It was finally time to go back to Singapore. Xy who has been pining for home was bursting with joy that she run up and down the hallways all morning while the adults packed and got ready to leave.

Since the grannies have not really had a chance to do any shopping apart from grocery runs, we agreed that they should have some time to themselves while KJ and I shall bring the little girl to Kings Park.

Getting to Kings Park was easy enough with the free CAT buses. It was only after we boarded one of the buses that the helpful bus driver warned us in a concerned tone.

“Yes, this bus goes to Kings Park, but you’d have to climb up some steps”, he said, “You could take another bus (he mentioned a bus number which I cannot remember), that will be nearer”.

Bah, what’s a few steps? I climb stairs every day, this’ll be no big deal!

I thought nothing about it and was none the least curious of his warning. So off we went.

When we reached our stop, my knees almost buckled at the sight of the stairs. The map at the foot of the hill seemed to snigger at us. We had to scale 242 steps to the top and walk some more to reach the park.

Call it ignorance but I had no idea how tiring 242 steps were until KJ put it into perspective.

For a usual HDB block, a flight of stairs is around 11 to 12 steps, so you’d take about 24 steps per floor. 242 steps is equivalent to almost 10 floors.

Gulp. Too late to back out now.

So we grit our teeth and started our way up. I had to offload Xy to KJ barely halfway into our journey to the top. By the time we reached our last step, I could barely speak. KJ? He was carrying an almost 6 kg camera bag and a 10 kg toddler and still, there was a spring in his step. 

Having said that, the park was well worth the climb. The view of the city from the park and the park itself were so beautiful. But we were out of time very soon and had to leave. It was most unfortunate that we had so little time there. If we go back again, I must spend more time at the park.

When we were leaving, we thought we’d be smart this time and catch the correct bus back to the city. But that was not to be.

Several roads were closed off when we visited, either for road works or for a city-wide cycling event (the Tour de Perth, I kid you not) that day. Buses were re-routed and the people we asked did not seem to know where we could catch the right bus. There were no cabs in sight either. Reluctantly we went back to where we were sure there was a bus.

Yep, down where we came from. All 242 steps of it.

Thankfully the way down was much easier than the way up. We boarded the bus (it was the same bus driver who brought us there) and were back in the city, just in time for lunch before a maxi cab came to bring us to the airport.

***

As I try to recollect our first trip overseas with the baby, part of me cannot help but wish that we’d gone along as our little family. Just KJ, I and Xy. I know that we would have a great time together, albeit more hectic since we would be without any help. Having said that, I am glad that we asked our mothers along. I am grateful that they were both there to help us look after Xy when KJ and I both needed a break. For that very limited amount of time we had together sans-baby, it was great to feel like a couple again, taking long drives and do nothing but yak about mindless and silly things.

Also, having lived apart from my mother for the past 2 years, I was really happy to be able to see her and talk to her everyday.

Most of all, it was such a joy to spend 6 full days with Xy, to think of nothing but my precious little girl. This was the first trip I almost did no shopping and I have absolutely no complains. Nothing is happier than watching my little girl grow up and I am glad that I did a lot of that during the trip.

Most of the photos from my posts were taken by KJ on his new Sony A850 and the rest with my TX1. You can see more of his pictures here.

Fremantle, or Freo as the locals call it, is next on our itinerary. That morning, we took the CAT bus from the hotel to the ferry terminal where we will take a ferry to Freo.

While waiting for our ferry at Barrack Street Jetty, we went up the Bell Tower.

You get a nice view of the Swan River and the city from the top. Xy loved the set of bells at the viewing floor which took turn to chime into a song. We later discovered that you actually had to drop dollar coins into a machine to make the bells play. So we have actually been free-riding on other patrons’ contributions.

The cruise to Freo took about an hour with the captain’s free commentary of the region’s sights and numerous huge riverside mansions.

The most extravagant one that we saw was this opulent estate on a hillside by the river – the owners built a 3 storey house for themselves, a separate 2 storey building (above theirs) for guests and lastly a single storey building (next to the guesthouse) for their servants and workers. You’d probably need a buggy to get around the premises.

