Rockingham Grain Export Terminal

In the spirit of the Olympics, we took a ride to Rockingham to see what's great along the coastline. The sunset was as amazing as the one you find at Cottesloe Beach.

But we came across this giant grain export terminal.

The first picture shows part of the terminal where the ships are docked and the grain gets loaded onto the ships. The long conveyor heads out to the factory (not shown on the right of picture).

The second picture is a close up of the loading bay. The third is also of the same, but an hour later when the sun has slept.

The last picture was the hot emissions on a cold night.

Travelling to Work in Perth

The only thing missing from this picture is a bus.

How people travel to and from work in Perth - bus, train, car and bicycle.

Caught the Evening Sun

Caught the evening sun as it was about to hide for the day. Picture taken from King's Park, Perth, WA.

Dymocks

I love books. Which was why I was surprised to find the price of books (and everything else) very expensive in Australia. But according to my dad, the high cost is due to the high wages everyone earns in Australia.

With the closure of Borders book store last June/July, Dymocks, together with Boffins and Elizabeth Second Hand Books, are among the few book stores left in this part of Australia.

Most Australians shop online for their books. The cost of buying books from Amazon UK plus shipping is still lower than buying off the shelf.

I am disappointed with the number of books offered in Dymocks. I wish they could carry more varieties.

This picture of Dymocks was taken in the CBD (Central Business District) in Perth, WA.

How Cheap is AirAsia in Emergencies?

Recently there was an emergency at home which required one of us to travel home on the very next day. As usual, I checked in first with Airasia and was about to confirm the booking (credit card number all keyed in) when my smarter half asked me to check the ticket price on Qantas and MAS. Knowing that these two, full fledged airlines couldnt match a budget airlines, I reluctantly checked the price.

Guess what?

To fly from Perth to KL, AisAsia is asking me around AUD790 while Qantas price was AUD900 (also to KL but via Singapore) while MAS was asking for AUD890 to Penang. Yes, an extra AUD100 when compared to AirAsia to go from Perth to Penang. Hmmm....

Then, this made me think about my Christmas trip back home. I checked AirAsia, MAS and Qantas. Air Asia was offering me (for two people, return) a price of AUD2500, MAS AUD3600 and Qantas AUD2870. Hmmm, for an extra AUD370, I get better service, food and a higher luggage allowance (23 kg's). Not bad at all. The only downside to flying with Qantas is changing planes at Changi whereby we fly SIA to Kuala Lumpur.

So when did Air Asia stop becoming a budget airline?

Good Friday Procession Around Como

The Good Friday procession around the Holy Family Church in Como.




The procession was from 9 am to half past 10 this morning, followed by scones and coffee in the church. Reconciliation services were also provided by two priest in the church.

The 14 stations were spread out around the housing estate around the Holy Family Catholic church. Since it was a long weekend holiday, the roads were pretty much deserted. It was a very good turn out.

Even the little ones came for the procession. There were lots of children. It's nice to see the young ones attending mass. But will there still be there 20 years from now?

The procession ended back at the church where Father Aloysious ended the celebration by offering hot scones and coffee to all those who has fasted since morning.

Good Friday mass will be celebrated later at 3 pm today.

Australia Day 2011 Celebrations in Perth

The crowd gathered near the river by noon time to get the best spots for the 8 pm show. Since we're allergic to the extreme heat, we drove with a friend to somewhere near Victoria Park and caught a glimpse of the high rise fireworks. The low rise fireworks were blocked by the trees. The video shows the last burst of fireworks when the show ended 30 minutes later.