Category: ♥Adventures♥

Recently I was offered an all expenses paid trip to visit Perth with AirAsiaX and Tourism Western Australia and I was super excited cause I didn’t think I’d have the chance to visit Australia again so soon after my trip to Brisbane exactly a year ago. It was my first time visiting Perth so I went to do some research about the place before the trip. The images that I saw online were breathtaking especially the scenery in Margaret River and Rottnest Island.

For this trip, I also get to travel with Careen, Karen a blogger fren that I dont usually talk to much but have gotten much cloer to after this trip and also Nadia.

Our flight to Perth was at 12 a.m. and we went to the airport earlier to meet up with the clients and etc.

After checking in and saying goodbye to Jo (who came to send me off =) ) we went to our boarding gate and I was super excited because we have been told that we will be traveling in Air Asia Premium Flatbed! This mean we get to have a good night’s sleep all the way to Perth and we will be ready to see what Perth has to offer.

There’s a lot of advantages to travel in AA premium flatbed such as express baggage delivery, express check-in, express boarding (bye long queues) and 40KG checked baggage allowance (more shopping yeah!).

So, after being served dinner supper, I fell asleep like a baby on board and all the way till the Captain announced that we have finally arrived at Perth International Airport!

So nice of the people from Tourism of WA, they arranged a minivan to pick us up at the airport and straight to our hotel to change and get ready for the day ahead!

We stayed in Be. Fremantle for the first night in Perth. Be. Fremantle is an ideal place for all types of travelers because it offers premium apartments with one, two or three-bed options. I personally love the idea of staying in an apartment because it brings back a lot of memories when I was a student in USA.

The gorgeous view right from our balcony! The location of Be.Fremantle is perfect because it’s just a short walk away from restaurants and Fremantle market!

For our first stop in Fremantle, we went to Moore & Moore Cafe for breakfast! I love the vintage interior of this cafe because every corner is a photo opportunity!

I took me a while to decide which picture to show u guys so I posted all  hahaha.

Their menu is pretty interesting, so I decided to go with something that I dont really get to eat in Malaysia! I had their pumpkin mash with a few slices of pork bacon. The bacon was very crispy and the pumpkin was so sweet! I’m a big fan of the combination of sweet and salty.

After breakfast, we went to the contemporary art gallery right next to Moore cafe.

Our next stop was Fremantle Market, just a short walk from the cafe!

Fremantle Market is a place where you can find fresh local produce, and, interesting and unique food! This is also the place where you can find the famous honey cake!

That’s me and Careen looking excited!

There are over 150 stalls housed in the grand Victorian building and they are open for business every Friday, Saturday and Sunday! If you’re a person who loves experience local food and culture then this is the perfect place for you to check out!

We also took a slow walk along the South Terrace a.k.a. Cappuccino Strip because there are a lot of cafes along the street! If  you’re tired of walking in the market you can check out this area for a short coffee break.

We also passed by this bookstore that you can have a blind date with a book, quite interesting le!

 When it was time for lunch, we went to Bread In Common! I love the concept of this restaurant because I love bare, open and industrial design. This restaurant used to be an old Fremantle warehouse and then converted into a huge dinning area with an open kitchen!

I always want a kitchen that has marble tops and brick walls!

We ordered a few dishes to be shared between the 6 of us!

The dish that I liked the most was their lamb! It’s a MUST try! The texture of the lamb is so different from the usual dry and overcooked stuff in Malaysia. The skin was super crispy but the meat is very tender and juicy complemented with the strong acidic flavors, it’s the best lamb dish I have ever eaten!

We also tried their beef! So good to travel with frens so I can try a few different dishes!

After a satisfying lunch, we met up with a tour guide from Two Feet & a Heartbeat Walking tours to show us around Fremantle! Our walking tour started at Bread In Common and ended up at MANY 6160! The whole tour took around 1 hour and 30 min, including a stop at a beer factory which used to be a crocodile farm!

