Perth & WA Chapter 2 (Exploring Freo!)

Good morning Freo! Its 2nd October 2016.

For the entry on our first day you can click here!

Last night we barely got enough sleep due to the noisy drunk roomates. when we were first checked in, the Pirates' staff (I think her name is Becca) said there will be a night manager, a guy named Mitch, a Canadian. A first I don't really understand why there is a need for a night manager, but looking at the situation, i kinda understand now. 

I was excited that morning cos i wanna go whale watching with Rottnest at 10.15AM! It is one of my travel dream to watch the whale roam free in the ocean. Buttttt. because the wind was so strong. I received and e-mail from them at 7AM that the morning session for whale watching has been cancelled due to bad weather. Nooooooo! hmmm. 

the e-mails received, my oh my

Rottnest gave us options whether to reschedule it in the afternoon or tomorrow. Since tomorrow we will be leaving Fremantle, we chose afternoon session at 1PM. I replied the e-mail to reschedule. TIPS: Rottnest Express is one of the tour company that provides transport to the Rottnest island. The ferries departs from B-Shed Fremantle and Swan River. During September to October every year, the big whale migration will pass by Australian west coast (Indian Ocean). It is the perfect time to see this majestic creatures while it makes its way across the ocean. You can also do a day tour to Rottnest island itself to see the Quokkas, a cute lil marsupial that inhabited that island. cycling around the island is also one of the activity u can do. It is quite expensive btw, for whale watching it is 60AUD for weekdays and 65AUD for weekend. You can check the info and pre book (like we did) the tour from this website: https://www.rottnestexpress.com.au/ 

There is also one more company that provides the same service, the rottnest fast ferries. But we chose Rottnest Express cos Fastferries departs from Hillary's boat harbour and it is quite far from where we stay. The prices is both the same. So if you book the whale watching tour, remember to always check your e-mail, cos the schedule might change due to weather. 

Our whole activities need to be rescheduled that day, because of this. But we got ready nonetheless, penuh semangat yer. We didn't go to B-shed of cos, instead we went for breakfast at Fremantle Market :). One good thing about the hostel is it's location, central and within walking distance to everything. 

Good morning lil market!

We walked our way to the market. It was quite a lot of people in the morning there, maybe cos its Sunday. I need my caffeine!. I saw this coffee place in the entrance where people were queuing. So i decided to get a coffee from here. The barista seems to have a great time making coffees, in a good mood i guess. When it's my turn, i asked for hot Latte. Just like starbucks they asked for name. So i said' Tera'. The coffee here cost you around 3-4 AUD u know. But i found out a cheaper way to get coffee, ill let u know in my next entries ;).

coffee!!! (i know yall will look at the barista ay?)

Sarah went and buy some food while Syl still look around for things to eat as well. I then saw the barista looked at me and called 'Karen'. Huh? who is Karen?. He actually heard Karen instead of Tera, so he wrote Karen. Heyyyy! . I took my coffee smiling and go sit as Sarah already found seats for us. TIPS: Fremantle market is quite pack in the weekend, you can save your budget by having breakfast here. They sell various kind of foods and drinks (coffee n juices). They also sells fruits and veggies if you wanna go home and cook yourself. There is seats inside and outside at one alley too!

some fruits & veg stalls

We bought some rice, indian food. Well i actually need the masala to 'heat' myself, haha!. There is also Malaysian food here such as Nasi Lemak, so do not worry peeps! :P . 

well hello Perth!

'my mama force me to eat this! emmm'

yes nasi lemak it is..

I like having breakfast here, its very relaxing. While eating, i made plan for that day, since my original plan has changed. I checked the maps i took from the hostel, and asked Syl to check on the Here apps and we got our schedule updated, hihihi. 

