the entry of two pence perth

it would have been presumptuous of me to liken perth to that of a sleepy town without having experiencing it first-hand, but after this trip down under with my family, i can tentatively place my bets on that. when i got back to singapore, i was almost positively beaming. never again, perth. goodbye!

i spent the mornings there waking up groggy-eyed, halitosis et al, and then lapsed into a unhurried traipse around the city area and meals in the afternoon with nary a thought in mind, only to slumber back to our service apartment at five in the evening. could anyone ever possibly imagine life like that? apparently, if one were caught loitering around the city area after the unspoken curfew, they'd be accorded the titles of homeless-shelter-seekers or hooligans-on-the-run.

ugh! the only indulgence i enjoyed was the sampling of wines at vineyards en route our one-day farmstay and splurging on nut-rich nougat. during the night, my brother and i boozed, digged into an abyss-esque packet of nougat, and fattened ourselves with an bounty of instant noodles.

did i mention that i was driving an over-sized vehicle that was twice the size of any car i had driven, and that i was doing over 100 kmph along the bends? it was an exhilarating ride and a refreshing welcome to an otherwise sedate trip, but was only met with disapprovals by my dad, who thought i was nonetheless a crappy driver.

our respite for the trip, mantra on hay.

our portly receptionist,

who's got the look of someone surfing porn when no one's around.

shopping at the local walking street was a stupendous bore-fest. i ended up feasting my eyes on trinkets of eating knick-knacks, playing with my awesomely cute baby nephew declan, and resigned to watching street performances, which weren't that many to begin with. the day ended as quickly as it could have begun. perth: 0, singapore: 1.

my adorable nephew

more pix of the little rascal, with my brother, his dad.

dad takes a little pic with grandson.

my brother, sis-in-law and me. any signs of resemblance, people?

dad and mom, still at it even after 35 years.

a stiff coffee to perk up a boring day.

this street peddler sells her impressions of people for charity.

and she hails all the way from japan.

the van that i will be in charge of driving my family around.

the second day saw us meandering across the rural areas to a region called bindoon, that was approximately a forty-five minutes drive away from city. along the way, i witnessed lush greenery, rows upon rows of vineyards that stretched on forever, and finally pit-stopped at a windmill farm for a day's stay. it was great. the day was beautiful, and the scenery, breathtaking. perth: 1, singapore: 1.

a word of warning though: eschew the path that marks the wood-cordoned farm housing for bulls and cows alike. the air around is thick with overwhelming dung scent. steer clear or bring cologne. you've been warned.

yours truly piloting the journey to bindoon

spotted: a traveller decked in hazmat outfit on his scooty. majorly weird!

the cottage-esque hovel where we will spend the night.

seems familiar, folks? ...

... a fellow farm-stayer who bears an ominous resemblance

to the hazmat rider we saw on the roads.

a family portrait atop the tractor.

cheers, toast to an orange farm.

my sis-in-law tucked in between the shrubs attempting the sexy look.

a pet kangaroo by the name of whistle

braving it up for the camera, despite the pungency.

and what it really smells like

as we made our way back on the third and last day to the city, we made several stops along the way. our agenda in mind was the varying vineyards, and we ended up slightly inebriated by the nth stop. my dad, brother and i were light-headed and we case-ordered half a dozen bottles of sparkling chardonnay from the nicer folks at edgecombe brothers vineyard.

we toured around an area called fremantle, affectionately shortened to freo and tucked into the best fish & chips at cicerello's, ever. like the operating hours of shops in perth though, the fun was short-lived and we packed our asses back onto our mini bus by the stroke of five. perth: 1, singapore: 2.

final verdict: wine tasting and road trips, aye perth. for anything and everything else, there's the world to see.

one of the wineries, a disappointing and bland one though.

a hummer? checked. a limo? checked. a hummalimo? never heard of? see above.

our table of five festooned with fish & chips, squids & mussels, and garlic prawns.

ever paid for chilli? this tiny tub goes for aud$ 1.70.

treasure your free condiments folks!

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