Wednesday, December 26, 2007
"There's nothing like travel to make you realize the things you take for granted and those you wish you can have."
My taiwan trip began on 18 December 2007 and ended on 25 December 2007 - The Christmas Day. I'll recount the experiences we had there...
18 December, Tues
After 4 hours of flight (we had our dinner & watched BOURNE ULTIMATUM), we arrived @ Taoyuan International Airport at 8pm. We searched the crowd for our tour guide (MR Li) and finally found him with the paper sign - the "噌兄弟 新加坡“ handwritten. I made a call to my schoolmate Elvin who was also in Taiwan but well he was in Tainan when i called. When all 19 of us were gathered, Mr Li led us to the coach which would be our transport for the whole 8 days trip.
Mei Hui, Yian Pin, Mark & I occupied the last row of seats on the coach and were teasingly named "四大门神“ by Mr Li, and unsurprisingly we were the only group of young adults, whereas all the others were families and one woman who traveled alone. (hence the no. 19)
Mr Li introduced himself as we were en route to Shi Lin Night Market (instead of Taoyuan cuz of convenience) in Taipei. The journey was abt 1 hr long and well Mr Li complimented on my looks as 典型的中国美女. I was so embarrassed la and Yian Pin just teased me more. -.-
We had 45 mins to shop around SHi Lin Night Market. One word to describe the market is ENDLESS. Really, the shops in that market are sooo many that it seem endless and the crowd was crazy even on a tues night! We had to rush our shopping and didn't buy anything in the end cause of the limited time. It was the start of the many 'mini-shopping races"
After that, we were transported to our 1st Hotel - Cosmos Hotel in Taipei. I shared the room with Mei hui while Yian Pin shared with Mark. It was a twin room so they slept on separate beds. Well it was probably 4 star hotel and the bedroom was pretty alright. Only single bed but got adequate facilities. We went out for supper after checking in and the night was pretty cold about 19 deg. Unfortunately there was not much choices to choose so we had supper @ Macdonald's. I shared nuggets and salad with Mei Hui. Then we went back to hotel to shower and watch TV. Meihui and i chatted for some time after we were in bed.
19 Dec wed
6.30am - washed up & packed
7.15am - had breakfast buffet @ hotel
8.30am - stowed our luggages in the coach & boarded e coach.
9.35am - ran to the entrance & met with tour guide, then we were on e way to 野柳风景区.
10.30am - we explored the 野柳风景区, saw stone formations of ginger, candle holder, mushroom head, Queen's head & Fairy shoe (clog). Took many pics. At e end, we walked through street of stalls & tried grilled cuttlefish.
"Mark, Mei Hui, me & Yian Pin with Queen's Head"
1.30pm - we took the public bus (with very few seats & alot of standing space) to ReiFang railway station.
2.15pm - took the scenic train ride to Hualien. I sat next to Mei Hui and we chatted more than watching the scenery cuz there wasn't much to see. LOL Scenic my ass. We then took a short nap on the train
5.40pm - we arrived @ Hualien, with the skies very dark. i was very surprised but MR Li said the sun set very early over there. So our coach brought us to the "xua xua wo" restaurant for dinner - a steamboat buffet. Each of us has our own steamboat and we ate till very full. Got icecream somemore! Haha
7.30pm - we then went to check in our 2nd hotel ASTAR HOTEL. I shared the room with Mei Hui again and this time the room was even bigger! Got balcony, double beds, and chalet-style toilet.
8pm - Yian Pin, Mark & I had another pillow fight but the room was too spacious, he got alot of room to maneuver! More challengin for us. Haha
8.30pm - i went back to watch TV with Mei Hui some reality show.
9pm - shower and then read finish "CRAZY LOVE" novel.
12am - sleeping time
20 Dec, thurs
6.30am - wahsed up & packed
8am - had breakfast buffet @ hotel
8.30am - checked out and on the way to Taroko Gorge太鲁阁峡谷
9.30am - walked down the NINe Turn Gorge
10.30am - coach brought us down the mountain to 长春听涛. Yian pin realized she lost her necklace and we searched for it. After 'some investigation' using photos and my acute observation skills, i managed to recover the necklace from her clothes. -.- It was under her sweater. Haha
11.10am - we were brought to this shop where we tried some snacks and Alishan tea. I bought a packet of mochi and box of pineapple tarts.
11.30am - we had lunch @ another restaurant. Another 10 course. With the specialty Bamboo rice (nothing much abt it).
1pm - After lunch, i played 'catch a toy' machine and caught a green hammer soft tyo that made sound when you shake it. The little boy in our tour wanted to exchange his little chick with the hammer so i let him.
