Western Travel Bug

When I said I called the Western Travel Bug, did I mention that the tour bus said it would pick us up at 6.45 a.m.?

Well, if I didn't, now you know. And breakfast starts at 6.30 a.m. You know what I'm like where breakfast is concerned right? Especially when I didn't get my supply of rice the night before =.="

But, in all that rush, I managed to eat a bowl of cereal and 2 pieces of croissants I think? I even brought along some jam-filled doughnuts I bought at Coles the day before. Hebat? Sangat hebat bukan? Bab-bab makanan, serahkan pada yang pakar. Hahahaha.

It was just a mini van with the capacity to fit 15 pax at most. It was very cosy and clean and we were lucky to get a tour guide by the name of David who was really nice (because he let us finish all the cookies in the van).

As we boarded the van, we were given a menu from which we were to choose our lunches. At first we wanted to take the fish burger but that was before we realised that it was made with a beer batter. So, we settled for the Vege Burger in the end. A bit sad, I know, but a girl's got to eat so she better eat what she can.

After a few other pick-ups at some other parts of the City, we began our journey. David had already told us beforehand that there wouldn't be any commentary on anything, but every once in a while, he did tell us the history or background of certain places while we passed by them.

Our first stop was at the Whiteman Park, in which the Caversham Wildlife Park is situated. While waiting for it to open, we had some coffee, tea and biscuits (part of the package) and of course, took some photos.

Then, we continued to the Wildlife Park where another Guide took over. His name is Peter.

How do I describe my feelings at Caversham? To sum it all in one word wouldn't do the place any justice but if I had to pick just ONE word, it would be MAGICAL.

Here's why.

We were let into the Kangaroos' den. They were so tame but far from being violent. They would swarm you and nudge at your feet because they know what was coming next - food. All you had to do was to put the food on your palm and feed them from it. It's a win-win situation and the happiness which eminates from this experience is so ridiculous, I cannot even explain it.

Then, we were brought to meet the Wombat. At first, I was sceptical about holding it because... it looks like one huge fat pig. Don't you think so? This particular Wombat weighs about 28 kilos and it had just woken up at the time the photo was taken.

After the Wombat, we were brought to visit the Wallaroos and Wallabies and some other animals.

And last but not least, we met the Koala. It was a pity though that the Koalas were still asleep. If not we would have been able to cuddle it like a baby.

Suffice to say that the next time we come back to Perth (insyaAllah!), we're so going to spend more time at Caversham. Worth every penny spent :)

After Caversham, we headed to the town by the sea - Cervantes. It was quite a long drive, but there wasn't much we could do there seeing that we were pressed for time. We managed to get some good photos there though. So feast your eyes.

Next was lunch. To say that I was looking forward to my Vege Burger is an overstatement but I think I don't give it as much credit as it actually deserves. You want to know why? BECAUSE IT WAS SCRUMPTIOUS (and can you see how HUGE it is?)! I honestly thought that it was Vege patty, but no, no, no. I was mistaken and and totally and completely misjudged the burger.

At the end of lunch, nothing (apart from garnishing) was left on my plate. *Sedap*

After that, we went to the "Lalat Place" which was actually quite amazing despite the lalats.

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once in Fremantle.

Once in Fremantle, there are actually quite a number of things to see and do. And since I had my Master Navigator (husband la siapa lagi) with me, we didn't have much trouble finding the places we wanted to go to.

teeeheeehehee

This is Greg James at the Sculptor Centre. We managed to impersonate him before continuing our journey to the South Mole. I don't ('til this very day) know why we were so intrigued with the South Mole. There was no clear description of what's there and what the place was all about and yet, we continued our journey under the scorching sun (and may I add, on foot).

Turns out that there really wasn't much of anything there but we took photos anyways. Again, the SELF-TIMER and its worldly wonders played a huge role that day.

