15/7/11 - Excited for our first family trip with Bernard’s family. Arrived at Changi Airport bright and early, checked in and cleared customs before going for our Burger King breakfast. Travelled via Qantas flight to Perth International Airport and touched down early afternoon.

Australia is famous for its strict customs and we did spend some time queuing to clear the customs and for checking of bags. Had a little episode at the bag clearance. Dad brought along some 3 in 1 coffee sachets and was given a warning. Interestingly, those sachets from Malaysia were confiscated while those from Indonesia were passed.

Once out of customs we proceeded to get our rental car which I had already made a booking for. Had booked for a Toyota Tarago but received 'a similar car' instead- a Hyundai iMax. Brought along our trustworthy Garmin to guide the way. First 2 days were booked for Sullivans Hotel at the edge of Kings Park. Nice quiet place away from the city area and nice cool weather to go along. Free parking and free Internet at the hotel. Thumbs up! =)

First task after we checked in was to find a pair of comfortable walking shoes for Mummy as the strap of her shoes snapped along the way. With the Blue CAT bus just at the doorstep of the hotel, we decided against driving to the city. Managed to get a nice pair of shoes at Target and at a discounted price too! Less than A$15! Dinner was at Taka's Kitchen, very reasonably priced and frequented by many students. It was then some supermarket shopping before we head back to our hotel for a rest. I just love supermarkets no matter which part of the world I'm in. =)

16/7/11 - Woke up early for a walk at King's Park. Before reaching the park, we had to overcome the Jacob's Ladder- a flight of 242 steps upwards! Climbing with Dad and Mum, we had to take several rests in between as we stop to pant and also to admire the beautiful morning sky unveiling in front of us. Climbing the steps on an empty stomach took a toll on me and I felt faint upon reaching the top. The cold morning breeze did not help and I had to rest for a while before I could continue. A guy we met along the way said that he goes up and down 10 times each day for his exercise. For me, once is enough! =P

A stroll along one side of the Kings Park and we followed a pathway back to our hotel. Decided to take the car and drove to Fremantle for our breakfast. Parked our car near the E-Shed markets and went on foot for the rest of our time at Fremantle.

First visited the colourful E-shed markets and then the Fremantle Markets, filled with much busking activities too. Knowing that there's live canon firing at the Fremantle Round House daily at 1pm, we rushed there before time in anticipation. Too bad for us, there was some technical problem and it was cancelled for the day. =P 

Took some of my favourite pictures of the trip here...

And of course we did not miss the famed Cicerello's fish and chips. We ordered 2 sets of fish and chips and a seafood basket- more than the 5 of us can handle.

Visited the Fremantle Prison after lunch but did not go on any of the paid tours. It was then more  supermarketing and dinner at Nando's Chicken before we head back to hotel for the night.

17/7/11 - We are off to the Pinnacles!

Checked out of the hotel nice and early and with all the luggage on board, we drove to a cafe within King's Park for our breakfast. Took another nice stroll before our 3h drive to the Pinnacles. 

So glad to reach the park finally. Had a toilet break and it's time for lunch. We had packed our lunch of ham sandwiches with fruits bought at the supermarket the day before. It's interesting to be picnicking in the chilly weather, along with other local families too. (It happened to be a week-long holidays for them) 

Stomachs filled, it's time to explore the place and marvel at God's creation. Lots of photo-snapping too. =)

Our stop for the night will be at Jurien Bay, along the Coastal route. The cheapest accommodation for this trip, we were not expecting much. A really simple unit with two rooms and a common bath. Shopped for more groceries at the nearby supermarket for dinner and breakfast the next day. 

A little travel tip: It's great to bring along cooler bags for trips like this...

It was still early and we decided to go for an evening walk before the sun sets. The view was magnificent. We see people fishing along the way and the fishes they catch are huge! 

Back to our apartment for dinner and a few games of card monopoly before we call it a night (as we took turns to bathe and wash up). We concluded that such holidays are great for family bonding cos there's really nothing much to do at night. Good thing I brought the pack of cards along... =)

18/7/11 - We are heading upwards to Kaibarri today. A longer drive is expected. Drove past the entrance of Kalbarri National Park and headed to town for our lunch first. With the school holidays, there were many families here for their short break and there was even a bazaar too. 

