Taipei - Day 5 of 8 (Wed 19 Sep 2007)

I've been quite lazy lately but i have to complete the trip log since it is already started. Alright Day 5 adventure now.

We were reviewing our photos the night before this day and feel that we should snap more of our encounters and indeed this day we really did poses quite a lot. There's a Chinese idiom saying "kneel and pray for every 3 steps you take", i think for our case is "stop and snap for every 10 (or is it 11,12,13?) steps we take"!

Here's the day opening video:

Recorded before we set off to Wulai

We woke up very early especially me. When we left the hotel after the breakfast it was already ard 8.30...

Jade Lake (near Xin Dian station)

I have to say the sky is beautiful though still with slight drizzle, the mist covering the hill top is enchanting. Wait till u see the rest when we are at Wulai...

Jerky Bus

The bus drives us up the hill and urgggh.... it was so jerky...... along the rocky road!

Reached Wulai

Finally here we are at the foot of Wulai hill... without our raincoat yet.

Maybe we are too early or was it due to weekday or the villagers were still in dreamy mood? The people traffic there was scarce.
All the way we climb up the hill to pose with the nature surroundings, saw the stairs? Seems a long way but actually not as tiring as it looks as along the way we are busy capturing and enjoying the beautiful scenery. It was even more rewarding when we took the cable car up higher. Luckily no mishap happen along the cable b'cuz of the rain, haha...

Wulai is also famous for its hot spring but we didn't have time for it.

Wow... the rapid stream looks amazing right? Omg you should experience the hard work behind the shot, it is tiring and i have to be careful not to let my eye make-up smudge by the rain, urgh... The pic on the left, i was standing on a wooden block bridge and was so afraid that it might break but of cuz it is firm, just my psychology barrier. However the result is good, hehe...

I think these angles are nice especially the one on the right which brings out an oriental feeling... Wouldn't it be better and nicer if we were in bridal gown and suit? haha...

Spotted this golden retriever when we were at buying some of Wulai local products. He is so adorable...and good-natured but too bad he did not look into the camera. Maybe he is whining for we did not reward him any treats for his special appearance in the pic. I wish i could have a golden retriever, i think they are the most handsome species of dogs...

Jade Lake

When we took the bus back to from Wulai, i m really shagged after the whole day walk. Alvin keep pushing me to go to the Jade Lake bridge despite my reluctance to do so. But well, i m glad he did b'cuz is really worth it. Our mind can really win over our body sometimes.

Misty Jade Lake

Crossing the bridge, there is a Rosemary cafe restaurant which we decided to settle our dinner for the day.

Rosemary Cafe Restaurant

The ambiance is nice, with the owner playing jazz music but we waited almost an hour for our course! Because they will only start the course at 5.30pm, then they should have informed us earlier, haha...

I Am Starving

Beautiful Night

Didn't know that night view from Jade lake could be so beautiful as well though. Think thats the end of Day 5? No.....! Heading for Wu Fen Pu for shopping...

Shopping At Wufenpu

The place is so big and is impossible for us to look into every shop/street. I've grabbed 2 bags for S$25 each, 2 nice T-shirts for S$15, a trench coat, 2 blouses, 3 pairs of earrings and 2 strings of necklaces. Seems a lot huh? I could have shopped for more but I've empty our wallet! Too bad...

Taipei - Day 4 of 8 (Tue 18 Sep 2007)

This is a typhoon day and a terribly sad day for me because we r restricted to travel only the areas around Ximending :(

Actually we intended to go to Wulai but judging from the bad weather, all our plan have to be canceled. ~sign~

Our holiday mood had been dampened by the rain...

Nothing much for this day, we stay at the hotel for half of the day watching TV. Come to think of it actually we should go to check out their Cashbox KTV, but too late, guess next time if I happen to visit Taipei again.


Well regardless of how bad the weather might be, nice food will always liven my spirits...hehe...
This is taken from the 3rd level windowpane (where we sat) of an Egg themed restaurant (Dan Dan Wu) @ Ximending. Some of the dishes servings were quite huge. My rating for would be just moderate.


