Perth, Western Australia (part 3)

Sorry for the long wait to the last part of my short trip to Perth at the end of last year. I have been busy with uni stuffs lately.

In my previous post, I take you to Hay Street Mall now I’ll take you to Murray Street Mall which is just on top of Hay St (if you see it from a map).

It was about two more weeks to Christmas and hence there’s lot of Christmas decoration in the city. Murray St Mall was no exception with this Christmas tree not far from Perth’s general post office (that’s on the left of the picture below).

Merry Christmas Perth. I know it’s too late or too early but because you’ve been a very nice city so… yeah. Christmas in summer.

Pre-Christmas trading hour is different from pre-Christmas trading hour in Brisbane. Most shops trade until 9pm days before Christmas in Perth. In Brisbane, we have shops trade till midnight usually on December 23. Chermside shopping centre in Brisbane’s north is different, they trade from 9am non-stop till 5.30pm on December 24.

The building in sandstone is Perth’s general post office. They even have a mini-museum inside about postal thingy! Compared that to Brisbane’s GPO… the building is as classic, and I guess that’s about all. Next to it is the entrance to Perth’s underground railway station. Was there Commonwealth Bank as well?

Hmm, anyway suburban train in Perth is definitely better than in Brisbane with one train in one suburban line arriving every 15 minutes off-peak and on weekend and every 7 minutes during peak hour (I heard Brisbane’s suburban train will be upgraded to one service every 12 minutes off-peak and weekend). The train model is the same as the train model used by QR, except Perth’s is in green whereas Brisbane’s is in yellow and red.

This is known as Forrest Place. On the left is Forrest Chase shopping centre (home to Myer department store) whereas on the right hand side is Western Australia tourism office. I got myself a brochure about Perth and surrounding regions must-visits and must-dos there. That’s why I want to come back to Perth. Ah, the Cappucino Strip in Freo’s calling me. (That was an exaggeration)

I had my late lunch at Subway in Forrest Chase (late because my lunch is delayed by two hours due to time difference between Brisbane and Perth). I also bought Perth fridge magnets at the souvenir shop in the same shopping centre, that costs me AU$7. Later on the month, I went to Macau and the same fridge magnets (the AU$7 has Perth’s landmarks whereas this one has Macau’s landmarks) costs only HK$20 (do your own calcuation!).

Anyway, back to lunch I ordered meatball foot-long on white bread with tomato, cucumber, olive, cheddar cheese and hot chilli sauce. I carried one backpack with laptop inside and one recycling bag with the University of Queensland’s logo on it. Inside the recycling bag was my thongs (oops, I think I used Australian slang too much already), my scholarship certificate (yep, I got 50% scholarship on my tuition fees for six semesters), Walker’s biscuit etc. etc. I was so tired and I couldn’t leave my bag on the floor because of the valuables inside so I put it on the cashier table when I made payment.

Then this girl who served me asked whether I was having holiday in Perth (I guess because of the association of my recycling bag). I said no, I was just having a transit there on my way back to my hometown from Brisbane.

“Brisbane…must be hot, more fun!” She exclaimed. Can I assume that she’s trying to say Perth is a boring city?

We chatted a while and I asked her where did she come from. And she said she came from Singapore. After I paid my sandwich she said “Happy holiday” to me. I said happy holiday back to her. She was doing her last hour of work at Subway on that day before she returned to Singapore.

If she ever reads this article, I just want to thank you for making my day in Perth. You’re a legend, mate! I’ve been wanting to say that to her ever since December 10.

Back to the city of Perth, I took another snapshot of Perth’s GPO with Perth’s second tallest structure next to it, the Bankwest tower.

Back at Hay St Mall, I took photos of the London Court. London Court is some sort of a classical upmarket shopping arcade, similar to Brisbane or Tattersall’s Arades in Brisbane I guess.

This is the entrance to London Court. Somehow I felt like I was in a Swiss shopping arcade instead of London (although I have never been to Europe nor UK before). I guess I keep referring to Oxford St as the ultimate shopping experience in London.

Also at Hay St Mall there is this statue whereby the man stands upside down balancing his body with his hand. I used this photo as my current profile photo on Facebook. Just in case if anyone ever ask what photo is that.

I believe that was the Perth Law Court. I like the combination of traditional European element at its entrance and the modern architecture of the main building.

I took this photo at the intersection of Victoria Ave and St Georges Tce. In the far you could see Bankwest tower. If only Perth is located next to Brisbane.

Must be the Esplanade area

Sydney has Opera House, Melbourne has Flinders St Station, Brisbane has … err Story Bridge? City Hall? Perth has Swan Bells Tower. The history of the bells goes back to 18th century London. More information about it, find it on Google or Wikipedia. I’m not a living encyclopedia!