After that, we went to the Maritime Museum and purchased tickets for entrance into the Museum and also to join the Submarine Tour. Have you ever been in a Submarine before? That was a first for me and I've got to say that it was kind of interesting, though a tad bit scary (not to mention claustrophobic) at first.

We had a very nice and experienced Guide by the name of Mike and he pretty much knew the Submarine in and out. It was a different kind of experience but a very good and knowledgeable one indeed. After the Submarine Tour, we decided to revisit the Maritime Museum. It was kind of interesting and the place and ship replicas etc. were just really humungous.

Then, we were becoming restless (sebab lapar sangat), so we needed to search for food. From the brochures, they kept on recommending the E Shed which happens to (supposedly) be the Shed for food (they also have A, B, C, D Sheds and all are for different purposes). Hopeful, we went there but was disappointed when there were only like 3 shops opened! Dahlah none of them looked delicious or welcoming. *Sigh*

So, we began our quest to look for better food. On the way there, we dropped by at the Round House. Here are some photos, if you'd like to see what we were up to while we were there.

Then, finally, we reached Sweetlips! Ah, bliss! We ordered our meals and simply enjoyed the sea breeze. It was all very nice. The fish and chips was actually quite nice. The batter was light and crunchy and everything was just how it's supposed to be. The only problem was the ice cream. Yes, the ice cream cost us AUD3.50 which I found to be ridiculous (do your math and x 3.2 and you'll understand why I think it's crazy).

Why?

Sebab Grilled Oyster yang jual dekat Sweetlips pun lagi murah. AUD2.20 je satu. Hahaha. Actually, it wasn't much of an issue pon, I just thought that it was a lil' absurd, is all.

After that scrumptious meal and our much needed rest, we visited the Shipwreck Museum and then headed to Fremantle Market. What I failed to remember was that Fremantle Market only opens on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Okay, kalau teringat balik rasa nak nangis because I really want to know what it's all about. Mungkin lain kali kalau ada rezeki kot? But on the bright side of things we managed to find some interesting shops there which sold all kinds of rustic and quirky stuff. Didn't buy anything though.

It was getting a lil' late but there was one more place to head to - the Prison. All the while, my husband told me that it was my call whether or not we were to join the 4.30 p.m. Prison Tour. Following my guts, I told him I didn't want to enter, so we just took photos. Turns out that he didn't fancy a Prison Tour either. Heheheh.

So, a few photos after, we decided to call it a day. But... before that, I already had my eyes on Coles, so apa lagi? Shopping for food lagi. Hahahaha. We managed to bag the most delicious peaches I have ever tasted. Yum yum yum.

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planning.

By the way I ended the previous post, I’m sure you were smart enough to decipher that “Maybe” meant “Not at all”. Because we slept. And slept. And slept some more until close to 6.00 p.m. When we woke up, it was already dark and I knew that all the shops were already closed.

So, I prepared a lil’ bit of dinner from whatever we managed to savour during the Quarantine Procedure and we sat in bed flicking from channel to channel just to see if there was anything interesting to watch on TV.

Then, came the time for some “serious and proper planning”. I took out my notebook and we had to make some changes to our earlier plans because some tours weren’t available on the days we initially planned on going.

So, the following morning (Monday), we had our breakfast first at the hotel and I devoured all the yummy breads and croissants and English muffins, which I think really alarmed my husband because I don't think he's seen me eat like that before. I told him to cut me some slack because I was hungry for rice and when I want rice and don't get it, that's what happens. I overindulge in other things in hopes of making myself fuller. Haih.

After breakfast, we decided to book our trip at the Western Travel Bug which is on Murray St.. If you remember, we had already been to Murray St. the day before so that was easy peasy!

What WASN’T easy peasy was the fact that the Western Travel Bug Office is at No. 500 something something, which is at the END of Murray St., which is much, much farther than the Murray St. we know of. To make matters worst, when we arrived at the office (all the way on foot!!), it was closed! Terduduk sekejap dekat situ.

