Perth Graduation Trip -- Eighth Installment

Perth Graduation Trip -- Eighth Installment


Day 15: Albany


We set off at 9am, with a car full of clothes, groceries, camping equipment, pillows, blankets, food and water, all ready to start our five-day road trip!

During a stopover at a petrol station, my menses came! What a bummer. That also meant that I could not go swimming in Esperance! However, OTS was really very nice and attentive throughout the whole trip.. Never had a fun-ner road trip than this!

After travelling what seemed like 300km down south, the weather got colder and wetter so all the pictures you see of Albany are more or less gloomy. My face is gloomy too as I slept the journey away when I promised him that I would stay awake and talk to him while he drove. =(



The windscreen and the front bumper are full of dead bugs, who smashed themselves to death when the car is moving at a high speed. Meaning, they were flying around when the car moved past them and 'plat!' they died on the spot.






A very nice looking church



Red blood, yellow blood, green blood, brown blood



After checking in Albany Discovery Inn, he drove me to Albany Wind Farm.

Catching a glimpse of the windmills north of us



We ran towards the windmills and stood under one directly. He asked me to look up, and man, I could see the blades swinging directly down at me. It all seemed to freaking close like I was going to be spilt into two! And the swishing of the winds was all so deafening!


Look at the bottom right picture and imagine the blades turning towards you and you will know what I mean



Somehow.. I am reminded of Teletubbies



Very nice Malay lady who took a photo for us and proceeded to climb further up.. Looks like a stairway leading to the sky



Only two cars in the carpark




The faraway island looks so.. dreamlike


The wind was so strong that even I felt like I was being blown away. ME LEH! I SO FAT ONE! I ALSO FELT LIKE I WAS BEING BLOWN AWAY LEH!



Standing on top and looking down.. ALMOST FELL WHEN TAKING THIS PHOTO


So we left Albany Wind Farm reluctantly and proceeded to the next stop -- The Gap. Waves relentlessly hit on the rocks weathering and eroding them, forming a huge gap between the two sides of the rocks.




俗话说：滴水能穿石 meaning, dripping water can penetrate through rocks, signifying perseverance


Trekking over to the right side, we came to The Natural Bridge, where the name explains it all. It was so breathtaking, I FORGOT ALL ABOUT MY MENSES CRAMPS!!


There have been people who tried to walk to and stand on the bridge and have fallen to their deaths because the surfaces of the rocks were very slippery



"Still drifting to the north, Australia is 5 centimetres further from Antarctica than it was, one year ago today"



Big ass photo of us (and my pimples)



I wonder if it's the same dreamlike island I saw at the Albany Wind Farm




My shot




Self-explanatory



Actually my legs very sour



His shot




Yet another Australian beach.. only rougher


We left the landscape and went down the hill. Passed by a very very very huge winestore!


We got a bottle of champagne for only AUD$7


Drove to another park and parked the car before climbing yet another long staircase! I think I did so much climbing that day that I could offset the days I didn't exercise at all. Haha!



Is it again the same island leh?



We went back to our room at Albany Discovery Inn after such a loooonngg day of driving. Although I wasn't the one who drove, but also quite exhausting okay! OTS was soooo sweet, you know, he waited outside the communal toilet to wait for me to shower because he knew I was kind of scared of dark/huge toilets that I wasn't accustomed to. I know, I'm weird right.



Our housestay for the night.. please don't mind the bra, I was packing


We head off the next day to Esperance!!!

Perth Graduation Trip -- Seventh Installment

Perth Graduation Trip -- Seventh Installment


Day 10: Perth City & Harbourtown


Hellooooooo people!! It was finally the official shopping day for us! OTS dropped me and my mother at Perth City to shop before driving my dad away to see their motor stuffs! I know, guys are so boring right. Then they picked us up and whizzed us away to Harbourtown! Where we had a big fight about insufficient shopping time and blah blah blah.. and he even went home so that we could calm down. Haha. I think that was the first time my dad knew about us fighting and even sat me down to talk to me. =P

Then I was in the fitting room when I called OTS and apologised for being such a dickhead and he said sorry for walking away. We did make a pact to not walk away when we quarrelled.. so we kind of forgot about that.


Harbourtown: their outlet mall, just like Hong Kong's Citygate Outlet Mall and our very own Anchorpoint


By the end of shopping, I got two sets of bikinis and a cropped hat! After picking us up from Harboutown, we went for a very very very VERY sumptuous dinner at Dusit Thai Restaurant!



