I'm back! And the 1st thing I noticed is the humidity! Sucks! Anyway, the trip was a welcomed break from work as well as certain things that have been bugging me. I'm really blessed in that somehow I was able to put everything aside and just enjoy the trip! And things went rather well, as in I didn't really have to worry about safety of my mum & sis and also about what to do and whether we had enough money to spend! Below are bits of my trip and as far as possible, I'll exclude pics with my mum & sis, cos (esp sis) they will kill me if they find out I posted their pics on the net!
We took an early morning flight to Perth which left about 115am; was kinda worried cos didn't know if my mum could take the flight but everything went well. Managed to catch The Illusionist (I initially mistook it for The Prestige) and must say that it's pretty good and captivating; Edward Norton's such a good actor! Touched down early on Sunday morning in Perth but it took a while to clear customs cos it was freaking crowded! Must say that immigrations Down Under is super strict cos we had to declare carrying food with us though it's just prrserved sour plums! So troublesome but everyone was friendly and we were out in no time! We took a cab to Mercue Hotel in Perth CBD and were dismayed to find that we could not check-in early. Hence, we left our luggage with them and headed down to Fremantle - a port town south of Perth CBD. We managed to walk to the train station where we got tics and took the train (similar to MRT) down. One thing about my mum is that she will compare everything to Singapore and to help her remember, I told her that Fremantle was Harbourfront (cos last stop like on the NEL) and we were at Punggol. heh! Check out the view of North Fremantle from our train:
We then took the free CAT (Central Area Transit) bus to the Fremantle markets which only opened Fri-Sun. There were a lot of stuff there and in fact we regretted not buying more stuff as we had assumed that we could find those things in the city as well. Next time, if I see something I like in a foreign country, I'm just gonna buy it! Anyway, here's a pic of the fresh fruits and stuff - such nice colours - and we got some mangoes too!
My sis got some cool stuff as well, like this bird caller thing. We all agreed that it would be a fantastic tool that we can use to irritate Dusty. heh! Anyway, after that, it was down to the Southern Terraces to grab lunch! We wanted to check out Joe's Stack but it was not open yet so we settled on Cicerello's.
We ordered a seafood platter (darn, we didn't take pics!!) and I loved the chilli mussels! Also, was pretty impressed with their system - they gave you a device which will beep once your order is ready so you don't have to stand/sit around waiting for your food! In order to get a discount, I helped them to pull up the anchor -
We then headed back for the hotel and that was pretty much it for the 1st day. We were all pretty tired too as we didn't get much sleep on the plane. Mum was pretty upset and needed some time adjusting as well cos it was her first time apart from home and basically overseas. Think she missed my dad already! Anyway, FYI, Burger King is known as Hungry Jacks in Aussie! I didn't know that!
The second day was great for my genetically-ingrained-shopaholic female companions whilst their lowly servant carried their bags. We enjoyed the London Court terrace the most and had a wonderful breakfast at the London Court Cafe - sausage rolls and ham/cheese croissants! The day was mostly spent shopping for stuff to get my dad & bro.
For lunch, I managed to persuade them to check out this place that was recommended in one of the guides I was using - Fast Eddy's. We managed to track it down and ordered shakes together with a Seafood & Steak platter which the 3 of us shared:
It wasn't bad but not fantastic either. I think it was then that I decided to skip the guidebook recommendations and just choose a place that we think would be good...as shopping is shopping, not much pics were taken then.
The third day however, we went on a half day tour. Was initially planning to go on the tour on Wed but the guide - Mike - called to ask if we could make it Tues and so we did. It was a good move cos there were only 5 of us on the tour - the three of us and a nice Indian Brit couple. We started off at Caversham Wildlife park where we got to see/feed Kangaroos, Koalas and even hug a Wombat! Check out the pics! haha, although I didn't wanna post pics of my mum, there's one with her and Tommy (the Donk-AY)...hilarious! Check out also the Koala -> the epitome of most Aussies - chill & lazy! heh!
Next up was a wineyard along the Swan Valley where we got to do some wine tasting. Not sure if it's a famous winery but some of the wine was pretty nice and I got 2 bottles. Think that it was the 1st time my sis got to taste so much wine too, plus she's underage!
We proceeded to the Margaret River Choc Factory (which was actually a branch located in the Swan Valley) where we got to taste free choc! We didn't buy much though cos the heat outside was horrible and the choc didn't have the coagulant which slows the melting process; in fact, the choc melted on our hands in the air-conditioned factory! Anyway, check out these two tees; liked them but didn't get them cos too ex. In case you can't read the captions, they read:
"Sex is no substitute for chocolate" and " I'd give up chocolate but I am no quitter"
Last stop on this short tour was the Aboriginal Sourvenir shop. I liked the art and designs of the aboriginal culture but the stuff there was not worth buying in my opinion. The pic (once again) shows my mum and I holding the Didjeridu, an aboriginal musical instrument. I tried but failed to play it and could only make short bursts of sound. heh! Not easy ok!