In the end, I just called them up and in about 3 minutes, I managed to book a trip for Tuesday (following day) which I will talk about in another post. Bijak.

So, after the whole Western Travel Bug episode, my husband treated me to a pair of shoes and slippers and Jim Kidd and I thereafter instantly became best friends. Heehehhee.

Then, began our real journey. When we first arrived in Perth, we both decided that we would try out all modes of transportation available and since that Monday was such a beautiful, sunny day, we decided to head to Fremantle via train.

Upon reaching our destination, this is what we saw.

Beautiful, no? Although it is just ports and not much else, we were actually in awe at how blue the water and the skies were on that day.

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Two Hundred, Hay St.

So, did we get a room when we reached the hotel?

Yes! We were lucky because there was a room available. We quickly grabbed our bags, took the elevator, and searched for our room. When we finally reached it, the first thing I did was to check the toilet out.

Damn.

No bathtub? *okay, mode tak bersyukur buat seketika walaupun toilet bersih sangat*

I was very disappointed. Hey, jangan fikir bukan-bukanlah! Hahaha. I just wanted to get a long dip (like I did in Melbourne) because long baths like that can do wonders especially after hours of non-sleep.

But never mind. I was sure we would get a good view. And so, I opened the blinds and saw?

The hotel parking lot. *cry*

So, maybe we weren’t so lucky where the bathtub and view from our room was concerned. But apart from that, the room was really comfortable. But unlike their Asian counterparts like Thailand and Indonesia who go out of their way to welcome newlyweds on a honeymoon, we had to settle for a much simpler welcome, which to be honest, we were okay with because for the most part of the trip, WE WEREN’T EVEN IN OUR ROOMS! Haha.

After we checked the room out and cleaned up a bit, we decided that we really needed some sleep. Maybe when we woke up, we’d go around town.

Maybe.

Gambar "I ♥ you baby" tak ada bukan sebab tak love. Haha.

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Woolworths Obsession.

That short break at the Esplanade really made us both super energized afterwards. To be honest, it felt like one of our text messages from year 2006 came to life, but I won’t elaborate on that. Hehheehee. (Don’t you think I am awfully giggly in this whole “Autumn in Love” label? Pardon the school girl in me won’t you?)

Safe to say that we had a few minutes of some quality shut eye at the Esplanade but soon after, the sun was pouring itself over our eyes and so we had no choice but to get up and start exploring the city.

That’s when we discovered Murray St. and Murray St. Mall and also, my all time favourite – Woolworths.

Although there’s just the 2 of us, I don’t know why Woolworths became the “Must-Stop-Centre” every time we were on the way back to our hotel from anywhere. It’s so powerful that it’s weird. My take on why we were so smitten with Woolworths is because it’s the only shop open past 7.00 p.m. =.="

Anyways, after roaming around the city and going in and out of shops with no shopping list in hand (the most dangerous kind of shopping ever, don't you think?), my husband got himself a couple of TShirts and I got myself a cute pair of pumps (nasib baik sebab the shoes I was wearing later failed on me as we were walking back to the hotel).

As the temperature hit a high and we were looking like complete goons with layers of clothes and turtleneck and all, we decided to head back to the hotel. Didn’t really care at that point whether or not there was a room available. All we knew is that we were dying to get some proper sleep and do some proper planning of our activities for the next few days to come.

NOTE TO SELF: Perth is known as the Sunshine Capital. It is not unpredictable like Melbourne where it gets really cold even in summer. Aeroplane pun lagi sejuk dari Perth. AHAHAHA. Just so you know, I brought 2 jackets along with me because I was afraid I would freeze (!!!) (Idiot betul!). Nasib baik bawak baju ala-ala summer jugak sebab the weather throughout the whole trip was super cantik. Alhamdulillah.

Post ini tiada "I ♥ you baby" photo bukan sebab tak love tapi sebab tangan penuh dengan bag Woolworths pada masa itu. Hahahaha.

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