Here begins the journey of a thousand miles down under. Initially, I was apprehensive about going to Australia because I've heard lots about the rife racism towards Asians (more on that if I am inspired), but what is life without a little venturing out of my comfort zone? My first stop, technically pre-exchange, was the amazing city in Western Australia... Perth. A monosyllable for a city's name, very short, but truly difficult to pronounce it right. It sounds a little like purrft because of the nasty 'th' at the end. But it's okay. People around Perth are humorous, beautifully fun and warm hosts to guests into their city, there wasn't a moment in time that I felt uneasy or unwelcomed. All thoughts about racism were out of the window when I visited Fremantle, a seaside harbour port at the mouth of Swan River.
One of the key attractions of Fremantle is their Fremantle Market, which has a lot of food stores, accessories shops and also a supposedly famous ramen bar (Dosukoi). It's great for tourists who want to get obviously Australian souvenirs like koala bear or kangaroo plushies, boomerangs, and that sort of thing. We finished walking around the market within ten minutes.
- Opening hours of Fremantle Market: 8am - 6pm (Fri), 8am - 8pm (Sat & Sun)
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Swan Valley Cuddly Animal Farm had a little mobile farm at Fremantle. I don't think they are stationed there permanently so you might not come across that. When I was standing right outside the fence going all heart-eyed at the fat chickens, lambs and rabbits, I received the very first initiation of how accepting the locals are... they invited me into the animal pen and allowed me to pet the baby lamb (which felt like a thick, warm wool puff), carry the obliging lamb (thank you for not resisting), and even perched a hen on my head with the farmer's own cap! Western Australia is known for its drier, hotter climate in the summer, and their wildlife is very amazing. I feel like I'm in a zoo whenever I walked down any other ordinary street, with ducks, seagulls and different species of birds all around.
The street buskers in Perth (and also later in Melbourne) are superbly talented. One of them is Zitoune here. A lot of them sing, play the harmonica and the guitar all at once in the same song. There is a lot more in Fremantle, but I shall break it up into different posts. Till the next time (;
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I share interesting episodes in life revolving around food, lifestyle, travel and inspirational ideas. If you would like to stay in touch, follow me on my Instagram on @spherepiece and Facebook page!