Location:T1 Link W,Singapore
Thursday, 20 October 2011
Postscript
Singapore airport has the nicest airport toilets on the planet. I've just been in one and it had a plant. A plant! Real, not plastic. In an airport toilet.
Singy
Am in Singy airport T1, waiting 6 hours or so for the Landan flight. Dad chose to put us on the earlier flight from Perth because otherwise there was only a 2 1/2 hour connection time, and he was worried we might miss it. This is, I think, possibly a slightly cautious outlook, but there wouldn't have been much extra time to do anything in WA so hey. Anyway, I don't mind. I have set up small refugee camp and am waiting for Dad to get back from the terminal shops so we can go for nasi goreng. Free interweb here too so I can update this waffle and the photos.
It seems a bit of a shock to be going home, so I don't mind a bit of time here to acclimatise to returning. I'm very much ready to get back but I think I was so psyched for a long trip I forgot it was only a couple of weeks. I am most impressed with Australia and most of the people I met. Just about the only grumpy person I met was the customs guy at Perth airport who grudgingly gave me the tax refund on the thing I bought for C that I can't mention right now. He must've done his training at Heathrow. I'm not at all surprised that lots of employable Brits are getting out of our crowded and increasingly foreign land and moving to WA in particular. What's not to like? Well, apart from the sharks, obviously, but at least they don't have crocs too, or murderous jellyfish like in Queensland.
It has also been the longest time I have spent with Dad, ever, and it has been good in a very chilled kind of way. Right, am signing off as nasi goreng calls and I am fed up blogging. If anyone has been reading this, hello!
It seems a bit of a shock to be going home, so I don't mind a bit of time here to acclimatise to returning. I'm very much ready to get back but I think I was so psyched for a long trip I forgot it was only a couple of weeks. I am most impressed with Australia and most of the people I met. Just about the only grumpy person I met was the customs guy at Perth airport who grudgingly gave me the tax refund on the thing I bought for C that I can't mention right now. He must've done his training at Heathrow. I'm not at all surprised that lots of employable Brits are getting out of our crowded and increasingly foreign land and moving to WA in particular. What's not to like? Well, apart from the sharks, obviously, but at least they don't have crocs too, or murderous jellyfish like in Queensland.
It has also been the longest time I have spent with Dad, ever, and it has been good in a very chilled kind of way. Right, am signing off as nasi goreng calls and I am fed up blogging. If anyone has been reading this, hello!
Location:T1 Link W,Singapore
En route Perth to Singapore
The 5 hour flight to Singapore seems a breeze compared to the last leg to London, especially when the Xanadu Chardonnay is freely available. Waved goodbye to the Aussie coast a few minutes ago as we angle out towards Indonesia, with some sadness. It has been a great trip - a good taster for Australia and most excellent to spend the time with Dad. I certainly hope I will be back one day, and it will be interesting to see how the country develops, given what I am sure is its vast untapped potential. Now I'm going to watch a rubbish film on Queensland And Northern Territories Air Services in-flight entertainment system...
Location:QF77
Last day in Oz
Our last full day in Australia turned out to be idyllically sunny and just warm enough to wear short sleeves. A local complained about the cold as we were packing up the car at Seashells. Ha! We went for a short walk from the main building of the hotel down to the same Yallingup beach we visited yesterday. The walk was through the grounds of the "heritage building", which were lovely - all greenery and roses at the moment. There was a decent offshore breeze and the surfers were out in force. Watched for a bit and none of them were eaten, or even de-limbed, by a shark. Weird.
Went to the Yallingup gallery after that and didn't buy anything. Was tempted by a glass dish but not tempted enough. There are sheep around here as well as grapes - saw a flock of merinos in a field full of arum lilies in flower. Then to the nearby Ngigli cave for some spelunking. I do like a good cave. This one reminded me a bit of the Poldark mine in so far as some bits of it were quite claustrophobic, and it was interestingly different because of the instability of the local limestone, and the lack of ventilation - breathing was noticeably harder at the bottom due to high CO2 levels. Worth the trip, but not exactly Skocjan. After the cave we took a walk around the national park at Cape Naturaliste, and saw whales migrating south. Again, we were struck by the views and lack of intrusive development.
