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AndreaLJC
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Oia Shanghai Food Court
Oia Shanghai is located in Northbridge on James Street and it has a huge range of various types of Asian foods including Thai, Chinese, Japanese and Indian as well as one western food option. The food hall seating area is pretty big and you can also sit outside, plus there is a bar so you can even stop there for a drink and a coffee shop in case you fancy something non-alcoholic. The portions are huge and can easily be shared between two people, I haven’t managed to eat a whole portion yet (but I keep trying!) Prices are a bit more than your average food hall with mains between $10-$15. Its also open late, until 11pm which is pretty handy.
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AndreaLJC
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Cottesloe in General
There are loads of beaches around Perth but Cottesloe is definitely one of the nicer ones. White sand for as far as the eye can see in both directions and it’s easy to find a deserted part for a bit of relaxation. The waves are pretty good but during high season there is no surfing aloud. It’s a great place to watch the sun set too. Cottesloe is a fairly quiet place, bars shut early (but do get quite busy), you can’t get in after about 9pm though! Shops shut early too so if you need something after 9pm you have to get on a bus or train! The beach is about a 15 minute walk from the train station, to get to the beach wither follow the people or follow the pictures on the pavement!
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AndreaLJC
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Free Transport
Perth offers a range of free buses that actually run to many of the places that you might want to go to. Look out for any of the Cat buses, they are all free and all run from the city to different places. The Blue Cat bus goes to Northbridge, the Yellow Cat goes to Claisebrook and the Red Cat that goes to West Perth. If you go to Fremantle then there is also the Orange Cat that runs around the Fremantle area, that is free too and you can get it from outside the train station. There is also free transport on trains within the city centre, have a look at the Transperth website for boundary info. http://www.transperth.wa.gov.au/ServiceInfo/FreeTransperthServices/tabid/146/Default.aspx
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AndreaLJC
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Free Internet
Most cities in Australia have free internet at the state library, yeah you might have to wait for a bit but usually you get one pretty quick. I went along to the state library in Perth which is on James Street in Northbridge and it’s not the same as the other Australian cities that I have been to at all! Each day they put out a chart at 9am and you have to put your name down in order to get a free half an hour on the internet! The list is completely booked out by 9.30 and you get a maximum of 30 minutes usage, what a rip off. So now I have to pay for internet, boo-hoo! Luckily Perth offers cheaper internet that most of the other cities at $3ph on average but less the more hours you get.
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AndreaLJC
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Cheap eats
If you are shopping or in Perth’s city centre and hungry then The Carillon City shopping arcade has an absolutely huge food hall with plenty to choose from for everyone. There are various Asian eateries, healthy food options, sandwiches, Indian, cakes, burger places, pasta places, salad etc. It does get pretty busy at lunch time though but there is loads of seating and prices are pretty good, like most food halls. It’s good as there is so much choice and it’s all in the one place. Carillon City arcade is accessible from both Murray Street and from Hay Street.
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Marc888
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Returning to Bangkok
It was a smooth flight back to Bangkok, though I didn’t remember much. After a very nice airline breakfast courtesy Thai Airways, I fell sound asleep for the entire flight. My choice to take the direct flight without any stop over really paid off! In the middle of the Afternoon, I arrived in Bangkok, and within an hour or so I was back at my Bangkok hotel. It had been a great few days in Perth and I was able to experience much of what the city had to offer, but ultimately I was quite looking forward to going back again the following year to see much more. I had a bit to eat and then had some time to relax. With a few moments to replay my trip back in my mind I fell asleep again, and didn’t wake up until the following morning!
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Marc888
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Restaurant and hotel options in downtown Perth
I left the consulate office and since it was lunchtime, decided to walk around the central city area in search of a nice restaurant. I was also quite keen in the afternoon to look at some other hotels, because although my room in the Burswood was absolutely fantastic , I wanted to satisfy myself that I really did get the best deal available, and also was quite curious to know what other options there might for a subsequent trip if for example I was on a tighter budget or if I particularly wanted to stay in the downtown area..... (continued in part 2)
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Marc888
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Perth's traffic cameras!
Still, I was on my way by 6am and luckily managed to catch a taxi which was waiting outside. The driver could sense that I was in a hurry to get to the airport, but his hands were tied. You see, Australia has some of the strictest set of driving laws, particularly about road speeds, and Perth in particular, even though a small city, has more traffic cameras than you could ever want to see. The arduously slow journey to the airport on what were virtually deserted roads was very frustrating, but in the end I just made it to the check in desk at 6:40am. I was the last to check in and I had to run to the gate to make the departure.
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Marc888
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Going to the Thai consulate office in Perth
Once in the office, (which also doubled as the reception to a long-standing solicitor's office), the same lady I had spoke to the day before greeted me and handed me the forms that I was required to fill out. She said that I could indeed pick up my visa on the same day , but since it was lunchtime I would need to come back in the middle of the afternoon. I handed back the forms and fee for the visa and left everything in her capable hands. Compared to other embassies and consulates that I have been to, this was a pleasant and uncrowded place, with staff that gave attentive and unhurried service.
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Marc888
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Rushing to the airport.
I paid for this attention to detail in my research of Perth’s nightspots by way of a very short sleep. The flight was to take off at 7:15 am, which meant that the check in desk for my flight was to close at 6:45 am sharp. My alarm went off at 4:30am and as it was still dark I was in no mood to wake up. I fell back to sleep, waking up more than an hour later. I rubbed my eyes….it was twenty minutes to six and I hadn’t even packed! Drat! After a very quick shower, I hurriedly threw everything in my bag and made my way to the hotel’s reception area. I was cutting it fine. Within 10 minutes I was checking out, but although the hotel reception wasn’t busy, the process was slower than I had hoped for.