The low drone of the ferry’s engine had a hypnotising effect on us. Xy fell asleep and the rest of us adults felt like taking a nap too.

Despite a forecast of rain, the weather turned out to be very sunny that day. We had to walk some distance from the ferry terminal to the bus stop but thanks to the occasional cool breeze and low humidity, it did not turn out too tiring.

We had our lunch at Cicerellos at the Fishing Boat Harbour where our new found friends, the native sea gulls waited patiently by our table. The moment we left, they promptly hopped up to our unfinished plates and picked up bits of food before the restaurant staff chased them away.

Before we went on the trip, I was trying to decide between visiting Cicerellos and Kailis for fish and chips. Both had their fair share of fans and awards. In the end I chose Cicerellos because of the fish tanks displayed in the restaurant, which I was sure Xy would love.

After dessert (ice-cream at Baskin Robbins), we did some shopping at Fremantle market before going back to the city. It was the first time in days that we were without a car so getting around took some time and effort. And because we decided not to bring Xy’s stroller for better mobility, everyone had to take turns carrying the toddler who seemed to get heavier and heavier with every step. The air-conditioned comforts of the train was indeed a welcomed relief to our feet and arms.

By the time we reached the city, it was almost 6pm. Since it was Friday, the malls and shops stayed open in the evening. It was the first time we had seen crowds in the city area after dark.

It started to rain as we drove out of hotel car park towards Swan Valley and by the time we reached the Margaret River Chocolate Company, it was still raining.

Despite the slight damper, we managed to have a late breakfast there . Xy ate off our plates of sauteed mushrooms and scrambled eggs. We loaded up on bags of chocs and headed to Caversham Wildlife Park.

After visiting MR, Swan Valley paled in comparison. Maybe it’s due to its close proximity to the city (it was just 30 minutes away from where we stayed), the valley lost some of its rustic appeal. Our experience of the valley was muted further probably because we visited on a Thursday. I was told that the place is more interesting on weekends with farm stands and farmers markets.

Still, we wanted to make the trip mainly to bring Xy to Caversham. The Park was more like a mini zoo and of course the highlight of the visit was to see Australia’s native roos and koalas up close.

I am happy to report that despite missing her morning nap, Xy enjoyed the park thoroughly. She came very close to patting a kangaroo (chickened out at the last minute) and managed to feel the soft fur of a sleeping koala later on. In fact she was so smitten by the koalas that she picked out a plush version of it at the park’s souvenir shop, walked to the cashier and demanded to pay for it – all by herself. When the cashier failed to see her at the counter, she walked to the back of the counter and asked to pay for the toy. 

Our last stop at Swan Valley was Mondo Nougat and after that we went back to the city for a spot of shopping at Harbour Town. The prices at the Harbour Town outlet shops were disappointing – few things are truly cheap. I suppose this comment is slightly biased since I am speaking from a Singaporean’s perspective. Few things are cheap after the AUD-SGD conversion.

That said, I did manage to find a A$6 blouse for myself and a A$10 polo tee for Xy. Haha.

The next morning, we checked out of the motel and had breakfast at Margaret River Bakery (89 Bussell Hwy +618 9757 2755). It was a wonderful little place at the edge of the town (it’s one of the first things you see when you enter the region of Margaret River) and the food was fantastic. Xy kept asking for bits of scrambled eggs and sauteed mushrooms. Poor kid’s spent most of the past few days holed up in her car seat or getting dragged to all sorts of unfamiliar places. The delicious breakfast certainly cheered her up a little.

Pre-breakfast Xy : I is not happy

We then drove through the morning mist and navigated bumpy dirt roads to Berry Farm, one of the recommendations of our lovely motel lady.

Don’t let the mist in the picture fool you. When you eventually step out of the car, instead of the fresh scent of morning dew you’d smell dreadful smoke not unlike our annual haze. Since Margaret River is largely an agricultural region, the cattle farms, plantations and vineyards routinely burn their fields for land clearing and to improve livestock grazing.

Our next stop was the Voyager Estate. None of us are really wine drinkers so the visit to the vineyard was more for sight seeing than anything else.

