Western Australia : Perth

Perth city isn't that big and you can actually cover most of the interesting places by foot.

So I started my walk from Forrest Place, a popular meeting place for the locals, located right in front of Perth Railway Station. On the right side of the square is the General Post Office,

 

while on the left side is the Forrest Chase, a major shopping centre comprising a 5 level Myer department store.

 

At the back of Myer, there are 2 street malls that run parallel to each other, the Hay Street Mall and Murray Street Mall. The streets are closed to traffic and offer a wide range of specialty stores, plus restaurants and cafes overlooking the street.

Murray Street Mall

One of the thing I enjoyed doing while I was there was, just sat back at one of the cafes sipping iced chocolate watching people and the day went by. I wish KL has that kinda concept but hell nobody would be out shopping and lepaking there cos it's just bloody hot and humid here.

Hay Street Mall

Anyway, if you’re a fan of arts, artifacts and books (read: nerd ;p), you can head to Perth Cultural Centre, home of the Art Gallery of WA, the WA Museum and also the Alexander Library. I had time to spare, so yeah… I put my nerd mode on and paid them a visit.

Alexander Library

Brainwashed by the Cultural Centre, I stepped out being all artsy fartsy and went to His Majesty’s Theatre. 

looking majestic with the grand architecture

 

It also houses the Museum of Performing Arts. But I’ve had enough. My nerdy mode didn’t last long.. ;p

King Street

because I spotted a street next to the building lining up many interesting labels. Hint: famous US and European brands.. hehe. In the blink of an eye, nerdy mode gone and a totally different person emerged. A shopping maniac. Ermm I should rephrased, a window shopping maniac was the correct term since I didn’t buy anything. Currency wasn’t on my side. T_T

Anyway, did you notice anything in the Majesty's Theatre's picture?

No? Well...we’ll just go to the Barracks Arch then. 

 

OK. This picture too. Have you notice it?

Still no? Seriously, you didn't notice anything in the picture? What on earth were you looking at then? 

OK.. I give you hint. Look at the sky.

IT WAS SOOOO DARK and it was only 3ish that time. And what did I do? I just continued walking to this Swan Bells Bell Tower, hoping wind would blow the darkness away.

Stupid decision I would say. Of course it rained later so padan la muka I sprinted back to the city to find the safest shelter. Heavy rain, strong wind, storms and lightnings were everywhere. As I was running, I thought, wow this was like a movie scene.

*imagined The Day After Tomorrow*

It was really scary. God… not another typhoon please. I’ve experienced typhoon in Tokyo not long ago so I didn’t need another experience.

But the rain was getting heavier, and the wind was getting stronger.

And kababommm!!!

Hailstorms hit Perth.

See the whitish balls on the sidewalk? The sidewalk was all white for a while, for a second I thought were these snow? I felt like slapping my face there and then to confirm that I wasn’t dreaming.

Seriously, snow in Perth? In AUTUMN? I was about to witness a history in the making.

Turned out it wasn’t la kan. It was the first time in my life to witness hailstorms instead.

It lasted for around 1 freaking hour.

I didn’t waste any time to continue my disrupted walk after the rain stopped.

Just acrossed the street was the London Court.

This is the only open air shopping arcade in the city.

 

It was like a deserted arcade as the city had just been struck by natural disaster.

I went back home to find the house was all dark.

Perth was put to a halt that evening. Electricity was cut until the next morning. Thousands of houses and cars were badly damaged by the hailstones; some as big as golf ball. Adik, Nadia’s foster sister, even had her schools canceled for a week for repair work. Blessing in disguise for her as Easter break was around the corner that time. Terus dapat cuti panjang. hehe..

We had a nice candle lit dinner by the way.