If only Singapore were 5 degrees cooler..

I'm really enjoying the weather in Perth. It is such a joy to be outdoors in the golden sunlight and cool, crisp air. The sky looks amazingly blue against the green, green grass. And such pretty flowers too in all sorts of colors!


I'm taking baby steps to get used to my surroundings. On Monday, I explored the nighbourhood. Yesterday, I took a bus trip down to the city area to join a walking tour.

As it was my first time taking public transport in Perth, I set off pretty early- just in case! After checking and double-checking the bus route, I hopped onto route 102 heading towards the Esplanade bus port. The SmartRider system works using a pre-paid contactless card, almost exactly like Singapore's EzLink system. The difference is the passengers, who took time to say hi to the driver, and to call their thanks before alighting.






My ride from UWA to the city took only ten minutes along the scenic waterfront Mounts Bay Road, and I was too early for the 11.00am meeting
time. So I wandered around the Hay Street Mall, and chanced down this quaint little shopping arcade leading through to St. George's Terrace. I loved the old-fashioned architecture with the ornate wooden beams and marble flooring. There were jeweller's, antique shops and even a senior's learning centre in the basement!


At the end of the arcade, I found a lovely Dome cafe, where I simply had to sit down for a cup of hot chocolate. My table was on the cafe's verandah, and ran parallel to a tree-lined lane next to a small church called Trinity church.


At 11:00am I reported to the Perth City Information Kiosk, and was introduced to our volunteer guide- Tony, as well as two other girls who were going on the tour. Emma's from the UK, and had been on the eastern coast of Australia for the last nine months. Lynn is Chinese, and here on business.


Emma brought up a point about Perth that I thought was interesting. She read somewhere that no other city in the world is as isolated, and yet prosperous as Perth is. I think it's true because Perth seems quite alone in Western Australia!


Our walking tour lasted around 2 hours and in the short time, Tony covered quite a fair bit of ground. Although, of course, he couldn't go much in-depth. There were little nuggets of information that I'm going to leave here to tease your appetite..

• What and where is Perth's 'zero point'?
• Where was the original Botanical Gardens?
• Why won't Northbridge's name be as relevant anymore in a couple of years?

I earmarked a few spots for future exploration:

• Museums near the Perth train station, to explore the art exhibitions.
• St. George's Cathedral, which looks really old and historical.
• Barrack Square, for its ferries to the Perth Zoo and Fremantle.
• Northbridge area, to find the Italian, Oriental, Greek etc etc influences.

For shopping in the city, Crazy Clarks on Murray Street Mall (above Fitness First) has some wild bargains for household items. Oh and there's an excellent spice shop in Northbridge (corner Willian and Roe Street) which carries every imaginable type of spice. The smell in that shop.. oh! The smell (!) is impossible to dissect and describe. As for clothes, I'm told that Harbour Town (corner Sutherland and Wellington Street) has lots of bargains off branded clothing.

When the tour ended, I headed down to the park at the Government House to eat my fruit-and-nut cheese sandwich, with walnuts on the side. A hungry seagull kept eyeing my lunch...

I love the weather in Perth!