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LAST PART OF MY TAIWAN TRIP!
Taipei(again!), May 18 - May 21 2008

First stop, Danshui


I think the Shilin in Singapore has it. I think! This is fab!!


We were just really elated to be back where there's proper and convenience transportation. But the air sucked!


The very famous 55cm ice cream. I ate 2 55cm ones and one 30 cm. HAHAHA. You know I love my ice cream. The white-brown one is obviously vanilla and chocolate and the pink-green one, also in the picture, is ICHIGO and MACHA. And there's mango-yam which I didnt want to try.

Danshui is just a lovely lovely lovely place. I love it so so so much. It's like our Pasar Malam but ten times better cause there is a wider variety of food and games!

Second day: Expensive shopping day


misterDonut is plain love.

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PART 4 of my 2-week break in Taiwan, Taichung




After the coach ride, we managed to find our way to the hostel. The hostel is so fucking clean!!! And the best part is that the toilet has two shower so we could bathe at the same time! AWESOME!!! But it's a great pity that the location of the hostel isnt ideal. We spent so much money on cab so we had no choice but to shorten our stay in Taichung to 3 days 2 nights. By the way, the sun in Taichung was the worst throughout our trip. I was perspiring like how I do in Singapore! OH GOD!



While waiting for the bus, which comes every half hour, we got really frustrated with the weather, the location of the hostel and the weather. ARGH!



Taken outside one of the coolest museums ever, the Taichung Railway Museum. There are about 4 or 5 of such in Taiwan. I love that place. Spice girls, that's the place I got your presents.



The following morning was spent waiting for the bus again. I got reminded of Jalan Kayu somehow. The very few buses, the surrounding and the houses.



The inside of a typical Taiwan bus. Doesnt it look like those in Korea and Japan? These Taiwanese...no originality at all.



MY FAV STYLE OF STEAMBOAT! My first Korean Steamboat. I lovelovelovelovelovelove it. The soup is darn sweet and the veggie was raw and sweet. AISH! Can someone find this for me in Singapore? Cannot be too expensive okay?



Pardon my hair. It's very very very messy. Took pictures with the Dian Ti Xiao Jie, loosely translated as Miss Elevator. Their job to be is really meaningless and a waste of time. Oh let me just tell you this picture didnt come easy. Miss Elevator A, the one on the right, told me a great deal of how the company doesnt allow them to be photographed and it's against the policy of people to take pictures with them in their uniform as they do want have their rivals to copy their uniform and so on. She spent a good 5 minutes saying no to be indirectly but at the end of it, she said it's okay since I am a tourist. WHAT THE FUCK!! ASS! So to protect her and her company, I shant mention the name of the biggest and most posh shopping mall in Taichung City.



Good food once again! Mango ice!!!! :) :) :) Mangolicious!
Wasnt ichigo season so no ichigo ice.





Above two pictures were taken at the National Arts Museum which was a HUGE PLACE!!! It's like the size of NYP Business, Engineering and Health Science combined! The library was a lovely place! HAHAHA! I kinda sneaked into it. I aruged with my sister in the morning so when we arrived there we just walk on our way. Then I think she got hungry or wanted to leave so she called me to ask my whereabouts. About ten minutes later, she called to ask me to come out because she couldnt get it but I didnt understand her. I walked in so why couldnt she! Whatever. I did as she said and later she explained to me that only the locals were allowed in. AHAHAHA!!! The librarians probably thought I was a local. Told ya, I adapt well.

That's about it. We went to the most famous night market in Taichung named Feng Chia which really wasnt worth the time. Another day-night market called the Yi Zhong Jie was ten times better. AHAHHA! I liked Taichung the best out of all the cities we went but unfortunately the hostel was really too far from every where and the public buses have really strange and inconvenience operation hours. I like how Taichung is very laid back but doing well economically. It's been erm...4 weeks since I came home, so I am lazy to type more. After the final part of my Taiwan trip which will cover Taipei again, I will be doing up a top 10 places to visit when you're in Taiwan based on my own experience. HAHAHA. So to those who are prepping for Taiwan, hold on. :)

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CALL ME KING AGAIN!!! My GM is only coming back tonight so he will only report to the office tomorrow morning. GREATNESS!!

