Australia Perth free and easy: Our 1 day walking tour Swan's bell Tower + King's Park + WA day Perth cultural center + supermarket

We did a walking tour on our own on the first day as our car rental only starts on the second day.

Took some nice photos on the walk to Swan's bell Tower

Finally reach the Swan's bell Tower, took around 20 to 30 minutes from our apartment at Hay Street.

It was not opened so we take some photos with it, not from within. And also the ticket is quite expensive.

Can check the opening hours

http://www.thebelltower.com.au/

For couples

Behind the SWan's bell tower, there is this berth for you to relax and take some photos

King's park. We walked to King's park. Was a bit lost so we 40 minutes instead of the recommended 25 mins.

We tried to follow one of the tour on flora and fauna but it was bit boring to us. This is because we are not really into plants. The good thing is you can leave anytime you want. They will check with you before they proceed to any long walks. Can just try it out. It is conducted by volunteers

It has a nice view of Perth

You can bring your mat and food to have a nice little pinic.

There is maybe only one eatery around here so I will suggest that you bring your own snacks and drinks

Sounvenir shop

Stamps from the information service counter

Goodbye

Initially we wanted to take the bus to WA day at the Perth cultral center but the bus is not operating on weekends so we walked

Food trucks. There are quite a number of food trucks with wide selection of food. The queue was quite long and I was not in the mood to queue after walking for most part of my day. I did not try buying any food to eat here.

There are some activities going on at the cultural center, I will not say there is a lot but can take a look around.

Some nice photo spots along the way on our quest to search for a nice place for lunch

We found this nice place for lunch Northbridge Brewing company. The pizza was good  and the fried food was crispy and yummy. They specialise in beer, guess you know form the title

http://www.northbridgebrewingco.com.au/food/

We walked to the supermarket near our place, coles. We stock up on fresh food. We have a big kitchen and CBD is quite quiet in the evening. Bought some fresh fruits so we will stay health and pretty during the trip. Bought some snacks for our road trips. And bought some interesting to share with families and friends in Singapore

Rushed home to catch the sunset.

Cooked dinner. One to save cost, two as we are too tired to dine out and three to try out local produce and four to make use of our nice kitchen. After dinner, some healthy frozen yogurt from the supermarket.

Perth free and easy : 3g Sim data plan

 At the airport, there are optus and vodafone which you can get your sim card

You can get your sim at the airport or at any of the store in the city.

We bought the optus prepaid card, which cost aud $2 a day. Minimum topup of $10 each time. Which means, I am allowed to use in blocks of 5 days. As I will be staying for 6 days plus, and we reach Perth quite late in the evening, there is no reason to get a Sim on the first day. We bought our sim on the second day at hay street optus.

information on $2 sim
There is 500mb which is quite sufficient for us as we have wifi in the hotel. We used google map constantly for our road trip, the connection was great even when we travel to quite far from town.

information on $1 sim
This has only 40mb, too little unless you have not much intention of using the internet at all.

Perth free and easy: Shopping at factory outlet WAtertown

If you expecting something like the american factory outlet, you will be quite disappointed.
If you are a fan of Cotton On, Typo and Smiggle, you are at the right place.
They are also Adidas, French connection, New Balance and PUMA, can check out the list of available shops at  http://www.watertownbrandoutlet.com.au/Stores/~/media/Retail/AU/Watertown/Documents/pdf_WT_CentreDirectory_OCT2015.pdf.

I will definitely suggest you shop here, then proceed to shop at normal outlet of cotton on. I saw some similar designs.

It is not really a big place, so if you just spend an average of 4-5 hours unless you are a real slow shopper.

We drove there. We did try to shop as fast as possible because the parking is quite expensive from 3 hours onwards.

And for those who get hungry and tired easier, they have quite a number of shops selling food. No worries. We bought our own snacks to save time. Or in order words, there is the place you can dump the guys.

Will recommend if you like Australian brands. It is partially outdoor, but it is a good way to spend a day if it is relatively warm outside.

Perth free and easy : Accomodation Place to stay Apartment

For our perth trip, we decide to try airbnb. 

We choose to stay in airbnb instead of hotel. 

It is not cheap to eat in Australia, we usually have a simple meal in our hotel room once a day. Helps in saving money for the money conscious and is definitely healthier.

We can also try out the fresh produce in Australia.

We usually start early as it is winter time and the sun sets quite early. By the time, we finish touring Australia around 6 to 7pm. We are quite tired to go out and eat. 

I just whipped up some simple meal while my friends plan the itinerary for the next day, do our accounts and wash up.

The apartment is spacious and also comes with a nice balcony, that is something which I will never be able to afford to stay in Singapore.

Instructions was clear and simple. The apartment was located 5 minutes walk from the train station and at the CBD area. The good thing about staying at the CBD is the centralised location. And  there is lot of breakfast places on weekdays mornings. However, on Sunday and weekdays nights, it is a bit too quiet. Parking is free only free 7 am to 7pm. Rest of the time, parking is quite expensive. We usually set out early and come back around 7 plus to 8 plus to save on parking. Parking lots are quite easy to find.

 The kitchen is spacious and fully equipped with cups, cutlery, pots, kettle, microwave, stove and even an oven. There is even a fresh bouquet of lilies at the dining table. We bought portebella mushroom and bake in the oven with butter, taste heavenly. We had it for 3 nights in a row.

The living room is just beside the kitchen. Comes with a big sofa and a television. Ample space for us to do our packing or have some desserts and plan our schedule.

yes, there is free wifi in the apartment

There is two bedrooms. Finally, a proper bed for the 3rd person. There is a spacious wardrobe to hang  clothes in both room. The bedroom is not very big but is enough.

There is two shower rooms, one bathtub, two sink/mirror but just one toilet.  It is very convenient to have two sinks and two shower places. The negative is only one toilet and if you try to fill the bathtub with hot water, you have to bathe in cold water or wait for one to two hours for hot water.

There is washing machine and a dryer, it is good if you love to have fresh towels and no stinky socks.

Pros: fully equipped Kitchen, 2 shower facilities, 2 sinks, 2 bedrooms, washing machine/dryer, spacious, free and good wifi, spacious dining table, spacious balcony with tables/chairs

Negative: One toilet, CBD parking is expensive but free from 7am to 7pm, hot water is limited ( can't use the bath tub or else there is no hot water for the shower), no room services

AWesome Sunset from the balcony. 

One reason why I choose to stay in this apartment.

taiwan free and easy: taipei cafe hopping 青田七六