When the motel lady said that the Voyager Estate is the largest in the MR region, she certainly was not exaggerating. The place was HUGE. Rows and rows of neatly planted vines greeted us as we drove into the estate. The cellar door and restaurant building is surrounded by well manicured gardens, one of which, the Rose Garden, houses hundreds of flowering roses. Some of the roses that were in full bloom were the size of Xy’s face.

I felt like I was strolling through palace grounds, it was so beautiful.

We tasted their wines and had morning tea at their restaurant while Xy had her lunch. Too bad Voyager could not offer a suitable wine to be paired with our little missy’s porridge.

Following that, we dropped by MR Nuts and Cereals and Yahava coffee works. Both places were quite unmemorable, except for Yahava’s hilarious pond. The croc you see in the background is a fake and we spotted 2 more fake croc heads lurking in the pond at our visit. I wonder if there were real crocs though.

By noon, we arrived at the picturesque Cape Lavender tucked away in a quiet corner of Margaret River. Its cafe and shop overlooks a beautiful lake.

We also dropped by an olive oil and soap factory as we were leaving the MR region. The place smelled so good with various soap fragrances and you will be able to see the factory staff cutting and wrapping bars of soap for sale.

As we left the MR region on our long drive back to the city, the landscape changed gradually from tree-lined dirt roads to dimly lit highways.

We had a late lunch at one of the rest stops off Busselton and subsequently made a frantic stop at Bunbury to grab groceries from Coles. KJ ran into the store barely 9 minutes before it closed (they close at 6.30pm. Duh).  After that, Xy quickly ate her tingkat dinner at a nearby Subway. It was the most stressful meal I have ever fed Xy because I kept worrying that the restaurant was going to close and chase us out. There was nowhere else we would be able to go because the whole town centre of Bunbury was closed by 7pm. There was literally no one walking on the streets.

It was most bizarre, almost like a scene out of Resident Evil. You know, a deserted town in the dusk before the zombies come out. 

By nightfall, our GPS decided to hang on us resulting in us getting lost briefly. It was a little scary since the roads were not all lit by street lamps and it was getting rather late. We were most afraid that Xy would have a meltdown in the car (we have been on the road for at least 7 hours by then) but she was thankfully kept amused by endless loops of Sesame Street.

In the end, thankfully, we found our way back to the city and it was almost 9pm by the time we checked back into the Medina.

Xy must have been totally spent from the day’s travelling and she went to bed promptly after supper. Phew.

We started the day bright and early. After a very delicious sandwich breakfast, so nice that we forgot to take pictures, at Exomod just opposite our hotel, we left the city for a 6 hour road trip to Margaret River.

Since there were so many of us, we decided to pay a bit more to rent a spacious 8 seater (a Toyota Tarago) from Avis. That way, everyone has some room to stretch their legs and chuck our stuff around.

The drive itself was rather relaxing with well paved roads and with virtually no traffic congestion. We had intended to stop at Mandurah but since Xy was napping when we were there, we decided to continue further and stop only when she wakes up. It was a wise thing to do since the drive from Mandurah to Bunbury, our next stop, was almost 100km.

She woke up shortly before we reached Bunbury so we made our stop, had our lunch of rather decent fish and chips at Rex Cafe before moving on. 

Our next stop was Busselton, a quaint little seaside town. Actually, one of the earliest things which triggered our drive out to Margaret River was the 2km jetty at Busselton. Sadly it was undergoing restoration when we were there and we could only visit the first 200m of it. Nonetheless, it was still a very nice place and I am glad we went. Xy had a great time chasing the seagulls around.

We continued our drive, passing Margaret River until we reached Cape Leeuwin near Augusta. Cape Leeuwin is the most south-westerly point of Australia and is the home to mainland Australia’s tallest lighthouse. It is also the point where the 2 oceans (Southern and Indian) meet. That was easily one of my favourite places of the whole trip.

One of my main gripes of visiting Australia is that everything closes so early. We reached Cape Leeuwin at 4.30pm and only managed to stay there for half an hour before the place closes. Well, it was probably for the best since we had to backtrack to Margaret River to check into our motel for the night.

