City Tour - Night 142

(I managed to delete my photos from today so you’ll have to settle for some images stolen from the internet)

Five straight days of at or above 100 degrees I come down with a cold (dehydration is likely the culprit)….Anyways, being that today is the strangest of all days and that it is the end of another month I will take the liberty of waxing poetically a bit about the overall state of my existence. I am tired. Not physically or mentally, but socially. If this sounds strange, I understand as I didn’t know such a condition existed a mere five months ago. What do I mean when I say I am socially tired? Social exhaustion can best be described as talking to different people about the same thing for weeks on end. Where have you been? How long do you have left? What was your favorite place? Where are you going next?...It is widely accepted that maintaining relationships takes energy, I’ve learned that starting new ones usually takes even more (in those instances where it doesn’t lies true bliss). I say all this because I’m coming to realize that I’ve all but stopped trying to openly engage people. This is partly due to the fact that my trip is quickly coming to an end but also because of the aforementioned social exhaustion. At the moment I desire to talk to the same people about different things and not the other way around. How about a rousing argument with friends over the merits of ERA vs WHIP, or Badgers Football, or I-5 traffic, or American Politics or who from high school is getting married, or how drunk we were that one night in Fremont/Tucson/Stevens Point/Vegas/Duncan’s Barn. This is no knock on the trip as whole, it has been amazing, but rather just an indication that it is ending exactly when it should. I’ll stop with the self-reflection right here and save the rest for the Epilogue.

So what did I do today? Real life called and I

The City from Kings Park

spent the morning taking care of finishing off my application and funding request emails for graduate school. Prospects look bleak, but I’m giving it an honest effort. In the afternoon Sue took me on a little tour of Perth. We first stopped at the Buddhist Monastery down the road from their house. The beautiful symmetry, golden statues, and deep atavistic chanting immediately sets one’s mind at ease. After a quick perusal of the adjacent art gallery, we headed across town to King’s Park. A sprawling conglomeration of native bush, mowed lawns and various memorials and obelisks, King’s Park sits atop an escarpment just SW of downtown and offers amazing views of the skyline and the Swan River valley.

Kings Park

Being a bit isolated out in Bayswater, I chose to stay in a hostel downtown for the evening. A decent enough place, the 12:01 Backpackers has very friendly staff and great air-conditioning. I spent the evening having a few beers on the back porch with some other backpackers and then retired early.

What I Learned Today: I have very calm eyes…at least according to the woman at the monastery.

written by

exumenius on February 29, 2008 from Perth, Australia

from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos

Send a Compliment

I would've asked - "how do you feel?" or "ready to move on?" But I think I already know the answer. Try to enjoy the end of your trip thug.

written by Brian Gaston on March 4, 2008

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