I spent my wait getting to know my dear friend the Palm TX more intimately.
The flight to Perth itself was disappointing - a common small-screen TV showing Big Momma's House 2, with a meagre selection of jazz and no classical at all! The Australian quarantine officers were mean too: they threw away a perfectly good container of acar! Thank goodness they let the rest of the stuff through.
As it was a 10+ day trip, I shall not go into every nitty gritty details, but will do the highlights:
Day 2 (1st day in Perth, Day 1 spent flying) -
Meeting Chung Yi after a looonng time and promptly getting into some adventure: his car started steaming and it had to be towed to a garage. Jap food at Taka was good though, and I got to see St Mary's Cathedral where his car "let us off".
Night entertainment (rare for a place where shops close by 5 pm!) was at the Jazz Cellar with Rach and her Dentistry batchmates. Good company, great jazz, interesting place - you go through a red telephone booth into the cellar where the tables are old sewing-tables, and is packed to the brim with middle-aged to old ang-mohs. As the few Asians there, we were given "special" treatment, including pictures with the band.
Day 3 -Swan Valley and Pinnacles day!
Vineyards and wine tasting:
Margaret River Chocolate Factory (free tasting!):
Pinnacles:
1st time at Subiaco Church of Christ - nice church, small-ish, and good preaching, especially on the 2nd Sunday I was here. Evening was spent at the Subiaco Markets - beads galore!
Day 5 - Perth sightseeing begins
Walking around Perth, and seeing the buildings and gardens, eg. Queens Park and Stirling Park.
Lunch with IMU ppl, then after foiled plan of seeing the Amazing Human Body exhibition (plastinated models - missed by 1 day!), book and CD shopping spree!
Day 6 - More Perth
WA Museum and Art Gallery: Most interesting part was the prehistoric era exhibition!
Perth Mint: real gold!
London Court: Eeriely similar representation of London's shopping streets in Perth.
Happy pictures along the Swan River:
And late at night, a drive to the city for Gelare's waffles @ 50% off. Nothing like cold gelato and hot waffles on a cold night.
Day 7 - Rottnest Island
Quokkas! A peace-loving marsupial which lives only on Rottnest Island.
Views: From Vlamigh Lookout, the Bayseeker Bus, and best of all, the Vlamigh lighthouse! With binoculars, we could even see whales out at sea! And the beaches we lovely, although the water was too cold for even wading.
Lovely views of Swan River at sunset from the Fremantle(Freo)-Perth ferry:
Day 8 - UWA
UWA is such a pretty place to study! From atop Winthrop Tower,
to the rolling lawns and ponds,
to the regal peacocks in the Arts faculty.
The rest of the day was stormy so I stayed home and read. Cosy.
Day 9 - Freo
Fremantle Prison: fun and informative tour. Too bad I hadn't the time for the Underground Tunnels tour - 2 1/2 hours of traversing tunnels, sometimes in pitch darkness.
Cicerello's Fish and Chips: Nice with vinegar and salt. After the hype, it was okay. Should've tried their chilli mussels!
WA Maritime Museums: the wreck displays were especially cool. Didn't pay for the submarine tour on the HMS Ovens (which might have been fun) but settled with the mini-exhibition in the museum itself.
Also walked the markets, which were interesting.
At night (some more nightlife!) almost got lost going to Hilary's Boat Harbour (Chung Yi again, figures!) to meet his friends,
then to King's Park for night Perth views.
Day 10 - King's Park and Freo shopping
Finally made it to King's Park in the daytime after more than a week in Perth (it's walking distance from Rach's place). Well-manicured lawns and picturesque gardens - I could have read here forever!
Freo for shopping and Amano - Buosino gelato is divine! Other flavours are great too.
Dinner was at Little Caesar's Pizza at Mundaring, with internationally acclaimed award-winning pizzas and the plaques to prove it! Pizzas with inventive and generous toppings, including lamb,
pisagne (lasagne on pizza - didn't try this), and best of all, desert pizzas! Better than Domino's banana kaya pizza, with toppings like nuts, jams, chocolate, caramel sauce, and ice-cream! One piece is enough to fill you, let alone two, but oh-so-sweet and delicious.
That was probably worth the long drive and wait there.
Day 11 - Last day and Farewell
After church, a gathering of Kuching people in Perth - Richard, Rachel, Jon, Jean Nee, and cousins Rachel and Jason, and Koh. Yummy dim sum - the har kau was so big and juicy!
A cosy night in the Chew house (learning how to make Japanese sweet tofu sushi among other things) was the perfect ending to a free-and-easy trip to Perth. Many thanks to my hosts who put up with me: Rach (amidst classes), Jason (amidst a cold), Steven (amidst studies), Abigail (also amidst a cold) and Aunty Esther (amidst a trip to Malaysia and back). Lots of love.
More pics @ my Shutterfly.
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