Their candy apple is so eye-appealing and delicious! I think Singapore has got an outlet selling the same stuff too but i can't remembered where is it. I ordered the black forest flavor, yummy... sweet and sour taste...perfect dessert after dinner.


Ah Zhong noodle (Mien Xian) is a must try when you are @ Ximending. Apparently the standing crowd proves it all. 1 big bowl is not enough...haha... For this stall there are no oyster in the noodle but erm... pig intestine which I don't dare to eat but the gravy and noodle is nice. Thumbs up!


Shopping around Ximending is rewarding especially during this kind of weather. Because most of the shop owners are willing to give customers good discounts! I bought a pair of nice partially fur boots for just S$25! A good buy, haha...


This is a shop selling mostly Japanese magazine. Since we are there I bought a couple of it of October issue. Just a little cheaper than Singapore by $1 or $2.

Taipei - Day 3 of 8 (Mon 17 Sep 2007)

Our schedule for this day is to go to Leofoo Village at XinZu. We hired a cab to the themepark and to our disappointment, it starts to drizzle! But luckily most of the games were still open to public.

Since it is raining, visitors were scarce and as you can see from the photo where we are the only one at the entrance! Haha... of course other than us, there were some graduating students who were there for their excursion and a few young couples like us.

Here are some photos taken at the Arabic, Cowboy and the Lost world theme...

Our first game to warm up the tempo is a swirling barrel, then the Viking!

I don't know how Alvin do it but he manage to firmly gripped the camera in his palm and video the whole process of the rides down... and below are some of the short clips...

Viking Ride Clip

Pagoda Revenge Clip

Not enough excitement? Next we went to challenge the Pagoda Revenge! Initially, when we witness its height we kinda intent to back off. Omg we were dropped from a 17th storey height and before I can open my eyes, we already landed the ground in within 2-3 sec! I felt like a thin paper floating for 3 sec...haha...



Enough of screaming, time for some entertainment. Went for a short performance at the theater which makes us feeling like a kid again. Also it is a good chance for us to dry ourselves. The whole day we were playing their rides such as magic carpet, tunnel cart adventure, 360 degree flip, 3D adventure etc. In fact, no rides can be as exciting as the Pagoda Revenge.





However there is one ride which we are unable to play because of the rain and that is the 360 degree Firewheel. Should be a fun ride too. We took a picture of it anyway.

The Arabic themed castle.

This is our lunch at about 3.30pm. Luckily we had a heavy breakfast to endure us all through the day...

After a fun and WET day, we took the E-Go bus to Jingan MRT station and back to hotel.

Enough of rest for us but not the weather, it is still raining. Poor Alvin and the camera, he felt so heartache when the rain dropped onto our camera and tripod the whole day, haha... Here we are at Zhong Xiao Dun Hua, due to the approaching typhoon at Taipei, we do have some difficulties strolling down the streets. We passed by a few alleys with many interesting restaurants, cafes and bars...

...which we decided to have our dinner at this noodle restaurant situated among one of the alley. The ambiance is zen-like and the lighting is cosy. We ordered their special spring roll, tea roasted duck (can't remember the name but is roasted with Chinese tea) and their noodle specialty (dan zai mien). The noodle serving is just right and not too salty, the duck is chewy and tasty too. I thought my stomach would still have room for dessert but no, I m already full, haha...

After recharging our stomach, we stroll down the streets of Taipei. Its night scene is really beautiful, maybe is due to the light reflexion of the water puddle, I realize that photo taken on the streets during that time was really nice...


Now Singaporeans...shouldn't we learn from them? Lined up properly while waiting for the train to arrive...I realize that most Taiwanese are very discipline. Not only that they would keep right side on the escalator for others to pass through on the left, some would even wear a mask when they got a cold to prevent virus spreading. Hmm... guess it could be due to the cultural influence from their neighbor in Japan.