We stayed one night at Vintages, which came highly recommended on TripAdvisor and it did not disappoint. The rooms were clean and bright and we even had our own small courtyard. The lovely lady who attended to us at the motel even gave us recommendations on sights and attractions.

And since all the shops were closed by the time we headed out at Margaret River, we had dinner at a nearby hotel restaurant and called it a night.

That day, we drove about 386km, which was what we travel in a week in Singapore.

I am going to attempt to post up more detailed reports of the vacation, more for my own record than anything else. Although I returned from Perth less than a week ago, the trip already felt so far away. So I really need to keep some form of memory of this. Bear with me if this gets mundane, which it will.

As I mentioned before, contrary to our fears Xy travelled really well through out the two plane rides. Of course, she was bolder on her way back and was a little more fussy but all in all, I thank my lucky stars for her wonderful behaviour. I could not have been more proud of my baby. She sat quietly on my lap at take offs and landings, drank sips of water and juice when offered, napped without us having to rock her very much (in fact not at all on the way there) and ate most of her meals without fuss. It helped that the flight attendants and everyone around us were very approachable and understanding. There was a slight hiccup on our way there – SQ did not cater for Xy’s meal although I ordered it and confirmed via phone. So lesson learnt, always bring back up on board (which we thankfully did) in case of unforeseen circumstances.

Arrival at Perth was rather smooth and uneventful, except for a brief wait at the quarantine counters. As expected, we surrendered all the food we brought for checks. Except for Xy’s dried apple snack which had to be thrown away, the rest of what we brought were alright. I think it helped that they were all sealed and unopened.

We checked into a 2 bedroom executive apartment at Medina Executive Barrack Plaza whose location was very centralised. The apartment was clean, bright and spacious. Plus points for an extremely well equipped kitchen with a full sized fridge, oven, microwave, dishwasher and a complete range of cooking utensils and flatware. Xy did her potty time and the rest of us freshened up before heading out for dinner.

Since it was already 5pm by the time we headed out, many shops were closing and there wasn’t much we could do. We did manage to get ourselves to Hay and Murray Streets, London Court and the nearby areas for window shopping.

It was late spring when we were there so the weather was mostly pleasant with very sunny afternoons. A huge and constant annoyance however were the flies which were extremely skilled at sticking themselves on you. These were commando flies which will not be deterred by a mere swat of your hand. Boy, were they persistent. 

Anyway, we had dinner, grabbed groceries from a nearby Woolsworth and headed back to the hotel to prepare for the next day. I told you this would be mundane. 

Next – Road trip to Margaret River!

6 days came and went in a flash.

We spent so much time planning and preparing that I was actually rather relieved to finally board the plane.

I had originally wanted our inaugural family trip to be just the 3 of us but in the end, I was really grateful for the extra help. Travelling with a young child turned out to be a lot of work and we were fortunate to have our mothers with us to help look after Xy. Throughout the trip, my mother in law continued to prepare Xy’s tingkat meals every night at the hotel while my mother babysat Xy patiently while KJ and I prepare for the next day. I cannot express my gratitude enough and only hoped that the grandmothers got to enjoy the trip despite the babysitting.

Every bit of the vacation was wonderful and enjoyable. The weather was fine on most days and Xy surprised us by being an absolute angel on the plane and for most of the car rides (with the help of endless repeats of Sesame Streets and Barneys). She did pin for home at certain times of the day, especially during nap and bedtimes, but mostly she’s happy running about the hotel with her toys and getting all the attention from the locals, who were all very nice and helpful to us. 

For most of the trip when we travelled in the car, I was able to sit next to KJ while he drove. This was something which I have not done in some time and I did not realise how much I missed it. We were able to have an uninterrupted adult conversation although we mostly just talked about silly things while navigating our way with a rather erratic GPS. For those few hours in the car, it was like the old times again. 

Of course, I will be lying if I’d said the trip was not about Xy. We scheduled our stops around her meal times and continued to do grocery runs in the evenings. Despite that slight inconvenience, it was a great blessing to be able to spend every moment with our little girl and see her grow up. Seeing the sparkle in her eyes and hearing her wonderful laughter with these new experiences are really priceless and I would not hesitate a second to do it all over again. And we will!

