Gosh this is kind of backdated! I went for the IGA Perth Royal Show early in October! And here I am, posting stuff about it in mid-November! Anyway the IGA Perth Royal Show was held for about a week, and I'm glad that one of my friends alerted me about it - if not I'd have missed out on some fun! The show was really, really fun! I didn't have much cash on me, so I didn't manage to go on rides. But I had fun as a spectator.
Anyway I got up nice and early to get to the Claremont Showgrounds - where the show was held. I literally timed myself such that I reached the showgrounds by 9:30am or so, and it worked out really well. Bought my first souvenir - a bracelet watch - from one of the stalls at the entrance (I love it very much!). At that time, the showgrounds were still kinda deserted...
Some horse judging was going on in the main grounds too, and I stopped by for a bit, before heading to the corner where the rides were. The horses were gorgeous! Especially the black ones. Gosh I love black horses...they just look so sensual and elegant!
Another two highlights of the day - lots of food stalls...and a chairlift ride allowing people to have a good view of the showgrounds.
And of course - who could ever forget showbags? Lots of different showbags! People were starting to stream in then, and were collecting them already.
I had a map with me, which helped quite a lot. Walked down to the Sideshow Alley - where the amusement park rides were. There were also simpler games and lots of toys to be won! The Sideshow Alley really reminds me of the Moomba Festival in Melbourne. I've been twice - in 2010 (with a friend) and in 2011 (myself). Should put up some pictures of the Moomba Festival someday - I nearly forgot about them!
What I like most about the Sideshow Alley - lots of colours. The place was just so colourful!
And here's where all the rides are! There were milder ones and of course, the hardcore ones. There were people who went on the hardcore ones - and I really admire their bravery.
It was still kind of early so there wasn't much of a crowd. But people had already started with some games, and were choosing what to go for next.
I decided to try one - and broke my camera stabiliser! :( Fortunately it only chipped a tiny bit, so it can still be used. It's still sitting on top of my camera. Anyway I won this cute little pink pig - and she's now sitting happily on my bed. I really love her - and have a soft spot for soft toys. Wanted to win more stuff but I currently have very limited luggage space...and lots more soft toys at home.
I mean, who could resist soft toys? They're just so cute!!!
Since I couldn't really acquire more soft toys, I decided to take pictures of them. Well, they're really colourful when put together, so they did contribute lots to my picture collection!
I've been on this ride before during the Moomba Festival. We call it the Vertical Drop of Terror, but of course it has a different name here. It goes all the way up (12 storeys I think!), suspends you at the top for a while, and then suddenly DROPS!!! If I went on this ride during the show, it'd be my third time in my life. The very first time I went on such a ride was in 2004 during an exchange programme to Hong Kong.
Bumper cars. A great family game for many.
There were two ghost-inspired rides, and there were quite a number of children going on it. Brave folks! Unfortunately one chickened out during the ride and came out crying.
One of the milder rides in the area.
And of course - the bipolar opposite - a hardcore ride where people were suspended high in the air and spun round like mad.
It was a gorgeous day, and the colourful atmosphere really made things look cheery and happy! It was mid-spring, and we were all awaiting warmer, sunnier weather. Well - this day was just perfect! It wasn't that hot, yet it was sunny and colourful.
Angry Birds game - where they actually had slingshots for people! A real-life version for humans. I love Angry Birds a lot, and have been playing it ever since it came out. It's a fun, yet mind-boggling game, and trust me, it has helped me a lot, in terms of judgement, thinking and so on. No placebo effect!
Other stalls around the area. One of them had all the footy teams listed. I go for the red-white-and-blue - the Western Bulldogs!
Wood-chopping competition. I had lunch and watched them compete.
The place I spent the most time at - the Cat Pavilion. One of my friends (who went to the show before me) said that she saw lots of exotic breeds, and the pavilion was cordoned off once for judging. On the day I went, I saw lots of cute kittens! And met the cutest little Persian showcat ever, who was more interested in sleeping than in entertaining us! She just slept in her owner's arms and refused to interact, but let us run our fingers through her fur. She looked really, really cuddly and irresistable! And she had the cutest name ever - Coco.
Passed by one of the rides - known as the Mad Cow. It started off mild, then got crazier until the person atop the ride got thrown off.
There were other animals on exhibit - emus, alpacas, camels etc., and pigs!! The mother pigs were colossal...and they had up to 10 pigs! Some of them were sucking on their mum's teats and fell asleep halfway.
There were also rabbit judging shows going on. The rabbits were so adorable and cuddly!
Just outside this area, there were camel rides. I wonder how it's like to be on a camel - must be pretty bumpy! It looked really interesting though!
The cattle lanes - where lots of different cattle were housed. I'm not a big fan of beef to be honest, but there were so many kinds of beef around! The cows were grouped accordingly too. I walked through the cattle lanes to get back to the main showgrounds, and at the same time, stopped by to look at some of the cows.
At that time, there were many people nanging around, and if I'm not wrong there were still some more horse-judging going on.
Left the show at about 4:30pm after spending one whole day there. It was a really good break for me - as I had been slogging on my thesis for a while and needed a break!
That's it for now - do stay tuned for more updates!