Trip to Perth – Best and Worst Lists

20 Jul 2011 Leave a comment

by Little Sumo Girl in Bali, Cool Stuff, Fun Spots, Travel Tags:

If you’ve ever been awoken from a deep sleep, you know that it’s a terrible feeling, especially if you’re a bit grumpy like me. Luckily it was nice & cozy in mom’s arms…What was happening? I was having a great time in dream world, then I realize we’re in a taxi at 6am off to a huge place with counters, security checks and people in different coloured uniforms…

Then, we get into this ‘spaceship’…ooh, how exciting? Unfortunately, I was expecting this to be a comfy ride with lots of cool gadgets, but it turns out there are rows of 3 (small) seaters on either side of this very narrow aisle – how was I supposed to do my daily exercise with so little space? To make matters worse, there were these so-called ‘Sky-Beauties’ in uniform who were taking up all the space with their large carts of food and drinks…Unfortunately, they didn’t even share their goodies with me 😦 No gadgets or TV to keep me entertained either, so I had to play with mom and dad in our cramped seats…

After a 3.5 hour flight, we arrived in cool, chilly Perth, Australia. I was already missing the warmth and sunny weather of Bali, but not as much as mom and dad I think. We were staying for the week, so I had to get used to the climate change…

Here are my Best and Worst moments, in no particular order:

Best moments in Perth:
1- Watching surfers at Scarborough Beach.

Hot or cold, and despite all the Dangers…they’re always there, never wanting to miss the chance to ride The Perfect wave.

  

2- Finding my rolling-horsy…for free! It was large rubbish pick-up week while we were in Perth, so people were putting out large TVs, furniture, etc on their lawn.

Despite being parked on the lawn, no… this car is not ‘rubbish’. People just like to park their cars on their lawn, even if they have driveways and garages…

3- Running around in all the parks and playing in the sandbox – wow, it’s safe to run on the grass here. And people are always barefoot it seems, even when they go to do their groceries…

4- Eating meat pies and sausage rolls – Let’s just say, mom and dad loaded me up on meats during the week.
Note: Meat pies and sausage rolls are meant to be eaten without utensils, so right out of the bag (with their perfected tomato sauce squeezer) – but it is really messy to eat, especially in the car, and for beginners like us…

5- Mom & dad using the oven. In addition to keeping us warm, they got to do a little more cooking than usual and we got to eat lasagna, carrot cupcakes, oatmeal cookies…Although mom could’ve used the manual for the fancy oven, cuz her cookies didn’t turn out as well as usual…

6- Seeing Kangaroos and Koalas, and the different birds at Yanchep National Park

7- Hanging out in the play area of Little Creatures Brewery/Resto while the adults enjoyed a local beer, It also gave me chance to warm up from being outside all afternoon, strolling around in Free Mantle.

8- Going to Ikea for a cheap meal – hmmm, yummy meatballs – did I say that I ate alot of meat this week…

9- Watching the sunset at Scarborough beach

10- Being able to drink water from the Tap (using a Britta filter) – no water bottles – yeah!

11- Walking around in North Bridge area, pushing my stroller and seeing the cool bird chillin’ on a bike

12- Most of all, being able to spend time with Auntie-S & Uncle-C, and P’tit Wombat, of course! As the Mastercard ads say…Priceless!

Worst moments in Perth:
1- Freezing in the rain for the first two days. However, some people were still brave enough to go swimming without a wetsuit…I suspect this guy is in the water on a dare… otherwise he’s just crazy…

2- Not being able to eat fruits cuz the prices are ridiculous (bananas at 20 AUD/kg, grapes at 13 AUD/kg, …), so ended up eating kiwis and oranges. which were more reasonably priced…

3- Having to wear so many layers of clothing – I’m used to being in tank tops and shorts…

4- Missing out on a pair of Ugg Boots while shopping in Free Mantle…Mom & dad couldn’t justify the expense since I would be back to sandals in Bali…

5- Leaving the playgrounds while I was having so much fun…Mom & dad are cruel…

All in all, it was definitely not a bad week. As you can see, there were more positive moments than negative ones, so I would definitely recommend a visit to Perth…just not in the dead of Winter (July-Aug). Please go when it’s summer and catch the awesome waves with the rest of the surfer dudes!

Word of the week: Wom-Bat!

15 Jul 2011 Leave a comment

by Little Sumo Girl in Bugs and creatures, Cool Stuff, Travel Tags:

Yep, still in Perth Australia…and still trying to stay warm – despite having had a couple of warmer days…

My new best buddy, who keeps me company, plays hide and seek with me, and keeps me warm is….”P’tit Wombat” (ie. Lil’ Wombat). He’s not a ‘real’ creature, but I look forward to playing with P’tit Wombat everytime I wake up from my naps 🙂

Although, I did get a chance to see some Kangaroos and Koalas at the Yanchep National Park the other day, I have not had the chance to see a real wombat yet…Here’s what it looks like – cute, eh?

 

OMG – It’s freezing in Perth

15 Jul 2011 Leave a comment

by Little Sumo Girl in Fun Spots, Travel Tags:

So we’re on a small family trip down to Perth, Australia….

July is definitely not the best time to travel to Australia – it’s the dead of winter. But considering we’re from North America, we figured how bad could it really be – Well, it is THAT bad! It is freezing here! Or perhaps, it’s just that we’ve already grown so accustomed to the warm weather in Bali, that the cool weather upon arrival was a shock to our systems – more so for mom and dad who have been complaining way more than me!

Luckily, mom & dad were able to find me a ‘winter’ coat for me in Bali the day before our departure. Mind you, this was no easy feat considering people are in tank-tops, shorts and flip-flops all year long in Bali. And, it was on discount for only 5$!! Of course, it wouldn’t be tough enough for the N-A winters, but I’m so thankful to have it here in Perth.

