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!

Day 12 : 230508 Taipei

reached the station near to 9am to take a 3h ride to Taipei.. regret not planing another day in Hualien as there seem more to be discovered...will do so in my next trip~


we reached Taipei in noon time.. and seem like a bad start.. once we have settled our luggage and ready to go to CKS Memorial Hall..it started to rain and this rain lasted the whole day and night..i onli took a pic of CKS from a sheltered area..sigh.. we decide to come again when the weather is better..
and we came upon 诚品书店which seems to be everywhere..some outlets are 24h opening..while some outlets is office hrs kind of opening..many books..lke kinokuniya..

we took a cab..to Ding Tai Fung located at Xinyi Road.. and got a free xiaolongbao keychain with the youth travel card for dining there.. it was cute!... the xiaolongbao there seem to taste different.. there were some dishes over there not found in sg.. the waiter and waitresses all like to say 不好意思 at the slightest thing even if is not their fault.. but 礼多人不怪.. i have to commend on their excellent service quality..there were many foreigners as well.. like Japanese and angmohs...good food.. good service.. this explains the popularity indeed..

a trip to Taipei is not complete without a visit to Taipei 101..it is so tall tall machiam human beings and cars belong to 小人国..with YTC.. you get discounts to go up to 89th floor.. we went to catch the nightview which was spectacular.. a very lively city indeed.. you can also climb up to 91st floor for free..an outdoor observatory.. the world's fastest elevator brings u up to 89th floor in 34sec.. can u imagine?.. and we were instucted to look at the ceiling of the lift which are covered with bright spots to represent the different star formations..even before we finish viewing, we have already reached the 89th floor..a chocolate-made Taipei 101 model

the interior of Taipei 101 mall whcih is very grand.. looks like many times bigger than Takashimaya.. and nearby shopping centres like New York New York which sells Mister Donuts!

we had dinner at a posh restaurant named Diamond Tony's Italian Restaurant for a 5-course meal..i'll let the pics of the wonderful do the talking.. 1st time eating escargot..and some other delicacies made this a memorable meal..
we went back TS Hotel after this meal.. rushed to catch the shuttle bus to the nearby MRT.. have to commend on the comfortability of TS Hotel.. i missed the facilities they offer to us.. one of the best.. huge space.. comfortable beds.. plasma tv.. shower facilities.. big sofa..free internet access..free breakfast buffet..numerous cable TV channels..free mineral water/coffee/tea.. excellent!.. will definitely stay in it again if I visit Taipei next time..highly recommended.. but try book earlie cuz is very popular..yupz..

not forgetting my catch of the day:

Day 11: 220508 Hualien

we reached Hualien Railway Station at about 11am..
was approached by this guy.. whom i forgot his name, who mentioned he was a representative of Stone Minsu.. and so we went along with him..

he told us Mr Chen Guangfa was already at a restaurant waiting for us to have lunch with 2 other groups of Singaporeans..so on that day, 3 groups of Singaporeans will be exploring Taroko Gorge together with him.. i must amazed and have to agree he's very very popular with Singaporeans..
We also met up with Liu-jie, boss of Stone Minsu, at the railway station.. for people who intend to stay in Stone Minsu, you dun haf to rush to book yr railway tix.. Liu-jie can help you book even if you haven buy yr railway tix to Taipei.. we didnt know that so we book the 9am train the next day to return to Taipei cuz it seem to be the onli tix that we can buy...

after travelling thru the Hualien City, we reached this restaurant that has very good ambience and interesting food.. we ate a lot of wild veggies which were said to be extremely good for digestion and prevent constipation.. very yummy...
shortly after, we begun to explore the different scenic spots within taroko gorge.. i think they very interesting and imagnative.. from the different rock formations, they can imagine that it resemble faces of dogs, lions, snakes, 印第安人...very amazing!... it will bring more joy to have a guide with you than to explore taroko alone.. u'll probably haf a hard to identify these rock-like-creatures in the midst of these mountains..the very very beautiful scenery you get to see in Taroko.. the rushing waters.. very clear water..

along the way, we were on the road.on the left is a mountain..on the right side is a river separating us from another mountain... Mr Chen start challenging us to throw stones over to the other side..who manages to throw will get free sashimi.. haha.. the distance seems near but actuallie it isnt.. ask Mr Chen the reason behind if you are interested.. only Dear manages to throw over to Mr Chen's surprise.. probably eating too much wild veggies make him stronger?haha...


can you see a sideview face hidden in within???

a side view of 印第安人..who was said to be the 1st person to land in Hualien...

the right side shows a bulldog.. the left side shows the sideview of a rhinocerous haha..

a snake crawling out from the mountains!

takin pics with Mr Jian(I think) on the left.. and Mr Chen, on the right on a 吊桥...

it was already evening time by the time we finished Taroko..we then made our way to 七星潭..there is no sand.. only pebbles.. stones.. beside the sea.. some stones are really beautiful.. i picked a few back..the waves are very strong.. and suddenly raining and disappeared again..quite dramatic weather in Hualien...scenery damn nice!after that, we were brought to Donggang Harbour..(if im not wrong)..to eat sashimi.. 5bucks for that amount is considered very cheap liao.. and is very fresh..the man-made fishball was also oishii..a lot of ingredients.. drinking soup in cold weather is jus the bes remedy to warm the body..then, we made our way to this Yuanfa Muahchee Distributor Store.. i regret jus buyin2 packets from this store.. cuz when we go other places to buy muahchee, they are very inferior as compared to Yuanfa Muahchee.. somemore is cheaper.. so when you guys go there.. do buy muahchee from this store.. it's the best!jus that the salesgirl is not friendly.. but cant forsake good food cuz of this since we long way come here.. so jus buy and go lor haha..

we were brought back to Stone Minsu to have a bath before meeting others for dinner.. we went to ate 排骨面which is rather yummy.. before going to watch 阿美族dance in a very touristy kind of village.. the dance watching was free.. and i mus say many people chose taiwan as their grad trip cuz we saw more singaporeans over there and they are mainly there for grad trip too haha..

it was originally planned to play fireworks at night but due to the poor weather, it has to be cancelled.. great pity.. we went back to have a good rest before emarking our journey to the last stop..Taipei!

Day 10: 210508 Taichung

A trip to Flying Cow Ranch is something we look forward to..and there we are!
the ice cream is one of the best I've tasted so far..

in the afternoon, we made our way to Sanyi Duck Factory for some DIY activity..it is a good place to relax as well while appreciating the woodcraft production which is one of the best..
this was followed by a short visit to Shanbanciao Mask Culture Studio.to look at the production of woodmasks..they also offer DIY activity..but we were too tired after painting our duck.. so we didnt give it a go..

the day ended rather quickly with a good meal at 春水堂which is famous for its 珍珠奶茶. everywhere in taiwan within few footsteps, you will come upon a bubble tea shop.. they seem to drink more bubble tea than water.. but their servings of pearls are very generous and the taste of their teas taste much nicer than in singapore..somemore with a lower price.. tat's the catch!a lucky catch from 抓抓乐machine of CJ7 makes the day even better..haha..this is our last night in Taichung.. wakin very earlie tmr for the 5h train ride to Hualien..