Taipei - Day 2 of 8 (Sun 16 Sep 2007)

For this day, we follow the 1 day tour by our travel agency and is really rush - the disadvantage with tour :(

Our first stop is at the Chiang Kai Shi Memorial Hall. Some part of it is still under renovation so we didn't got a chance to go inside for a look, anyway even if permitted, our tour guide won't allow tat amount of time for us too. *sign*

The 2nd stop is Yeliu. We are really glad that the weather is bright and sunny otherwise it would be impossible to visit. The natural erosion of the sea rock forming the unique abstract figures is really amazing. There are figures of the famous queen head, glass slippers, mushroom, throne, old ginger and many more. So I just post some of the more interesting ones here...

3rd stop we went to Jiufen, there are lots of nice food ! There are bbq mushrom, fried potato like what I am holding on the left picture, bbq sausage, big meat balls, candied fruits... The most unbearable stuff is the smelly bean curd! Ok, delicacies for some fans but not me... The lane is so narrow and even so, the motorists still tries to drive through the crowd, omg, i give up.

Spotted a cute auntie with a big yellow flower hair accessory and big white glasses when strolling down the slope. Haha... she is really trying to catch attention, such an image sacrifice but i think her taste can be improved...

After Jiufen, the guide bring us to a shop selling lingzhi and natural honey which i think is really a waste of time. Our objective is to travel and explore and not to buy health products!

Anyway our official 4th stop we went to Chong Lie Ci to witness the changing duty of the soldiers guarding the place. Nothing exciting but i m impressed by their physical endurance and discipline for they have to stay motionless whole day...

Since we still have some spare time, the tour guide bring us to the Grand Hotel for some history review during the Soong sisters period. This hotel is built at Soong May-ling's direction. Supposedly meant to be for the Taiwan people, all profits were supposed to go to charity.

Again, the guide bring us to an organization on fortune telling and selling the jade holy beast called Pi Siu. I was told that i am born the element of metal and lacks fire element so the teller recommends me to purchase their fire element Pi Siu. (below picture) Ok they claim is real jade but i m skeptical of its genuity and feels that is better to consult the experts. Omg and it is expensive, moreover my budget doesn't include buying this kind of products. Honestly speaking, these side selling really spoils the trip (another disadvantage of tour) but still consider rewarding since my fortune is told.

Our 5th station of the tour was the hot spring in beitou, i can't remember the name. Below are some short clip we have taken.

So Alvin is a better host than me, haha...

We took the private bathroom for the hot spring and the picture on the left is the spring house's lounge bar, the design and atmosphere is a very oldies Japaneses feel...



Alright, finally our last stop we are at Shi Ling night market. I m a bit disappointed b'cuz most of the stalls are selling almost the same kind of food! Nothing fantastic about it. We ordered the oyster mee suah (In fact i will recommend the Ah Zhong mee suah at Ximending) , oyster fried egg and some pork soup. Omg, their smelly bean curd again... pardon me.

Next we take the MRT ourselves and back to the hotel.

Thats all for today and will post the rest of the trip next week.

Taipei - Day 1 of 8 (Sat 15 Sep 2007)

I will log some of my experience during my 8 days Taipei. It was really a fun travel...and we took a lot of videos n photos. Taipei is a nice place to visit especially for their natural scenic areas. Alright, start the ball rolling...


A bright and good weather for flying in the plane departing for Taipei. Feeling excited to reach the destination...







Finally reached Taipei hotel in the evening. Suddenly i feel paranoid and lost, and regretted the free and easy trip. But it was the opposite for Alvin, he claim that he feels very homely down there. Omg, guess his ample research did the trick. So I just wish I can adjust to the new environment asap.




Since is already evening and only the first day, we didnt actually explore many places. So we only linger around Ximending and took a picture at The Red Playhouse. Near the playhouse, there are a few night pubs for chill out at the back lane. The interior stage is unique in the sense that audience can enjoy their tea while watching the show just like what the people did in the oldies...