Apart from breakfast, we also take a look at some souvenirs here, Syl got some postcards for his grandpa. I was looking at one shawl, but at first nobody was at that shop, like where is the owner, they just let the shop unattended like that, i can just steal it and go if i am darkhearted, hiks. But in the end i didnt buy it cos it is kinda expensive, not worth it. 

postcards for grandpa

some patches

Big Hair with Happy Tummy

Today's gonna require us to walk a lot. After we had our breakfast, we decided to go to the Round House. As usual, being Ms. Scheduled, i mapped out the road we need to take! hahaha. But we have our Here apps as well. We made our way towards High St. Along the road we saw some Malaysian tourists, yo peeps! hihi. 

From far we can already see the Round House with the tunnel under it called the Whalers Tunnel. This building is one of the oldest in Western Australia, Swan river colony to be exact. It was built around 1830.  It is also the few remaining of Arthur Head Reserve, a former large limestone formation.

The round house

You can walk via the tunnel inside to Bathers Beach or take the stairs. TIPS: If you happened to be here around 1PM, wait a while cos sometimes they will fire a cannon!

The whalers tunnel, and I am not a whale okay

We take the stairs, the view is breathtaking despite of the strong cold wind. The history of the Round House also written on board here. You can see the Kidogo Arthouse from here, independent art centre.  

Big hair on top of the round house

View from the round house

We walked down the beach a bit and Syl went too near to the beach and wet his socks, meh. So we just sit there while waiting for his socks to dry. There were few people here as well altho it was so cold, hihi. TIPS: Don't rush, if you plan your iti, spend some time here to relax and enjoy the view, its very refreshing :).  

Looking at the weather at that time cos it started to rain again, i have this bad feeling that the noon session for Rottnest whale watching is gonna get cancelled, again. We made our way then to B-Shed Jetty for Rottnest Express. It is not that far from The Round House, around 5-10 minutes. We passed by some warehouse-like building in the Phillmore street roundabout. It's actually the Fremantle Ports. 

while walking i found this wild flowers everywhere, hi pretty!

B-Shed terminal, Rottnest Express

And we reached B-Shed around 11AM or so. From far we saw the Rottnest counter red in color.  I asked bout the whale watching noon session and my fear came true. Huwaaaaaa! So sad sad sad! It is one if my 'to do list' ! And it got cancelled :(

Rottnes Express counter

The staff there said, 'the weather is bad, even we continue you would't enjoy it'. Yeah she got a point as well. But they will refund back the tickets to me 100%. Because we can't take the tour on the next day as we will be checking out from Fremantle. TIPS: Should your luck is the same as mine (hihihi hopefully not), don't worry as they will refund back to you within 2 weeks to the account / card that you use to book with. I got full refund just 5 days after that. 

Sad face!!! we wanna do whale watching :(

There are other 'expensive cruise' from some companies that still operating at that time. Can't really remember the name, blue in color. 

Brokenhearted us then decided to just go to E-Shed market just opposite B-Shed ferry terminal.  (another reschedule of plan!) 

E-Shed is a market where u can find affordable souvenirs, clothes and food. There is one very famous souvenir shop called Megababes owned by Malaysian. Mmhhm, yep that's right. This was our first destination, lol. Btw, the staff can speak Malay. I was looking at some magnets and suddenly this girl told me 'kat dalam banyak lagi' , hihihi. The owner of this souvenir shop was super friendly, you feel like you're just at home! :). TIPS: It is cheap, the souvenirs here compared to the rest in Fremantle. You won't find this kind of price anywhere else in Fremantle.

But if you are in Perth city, there is one shop that sells cheaper souvenirs. Yall gotta read my next entries for that! :D . 

One thing that attracts me is the Opal necklace, green in color and only 5AUD. Unique and pretty to wear! TIPS: Australia is known for Opal gems, so having this kind of souvenir for yourself also acts as a token of memory visiting this gigantic country on the southern hemisphere.

Opal necklace, come in various shapes, even kangaroo shape

Well actually Syl is the one who told me bout Australian gems as he is very interested in coins and gems. Oh and also antique stuff. If you are reading this Syl, I love You! (hihihi #silahempuk). 