Lunch was at the idyllic Bunker Cafe, just down the road on the north side of the cape. Bunker bay is out of the westerlies, and so calm. Another perfect Aussie beach. The cafe was half hidden in the bush, but with a great view over the bay. Good menu too, and we saw whales again while eating. Got my feet wet once more after lunch. Water temperature: Cornwall in August.
We felt we had "done" the Margaret river area as much as we were going to, so we headed off north to our last night stop at Mandurah, about 70km short of Perth. Took the old coast road between Peel Water and the sea. The road was empty at first, going through some good mixed country and then into increasing suburban development before the city. Mandurah is a largish town at the end of the Perth commuter routes, and is obviously growing quickly. After a certain amount of messing about caused by neither of us thinking to find out where the place actually was, we got there and settled in with pizza and final James Squire ales. The Quest Resort is adequate for our last stop, but Mandurah is fairly soulless. Watching Ashley Judd gushing about her past on the Septic version of Who Do You Think You Are and then going to build up some sleep creds for the marathon trip tomorrow.
Went to the Yallingup gallery after that and didn't buy anything. Was tempted by a glass dish but not tempted enough. There are sheep around here as well as grapes - saw a flock of merinos in a field full of arum lilies in flower. Then to the nearby Ngigli cave for some spelunking. I do like a good cave. This one reminded me a bit of the Poldark mine in so far as some bits of it were quite claustrophobic, and it was interestingly different because of the instability of the local limestone, and the lack of ventilation - breathing was noticeably harder at the bottom due to high CO2 levels. Worth the trip, but not exactly Skocjan. After the cave we took a walk around the national park at Cape Naturaliste, and saw whales migrating south. Again, we were struck by the views and lack of intrusive development.
Lunch was at the idyllic Bunker Cafe, just down the road on the north side of the cape. Bunker bay is out of the westerlies, and so calm. Another perfect Aussie beach. The cafe was half hidden in the bush, but with a great view over the bay. Good menu too, and we saw whales again while eating. Got my feet wet once more after lunch. Water temperature: Cornwall in August.
We felt we had "done" the Margaret river area as much as we were going to, so we headed off north to our last night stop at Mandurah, about 70km short of Perth. Took the old coast road between Peel Water and the sea. The road was empty at first, going through some good mixed country and then into increasing suburban development before the city. Mandurah is a largish town at the end of the Perth commuter routes, and is obviously growing quickly. After a certain amount of messing about caused by neither of us thinking to find out where the place actually was, we got there and settled in with pizza and final James Squire ales. The Quest Resort is adequate for our last stop, but Mandurah is fairly soulless. Watching Ashley Judd gushing about her past on the Septic version of Who Do You Think You Are and then going to build up some sleep creds for the marathon trip tomorrow.
Location:Quest, Mandurah
Margaret River
Look at this. Just look at it:
Idyllic isn't it? Makes you want to grab a surfboard or something and throw yourself in. Sun is out, water is warm, what more could you want? Well there's just one tiny problem. This place is teeming - teeming I tell you - with great white sharks. The other day, some guy was horribly dismembered by one just round the corner from here, and that's not to mention the chap who left nothing behind but a pair of chewed shreddies up in Perth. I need to keep reminding myself of this because otherwise, I could be persuaded to think that this place is as good as Cornwall. In Cornwall, it may rain all the time, the water may be as cold as interstellar space, but at least you know you can go for a swim (for 90 seconds until hypothermia sets in) without having a leg chewed off.
So, we set off out of Perth in the rain, having checked out of the pretty good Mantra and collected the car from Avis. Headed south down the freeway, getting out of the suburbs fairly quickly, and following the route of the commuter line to Mandurah, where we will stay tomorrow. The countryside down the route is fairly nondescript scrub and gum, with vast scope for development, as usual. Parcels of land are advertised here and there en route. We stopped for lunch at an out of town mall on the outskirts of Bunbury. There was a maccy d's, a KFC and the Feedingwell Cafe. Not wanting to put more cash into the capitalist corporate homogenisation system, we went to the Bleedinghell, which served the worst coffee in Australia and some toiny toasted sandwiches. Still, putting money into the lercal economy I suppose. On the way out we noticed a noodle bar and Dad was relieved I hadn't seen it. Noodles are kryptonite to Dad, it seems.
