Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Day 18 : 290508 Taipei

It is the last day of this trip!
Time flew so fast....no doubt miss home.. but also miss the life over here in Taiwan..

After finishing breakfast at TS for the last time, we made our way to Cashbox KTV@ XMD.. it consists of many storeys.. and is very grand.. look more like a hotel than a KTV..we were brought to the 4th floor to sing.. within the room, also have toilet..so u wun need to exit yr room and find toilet unlike over here..
as we went rather earlie to sing at ard 10am.. it was relatively cheap.. we sang for 3hrs before heading for lunch.. and yet to mention.. they have a scoring system for each song which you have sang.. making ktv experience more fun..it was worthwhile indeed!

for lunch.. we went to the toilet theme restaurant "ModeRN Toilet"..there's an outlet in XMD...basically the whole restaurant is decorated into a toilet theme.. with toilet bowls as seats.. plates and bowls in form of poo-shaped or toilet bowl-shaped..the food there was OK...it doesnt give me the WOW factor except for how the food was presented to us haha..there are also merchandise to be bought as souvenirs though i didnt buy ani haha..
the Ximending walker mascot in front of the Mrt Station

we left TS Hotel @ abt 240pm to wait for the Feigou Bus to pick us up.. it was a very UNcomfortable bus..and along the way, the driver has to pick up many people.. and most people are Singaporeans.. including some whom we saw in Hualien.. and cuz the bus was not very big.. people haf to carry luggages up the bus.. rather then being kept in a compartment..the weather was also very hot and the bus machiam no aircon.. den after picking all the people up... the bus brought us to somewhere to change to a more comfortable bus.. i wonder why cant the more comfortable bus pick us up directly from the hotels rather than the need to change bus.. eventuallie we took like 2h plus before we reached the airport..

the airport was kinda old..hear say they going to renovate it le... there wasnt many duty free shops.. we grabbed some food.. magazines.. jus to spend the leftovers before we checked in..and took the 5h flight back to sg~due to an unexpected heavy weight on this returning flight to Sg.. we were asked to change seats all the way to the back of the plane from row6 to row29 cuz they wanna balance the plane.. i think most people mus have bought many stuff..overload liao...is quite kuazhang..we did see people with cartons and cartons of items..haha

here is the duck we made in Sanyi Duck Factory:
here are the beans I bought.. ready to be planted:here are the food grabbed from airport and hualien muahchee..(the one in green packet is the best so far in my opinion!)

the items we won from playing 抓抓乐 and gun-game

souvenirs and DIY-items made during the journey~
this has been a wonderful trip!there are still many places in Taiwan yet to be discovered like Taitung..Tainan..Alishan..Leye..some areas of Hualien..Meinong etc..hope I have a chance again to visit these places in the near future~ that's the end of my travelogue.. hope all readers enjoy it too!

Day 17 : 280508 Taipei

we woke up pretty late today due to yesterday's whole day activity..

did shopping for the rest of the day.. went to Taipei Underground Shopping Mall where there are plenty of shoe shops.. i bought like 8 pairs?.. and is spend less than 100sgd i tink...damn cheap~

also went Wufenpu.. it's like how huge.. and we got lost many times in the midst of the streets.. they mainly sell clothes...belts.. is like 10x bigger than bugis street bah.. some stalls can bargain.. some cant...didnt take any pics today cuz forget to charge camera battery haha..

after that i think we went XMD to eat and shop again..going back earlie to TS Hotel to enjoy their facilities..haha..is jus too comfortable which i mus reemphasize again haha..

Day 16 : 270508 Taipei (Jiufen tour)

today met up with Mr Meeky Yang very earlie at 8am to start the tour itinerary..
as usual..he's very punctual and greeted us with his wide smile =)

Tour itinerary: Yehliu>Jingtong Railway Station>Pingsi Railway Station>Jiufen>Jinguaishi>黄金瀑布〉南雅〉鼻头〉阴阳海〉庙口夜市
We made our way to the 1st stop in a hr plus to Yehliu..where you see the different rock formations due to wind, sea effects.It was rather spectacular that these forces can shape the rocks into Queen's Head(but during the time when we see it, it seems that the hair of the queen's rock is goin bald..probably due to too much wind.. i think the neck also gets affected..), big footprints, mushroom head, and even one that was said to resemble a human nipple which does not look like in my opinion haha..

