As promised, I'm writing about my recent trip to Perth. Like my previous entry, I wouldn't consider this a guide to visiting Perth, because I sort of followed an itinerary by some travel agent, with minor modifications by yours truly to include a few pretentious places to capture "Instagram-worthy" moments. The trip was an initiative by SMU's Gourmet Club and I tagged along because 1) my friend is in the EXCO 2) I've never been to Perth 3) I have a lot of free time and decided to use this as a kick start to my graduation trips (I say trips, as if I'm going to loads of places, when in reality, I'm just visiting Japan, in addition to Australia - I may have used one too many commas in this sentence).


I was on the trip with 6 others (excluding my friend) and we stayed at this resort located in Swan Valley. While our guide, who's also probably the boss or one of the bosses behind the resort, was a super nice man, I wouldn't recommend staying here. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't dirty or poorly refurbished or anything. There were plenty of rooms, a working kitchen, televisions and a barbecue pit in the backyard.

However, despite it's... uhm... rustic charms, the place lacked several important things. NO WIFI!!! And, for some bizarre reason, ALL the rooms in the resort can't be locked, INCLUDING the toilets. It's also pretty inconvenient if you're not driving, because it's basically far away from almost everything, except the wineries.

You'll likely be better off renting an Airbnb apartment in the city. That said, you'll probably have to rent a car to get around anyway if you're travelling without a guide because Perth is HUGE and it makes much more economical sense to drive than to cab (unless you're planning on staying only within the city). FYI: TAXIS THERE COST A BOMB!

To Summarise { don't stay here because it's very 'ulu', stay near the city and rent a car if you have no guide/driver }



This is, in my opinion, the most scenic place we visited during our time in Perth. It's actually nothing interesting to witness in person. All you'll see is a line of tourist queueing up to take a photo with this boat shed and then leave. However, what translates on camera makes for a really gorgeous photo. It's kind of like Singapore's "Instagram Tree"? When you see it in real life you're like "that's it???" Of course, this is much nicer to look at in person than the Singapore's "Instagram Tree", but it's the closest example I could think of that would make sense to Singaporeans. Okay, I'm rambling, about a tree. And a boat shed. #suchabasicbitch

In case you have trouble finding the boat shed, it's located along the road near the University of Western Australia.



I casually asked our guide what would be the landmark of Perth (in an attempt at making small talk) and he told me it would have to be Kings Park. I suppose it's a nice place to go have a picnic, or have a run, or just chill out at. It also has a good view overlooking the city, but to be honest, there isn't much to look at anyway? Overall though, I had fun traipsing around, being a public nuisance and taking pretentious photos of nothing in particular. As you can tell, I'm easily contented as long as I can be basic.



We went to this place because I wanted some diversity in the Perth photos that I'll be uploading on Instagram. Hence, I asked our guide to bring us to see the ocean, LOL. I mean, after a while, there's only so many ways you can take photos of dying vegetation. Again, there's nothing to do here but chill. You may notice a pattern rising.



Ironic how a trip, organised by the Gourmet Club, ended up with us eating mostly meat that was grilled on the barbie in our backyard. But I guess that's what happens when we just leave everything up to the guide. On hindsight, I should have done some research on cafes and tweaked the itinerary further. I was sort of expecting more.. I don't know. Just.. more? Ha-ha, being completely incoherent right now. Okay, I was expecting the dining experience to be better. Not that it was bad, but it was nothing spectacular or Gourmet Club-worthy.

Either way, I was fortunate enough to get to know a Singaporean who's studying in Perth and he offered to bring my friend and I to this cafe that actually stays open AFTER 5:00p.m!!! *GASPS* LOL, jokes aside, the cafe had decent coffee and desserts and hey, a place that stays open after 5:00p.m in Perth, on a weekday, deserves some recognition okay!

Overall, I just wished we had the chance to visit more cafes on this trip. There's always next time?



I didn't realise then, but we actually have this brand of coffee in Singapore too (and I actually visited the outlet when I flew back from Perth). However, this is like where the brand originated from and I must say, I learnt a lot more after speaking to the baristas working there. Apparently you're supposed to slurp and not sip your coffee, because doing so helps aerate the coffee to give it's flavour more complexity. It also cools the drink down at the same time so it doesn't scald your tongue. Useless, but interesting general knowledge to have, no?



This place IS NOT easily accessible so I don't know if I'd recommend giving it a visit? It's VERY peaceful and quiet because for some reason, there was just no one there. It's probably more lively in the spring/summer time, with more activity going on in the water. Nevertheless, I quite like the serenity of it all, less the annoying houseflies that seem to be rampant all over Perth. A good place to take photos of dying vegetation AND water bodies, ha-ha. You can more or less tell by now that I running out of steam with regards to finishing up this entry, LOL.



In terms of activities, this has got to be my favourite! We went on the last day and it was my FIRST time interacting with wallabies! There are sooooooooo cute, I CANNOT TAKE IT! They're surprisingly tame as well, though I did have my initial reservations when going up to feed them. Their fur reminds me of the coat of a Jack Russell. I think I took like over a 100 photos with the wallaby. The ONLY downside for this visit was that, by the end of the whole experience, the under-side of my shoe was COMPLETELY covered with faeces. I may have even brought back some with me back to Singapore despite my efforts to clean my shoe before leaving Perth.


And that my friends, marks the end of my Perth Plumping adventures. All in all, even though there were things I wanted to do but didn't manage to, I had fun on the trip. So, no regrets! Here's hoping Japan will be even more memorable. I got offered a job today, and the depth of entering a new phase in adulthood just became that much more daunting. I'll definitely need the memories of my graduation trips to keep me going as I adjust to working life come July 2015. But, let's worry about that when the time arrives shall we?

Labels: australia, boozing, food, friends, perth, travel

written at 21:49