So last weekend I had a very different kind of trip. I went on a solo trip to Perth in Western Australia! There were amazing airfares to Perth that weekend and I really wanted to get to the western part of the country (WA actually makes up more area than all of the other states combined!), so I booked the flight and planned a trip on my own, since most of my friends were either busy, or not interested in visiting Perth.
This was a great experience for two reasons. First of all, I actually really liked Perth, like all of the Australian cities I've visited so far, it had it's own really really different feel. And secondly, because this was my first time traveling somewhere alone. I learned so much about myself, and really gained a lot of confidence and agency through this trip. Here are three of the really cool things I learned through this independent travel experience:
- When you're alone pre-planning is critical. I did a lot of research before reaching Perth to plan out my actives, pick a hostel in a good location, familiarize myself with a map of the city, and look up public transport. This ended up real helping me out, because I was easily able to find my way around the city, and helped me avoid any problems with my plans. It also gave me to confidence to be able to move about the city on my own and get to do the things I wanted.
- It's okay to be spontaneous, and take changes from 'the plan' in stride. Really, it's all about a balance between one and two. I'm usually a very organized and logical person. Knowing what's up always makes me feel comfortable. However, something I learned on this trip is that sometimes things don't always go according to plan. For example, the bus times were different than I planned on Rottnest Island so I had to rearrange my day a bit. This led to me not being able to go on any of the free guided tours, but also to me having a wonderfully relaxed day, and meeting some really wonderful people also seeing the island on their own. Or that most of the restaurants in the Perth CBD close at 5p… so I ended up eating dinner at the same place every night. Upside, they had the BEST kimchi fried rice ever. Also my last day I had nothing planned, and ended up taking the bus to Fremantle and literally wandering around the town the entire day.
- Sometimes you have to say 'I want to do this' and just go for it. I went on a wine tour alone, because I really wanted to see the Swan Valley Wine Region. I was the only solo person on the tour, and you know what, that was okay. The people on the tour with me were so welcoming and friendly, and I had a wonderful time! When I've told people about this trip (that I did alone), or even coming to Australia in the first place (without knowing anyone on my program), I get lots of reactions. They range from shocked to impressed, and you know what? I've come to realize it doesn't really matter what other people think. This trip, and my whole experience so far here has taught me that I am an independent person. I'm not afraid to do things I love on my own so I don't miss out, and I have no problems meeting people along the way.
Okay, so now I'll tell you a little bit about the actually trip and Perth. I took a red-eye there and a red-eye home, and was there for three wonderful days. I had planned trips my first two days, and a free day which I used to explore the town of Fremantle on my third. When I wasn't doing any of these things, I was exploring the CBD. Perth's central area is very compact. The main commercial center is the Hay Street Mall and consists of 3 parallel streets with shopping. They are lined with indoor and outdoor shops. Also the three streets are connected by numerous small arcades (see below right), with more shops. Each arcade had their own personalities and some had beautiful facades (see below left)! This really added to the character of the city.
My main activity for the first day was a wine tour to 5 wineries, a brewery and a chocolatier in Swan River Valley. This is an area to the east of the city with some wonderful wineries. This was the first wine tour that I've been on and I learned a lot about grapes, and different kinds of wine. It was a really beautiful area, and most of the wineries had really nice tasting venues. My favorite new wines that I tasted were Chenin Blanc (a sweet fruity white), and a special red from Lancaster Wines called the Wissanger, which was a light fruity red. It was a day of good drink, good food, and good company! And the price was such a steal! At 3 of the wineries there were 9 tastings, at 2 there were 15!!!! I had a glass of beer at the brewery. Cheese and crackers at 2 of the wineries and the brewery. I ate a wonderful plowman's spread lunch, and chocolate samples at the chocolatier, plus I had about 4 gourmet truffles as well :) This day was definitely an amazing one, and I went to bed that evening very happy (and still drunk haha).
In fact the entire trip was an amazing hodgepodge of great things to do. I did all of the things I love, my first day was good food and drink, my second was outdoors stuff, and my third was history filled. I took the 1 hour train to Fremantle. This is the biggest port in Western Australia. This bustling port city also is known for it's art galleries and coffee shops. In fact, they have a street called the cappuccino strip. I had a fantastic time window shopping, and eating lunch at a bakery (see these posts about the food in Fremantle). Another wonderful thing about the town is that most of the buildings are old colonial style and have beautiful colorful facades (see below). I wound around the streets, enjoying the beautiful buildings and the views of the Indian Ocean.
Unfortunately, while beautiful, Fremantle has a sad and tragic past. It was home to the largest prison in Western Australia. A prison known for its horrible conditions that was open for almost 200 years. I walked up there. The prison is no longer open, and is now a museum and national heritage site. It still towers over the town though. I decided not to pay for a tour, but did look through several of the free museum exhibits. While it was pretty dark stuff, I was also glad to learn about the past because I think the history of a place adds an important dimension to wherever you are. That's something my parents always tried to impress upon me, and that I'm constantly reminded of by my sister's love of history.
However, despite the gloom of the prison, I had a great day in Fremantle and a wonderful last day in Perth. The trip was definitely one of my highlights in Australia and I'm so, so glad that I did it!
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