I was trying to find the 'Australia' sweater as well, esp green in color. To cover myself from the cold. But all they have for S size is yellow. Oh well yellow is not for me. So i bought some fridge magnets (cost around 10AUD for 10-12 magnets various designs) for my friends back home. 

Sarah was the one who spent the most here, hihihi. She bought some magnets, t-shirts for her siblings and nephews/nieces. The staff there really helped us to find what we need ya know. We really appreciate it! 

mine mine all of it is mine!

I stopped at this shop selling cute pretty shawls! (Yes still searching for shawls). The owner is a very cheerful lady. I tried few shawls on cos ill be needing it with the cold weather. My eyes were stuck at this brown knitted shawls. It looks like difficult to wear, but actually they made it looks like that. In fact, u just put it on your neck and there you go, looks perfect. Sarah said it will look good on me and yes i think so too!. But Syl was like 'it looks like grandma's shawls' . Heyyyyy..grr. The owner said to me while smiling 'U should teach him some fashion lesson' . Lol! hahaha. 

what ya think? of the shawl i mean, pretty aint it? :p

I bought it anyway together with one more polka dot shawl, cute. 2 for 14AUD. I love love that brown knitted shawl. After I wear it, Syl said 'yes actually u look really good wearing it'. Hihihihi, did he said that jus cos im his girlfiriend? :P . But yes, i know its fabulous and not like grandma! hahaha. Worth the money!. :D . TIPS: If the weather is windy and u forgot to bring shawls, buy here if u plan to come! Hiks

Because our whole schedule for the day has changed, we decided to just sit here and have some coffee. There is a cafe inside E-Shed market which sells western, indian and thai food too. We sit inside and there were a live band too!. I bought some fresh fruits for 5 AUD (quite expensive huh?). Well most things in Perth are expensive. I guess cos it is the most separated city, so the cost of living here is slightly higher than the rest of the Australian cities. 

fresh fruits, yum, ah yes that expensive cruise is called captain cruise.

Because Sarah can't smoke inside, we then move our asses outside. TIPS: There are seats inside and outside facing the B Shed terminal, so if you are a smoker, u can also buy some drinks and hangout outside. 

Sarah and her red hair ;P

Not lots of people sit outside, i guess cos of the wind. While writing this entry, i figured actually we should just book the ferry to Rottnest Island instead because our whale watching was cancelled. At least we can see the Quokkas and the cost is almost the same. Oh well, i didn't thought about it then. My bad.

Je t'aime!

After the coffee session, I made the decision to visit the Shipwreck Museum next since we have lots of time left in Fremantle. So we made our way there around less than 10 minutes walk via Cliff Street. TIPS: the entrance to the Shipwreck museum is free! (donation is welcomed). But the WA Maritime museum is not, don't get confused between these 2 okay.

The Western Australia Shipwreck Museum

We walked in and the first thing we saw is this huge anchor. From what i read, it was the original anchor used by the European settlers. The front of the building is also the original part of the 1850's commisariat. It's pretty much stored the maritime archaeology artifacts. TIPS: there are few sections from asian spice route to Batavia wreckage, if you are a big fan of maritime artifacts, you may spends lots of time here.

Oh yes btw, this museum have wifi, hihihi. So, for 5 minutes i was so busy with my social media apps :P . 

The highlights of this museum is the Batavia wreckage from the 1600 along with the other Dutch shipwrecks . Almost 60% of this museum tells you about the Dutch explorer. Means it include some stories on indonesian islands conquered by em. 

The shipwrecks!

the old artifacts found such as coins, Syl fave :)

The stories on how they dug up all of this from the wreckage

On the 2nd floor u can find this section about the spice trading, of cos as asian 

we are familiar with the type of spices we used in our daily food. But little that we know the feud between some european explorer at that time also involve the power of spice trade. 

Spices!