We had yummy appetisers -- my favourite was the Kueh Paitee




The Minced Chicken with Basil was the best



The restaurant was very very crowded!


Overall it was a wonderful dinner and a big thank you to OTS's mum for footing the bill! Teeheehee.


Day 11: Fremantle

Bright day, isn't it? With wonderful sunlight and all! We set off to Fremantle, approximately 45 minutes drive away from home. En route, we passed by Murdoch University to take a leak. Haha.



Spotted a white rabbit in the garden of the university.. isn't it cute?!


Reaching Fremantle, we managed to find a parking lot under the shade and here we come, Fish & Chips!!


The Spicy Battered Fish was nicer than the original ones


It was self-serviced, you order, take a paging thing that looks like a coaster and go back to your seat. When the food is ready, they will ring the pager and your pager will ring and vibrate, like a phone.

Because that was what happened, I was feeling cheeky so I took the pager to my ear and shouted 'Hello?!' The ang mohs next table were laughing. With me or at me, I'm not too sure. Haha.



Seagulls flocking ferociously to the unattended food at our neighbouring table


Then we walked around the market and I bought some really cheap and fragrant soap bars! Coming out of the market, OTS got 'caught' by one of the street performers to participate in her gig. I have a feeling that she was a man though. Poor OTS, had to mimick riding a horse and wear lipstick! *gasps*



And I love Australian ice creams alot..



Lots of cafes around.. I noticed that they just like to sit down, drink coffee and read books. They hardly shop.




My mother, wearing leggings and my scarf!



You and I both




Random shot of the green green grass and the blue blue sky



We are loving the purple trees




Some not so purple



Some very purple


Day 12: Perth City & back to Singapore


It was my parents' last day in Perth so we went to the city again for some last minute shopping and then back to Wah Do's again for the very very very nice Salt and Pepper Spare Ribs, before sending them off to the airport for their midnight flight back.



In pyjamas at the airport


I was actually feeling quite sad that they were leaving even though I would see them in another ten days' time.. maybe because nobody to foot my bills for meals anymore? Hurhur. But they were a bundle of joy when they were in Perth with me!


Day 13: University of Western Australia


We were supposed to start our road trip on this day but OTS developed a fever the day before so we decided to postpone the trip until further notice. Then I followed OTS to his Uni to settle some paperwork before we bought wedges and fries and sat down on the grass to have a mini picnic. There were peacocks in their school compound! Just roaming around freely.



And bought apple strudel from Corica



You can see Perth City landscape from here


Day 14: City Shopping


This day was really a fruitful day for shopping (would do another post on my shopping from Perth if the situation calls for it) and when we had lunch at the KFC -- it was exceptionally tasty -- we decided to start our road trip the next day, because we saw the poster for the Natural Gap at Albany and I wanted to visit it badly!



Took a train to the city instead of driving.. you press the button to listen for information on the arriving train, unlike Singapore where we look at the screen



The insides of the train cabin and very very yummy KFC


We head off to Albany the next day! Stay with me!

Perth Graduation Trip -- Sixth Installment

Perth Graduation Trip -- Sixth Installment


Day 9: Caversham Wildlife Park, The Pinnacles Desert & Lancelin Sand Dunes


It was a loooongggg day. We woke up around 6.30am to get ready because we had to be at the bus station at about 8am. The tour agency got us in a four wheel-drive truck before transferring us to another tour bus (where we were the last to arrive and got shitty seats). I asked the girl beside me if she could exchange seats with OTS since she was alone and OTS's neighbour was alone too, but she told me she had motion sickness and needed to be seated near a window. Honestly. *rolls eyes*

Why do I always get to sit with weird and un-automatic people? Remember my school trip to Hong Kong back in 2006? I was placed with another girl from my lecture and I had the window seat and she was sitting beside me. When the plane took off, she leaned over to me soooo much to see what was outside the window. I asked her if it was her first time taking an aeroplane and she said 'Yes'. So I thought, why not let her take my seat because I had my fair share of window seats and it wasn't my first time to Hong Kong anyway. And so we exchanged seats and she certainly looked very happy BUT I didn't hear a word of thank you. Never mind that.

Then it was the flight back to Singapore. I was placed with - no surprise - her again. This time, she got the window seat. That night, Sze Ling and I had lots of things to talk about. So I asked my neighbour if she could exchange seats with Sze Ling. And guess what, she looked at me like I asked a stupid question and said, 'No, I don't think so. I have motion sickness and needed to be seated near a window.'