What makes matters worse is that the houses are not heated, so often times it actually feels colder inside the house than outside. Luckily, they had heaters in the living room and bedrooms where we were staying – phew!

Who would have thought that a 3.5 hour flight down to Aussie would be such a shock to our systems….but don’t worry, we’ve been loading our bodies with local meat pies, and Ikea meatballs to stay warm….hmmmm yummy 🙂

 

New toys – woo hoo!

15 Jul 2011 Leave a comment

by Little Sumo Girl in Bali, Cool Stuff

Lately, I’ve been getting a little bored with my old ‘baby toys’ so mom and dad have splurged to get me some new toys to help me develop my motor skills…A move they may regret soon enough?

Bowling pins – what were they thinking?

Mom wasn’t even able to hit the pins until her fifth try – I can’t really blame her since the ball was not exactly round (Made in Bali, that’s all I can say…)

Although, I haven’t quite perfected my bowling technique, I do enjoy throwing the ball and running after it. Actually, I prefer just throwing it and having someone else go fetch it. As for the pins, I like to knock them down with my hands, like a kung fu/karate move…Or better yet, I like trying to walk on them – not one of mom’s favourite moves

I think I’ll ask my great grandma and great grandpa for some bowling lessons since they’ve been playing in their leagues for a long time – nothing like some tips from a pro to get you started on the right foot 🙂

Rolling Elephant on wheels

 

This looks quite silly but is actually quite fun, especially when you get your parents to push it around for you. All I have to do is run around, pretending to be attacked by the Flying Elephant. Meanwhile, I can keep laughing at mom or dad who is actually chasing me around pushing a plastic Elephant and getting exhausted in a matter of a few minutes – Old folks, are so outta shape!  Oh, another nice feature – it makes this really annoying clicking sound as it is rolling – gotta love that!

Then I got my DSP 220 Truck

DSP stands for Dump – Super Power…I assume they are referring to the ‘dump’ truck, but for a second I thought they were referring to my ‘digestive track’ capacities, which can also be safely tagged as Dump – Super Power as well…Hmmmm…Subliminal message there?

What I love about this truck is that, with the string that was attached in front, I get to pull it around. But most of all, I can put my entire posse it in the back, so they look like a bunch of Balinese construction workers loaded into a pickup going off to the construction site. This is truly representative of how the real life construction workers get to work…

Check out how cozy my posse is in the back of the truck!

 

ooohhh, I feel I’ll have numerous hours of fun with these new toys…should keep me busy for another two weeks or so….

Shopping – Cool Clothes at Dandelion :)

07 Jul 2011 Leave a comment

by Little Sumo Girl in Bali, Fashion, Fun Spots, Travel Tags:

So we’re heading to Perth soon, and it is the middle of winter there. The surfer girl in me has gotten so used to the sun and waves in Bali that I really don’t know how I will adapt to the ‘cool’ climate of West Australia…Brrrrr! Just the thought gives me shivers.

In preparation for the trip, mom brought me on a shopping spree to get equipped with some long sleeves and pants at Dandelion. It’s a cool kids clothing store with great designs and quaity fabrics. A girl’s still gotta look good while staying warm…

Unfortunately, in terms of footwear I’m quite limited so my look will not exactly be complete. Normally, I’m not the type who goes for the sock with sandals look (for me it’s a fashion faux-pas!). But, I’ve been told that it’s dipping down close to 0 degree celsius in Perth recently, so I’ll have no choice to sacrifice my style for function – gotta keep my tiny feet warm! Especially if I want to feel the sand between my toes when I get back to Bali…

Perhaps, mom will bring me shoe shopping before the trip!! If that happens, then I’m definitely going to try on a pair of high-heel booties so I can get more height. But also, it’ll probably be more comfortable than walking on my tippy-toes, as I have been doing for the last few weeks…

http://dandelionkid.com/

Jl. Raya Basangkasa no.28, Seminyak Bali
Tel: +62 361 730 375

Oscar nominee – who me?

04 Jul 2011 1 Comment

by Little Sumo Girl in Super Power

It’s too bad the 2011 Oscar awards were already given out in February. Tonight, I gave the performance of a lifetime (I know I know, you may think it’s not that long – no need to brag right? but I’ll have you know that I’m into the double-digit months already!!).

Although it may have been short, my performance this evening in the ‘I’m in so much pain/distress, please hold me in your arms!’ scene was truly Oscar-worthy. You can ask my parents whether they concur, but I suspect they will considering I had them ‘going’ for almost 5 minutes.

It all started when mom took out my toothbrush, which is the first sign that bedtime will be coming soon after. I began with a slight whimper, but mom persisted with the toothbrush, so I slowly increased my volume and pitch. Since there was no change to mom or dad’s reaction, it all crescendo’d into a heartfelt, full-bodied cry of desperation – on my knees, arms dangling on mom’s shoulders, my eyes closed, tears running down my face…It worked! The Meryl Streep in me kicked in…Now my parents, with a concerned look on their faces, started to hold me in their arms and caressed me in an attempts to console me. It was great – they had no clue of my plan,… that is, until the tears started running out and I lost my concentration and opened my eyes to see their reaction…

Instantaneously, my parents saw through my act and started to laugh hysterically. I tried to continue my performance but I also started laughing between two sobs… my performance was thus cut short.

Since my first week, I’ve been aware of my potential talents as an actress. Perhaps with some practice, I will be able to perfect my skills and who knows, I may one day get to hear the words:

…And the Oscar goes to…Little Sumo Girl…