On perth

G’day Mate!

You see, it was after I started to work that my dreams of travelling overseas (not that I have never travelled in Malaysia, of course I do!) could be achieved, and the feeling of being able to step in other countries by using your own money is indescribable. The satisfaction of it all.

Okay, so in 2016, I went to Japan (specifically the Kansai Region – Osaka, Kyoto, and Nara) with my best friends for a summer trip. It was great! I just haven’t written about it here hahahah~ Well, anyway... it was followed with an autumn trip to Seoul, South Korea. I’ve written about it HERE. That was also another amazing trip with my best friends.

In December 2018, it was a bit different.

I have always wanted to visit Perth, Western Australia, Australia, and that was what I did. My parents and uncle accompanied me this time. I think it was a special moment for my mom and dad to be able to go to another country at the ages of 81 and 84 respectively. My father went for hajj before so Australia was his second foreign country. For my mom, that was her first time leaving Malaysia.

So, we took an AirAsia X flight that departed from klia2 (not KLIA obviously) at around 0005 hours. The flight took about 5½ hours to arrive to Perth, and by the time we reached Oz, it was already bright. It was summer in the southern hemisphere, hence the shining sun.

We stayed at our relatives’ house, so to be honest, I can’t write anything about the accommodation there, but I can write about other things. Mind you, I did not really write this post according to the correct sequence of the days there.

Fremantle, a Cool City by the Coast

I actually went to Fremantle on the second day we were there. Fremantle is indeed one of the most beautiful places in Perth, a mixture of colonial buildings, Australian’s carefree lifestyle, and marine traditions, with amazing sceneries all over. Fremantle is still a functioning fishing harbour, but for travellers, you’ll have a delightful time here.

So, what did I do there? Undeniably, the first thing that I did was visiting the famous Fremantle Markets. The markets, which were built in 1897, were an assortment of sights, sounds, and smells, plus souvenirs. When I was there, a boy was busking, wishing to get money so that he could travel to Europe. It was cute haha. I did give him like a dollar or something. Anyway, this is the place to be if you want to buy Australian-made items, from delicious foods, soaps, leather products, shirts, handicrafts, or boomerangs (and other authentic Aboriginal items). There are also groceries here, it is still a market! I bought a beautiful native-made boomerang here. Trust me, the shop where I bought it intended to support Perth’s Aboriginal community, so if you want to buy Aboriginal-related item, please find that shop and help them. The products are stunning and of good quality too. Don’t just buy things from normal souvenir shop. At the market, beside a boomerang (hey, that thing is as Australian as it gets. You got to buy one!), I also bought a kangaroo plushie, some shirts, and a ‘special’ Australian Annual Firefighters’ calendar for someone heheheh.

After the markets, we had coffees and ice creams at Cappuccino Strip, an area (more like a street) where coffee shops and restaurants were available everywhere. The designs of the buildings on this street (and other areas in Fremantle) were delightful to the eyes, seeing that I’m a junkie for old buildings.

For lunch, we had fish and chips at Cicerello’s, a famous restaurant well known for its… well, fish and chips. It was a nice grub, especially after I added salt, lemon juice, and tartar sauce. The price was 15AUD, or about 41MYR… well, for that price, the portion was actually big! I think if you only have a normal hunger level and are not that big of an eater, you can share it with another person. I was slightly hungrier and even I had trouble finishing the one that I had. The restaurant had a long aquarium inside, so while munching your feast, you could take a look at the live fish. But I think if you want to make your experience better, eat outside. Dining while enjoying the view of the Success Boat Harbour was a unique experience. Right after lunch, I just walked on the boardwalk that surrounded the harbour, enjoying the breath-taking views of everything. The stroll along the boardwalk was indeed so romantic, even though it was not actually during sunset hahaha.

Before I went back home, we made a stop at E Shed Markets. This is a market (whose unassuming building was built in 1929) that sells souvenirs and trinkets such as magnets, shirts, scarf, chocolates and candies, and interestingly, army surplus products, among many other things. I purchased some souvenirs for my family back home in Malaysia here. Malaysians definitely love to come here for its cheap products and the fact that many sellers can speak Malay (since they are Indonesians haha). It is only opened during the weekends, so plan well ahead.