Apart from that, they also show the original letter from the Dutch captain, imagine how they preserve it. I have to say Australian govt do a good job in preserving their history. Kudos bebeh!

Before we leave the museum, Syl decided to buy some coins they sell as souvenir. The price is around 2 AUD if im not mistaken. I help him chose, of cos he knows better about which design he prefer as old coins is his favourite subject and he is very knowledgeable in that field. They also sell books about shipwrecks and maritime history if you are interested. 

On our way to the Bathers Beach Boardwalk

hey yallll :D

Because we were already near the Bathers Beach Boardwalk (The shipwreck museum is opposite it), we just hangout at the beach for a while. TIPS: The bathers beach boardwalk is where the locals spend their time enjoying the sea view and there are few cafes at the Bathers Beach House.

cak!

i'm coming home...coming home..tell the world im coming..home :P

We just sit at the board and enjoy the breeze, oh well super breeze. It was fun, took some pics and talking. There was this girl holding close her boyfriend's hand as if we wanna steal him, mehh.*rolling eyes* . I really recommend those who have free time in Fremantle to come here, clear your mind have some 'me' time. 

Tu me manques <3

Syl asked me 'so what's next?', hihihi. Basically i have re-mapped our plan back in my mind. It was almost 5PM at that time, my plan is to visit the historic Fremantle Prison. It closed at 5PM, but what the heck, at least we can see it. hahaha. So we made our way there. 

The Esplanade Park, don't u just love it <3

It was quite a walk u know, around 2KM passing by the Esplanade Park (I love this park!) and i saw the Ferris wheel! yeayy..last night I didn't. We walked pass by the market again and some football field, i think it is the Fremantle Oval. Some teenagers were practicing football at that time. Around 15min we arrived at the Fremantle Prison!

reaching the Fremantle Prison, guess who's shade it is! :P

It really looks old, no wonder it is crowned the only Western Australia World Heritage Listed building. Of course its no longer holds convicts here, but it's used to be for hundred of years. (Sambil imagine creepy music playing).

Fremantle Prison

I saw 2 entrance here, one is through the main gates and another one is The YHA hostel cos it is also located here. The hostel concepts is you will sleep in the cells. Do you dare? If yes, well you can book a 'cell' through YHA!. 

We thought we can't go inside at all cos at that time it was already 5PM+, so we just sat on the bench outside the prison. Sarah was 'social media-ed' using roaming, reporting to Mr. Finnie maybe, her charming boyfriend (oh yes, her bills went high as a sky after that due to roaming). Me and Syl was talking about our relationship (serious talks!). Oh well, let just skip the personal stuff here, hihihi. 

After a while, we saw a tour bus bringing Japanese tourist parked at the entrance and they started going in. So i was like, wait they can still go in?. So rather than do nothing at the bench, we went inside too!.

The staff inside were really nice and she welcomed us. She said 'you can walk around this area, but unfortunately everything inside that gate is already closed, but u can see it from the gate' . 

Almost Inside the Prison!

So yep, we did walk around the 'allowed' area and we can see the prison from the gate, but yes i think walking inside it is much more interesting im sure. TIPS: Fremantle Prison is opened till 5PM, so if you wanna get inside, do come before 5PM, the ticket is around 20AUD++ for a day tour. They also have night tour on Wed and Fri if you are a fan of creepy and scary walk (lol), the tix is slightly expensive. If you can't' make it before 5PM like us, do come still and you can visit from the entrance to the main gate, at least you've been here!. :)

This is the Prison, I took this photo from the gate

We made our way back to Pirates backpackers after that, but because it was almost dinner time, we went into the market for a while to see whats left. They actually still have some stalls open!. 

