My trips to Australia

My first visit to Australia was in September 2008. I went to Perth in Spring. The first thing that I noticed when I touched down at Perth airport was the clear blue skies. The weather was cool, probably 25 deg. C and breezy.

Due to the lack of private transport I visited Kings Park, Perth City and Fremantle. Kings Park overlooks the Swan River and the city of Perth. In the park itself there were a great variety of flowers that were in bloom and the landscape featured greenery everywhere.

The city of Perth is beautiful and very clean. Surprisingly there are many Asians here. At Woolworths, which is a supermarket, I noticed that most of the staff there were Asians and many of them were Indians. Most of the groceries and sundries found here are local produce. They have a wide range of meats especially pork (not easily available in Malaysia) as well as deli goods and plenty of dairy products such as cheese and milk.

Fremantle is a harbour which sports several jetties. The restaurants there are famous for their fish and chips. There is a warehouse that has been turned into a tourist center which sells all kinds of Asian products and souvenirs and I have found that souvenirs such as the kangaroo, koala and tee-shirts are priced very cheap here.

25^TH January 2009

At last I’m on board Air Asia Flight 2714 to Perth. I just can’t wait to meet with Rosabelle and Marc again and I know they will be meeting me at the airport. Aside from them, Australia’s TV Channel 7 will be there too and once again Belle and I will have to be interviewed for a sequel after our reunion by the ABC on the 27^th September 2008.

This time I’ve brought a couple of things for Belle; 2 boxes of Revlon Hair Dye, 6 packets of curry paste, 500g pack of Nescafe Classic and 5 packets of Broad Beans for Marc. Aside from this there are two caftans, two cargo shorts and three hair bands for Belle. My trolley luggage is packed to the brim though it only weighs 12.2 kg in all and I hand carry Belle’s winter clothing which she had left in SB in a foldable travel bag.

The plane hits the runway at about 2.15pm. The landing wasn't very good and it was a bit bumpy on the way down due to strong winds. Thank goodness I’m not air sick. The temperature outside reads 37 deg C and I am glad that I had chosen to wear a cotton blouse and jeans at the last minute.

The first place I stop is the Duty Free shop. Belle wants 2 litre bottles of Bailey's original Irish Cream. I then proceed to Immigration and my goodness, there in front of me is a long queue for foreign passengers. I made a beeline for the Customs Checkpoint and it seemed like ages before I finally headed out of the Exit door.

My trolley bag and hand luggage in my right hand, handbag on my right shoulder and the bottles of Irish Cream and the Comfort Kit in my left hand, I was greeted by Belle and Marc and the Channel 7 crew. Once again the both of us entered the ‘spotlight’ before we drove off to Mounts Bay Resort in Perth.

For the first time I’m seeing Marc’s Toyota 4WD Land Cruiser and boy it is a big vehicle. Had to actually ‘climb’ up onto the front seat as there was no step or ledge. Belle took the wheel as and soon we arrived at the gate of the parking lot of the resort. Marc parked the car and we all went up to our 2-room apartment that Channel 7 had put us in for the night.

Upon entering the apartment I was truly delighted at what I saw. It was beautiful and spacious and had kitchen facilities. There were 2 rooms; one was with a king-size bed and the other having 2 singles. The bathroom which had a long bath was separated from the toilet and Belle had arrayed the long bath with Rose bath scent.

Belle and I hurried to change into tee-shirts that had horizontal stripes (she took the red and I the blue) for the Channel 7 interview that would be held there.

Marc was busy at the kitchen with the groceries that they had bought earlier which was meant for our dinner. Belle had bought a 1 kilo pack of fresh button mushrooms and some strawberries…yum yum! Can’t wait to sink my teeth into those juicy button mushrooms that Marc cooks with butter.

Channel 7 arrived and the interview progressed into the evening.

During my second visit to Australia in January 2009 it was in Summer. The weather was very warm reading 37 deg C when I arrived at Perth airport. My sister and her husband were then staying near a coastal area and it was a 265 km journey from Perth. I noticed that each day the weather varied. It could be very warm one day and then very cool and windy the next. During the journey to the house I saw many meadows. Being summer, the bush along the main road was dry. There were cows and sheep in the meadows and there were also grape vines.

The house where I stayed had many fruit trees such as plums, lemon, nectarines, pears and peaches. It had a variety of flowers in its garden and I was most delighted to see the lavender flower. The garden also had herbs and spices and some vegetables such as potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini, garlic and onions.

We visited the nearby towns and dropped in at either Coles, Woolworths or IGA to buy our groceries. Overall the people in attendance there are very courteous, helpful and friendly.

Coastal areas that we visited had beautiful white beaches with clear blue water. In the forest we swam in rivers and there are caravan parks everywhere. One particular thing I noticed on the main roads that lead from one town to the other was that I would spot a cross with some flowers on the road. I have come to understand that the cross signifies the remembrance of a person who had died there due to an accident.

So far I have seen a couple of coastal areas and gone fishing in the river. I have visited a hill town named Pemberton which surprisingly was depicted in one of my dreams a long time ago. I have been to the Tree Walk and Jewel Cave and seen the Sting Rays at Hamlin Bay.