1.10pm - then we went to this gemstone shop K.L. 石隆. And i bought a sapphire pendant necklace @ NT 3850 after 80% discount. Still expensive but well its hard to find such in singapore @ such affordable price i'd think. I also bought a purple crystal bracelet for my godma.
2pm - on the way to Taitung. It was a long trip so Mr Li let us sing karaoke on the bus since they got the system. As the 4 of us had been late for a few times, so as our forfeit we were supposed to sing 3 songs each. LOL so we sang lor..but mark didn't sing.
4pm - Visited the 8 IMMORTALS' cave
4.25pm - drove to Cave of 3 immortals (3 big boulders)
5pm - Sun was setting in 15 mins time. took alot of pics. Collected some pebbles from beach and walked the 8 Arches Bridge with Mei Hui.
5.30pm - the sky was dark and coach took us to see "water flowing up" sight
6.30pm - reached the place to look at it for a while before going for dinner
7.30pm - had seafood dinner again
7.45pm - checked into Formosan Naruwan Hotel, a grand hotel with hot spring and live entertainment.
8pm - it was my turn to share the twin room with Mark. Our room was 1017 and very pretty with 2 separate double beds, spacious bathroom and bedroom. There was even kimono-styled bathrobes. We wanted to try the hot spring so we changed into our swimsuit and only us girls wore the robes over our suits.
8.30pm - went to the hot springs , so disappointing that it wasn't natural but swimming pool-like.
There were the very cold long pool, the 38 deg hot tub and the 37.5 warm tub.
We went from the hot tub to the cold pool, then to the hot tub and to the cold pool, then to the warm tub, to the hot tub and back to cold pool. The cold pool got some massaging equipment such as the water fountains etc.
9.45pm - we went back to our hotel rooms and Mark showered 1st.
10.15pm - i showered and changed into PJs.
10.30pm - we watched the old chinese movie "wo shi yi ge zhei" on TV
12.45pm - we turned off all the lights and slept on our separate beds.
21 Dec, fri
6.30am - washed up and packed
7am - had breakfast
7.45am - packed
8am - on the bus to Kaohsiung, watched french movie TAXI (till i fell aslp)
10.30am - had rest stop & tried some fruits
11.30am - went to Fokuangsan & took pics
1pm - had vegetarian lunch (also 8 course)
2.45pm - went to 春秋宫.
4.30pm - went to 海宝珍珠 & listened to their talk & bought a box of terrapin pills for grandma
5pm - on the bus to New Jyueyjiang shopping area.
5.45pm - it was similar to Night market with many shops and food stalls too. We shopped around and i bought a black/white checkered shawl, a fairy pendant gold necklace, 2 stockings and 12 pantyhoses.
6.45pm - we then went for dinner @ some oriental restaurant with good food. also 10 course chinese food with prawns, fish, veggies, rice and we could even order any food we wanted.
9pm - we then were brought to this Love River and there were shops along the river bank. I bought a few custom made hp straps.
9.30pm - we then on the way to LiuHe night market
10pm - we then shopped around but didn't buy much stuffs. We saw this machine game with 9 basketball loops. lol
10.30pm - we went to Kaohsiung C U Hotel and checked in
11pm - again i shared the room with Mark and it was 3-star hotel cuz the room was much smaller. showered, then watched THE TUXEDO on TV
22 Dec, sat
6.39am - washedup and packed
7.15am - had breakfast
7.45am - checked out
8am - we were on the way to Alishan Mountains. It was a long trip so Mr Li let us sing karaoke again. And this time, Mark sang "tong hua".
11.30am - reached Alishan, took shuttle bus to summit
12pm - had lunch @ Alishan Hotel -another 10 course lunch
1pm - went for walk in Alishan forestry, took pics, listened to Mr Li telling the stories, tried on ALishan costumes.
2.30pm - went back to coach
3pm - went to fengqihu which is halfway down the mountain and tried the peanut ice cream wrapped in popiah skin and 爱玉 and honey vinegar drink.
5pm - we set off for Taichung
6.30pm - rest stop
7.30pm - we had 10 course dinner @ 伍角船板, a cavernous cave-like restaurant with the bowls made from clay. The food was superb and we even had 'tang yuan" courtesy of our tour guide.
9pm - we went to fengjia night market
9.35pm - we shopped around and i bought a black sports watch
10.30pm - we then checked into Fulwon Hotel, another 2/3-star hotel. This time, Mei Hui shared room with Mark while i shared with Yian Pin. Showered and chatted
23 dec, sun
6.45am - washed up & packed
7.30am - had breakfast
8.30am - checked out and had 1 hr ride to sun moon lake in Nantou.
