On the road again

(Linking Indian Ocean with the Pacific Ocean, since1917; but only since 1969 without changing trains; before that there were different rail gauges) Here we are on the Indian Pacific, rolling the width of the USA from west to east for three nights. Snug in a cabin that holds a double by night and transforms into a sitting area by day. But it has an ensuite bathroom, since Sandee just will not travel without that feature wherever she is in the world. Carry on luggage she will accept, but private loo and shower and wifi is her minimum requirement. This trip however has no wifi, so that was a give. (Our cabin and private facilities, above and below) ( this car had a wavy corridor with single cabins and facilities at the end and beginning of the car) below: the bar area The ticket however allows for unlimited drinking, so who needs wifi in that case? (unfortunately her daily allowance in calories puts a dent in the unlimited element) ( first part of the trip before reaching the...

After "bitching" a bit about Sydney, nothing but good can be said about Perth, the capital of Western Australia. Somewhere during colonial times, someone in power took a ruler and a pencil and drew a line north south on the continental map and created Western Australia, just west of Darwin to avoid the "who is the capital" discussion. Well this state now covers one third of the country, making it the largest state anywhere in the world, (that means 5 times the size of Texas or for Europeans among you, 10 times Italy), housing 2 million people or almost 10% of the Australian population. (Park right below our hotel window) (Cricket stadium with Friday evening practice game) Maybe, because we are "small town" people ourselves (the city plus suburbs counts a population of 1.9 million, but the city itself maybe a few hundred thousand), maybe, it was the cab driver from dutch origin (Bram got here at age 7) in the early sixties, maybe, it was the blue sky (Perth...