Accommodation for the night will be at Kalbarri Edge Resort, an awesome place. Unlimited wireless internet too. Off loaded our luggages before we went to the park. It was a grueling drive for Bernard with most part of the journey on unpaved roads. A 4WD will do a much better job.

Nevertheless, the reward was sweet. The view was just indescribable! We carefully made the climb to Nature's Window and back. =)

One major task to accomplish before dinner time - to clean the car. Driving along the muddy and sandy tracks caused our white 8-seater to be turned into a brown one. With car-wash in Singapore so affordable nowadays, we've not washed the car ourselves in a long long time. 

With no pails but just a few large mineral water bottles and some cloths, we spent some family time cleaning the car together. We were too busy doing so and we did not take any photos of the before and after... 

Dinner was at the restaurant within the resort. A popular one too. We had to wait a while before our food arrived. Food was average and a bit on the pricey side. After a tired day of driving and trekking, we rested early for the night. =)

Day 5 - Pelican-feeding in the morning along the beach is one of the tourist activities here. However, when we went to the spot after breakfast, we could only find a sign that says the pelicans are on holiday. Ha, just like us - they need a break too. Drove to a spot nearer to the coast to admire the crashing waves before we start on our journey downwards, back to Perth. After a few days of driving by Bernard, I'm glad to take over the first leg of the driving today.

First stop of the day was at the Geraldton Museum where there was this Unearthed exhibit. Learned about the marine exploration and trading in the earlier days by the Australians. Noticed the top right photo below that says "Geraldton via Singapore" - part of our history intertwined...

Lunch break at Topolini's Café (158 Marine Tce, Geraldton 6530, Australia). An Italian restaurant which is popular with both  tourists and locals. It reminds me of Ratatouille the movie, with the rat mascots painted on the walls around the restaurant. I will rate it as my best meal for the entire trip! Thumbs-up! =)

We visited the HMAS Sydney II Memorial after lunch. It is built in honour of 645 Australian sailors who were lost off the coast in 1941 and only found recently in 2008. 645 seagulls made up the silver dome; each representing one of the lost sailors. A bronze statue shows a lady gazing out in anticipation of news of her lost son. 

Before heading off, we visited the lighthouse by the coast and took more pictures. Driving along the highway, we passed by the Greenough Historic Settlement and stopped for tea. Enjoyed the alfresco area that overlooks the historic settlement, with the gentle cool breeze and delicious cakes and coffee/tea. Sat here for quite a while before continuing our journey to Dongara for the night. Still early for dinner, we drove around the area and stopped by Seaspray Beach to watch the magnificent sunset.

Day 6 - Today we're heading towards Swan Valley. The highlight of the day was our visit to Caversham Wildlife Park. We were just in time to watch the Animal Show at Molly's Farm, Love the adorable animals. Enjoyed feeding the kangaroos in the free-roaming area. The light drizzle that had started caused them to gather together under the shelters and trees, enabling us to capture them in a single shot! 

Accommodation for the night at The Vines Resort, our most expensive stay for the trip. Dropped by the nearby supermarket for some groceries before our arrival at The Vines. It was still drizzling and with the sky turning dark and insufficient street lighting, it was difficult to drive.

Thankful to reach our self-contained unit finally! All helped to prepare dinner. After so many days of fish and chips, we've included more salad for our meal tonight. =)

Day 7 - We pulled aside the curtains to get a great view of the golf course in front of us. It was so different from the dark and wet weather the night before. We could see 2 kangaroos playing a distance away. Had our breakfast and off we go to visit the attractions around Swan Valley.

Visited the Margaret River chocolate factory (a branch in Swan Valley) and the Mondo Nougat factory, and bought some chocolates and nougats of course. 

Next, we drove down to Guildford town, very near to Perth city. It's an town with many old colonial buildings, many well-preserved. Took the shortest trail and once again enjoyed our walk in the cool weather...