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One-day tour. May 15, 2008

First stop was this place owned by the 2 chua sisters! HAHAH! See I'm the Dragon on the left and my sister is the Tiger! How many of you have 1986 sibilings? I know most do! Actually, I dont know if it's most does or do. Someone, help here! AHAHAH. My english sucks, I know.

Anyhow I really hate that place. I hate tigers!!! Look at the picture, both animals, wait is dragon considered an animal? AISH! Both creatures were staring at me with mouths wide open. My sister who was brave enough to step foot inside, came out after 30 seconds. Guess what she said? HAHAHAA. She admitted that the inside is way too scary for anyone. There were drawings of some sort. Think Haw Par Villa.

Although I didnt like this place, I love the confectionary nearby. It has tasty bread, cute cakes and very very unique cookies. So it's a must to visit that confectionary. Forget Breadtalk! Forget 4 Leaves! Forget Garlicia!

After food and viewing of the military band daily training, we headed to Meng Shi Dai, Dreamland Mall (loosely translated). To us, it bares a close resemblance to Vivo City. Shopping there is as good as going Taka so we only looklook-seesee! However, the DAISO in that building is heavenly! It about four times the size of the one located at PS!!! I WAS ON CLOUD 9! I love DAISO for all the right reasons! And it's cheaper too, every item is going at NTD38 which is about SGD1.60. AWESOME!

Pictures taken inside the Ferris Wheel Cabin. It's a Sanrio theme ferris wheel. :) Sadly, there were only Hello Kitty, Bad Badz Maru (?), Keropi (that green frog), some cinnamon thingy which is darn cute, My Melody and My Melody's evil side, the rocker. I WANT MY LITTLE TWIN STARS!!! KIKI AND LALA!!!! THe view from the top sucks la! On my right, I saw high rise buildings but on my left, there were industrial plants and whatcrap! Oh well!

One last look at it!

My sister is not a fan of ferris wheel! HAHAH! Phobia of heights!

There was a Converse exhibition going on when we were there. I'd let the photos do the talking. HAHAHA! Althea, if you're reading this, you should be able to feel my excitement when I saw it.

ICHIGO! ICHIGO! ICHIGO!

LALALALALA! LALALALALAND!

That's us with the couple. A little introduction about them. The girl was a design student while her boyfriend is a photographer. Good pairing huh? Both are 25 this year and jobless. They left their jobs recently and decided to treat themselves to a short holiday. How cool is that? Oh, we could watch the military band daily practice all thanks to the guy. He was formerly from that campsite so he made phone calls and all. It was a great bliss to have meet them since they were on a xiao qi (stingy) holiday and we were backpackers. Great combination!

They brought us to a night market, not the most famous one in Kaohsiung, but the one they like the most. I love the night market there! I ate so so so much. The night market is the best out of all the night markets we went around Taiwan, as in for food. For shopping, Taichung is the winner!

I'm lazy to type more. HAHAHA! In fact, by now most of you should have heard all about my "ghostly encounter" in Kaohsiung. OH! And my first experience with pornography on tv in a hotel room! 1 video shot from 3 different angles! Each of the porn channels was showing the view from one angle! SERIOUSLY!!! Got to be kidding me!

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About today! AHAHHA! Call me boss! No one in the office right now is more senior than me. YAY! My GM is stuck in KL. I think he missed his flight or something. As for the 3 idiots (they are nice people la, I'm just joking. You know I love to call people names with no ill intentions) who are constantly bugging me, they are out of town too. For one week that is. I feel like a KING today. Call me KING! Lunchtime soon. Bye bye.