9.30am - took a cruise to the other bank and took pics, and tried salted egg.
10.30am - went to Miao House nearby and listened to talk about Lingzi
11am - took coach to wenwu temple
11.30am - visited wenwu temple which house confucius, Yue feng and Kuang Gong.
12.30pm - had lunch @ nearby restaurant with another 10 course chinese lunch.
1.30pm - on the way to Formosan Aborginial Village with amusement park
2.30pm - we were each given a map and told to be back at meeting point @ 5pm. Then we went to try out the SPACE SHIP ride in the Castle. it was a very short ride.
2.45pm - we tried out the Waikiki Wave which went up over, down, sideways, diagonal. Pretty speedy.
2.50pm - break as yian pin felt abit nauseous
2.55pm - we took a slow Jurassic cruise
3pm - took the Carousel. Meihui n i on the swing while YP on the horse. After the carousel, YP was very nauseous and vomitted in toilet.
3.10pm - we took the monorail around the part of park
3.15pm - we went to try the Gold Mine Mountain where we sat in a log boat and it brought us up and down 2 mountains, splashing water. Especially the higher one which got camera shot and then splashed alot of water. haha We enjoyed this so much that we went for it 3 times in total. We even bought the photo @ NT100.
4pm - next we walked to the nearby park and took pics of us on the hammocks
4.15pm - we went to try Mayan Adventure - a suspended looping rollercoaster. To be honest, it was my very 1st roller coaster with loops. Hence i was kinda scared initially esp since Mei Hui n i were both sitting in the first row. How EXCITING! And the height! GOSH. Its suicidal. Haha
I saw us inching up the very tall tracks and we paused at the top for a very short while. ANd i could feel my heart in my mouth, as i prepared to scream. Wahhaa. =x When the coaster let go and sped along the tracks, up, down, sideway, over the loop, i also let go and screamed! Muahah. I even closed my eyes. Kekex.
It was quite fast too as we reached the end. Luckily i did not puke or faint. Haha We went for another time, but this time it wasn';t that scary anymore and i didn't even close my eyes or scream. Since it was close to our meeting time, we ran to the UFO Gyro Drop, 85 feet. And basically it carried us up slowly to the top, revolved for a while (mark N i were admiring the view), then it just dropped without warning till halfway the length before it slowed. Truly it was one of a kind experience! I was breathless...
It was super close to 5pm and we ran to the front pavilion and used the restroom before meeting with the tour. We also took pic with the tribal people. On the bus to Taoyuan (3 hrs), I felt slightly discomforted - too much excitement but when i closed my eyes, i was OK. I never like to vomit and i don't get motion sickness often but sometimes i do get headaches. Haha Luckily for me, neither symptoms manifested.
8.30pm - we had dinner on our own @ Xin zu Night market, which mainly sell foods. We had more meatballs and i had chocolate milkshake. My sweet tooth was acting up. =x
9.15pm - we checked into Taoyuan Yaward Resort which was very isolated. Once again I shared with Yianpin. We unpacked and showered.
24 Dec, Mon
6.30am - washed up and packed
7.15am - had breakfast
7.30am - checked out and took coach to National Museum in taipei
9.30am - we had a tour around the Museum. Since it was so early and maybe i din sleep well, anyway i felt like a zombie walking around. However it was quite educational and interesting to look at the different exhibits and learnt the stories behind those.
11.30am - we went to watch the arms exchange ceremony @ Martyr's Shrine in the rain.
12.30pm - then we went to a chinese restaurant for lunch,
2pm - it was steamboat & teppanyaki. Mr Li also ate with us as we slowly enjoyed the food and chat.
3pm - as we had this xmas gift exchange tonight, so we shopped @ nearby shop after lunch. I got a pair of bedroom slippers.
3.10pm - had 2 hrs ride to Tamshui Fisherman's Wharf.
5pm - as usual, it was still raining. And i got my waterproof hooded jacket on since i din bring umbrella. We walked over the bridge and i walked beside Mr Li as he sheltered me with his umbrella (though it was really unnecessary =x). took pics.
5.40pm - we went to Tamshui Old Street
5.50pm - we shopped along the street and i bought 2 packets of candies, 2 packets of cuttlefish, 1 pair of sunglasses (for Mr Li cuz he was so nice, YP & MH got him a scarf & hat), 2 caps & 1 death note book & a pair of earrings.
7.10pm - we then took coach back to taipei for dinner @ some hotel.