Carried on driving for another hour or so, and tracked inland before Busselton, driving due south on completely straight, empty roads through some national forest areas. There was some foreign-looking pine forest, but also a lot of native eucalypt, apparently greener and more varied than the type we saw north of Sydney. Miles upon miles of native wilderness - very striking to someone from a landscape which is almost entirely man made. turned west towards Margaret River and slowly signs of habitation appeared - vines, cattle and my first Australian sheep! I had forgotten that Australia is famous for sheep until I saw them. Destined for Uggs no doubt.
Margaret River itself is a fairly ordinary uninspiring town, so we looked at the visitor info centre then moved on out to the coast at Cape Mentelle. The beach was western, windswept and very beautiful. It reminded me immediately of Cornwall, or Cornwall before any people arrived, so unspoiled was it. Some guys were kite surfing but that was about all the visible human influence.
We drove up the Caves Road just inland, towards Yallingup where we are staying for the night. The countryside is almost English - green fields, rolling hills etc. The difference is the amount of wilderness between the agriculture, and the many vineyards. Stopped at a one at random, which turned out to be Lenton Brae, one of the best boutique vineyards in the area. Bought a very good bottle of cabernet merlot. You can't get it in Europe. Shame.
Then off to Yallingup, to our apartment at the very nice Seashells. We bought ingredients for dinner and visited the local beach, which was bathed in that evening light you only get on a west coast. Again it reminded me of an empty Cornwall, but I made myself remember the sharks...
Idyllic isn't it? Makes you want to grab a surfboard or something and throw yourself in. Sun is out, water is warm, what more could you want? Well there's just one tiny problem. This place is teeming - teeming I tell you - with great white sharks. The other day, some guy was horribly dismembered by one just round the corner from here, and that's not to mention the chap who left nothing behind but a pair of chewed shreddies up in Perth. I need to keep reminding myself of this because otherwise, I could be persuaded to think that this place is as good as Cornwall. In Cornwall, it may rain all the time, the water may be as cold as interstellar space, but at least you know you can go for a swim (for 90 seconds until hypothermia sets in) without having a leg chewed off.
So, we set off out of Perth in the rain, having checked out of the pretty good Mantra and collected the car from Avis. Headed south down the freeway, getting out of the suburbs fairly quickly, and following the route of the commuter line to Mandurah, where we will stay tomorrow. The countryside down the route is fairly nondescript scrub and gum, with vast scope for development, as usual. Parcels of land are advertised here and there en route. We stopped for lunch at an out of town mall on the outskirts of Bunbury. There was a maccy d's, a KFC and the Feedingwell Cafe. Not wanting to put more cash into the capitalist corporate homogenisation system, we went to the Bleedinghell, which served the worst coffee in Australia and some toiny toasted sandwiches. Still, putting money into the lercal economy I suppose. On the way out we noticed a noodle bar and Dad was relieved I hadn't seen it. Noodles are kryptonite to Dad, it seems.
Carried on driving for another hour or so, and tracked inland before Busselton, driving due south on completely straight, empty roads through some national forest areas. There was some foreign-looking pine forest, but also a lot of native eucalypt, apparently greener and more varied than the type we saw north of Sydney. Miles upon miles of native wilderness - very striking to someone from a landscape which is almost entirely man made. turned west towards Margaret River and slowly signs of habitation appeared - vines, cattle and my first Australian sheep! I had forgotten that Australia is famous for sheep until I saw them. Destined for Uggs no doubt.
Margaret River itself is a fairly ordinary uninspiring town, so we looked at the visitor info centre then moved on out to the coast at Cape Mentelle. The beach was western, windswept and very beautiful. It reminded me immediately of Cornwall, or Cornwall before any people arrived, so unspoiled was it. Some guys were kite surfing but that was about all the visible human influence.
We drove up the Caves Road just inland, towards Yallingup where we are staying for the night. The countryside is almost English - green fields, rolling hills etc. The difference is the amount of wilderness between the agriculture, and the many vineyards. Stopped at a one at random, which turned out to be Lenton Brae, one of the best boutique vineyards in the area. Bought a very good bottle of cabernet merlot. You can't get it in Europe. Shame.
Then off to Yallingup, to our apartment at the very nice Seashells. We bought ingredients for dinner and visited the local beach, which was bathed in that evening light you only get on a west coast. Again it reminded me of an empty Cornwall, but I made myself remember the sharks...
