[WESTERN AUSTRALIA 2014] - Up North to Cervantes (Part 1)

We woke up bright and early, excited about the upcoming trip to Cervantes. It was our first road trip in Aussie and all of us had been looking forward to this road trip so much.

Had our breakfast and headed to collect our car from Bayswater Car Rental. Checked out of the hotel after we collected our car and squeezed the bags into the Toyota Corolla Hatch and set off!

Perth Arena

The traffic was light and we enjoyed a leisurely drive of 100km/h.

Our planned itinerary was supposed to take us all the way to Pinnacles first, and then onwards further north to Cervantes. But we decided to stop at Lancelin before we continued our journey to Pinnacles. 

Lancelin is a small fishing and tourist town in WA and I must admit that, Lancelin looks and feels like a ghost town, where some holiday houses are being unoccupied. 

We couldn't find our way to the famous Lancelin Sand Dunes and had to stop at a park to ask direction from the local. When we stopped at the park, we discovered that the ocean is just behind the park. A hidden gem for us!

The turquoise blue/green sea colour is just simply breathtaking!

Managed to find the way to the sand dunes after asking directions from the locals.

My brother and I climbed to the peak of the dune. Going up took us a lot of time and tiring. But no regret of climbing to the peak as the scenery is really breathtaking! 

View of the Indian Ocean from the top and the sand is incredibly fine

We stayed there for about 30 minutes and headed to the Pinnacles.

[WESTERN AUSTRALIA 2014] - Off to Freo! (Part 2)

Went to WA Museum Shipwreck Galleries after that. There are numerous stories of the Dutch ships that have been swept by the strong currents of the Indian ocean onto the unfamiliar shores of Western Australia. There's also Batavia which was sunk in 1629, that the original timbers from the Batavia is kept in an air controlled room.

After we visited the museum, we headed to the Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour for lunch, what's a better meal to have than the famous fish and chips in Fremantle? And we chose Cicerello's for their fish and chips.

Top : Premium Fish and Chips
Bottom left : Deep fried oysters
Bottom right : Traditional Fish and Chips

The fish and chips were so good, and I was surprised that they made a perfect combination with vinegar and salt instead of tartar sauce.

After lunch, we went to Fremantle Markets to take some pictures of it. Fremantle Markets is not open during weekdays. 

The Esplanade Park

Wandered around the Market St and bought some souvenirs back. Caught a train to get back to Perth, but we stopped at Claremont Station to buy some fresh oysters and mussels for dinner. The oysters and mussels were really cheap, we couldn't find the same price in Malaysia. 

Dinner 

The Best Kind of Sunday's

Headed out for a lunch date with the #laoaunties on Sunday afternoon, for a simple farewell gathering before KimYee leaves for UUM.

The thought of meeting up with them is so exciting to me, because I know and realize how important they were as friends when I was in high school. (Not to forget the other four that I met in primary school and kindergarten) They are the ones that would always remember my birthday, the ones that I laughed with during class and the ones that got me through all the thick and thin spots.Those memories are difficult to forget, they shaped me to become the independent one that I am now.

Went to The Hungry Hog at SS15 Subang for lunch. The food overall is good.

Bangers & Mash. Homemade Italian fennel sausages with onion gravy, mash potatoes and side salad.

Super Mario. Pork patty with shiitake mushrooms and cheese. 

3 Little Pigs. Pork patty, bacon and ham with caramelized onions and cheese.

Headed to Tous les Jours at Empire Shopping Gallery for coffee and continued our chit-chatting session.

Had a good, long conversation about recent life, studies, future and recalled our high school memories. Although they walk in their own path but it's interesting to listen to their stories.

#The things I will not forget about high school friends
(1) the fact that no matter how much time or distance separates us, we always return back home to laugh about the same dumb things that we're pretty sure only us will find them funny.
(2) being the only people who we can talk to about how all those random classmates from high school turned out.
(3) all the inside jokes that are still somehow funny.
(4) writing notes and passing to one another throughout the school day.
(5) still never losing touch after graduated.

[WESTERN AUSTRALIA 2014] - Off to Freo! (Part 1)

Day 2 (28/07/2014)

Woke up at 6am and had our breakfast. We headed to Northbridge before we went to Fremantle. Northbridge is Perth’s famous China town, there are many Asian restaurants and shops here.

We headed towards the Perth Station after walking around at Northbridge. Bought Day Rider ticket for 4 of us;  the train station staff was so friendly and helped us to get our ticket as we didn’t know how to buy the ticket using the machine.

Hopped onto the train that brought us straight to Fremantle, the famous port in Perth.

Perth Train Station

Arrived at Fremantle about 30 minutes later. 

Fremantle train station

Fremantle was officially named in 1829 by the Swan River colonist and Fremantle is named after Captain Fremantle, the captain of the HMS Success who first took possession of the land when he arrived in the waters off the WA coast. The WA vernacular diminutive for Fremantle is Freo, pronounce it as FREE-oh.

Fremantle is full of history and is surrounded by many well-preserved heritage buildings and to its credit has handled the modern changes over the years with ease. The beautiful mixture of the old with the new is well illustrated at Fremantle.  

Fremantle Ports Building

Pietro Procelli's statue of engineer C.Y. O'Connor

WA Maritime Museum building

Submarine beside WA Maritime Museum

Headed to the Round House after we went to the steam engine exhibition beside the WA Maritime Museum.

Bathers Bay

Whaler's Tunnel

The Whaler's Tunnel was built by the Fremantle Whaling Company in 1837, to move the goods between the original port at Bathers Beach and the town. It was WA's first tunnel and runs directly under the Round House.

Round House

The Round House is the first permanent building in the colony and the oldest remaining building in WA. It was originally built as a gaol and it was saved from demolition several times by an ongoing community campaign for its retention. 

Punishment 

Curfew bell

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