Swan Valley, a Valley of Plenty

On the third day of my travel, we went, by car, to Swan Valley. Swan Valley is popular for its vineyards, chocolate, and of course, Caversham Wildlife Park. Caversham Wildlife Park is located rather deep inside a park (yes, it might be a bit confusing), so really you need a car if you want to make your journey easier. Anyway, I liked the way Australian wilderness looked. The plants were, uh, really Australian haha. An interesting thing that I saw along the road to CWP were the roads signs and the Australian fire danger rating sign. The road signs were the real yellow kangaroos, emus, and koala signs (I bought a miniature one as a décor for my room). How about the fire danger rating sign? Usually you would expect a sign like that to have levels that gradually show an increment in the fire hazard, something like LOW to MODERATE to HIGH to VERY HIGH to maybe SEVERE or something as the highest. Well, in Australia, it seemed the second level is already HIGH, followed by VERY HIGH, SEVERE, EXTREME, and the highest, CATASTROPHIC. The first level is LOW-MODERATE, yes both together. I know fire is a big hazard for Australia’s grasslands or forests, but HIGH already in the second level and CATASTROPHIC as the highest? There is a valid reason for that, connected to a big bushfire catastrophe a number of years ago though…

Okay, so the entrance fee for the park is 29AUD (about 82MYR), which can be a bit steep, but hey, how many times can you actually see Australian faunas in front of your eyes? I was blessed that day though as the staff there actually gave my parents a concession price of 22AUD (or 62MYR) to my parents as they were above 80 years old. Concession fee is only for Australian aged pensioners, but I was grateful for that. This wildlife park was filled with so many interesting animals ranging from mammals, birds, marsupials, and reptiles. The fact that I could see and touch many icons of Aussie wilderness was a source of contentment. Besides walking around the park on your own, you could also visit some special areas where free-roaming animals, animal performances or animal exhibitions are held. There were three that I like the most. The first one was this large kangaroo and wallaby enclosure where many kangaroos and wallabies roamed around freely. I fed some of them as they lay down on the grass. Stroking them is okay, but you still need to be respectful towards the animals. Another interesting attraction there was ‘Meet the Koalas!’, where I got to see, touch, and take photos with those adorable koalas. I also went to the ‘Meet the Wombat and Friends’ exhibition which was housed in an Australian-style homestead. During certain hours of the day, you’ll get to interact with animals such as kookaburra, Australian reptiles, possum, and the resident wombat. The wombat was so big and cuddly!

After spending a few hours at Caversham Wildlife Park, we made our way to Margaret River Chocolate Company. As the name suggests, it sells various kinds of chocolate and the ones that I tasted were so delish! A small chocolate ball cost about 1AUD, and I bought 15 of various flavours, including unique ones such beetroot & berry, caramelised balsamic, Turkish delights, and dark chilli. There was also a small café inside where I tasted some cakes and gulped a lovely hot milk chocolate chip drink.

We spent more than half a day at Swan Valley, and before going home, we just took a pleasant car ride across the Great Eastern Highway towards Guildford, and then into some country roads to see how Aussies lived their lives in the suburbs. The journey itself was pretty enchanting, seeing the vineyards, big farms, old buildings, Australian copper-like grasslands, and postcard-ready panoramas.

A Day of My Own!

You know what they say, travelling solo is a different feeling altogether. Yes, for this trip to Perth, I did go there with the fam, but on the fifth day, my parents decided to rest at home, so I decided to walk around Perth central area on my own. I’ve never thought that I would be able to walk alone in another country, but that was what I did, even if it was only for a day. My relatives’ home was relatively (eheh) far from the nearest station, so to get to the train station, I took the Transperth bus service to Murdoch railway station (though going back, I disembarked at Bull Creek railway station).

Let me explain a bit about the transportation system in Perth. It was somewhat efficient and easy. Obviously the rail services are not as extensive as Japan or South Korea, but the lines do reach many interesting hotspots or near to places where attractions are located. The bus services are also quite extensive, especially since you can plan with the online journey planner. One thing to note (and I hope I remember this correctly), is that the ticket fares are zone- and time-based, so you can actually use the ticket that you receive on the bus for the train service too. Basically, there is no need to buy separate bus and train tickets, and vice versa. You just need to finish your entire journey from the starting point until the end of the time duration stated on the ticket. There’s no end point since you can also use the ticket for the journey back if you manage to do so within the time limit. In my case, my ticket had a time limit of two hours? Not enough for the journey back as clearly I spent the whole day enjoying my life heheh.

