Down South, Down Under

Hey there,

how's it going?

Finally got down to uploading the pictures,

and right in time before the turn of the year too!

Australia as most may or may not know, is that little continent where our dearest Steve Irwin came from,

right down south of Sunny Singapore.

Pity though, that when in comparison to Australia, Singapore might as well be a rain cloud.

Cause the sun seems to love Australia a lot more, thus showing up there much more often.

You'd be glad to find out then, that Australians in general do speak English, unlike what Steve, who seems to speak another whole language. Thus Singaporeans would find themselves right at home, speaking English with the locals.

I've had the privilege to study aboard in Perth, in the University of Western Australia(UWA), a humble Uni located about a 15-20min drive away from the city.

It's located in a real quiet suburb Crawley, and renting an apartment around there would most likely set you back about $150-200 a week, usually not inclusive of bills. So what you're paying for is just that empty room.

Most kids or parents would worry bout getting racist remarks hurled at them, or getting bullied by the Aussies, but frankly, having been there for the past semester, I've yet to run into any such issues.

Even walking home at 2am in the morning it's perfectly safe. (I live about 2km away from school)

Mind you, when walking home at that time, I tend to walk in the middle of the road...much to the dismay of mother.

("What if you get hit by a car!" She exclaims)

That, along with thumping music from headphones...

so even with potentially life threatening hazards present endangering my own life, the only thing to cross my path would have been that cute cat living somewhere around the neighbourhood.

Above is a picture of the all so 'Famous" UWA Winthrop clock tower. Iconic building can even be spotted from the city or even the air, when your plane is landing/taking off.




Below is a picture of the HUGE Fig tree. Rumor has it that buried under that tree is some farmer's cow or something. How that rumor came to be, well...your guess is as good as mine.

Spending a semester in Perth, it would be illegal to have spent all that time studying.

And naturally we ventured out to explore the more "touristy" sites around.

One of this, being Frementle, a dock known for its Fish&Chips, seagulls and their unprecedented ability to poop accurately on people, and of course, the darker side, Frementle Prison.

Which was only recently opened to the public.

Of course, yet another plus side of visiting Frementle, would be that of San Churros...
Thin "you-tiao" looking things which you dip into thick gooey DARK chocolate...basically stuff that makes you happy to be alive.
Just make sure to drink a galleon of water after, else you'd promptly die from "heatiness".



Frementle Prison (TorchLight tours...supposedly the 3rd most Haunted site in Perth)



For those who like shopping then, there's always Perth City.
A place of which guys would find pointless, and girls MAY find interesting.
Heaps of shopping malls along 3 Streets, Hay Street, Murray Street, and another which name slips my mind.
Beware however, that Perth being the laid back city that it is, most malls and shops close by around 6pm.
Except in the city where major shopping malls push the closing time to about 9pm.

City Skyline taken from Millpoint Road






The Bell Tower..never really got the chance to hear the bells play though.







Perhaps my favourite bird in Western Australia, the Wag Tail Willy, similar perhaps to the sparrows we have in Singapore.
Just a lot cuter.
Cause it wags it tail at you, that's why.



Another famous site to visit, would be King's Park.
Lovely place to chill out with friends, bring the kids for a picnic, and to make out with your date.
Only downside?
Would be that heading up there during winter, it gets mighty drafty during the evening, and during summer/spring.
All the mozzies come flying right out charging at you.
So head up there prepared, and enjoy the evening watching the stars and the city's lights.

Caversham Wildlife Park quite the drive out from the city, but worth it if you like animals.
The cute cuddly Koalas, wallabys, roos,
The noisy birds, laughing Kookaburras, and many types of parrots.
The funky lizards.
And other random animals.

That sheep didn't look all that happy to get sheared if you asked me.







That's a wallaby, not a roo



And of course, yet another animal present at the Wildlike park.
Kids

Aussies, for some odd reason love a few things, the top 3 I would reckon are as follows
1) Beer
2) Barbecues
3) Fishing


So during our semester break, we took a little drive (2hours) down south to Mandurah.
Where my friend claimed he caught heaps of fishes there the last time he went with his friends.

















He didn't lie about the fishes though.
Herring are what most of these little buggers are.
They met their pitiful end atop the barbecue pit later that afternoon.
Tasted "quite fresh" my friends said.

With that, I'd end this post.
Till next time,
Tarri-ho
(And no, Aussies don't use tarri-ho. They'll say: Catch you later)