They wanna finish the food, so everything was sold at half a price. From sushis (Syl's fave not mine), takoyakis, portuguese wrap, fruits etc. So yes, it's really good cos we can save some money for dinner. TIPS: Rush to the Fremantle market at 5PM++ to buy cheap foods! (well cheaper than most places here, cos everything is usually expensive in Perth).

what a nice view :), im gonna miss this city

Me and Syl bought some portuguese spicy wrap, Sarah some sushis. We had our dinner at a bench (bench lagiii) across the road from the market. I saw this 4 Malaysian girls try to park their car there hahahaha so funny, back and forth. But the girls are so -happy go lucky- type. I think 1 of em is a student here and the rest just come visiting.  Sarah ate a lot that day, hihihi. Cold weather so yes. (still cold when we were sitting there ya know). 

That wrap was so filling, happy tummy. It was almost dark, how time flies. So we head back to our hostel cos i can't stand the cold any longer. 

Although i am not a fan of Pirates Backpackers but we can keep ourselves warm from the wind here. We just hangout in our room and Sarah was texting with Wawa, our friend, well for Sarah she is one of her best friend from university. Wawa is currently staying in Perth, she work/study here as well. Living with her boyfriend, mmhmm. Sarah told her the condition of our hostel and Wawa invite us to sleep at her house, so of course i agreed!! Thank you God! hihihi.

She said she will let us know when she is on her way as she will be picking us up from Pirates with her ehem ehem boyfriend.  

So, while waiting, we had some chat with one of our roommate (i forget her name, sorry!). She was a student from Sweden. Student again, lol i realize we bump into lots of students here. 

She said the same thing, that she came here hoping it was tropical so she just bring some 'tropical clothes'. But nope, its all a lie. its freakin cold!. She chose to stay in the hostel cos its cheaper, as i said remember, the cost of living here is crazy. But now that she have a boyfriend in the city, it's just sometimes she came here to study, most of the times she will be staying with her other half. 

So we were talking and laughing, she is a very cheerful & positive girl!. She said the 1st night she checked in, she came into the room and saw a drunk guy bending over looking at his balls naked.. hahahahahahah lmao~! . So far she never really join them getting drunk and partying downstairs. 

We also talked about the strict laws in Malaysia, especially involving public affections. So yes, it was great talking with her, hey at least we have one good memory here! 

Wawa texted that she was already on the way, so we decided to just wait for her at the lobby.  We met the night manager, Mitch cos we checked out that night, giving back bedsheet and getting back deposit. He is really helpful ya know. He is french canadian, so he talked with Syl in french for a while. 

Last pic from Pirates Backpackers, near the lobby

Syl then explained to us, Mitch said we can stay in the lobby. But he will close everything inside as he have to manage the drunk people. Now we know more why there is a need for night manager, hahahaha. Okay, so well done Mitch! 

Luckily of course the wifi was on, sooo... ya know what that means, hihihi. 

However, unluckily pulak our silent wifi time was interrupted by a drunk guy, who suddenly make a move towards Sarah. He was like 'you girls makes me so happy bla bla'..  asking names bla bla. He gives his hand to shake, so i did, but he pulled my hand and hugged me, literally almost grab my breast u know, grrr, Rude drunk guy!. He talked to Syl and Syl just ignored him. He wasn't happy. He was starting to being sarcastic towards Syl by saying 'bilingual! that's the word'. Cos he thought Syl can't speak English. Aiyaiyai, rimas! finally he go away after Mitch came. 

Finally!!!!!

And at last around 11PM Wawa came yeay!, James (the boyfriend) was driving. She live in Leederville, so we passed by some part of Perth City first. Wawa was so happy cos she can speak Malay with us, hahahahahahaha! 

We stopped by a minimarket and buy some biscuits and water. We got home, how comfyyy! hot shower, toilet with pipes!. At least tonight i know i will get a good sleep. Thank you so much Wawa!

We cooked some maggi, hihihi, malaysian sangat! We had a great time with Wawa that night. Tomorrow our journey will shift from on foot to on wheels, so hang in there! #gilapanjangentrikalini XO

Click here for Chapter 3 On Wheels!