Holiday in Perth

We've just returned from a week's holiday in Perth.

Chris was there attending another medical conference while Madison and I were there for the holiday. Zul and his fiancee were there too and they stayed with us at the Quest apartments on Rheola Street.

We flew Qantas for this holiday... I think it would suffice to say that we would probably try not to fly them too often.

On the way there they probably FORGOT to supply a child's meal for Madison, but told us that it was our fault that we did not book a child meal at least 24 hours ahead of time! I never heard of such a thing before.... we paid for a child's ticket, didn't we get a child's meal?

On the way back, we were stuck on the plane for a good 45 minutes while they were trying to sort some technical glitch out...and then because of the delay we had to spend another extra 30 minutes waiting in the air to land because Changi airport was busy! Try to entertain a 2 year old during all that extra time, during which we were not allowed out of our seats for safety reasons !

Perth is a beautiful city. Gorgeous weather too, while we were there. It was quite cold at night and first thing in the morning, but then the sun would come out and the rest of the day would be great. We stayed near King's Park, which houses their Botanic Gardens. There was an enormous children's playground too, the Iver Watson playground, that was immensely popular with the local mothers and kids.

Food sucked though. Either that or we just didn't know where to go and eat. Most of the restaurants were either closed by dinner or were empty on most weeknights. Even the Chinatown was quiet. I've never seen a quiet Chinatown before.

We spent the first day at Caversham wildlife park. It's great value for AUD $22. There were mostly Australian animals, but the best thing was that we got to get close up to most of them. Madison had a field day playing with rabbits, sheep, chicken and kangaroo. We got to touch wombat and koalas too. There was a farm show that showcased sheep shearing and cow milking, as well as cracking the whip, which frightened the wits out of Madison!

Anthony flew up from Melbourne to join us for the first 2 days. It's great that he adores Madison and she reciprocates it. Although she does get a little spoilt with him around!

The second day Chris and Zul attended the conference while the rest of us packed a picnic and went to the Botanic gardens for the day. Madison was great. She walked a fair bit, then had a picnic lunch with the ducks. Stomped around in duck poo afterward. We managed to see most of the gardens, experience the elevated walkway and glass bridge, and soak in lots of sun. By the time we headed back to the apartment, Madison fell right asleep the minute she sat in the carseat.

When Chris and Zul finished attending the conference, we sent Anthony off to the airport, then headed to Freemantle for dinner. Freemantle is a port town, and quite touristy, so it wasn't difficult finding food. We settled on fish and chips at Kaili's by the harbour. Dessert was Baskin Robbins ice cream. Madison had a baby cup all to herself and even chose the flavour. She didn't want to leave the shop afterward!

Wednesday was spent at the beach after the guys were done with the conference. We set off for Cottosloe beach initially, but after spending 30 minutes there we decided to leave in search of a beach with more people and shops.

We settled on Scarborough beach. It was lovely. There was a huge outdoor auditorium with shade where we could rest, as well as a kid's playground that Madison had fun running around in. I packed a picnic lunch, and by lunchtime Madison had worked up a really good appetite. She actually ate cold roast chicken! After lunch we wandered over to the shops and had gelati. Of course Madison had another field day with the ice cream cone. Again, KO on the way home after lunch. Oh, but after screaming her head off in protest with having to sit at the back of the car with Zul and Wee Leng. Not sure why, but she would protest EVERY TIME we went in the car about having to sit next to them from then on.

The last 2 days were spent largely at the playground. Chris and Zul were attending the conference from 7 in the morning so Wee Leng, Madison and I were left to our devices most of the day.

Perth is a great place to bring kids for fresh air, outdoor play and sunshine, as well as being a golfer's paradise. For the rest of us.. well... there's less to do, since the shops pretty much all close by 5 everyday. I didn't find the dining scene inspiring, apart from the fish and chips at Freemantle. Pros? It's close enough to Singapore, the weather is perfect and the parks/playground/beaches are fantastic. Cons? Not much else to do the rest of the time, especially at night. Uninspiring food and shopping. Even the supermarket closes early on Sunday!

Still.. it was a mostly a good trip, apart from the times that Madison threatened to drive me crazy ( ie refuse to eat what I'd taken quite a bit of effort to prepare, waking up every night, refusing to have her nap etc )... we spent quite a bit of mother-daughter time at the parks and in the apartment. Would be really nice to have some of Perth in Singapore.. especially the weather!