Anyway, From Murdoch station, I took the Mandurah line train straight to Perth railway station, the main train station of Perth. From there, it was easy to reach Downtown Perth via the Murray Street entrance. Being as hungry as I was, I decided to get a very fulfilling doner kebab from a halal stall nearby the station. The price was about 11.50AUD or around 32MYR. A bit pricey but seriously, it was a big piece of flatbread that wrapped a humongous amount of thin meat slices. I couldn’t finish it at one go, so I saved some throughout the morning. I spent the entire morning walking around Downtown Perth, looking at people, books, and entering some street shops to look for souvenirs to buy. Although it was almost Christmas, one thing that I noticed was that the Christmas decorations in Perth was not as grand as decorations in Malaysia. It was not because they celebrated Christmas in summer so there was no joyous spirit in the air, but because, well, it has always been like that based on what I read in books or journals. There were some Christmas activities or events, but the decorations were barely half of what we could see in KL malls during yuletide. And yes, I know that in Malaysia, the malls only celebrate Christmas because of the commercial aspect of it.

I visited an old church known as St George’s Cathedral, an Anglican church located at the heart of the city on St Georges Terrace. It is a charming Victorian Gothic church with a handsome façade made of red bricks. The interior is also dazzling, simple yet graceful, with stained glass windows adorning the rosy walls around the nave area. After spending some time in the cathedral, my next plan for the day was my Perth cultural trip, an educationally-rewarding visit to Perth Cultural Centre. Perth Cultural Centre is an area where the arts, culture, knowledge and community come together. It is the cultural heart of the city of Perth and contains many renowned institutions devoted to the advancement of humanity when it comes to history, culture, and knowledge. Unfortunately, during my visit, The Western Australia Museum was under a big renovation thus I had to strike that out, but fear not for other places were opened.

First, I made my way to the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA), a gallery that housed various contemporary arts in many forms. When I was there, there was an exhibition called Hyper Prometheus: The Legacy of Frankenstein. It was COOL (and somewhat creepy) to see artists’ interpretations of how we as humans were monsters too. After PICA, another art gallery close by that I went to was the Art Gallery of Western Australia (AGWA). This large art gallery contains a lot of Australian works of art from various eras and genres, including indigenous works, besides other international works of art. There was a temporary exhibition, ‘Beyond Bling! Jewellery Exhibition’ on the day of my visit. The jewelleries being shown were exquisite!

Around 1 pm, I had a delightful cup of java and a luscious piece of raspberry chocolate muffin at La Veen Coffee, before making a stop at Forrest Place just to wind down while listening to a street busker. I then made my way to a bus stop opposite of Yagan Square to get to my next destination, which was Scitech at City West Centre. It was a bit like our Petrosains or National Science Centre, but smaller. Still for the geeky heart in me, it was still fun to do experiments there. I remembered a train-controlling game in which I played against a local boy which was like probably 9 or 10 years old. I lost so many times hahaha. The admission price for Scitech is 12AUD but since I entered the place at around 2 pm, which was only one hour away from its closing time, I got a discounted price of 10AUD. Hey, 2AUD were still money!

I should mention that I went to Scitech by riding the free Central Area Transit Bus or CAT Bus for short. You can determine which bus is the CAT Bus by looking at a graphic of a, well, cat on the bus’ exterior. There are four lines, Red, Bue, Green, and Yellow. By taking the CAT Bus, you can travel anywhere within the limits of Perth Free Travel Zone (FTZ) without paying a dime. Cool isn’t it? In fact, I did ride on them buses a number of times.