After the tour, we headed back to the hotel but not before our wonderful guide brought us to a pet shop so that we could shop for sourvenirs for Dusty! Mike's this really nice aussie guy who's not only easy-going but very accomodating as well! After a short break in the hotel, we headed down to Northbridge just north of the train station & CBD. We headed for the Western Australian Museum. My mum was bored to bits but my sis enjoyed it, so it was ok. Will only share one pic here, an aboriginal art mosaic -
After the museum was the Art Gallery of Western Australia which was pretty nice but as expected, we weren't allowed to bring in cameras. By this time though, my mum had relegated herself to sitting outside and resting whilst we made our way around (I think the full day was taking its toil on her). We headed down to William Street to check out the eating places but due to our horrible timing - 4+/5pm - most places were closed. In the end, we settled on this Italian place along James Street -Sorrento - although we had intended to eat at the Brass Monkey. The Fettuccine Pollo was divine and undisputedly the best pasta I have ever eaten! Unfortunately, the lamb shank we shared was tough and a little burnt; partially our fault cos they recommended medium rare (which I love) but my mum insisted on well done; we settled on medium well. A rather fine dinner overall. And then it was back to the hotel and planning for the following day.
Wed started off with a trip to Cottesloe Beach! I finally managed to persuade my mum that a trip to Perth couldn't be complete without a trip to the beach and using the analogy that going there was like going to Dhoby Ghaut (Freemantle - Harbourfront; Perth - Punggol) helped to seal the deal. From the train station, we had to walk up and down this row of pine trees and beautiful houses (see pic) and the weather was perfect which made the walk all the more enjoyable.
We decided to grab a bite first and settled on Blue Waters (not sure if they intended the pun).
Check out the before and after pics of the brekkie the 3 of us shared - sumptuous!
After that, it was hitting the beach, albeit just walking barefoot along the shore and walking to the end of the breakwater!
My fav pic of this trip is also here - I guess in a sense it sums up the city of Perth and probably the rest of Australia.
The wonderful clear blue skies with complementary fluffle of clouds to add a dash of colour, the turquoise green waters and the darkest of green pine trees represents the beauty of nature in Australia; everything's so serene, so peaceful, so laid back. No high rise and even the beach house there is lovely and rustic! I just love the pic!
After the wonerful morning at the beach, it was back to Fremantle for lunch due to mum's request (afterall, dhoby ghaut quite near to harbourfront right?) :P I had wanted to visit the Fremantle Prison on Sun but we were short of time so we cut it out. We managed to go there this time round but due to budget contraints, we had to forego the tour which basially meant we couldn't go into the main prison and see the cells and stuff. I settled for the virtual tours on the comps there and did some shopping at the sourvenir shop. Bought a book for myself and will read it soon; seems interesting enough as it's written in the first person!
After that, we went back to the Southern Terraces in search of a good lunch place. We settled on Kailis' Fish Market Cafe to settle my mum's craving for lobster. I kept pronouncing the name as Kai Li (chinese style) and my sis kept correcting me with Kylie (aussie style and rightly so!) So all three of us had our virgin lobster experience there, for a bloody A$48.95! My mum liked the fish & chips as well and we all went off satisfied!
I had wanted to check out The Little Creatures as Shaun had recommended it to me as being a good place for tinnies (beer), snags (sausages) and cute waitresses. What a wasted!
And then it was back to Perth city to check out the Perth Mint. Found it rather interesting cos we were given an insight as to how the gold is made and stuff? And the aussie humour made it even funnier! Did you know that they actually managed to recover A$20k worth of gold just from purifying gold from the ash and dirt collected from the roof of the mint? My goodness! Plus we tried carrying this 12kg bar of gold which was worth several Gs! Cool. My mum managed (finally) to get my dad something as well. heh!
The last day of our trip and the queen's (mum) request was for more shopping. Alas, the humble servant obliges. However, I managed to persuade a walk down to esplanade and for brekkie at Bell's Cafe. In the pic, you can see the Snow Bell's Tower and the faint outline of a crescent on the left.
We had a hearty brekkie and for once, I insisted on not sharing and guess what, I finished everything nonetheless :)
We then took a return ferry ride just to soak up the sights from the sea. Pretty nice pic of Perth I must say, those that normally come on postcards.
Then it was a day of some last min shopping and prep for our imminent return! :( Just one last task before we returned - our quest for some aussie steak, and a pint for myself! The tourist information lady suggested this place called The Shed at Northbridge (Aberdeen St). We managed to find it pretty easily and we ordered a Porterhouse Steak for myself and a Filet Mignon which my mum & sis shared. I also ordered (FINALLY!) a pint of VB - Victoria Bitters - which was pretty good! Except that they had an offer and I ended up ordering a jug (1.14l) for A$8! I really couldn't finish it, maybe cos it was just lunch time! Anyway, a fantastic end to our journey in Perth!
Although our flight was at 915am on Fri morning, our mum woke us up at 4am and we were at the airport by 540am (see pic below). We managed to clear customs pretty easily and had a good journey back home. Managed to catch two movies - The Night listener (starring Robin Williams) and Little Miss Sunshine. I enjoyed the latter a lot and am thinking of buying the DVD. Has it come out in S'pore cinemas? I didn't hear about it at all! Besides the wonderful cinematography, I think that it deals with several issues, at least one of which, all of us can identify with. Though the humor can be a little dark at times, I think that it's both funny yet provokes tears with simple words that just strike you out of the blue with its authenticity. I would definitely recommend this movie to you!
Overall, I would say that though there were times when my mum, sis and/or I could not agree on stuff, and frustrated us, I enjoyed this trip. Maybe more so cos I was able to relax and that it was (I hope) a good experience for both my mum & sis, which was the main reason why we traveled to begin with. I also thank God for His being with us esp when i prayed those desperate pleas that nothing go wrong when it clearly could have and I thank all those of you who have prayed for us. God bless!