Our family's very 1st road trip !
Pre-trip preparation was done more carefully to ensure that the whole trip is planned in such a way that every places of interests is all along the way and we do not need to back track, to and fro. Google map was a big help in this aspect. All I need to do is to key in places that we intend to visit within a day and check if everything falls within the same route. If it is not, I will mix and toggle with other venues to get the best from a day's trip.
It is very very very important that you have the address and telephone number of the places of interest or restaurant, hotel etc. My homework definitely served us well. Especially when my GPS went haywire and I have to use google map as backup. In my own notes, I will also indicate the distance between places as well as estimated driving time. So that if we can't make it to one place, we need to know roughly how long it takes to get to another destination.
From our trip experience, the following preparation will help :
- For all bookings confirmation, save a copy in google drive or Dropbox and make sure marked it for AVAILABLE OFFLINE. I forgot to print a copy of the apartment's unlocking instruction and fortunately, I saved a copy of it in my google and drive and I have made this document available offline. Phew !
- Whether u are bringing your own GPS set or renting one, never depend your life on it. I brought my own GPS loaded with Perth's map. But when I started to use the GPS, it just hanged and refused to work. Luckily, I bought a pre-paid SIM card at the airport and was able to use google map on my handphone. But I also had a backup plan..I downloaded Sygic map (which can work offline) onto my handphone too, as a last back-up plan.
- Bring a cooler bag with you. In Perth, if you are staying at rented apartment, it will likely come with a kitchen, and cooking will save you quite a lot. Cooler bags come in handy when u need to buy groceries/meat at the supermarket, and want to continue with your day trip before returning to your apartment to cook dinner. On days when we want to cook and bring lunch out with us, we use the cooler bag to keep our food warm.
- Bring drink bottles with you. It can be those empty soft drinks bottles that you can throw away at the end of your trip. A small bottle of coke costs around AUD3.80 average. Thus it makes sense to put bottles of water in your car for your day's consumption. We also brought 2 thermo flasks and as and when we make a stop, hot water is readily available for a quick coffee / hot tea fix!
- Bring few packet of instant noodles with you. In our case, I brought 3 packets. :) Not cheapo...but rather on our 1st day in Perth, we are still kind of disorientated and having breakfast before setting out for the day will be the safest bet that no one faint from hunger.
- Bring disposable spoons and forks with you. If you are packing lunch for a day's outing, these will come in handy. Oh and paper plates too ! We ended up buying in Perth..after cooking and having our meals, too lazy to wash up so paper plates the best option. Or if you pack food to bring out for a day, paper plate will be easier to manage than glass bowls, plates etc.
- As you are on a road trip, having internet access is very important. You can google for shop's closing hours, the exact address etc. So, make sure you buy a pre-paid SIM card from the airport. This really saved us a lot of frustration. I was actually hesitating whether to get a pre-paid card from the airport since they do not have the plan that I wanted from Telstra. Initially I decided not to buy since I have my own GPS set with me and once I reach hotel, there will be free wi-fi. But halfway walking out of the airport, I decided to just buy one..in case I need data on the road. This saved us. As we drove less than 100m, my GPS died ! So, quickly switched to using google map on handphone with the data that comes with the pre-paid SIM. That was really lucky!
When I first planned for this trip, sometimes I have worries like...what if we get lost? When I read on the internet that 2 places are nearby...how near are they actually? Parking in Perth..it sounds so expensive and purchasing parking ticket is complicated too etc etc....Well I have learnt that when you are in Perth City, no matter how you get lost, you will still be able to get to your destination, unless one is unable to follow a GPS/google map directions! When we collected our car, besides trying to get use to foreign road, a different car, I have to learn to trust google map. To make things worse, it was dark at night and drizzling. So when we missed a turn to go to our hotel, I actually had butterflies in my stomach. But soon I relax as I realised that all I have to do is to travel on the highway again to get to the hotel. Unlike Spore or Malaysia, if you get lost in Perth, high chance is that your GPS will direct you onto some highway...turn here there, and arrive at your destination. When I first got lost and GPS directed me to hit the highway, I was thinking whether that will lead us to somewhere far far away with no turning back ! LOL !