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PART THREE OF MY 2-WEEK TAIWAN TRIP

So as if you've heard. We hitched a ride from a young taiwanese couple, both 25, and went to Taitung and Kaohsiung with them. :) Kaohsiung was a last minute plan but since they were going there. HAHAHAHA. Anyways Kaohsiung was one place I planned to visit then but my sister was not so keen somehow. Oh! And we heard so much about the place from this taiwanese-turned-new zealand-retirees so I guess it's a must-go. So from Hualien, we drove down to Taitung and along the way, we listened to Chinese Indie music with a little Jay Chou and visited the sites that we planned. Sorry but I really cant remember the names of the visited places so I went to the Taiwan Tourism Board website and extracted some information. Hopefully, I got the right ones.



#1



#2



#3 Mr Driver



#4



#5



#6



#7 Mrs Driver



#8



#9



#10



#11

Pictures #1 to #11 were taken at this place closer to Hualien. The wooden "tent" you see in picture #1 is made for camping. People are allowed to camp there as long as they made bookings. I went online to check, these pictures should belong to the East Coast National Scenic Area.

So there's a little information about it.
The East Coast National Scenic Area, known as "Taiwan's last unspoiled land", stretches 170 kilometers down the east coast of the island from the mouth of the Hualien River in the north to Shiauyeliou (Little Yeliou) in the south. To the east it is bounded by the Pacific Ocean; to the west rises the Coastal Mountain Range. The land here consists of volcanic rock, classic rock from deep beneath the sea, and shale that has been pushed upward- and is still being pushed upward- by tectonic action. Weathering, erosion, and accumulation have produced a wide range of landforms here, including coastal terraces, sand and pebble beaches, shoreline reefs, inshore islands, and capes along with sea-eroded platforms, trenches, and caves. This varied topography provides habitat for a rich diversity of flora and fauna.
The East Coast is the primary homeland of the Amis aboriginal tribe. Amis villages' dot the coastline, and the harvest festivals that they hold in July and August every year offer visitors an opportunity to gain insights into the culture of this unique people. Before the Amis settled here there were prehistoric peoples who came and went, leaving a rich store of artifacts and ancient sites that can still be seen today. Among the more modern cultural features of the coastline are enchanting temples, churches, and quaint fishing villages. This rich store of natural and cultural assets prompted the Tourism Bureau to establish the East Coast National Scenic Area in 1988, and to engage in the active development of the leisure resources here.




here's a glimpse of the 2 nice souls. :)



#a



#b



#c



#d



#e

#a to #e were taken around one of the must see in Taitung and that's Basian Cave (Basiandong). I couldnt capture the entire landscape with my camera. But nonetheless, you can also read up on it. Here you go.

Basian Cave is located in the north of Hua Tung Mountain by the coast of Changbin Township. "Basian" (eight deities) are famous Chinese deities. Fogs drift perpetually around the caves and the interior is damp and misty. As the environment resembles that in the folklore when the eight deities cross the ocean, the caves were named Basian. In the caves, Taiwan's first prehistoric site was discovered. As the earth's crusts elevated, the mountains were constantly eroded by the sea and 16 caves of different sizes were formed along the cliff as high as 100 meters.
Wooden tour tracks and stone tour tracks lead to all the caves, including Ling Yen Cave, Chao Yin Cave, Yung An Cave, Hai Lei Cave, Chao Yang Cave, Chien Yuan Cave, Kung Chen Cave and Kun Lun Cave. A prehistoric site was discovered in the highest cave, which is a first grade historic site now. There is an exhibition center showing the objects found in the site, including bone-made objects, stone objects, etc.



