A Singaporean In Australia

Almost 5 years in Perth and not a single post about Kings Park? That must be almost a criminal offence.

After all, Kings Park is the pride of Perth. It is one of the largest inner city park in the world. For a better sense of proportion, it is bigger than New York's Central Park and 4 times bigger than Singapore's Gardens by the Bay. It is quite popular with tourists, visited by some 5 million every year, quite remarkable if you considered it is in the boring, boring Perth that nobody really wants to visit. Kings Park is situated in the heart of the city, right above the hilly region in the west. At its peak, it offers a panoramic view of Perth city, the Swan River and Melville Water. During September of each year, Kings Park hosts the Australia's largest wildflower show and exhibition in a festival.

Before our road trip, I took Tucky and Louise to Kings Park. The weather forecast was terrible for the holidayers. Other than their first full day, the rest of their week here would be rainy, or even stormy on some days. That was the most unfortunate timing, as it seldom rain in Perth throughout the rest of the year. It was natural to want my guests, making a rare trip here, to see the best of Perth and enjoy themselves. The famous clear blue sky that Perth usually offers were not on the plate that day. That did not dampen our spirit, at least it wasn't raining.

This location was right in front of the iconic war memorial overlooking the city-scape. Louise and Judy, who wanted to tag along with us, were the obvious photographers. As they snapped, Tucky and I looked around to spot Pokemon Go players. Albany seemed to have a great time playing bubbles with other kids and Puipui dozed off on my chest in his kangaroo bag.

We had the intention to do a BBQ for them that afternoon because it was improbable to do so for the rest of the week. So it was a now and never. I wanted to move to South Perth to do that but decided to give Kings Park a shot, since it was a week day and there wasn't a large crowd. With some luck, we might be able to find a nice spot to cook.

"Why are the BBQ stations so clean?" Judy asked.

"Because the last person who used it cleaned up after himself and we shall do the same."

There are BBQ pits in almost every park around Perth. BBQ is a regarded as a national past time of the Aussies for a reason. One thing I like about it is that the BBQs cannot be booked. I always felt public facilities are built for the people with the taxpayers' money. It is not fair to slap anymore additional charge for using them. That way, amenities like that can be enjoyed by the less privileged, not just the taxpayers themselves. More importantly, the fact that BBQs cannot be booked reflects a few points I hold dear to. One, the people are generally civic minded, take care of these facilities and are willing to share with strangers when there is a crowd. Else it will not be possible to run things the way it is. Two, the population density is at a comfortable level in Perth, such that people do not have to fight for resources. That also apply to other things and not limited to BBQs. This - and I am not referring to the BBQs - is one of the factors why I was very reluctant to let go of and return to Singapore during the earlier years. 

Due to the Winter chill, the food took a while to cook. I enjoyed it. I hoped the rest did too. 

Though Kings Park spans such a large area, most of the sections are family friendly. There is something anywhere that young children are interested in, be it wide open spaces, low shady trees, safe slopes to slide or roll down, natural playgrounds, water features and plenty of nature, where they actually feel more at home than their adults. This is a good place to observe how Aussie leisure. It is a common sight to see young adults lying on a mat, reading a book, lovers lazing an afternoon actually paying attention to each other, older folks nesting under trees with camp chairs and food reminiscing old times. Kings Park appeals to visitors of any age group.

I really should visit more often. Alas, the visitors during weekends still feel a tad too many for me. I have a low threshold so you'll probably love it. Try it and tell me.