There is a lot of historical buildings in Fremantle which is why a walking tour is perfect here!

We also stopped by at the World Heritage listed Fremantle Prison. As you can see, I was sentenced for being too pretty *joke, I have nothing to say. I’m guilty as charged.

Gorgeous view from Round House.

Group pic at the beach!

Fishing Boat Harbour

A pit stop at The Little Creatures beer factory! Their draft beer is super refreshing and perfect for a sunny day!

After a long day of walking around Fremantle, we managed to catch the sunset at the beach nearby our apartment.

Our dinner was at Bather Beach House which is located right at the beach. As usual, we ordered a few dishes to share and it was a seafood feast!!

My first night in Perth wrapped up with a plate of really good fish & chips in my tummy and super cute housemates (Karen and Careen) to keep me company.

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On our 2nd day in Perth, we visited the famous Rottnest Island which is a 40 min ferry ride from Fremantle jetty! We woke up pretty early to get ready and had breakfast in the room then off we went!

We got to the jetty pretty early so we managed to take a few pictures before boarding! Coincidentally, everyone wore pastel colors on the second day!

We boarded Rottnest Express at 9.30am. I love how public transport in Australia is so punctual. There is a few optional tours for you to experience but if u prefer to walk around on your own you can just hire a bike and cycle around the island at your own pace! I will strongly recommend you guys to rent a bike because the island is HUGE and there is a lot of places to explore and take pictures.

We collected our bike the moment we arrived at the jetty! I was beyond excited because I dont have to walk and it’s always fun to cycle on an island!

Candid shot taken by Karen and this was the reason why I decided to buy a Sony A7, similar to what she was using hahhaha

Passing the railway road while cycling around Rottnest Island, it reminded me some of the scenes in The Walking Dead haha.

There was a lot of picture perfect spots but too bad we didnt have enough time to explore every single spot T__T If u ever plan to visit Rottnest please make sure you plan your day accordingly =)

Our highlight of the day was joining the Segway Tours WA in Rottnest Island!

It was my very first time riding on a Segway so I was super excited but also stressed at the same time. I have no idea how does this thing operate! I dont know whether I will be able to keep it going or not hahah. We took the Settlements Explorer tour package which includes basic training and a journey of exploration through the Thomson Bay Settlement (1 hour). I strongly recommend everyone to take this tour if you only plan to visit Rottnest for a day because this tour basically covers everything u need to see in Rottnest without having to walk or cycle!

The tour ended at the lighthouse and the view was AMAZING!!

Look at the color of the sea T___T omg I want to stay on this island when I retire haha.

It’s so so so pretty!

Picture with the lighthouse haha.

Then off we went back to return the Segways and it was time for lunch!!!

Selfie with the Segway girls before going off to lunch!

We had our lunch at Hotel Rottnest, pizza and a glass of iced Coke!

The weather was pretty hot that day so we ordered ice cream for dessert!!

We also bumped into a special guest, a quokka! They are pretty much every where on the Island and they LOVE taking selfies hahahaha.

We left the island then went to Perth City to check in to our accommodation!

We arrived at Perth City and took a short walk to our hotel. We also passed by Barrack Street where the shopping was!! Unfortunately they were all closed =( Everything closes at 5pm in Perth T_____T

We checked into Four Points by Sheraton, and  it’s by far my fav stay throughout the whole trip =) The location was awesome,  just 10-15 min walk to Barrack Street! The room was clean and new!

After freshening up a bit, we went to COCO’s for dinner!

The meal was delicious and satisfying! If you ever go to the restaurant remember to order their fries! I dont know why but their fries are super good, it’s super crispy and the texture is just perfect because there are no soggy fries hehe.

We ended our 2nd night in Perth by going to bed at 10pm because everyone was exhausted from exploring.