#i



#ii



#iii



#iv

Pictures #i to #iv are taken at Sansiantai (Terrace of the Three Immortals). AHHAHA. I actually went down to touch the water and my sister kept scolding me afer that. She insisted that I am being irresponsible and selfish. Well, according to her, should something happen to me, she would be responsible. So she thinks I was thinking for her at all. Oh god!!! That girl ar...
I tell you the water was so salty. My hands got really dry as the temperature dropped there, so the skin around my hands were peeling really badly. When my hands came in touch with the salt water, I wanted to scream in pain. HAHAHAA! Foolish me. However, I didnt even make a sound. Wait I think I squealed a little, in joy that was.

Oh there were like a thousand tour groups made up of retired or old locals!!! And they were so so so uncivilised. Exactly like those unwanted Chinese tourists we see in Singapore.

Information on Sansiantai:
Situated at the 112-kilometer mark on the coastal highway, Sansiantai consists of a headland facing a small island in the sea. The three huge rocks that make up the island's most prominent feature have given rise to a local legend that three of China's Eight Immortals once landed there; hence the name of the island, which means "terrace of the three immortals. " The island was once connected to the headland by a neck of land which has been eroded away; it is now connected by a red, scalloped footbridge, and the island has a network of footpaths for viewing its geological features such as potholes and sea-eroded caves and trenches, as well as rare coastal vegetation. The island is surrounded by coral reefs and a multitude of tropical fish, making this an ideal spot for skin diving.

DAY TWO IN TAITUNG

We headed down to Jhihben where all hot springs can be found. :)
Let me just share my horrible bus experience with you guys. There are only 3 service lines/routes in Taitung and the frequency of the buses is like 60 minutes! WTF! We missed the earlier bus by two minutes and had to wait 60 minutes for the next bus to depart. OMG!!! Seriously, I was busy cursing and swearing! After waiting for like half an hour, I got hungry but none of the shops nearby were opened yet. 7-11 was too far away like a ten minutes walk. At the point, I was still very grumpy and actually argued with my sister so there was no way of getting her help. ARGH!!! That's one reason why I hated Taitung so much. We actually spent our first day or rather half day in Taitung quarrelling on the streets! HAHAHA! I know! I know! It's embarrassing but it happens, huh?

As usual, you can read about Jhihben here:

Jhihben Hot Springs have the reputation of being "the greatest scene in eastern Taiwan". In the early years, hot springs emerged from riverbeds. There are carbonic acid springs (with the nature of base). There are colorless, odorless and their temperature reaches more than 100 degrees (Celsius). The springs are of high quality.Jhihben is divided into the inner hot spring area and the outer hot spring area by the Jhihben Creek . Inner hot spring area was developed late. However, due to presence of five-star resorts, the area has become the largest business district. It attracts many foreign tourists who demand services of higher quality.The "Jhihben Hot Springs" generally known by the public is located in outer hot spring area. There are many middle-size and small hot spring inns. It is convenient to get accommodation or enjoy hot spring spa. Now the inner hot spring area and the outer hot spring area have expanded and joined together. However, the inner hot spring area is close to Jhihben Forestry Park and its scenery is even better.Jhihben Hot Springs are the gathering place of aboriginal people. It provides the delicious dishes of aboriginal people and country dishes. Other than stores of country dishes, there are venders selling fruits like Shihgia, pineapple and Loshenhua. It has the flavor of eastern Taiwan.


ASS, can you smile? We were okay with each other already.
This was taken after our hot spring session. HAHAHA. We walked over to a nearby hotel and sit on one of the swings with a shelter in the garden. :)





And she smiled! HAHAHA. We were waiting for Mr & Mrs Driver to come pick us. :)
They were behaving more like daddy and mummy la!

I dont wish to elaborate more about Taitung. The hotel, yes we stayed in a hotel since there wasnt any hostels there. About the hotel, well, the service desk people were crapping and the phone in my inital room was spoilt. WTH! Because of the phone, I was upgraded to a HUGE room with 2 queen-sized beds. So...FORGIVEN.
The place...think Malaysia. That's it.

Part 4 will be posted next week. :)

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