Location:Seashells, Yallingup
Monday, 17 October 2011
Diggers
Today we did a bit of a route march around Perth, having decided that the tourist hop on/off bus was for wimps. We called in at the Perth mint, on account of it being just down the road, and it turned out to be very interesting. I had thought it was just a heritage building but actually it is still operating - not producing standard coins, but gold coins and bars for investment purposes. There was a load of stuff about the diggers who flocked to WA in the 1890s after a couple of prospectors found a 6 kilo lump of gold just lying around in the dirt out in the desert, 600km east of Perth in a place called Coolgardie. There was also a fun demo of making a gold bar in the original smelting room, complete with crucible, furnace etc. And real actual gold. Plus an impressive strong room full of gold bars and nuggets from around the world, guarded by some creditably laid-back security guys. Couldn't help thinking that the place is due some kind of Ocean's 11 heist...
Had a coffee then off to St. George's cathedral, where my grandfather and grandmother were married in 1929, pretty much directly after she'd stepped off the boat from England. It's one of the older buildings still standing in Perth, but looks strangely new compared to our Norman ones. Walked the mile or so to King's Park, a hyowge great botanic garden not much more than a stone's throw from the CBD. Pottered around there and had burger and gassy beer for lunch, then back to the apartment via the WA art museum, which had some good aboriginal art and a varied selection of mainly 20th century art, mostly Australian of course, but including a Barbara Hepworth. A whole bunch of pretentious mediocrity as well, naturally.
Ate in again, and felt obliged to try another bottle of the local wine. Thus fortified, we did some online research into Donald Bell's circumstances, and found a birth record for him. There were also records for Alice Maud Barwick's marriage to Archibald Bell and then, after he died in 1906 (when Ding was only two) her second marriage to John Oliver. The really interesting thing was Archibald's death record, which placed him at Coolgardie at the time of his death. He had obviously gone out to the gold fields to find fortune but died out there, as so many did, leaving a young widow and small child. So, my great grandfather was a genuine gold rush digger. We have drawn a blank on Scottish records though - more research required there.
Had a coffee then off to St. George's cathedral, where my grandfather and grandmother were married in 1929, pretty much directly after she'd stepped off the boat from England. It's one of the older buildings still standing in Perth, but looks strangely new compared to our Norman ones. Walked the mile or so to King's Park, a hyowge great botanic garden not much more than a stone's throw from the CBD. Pottered around there and had burger and gassy beer for lunch, then back to the apartment via the WA art museum, which had some good aboriginal art and a varied selection of mainly 20th century art, mostly Australian of course, but including a Barbara Hepworth. A whole bunch of pretentious mediocrity as well, naturally.
Ate in again, and felt obliged to try another bottle of the local wine. Thus fortified, we did some online research into Donald Bell's circumstances, and found a birth record for him. There were also records for Alice Maud Barwick's marriage to Archibald Bell and then, after he died in 1906 (when Ding was only two) her second marriage to John Oliver. The really interesting thing was Archibald's death record, which placed him at Coolgardie at the time of his death. He had obviously gone out to the gold fields to find fortune but died out there, as so many did, leaving a young widow and small child. So, my great grandfather was a genuine gold rush digger. We have drawn a blank on Scottish records though - more research required there.
Sunday, 16 October 2011
Freo
Today we took the Captain Cook's Tours rivercat done the Swan river to Fremantle, which is further away from Perth itself than I had thought (about 19km I think) Lots of very posh developments on the north bank, which must have excellent views across the water and the seemingly endless marinas which line the banks. Lovely day - blue sky and 33 degrees. We pulled in to Fremantle directly opposite the main docks where a couple of container ships were unloading, and right next to HMB Endeavour, the replica of Cook's ship that we missed in Sydney but which is by luck in WA at the moment. We decided to give the Endeavour queue a miss until later and walked to the Little Creatures brewery, which had been recommended as a lunch stop by various people. Plagued by the famous Australian flies today. Haven't noticed them anywhere else, but Perth and Fremantle are infested with the things. I thought they were only interested in English people but then I was heartened to see that the locals were doing the Aussie wave as well.
Had a vast pile of nachos and a very acceptable light-ale style beer in Little Creatures, which was a great barn of a brewery into which they'd put a kitchen and loads of tables. The beer was drawn straight from the steel vats. It was packed with both families and hardcore beer drinkers, and had a very nice view of the fishing boat harbour. We liked it. I resisted the temptation of a second pint as we had some exploring to do and you can't do that when you're lying down for a while resting your eyes in the sun.