Said to resemble a human nipple..what u think??

after walking thru the geological park, more tourists start entering and very crowded..lucky we came earlie..nature formations jus make it perfect for tourists to come and appreciate.. the entrance fees is discounted with YTC as well.. so rmb to apply for YTC once you reach the airport!

our next stop is to Jingtong Railway Station...有特色的火车站..i tink as heard from Meeky, 只有区车local trains will come to Jingtong Station, not for those 自强号..
we took a pic with Mr Meeky Yang @ Jingtong Station..he jus changed his car recently..im glad we had a chance to travel around in his new car, more spacious and very comfy...

another railway station which we come along the way is Pingsi Railway Station.. it is famous of having to send 孔明灯 up into the sky to 祈福..this festival pass just not long ago.. i did read of this event from the net before.. didnt expect myself to bypass this place actuallie..haha..

the weather starts to turn bad after this stop.. it rains like nobody's business when we reached Jiufen..quite mafan.. we have to walk thru the streets with umbrellas..but Jiufen is definitely a place you cant miss.. many stalls selling 铁蛋,鱼丸 and famous food, souvenirs..

the above shows a shop selling 陶笛,we bought one that is shaped in form of taiwan, blue in color..im currently trying to master it.. and me having no music talent is definitely having difficulty to master this skill!
this is worth tryin.. u dun see this on streets of Sg.. quite innovative!

we had lunch in Jiufen.. eat those 自制鱼丸.. is huge..inside alot of stuff... got 鲨鱼肉 as well.. i didnt take pics of the food.. too hungry.. den summore raining.. very mafan...by then, our feet already drenched in rainwater liao..even after finishing eating..it's still raining heavily..the stall we went to has many photos on it.. famous celebrities like 吴宗宪, Jolin i tink.. also got go there eat before..and the lady boss has many photos of herself pasted on the walls of the shop as well.. can go try! is delicious!

we called Meeky to pick us up after Jiufen and we went to Jinguaishi.. both of us have to wear raincoats due to the heavy rain.. our ticket coupons also gone wet..at each attraction within Jinguaishi..u have to show yr coupon and they will make a mark on it..the attractions spots close quite earlie.. so if u wanna visit..try go there earlie!

does this place look familiar? i think it is the place in 转角*遇到爱 where 秦郎,his granny 阿达stays in if im not wrong.. i was surprised to see this in Jinguaishi..is those wood houses..haf Japanese design interior.. very cooling and comfy to stay..

the view from Jinguaishi was great.. is like a town where gold-mining activities were carried out in the past.. we learnt more on it from the museum itself.. which also say that during the Japanese rule time on Singapore, they did send Singaporeans to Jinguaishi to work in the mining activities.. quite dangerous as it involves bombing.. clearing the debris.. digging gold.. refining gold..

from the park, you can see a mountain that is shaped like a teapot.. and also a 大肚美人山..as shown below..where u imagine a lady lying down with a big stomach..we also went into the Benshan 5th tunnel to have a experience of what is it like working within a tunnel to bomb and dig gold.. this require additional charges aniwae.. but it was fun.. have to wear safety helmet..that day raining.. water can even seep thru the tunnel.. there are wax figurines to depict how the workers work.. and sound recordings in hokkien to illustrate what the workers communicate.. an innovative experience..worth trying!and each of us is given a worker's duty card to show that we have been "working" in tis tunnel diggin gold haha..

we left at the time when the park is about to close at 5pm.. before Mr Meeky brought us to 黄金瀑布..very nice!and then is 南雅。。。where u see more rock formations shaped by the sea and wind..
and finally to 鼻头,which is the most northern part of Taiwan.. and so we have moved from the most southern part of taiwan..that is Oluanbi( in Kenting ) to here.. Mr Meeky Yang applauded us saying we have succeeded 台湾走透透!..glad that we have reached thus far and everything went smoothly except for the unexpected rains..feel reallie great when we reach 鼻头!
the scenery of 鼻头is great..the rain has stopped..there were also many people fishing.. Meeky told us most of them are 原主民..after a day's work, they will come here to fish.. for recreation or to bring their catch home and enjoy the feast..

our next scenic spot was 阴阳海.. we managed to see that the sea was divided into 2 colors.. yellow nearer to the shore.. and blue further away from the shore.. this was when we are coming down from Jinguaishi that was on top of a mountain.. but when we came down, the color contrast was less significant.. the people who gave names to this sea is creative enuf to think of 阴阳..we did take some pics at that place..and that was when we saw something more spectacular..or rather it was dear who spotted it first haha..

阴阳海

雨过天晴的彩虹是最美的!
we were really happy to see this rainbow..and quickly called Meeky out to take pictures!this is the 2nd time we saw rainbow overseas.. the 1st time was in cambodia.. we didnt take pic with the rainbow we saw in cambodia cuz we were on the tuktuk when we witnessed it..this time..it jus makes things special..as it was nearing to the departure day back to sg.. seeing a rainbow before the day ends give many beautiful memories!our last stop was to Miaokou Night Market.. it sells many good food and we tried the roasted corn.which everyone seems to be munching on..and had our dinner in one of the western food stalls..i tink i played the gun game again and won a table lamp in return..haha..oh.. and they sell many porn stuff.. from vcds to equipments and watever u can think of...haha...very widespread..after dinner.. we went back to TS Hotel for a good night rest.. it has yet been another enriching and fulfiling day~

Day 15 : 260508 Taipei

we went to Zhongxiao Fuxing MRT 1st after waking up late on that day..there was a shoppin mall over there.. but as usuall..it was very very empty..

we went to the amusement arcade over there and chanced upon this self-protrait machine imported from japan.. so we gave it a try and it turned out quite good..

