The Good and The Bad of Perth

We're back from our short Perth family trip. We've been talking about a short trip for a while. Initially we wanted to do it before little man turned two (because he doesn't need to pay for air ticket!). But after we found out I am pregnant, we don't think that it's a good idea to have him on my lap for a 5 hours flight. So, we decided to postpone it to post 2 year old.

The Man can't travel away from Singapore for too long due to his work. So we're really looking for some place that's within 5 hours traveling time. We shortlisted to Taiwan and Perth. But I personally do not prefer Taiwan because I've been there three times. And the last time being February this year with my best friends. After considering all factors, we chose Perth =)

We had a good full four days in Perth itself. We bravely booked an overnight flight from Singapore, to ensure we have more time. It's probably a wrong decision because my son ended up too tired. He was a little too excited before the flight, he couldn't get into sleep. And one guy behind us kept turning on the light which made everything worse! Who turn on the lights at 3am!!!! He ended up sleeping for three hours only. So we had to let him sleep in once we checked in to our apartment. We ended up only went out about 2pm.

Before talking about the attractions in Perth, I'd just like to share what's the good and bad of traveling to Perth.

The Good

Baby Friendly
The first thing that made us happy is the very well equipped and spacious baby changing room at Perth Airport. It's clean, it's equipped with sofas and television. This is what all the parents want! So really, change your baby after you landed!

Some restaurants and public toilets are equipped with changing station too. While they may not be as luxury as the one in Perth Airport, you're glad that there's at least one! You'll understand this if you've been to Amsterdam.

(Sorry I was too busy changing I forgot to take pictures)

Friendly and Helpful People
Perth gave me a very good first impression, compared to Sydney. The moment we touched down at the airport, the moment we approached the custom, everything is so welcoming. The officers are friendly. Unlike Sydney!

Besides, when we're in the city, there are always passerby who offered help to take a family photo for us. What a friendly city!

A family photo taken by passerby, on her own initiative to help

FREE Cat Buses in the City
Nobody hates FREE stuffs! If you're planning to spend a day in Perth City, just hop onto any free Cat bus. It's TOTALLY FREE! Besides, the buses are stroller and wheelchair friendly. There's an automated step where you can push in the stroller with style. GREAT! Singapore should really have this and maybe I'll take more buses.

The Bad

EXTREMELY expensive parking in city
Now, this has to be the #1 in the list. Parking in Perth City is EXTREMELY expensive. Day time per hourly is AUD4. Over 6pm or some parking lots 5pm, it's a flat rate of AUD11.

Wilson carpark near our apartment put up a very misleading sign, saying overnight parking is AUD5. Whoa! So attractive. But wait, overnight parking is only until 5.30am. From then on, anything above 4 hours is AUD22. Which means, if you're departing from your apartment at 10.30am like we do (when you have kids you'll understand), you're paying AUD27 a night. Just O.N.E night!

Food is expensive too
Overall, food is expensive. An average cup of coffee cost you AUD4 minimally. That's almost a dollar more expensive than Sydney. An average meal for two, just a normal meal like burgers in a restaurant, cost about AUD40-50. Nothing fancy.

Simple breakfast of French toast and a cup of coffee at Infinity Cafe, cost me AUD19.50

Many attractions but YOU CAN NEVER DO ALL
This is not really bad. It's just I am really interested in Wave Rock and I'm so disappointed to find out it's so far away from Perth City. And I'd really like to go Busselton or Albany to catch a glimpse of whale, but again, they're so far away from Perth.

If you tell people you're going to Perth, most of the time you'll get this reaction. "Why Perth? There's nothing much in Perth!"

Well, people, you're wrong! There are many things surrounding Perth. The only problem you have is traveling time. The attractions are all over the places, all different directions! You may not have enough time to visit all of them. We only manage Fremantle, Caversham Wildlife Park and Penguin Island. The furthest being Penguin Island and that's about an hour travel time (one way).

If you're looking at Wave Rock, that's 4 hours from Perth. Margaret River is 2 hours from Perth. The Pinnacles is 2-3 hours from Perth etc. (These are one way trip I'm talking about)


So MANY FLIES
My family did tell me about their experience at The Pinnacles where there were simply too many flies they just wanted to get out of the place as soon as possible.

We didn't plan to go to Pinnacles. But to my surprise, flies are actually everywhere in Perth. EVERYWHERE!!!!!!!

They're SO annoying!

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I'll continue more with the details of my trip (I haven't even finished with New Zealand trip, I doubt I'll ever finish it). But I hope this helps you by giving you a little bit idea of how Perth is, in general that is.