It’s been a while since I blogged and it is because I’d been busily preparing for a month-long break in Perth, Australia. Yup, it’s that time of the year again (I did U.S. last year) where I stretch out, unwind and pat myself on the back for a fruitful year of freelancing.

For a start, exchange rates are much higher than it was when I first visited Australia in 1999. It used to be A$1 = S$0.75 but it’s now A$1 = S$1.30, no thanks to the prolonged mining boom. Although the 4% unemployement is the lowest in 33 years and salaries have surged across the board, the take home income is not a lot because of the high tax rate.

As you would expect, labour services are expensive. I brought a Honda Jazz for servicing and the service fee was A$125 for things like changing the oil, battery water, etc. While we’re on that, the locals don’t wash their cars at home. What happens is that there are car wash stations with coin-operated jet-sprays that you take your car to - A$2 for 2 minutes of water, soap, or vacuuming.

A decent meal at the food court costs from A$8.50 (without drinks) compared to under S$4 in Singapore. Fastfood is slightly cheaper, e.g. a 3-piece KFC set costs A$8, while a Dim Sum or Thai meal costs about A$18 per person.

Groceries are a mixed bag. You can get 4kg of potatoes for A$4 but fresh prawns at the supermarket costs from A$20/kg - there’s frozen prawns from China/Vietnam/Thailand at A$9/kg if you’re less picky ;)

Homes are also much pricier now, e.g. a house in Nollamara 20 minutes north of the city costs A$390,000. In the trendier south, a house with similar distance from the city costs A$1 million. At prime areas like Mill Point, fronting Swan River, expect to pay at least A$4 million. Office space is also very limited with only 10% of lettable area left in Perth city.

The government recognizes this and helps first-time home buyers by buying a 30% share of their property. So if you bought a house that costs A$1 million, you’ll only need to pay A$700,000 - the government owns the other 30% and there’s no stamp duty.

Things I like about Perth? The social welfare for kids and retirees, strict health regulations, friendly people, controlled development and the government’s concern for the environment - you get a A$150 rebate when buying a water-saving washing machine and a A$250 rebate for a power-saving aircon.

There are many outdoor activites to enjoy too - lots of empty fields and a recreational center at every suburb. You can go crabbing, watch footy or drive 300km down south to Margaret River for wine tasting (pic above), blueberry pies, lavender beer and smoked cheese.

Ok, guess that’s all for now. I’ll get back to my usual blogging in September.

P/S: btw check out the cool phone + 802.11g wifi + 3G (HSDPA) modem below. It’s what I’m using at home to access the Internet :)