Taiwan 2010 - Day 5

25th May (Tues)

旗津(高雄) / 台中 / 台北

had free brkfast at hotel. checked out and set off to 旗津.. a small island of 高雄.. a place where most pple go for seafood meals.. went tk bus num 248 outside our hotel to 鼓山渡轮站.. ard 20mins, NT$12.. den took ferry from Gushan Ferry Pier to 旗津 Cijin Ferry Pier.. 10 mins, NT$15 for adult..weather is terribly hot again..haiz..tis time i wear tshirt with sleeve..which mk my arm kana 3 diff skin tones..sian.. haa..arm damn dark nw..


nvr expect to ride bicycle at 旗津.. as we wanna go to Windmill park.. which is.. quite far away..impossible to walk.. so rent 2 person bicycle for NT$200.. tot was able to ride with our big bags with us..but cmi.. is v hard to ride and hard to balance..haa..no choice, hv to put our bags in the rental stall.. hope will be safe with them.. suddenly feel so carefree when riding without any burden..

1st stop is Tianhou Temple 天后宫..


den ride all the way to Cihoushan Star Tunnel 旗后山星空隧道..know abt this place from review, and feel v nice..but..so so nia.. hee.. u will hear pple clapping,and bird chipping sound will come out.. and luminous lighting of figures are on the top of the tunnel.. quite nice also.. like under the dark sky full of stars..



next will be riding all the way down to Windmill park 风车公园..which is like.. 8.5km away~ wahh.. rode until leg tired..finally reach there.. haiz.. theres only one row of windmill.. and.. tats it~?was abit disappointed..think we tk ard 1 hr to reach there? was kinda long.. gave up to explore the rest, and rode bk to fill our stomach..


had their recommended 不一样赤肉羹 ((NT$50) nt bad..tasty soup with meat that tasted like fried pork + yellow noodles..


and of cos go for their bbq sotong again.. 2 for NT$60~.. is the cheapest we ate in Taiwan liao.. found this when surfing for 旗津 info while waiting for our laundry.. must-try~


took ferry bk to 鼓山.. had 海角冰 to cool down body and took bus 248 back to 高雄车站, den mrt to 左营 station.. took HSR train again to 台中 (NT$670) 1 hr journey.. zz all the way~~


reached 台中 ard 450pm.. 台中 transportation is FREE~ hee.. planned to go 一中街 for shopping / eating 1st, den go buy 太阳饼.. took their free THSR shuttle bus 高铁快捷公车 to 台中一中.. theres many shuttle bus gng to diff places.. so go chk it out..


took ard 40mins to reach there.. nvr expect so many pple in 一中街夜市.. had the cheapest 臭豆腐 in here.. NT$45 for 2 BIG doufu~ nice and the most smelly one.. woo~ bought honey green tea (NT$30) to clear our throat.. n think taiwan quite famous of its 打饼..actually is like.. mking the prata in a loosen manner.. nth special..bought a watch (NT$350) for myself..hee..


gng buy 太阳饼.. bk to the bus stop where we alighted.. took free TTJ 捷运公车 Bus num 55.. free bus service again~ to 民權繼光街口..den walked to 自由路.. Note that only TTJ bus service is free, the rest has to pay.. go 台中, has to buy their famous 太阳饼, which mainly located at 自由路.. there's one stretch of 太阳堂.. and famous one.. is 23号.. too bad is closed..haiz.. so sway.. no choice, bought from the unit next to it.. one box consists of 10 pieces.. cost NT$180.. bought 2 boxes each..and gives us one free 酥饼 each.. time to go bk 台北 liao, kinda late.. took bk bus 55 to 台中公园, den wait for 高铁快捷公车 back to 台中高铁站.. and took HSR train back to 台北.. 1 hr journey again, NT$455..

Taiwan 2010 - Day 4

24th May (Mon)

台北 / 高雄

booked 10am High Speed Rail (HSR) train to 左营 (station to alight for 高雄.. 2hrs journey.. NT$1265 one way..

went for their local fav, 永和豆浆 for brkfast takeaway..is located opp 東龍 hotel, ordered their 豆浆 (NT$15), 起士蛋饼 (NT$25).. their 豆浆 can compare to our SG one.. niceee.. the egg pancake with cheese is nice too..


weather is gd at 26deg..walked inside the Taipei Bus station as is stil early for our train.. think is new one? nvr walk here b4..everything is juz nice and saw our local singer shop in there.. boarded HSR train.. abit like Japan's shinkansen.. reached and clear direction to their mrt Zuoying station..


