Saturday 12 July 2008

Australia: Perth (Perth City)

Australia is the third country for relocation. It was great to live and travel around in Australia. Perth is a capital city of Western Australia. It is quieter than Sydney, but the beaches are more beautiful than the east coast. That is in my opinion based on my travels across Australia. I found Australia is a great country with really great weather. The weather is around 14-18 degree celcius when it is in winter. On the other hand, the summer is extremely hot which is around 25-40 degree celcius. There is not much rain here per year (15-20 days approx). The beach is really close to Perth city, it takes 15-20 mins by car. Beaches in Western Australia are all awesome. People are multicultural and friendly and there are a lot of immigrants; European, Chinese (but still less than the East Coast).

Swan River is the main river in Perth, and this river will be merged with the Ocean Indian in Fremantle. They have a wine cruise or if you want to rent a speed boat and drive it to Fremantle if you wish.

Many people may think Australia is cheap for a cost of living. Since I had been living there for three years, I found the cost of living was pretty expensive when comparing to the East Coast. Absolutely! The house price in the East Coast may be more expensive than the West Coast but when you buy groceries, you will see what I mean.

Anyway, it took time for a while to find a nice condominium with a good view, so I explored the city a little bit. There are some popular places that you should not miss if you are in Perth. London Court is where you will find cheap stuff such as boots (Ugg)or wool sweater. Some shops sell good quality but some do not. You have to be lucky if you find the right one. I am not a fan of Ugg boots, so I have no suggestion for this. This area is pretty nice and the feeling of English culture a bit. Many tourists come here for taking photos here. The shopping area is close to London Court, so you can walk along the strips or corner to corner.

Another place is Supreme Court. In front of the Supreme Court, there are kangaroo statues. They are pretty symbolized for Perth. Behind the Supreme Court, there is nice park where people can hang out. Sometimes people hold the big event here.

Town Hall (the clock) is where the landmark of Perth city as well. I found it was unique and look British style like Big Ben in London.

Another landmark of Perth is Swan Bells. If you want to explore the inside of the Swan Bells, you have to pay A$10. I am not sure if the price may be changed by now, but what I paid was in 2008. The Swan Bells is really beautiful at night because there are different lights come out from the Swan Bells. If you stay or live near here or across the Swan river (the area is called South Perth), you will see this at night and it is really beautiful. The most expensive and best view for houses/ condominium is in South Perth. Locals find that this area is the most expensive. Luckily, I took my time to look for the nice condominium and I finally got it in South Perth. My balcony was toward to the city. That means when they have any celebration or had fireworks, especially Australian day, I could see them from my balcony. The transportation here is pretty access such as bus, train or boat. Everywhere you go, there are always bike tracks along the parks. I found South Perth has the best park when comparing to the neighborhood nearby. Many parks have BBQ places available but you need to bring some coins and bring your own meat/sauce if you like to do BBQ!


London Court



Supreme Court

Supreme Court


Park behind the Supreme Court



Town Hall


Cruise along Swan River


The Swan Bells