What a blessed and awesome trip to Perth! We set off excitedly after church on Sunday afternoon to Perth. Family trips means seats are pre-selected and airplane meals are pre-booked, even if we are flying on scoot haha.
We arrived to a very empty Perth airport and went to take a taxi to our apartment. It was already 9 plus so we were happy to just wash up and jump into bed to rest for the next day of activities!
Monday
We didn't have a car today so we had to get up bright and early to take bus 403 to Perth city. It's so nice that Perth city have their free "CAT bus", which covers almost all of the attractions that we are planning to visit in the day.
First stop was St Mary's cathedral. We enjoyed seeing the beautiful stained glass and being in God's presence. Of course, there was a lot of photo taking to do.
Next stop was the Perth mint, where we took the A$19 tour to get acquainted with the history of the gold nuggets that were found and brought to the mint, and more interestingly, a demonstration on how gold bars are made! We actually saw how the gold that was being melted in a caldron inside the furnace, was poured into a mould, put into water to cool down, and within minutes, the gold bar was made! It was so eye opening and very fun to see liquid gold being poured out. No video/picture could do it justice!
Next we went to the bell tower. I was expected a bell tower that looks like the one in the Disney hunchback movie, but it had a glass exterior and looked really modern! There was a touristy experience where we could insert coins to hear songs on a smaller set of bells, and we went ahead to pay for 5 songs to enjoy!
Ended the day at Hay Street where there were many shops! Sunnies were at A$10 per pair and mum bought 6 pairs LOL.
Tuesday
Finally we got the car! It was a 8-seater Toyota Tarago which fit us perfectly. First activity of the day was to drive to have the pancakes that I recommended!
Alas, due to my bad luck in choosing food, the pancakes turned out to be buckwheat pancakes with coconut shavings... which was quite a crisis... everyone seemed to be okay about the food but it might be because they didn't want me to feel bad LOL.
Next stop was kings park and botanic gardens + world war memorial. How rare to step into a sunny park with sweaters and sunnies! Such a nice weather to have a picnic! The aunts made Biow and me take many jump shots XD
After that we rushed to Fremantle Prison, just in time for the last tour! (Attractions close early in Perth!). The Fremantle Prison is on the UNESCO World Heritage list and really worth a visit. The tour was so well conducted. What struck me was how tragic the conditions were in prison. People could be sentenced to years of hard labour for stealing things for their basic needs, like food and clothes. Reminds me of the story of Jean Valjean in Les Miserables. Those who tried to escape prison were cruelly punished by flogging or being put in a dark and sound proof cell :( we even made a trip to the gallows and it was so silently morbid. The guide informed us that there are night visits on weds and fris, where we can come back to visit the prison with torch lights. Too scary no thanksss. This is one attraction that really shook me, and made me realize how blessed we are in Singapore.
Wednesday
Time for a 3 hour road trip to Busselton! Of course we had to have 2 stops in between to eat haha. First stop was Dome cafe at Mandurah and next was Bunbury Farmer's Market.
After a long drive,really happy to check into our.... wait for it... villa!! It's the most luxurious place and mm took a 3 min video tour of the whole place lol.
This villa is beach facing and we made it just in time to see the sunset. We ended the night chilling with some drinks at the local bar.
Thursday
The plan for today was to visit a winery but all the good tours were sold out! We still decided to make our way to a good winery to take a look at the vineyards. Arrived at cape leeuwin winery and it was so beautiful! The vineyard, blue skies and florals were very picturesque. And the plus is, we managed to get the last table for lunch at a restaurant overlooking the winery! Had the best meal of grilled fish and lamb, sipping on white wine. Shiok.
Next stop was the Jewel Cave, where we made it for the last tour with exactly 8 slots! It's really by God's timing and blessing! Really loved exploring the cave. Staircases were built in and it was well lit up. Apparently the bones/fossils of Tasmanian Tigers were found in the cave! The guide wanted to switch off the lights and for us to remain silent to show how it was like without human intervention, and it was really pitch black. While it was dead silent, my aunt said in Cantonese "poor tigers, crashing around in the dark last time". We laughed out loud, breaking the silence ><
Next we went to the cape leeuwin lighthouse which was already closed but took tons of pictures outside
Friday
In the morning we took the time to roll around in our luxurious villa sadly checked out. #homegoals
First attraction of the day was the Busselton Jetty Train! It was a chill (actually really super cold as we were by the sea) ride along the 1.7km train track down the jetty.
That was the last attraction we planned for in Busselton and we started our drive back to Perth city.
We reached quite early so there was time for shopping at Fremantle market,
Saturday
It's the last day of the trip, sob... our flight was in the evening so we could make it for one last shopping trip to Hay street. Bought many many nougats and timtams because food>souvenirs hehe. And I bought a kangaroo skin wallet (sorry kangaroo ><) which the shopkeeper said would last 10 years! :0
Made our way to the airport super early in typical yuen family fashion, continued shopping and eating and flew back to home sweet home.
It was a really fun and relaxing trip! The only thing to "worry" about is where to have food and play next lol. A much needed break with the family :)
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