Perth - Day 7 - Wave Rock

We had our longest drive today - from Perth to Wave Rock. The journey took us 4 hrs to and fro. Along the route, we drove by York to Hyden where Wave Rock is located.

We stopped by York for lunch. York is Western Australia's oldest inland town and one of its most charming. Set on the Avon River in a fertile open valley it is a blend of colonial and Victorian architecture dating back to the earliest days of the colony.

Another 2-hr drive from York took us to our destination of Wave Rock. Wave Rock is 50 m high, formed from solid granite rock. The vivid, distinctive bands of colour are the result of millions of years of rain washing chemical deposits down the sloping face of the rock.

After lingering at the area for about 45 mins, we headed back to Perth, another 4-hr drive back. By the time we reached Perth, it was about 8 pm and time to have dinner and rest. With this experience of driving such long hours ipapa is game to try to drive to Kuala Lumpur for our next holiday!

Perth - Day 6 - Prima Taste

After a long day yesterday, we decided to go slow and do some shopping today. We shopped around the Gosnells Market Place, Fremantle, Murray Street, Hay Street, etc. Also went to the Swan Tower Bell to take a look. At night, all of us had a craving for Singaporean food and we had our dinner at Prima Taste in Perth. Well, one can get sick with too much sandwiches, burgers and meat, right?

Perth - Day 5 - Chocolate, Koalas, and Fishes

We began our real self-drive holiday today.

We set off pretty early towards the direction of Guildford and Swan Valley. Guildford, first settled in 1829 is one of Australia's most important historic towns and lies 13 kms east of Perth. Guildford is the gateway to the Swan Valley Region. The Region offers wineries, accommodation, restaurants, cheese and chocolate factories, aboriginal arts and crafts, studios, historical churches and buildings, wildlife parks and sporting attractions.

Our first stop was at the famous Margaret River Chocolate Factory. It was an eye-opener at this Factory. Different types of chocolate appear right in front of us. Hmmm..... delicious!! Iden had his first taste of chocolate here.

After this, we continued our journey to the Caversham Wildlife Park located 19 km from Perth. This is where Iden got to see koalas, Tasmanian Devils, kangaroos and many more species. The only pity of this visit was that we were not allowed to carry a koala. Well, at least we got to stroke and touch them.

Along the way, we drove past many wineries. It was a spectacular sight.

After lunch, we headed to the Aquarium of Western Australia. Iden was so fascinated by the colourful fishes and underwater journey. If only he could be in the water and swim with them.

What a day of adventure!

Perth - Day 4 - Self Drive

Ipapa rented a Mitsubishi Magna from today and we are going to self-drive from now.

Perth is just like Singapore - right hand drive. The roads are clearly marked and easy to navigate. Ipapa simply loves to drive.... so off we go, beginning with our first self-drive holiday.

To familiarise himself with the roads, ipapa drove around the town area. Then, we drove to Northbridge, the so called Chinatown of Perth for a visit. Frankly, we were quite disappointed with Northbridge. It was supposed to be a happening place but it turned out like a ghost town, in my view.

Perth - Day 3 - Queen's Birthday

We were told that today is the Queen's Birthday. As expected, majority of the shops were closed as it is a public holiday. We couldn't do much. So, we spent most of our time in the apartment and do nothing!

Iden turned 8 month old today. We decided to capture some shots of him to show how big a boy he has become. At least we had something to do to pass our time.....

Perth - Day 2 - A beautiful Sunday

We woke up to a beautiful Sunday. Entering spring, Perth's sky is pretty bright by 6 am. How we wish we could sleep till noon but Iden woke us up at this hour for his milk feed. Well, we would have a long day ahead. Most of the Perth residents went to Melbourne for the Australian Football League (AFL) game yesterday and were not back yet. Hence, the roads were still very quiet and there were very few cars on the roads.

As the weather became better, we got ready and departed for Fremantle by train. Perth's trains are clean and the seats are cosy, cushion type and not those plastic type that our MRT has. The journey took us about 45 mins passing through some scenic sights.

We had the famous Fish & Chips lunch at Fremantle and went shopping at the E-shed Markets and surrounding area.

We spent quite some time here and headed back to Perth in the evening to do some grocery shopping at Woolsworth before it closes at 5 pm.

Perth - Day 1 - Cold and Windy Perth

We reached Perth at 0605 hours and the temperature was 10 degree Celcius. So cold!! It doesn't help that it is windy too. After a long and tedious immigration check, we managed to leave the airport and go to the apartment that we are going to put up for the whole duration of our trip - Statton CBD Apartment.

First day of our trip was uneventful. We badly needed a good sleep after spending 5 wakeful hours on board the flight to 'entertain' Iden. *Yawn* time to sleep.....

Perth - Here we come!!

Finally, after much planning, the IT family is taking a break from the hectic life in Singapore. Ipapa and I last had our holiday in January last year to Mauritius. This Perth trip will have a lot of firsts - first holiday after a break of over 20 months, first time Iden is flying, first time travelling with a baby, and first visit to Australia.

Being a first time traveller with a baby, I asked around for tips on what to pack and prepare. With friends' help, here is the list of things I have packed for Iden:

Hand carry bag

(1) Diapers, nappy rash cream, changing mat

(2) Extra clothes, handkerchiefs, towel, sock

(3) Toys

(4) Water (hot and cold), milk powder, milk bottles, water bottle, snacks

(5) Baby wipes

(6) Bolster

(7) Blanket, sweater

Luggage

(1) Clothes, diapers, towel, handkerchiefs

(2) Milk powder, bottle brush, feeding spoon, feeding bowl

(3) Rice cereal, oatmeal cereal, Earth's Best Spring Vegetables and Pasta, Earth's Best Vegetable Beef Pilaf, Morigana biscuits, Gerber fruit puff

(4) Toys

(5) Medicine, thermometer

(6) Toiletries

(7) Pillow

Just his things alone occupy one 21" luggage! Besides these, we are also bringing his stroller and Ergo Baby Carrier along. Well, no one says it is easy when travelling with a baby.

As our flight is leaving Singapore at 0120 hours, I dress Iden up in his snug fitting thermal cum pyjamas and a piece of sleep suit. And off we head to the airport.

Parenting in the First Year

It has been a long time since we wrote. What to do? Each day is so busy and we hardly have time to sit down to write. The only time left is for us to catch up on our sleep. We need our sleep badly because Iden has been very cranky lately. He used to sleep through the night until lately that he has been waking up a few times for milk. The worst is that he will not sleep after the milk. He will cry loudly and bully ipapa. Oh... how I miss my uninterrupted sleep. Ok, back to today's topic - Parenting in the First Year. Ipapa and I attended this workshop this morning. It is organised by Fei Yue Community Services. The workshop has 4 modules and it costs S$10 per person or S$15 per couple each module. We attended Module 3 (The crawler - 6 to 9 mths) this morning. This module gives us an insight into baby's brain development and talks about setting limits and discipline. We learnt about different parenting styles and realised that Back Bone style is the best for a family. The module also talks about the ASD rule - Ask, Show and Do. On the whole, I find attending this workshop an enriching experience. Knowing that parenting issues are always there and how to resolve them will be a challenging task. Immediately after the workshop, ipapa and I were discussing the kind of rules that we would like to set in the house. Rules such as keeping the toys after playing, helping with household chores, washing hands before meals, setting the TV watching time and the type of programmes Iden can watch. All these are important rules which we think we should advocate. If you are reading this, perhaps you can share with us the rules you have in your home?