One of our very few family portraits taken from the trip. This was on Day 2 at Cape Leeuwin in Augusta, just south of Margaret River.

I will post up more detailed travel reports and photos in the days to come.

I am having a bout of post-lunch, pre-holiday blues and looking for some brief distraction at work.

Here is, a meme about 23 questions.

1. Grab a book nearest to you, turn to page 18 and find line 4.

..recover tax charged to it on the transfer of assets.. (CCH Quick Reads – Goods and Services Tax Singapore)

2. Stretch your arm out as far as you can and catch _____.

a calculator

3. What is the last thing you watch on tv?

some random 10 minutes of a HK series which I cannot make the head/tail of.

4. Without looking, guess what time is it?

3.30pm

5. Now look at the clock, what is the actual time?

3.41pm.

6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?

Distant sounds of Gold 90 FM from the building’s piped in speakers.

7. When did you last step outside?

6 hours ago.

8. Before you start this Q&A, what did you look at?

A mind boggling spreadsheet.

9. What are you wearing?

White Giordano Ladies blouse and G2000 casual pants in olive green.

10. When did you last laugh?

Last night when my daughter hugged my legs.

11. What is the walls of the room you are in?

White washed walls with an assortment of AXN/Animax posters.

12. Seen anything weird lately?

Months ago I saw a lady wearing green from top to toe. Bags, shoes, earrings and glasses. I kid you not.

13. What do you think of this quiz?

Going nowhere? But good to pass time with.

14. What is the last film that you saw?

The Proposal.

15. If you became a millionaire overnight, what is the first thing you will do?

Take a long break from work.

16. Tell me something about you that I dunno

I was absolutely infatuated with Leon Lai in my teens.

17. If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?

Reverse global warming?

18. Do you like to dance?

With my daughter yes. We do a Ray Charles-style sway.

19. Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?

My first child’s already a girl so no need to imagine.

20. Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him?

Blake

21. Would you ever consider living abroad?

Yes, if my family comes with me.

22. What do you want GOD to say to you when you reach the pearly gates?

Ah, your name’s on the list. Come in!

23. What time is it now?

3.49pm

The estate that I live in houses quite a number of American families. This is mainly because the SAS is just a short 5 minutes walk away.

Every Halloween, someone (either the school or a group of enthusiastic American parents) organises an evening Halloween parade in my estate. Over the years, it has grown from a small community get-together to a huge event. By huge, I mean road-blocks-and-guards-to-direct-traffic-huge. People actually come from other places to join the festivities in our otherwise sleepy estate.

The participating residences gamely decorate their houses and welcome strangely costumed people through their open gates. Xy loves the decoration. It’s been one of the highlights of her daily walks and thanks to these highly creative home owners, she’s seen enough pumpkins, spiders and witches to last her till the next year.  

We took a walk this morning around the estate and I thought I’d share some pictures of the Halloween-ready houses.

Expect to see lots of skulls, skeletons, webs, blood and of course pumpkins.

More skulls and a blood-sucking rodent. I like the odd assortment of pumpkins.

This house pulled out all the stops.

Mr Frankenstein here freaked me out. I actually thought someone was peeping over the fence the other night when I passed by.

But this has got to be my favourite.

Look a little closer..

Simply hilarious! Bravo!

When my brother was a young child, my grandmother had a routine of plonking him in front of the TV at meal times. He’d stare at the flickering screen, mouth agape into which my grandma will quickly scoop spoonfuls of rice.

Years later, I remember thinking that this is such parenting faux pas. No way I’d let my kids eat while they watch TV!

They say never say never, and They are right.

We had such a tough time feeding Xy recently that I got off my high horse and reluctantly employed the same distraction technique that my grandma (and I’m sure many other grandmas and mummies) used.

Most of the time, we try to keep her occupied with a book or some toys. It gets trickier when we’re outside so KJ keeps a stash of video clips handy in his phone as mealtime entertainment.

Let’s just say that I’ve never been more grateful for YouTube.