On Friday I finally completed the move from West Leederville to its neighbouring and more popular suburb of Subiaco. Subiaco is one of Perth’s main retail, entertainment and cultural precincts. It is also the home of Perth’s main footy stadium, Subiaco Oval, the light towers of which are visible from my new home’s fantastic patio.

Cleaning and leaving a 3 bedroom, 2 storey furnish home with front and back yards is not the easiest of things and I’m glad that it is over.

I am now house sharing with Oz, who, coincidentally, is of Turkish origin and manages a cafe only a few doors away from work.

The house was built in the days pre-electricity, with polished timber floorboards, high ceilings and fireplaces in each of the main rooms, including my bedroom. It is in the absolutely best location – a quiet street only 5 minutes walk from both the Perth central free transit zone and Kings Park. The semi-enclosed patio and small backyard are so quiet it is hard to believe they are located in the inner city. When I win the lotto I know which street I will buy in…

To furnish the bedroom I bought a wrought iron queen size bed and a solid timber desk. My wardrobe had to be dismantled before it could be removed from my previous room and taken down the stairs. As the wardrobe is not yet reassembled, my room is still a mess, although not as messy as in the following photo, taken shortly after my arrival:

On the 14th of December Bjoern and Aleksandra welcomed their son and first child, Benjamin Liwanu, into the world. Ben weighed a very healthy 3.88 kg (8.5 lbs) and already has a full head of hair. Mother and baby are doing well.

Along with 1,000 others, I had a wonderful time last night at the Chevron Perth Xmas party in a fenced off area of the Supreme Court Gardens. The food, drink, acrobats, fire dancers, DJ and colleagues were all great. I met many new people from across Chevron’s organisations and functions and even had a brief conversation with Roy, the Managing Director.

I did a crazy thing on the weekend. In the space of 24 hours I cycled 90 km after having not ridden a bike for several years. Conclusions:

• – The Swan River is beautiful, flat and quiet between East Perth and Ascot
• – Even in the morning the sun is strong

– The 53 km Great Perth Bike Ride from Langley Park in the CBD to Fremantle and back is a quite arduous 2 hour 33 minute and 51 second long journey

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• – Work colleague Dave is quite a rider, finishing the 106 km faster than anybody else in 2:40:34
• – My leg muscles still ache intensely almost 30 hours later!

Yes, I’m still alive and will be flying to Adelaide this evening to for a short visit to catch up with family and friends. The India trip and wildflower camping photos are still in the pipeline and will be uploaded one day…

The 2009 AIESEC Alumni Global Conference (AAGC) in Kuala Lumpur was a wonderfully organised networking event.

Every delegate was asked to bring a bottle of hard liquor from their country

Traditional Malaysian dancing opened the conference

A panel discussion featuring the former Malaysian Government Minister Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad (centre)

Prior to the Hall of Fame awards ceremony at the International Congress (IC) where friend David Bacon won a Young Alumni Contribution Award for his Carpets for Communities venture

Lauren (second from left) accepted the award on behalf of Dave

The fabulous Beach Party

Painting Shelter Home One, a refuge for abused and abandoned children

The Australian AAGC and IC contingents

I arrived back to a quiet and clean Perth on Monday evening.

Sadly, I will soon farewell a companion, one who has been literally very close to me for most of the past 10 years. From departing Australia for Turkey in June 2001 to arriving back to Perth Monday we have shared many experiences together including line-ups, waits, pat downs and interrogations. Frankly, without her I would have been stuck, not able to move around or see the world.

Yes, after 20+ countries, 20+ visas and 100+ stamps it is almost time to replace my second Australian passport.