it was near to 1pm.. we quickly made our way to CTV cuz we are going to watch the 130pm recording of Guessx3.. it was damn hilarious.. never regretted going.. im not sure when that episode is going to be shown in singapore.. but it was an unforgettable experience..

there were students coming from Asia University..i think they are very lively..dont look like uni students.. haha.. all very excited.. and they carried a huge banner.. and gave a big welcome to the rest of the audience.. who are mainly from Singapore.. 宪哥and gang also welcomed us haha..
this is also where i met my friends..Yining and gang.. what a coincidence!

the 3 hosts were very entertaining..it kept us laughing for the next 5h of the recording.. though our stomachs were grumbling, but it was worthwhile!

we left first while they continued to take pics haha..we went to Longshan Temple, the famous temple in Taipei to be visited and went to Huaxi Night Market.. nothing much in this market. got snakes la.. they say they can help u prepare any part of the snake to be consumed.. food there quite exp.. we didnt stay long.. but we ate the oyster omelette from there.. not bad
but still.. a night is not complete without a hot bowl of Ah Chung Mian Xian and the bubble tea from a nearby shop.. the serving size for the pearls and bubble tea is huge..value-for-money indeed!

Day 14 : 250508 Taipei

that day seems to be of goodweather as forecasted.. we decide to explore those attractions that are mainly outdoor..

We took 捷运to Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall Station to visit the memorial hall and were just in time to catch the guards changing ceremony @ 9am..can see Taipei 101 from there and I tried to "push" it down with the slightest effort as possible haha
We went to CKS Memorial Hall after that.. there was no guards changing ceremony.. but we took pics in front of the famous monuments.. it's a huge park indeed..also with exhibition halls displaying the story of Chiang Kai-shek..very famous tourist attraction..the weather that day was very very hot for some reason.


our next stop was to Martyr's Shrine忠烈祠..we went to catch the guards changing ceremony as well.. and this time was more of a 看头.. the guards are very tall and handsome.. but it muz be harsh on them to stand under the hot sun for hours..and being viewed by many tourists everyday..
After that, we made our way to National Palace Museum (故宫), where the national treasures were kept. The museum is very informative on historical treasures.. it was an eye-opener.. i think those who are very interested will have to spend an entire day there.. but we only spend 2h..so you can guess how interested we are haha.. but still the layout of this museum is worth commending.. what I learn from here is that last time man has to give 青菜 as one of the items before asking a lady to marry him.. this is to symbolise that the lady is very 清白..an interesting lesson.. there is also an animation film to explain more on the national treasures..I find it very interesting while watching in an auditorium while someone beside me just dozes off on the comfy seats -_-

National Palace Museum

we then made our way to Danshui in the afternoon.. it was reallie hot when we 1st arrived at Danshui.. The MRT station is red in color.. looks like Sg's RedHill Station.. there are various ways to go about exploring Danshuei..

1. Walk from Danshui MRT out to the Danshui Lao Jie and Continue walking all the way to Fisherman's Wharf to catch the sun set.( this is what we took)
2. Take a bus from Danshui MRT Station that delivers you direct to Fisherman's Wharf
3. Walk from Danshui MRT Station to Danshui Lao Jie and take a ferry which brings you to Fisherman's Wharf

Since that day was a Sunday, many people queued up for the ferry ride.. we forego it and jus walked to explore the shops that Danshui Lao Jie has.. and yup..it's a food-haven as well..im not sure if is considered expensive but they are definitely yummy.. there were also many game stalls and each of us won a bubble-like 小米酒 and 乌龙茶 from our gunshots of those balloons..
we encountered some shops sellng those reallie tall Icecream.. very suitable to eat in a hot day.. and it definitely takes skill to produce a good icecream like that.. most importantly.. it is very tasty...probably cant find it anywhere in singapore..

Him with the 巨无霸 icecream!
the weather seem very unstable after we finished the icecream.. we were afraid that it would rain.. so we practically "run" towards Fisherman's Wharf asap.. praying at the same time for good weather.. and finallie we reached!we received another unexpected surprise at the wharf when we see many people crowding around a stage.. looks like there is a concert.. and then.. there he is.. 品冠comes out to sing!... this was reallie a great surprise.. to catch a concert.. somemore is 2h.. and his voice is great~...i tink usuallie on weekends.. celebrities will come to Danshui to sing.. since the setting is very good.. with sea by the side and a beautiful 情人桥nearby..he looks slim in person..quite suave too.. and he even sang hokkien song "要拼才会赢!" and his new songs and old songs like "掌心".Very nice~

we didnt stay thru the concert.. after about 40min.. we walked to the bridge to enjoy the seabreeze and the sunset.. most importantly is to take pics of the famous bridge seen at the Fisherman's Wharf.. the view was spectacular.. and there is this 民革餐厅..the lady who sang sound like Tanya Chua.. voice very special.. very pretty and very good in singing unplugged music.. had dinner over there to enjoy her songs.. very relaxed...

the day ended with our tired feet back to hotel..and watching variety TV programmes!i love such life haha..