Perth Airport, Western Australia

Finally, I landed on the land of Australia for the very first time. Me destination was to Perth, Western Australian. We arrived about 1.50 am at the Perth Airport. A fact that i interesting to me is that Perth which cover ONLY the Western part of Australia is 16 x BIGGER (claimed to be 20x) than whole Malaysia (including Sabah and Sarawak) but with a very small population of 1.6 million.

Perth, was home to the indigenous Nyoongar tribe with evidence of their ancestors stretching back 40,000 years. A Noongar cultural museum will be opened soon; additional information on aboriginal tours and other cultural offerings can be found at tourist information centres.

British settlers established a free settler colony in 1829 as part of the Swan River Colony. From 1850, an influx of convicts boosted the size of the colony and their labour helped shape the early architecture of the city. The discovery of gold in the 1890's triggered a boom which, with subsequent mineral discoveries, has been key to the city's economy. As capital of the state Western Australia, Perth joined the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901.

Perth is a beautiful city with a wonderful Mediterranean climate. It has lovely beaches and parks. Perth people are helpful and welcoming. The lifestyle is relaxed and most people enjoy outdoor activities such as sporting events, barbeques and picnics. Living in Perth will be an enjoyable experience. ( I will justify this in my incoming post)

Perth Western Australia’s weather and climate is best described as Mediterranean, with long dry summers and mild rainy winters. There are four distinct seasons:

Summer: Dec - Feb The hottest months are January and February, and temperatures can frequently reach the mid to high 30’s Celsius (95-100F). Occasionally the weather can reach 38 degrees Celsius or more (100+ Fahrenheit), lightweight cool clothing and sunscreen is essential. The temperature here is crazily HOT! I will justify this in my incoming post. Melbourne can go to as high of 35-40 celcius. Newest record that shocked the Australian! Autumn: Mar – May Very similar weather to summer except milder, warm and sunny but cooler at night. You can expect things to start cooling down toward the end of April and will need some warmer clothing. Winter: Jun - Sep This is the rainy season, interspersed with chilly yet sunny days. A typical Perth winter day may fall between 16-18 degrees Celsius (60-65 degrees Fahrenheit). There are however, occasionally storms, characterised by thunder, lightning and heavy downpours of rain and strong winds. It is advised to have warm clothing and a waterproof jacket and umbrella handy. Spring: Oct - Dec Spring begins at the start of September and from this point the weather quickly warms to fine sunny but windy conditions. The temperatures will continue to rise in the lead up to the next summer.

After a tight security, we came out from this auto door.

After a thorough checking, we came out from this automatic door. The security checking is known to be very strict and indeed is very true. In the incoming passenger card, one need to complete every single column in the form. FAILURE to do so will get scolded by the Custom Officers if his/her mood is not good. No joke! You need to write your name, passport number, flight number, intended address in Australia and health status. Besides, you need to DECLARE the items brought in by you. And NO JOKE that if you did not declare even a small stuff will be fined by the authorities. Not all medicines can be brought in especially the Chinese medicines of which origin from plants. Food is another point in which no dried, fresh, preserved, cooked or uncooked food should brought in. Even the Chinese preserved dates (well, it was Chinese New Year that time) also CANNOT. one of the tour mates got into trouble of having it. Soil or articles with soil attached such as sporting shoes or equipment need to be DECLARED. IF you have a new shoe, that is alright but if it is an used shoes, be sure to declare it if it is DIRTY on the shoe lace. You must write in your contact details in Australia. Even if you are staying in a hotel, you must know the location and the contact number of the hotel.

Airport Security: Before departing Perth Airport, passengers are required to pass through a stringent security screening process to ensure the safety and efficiency of airport and airline operations. The following process is in place to achieve this goal:

• Passengers check in and have their passport ready for viewing.
• Baggage make-up - luggage is checked in here, with selected items being screened through an x-ray machine.
• Passengers enter the departures gate and will move through Customs passport control.
• At the entrance of the departure lounge, hand luggage and any additional items on person are security screened.
• Your boarding pass will be checked prior to entering the appropriate gate for your departure flight.

The ambience of the airport at that late night.

Quarantine Matters

These are important NEW facts when arrival in Australia. Tougher new quarantine laws and increased on-the-spot fines now apply in Australia. • All international travellers entering Australia who do not declare quarantine risk items now face an on-the-spot fine of up to $220. This could happen as a result of failing to declare something as small as a piece of fruit!

• Smugglers of prohibited items may face fines of up to $60,000 and a criminal record. For example, a student arriving at Brisbane airport recently was fined $6,700 for trying to smuggle less than a kilogram of dried meat into Australia. • The Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) now inspect most international passengers, cargo and mail coming into Australia.

Customs

When traveling to Australia, please be aware that if you are carrying a total of AUS$10,000 or more in cash of any currency, you MUST declare the money on your Incoming Passenger Card and when questioned by Australian Customs officials upon arrival. A failure to declare this money may result in the money being taken and you being arrested and prosecuted. It is not an offence to bring this money into Australia. The offence is not declaring the money.

The security here was placed in the highest level. Even at late of night, a policewoman with a detector dog were seen walking around the places. I got to know from my sister that should a detector dog sense something amiss such as drugs, it will stop and station at your place. At such, YOU ARE DEAD MEAT. Not knowing well about their rules and regulations. I do not want to risk anything and thus did not that the picture of the cute little dog.

International airports

Most travellers coming into Australia’s international airports will now have their luggage screened by customs officials. In the past year AQIS has placed around 1,200 extra staff, 35 extra detector dog teams and 48 new x-ray machines at airports across the country. International students must declare ALL food, wooden items or items of plant and animal origin that they are carrying with them.

Taxi? Were we needed to board on taxis?

Just want to highlight that their taxi is like our police car in Malaysia although now due to 'need to chase criminal on high speed car' that make them changes the locally made car to Mercedez (I supposed as debated in Parliament). Information source: Alexander Education group, Ultimate Studies Australia, Wikipedia As at the time updated, the son of SPRM and few fellow Malaysians have been caught at this airport for possessing child pornography and got fined. This showed how strict the security checking and bear in mind not to bring forbidden stuffs.