Did not find any good eating places in Guildford and we decided to head straight to Perth for our lunch. Went to Harbour Town, a place where factory outlets are. My second time here and like the first time, there didn't seem anything interesting to purchase. Prices obviously have increased...

Late afternoon, we checked into Aaron's Perth hotel for our last night in Perth. It was a tough job manoeuvring the 8-seater vehicle though the back alley of this hotel. It suffered some scratches and a slight dent. Thank God Bernard made the right decision in getting total insurance coverage! Anyway we couldn't park overnight at the hotel either. There were limited lots in the hotel basement and we did not make a pre-booking. 

After placing our luggage in our rooms, we headed off to Westfield Carousel, a major shopping centre. Coincidentally, it was Thursday- a day of late-night shopping. It was rather crowded with local youths and families as well. It was a little early for dinner so we walked around a little before having dinner at their 'food court'. Continued our shopping or window-shopping after dinner before heading back to hotel. Time to pack all our shopping into luggage as we will be heading back to Singapore tomorrow.

Day 8 - Days on holiday usually passes by so quickly. Woke up for our breakfast at the Miss Maud cafe across the street. Packed all our last minute stuff and checked out. Decided to have sufficient time to make the trip to the airport. A good thing as there were some route changes which was not reflected on our Garmin GPS. Returned the car and did our check-in before lunch after the customs. 

Goodbye Perth. Till next time! =)

29/8/11 - Having celebrated our first two anniversaries at Marina Mandarin, we both felt the need for a change and decided on Bangkok- also where we went for our honeymoon three years ago. Going back again certainly brought back precious memories…

We booked for our trip with Chan Brothers. It’s a special promotion for a 4-day free and easy packaged deal at about $400 per person.

Our flight to Bangkok was with Thai Airways. It was our first time flying TA and I must say it left a deep impression. Once settled in our seats, we tried to do some self shots but just didn’t manage to take any nice shots. An air steward walked by and asked if he could help. We couldn’t thank him enough.

We enjoyed some movies with the in-flight entertainment and a good meal too. The Thai-style steamed fish and chicken curry was a great way to welcome us even before we stepped foot in Bangkok. Thanks to TA for their warmth and hospitality. Oh, and I just love the colourful seats! =)

Alighting from our flight into the Suvarnabhumi Airport terminal, we were amazed to see the marked difference to the time we were there three years ago.  The airport is now so new and modern. Under the packaged deal, there was also airport transfer to our hotel.  As we waited for more passengers to arrive via other flights, Bernard went to get a prepaid SIM that ensured connectivity during our next few days there.

It was not long before we arrived at our hotel, Ramada D’ma. It’s a decent hotel but great service by all staff. Checking in was a breeze and we were shown our room. Contrary to some Tripadvisor reports, we have no complains about the room, which was rather spacious and clean. I was amazed that there was a bedside control for the lights, music and alarm and it actually works.

We wasted no time and were out of the hotel and into the Bangkok streets in a jiffy. With Internet connection and the Google maps app, we manoeuvre the streets of Bangkok quite easily. We walked past the wholesale fashion malls and to our first stop at Paragon where we stopped for a rest and a drink. We then headed to MBK and the first thing we did was to head to the cinema to purchase the tickets for a late evening show.  Walked around the place a bit but there was nothing attractive. We decided to head out and explore the streets around MBK.

We passed by some food eateries and decided on one for our dinner. As we walked into The Krok restaurant (Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand +66 2 251 9916 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting)‎, we could see that the first level was packed. With 2 dishes and 2 drinks, the bill came to about S$16. 

Headed back to MBK to walk a little more. With 2 hours more to show time, I got into a salon for a hair wash and blow while Bernard cleared his emails with iphone. After that, we went to Starbucks for a drink before our late night show. Including us, the big cinema with about 200 seats has only 5 couples watching the show. What a waste of resources! Past midnight, we had to take a tuk-tuk back after the show.

