Home Of Tong

Finally I get to go back to Australia! Yup, it may sound like nothing to some of you but Australia has a special place in my heart, what with me and my dearest spending 2 wonderful time there, one for our honeymoon, and second for our, well, second honeymoon.

This time we are back with our 2 children, 1 only slightly over a year old. And boy was it tough. Perhaps it’s the weather, perhaps it’s the water, or perhaps because he is just not feeling well, my younger boy, Darien, requires my constant attention (and carrying) whenever we are out. But back in the hotel room, he is lively like a tiger, walking here and there and through the door of our connecting room. But his appetite suffered and lost about 100g (or more) in the few days that we are there, not much if you weigh 70kg but a hell lot (at least that’s how I feel) if you weigh just around 10kg.

The water (tap water) in Australia seems a bit on the salty side but the weather (now is the beginning of winter) is superb! Not a drop of perspiration for the entire time. Sometimes I wish Singapore’s weather is like that whole year round! And still have the sun shining through. That will be great!

As you probably know, shopping stops at around 5.30pm (cause that’s the time most shops closes) so if you are a shopperholic, you’ll probably give Perth a miss, unless you are a shopperholica and alcoholic at the same time than you can go to the many bars at night after you are done with all your shopping.

But Perth do have a lot more to offer (during the day that is). Just some examples of what I did during my last trip to Perth.

You can choose to be a Pilot For The Day. A 45-mins adventure to fulfill your childhood dream of been a pilot. Yes, even the bespectacled can join in the fun!

Margaret River has been the famous wine region in Western Australia, but just round about 30mins from Perth City lie another excellent wine region know as the Swan Valley. The black swan is a symbol of Perth and many famous attractions in Perth are named after it. Swan Valley is one of them and it houses a variety of wineries that make it a must visit.

We went for a comprehensive wine tour with Out and About Tour which takes us to 5 very different vineyards, and includes a visit to the Cheese Factory and Chocolate Company to take the experience even further. Included is also a gourmet lunch and ending the day with some tea and coffee at the Valley’s boutique breweries. I totally enjoyed the tour which is usually in group of no more than 15 and with someone else on the wheel, you can drink to your hearts content (yes, wine tasting is included in all 5 wineries, and lots of it).

Other attractions worth a visit that is named after the word ‘Swan’ are the Swan Bells and the Swan River (Cruise) .

Frementle is a must visit and being a fishing harbour, you must try their Fish and Chip that are not only fresh, but taste damn good. Quite a few fish and chip restaurant there and each has its claim to fame, so try them all if you must to judge for yourself which is the best.

Also, don’t forget to visit the Frementle markets that get real busy during the weekend, and basking is often seen at the compound just outside of the market feature artiste from various places. Once you are done, have a cuppa at one of the cafe that lines both side of the road before you head back to the city.

If you like horses, you are please to know that there are a number of ranges that you can do some riding. We went to The Stable Yanchep for our ride and it is a really fun time. But we do like our ride better when we were in Gold Coast previously as the trail looks much more interesting.

There are much more that you can do in Perth and there are many other activities that I have done personally and not done yet that I did not write here. If you want to know more, feel free to ask me and I will do my best to provide whatever info I’ve got. No, I do not work for the Perth Tourism committee, and I won’t mind working for them anyway, but I just love Perth, and for that matter, Australia, and I have did a lot of ‘research’ on what I can do there.

I’ll probably write more about this in the future but for now, I am checking out….*yawn*…and hitting my sack. Later…

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 12th, 2007 at 10:00 pm and is filed under Home Of Tong. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.