13 Reasons To Love Perth (Part One)

Traveling to Perth may not be so comforting to people who expect to see a busy metropolitan city and those who don't have/rent a private car. Like many other small cities, most shops close at 5pm and the streets are so empty after dawn (and also every Sundays). Even though it is generally a safe city, sometimes I feel insecure to go outside after dark because there are some hobos around. In terms of attraction and entertainment, it doesn't offer a lot of option. I personally think two days are enough to explore a main part of the city, but it's only enough if you want to see the main city's attractions. But if you want to explore the surrounding towns, islands, vine yards, and national parks, you would probably need more than a week. I'm not too fond of big cities and much prefer to explore historical towns/villages and natural attractions, so I'm more interested to explore around Perth. But then, I was disappointed when I knew that the railways in Western Australia don't reach all the regions, even the ones that are quite popular destinations for tourists. Staying for 10 days, I expected it would be so boring. But surprisingly, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. 

P.S: I began this post as a '13 Reasons to...', but it quickly became apparent that if you had to read through my full list at a time, it would probably take you about weeks to finish it (Ha!), so I've decided to break it down into two posts, and this is the first half of my 13 reasons to love Perth.  

• Quaint Neighbourhoods •

You should never underestimate a small city. In the case of Perth, even though the city centre is quite small and ordinary, it has some quaint neighbourhoods that you can easily get out and explore. They are filled with packs of local creativity and culture, the places that if not explored, means you haven't fully explored Perth and everything it has to offer. My favourites are Northbridge, Leederville and Subiaco. Each has its own uniqueness and quirks that differentiate one from another. For instance, Northbridge is a melting pot of food and culture, which is more filled with art activities as it's only a short walk from the cultural centre; Leederville is full of unique restaurants and cafes, vintage clothes, indie stores and also the home of Luna Cinema, the only indie cinema I've ever visited, not even once in other countries; while in Subiaco, you can visit the local market (unfortunately it was closed when I visited), indie bookshops and cafes, or just soak up the atmosphere and charm of this neighbourhood. 

• Countless Bookshops•

If you are a book lover or bookshop wanderer, then Perth is one of the most spectacular city in the world. What surprised me was the amount of bookshops in and around Perth, especially in the city, Fremantle and Subiaco. Seriously, they have lots of bookshops, covering almost every segment of reader; from the secondhand bookshop, antiquarian, comic, indie, science fiction and fantasy, technical and specialist books, medicine bookshop, language bookshops and other kind of bookshops you may have never heard before. I personally love the secondhand, though sometimes they can be overpriced, but you can just take a look at the stacks of books you hope to read one day, or admire the store decoration.   

• Attractive Public Space • 

I have always been intrigued by public space, especially since I visited some cities that offer the most pleasing ones, including Perth. I believe that lively and enjoyable public spaces are what makes a city more alive. For a relatively small city, Perth has impressed me by its cleverness at using the minimum empty spaces and transforming them into lively, attractive and enjoyable places for people, especially kids and family. The public space at the cultural centre is a favourite of mine. I was really awed by the idea of 'mini beach' installation in summer days (I latter found out that they put the ice rink in winter), or, the cozy bench under the trees so you can enjoy reading good book with a yummy cup of Ben and Jerry's, which is just around the corner. They all are really give off a tranquil feeling right in the middle of the city, and makes me wonder if Jakarta will ever provide this kind of public space. 

• Fr(ee)endly Public Transport •

In case you haven't known, a number of Australian cities provide some free public transportation routes for public. In Perth, it's called the CAT bus(es). Although they don't cover the whole city, they run around the CBD (Central Business District), some of the suburbs and the train station. What is more, the bus drivers are the friendliest ones I've ever met. It's not literally all of them, but we met few bus drivers when we ride the non-free buses, and some of them told us how to save our money on transportation during our stay. Some other drivers also let us ride for free with no specific reason!

• Picnic In The King's Park •

Strolling to one of the world's largest park and the most beautiful city park, you can see the breathtaking view of the city and river. While tourists usually come to take pictures of the city view and the memorials (they have two memorials: the small one is for bombing in Bali and the other one that much bigger is for the World War), many locals held picnic either with their family, friends or couples. Their preparation ranging from those who only bring food and drink, to the picnic set and mat, and to those who bring the picnic set with the table and chair! 

 • Watching Outdoor Cinema •

I've developed this obsession with outdoor cinemas since I attended one in London two years ago. The best thing about outdoor cinema is that it offers different sensation and experience, than watching in indoor cinema, something that I have done many times. The idyllic summer nights with warm air and fresh breezes, a giant pop-up screen movie with the view of skyscrapers behind it, the fancy decoration (I couldn't stop taking picture of every corner of this place, because they're just too adorable!), the smell of pizza and buttered popcorn lingers in the air, and of course, the best selected movies which are either box offices, the best new movies (The Imitation Game was already playing at the time), or festival winners. Unfortunately, I only attended one that was held by Rooftop Movies, so I cannot compare it with the other outdoor cinemas (cause actually there are around five different outdoor cinemas in Perth). But still, I suggest you to attend the one by Rooftop Movies!

• Street Art Mural •

I was surprised when I was just wandering the city streets and revealed many nice murals, because I never heard that Perth is famous for street art murals. You can find them either on the wall besides the main street, in the passageways, behind buildings, or even in some certain places that you won't realise if you don't pay enough attention. Don't ya think they make great background for full body shot or maybe ootd, eh?