Perth, Western Australia

Perth, Western Australia

This past week I ventured down to Perth, Australia.  This trip absolutely made me fall in love with solo travel. I was able to do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted.  

I stayed at the Pensione Hotel in CBD.  It was the PERFECT location for my first time to Perth.  It was located in the middle of the city and just one block away from Murray Street (a bustling block with flea markets and shops).  I decided to stay in a hotel rather than hostel because I needed a good nights sleep.  Sad to say I don't get any in my fire ant infested bed in Indonesia.  I scored an awesome deal on the hotel by booking through Agoda.com.  If you're looking for hotel deals, check them out!

The Bell Tower on Swan River

It was pretty chilly my first day in Perth.  I arrived in the beginning of October-so the season was still changing from winter to spring.  It was dreary and rainy, but that didn't stop me from exploring! I love a nice gloomy day - so relaxing!  I walked down to the Bell Tower.  This tower is made up of 12 royal bells that were created before the 14th century in London.  They are rung when celebrating historical events.

The best part of Australia? The coffee!!! Flat Whites are a national treasure (at least to me!) 

Walking path along Swan River.  The Bell Tower is directly behind me.

Another great thing about Perth is their transportation system.  As my hotel was located in CBD, it was a quick 5 minute walk to the train and bus station.  Since I wanted to hold a koala and see kangaroos (I know, such a tourist), I wanted to find my way to Cohunu Koala Park.  The park is located in Byford, which is a ways out of the city.  To get there, I had to take the Armadale Train Line four zones out of the city.  I stopped at the last stop and then had to take a bus for about 20 minutes.  I got off at Soldiers road and from there it was about a 15 minute walk to the park.  I'm so glad I made this venture, as seeing these animals was definitely a highlight of my trip!

Red Kanga at Cohunu Wildlife Park

Armadale Train Station on my way back to Perth

Jeffery the 7 year old koala.  So fluffy and cuddly!

People are allowed to pet and feed the kangaroos.  I've heard enough horror stories about kangaroos that I didn't dare get too close!

When the sun decided to come out, I walked down to the Swan River and enjoyed the view.  You can see the entire city from here, it's breathtaking!

Swan River path

The great thing about staying in CBD is the proximity to everything.  I spent two days just wandering around the city, looking into all of the different shops, eating all of the delicious food and, of course, people watching.  They have a spectacular alleyway called "Little London".  It feels like you've apparated to England!

Little London in CBD

Always thinking of my students - I found great picture books in CBD at an awesome discount bookshop! SCORE

Something to remember when visiting Australia? THEY HAVE A HOLE IN THEIR OZONE LAYER.  I walked to King's Park (only about 25 minutes from CBD)  and spent the day exploring and reading in the park.  Although I was only in the sun for about 20 minutes, I got burnt!  Be sure to always wear sunscreen if you're visiting the land down under.

The botanical garden was one of my favourite parts about the park.  It overlooks the entire city.  Since it was springtime, all of the flowers were blooming and it smelled so fresh and amazing.  This is definitely a must see for anybody visiting Perth in the autumn, spring and summer months!

Finally got to crack into the new Harry Potter book! JK Rowling did not let me down on this one.

King's Park overlooking the city

A water garden I found in the middle of Kings Park.  It was stunning with all of the spring colours popping through!

On my last day in WA, I decided to go skydiving!  I have never done it before and I had always been waiting to do it somewhere exotic and beautiful.  So this seemed like my perfect chance!  I booked with Skydive Jurien Bay and my experience was PHENOMENAL.  They have a free shuttle that goes up from the city center to Jurien Bay on Thursdays.  Since I did not want to rent a car and make the drive up myself, I took advantage of this.

Before the ride up!

Soulja Boy would be proud #Superman

The view was INSANE!

The best part was spinning in the parachute :)

Where else can you land on the beach? It was the experience of a lifetime!

I still haven't figured out how to add videos to this website, but if you would like to check out my video from Skydive Jurien Bay - you can see it on YouTube here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M48JH4Ikgag

After my jump I had about three hours to explore Jurien Bay before the shuttle left for Perth again.  So, I got myself a hardy breakfast at the local family cafe and then wandered down to the ocean.  They don't call it the "Turquoise Coast" for nothin!

Jurien Bay Jetty

Such a beautiful small town. The beach was not crowded and the water was amazing.

On the drive back to Perth, we stopped at a few nature reserves.  I HAD to get a picture here because the outback has truffula trees!! Maybe this is where Dr Seuss got his inspiration from? :)

Wanagarren Nature Preserve 

Well, that was my adventure to Perth! I definitely recommend it to anybody who is thinking of traveling to Oz - especially solo travelers.  The city is extremely safe and everybody I came across was overly friendly and helpful. I hope to see you again WA!

xoxo,
Kat

Gili Islands / Bali

Gili Islands!

How do I get there?