To be continued…

♥

Can you believe this? I couldn’t believe this myself because I tot Malaysia had the most public holidays in the world and people would be looking to travel. So why don’t Malaysians take holidays? I found this survey conducted by Expedia- it is said that 38.2% of Malaysians do not use their vacation days because of their busy work schedule. True? For me, I have a 9-5 job and I can relate to this because sometimes I have so much work in the office that I feel guilty taking leave to give myself a break. I have been telling myself this is very unhealthy because trust me, you will be more efficient and energetic after a short break from work.

When I was busying rearranging my pictures on desktop, I came across an album that I totally forgot to share with everyone! I remembered my trip to Queensland with Citygal for #Escapers2015! That was a great trip and I definitely felt more refreshed and energetic when I came back to work. Okay, I want to tell you about my trip. I have already blogged about Brisbane so now it’s time to share about my experience in Sunshine Coast. I’m going to cut it short and post a few pictures that I like and put in some captions ok!

It’s ok if you’ve never been to Australia Zoo but I’m 100% sure you have heard of the “Crocodile Hunter” or Steve Irwin! Yupe, he is the founder of this well known zoo in Australia!

While waiting for everyone to arrive, Citygal and I took pictures with Steve lol.

Our task of the day was to take pictures with Australia indigenous animals such as Mr Kangaroo! They are running freely every where in the zoo, super cute!

But I personally still prefer Koala! I always tot they were small and fluffy but no le they are quite heavy and big LOL. It was like hugging a 2 year old baby.

I also took the opportunity to test my bravery and I got 100 points for that =) If im not mistaken the breed for this snake is the Woma Python!

I also met Wombat while he was taking his walk in the Zoo.

Then it was time for the crocodile appearance !!!

Look at how big it is!!!

This is a very well known show !! The crocodile is HUGE! The show basically teaches you how to prevent getting attacked by crocodiles if u happen to bump into one and also what’s their behavior like. It’s quite interesting!

Coke zero and a chicken sandwich on a sizzling day at the zoo, super satisfying.

I kinda miss my sun kissed skin le! I NEED to go to the beach soon!! There’s citygal, Bomb (BKK) and our leaders!

After visiting Kangaroos and Koalas, we visited Mooloolaba beach!

Look at how beautiful the weather was, and also the beach!!! It’s so perfect for sun tanning or a swim, why we dont have this in Malaysia le!!!

So sad that we didnt get to enjoy the beach most because we had to finish up our task for the day. Our task was to find a souvenir shop and convince the owner to give us a Mooloolaba t shirt for free LOL.

Then our next task was to dress like a life guard hahahhaha.

Tried out the jet boat for the first time and it was super fun!!! It would have been more exciting and fun if the waves were higher that day!

My room for the night, complete with a back yard! We stayed in Novotel Twin Waters Resort… When I stepped into the backyard I saw a wild kangaroo hopping around the garden!

My first experience with inflatable water sports !! It was so much fun but it’s quite torturing after a few rounds because I got a few cuts and scrapes on my legs and butt lol.

Dinner under the moon and fairy lights with a group of amazing people that we met at #Escapers2015! Thanks Accor hotels, Queensland Tourism and Scoot Airlines for the great opportunity!

After typing out this post I realized how much I miss the sun, beach and tan lines. How I wish I could just pack my bags and head to wherever destination I want and do it once a month! The problem is that I’m just like any of you who has a job, family or school commitments, holidays sure dont come so easy and often for us.

So, going back to the survey I found online, I’m pretty surprised that most Malaysians only take half of their allocated leave a year! OMG to those who are guilty on this matter, please do something about it! You deserve a holiday more than anyone in your office lol. Here’s the survey if you are curious.

If you really need to take a break and go on a holiday, I suggest you guys to visit the Expedia Online Travel Fair happening now to 20 March 2016 at Expedia.com.my/travelfair! You can check out all the good Flight + Hotel deals they have to offer! You can also participate in their contest! You will get a chance to win a 3D2N holiday package for 2!