!!!!!!!!!!!!

Honestly?! I didn't see you puking on the bus when we were going around Hong Kong? I didn't see you looking frail when you were sitting beside me? Neither did I see you with a single worried face that motion sickness might get you down? Isn't it such a fabulous excuse to use? Even better than just pretending to sleep! Why the fuck did I not remember her name!

My exact words in my older post dated in February 2006:
'i changed seats with a fellow female schoolmate who really looked damn desperate to devour my allocated window seat. i learned later on that it was her first time on an aeroplane. see, i'm such a nice person. i just let a girl had beautiful memories of her first time on a plane plus a bonus -- a window seat. but, she did not return my kindness'

See? I stand by my words.

Sometimes I just want a little of payback. Is that too much to ask for? *frowns*

Allright, enough of the past! For the first stop of the day, we headed to Caversham Wildlife Park to visit the kangaroos and wombats! Honestly, I'm little scared of animals. I do not go near them, let alone try to feed them. The only animal I have ever fed is Sudi, my boyfriend's cat. Even that took me about 2 years. I can water plants, but seriously, animals?!

With food clutched in my fists, the kangaroos gathered round us like flies to shit. At some point of time I thought they were like dogs, just that they were hopping. I hope you guys know just how afraid I am of dogs. Some gathered so quickly round my mother to the extent she tried to back off and was afraid to step on some kangaroos that were behind her, that she tumbled and fell! My mother! FELL!

You greedy kangaroos. You be thankful that my mother was unhurt and she was protected by the thick jacket OTS's mum lent her. If not, I will secretly.. run away.



They aren't that cute, are they? Seriously overhyped. In my later posts, you will see why kangaroos are life-threatening, I swear.



Now now, koalas and wombats are definitely much more interesting (and tamer). They either sleep or they eat. The wombat that I took a picture with happened to be sleeping, which was very good for me. I know, I could have skipped the photo-taking if I was really that afraid, but hey, we paid AUD$135 for that one-day trip and there must be a reason why the tour agency brought us to that zoo wildlife park right? I had to have evidence that I've been there, believe it or not. So, the photo-taking.

Those sneaky koalas. Right after I took a personal photo with them, one of them tried to sweep the top of my head with its hand, or paw, or leg and luckily I ducked fast enough. So what if you are the icon of Australia? That does not give you the right to sweep my already-very-weak-migraine-prone-head!

And, according to the rangers, koalas are not bears. Don't call them koala bears. They hate it.


What a compromising position the top koala is in

Okay la, I admit, quite cute

They drove us to a wildflower country shop to have lunch. When we arrived, I realised that there was no food on the table when I noticed that the driver was bringing out a huge box and then putting in on the table. Then he started bringing out boxes that contained salads, roast chicken, corn, a huge loaf of bread, hams, onions and all kinds of other food. We have to make our own sandwiches!

Another one hour's drive brought us to The Pinnacles Desert! The place my mother was dying to visit!


All shapes and sizes of rocks.. many of them dick-shaped, weathered by weather





Boys are stupid, throw rocks at them! Not applicable: my dad and OTS



OTS trying his hand at photography.. some decent shots, I must say





Do not be deceived by the photos.. it wasn't as warm as it looks! Notice we all had our jackets on?


Back to the bus, another one hour drive to Lancelin Sand Dunes, where we will experience sandboarding and hit the dunes in a four-wheel drive truck!


Very flat and white sand!


I was so bad at sandboarding, I tell you. I kept falling over and after the ride, I realised I had sand everywhere! On my cardigan, in my butt, in my shoes, my jeans, my hair, my face and even my mouth! Biting was exceptionally crunchy, haha! And climbing up was such a chore. It was worse than Great Wall of China. Not that I've been there, but you get my point. I had to use the sandboard and plop it deep into the sand in front of me so that I could use it and pull myself up one step before ploppin the board in front again and doing the same thing till I reached the top.



I just felt like rolling down the sand


The ride in the four-wheel drive was overhyped too. I thought the truck would go really fast when approaching the steep part of the slope but it was surprisingly and disappointingly slooooww. Maybe it was because we were the only younger folks in the truck? Sigh.



My hair is always everywhere.. no wonder OTS asked me to cut it away


And that sums up our one-day trip. We spent half the journey sleeping in the bus next to a stranger. -__-

Up next, my parents' last few days in Perth before OTS and I proceed down south -- Albany and Esperance!