.........................................................................I spent my very last day in Australia walking around the city of Perth. It's a large city of about 1 and a half million, but very different then the east coast cities, more laid back and, well, just different. It has a outback kind of feel. I ran into a girl at the hostel that evening as we both were cranking out post cards in the lounge. She was from Switzerland and her name was Leha. She had a pierced eyebrow, nose, tongue, and something I had never seen before, a pierced upper gums. This hoop held a little green jewel that hung right at the top of her two front teeth. I had a hard time not looking at it, just had a way of catching your eye. I told her how it was my last night and she invited me out with a couple of here friends she had met there, Sonya, from Alice Springs, and Michael, a local guy. I had a great time hanging with these three crazy people. We met up around 9pm and went for some sheesha (huka smoking) at a kebab place. Then we went to a couple bars and I had my first taste of snake bite, a kind of fruity drink that really packs a punch. We had a great time drinking, telling stories, and by the end of the night, just plain laughing at each other as we stumbled back to the hostel. Michael was the second coming of Mel Gibson, extremely funny and charismatic, with a million stories and a very interesting view of the world. He had done a radio show for a number of years, but now worked for a tobacco wholesale company. He had dreams of starting a Australian version of the Daily Show, which I think he could possible pull off. Sonya was just one of those people who is always smiling and laughing and enjoying the moment. She was out on holiday on the west coast, and was extremely sweet but with a dry sense of humor. It was just one of those lucky nights where you meet people who are really cool and get along easily. We all made plans to meet in Perth on ten years, or in Switzerland in August, then said goodnight around 4am. Got up at 7am to catch my flight, but no worries, I made it to Thailand and was glad to cap of the blur of my travels in Oz on a high note.