Btw, ALL parking spaces in Perth are very narrow, If you are renting a big car, parking may sometimes be a problem. Station wagon is still fine, but if you are renting a KIA Carnival for eg, that may pose a little parking problem at some carparks. Should still be able to park, but it will be a test of your parking skills as space will be "gam gam ho". :))
Another "major" homework that I did was on pre-paid SIM card in Perth. I know that there are many choices, but because we are going to drive to Margaret River and some outskirts, I was careful to ensure signal is reasonable. After reading many reviews, I decided on Telstra. They have the largest coverage. I was very tempted to go for Optus, which you only need to pay AUD2 for the SIM and each day just top up AUD2 to have data and voice. But I decided not to. Before the trip, I went online and did a "live chat" with the Telstra hotline. I am comfortable with their plan so I was straight looking for Telstra at Perth airport.
I was not able to find many info on pre-paid SIM online and reviews, so I thought to share a little more on the pre-paid SIM that I bought. It is a AUD30 starters pack. After I bought the starters pack, I made use of the free wifi at the airport and activated my SIM online. Once it is activated online, I gave the Telstra Operator a call by dialing 1258887. I told them that out of my AUD30 credit, I would like to use AUD25 to buy 1.5 GB data. That leaves me AUD5 for phone calls. As my requirement is mainly data and I do not foresee myself making any phonecalls, leaving AUD5 for phonecall is good enough. I do have a choice to use AUD15 to buy 1GB data. But I chose 1.5GB. For work emails as well. :)
There are really many many plans to choose from. It is advisable to get to know the various plans by reading from their websites. For those people who need loads of data, then buy the AUD2 Telstra pre-paid card, and a top up voucher of $50 or $70 and use those credit to buy I think 4 or 5 GB data plus remaining money for phonecalls. IMPT : When you want to load AUD50 or AUD70 value, make sure u buy 1 single top up voucher for the amount. It will not work if u buy a few vouchers to make up the amount. For me, when my data ran low, I wanted to top up another 1 GB. So I went to the supermarket to buy a top up voucher of $15. When you tell the counter what you want, make sure you tell them whether u only want to top up data or voice and data. For my case, I only want to top up my data - AUD15/-.
Telstra served us well even in remote places. There was once or twice where we lost signal..but the reconnection was rather fast. My friend used Optus for his Perth trip, but he lost signal rather frequently in the more remote areas. If you are using data for google map, make sure u check your data balance occasionally ( for Telstra, just key in #100# on your phone). Otherwise, data run out, you will be lost...
OK, now follow me on our journey !
This time, we booked Scoots as we've not tried traveling with this airline before. Surprisingly, it was comfy and the leg room was better than other budget airlines!
With Singapore's passport, we can use the machine and our biometric passport to pass through Perth's immigration, just like at Changi Airport. How cool is that ! But for those with kids below 16 years old, sorry...you will still need to join in the usual queue.
After clearing custom, went to collect our keys at the Avis counter and off we go! We booked a station wagon coz we wanted more luggage space.
Our accommodation for the 1st night in Perth - City Stay Apartment. If you want to stay at this apartment, it is best to make sure one of the night's stay falls on Friday. That is because just directly opposite this accommodation, there is this huge shopping place - Harbour Town ! And every Friday it is opened for business till 9pm. For other days, it closed around 5pm? It is a good place to find good buys. When we went there, we thought that it will be more like window shopping. How wrong! Ended up spending 5-6 hours there, AUS13 for parking..and many many many bags of clothings! Cotton-On is definitetly worth visiting. Prices so low, you won't know where to begin your shopping !
We read mixed review on City Stay Apartment. Basically, it serves its purpose as an apartment with kitchen for you to do your cooking. Bed and linen reasonably clean. Nothing fanciful about this place. But for the price, it is good enough. Noises can be heard intermittently through the night ( not sure if its from the road or the washroom piping). Anyway, we will only stay there for a night, so no problem. But if you are wondering if one can make use of this place as a base to explore Perth, I would say yes..but no high expectation of top notch housekeeping, reception etc.
Walkway to our room..
Inside the apartment..
heeheee..pardon the mess..
Harbour Town just across the road..this photo taken just outside of City Stay's main entrance.
After we checked into the apartment, it was already close to 8pm. We went out for a quick dinner at Wong's Asian Cuisine. It is very easy to find...out of the main door of City Stay Apartment, turn right. After maybe 20 sreps or so, you should be able to it. Can't miss. We ordered 3 plates of different fried rice and that portion easily enough to feed the 5 of us! Can't remember, but total bill come up to AUD59/- plus minus, including chinese tea.
After the late dinner, it was back to the apartment, wash up, took a look at tomorrow's route planning...and .....ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.... :))
Stay tune as we start on our journey to Margaret River !
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