After lunch we took a stroll down South Terrace, which is where all the coffee shops, funky retail emporiums and markets are. It's not as self-consciously alternative as somewhere like Camden, and the vibe is a bit more laid back hippie than urban, but it's a fun place to be. Fremantle centre has retained many if not most of its original 19th and early 20th century buildings, so is architecturally interesting as well. Outside the Market building we watched a punk bagpiper with a leather kilt and an orange Mohawk doing Metallica covers. He was great.
We then viewed the town's first jail and WA's first permanent building - the Round House - which was worth a visit for some local context and history. On the ferry ride over we had been told about the new maritime museum, and indeed it's impossible to miss as it is the most imposing building on the south bank of the river. It was to this that we found ourselves inexorably and mysteriously drawn... luckily though, it was free today in some kind of link up with the Endeavour being in town. They have another Oberon (out of the water on the slipway this time though) but we didn't go aboard as it was exactly the same as HMAS Onslow in Sydney. The galleries were good.
Final stop was Endeavour again, with shorter queues now, and we had a tour of the ship. I confess it was quite exciting, in a spotterish kind of way, particularly to see Joseph Banks's actual cabin etc. Well, not his actual cabin of course as it is a replica, but it is a very good replica. I didn't tell Dad for fear of being branded a lubber, but after crawling around the highly compact below deck spaces for a while, and with the ship bobbing about quite a bit on the wash from the various traffic passing by, I felt slightly green and was pleased to get back on to dry land. Pathetic isn't it? Still, it gave me an appreciation of the mettle required to live on such a thing for three years, cut off from home, exploring places that must have seemed entirely alien. I suspect we have completely lost the ability to undertake tasks requiring such fortitude and expertise.
Then back to Perth on the commuter train, and a stop at a pub to watch the Wallabies being beaten by the All Blacks. Ate in tonight, as fed up of restaurants.
Had a vast pile of nachos and a very acceptable light-ale style beer in Little Creatures, which was a great barn of a brewery into which they'd put a kitchen and loads of tables. The beer was drawn straight from the steel vats. It was packed with both families and hardcore beer drinkers, and had a very nice view of the fishing boat harbour. We liked it. I resisted the temptation of a second pint as we had some exploring to do and you can't do that when you're lying down for a while resting your eyes in the sun.
After lunch we took a stroll down South Terrace, which is where all the coffee shops, funky retail emporiums and markets are. It's not as self-consciously alternative as somewhere like Camden, and the vibe is a bit more laid back hippie than urban, but it's a fun place to be. Fremantle centre has retained many if not most of its original 19th and early 20th century buildings, so is architecturally interesting as well. Outside the Market building we watched a punk bagpiper with a leather kilt and an orange Mohawk doing Metallica covers. He was great.
We then viewed the town's first jail and WA's first permanent building - the Round House - which was worth a visit for some local context and history. On the ferry ride over we had been told about the new maritime museum, and indeed it's impossible to miss as it is the most imposing building on the south bank of the river. It was to this that we found ourselves inexorably and mysteriously drawn... luckily though, it was free today in some kind of link up with the Endeavour being in town. They have another Oberon (out of the water on the slipway this time though) but we didn't go aboard as it was exactly the same as HMAS Onslow in Sydney. The galleries were good.
Final stop was Endeavour again, with shorter queues now, and we had a tour of the ship. I confess it was quite exciting, in a spotterish kind of way, particularly to see Joseph Banks's actual cabin etc. Well, not his actual cabin of course as it is a replica, but it is a very good replica. I didn't tell Dad for fear of being branded a lubber, but after crawling around the highly compact below deck spaces for a while, and with the ship bobbing about quite a bit on the wash from the various traffic passing by, I felt slightly green and was pleased to get back on to dry land. Pathetic isn't it? Still, it gave me an appreciation of the mettle required to live on such a thing for three years, cut off from home, exploring places that must have seemed entirely alien. I suspect we have completely lost the ability to undertake tasks requiring such fortitude and expertise.
Then back to Perth on the commuter train, and a stop at a pub to watch the Wallabies being beaten by the All Blacks. Ate in tonight, as fed up of restaurants.
Location:Bennett St,East Perth,Australia
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)