How do you stand a chance to win this contest?

Step 1: Head over to Facebook (Facebook.com/Expedia.com.my) or Instagram (@expediamy) and look out for the contest post that will be published on 11 March (Friday). This is how it looks like!

Step 2: Guess the exact holiday destination by looking at the hints on the contest image.

Step 3: Repost on Facebook or Instagram, tag Expedia and comment your answer with

“I am travelling to (Your answer)! Book now at http://bit.ly/ExpediaTravelFair16

#ExpediaTravelFair16”

Oh ya! Don’t forget to make your profiles public k? So they can pick the winners. If you cant guess the location then I have a surprise for you! You can visit the Fair on 13 March (Sunday) from 2pm-4pm at PWTC and look out for me in the yellow Expedia t-shirt and I will give you a hint on the holiday destination in the contest post. This might help you win the contest! Contest ends 20th March, 11:59pm. So look out for me and say HI so that I will give you the hint for the contest *winkwink! Remember to mark your calendars and I will see you on Sunday!

♥

Finally, the last stop of my summer Taiwan trip! As I have mentioned in my previous Taichung post, the last stop of my trip is Taipei. I chose Taipei for my last stop because I will be flying back from Taipei so I don’t want to waste my energy and time dragging my luggage and rushing from another city to Taipei. If you have traveled alone before you know how tiring it will be or maybe I’m too used to Jo being around carrying my luggage? Hahahha

I checked into Hotel Banka located at Wanhua District Taipei. It’s a very old neighborhood that has a lot of older shops and senior citizens around. There is one famous temple just around the corner of the hotel that is called Long Shan Temple (龍山寺). I arrived at Taipei THSR, then I took a short walk to Taipei subway station and took the blue line (Ban Nan Line) to Long Shan Temple station and took Exit no.1. From there it’s just around a 2 min walk to the hotel.

The breakfast area

I stayed in their twin room with a lot of cute doodles on the wall.

As you can see the concept of this hotel is slightly different from the ones I stayed in throughout this trip. I would say this hotel is perfect for bag packers or a fun trip with friends.

They provide simple toiletries like toothbrush and toothpaste only.

My room comes with a bathtub!

A pink indoor slipper!

After settling down I took a taxi to Bellavita for hightea!

My aunty recommended me to try out the high tea at L’ATELIER.

Then I headed to the famous Xi Men Ding area where all the tourists and youngsters gather! I will strongly advise against spending too much time outdoors here during summer because it’s crazy hot! I have been here during winter and it was just awesome because you get to hangout longer and you won’t sweat like crazy haha.

After that I met up with my relatives to have dinner at Din Tai Feng! A lot of people who been here have told me the food here tastes different from the one in Malaysia. At first I was like, cannot be, it’s the same branch! Now I understand, the Xiao Long Bao tasted so good and I strongly believe they are using a different dough! The one in Taipei is chewier.

The next morning, I decided to check out Long Shan Temple before heading out for lunch! The weather was so hot that day, I saw someone who literally fainted in the temple *truestory.

Sorry I had to share this because this is the cleanest and brightest incense pot I have ever seen!

I was walking around the shop lots outside the temple then I saw this, minced pork rice with egg for only NTD$25

Then went back to the room to take pictures in front of the doodle wall hehe.

For lunch, my relatives brought me to have Taiwanese beef noodles!

Summer is mango season and their mangoes are so sweet and juicy!

Finally visited Taipei! I’m seriously considering coming back here for New Year’s eve count down cox their fire works performance is something that you shouldn’t miss!

Then took a stroll around 101 and the surrounding mall.

It was time to head back to reality and say bye to this beautiful country! I never get bored of Taiwan even though I have been here more than 15 times! Thanks to Expedia Malaysia for the wonderful trip and I got to experience a lot of things for the first time such as traveling alone and etc!

You can find the details for Hotel Banka here.

♥