At around 3 pm, I made a stop at Elizabeth Quay, a new development in central Perth. If I managed to be faster, I could have entered the Swan Bell Tower, but alas I did not. The tower itself is eccentric but modern and mesmerising, with glass spire and coppery external walls. The Elizabeth Quay is a focal point of residents and tourists in Perth. It overlooks the Perth Waters and with various vista points, you will get a lot of selfie moments here. The Queen Elizabeth Quay Bridge, a stunningly bold double-arch pedestrian-cyclist bridge with an S-shaped walkway is a sight to behold. From every side of the iconic structure at any point where you stand, you are guaranteed wonderful 360° view of the waters and the skyline. Another popular structure at Elizabeth Quay is Spanda, a 29-metre tall public art piece. This sculpture also attracts visitors due to its open and interactive design, thus ensuring a constant stream of photograph takers. Before I went home, I visited Gusto Gelato, a local ice cream parlour just at northern end of the area. The ice cream that I got was totally delicious!

After a long day of self-discovery and fun, I went back by taking a train from Elizabeth Quay station to Bull Creek station, and with the same ticket, a bus ride right to my home.

Family Trips!

There were other days where I went out with my parents and uncle. Since we borrowed the car from our relatives, we could not use it for the entire day, thus usually, our trips were short, but they were still fun.

After we arrived in Perth, we went to Kings Park and Botanic Garden, a sprawling park that is at the very heart of the city. It is a brilliant and gorgeous park with many native plants and splendid views. Don’t forget to visit the State War Memorial that commemorates Western Australian servicemen and women who have served in all wars and conflicts in which Australia has been involved.

On Tuesday, 11 of December, Mandurah (which is not actually pronounced that way) became our destination. This town is an hour away via the Kwinana Freeway. It was summer in Australia at that time obviously, but the wind was cold, and honestly, it felt more like 15°C! We spent some time at Mandurah Town Beach, then ate cakes and drank coffee in Café Moka, located at Dolphin Quay, and then went inside Dolphin Quay Indoor Markets just to buy some souvenirs. At the end of the day, we went to Westfield Carousel, a large shopping mall at Cannington, just to window shop and eat halal Mexican fares for late lunch at Mochachos, a casual fast food outlet at its centre food court. The service was great and the meals were pretty hearty. My choice was a beef burger, while my parents has Mexican chicken pieces and rice.

I brought my parents with me to Perth on the next day after I ventured Perth on my own. Since we were walking, I only brought them to a few places there were reachable by public transport. First, we went for a souvenir hunt at Murray Street. Later, we took the free CAT Bus to Watertown Brand Outlet Centre. After buying some clothes for relatives back home, we went to Perth Busport in order to take a bus to the famous Cottesloe Beach. The beach, which faces the Indian Ocean, is a pretty good placed to watch the sunset, but we did not stay there for that long. Because it was a hot summer day, semi-naked Aussies were lounging around the beach… that was kind of awkward for me since I forgot that, well, we were not in Malaysia anymore hahahaha! Anyway, there I ate a really sweet but delectable blue-cloured bubblegum-flavoured ice cream at Cottesloe Gelato RedSpoon. After a short stroll, we had our late lunch at Amberjacks Cottesloe, where we chowed down on fish and chips. The fried fish pieces were big and they were served on a great bed of chips with two lemon wedges. I chose the typical tartar sauce to accompany mine, while my parents picked the sriracha sauce. We went back at around 4 pm.

On the last day at Perth, we did not really spend our day travelling. We mostly stayed at home, although in the morning, we went to E Shed Markets to buy more souvenirs. At night, my relatives brought us to South Perth Foreshore, a beautiful place by Perth Waters, although to be honest, kind of dark since there was almost no lampposts there. Here is where you can get those superb sweeping panorama of Perth’s skyline. In fact I did take some. At night, the buildings light up and create wonderful reflection on the surface of the water. During the day, it also offers you a panoramic view. Just take a look at many photos taken there. We ended the night with dinner at a Malaysian restaurant, Makan2 Café. The dishes were quite good. Since I am a Malaysian, then it’s typically true that Malaysian food in Malaysia tastes better, but if you want to have good halal food, then, yes please come here. Don’t expect Malaysian prices though – a piece of roti canai is 4AUD or 12MYR hahaha.

A Dream of Down Under

I actually wanted to write my perspective on the Australian life, but this post is already too long, so that one will be in a separate post.

Anyway, My Ozzie dream finally came true, and what’s more special was that I brought my parents (well, with the help of my uncle) to a foreign country. Perth is a clean, peaceful, and (though this is an oft-repeated word that doesn’t really show how it is) beautiful city with really nice people.

I will try to visit Perth again, and this time go to places I’ve never been to!