This island can be reached easily from both Bali and Lombok Islands.  I personally flew into Denpasar, spent a few days in Kuta then decided I wanted to see the island.  I booked a return ticket through "Gili Getaways" for $100.  Though this price is steep compared to some of the others, you get what you pay for.  We were able to sit on the top deck of the speed boat.  We were also served cool tropical refreshments and given cold moist towels to help us cool off.  If this price isn't what you're looking for, a friend I was traveling with got a trip out and back from the island with a local for about half the price.  It just depends on you comfort level and what you're willing to spend.

Gili Getaway fast boat to Bali from Gili Trawangan

What will I see when I get there?

Gili T is an insanely small island.  It is possible to walk around the island in a day.  Many locals rent bikes out for tourists to take around the island.  This is something I highly recommend doing!

You can find scuba, snorkeling, surf lessons and much more on the island.  I didn't book anything in advance, as it is very easy just to choose what you want to do that day and go do it.

Pit stop during our bike ride to this amazing swim up bar.

Breathtaking breakfast views

Is it expensive?

The Gili Islands and Lombok are more expensive than Bali, but compared to Western prices, everything is still at a great price.  I ran out of rupiah while I was on Gili Island and had to exchange money there.  The rate is MUCH lower than on Bali- so exchange money before you head out to the island!

Where should I stay?

Again, this depends on your budget and what you're looking for.  My friend arrived at the island and quickly made friends with locals who had a house there and she crashed on their couch.  I, on the other hand, was looking for more of a resort type place to stay.  I booked three nights at the Pearl of Trawangan.  This is easily one of the "fanciest" places on the island and if I were to ever go back, I would 100% book a stay here again.  They had all the amenities I was looking for and their service was amazing.

Pearl of Gili resort

Outdoor shower at Pearl of Trawangan

Malaysia

I never new Chinese New Year was such a huge celebration.  I guess I must have been living under a rock.  We had a huge day-celebration at school with lots of food, performances, and dancing dragons.

We also celebrated CNY by enjoying a four day break from school.  So, I decided this was a perfect time to get out of Indonesia and explore more of SE Asia. :)

I have a friend who lives in Kuala Lumpur (who is a teacher as well) so I decided to go visit her!

It was a great cultural experience--but my FAVOURITE part was eating American food like PAPA JOHNS (gasp!), pretzels, and even TGI Fridays!

We spent the weekend laying by a city-view infinity pool, going out, eating sate, and venturing two hours to a beach on the coast. All in all it was a good vacation. :)

Here are some pics I took of my trip:

CNY celebrations

Fresh Chinese lunch! mmmm :)

What else do you need for a plane ride?

Just the cutest welcome sign :)

Infinity pool on the roof.  Breathtaking!

Caught a little too much of the sun at Port Dickson

"Xtreme" boat ride

Local transportation takes 100x longer than anything else

Chinatown in Kuala Lumpur on Chinese New Year!

That's all I have for Malaysia!  I had a great time in Kuala Lumpur and Port Dickson.  Just another country to check off the list. :)

Stay tuned for: Gili Islands

xoxo
Kat

Land Down Under (New Zealand)

After Thailand I grabbed three separate flights to get to New Zealand.  I can now check 'falling asleep on an airport coffee table' off my bucket list.

Just from my layover in Sydney I was tempted to stay.  I am making it a priority to see Australia sometime in the near future!

I flew into Auckland on the north island of NZ where I got a hotel and stayed the night.  I only had about 4 hours to sleep before my flight to Queenstown on the south island the next morning. Needless to say, the next morning I needed COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE.

I arrived in Queenstown and was immedately surprised.  I'll be honest, I did not do much research on it (I was going to visit friends) so I was taken aback by the town.  It is completely surrounded by mountains and the flight in was the best scenery I've had in a plane.  We landed and the airport was so teeny tiny (almost the size of Malang's!). I was expecting a larger city, but it truly is just a little mountain town!

Right when I walked through the door I found my friend (who had just arrived from a flight as well) and I have never been more happy to see a friendly face!

Here are some pictures of my time spent in New Zealand!

View in the plant over Sydney

iSpy the Opera House

Flying into Queenstown

Is that Frodo?

So much off-roading - so little time

Kayaking through some canyons

BLUEST glacier water I've ever seen

Beach day at a super secret hidden lagoon in Wanaca (shhhh!)

Yes, the background is real.

Kids at heart

View from a friend's deck.  Could you imagine Sunday morning coffees here?!

Literally walking through Isengard

Skippers Canyon

Cheers to the New Years!

Goblets of drinks with an enormous pizza pie :) Perfection.

That's about all I have for New Zealand!  I have some videos of me surprising my friends who didn't know I was going, but they don't seem so work on here!

The 10 days went by in the most amazing and fun blur.  Queenstown is most definitely a place I will be visiting again - whether just for a quick visit or perhaps longer. :)

Next adventure: Malaysia

xoxo
Kat