Here are the highlights of my stay in late winter to early spring season, 2018:-
1. VISA
Do check out my earlier post on How I Applied Australia Visa fast and easy (with only RM20.88)
p.s. I have successfully return home from Australia and so can testify that it works š
2. WEATHER
It was the final weeks of winter to early spring, the temperature was around 5-20 C. Daytime is usually 13-15 C.
3. SCHOOL EVENT
Every weekdays, I send BIM to school. She attends Pre-Primary and she loves school. One day, there was this special event called “Assumption Feast Day”. Apparently they invited the child’s parents/grandparents/caretaker to volunteer helping out with this event, role is to take care of 3-4 kids in a group. Of course, as I wanted to get more involved in their culture, I went.
It was a fund-raising event, where there are food and games. BIM took part in many games, nail painting, hair spraying etc. After buying herself a popcorn, the first activity our group went to was “Pop the Lock”. Pay one dollar for 2 keys with 3 boxes to unlock. BIM was so lucky, she unlocked the 2nd box, and the prize inside was a cute “Beanie Boo” toy with rainbow colors (I didn’t know what was Beanie Boo, she taught me so). Needless to say, she was thrilled!
She called her toy “Rainbow”. From then on, she brings Rainbow almost everywhere she goes.
That evening I made her some food, she can’t help to get Rainbow staring at her while she eats. She wants Rainbow to look at her while she does her daily routine like brushing teeth, taking bath etc. Reminds me of myself when I was young!
That night, she prayed, “Dear God, thank you for giving me Rainbow. Please help me not to be too excited as I need to sleep.”
4. LIBRARY ACTIVITIES
From storytime to rhymetime to craft activities, there are many free educational activities that I love bringing our MeiMei to participate in, when BIM was at school.
17 August 2018, it was Children’s Book Week 2018 Annual Shortlist Film Evening. We had Treasure Hunt and supper from 6pm at Mandurah Library. People in Mandurah have dinner very early as the shops close early, 6pm is already considered their supper!
BIM has finished school in the evening, so both BIM & MeiMei went.
We were divided into groups and we named our group “Rainbow” (after BIM’s beanie boo!). We couldn’t believe we were so lucky (again!) to win the Grand Prize after all. Hurray! And it was a Pirate Ship book which not only you can read the book but literally BUILD the ship model yourself! Imagine the excitement of the kids.
I was a noob when it comes to borrowing DVDs / books from the library. It is self-service and using RFID! Same goes to returning them. There are 3 libraries in Mandurah; Lakelands, Mandurah, and Falcon, whereby all the DVDs and books are interchangeable, you can borrow at one library and return at another! Very convenient.
5. FOOD & SHOPPING
The popular groceries store are Coles, WoolWorths, and ALDI, and shops like KMart and BigW.
I really love the fresh vegetables and fruits there! Everything is delicious because it is so fresh! Foods are produced locally. Their quality is stringent so they sell only the fresh produce; for foods that are sold prior to end of shelf life, they sell at reduced price. Even though at reduced price, if you eat them on the same day you bought them, it is still fresher than what we can buy at a full price in Malaysia!
During my time there, strawberries were around AUD 1.50 per 250g, avocados AUD 1.5-2 each, blueberries AUD 3-4 per 125g, oranges around AUD 1 each or less. Prices defer due to the season. Apples and potatoes can be quite cheap sold in big bags, and green apples are a must-try because there are not sour! We pretty much ate the apples with skin on.
Above is my typical homemade lunch – Salad bowl. I don’t usually eat this in Malaysia because our raw vegetables and fruits are not as fresh, and may contain too much preservatives and pesticides.
Mundella Yoghurt was so far the best yoghurt I’ve ever tried, it is so creamy! I love it!
In Perth, there are many privileges for kids; If you bring kids (with pram), you can get special parking slot. Kids are entitled free fruits like bananas or apples everytime you bring them to grocery shops like Coles and Woolworths. Groceries aside, their libraries are full of free activities for kids, as well as many well-maintained playgrounds everywhere we go! Even when you go to gym, you can send them to “creche”, a place where kids will be taken care of.
Sellers are not only honest, but kind. One day, we bought Apple Pies from Coles which was on sale. Original price was $6, after sale it was $4. When we pay, the receipt shows its original price of $6. I inquired the cashier, and she refunded us $6! I was confused and told her that the refund should be $2 instead, but guess what she told me – We get it for free! Later did I know that it is the culture there; when they made mistake, they will refund the whole thing and customer get the item for free! We can never see such thing in Malaysia…
6. A WALK IN MANDURAH
When the weather is cool, my mood is good and everything looks beautiful! I really love hiking here in the beautiful weather and with breathtaking scenery
I also love walking around the neighbourhood in the evenings. I have a special liking for winter trees š The cold breeze on my face makes me feel so good!
7. SAKURA & TULIPS
2 Sept 2018. It was early springtime at Araluen Botanic Park, Perth.
My first time saying hello to Sakura and tulips in real!! Personally, this is the highlight of my trip and it was my dream came true!!
8. VISITING FAMILY FRIENDS
MeiMei’s birthday celebration at Pastor R & B’s residence! I love the place, can you see the jungle behind us, it is real jungle!
We also went to Grandpa R & Grandma D’s residence, another beautiful place. We did BBQ there, and gatherings with family friends were so much fun! I also took a picture with their Dalmation Dog, haha!
9. A WALK IN PERTH CITY
From Mandurah to Perth, we took the train which costs AUD 12.80 (whole day fare) for FAMILY RIDER, which includes bus and ferries.
I always appreciate and enjoy the night scenery because I am attracted to beautiful lightings and best of all, there is no sun to fight against (You can call me “puteri lilin”, but I don’t wish to get darker; I used to have extremely fair skin ok?)
10. EATING OUT
We seldom eat out, but when we do, we will have our meals at those restaurants listed under “Entertainment Book”. It costs around AUD 55 / year, and you can enjoy special price or buy-1-free-1 from a variety of restaurants.
Phew.. what a long post! Okay, enough of my summarized experience – It was really a lifetime opportunity. I was reluctant to go at first, but when I see its seemingly divine arrangement, off I went and not only did I not regret at all, it turned out to be one of the best days of my life! Not everyone has the opportunity to live like a local in Perth, isn’t it!? Especially when you are not a citizen nor a PR. Totally an awesome memory that will last a lifetime. As we grow older, we do appreciate more of the time spent with our loved ones and family.
Enough for now, see ya later!
Thanks for reading until the end! As a token of appreciation to my readers, I would like to invite you to sign up Airbnb with my link and you will get up to RM165 off your first trip: https://abnb.me/e/qmIzrhAvWX
Enjoy!!! š
ENJOY. PASSION. 