yoohoo. blogging from perth! at a cold temperature of 10 degrees. brrr.

had a fabulous weekend that i think i cant remember exactly all the things that i did. shucks. toured like almost the essentials of perth, i hope.

9th May:

flew alone for the 3rd time. first 2 times was frm NY to San Fran, then San Fran to LA. luckily no motion sickness!

got a huge welcome from the customs of West Australia once i stepped in. declared that i brought in food and they ransacked my whole luggage until i took like almost 1 hr to clear customs. got asked stupid questions like whether i filled in the declaration form myself or whether i am travelling alone. think maybe i look too young to be travelling alone. too bad i dont have a free upgrade to business class. apparently if you travel alone when u r young, you can get a free upgrade! lol. then asked me weird questions like wad countries i have been to before, and whether i packed the bag myself. damn.

the moment i step out of the airport, was welcomed by hot sunny weather! indeed land of eternal sunshine. haha. which was kinda hot for perth at this time of the year. maybe coz it knows i was coming. haha not used to cold weather. bleah. it was good to see him after like 2 whole months. everything feels the same. =)

took a look ard his apartment before going down to the city to take a short walk and get my prepaid card. yea. i have an aussie number now! and my 1st time using prepaid also. lala. then met up with his gd friends to have dinner. had dinner at poppo's korean and japanese restaurant. the food was quite good!

the night was rather cold, when we were walking back. quite different from the day, where the temperature can dip down to about 9 - 13 degrees. hope i can adapt to the cold before i go to melbourne, since its colder there.

10th May:

slept too early the previous day at 11pm! yeah. rub ur eyes and see again. i havent slept at that time for ages. and maybe i was juz used to sleeping 5 to 6 hours, we both woke up at like 4 plus am. and so instead of setting off on our road trip at 7.30am, we set off at 5 plus am. haha. big difference. the sky was really nice. dont really see that in singapore or even usa tt time. love the skies. so will have alot of pictures of those skies in my cam. bleah

planned the places to go the previous day, so we juz drove down all the way to caves road, where we went to explore the caves! took about 4 hours drive. wanted to go to Lake Cave, but because we missed the tour timing, we went to Mammoth Cave instead. it was quite scary seriously, if you ask me to go in alone. it was a self-guided tour, and so we were juz like listening to the earphones and the narrators. the caves were so cool, with the hanging stalactites, flowstones and even the fossils left behind. mammoth cave is more famous for the fossils left behind. hope can go to Lake Cave in future! since its supposed to be the most beautiful cave in Western Australia.

then went to Margaret River, which is a famous suburb in the vicinity of Perth. okie la 3 hours plus away. went to the Berry Farm, which has no berries by the way. just a place to get good jam and wine. then to the Margaret River Fudge Company (which i think shan shan got the fudge for us previously). then to Candy Cow (with lots and lots of different candies and cute cow ornaments), then to the Cheese Factory. then to Nuts & Cereals, before going to Margaret River Chocolate Company. (had free flow of chocolate tastings. but did not get anything because it will be kept for too long. shall get at the branch when i am back in Perth three weeks later). then went to Yahava Koffee Works to have good coffee and slack around, enjoying life.

then i took over the wheel and we made our way to Busselton, another small town. almost lost my way to Busselton Jetty because it wasnt on the map and since he was napping, i juz followed road signs to try to make my way to the Busselton Jetty. luckily he woke up at the correct time. =)

Busselton Jetty is just this long jetty that stretches almost 2 km out to sea. so we juz had a good stroll along the jetty, looking at the scenery and people fishing/crabbing. and the seagulls and kingfisher. and luckily i took a video coz i spotted a rainbow when i turned back! oooh. damn nice. but too bad the span was so wide that my camera couldnt take the whole thing in. its been a long time seeing a rainbow and it was nice seeing one with someone beside me.

then started our drive back and my driving skills got tested. got exposed to heavy thunderstorm, where even the wiper at maximum speed wasnt enough. and the dark roads without street lamps, though it was lucky i drove in usa in these conditions before. the skies here go dark early, which i still are not used to. the sun sets at 5 plus, so by 6 its pitch dark. seh. and his tyres were worn out, so it had a high tendency to skid especially when going through puddles. had to grab the steering wheel properly. but i am glad i had this experience. now i am prepared for driving in melbourne!

had Nandos chicken for dinner, which was a nicer version of KFC. rocks. yummy. and rented DVDs to watch. 90 cents aud per piece for one movie. cheap! watched 10 things I hate about you. which was quite a predictable movie at the end, but the movie was still overall nice.

11th May:

set out a bit later because was trying to cook Bak Kut Teh for the dinner at night. and watched Scary Movie 1 while waiting for it to cook. first time watching. haha wanted to rent in Singapore but it was banned. but it was available here, uncensored. got the dvd yesterday night, together with Scary Movie 2 and 4. can watch until damn shiok already.

then set off for Freemantle, this port area in Perth. where they serve good fish and chips. went to Sweet Lips to have fish and chips. the combo for 2 was so huge! the fried calamari was good, together with fried cheese, though i am not really a cheese fan. then took a walk along the coast area. with the strong cold winds and the waves hitting the sand. nice view. i love the sea. =)

then went to E-shack, this tourist market, before going to the Freemantle market to get some groceries for the night's dinner. the things there were quite interesting, as compared to tourist markets in Singapore, but then again, you cant compare it because we are used to seeing these things in the tourist market in Singapore.

then drove by Kings Park and took a short walk at the peak. the view of the whole Perth city and Swan River was stunning. the sky was pretty, the buildings reflected the light in a certain direction that it looked beautiful. not forgetting the cars on the highway with their lit head lamps. good place to sit on the grass patch and just relax.

cooked dinner for the night. first cooked dinner! kinda enjoy tt feeling, though you will still have to wash up after your dinner. but it just feels hmm. undescribable. =P

3 more days in Perth before I go to Melbourne!