A compilation of Perth’s skyscrapers taken from the Esplanade. Sorry for the blurry picture. Once the construction ongoing on the left-hand side of the photo finishes, it will be Perth’s second tallest structure. Apology again for not being able to capture Perth Convention Centre.

A last look of Central Park, I’m going to miss you Perth! (I am already missing this city, even more than I miss Singapore)

After that last photo of the city, I took bus 37 from St Georges Tce bound for the airport. The bus was late by three minutes (because the print on my bus ticket shows the time was 4.23pm and it was supposed to come at 4.20pm). Perth is different from east coast, no mX newspaper. Doesn’t matter, mX offers rubbish anyway.

I didn’t manage to go to Northbridge nor Cultural Centre (where there was Peggy Guggenheim’s exhibition at Art Gallery of Western Australia!).

One day I’ll be back to Perth! And my mother already gives me the green light if I want to backpack to Perth when I turn 18 later this year.

That concludes my affair with Perth. 😛

Perth, Western Australia (part 2)

After some break since my last post on my visit to Perth at the beginning of December 2010, the journey continues.

Bus 37 finally reached Perth’s CBD dropping some passengers at St Georges Tce. The journey hadn’t ended for the bus and the bus driver. Kings Park, that’s where they’re supposed to make their final stop.

St Georges Tce is a relatively wide road with constructions ongoing. I guess Brisbane’s Adelaide St is an equivalent to the business of Perth’s St Georges Tce.

First photo in the city, not on my surrounding but upwards.

That was NAB headquarter in Perth. I must say that Perth’s skyscrapers look more modern and are better-designed than Brisbane’s skyscrapers (especially the older skyscrapers, the newer ones are generally good looking).

The building on the left is Central Park tower. Central Park is currently Perth’s tallest structure and my favourite Perth’s skyscraper (my favourite Brisbane’s skyscraper is Riparian Plaza by the way). On the right, I’m not sure what’s the name of the building.

I was waiting for the green light man to come. This is the intersection between St Georges Tce and William St. The buses in green are Transperth buses. The bus on the left is the older bus whereas on the right it’s the modern bus with air-conditioner, platform that can be automatically lowered etc. etc.

Notice Channel 7 ad on the older bus. Well, Perth residents are huge fans of Channel 7, the first television station in their state (TVW7 commenced broadcasting in 1959, STW9 in 1965 and NEW10 in 1988).

After crossing to the other side of St Georges Tce, it’s time to get moving. I was heading for Perth’s shopping belts, Hay and Murray Streets Malls. Seriously, I think Australian capitals major retail centre are located in this so called “street malls”. Bourke St Mall in Melbourne, Queen St Mall in Brisbane, Rundle Mall in Adelaide, Smith St Mall in Darwin, now Hay & Murray Streets Malls in Perth.

Wesley Church stands on the opposite side of the west entrance to Hay St Mall.

That’s Hay St Mall basically. David Jones and Target have stores here whereas Myer has store at Murray St Mall (Forrest Chase to be exact). The footpath at Hay & Murray St Malls are not mountainous like Queen St Mall or the Albert St Mall extension though.

P.S.: There is this Singapore girl that made my day in Perth. The story in the next post. Stay tuned on Apa Kabar Bram.

Copyright 2010

Perth, Western Australia (part 1)

I know it’s been very long since the last time I posted something up here. This time I’ll tell you story when I visited Perth on the way back home to Bali. The trip report for the journey from Brisbane to Perth as well as Perth to Bali can be viewed here.

After I landed in Perth (that was one and a half hour late than originally scheduled), I quickly went out of the domestic terminal (knowing that my luggage will be automatically transferred to my next flight). Perth’s forecast for that day was sunny 14-30 degrees. I waited for Transperth bus service number 37 just outside the terminal. It’s a long bus stop because there are sections for the airport shuttle buses (be it to Fremantle, Perth CBD, long-term carpark or international terminal), for the miners (remember, WA is a major mining state!), for the tourists and of course, for Transperth.

Perth Airport is located in zone 2 of nine zones served by Transperth. The fabulous Fremantle is located in zone 2 as well. Zone 1 is located in City of Perth and surrounds (e.g. Northbridge), whereas the furthest zone (zone 9) must be located in Mandurah. Don’t ask me in which zone does places like Rockingham, Joondalup, Ballajura or Perth Hills lie on.

Two zones adult bus ticket costs just AU$3.70 (compared that to the Queensland Government rip off of AU$4.60 for two zones adult bus ticket). The tickets are transferrable within two hours from the time you purchased it. It means you can take it for another bus, train (to Fremantle perhaps) or ferry (yup, there is ferry operating above the Swan River, just like Brisbane’s CityCat) within two hours.

Unlike buses in Brisbane or Sydney which is dominantly blue and yellow-coloured, buses in Perth are dominantly green in colour. I’ll tell you features that Transperth buses have but Translink buses don’t later.

