in in Tokyo and it also felt, from an outsiders perspective, that most people were accepting and weren't judgemental.  One of the interesting sites in Shibuyu is the above statue of a dog.  The story goes that there was a local man who went to the Shibuyu station every day to go to work.  On the way his dog would accompany him to the station.  The dog would then later meet the man at the station on his way home.  The man died and the dog continued to follow the same routine for years until it also died.  The locals raised a statue in honour of the dog and his loyalty. A touching story, if true.

 

 

 As mentioned, the trip was short was packed full to the rafters every day.  By the end of each day we were exhausted.  By the end of the trip we all felt a little like Keva in the picture above on the way home.