8pm - another 10 course dinner
9pm - i had a surprise birthday celebration on the coach. Mr Li whipped out a birthday cake, lit the 21 number candles, played birthday song, and everyone sang along. I was so speechless..den tried to blow the candles. Haha Mr Li even got me a stuffed Mickey Mouse. Oh dear yian pin, how considerate of her to let him know my birthday.
She was my cake cutter and i was e distributor then we all proceeded to Ximenting.
9.45pm - we shopped ard ximenting, couldn't find Lust caution DVD that my cousin in law wanted. I bought a gold sparkling headband, hair clip & a pair of brown boots! Soo rare to find my size! Haha
10.30pm - we went to our last hotel - Santos Hotel (another 2 star de) but it has double beds.
We presented our gifts to Mr Li when he came to our room to pass me the Mickey mouse i left on bus. =x We even got him to try on the gifts and took pics with him.
Ok lar, i shall admit that Mr Li did show interest in me over the days (and he every day also mentioned me in the coach until i super paiseh, YP was no help at all! besides he got girlfriend liao & he lives in taiwan). Seriously I'm not supermodel kind of pretty la & i dun go for long distance r/s.
Since it was our last night, we girls wanted to sleep together and Mark was surprisingly accomodating. Hahaz The Tv channels very limited in this hotel so we slept early especially since we had to get up even earlier like 6am!
25 Dec, tues
6am - washed up and packed
6.45am - checked out of hotel and boarded the coach for 1 last time
7.10pm - Mr Li distributed the packed breakfast and we paid him the tips.
7.30pm - we checked in with China Airlines and got our tickets.
8pm - we bid farewell with Mr Li and shopped abit before entering the departure hall and searched for our boarding gate.
9.10am - we boarded our plane - MH, YP & i sat together. We chatted as we waited for the plane to take off.
10am - the plane was airborne and we listened to music as we napped.
12pm - i woke up to lunchtime. And had some chicken spagetti, the potato salad was lousy so i skipped it.
12.30pm - i watched abit of Daddy Day camp and the Christmas documentary.
1pm - I rested again
2.05pm - we touched down on Singapore airport and took our luggages.
2.30pm - YP left with her bf, while i went to BUs terminal and took bus home. Luckily for me, i
only had 3 bags unlike YP who had 4 bags.
The things i got for myself:
Well frankly, I totally enjoyed this trip despite the hurried atmosphere of the tour. I had a very memorable 21st birthday experience with my dear friends. Everyone on this tour were nice and friendly. Our tour guide has been very fun and friendly. His stories and sense of humour contributed much to the general attitude.
Taiwan is a beautiful country with more nature than singapore can offer. Although the products there are nicer and their fashion is much better than ours, since most of us just follow the western or taiwanese styles blindly, the prices aren't really that much cheaper. I do not understand why taiwanese like meatballs noodles or rice sooo much! I expected that they ate like we do in singapore which goes to show how much i really know about taiwan. Though their snacks include chicken cutlets, sausage sticks etc, but their main meals are quite different from what i expected. The meals provided on this trip were seriously over the board! 10 course meals every day leh! I'm tired of fish, prawns, and eating so full! Luckily we walked as much too.
I think its great to travel with friends once in a while. And you can really know a person even more through the experiences. Some friends you can travel with for certain kinds of tours, and some you can travel on other kinds, and others you just cannot travel with for long periods.
Someday I'd love to travel solo. Spontaneous. Just go a place where i want to go without much of a plan and just live a day as it goes.
I do not have all the photos taken of this trip with me now. So i will only upload some pics here.
LET ME FLY AWAY FROM HERE
- 3:35 AM
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Hi guys!
I know this blog has not been updated for some months. Well now i'm back to announce this good new that I'll be going to taiwan with Mei Hui, Yian Pin & Mark tomorrow till christmas day! I'm very excited with this trip we are embarking on. Although it is not a free n easy, it still thrills me to be traveling again! I do miss the feeling of experiencing new things, food and culture
We have already changed our money, packed our bags and going to meet earlier tomorrow for lunch. We are so excited - this is like our 1st trip to Taiwan together with Mei Hui! Hehe
I'll update more with pictures about our trip when i come back. So Stay tuned!
Love,
chrissy
LET ME FLY AWAY FROM HERE
- 11:38 PM
"Mark, Mei Hui, me & Yian Pin with Queen's Head"
"Yian Pin & I knockin on the grand heavy doors"
"Me with Yian Pin @ Nine Turn Gorge"
"Me & Yian Pin, before the O Great Buddha"
"Us being swallowed by the vicious dragon!"