Bus service 37 passes Belmont, Victoria Park Transfer Station (similar to busway stations in Brisbane), Perth CBD (Adelaide Tce & St George Tce) before ending its journey at Kings Park. Unfortunately I didn’t have enough time to visit Kings Park thanks to Virgin Blue’s delay.

Perth also has a smart card system for its public transport system called ‘SmartRider’. In Brisbane, we call it ‘go card’. But believe me, there are only two cardreaders located on the bus (four in you-know-where). The part where you are supposed to touch your card located on the top and the screen showing how much you paid as well as your card balance located below.

The bus driver in which the bus I hopped on was of an African descent. When he is on duty, he looks like working inside a cage. I guess safety comes first for the bus driver. You know if some Aussie bogans try to make some scenes on the bus, bus driver’s safety is at risk. Unlike buses in Brisbane in which the bus platform must be lowered manually to allow passengers with wheelchairs to board the bus, buses in Perth are equipped with button to let the platform drop down onto the footpath automatically. It reduces time and gives convenience for passengers with prams, wheelchairs as well as the driver. Other than that, the rest looks similar to Brisbane’s buses.

I took the photo above when the bus enters Heirisson Island. Heirisson Island is an island in the Swan River. That was the first Australian island I visited. Yes, I haven’t been to Straddie nor Tasmania yet. The picture shows the Swan River with its blue water. I envy Perth.

I took another photo when the bus left the island. Almost reaching the CBD. I wonder when the murky Brisbane River will turn like this.

Finally, I was just metres from the CBD at Adelaide Terrace. This is the point where I learn that if you want to travel around the CBD, it’s free. Just tell the bus driver where you want to go (e.g. Kings Park, Northbridge, East Perth, West Perth etc). There are also three CAT buses serving the western, northern and eastern part of the City of Perth. It’s frequent and it’s free. I wish the Brisbane City Council could take an initiative for a similar free services at least to the Valley in the north, Auchenflower/Milton in the west (Spring Hill Loop excluded) and Cultural Centre/South Bank in the south.

Also at Adelaide Terrace is the address of the Indonesian Consulate for the Perth and Western Australia region. I also noticed a Freemason building at the same road.

Perth, one day I’ll come back.

That’s all for now, back soon.

Koran Daerah

Seperti Indonesia, hampir setiap kota di Australia memiliki koran lokal masing-masing. Berikut ini adalah beberapa koran dari empat ibu kota negara bagian di Australia.

Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) adalah salah satu koran daerah di ibu kota negara bagian New South Wales, Sydney (salah satu yang lain adalah The Daily Telegraph, tidak dimuat di tulisan ini). Koran ini dimiliki oleh Fairfax, mantan pemilik Channel 7 di Australia. SMH tampil dalam format broadsheet. SMH pertama kali dicetak pada tahun 1831 dan merupakan koran tertua di Australia yang masih terbit hingga hari ini. Koran ini hadir enam kali dalam seminggu.

The Age adalah salah satu koran daerah di ibu kota negara bagian Victoria, Melbourne. Sama seperti SMH, pemilik The Age adalah Fairfax dan tampil dalam format broadsheet. The Age terbit dari hari Senin hingga Sabtu dan The Sunday Age terbit pada hari Minggu.

The West Australian adalah satu-satunya koran lokal dan paling dominan di ibu kota negara bagian Western Australia, Perth. Koran ini dimiliki oleh WAN Holdings. The West, panggilan untuk koran ini, adalah koran tertua kedua di Australia yang masih dicetak hingga hari ini, pertama kali dicetak pada tahun 1833. Koran ini terbit enam kali seminggu dan tampil dalam format tabloid.

The Advertiser adalah koran daerah di Adelaide, ibu kota negara bagian South Australia. Pemilik The Advertiser, The Courier-Mail (Brisbane), The Australian (nasional) sama yakni News Limited. Koran ini terbit dari hari Senin hingga Sabtu dan pada hari Minggu giliran Sunday Mail edisi South Australia yang terbit (Sunday Mail juga terbit di Queensland pada hari Minggu dengan konten yang berbeda). Koran ini pertama kali dicetak pada tahun 1858. Sama seperti The Courier-Mail, koran ini dahulunya dicetak dalam format broadsheet sebelum berubah menjadi format tabloid.

Beberapa koran ibu kota negara bagian dan teritorial lainnya yang tidak dimuat di tulisan ini adalah The Mercury (Hobart), The Canberra Times (Canberra), dan NT News (Darwin).

Sementara koran paling dominan di Brisbane, The Courier-Mail, tidak dimuat di tulisan ini karena tulisan ini terfokus pada koran-koran interstate (antar negara bagian). The Courier-Mail sendiri adalah koran dengan eksemplar terbesar keempat di Australia (setelah The Australian, SMH, dan The Age).

Semua koran yang tampil di tulisan ini adalah milik Brisbane City Council Library.