Labels: bali, birthdays, boozing, clubbing, food, friends, indonesia, travel, videos

written at 12:46 0 comments

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 0 comments

Mini-celebration for Jupiter the other day with drinks and steak sandwiches at The Bar at Morton's. Awesome company, super delicious party in my mouth and ridiculously strong drinks that made the afternoon a well spent one. Happy hour and free flow steak sandwich promotion available daily from 5 - 7pm. Definitely worth the visit!

Labels: birthdays, boozing, food, friends

written at 00:06 0 comments

*very hot weather* Can't remember the last time I step foot into Sentosa, but I was just there on Sunday to celebrate the start of recess week. SADLY, I forgot to bring my island pass with me. To make things worse, they increased the entrance fee! Oh well, those things aside, I had an enjoyable day and am really thankful for the company that I had. It was also SMU's annual Waikiki (beach carnival) that day. But I steered clear of Palawan beach; was too lazy to socialise with people I hardly know to be honest.


Definitely took us a while to figure out where we wanted to settle down. I wasn't really concerned with the location actually. My main objective was to take photos, ha-ha. #instagramaddict Though I must say, Azzura Beach Club is quite a nice place to chill at. More accessible than Tanjong Beach Club, filled with less pretentious people and their menu items weren't exorbitantly over priced (still a tad over priced though). That said, if you dislike rowdy kids and prefer a more visually appealing crowd, than by all means head on over to TBC, ha-ha. Kicked back with a nice cold beer and chit-chatted the afternoon away, occasionally heading to the pool to cool off for a bit.


Alas, all good things must come to an end. We're already well into the first two days of recess week as I'm churning out this entry. In a blink of an eye, it'll be over and the grunt of project deadlines and final exams will be looming. On top of that, I've yet to find myself an internship for the summer which is stressing me out like crazy. Shall attempt to send out a few resumes this week! Here's looking forward to my last summer (hopefully) and more fun times with this group of people :)

Labels: boozing, friends

written at 23:30 0 comments

Oh, hi there! Pardon me as I dust off the cobwebs that have formed around my blog space. Haven't been updating for over a month now, partly because life got pretty hectic once I finished my summer term in UBC and headed over to the United States. And also partly because I got lazy while I was on summer vacation, ha-ha. I mean, after a long day of sight-seeing/shopping/having fun, all I want to do after I get back to my hotel/apartment is take a nice long bubble bath, slip into something comfortable, crawl into bed and relax.
But, I've been back in Singapore for almost a week now and have TONS of time to kill before the next semester starts. Hence, I shall attempt to make full use of all this free time to finish editing my photos and hopefully blog a little more. I have a sinking feeling that next semester will be a crazy one for me (FTW200, CAT & MA = FML).

Anyway, this entry isn't about some of the escapades I got myself into whilst abroad. The group of us celebrated Harris's birthday the weekend I returned to this sunny island. So thankful that I was already back by then, haven't seen the boys in a really long time. We ate at this really ulu place around Tanjong Pagar that wasn't too bad. It costs S$36 for a 3 course meal and you have the option of choosing a 2/3/4/5/6 course meal. If you're wondering why I have photos of 6 food items, no it's not because I ordered a 6 course meal. Rather, Ian and I each had a 3 course meal and we deliberately ordered different starters/entrees/desserts so that we could give all their chef recommendations a try. I would say the only true disappointment was the Tiramisu, everything else was SEDAP!
And yes, of course, given the location of where our dinner took place, we very conveniently traipsed on over to Taboo for some Liquid Buffet before partying the night away at Play :) I miss clubbing in Singapore, so much more familiar, safe and fun than it is abroad. It's good to be back.

Labels: birthdays, boozing, clubbing, food, friends

written at 12:49 0 comments

Labels: boozing, clubbing, friends, photo entry

written at 23:46 0 comments

Finally swung by this place, Peperoni Pizzeria, last Saturday with my ethics group mates; well 4/6 of us anyway, ha-ha. I'm not sure where all the outlets are located at, but I know there's one at Siglap and one at Zion Road. Initially, the plan was to head on over to the one at Siglap, which would have been fantastic for me since I'm an Eastie :) But we changed plans the night before because it was more convenient for the majority to dine at the outlet that was near Zouk, boo-hoo.
Anyway, I was super excited about eating there because the rest who have eaten at the restaurant before kept raving about it throughout the semester. I don't know if it was because I was famished or what, but the place definitely met my expectations. The 4 of us shared the 21 inch pizza - half Pancetta, half Prosciutto Crudo Di Parma. I wouldn't recommend the Pancetta, not really worth the money since more than half the pizza didn't seem to have toppings on it, merely marinara sauce.
We also shared a Creme Brûlée, but the staff working there told us to try their Tiramisu the next time we visit the place. Quite affordable in my opinion, IF you share the 21 inch; not so much if you get the smaller sized pizzas.


Didn't really know what to do after dinner, so we walked on over to Zouk to see if it was worth it to drink and chill there. However, at the last minute, we decided to go for shisha instead. I was quite excited because it was going to be my first time. Spent about another 20 minutes walking from Zouk to Clarke Quay, ha-ha. Talk about burning off dinner. Verdict (for shisha) : not my thing.
I didn't really get much of a kick from it, which is kind of pointless since it's supposedly more damaging to your health than smoking, which by the way has more of a kick. We were chilling at that restaurant, Shiraz, that has the belly dancer who attracts a huge crowd. Most disturbing thing of the night: this Indian uncle who looked like he was jizzing in his pants every time the belly dancer came out to perform. SUPER inappropriate, thank god we were seated quite a distance from him.

Labels: boozing, food

written at 16:46 0 comments