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Marc888
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Heading to Perth's downtown CBD area
It was 11 am already and I had missed breakfast. I threw open the curtains and the sight that greeted me outside was very appealing. The green lawns of the Burswood gave way to a golf course in the distance and the blue skies beckoned me out of my room. I made my way to the lobby and took a taxi into town. Perth is quite a compact place and the trip from the Burswood was only 10 minutes or so to the centre. The actual city centre can easily be navigated on foot, but I directed my taxi to take me to the Thai Consulate Office so that I could get my visa renewal out of the way at the first possible opportunity.
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Marc888
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Checking out Perth's best nightspots.
Before long people can’t resist waiting for even extended periods of time simply so that they don’t miss out on what everyone else is queuing for!. I decided that it would be a “responsible “ thing to do to check out as many placesas possible and so had a drink or two at the Brass Monkey, Novak’s, The Metro City, The Office Club, The Base, and a number of others. All of these seemed quite busy, and most gave me a stamp so that I could re-enter later in the night. By 1am, I had already had my fill and with my wrist and forearm looking like it was covered in tattoos, I took a taxi back to the hotel. My flight back to Bangkok was early in the morning but I was satisfied that I had a great night out!.
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Marc888
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The room that greeted me....
The room was fantastic. I actually took note of the interior design as inspiration for some ideas for my new apartment. The bathroom was very impressive as it had a modern design and even had an opening in the wall which allowed me to use the bath and see the TV in the main room all at the same time. Very chic. The room itself was a five star affair with all the facilities that I would expect from any of the much higher priced well known hotel chains. I succumbed to my tiredness after this long day and the next thing I remember was waking up to a peep of sunlight through the edge of the curtains.
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Marc888
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A night out in Perth's Northbridge district
By 8pm I had finished my very satisfying meal of Beef Lasagna complete with a side salad, and was interested to partake in the nightlife on this, my final night in the city. The bars were quite expensive, but most were already filling up and were taking on a great atmosphere. Some bars had DJ’s others had live music. By 11pm there were queues outside many of the venues, especially the night clubs and discos. It is something that I rarely see in Asia, but still seems to be the norm for Europe, the U.S. and Australia. Apparently, even if the venue is not that busy inside, a long queue of customers is an essential marketing tool for club owners, as it attracts attention leading to an even longer queue.
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Marc888
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Dining at the Burswood
It was 10:30pm when I arrived and I was very hungry. My first stop was the Intercontinental Burswood's large atrium restaurant that was situated on the Ground floor. I had a very nice meal which included a large steak, well done, and a nice selection of vegetables. As midnight came and went I checked into my room and managed to get the discount. It was well worth the wait as it was quite a good deal. Indeed since I was hungry I did really have to wait it out… the day had worked out perfectly. The atrium had external elevators and I took one up to my room which was located on the top floor. The view of the atrium as I went up was memorable and was just one more of the special touches that made this hotel so special.
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Marc888
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Dining at The Barrocco Italian Restaurant
As the sun started to go down and the wind picked up, I caught another bus into town, but this time stopped in the Northbridge area. This is a part of Perth that is set behind the railway line, and which is home to Perth’s night time entertainment area. Although on weekdays it is very quiet, at weekends, it bursts into life. There were literally dozens of restaurants and wine bars nestled around the grid of streets, but in the end I decided to have dinner at The Barrocco Italian Restaurant. It was just starting to get dark and since it was Friday night I could already see that this area was starting to get busy.
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Marc888
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Arriving at King's Park
This is a park on a high elevation and the green spaces provided a very nice view of the down town area, but yet a much different view from that which I enjoyed from across the river. On one side of the lawns were some traditional tea rooms and a coffee shop, and behind the tea rooms were signs that marked the start of a number of walking and cycling trails that headed off into woodlands. There was also a mountain bike rental shop and although the lady who worked there said that she would only be open for another hour or so, and that essentially she was getting ready to close, she let me have a mountain bike even for this short amount of time. She didn’t even charge me!
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Marc888
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The long queues at customs
In most countries I would expect random checks to be carried out on people as they pass through customs with the customs “process” taking significantly less time than that of the immigration process. Indeed, usually it takes just a minute or two to walk through the correct zone in most airports around the world. In Perth, things were very much different. After enduring a 20 to 30 minute wait in immigration, I was met with a huge queue in customs that would eventually ensure that I was to stay in the airport for nearly another 2 hours!
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Marc888
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Perth immigration, customs
In the end, the immigration officer perused my passport and gave me a new visa on the spot. Apparently this is one of the solutions in place to offer people without a visa who would ordinarily be granted one anyway. He suggested that, in future, I should take the time to go to the Australian Embassy office in person to get a visa actually attached to my passport.
I thanked him for his advice and was on my way. Next was the customs. With no baggage to collect I was able to skip that step and head directly to the customs hall.
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Marc888
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Taking a ferry to the South Esplanade
I left the bank, complete with a larger than life folder of documents and brochures, and then made my way to the pier that I saw on the day before. I was intent on crossing the river. I took the small and quite fast ferry to the Mends Street Jetty located at the South Esplanade area which was almost completely on the opposite side of the river. This much sleepier neighbourhood consisted mainly of private houses, and a few hotels but at the pier head was a very nice restaurant and coffee shop called the Bell House which made a perfect place for me to have lunch at. I ordered a club sandwich and some hot tea, this time leaving plenty of room for deserts which came in the form chocolate cake chosen from their extensive range of very rich sweets.
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