Fremantle

Fremantle (or also known as Freo) is one of the MUST visit place when you're in Perth, just like when you're in KL, you have to check out the Twin Towers.



Nearby the Fremantle Market is the stadium for the Fremantle Football Club. Oh note the orange bins? I think the whole of Australia uses that kinda bins, it's like a standard bin for everyone and eveywhere. What's even more amazing is their garbage trucks! Their garbage trucks don't have people standing behind holding on to the smelly handle and then picking up our trash from the bins to throw into the truck. Instead they have a state of the art truck which is manned by only one driver and has a mechanical arm which picks up the bins and the trash from the bins get unloaded into the back of the truck. And then the mechanical arm puts the bin back in place.

Well in a way, we create employment here. I think in Australia, the very usual phrase my mom used to say to us when we were younger for not studying, "Don't study and you grow up to tou lap sap (throw rubbish)!" can't quite apply here. And at least the mechanical arm won't ask you for ang pao when they collect trash on CNY.



The Fremantle Market is pretty famous for the diverse goods it offers. There is the vege and market area, the little shops offering various delicacies, stalls selling Australia products like leather goods and souvenirs, teeshirts, jewelleries, knick knacks, body art services, cutesy little things which are expensive nonetheless, and other than that just about the usual flea market fares.



Fang told me that when evening approaches, the vege and fruits sellers who comprise mainly of Asians will auction off their goods by screaming at the top of their lungs trying to outdo each other in terms of prices and loudness of their voice. Hmmm... sounds like a scene back home eh? Except their stalls are much cleaner :)


Very colorful stall selling kites, umbrellas, and other colorful plastic things


Liquorice sweets for the sweet tooth



Then there's this stall by the name of 'Crocodile Magnets' which I got conned by Fang that all the magnets are crocodile related to find that it's just a stupid name for a shop that sells nothing but, magnets.

Like these,





I know it gets abit boring when there's no food pictures right?



So here's some takoyaki balls to cheer you up! Fang was being so schweeet she bought a pack for me despite not liking seafood at all. There are bits of squid inside the tako balls and believe me when I say it's my favourite Jap street snack! Quite a bummer though that I didn't finish all 9 balls, I know I could have if not of the uneasiness I was feeling on the first day- I had a really bad flight :(



We exited the market area after walking for a round as there was nothing much to buy. There was a street performance with many people gathering to watch, nothing out of the ordinary though, just the usual magic tricks and juggling acts.



While we were on our way to Little Creatures Brewery (which deserves a whole post on its own), we passed by this park and people were just laying down absorbing the sun (it was scorching hot), having little picnics and/or admiring the beautiful blue sky that I told Fang and Hua we need to find a good (shady) spot to lie down and contemplate about life too!



Ok joking-lah! I just needed a place to lie down, maybe contemplate on life a little and surprisingly despite the scorching heat out there, the ground was relatively cooling. I swear it was the best thing that I did throughout the whole duration I was in Perth. I know, Malaysia cannot do this meh? Must come to Australia to lie on the grass? But, but... it's just so different. Number 1, the grass don't itch the hell out of you. Number 2, the ground was so clean and so cooling. Number 3, the sky is just too beautiful.



Allow me to introduce my two very hospitable hosts who assured me that it was an all-expense paid trip (except the air tickets) and won't let me pay for anything! On the foreground with flexible arms is Yi Fang, my best friend back from high school in Ipoh. It's amazing how we managed to keep in touch all these years even after I moved states and she moved countries after that- traditional pen & paper writing. It's only after the introduction of FB that we decided to get instant replies instead of waiting for the postman. In the background is her sister, Yi Hua who was so kind to drive me around all week despite being evil in her own way.



I would have just fell asleep at the park if not for the flock of birds (or seagulls) invading our territory (or maybe the other way round). The point of the picture above is to show you a crippled bird.







The scenery at the pier is to die for. How can anyone possibly not love the blue skies, the water, the boats, and the seafood! The famous Cicerello's is also located here, famed for being the Number 1 in Western Australia for its Fish & Chips. However, it wasn't in our agenda for the day as kangaroo meat was awaiting us at Little Creatures Brewery!



Stay tune for the next post- Little Creatures Brewery & kangaroo meat!