29th May (Thu) - 02 Jun (Mon) 2014
Lodging: University Hall, University of Western Australia
University Hall, UWA 3 months ago, back in March, when I was having my birthday lunch with
Yumi at Cathay Cineleisure Orchard, I asked if I could visit her in
Perth since she's now studying there in the
University of Western Australia (UWA). "Sure!", with her firm reply, the straightforward me immediately had my calendar set for my first trip to Australia, the 4th continent which I'm gonna first step on.
Thanks to the identical time zone, I didn't have to change my camera time setting.
My acquaintance with Yumi dates back to when we're in high school, through the Chinese orchestra community, though we're from different high school with different orchestra conductor. Back then, I couldn't stress enough how pretty I think she is. :D
My flight details
29 May 2014 (Thu)
Changi Airport Terminal 2 - Perth Airport Terminal 1
Flight No: TZ 8 (Scoot)
12:30PM - 5:15PM
02 Jun 2014 (Mon)
Perth Airport Terminal 1 - Changi Airport Terminal 2
Flight No: TZ 7 (Scoot)
6:25PM - 11:45PM
Fare: S$426.22 (I added luggage check in a few days before my flight and S$90 was added to the original fare of S$336.22)
AUD20 was also spent on the
Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) application.
Day 1
Thanks to Yumi, I was informed earlier that I needed to get to Terminal 2 or 3 via the airport shuttle bus to board bus 37 or 40 towards the city. The pickup point is right in front of the arrival exit, and I thought the airport terminals should be near to each other, so I totally didn't expect that shuttle bus ride took more than 10 minutes - so much further than I thought!
Bus ride without a bus pass in Perth is painful - A$4.20 to get to Esplanade Busport from Terminal 2 or 3. I prepared 5 one dollar coins so I still need an $0.80 change, and the Asian-looking bus driver is kind and friendly, "yes, I have plenty of change for you...".
Trà Vinh Vietnamese & Chinese Special Noodles House Picked up by someone with a familiar face at the busport, I kind of wanted to ask, "Yumi, don't you feel cold wearing a skirt?"
We took a bus from there to Northbridge, and had our dinner in a Vietnamese restaurant along William Street.
I should have expected an average eating out in Perth to be more expensive, as a bowl of noodles costs around A$12. And random enough, that's when Yumi learnt that I don't eat celery due to it's awful tastes and smell - how can vegetable with such disgusting taste be used for culinary purpose?!
Well, soup and spring rolls were great, and there goes my 1st day in Perth.
Yumi's hostel room
My accommodation was settled in the very beginning - Yumi's studio apartment hostel room in
University Hall of UWA along Winthrop Ave (it pretty much made me recall Leong Chye's former hostel room in Portsmouth, UK).
It was so thoughtful of her that she borrowed me an electrically powered air mattress from her friend so that I didn't have to sleep on the floor (which was her initial plan XD).
Claimed by Yumi, unfortunately, that the air mattress was deflated overnight due to my weight. Certainly there's a leakage somewhere in the mattress that we couldn't locate, and I have to say that I had a pretty bad sleep the 1st night.
She offered to sleep on the air mattress instead while I sleep on her own bed. But don't get fooled by her kindness (she just loves the air mattress and using my weight as an excuse).
Day 2