30/8/11 – Happy Anniversary! We woke up just in time for a nice buffet breakfast. Together with the packaged was actually a half-day tour for us but having been to Bangkok before, we didn’t want to visit those places again. We were offered a slightly cheaper rate for International buffet at Baiyoke Sky (locals pronounced it as Si-kai; the tallest building in Thailand). We made a booking for the night with a tour represenatative at the hotel lobby and she was kind enough to help us request for window seats as well.

Took a taxi to Chinatown where we walked around and bought some stuff. There were a few streets with wholesale outlets but they don’t do individual sales; must buy at least half a dozen of same size and colour for shoes. =P

Then, we came to this building, with a busy supermarket on the ground level. As we went upstairs, we saw an entire concourse filled with many tea tables and many senior folks have their yum-cha time. Massage shops line the perimeter of the concourse. With tired feet, we walked around the place and chose one that looks clean and with customers. Our choice proved to be a good one and we vote it as the best for this trip. The strength was just right and we like the special ginger treatment. With mainly old folks as their customer base, the treatment involves pounding boiled ginger pieces and placing them on the kness wrapped with a towel. Hot and shiok!

With friend’s recommendation, we went to one of the MK restaurant outlets for their char siew and pork. The char siew was so-so but their roasted pork was crispy and yummy! Ordered a mini steamboat set to share too. Price was great too at about S$10 per person. What’s interesting was that it provided a slip of paper that calculates your nutritional intake for the meal. Highly-recommended!

Forgetting to bring my dress shoes along for the trip, we next went to Platinum mall to get not one pair but three before heading back to hotel. We washed up and changed for our special night out. ;) We can actually see the Baiyoke Sky from our hotel but not wanting to perspire before reaching dinner place, we took a cab there instead. It was another busy place with a few storeys of wholesale shops. Received a chop on our wrist before we took the lift up. Went straight for dinner. Food was average but the view was great. From where we sat, we could see the entire city and the heavy traffic of the area. Not a very romantic place with all the chattering from big groups, both locals and tourists.

With dinner, we were also able to go right up to the revolving platform. We met two girls from Switzerland who were on a two-month pre-university trip. Chatted for a while and took photos for one another. It was drizzling lightly and we were off the platform after one round. Strolled around the bazaar markets in the area before heading back to hotel.

31/8/11 – Shopping day. Went to MBK for supermarket shopping and some souvenir shopping too. We decided against having mango sticky rice but bought pre-cut and packed mango and pomelo instead. Healthy and sweet. Went to the MBK food court for lunch and had my favourite Tom Yam with steamed rice again. =)

With too much shopping on hand, we headed back to hotel before heading to the Platinum malls for more shopping with controlled spending. Went to the nearby Big C for dinner and had steamboat again! There was another MK restaurant here but we chose another hot pot place that was having promotion. It was cheap but with drinks and even ice chargeable, the price works out to be the same as MK. To work out the food, we went supermarketing again as Big C stays open till late. As we walked back to our hotel, we were hijacked by an elderly auntie touting along the streets for a massage place. After much walking that day, we felt it was just right to give our tired feet another treat.

The place was very crowded with tourists and we were ushered to an upstairs area. It was almost pitch-dark. What we could make out were areas separated by curtains and saw mattresses that lined the floor. Asked to lie down on one of them and I hear a snoring customer next to me. Couldn’t really get to Dreamland with the snoring and the constant chattering of the masseuses that worked on our tired feet. An hour’s massage for 150 baht; it was the cheapest we’ve seen so far, also the standard price many massage parlours that lined that particular street next to our hotel. Thus, no complains.

1/9/11 – Departure Day. Checked out and deposited our luggage with the hotel after breakfast. Decided to visit Indra Mall just down the street from our hotel. It’s another wholesale mall. Not very crowded in the morning though. Went around the place and managed a good bargain for Bernard’s jacket, maybe we spoke in Teochew with the auntie; 自己人. Wanted to go to this restaurant that displays many photos on its walls, so supposedly good. Alas, it was not opened yet. Walked to a restaurant opposite our hotel for another Thai meal before the airport transfer was due to fetch us to the airport for our flight back.

A great trip overall. Till next time! =)