Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Day 13 : 240508 Taipei (Taoyuan)

I intially booked a tour to Jiufen with Mr Meeky Yang.. but during my readup on Taoyuan, I was attracted by the flower gardens they have as well as other attractions.. so upon curiosity, I asked Mr Yang if he's convenient to bring us to Taoyuan for a one-day tour.. he immediately agreed!

he told me if possible, try to paste as many pics of Taoyuan and places we went to on the Internet so that more people will know he offer this tour itinerary..and so here it is..

Our tour itinerary includes: 小人国>神牛观光区>富田花园农场Tomita Farm> 慈湖纪念雕塑公园〉大溪花海农场Ta Shee Blooming Oasis>中正公园〉三峡老街

We met up at 830am outside TS Hotel.. He was very punctual and a lively man.. thruout the journey to Taoyuan, he enlightened us on the different aspects of Taiwan..talking from the interesting politics.. to people.. to 槟榔.. to various attractions.. to 921 earthquake. to his family.. to his siblings.. to our journey.. and to Meinong.. Coincidentally, he's a Hakka born in Meinong and he was very surprised to know we have travelled up to Meinong..since it was rather difficult.. actuallie we also didnt reallie explore Meinong due to the unforeseen bus waiting times which I mentioned earlier on.. and from what he said, Meinong seem to be a very very interesting place to visit.. with the famous oil paper umbrellas.. 板条 etc..he even offer to bring us around if we are in Taiwan again to Meinong.. I definitely look forward to that..Taiwan cant just be appreciated in a single trip..

our 1st stop was 小人国..the world of minatures.. where famous attractions are built minutely..very nice design.. along with some theme park water rides and performances.. very popular for families as a weekend hangout..

Gongfu Master and Tower of Pisa!
most probably this is our next destination: Moscow!

around noon time, we passed by 神牛观光区..we didnt go in but was reading the notice board outside the entrance.. seems like the animals are trained to perform stunts..quite interesting.. and also being reported by the media before..next, we went to Tomita Farm.. the flowers there were mesmerizing.. but this is jus a tip of the flowery land until we were enlighted in Ta Shee Blooming Oasis where there are more flowers and in our opinion,more beautiful!

here are some of the pics taken at Tomita Farm.. many wedding couples went there to take pics too.. many couples..i think we saw 6 couples at the time we went..and takin wedding pics is not easy at all.. photographers are quite demanding in the kind of smiles.. poses.. that the bride and groom should have..no matter whether they are tired or what.. but is for a lifetime.. so i guess they should think is worthwhile after a day's effort haha..dear with some cartoonish creature..
sunflowers greeted us warmly!
富田花园之美

many tv dramas were also filmed here like 天国的嫁衣..we had lunch at the flower farm.. food was excellent too with a beautiful view of the flower gardens and nice sky..
after lunching, Meeky brought us to 慈湖纪念雕塑公园, where the bronze statues of Chiang Kai-shek were placed here..it was an eye-opener.. Ex-President of Taiwan, Chiang Kai-shek in different postures were seen.. some were obtained from schools, public parks.. each and every statue being preserved and collected within this park next to a lake make it a famous attraction in Taoyuan..we did learn some history of CKS during our Taiwan journey from cabbies and Meeky..coming to this park makes the experience more alive..

i do feel honoured taking this pic =)

Ta Shee Bloomin Oasis was just located nearby to this park..it is yet another flower haven and a wider scale one..very very beautiful!

i wonder if you can recall if you have watched 转角*遇到爱.. i passed by this building like twice.. and I didnt realise this was the place they filmed.. where 秦郎's friends 九把刀reside in haha.. what a surprise indeed!it was just within Ta Shee Blooming Oasis..

not just Taiwan dramas..variety shows.. wedding couples also flock to here for beautiful snapshots of the various flowers.. whatever color u can think of.. they can be found here.. is like a dreamland in short.. i wonder if Holland flowers also look like this.. those tulips etc..

there's also animal farm in Ta Shee.. and as we walked along the farm.. we saw 2 little pigs mating.. you will be shocked to see how the process is carried out in detail.. i did videoed it down.. but accidentally deleted it to my greatest regret.. haha.. i tot of sharing it here though but too bad..it was an experience.. i didnt know the vital organ of male pig look like a screw driver..what a discovery...

we went to 中正公园after that..is also a park with CKS statue and also an exhibition hall of the photographs taken of him in the past.. some historical background.. it seems that spining top is a famous sport in Taoyuan that within the park, there are many statues of spinning tops as well..
we also took pic of the 大溪大桥that lights up beautifully during evening...our last stop is Sansia Old Street 三峡老街,具有独特的特色。。。
the design of this street looks very historical.. most shops are closed by late evening. Souvenir shops, Clogs Shops, 小吃店,The famous 金牛角 shop were also found here... we tried one..it was very crispy and tasty!


as you see, the streets of Sansia gives a nostalagic feeling of the past..it's enjoyable to visit the shops which sells interesting stuff..i bought a flowerpot.. ready to plant the seeds which I purchased in Yunlin.. believed to have words printed on the leaves.. wonder if is true until I successfully grow them up 1st haha..

Mr Meeky intially wanted to bring us to Pingsi Old Street where they sell pottery but the shops were closed earlie.. so that was our last stop.. and we went back to XMD for a huge bowl of 阿综面线which I still crave for until now.. it was just too delicious to reject..long queues.. people standing outside enjoying their steaming hot bowl of mianxian.. that is the stall in the midst of Ximending.. you just cant miss it!

XMD is very lively at night.. almost dead in the day even at noon time.. shops seem to open and close late..so get there during the night to experience the fun of it..
today has been a tiring but yet totally fulfilling day.. very satisfied with Mr Meeky Yang's tourguide service!...加油哦!I highly recommend him if u are interested to visit the beauty of flower gardens in Taoyuan and experience the strong flavour of nostalagic in Sansia Old Street..We still have another day tour to Jiufen with him..looking forward to it!

For convenience, I have included his contact details below.You may enquire on this tour if you are interested to have a day tour to Taoyuan.
Name: Mr Meeky Yang
Mobile Number: 886-09-21915586
email add: Meeky589@yahoo.com.tw

if you email, you have to type in 繁体 or in english also can..yup..=)
enjoy!

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