our 1st stop is Dream Mall 梦时代, a big shopping mall in 高雄.. bought our token which look like those casino chips, and surprisingly they are to be scan to enter the entrance.. cool leh.. haha..cos tot will be putting into those slot.. nt bad..


took mrt from R16 左营 to R6 凯旋 station.. 高雄 mrt route is simple, consists of only 2 lines, red and orange.. Go for 梦时代 free shuttle bus service at Exit num 3.. den will get to see a cute mini van.. hee.. wah.. Dream Mall is really big..and think gt 9 storeys? went for their Hello Kitty ferris.. haha.. cheap cheap only NT$150 (SGD$7), so juz have fun.. erm..actually abit scary.. try nt to move big action when inside..cos the cable will move..nt tat stable as sg flyer..haha..so we can only afford SLOW action.. unless u wan the cable to swing~ last for 30mins.. after tat go every storey to hv a look.. each storey has its own theme.. at least is more organised ba? spent ard 2-3 hrs at there..





Time to go check in and release our shoulder burden..took free shuttle bus back to R6 凯旋 station, den from there to R10 美丽岛 station.. also known as their interchange.. in 美丽岛 station, of cos cant miss their main attraction, 光之穹頂..colourful rooftop at the station control..


we will be staying at 康橋商旅 Hotel Kindness (六合夜市 branch).. NT$1099 per nite.. is real cheap.. and location is great.. ard 3 mins walk from R10 美丽岛 station Exit 4.. and wah..the hotel room is big..and tat bathroom..3 types of showers.. worth..and provides free ice-cream, internet, wifi, laundry, brkfast.. great deal..


gng to 爱河，took train to O4 市議會 station and walked all the way down to there.. haha.. actually i noe there's nth much there, but since here liao, juz go and have a look.. and indeed~ nth~~ was kinda disappointed..or maybe is daylight? haha.. haiz.. spent ard 15mins..


walked bk to MRT again.. next gng to 新堀江 shinkuchan, like 西门盯, harajuku.. den go to another shopping area, 原宿玉竹.. nth much too~ haha.. sian.. went for their Daiso.. woo.. only NT$39 (SGD$1.75 only) wor..fill up our stomach abit by having BK..


den headed to 城市光廊.. the exit to there is also quite nice.. but was kinda lost when finding 城市光廊.. well, to our disappointment, is like closed down for renovation?? haizz.. damn sad leh.. haven get to see the real attraction in Kaohsiung at all.. so sway meh? haiz..


sadly walked bk to MRT station again..and go for.. nite market liao..六合夜市, hope theres something there?? heng ah.. theres pple and many stalls are opened..explore every stalls and smell something again~ 臭豆腐～ NT$50.. went for their recommended 海产粥 (NT$90).. worth the money as the porridge has prawns, oysters, clams, octopus, real crab meat.. really nice!! must-try~! next we bought something tats cute.. 蚵仔包 (NT$60).. a bun with many oysters + one egg and spring onions.. nt bad..can try.. nxt live thailand prawns bbq in live.. poor prawns.. the person grabs the prawn from the containers..den poke them into the sticks and.. juz put on the stove and cook..can see the prawns struggling and die slowly...... is nice.. n fresh.. 8 prawns for NT$150.. next..bbq chix wings~ (NT$40) and papya juice (NT$50) again~ and nt sure, y we reject 胡椒饼 again..bought 2 times, and only ate 1/2 of it..den throw le..haha.. actually nth special also.. think shall nt buy it anymore.. =X



was planning to do laundry since hotel has free laundry service.. bought one set for washing..and haiz..only has 2 washing machines + dryers.. and.. inconsiderate pple use the dryer like their own.. nvr think of others who are queueing up to use them..we hv to wait for the dryer to finish the job, and wait for the owner to tk it out.. since left only few mins and its done.. but who noes.. the stupid owner felt the clothes haven dry enuff, and happily on the dryer to its max timing (140mins!!) wah lao.. pls~ cant u seee stil gt pple waitg for it!! damn fedup~ and we cant anyhw stop it also.. and we stil need some of the clothes for tml~ damn waste our time.. is like 1230am liao..hw much longer r we gng to wait? theres no time limit for each customer usage..tats the worst part.. and even gt pple mess up the floor but swinging their clothes to get rid of the tissue.. mking the floor and washing machines full of tissue paper bits.. terrible~! we gave up.. went iron the most impt clothes..and told the hotel pple to tk out the other pple's finished clothes and put our clothes inside.. is like gng 3am. damn waste time.. nvr try to use free laundry service anymore..

Taiwan 2010 - Day 3

23rd May (Sun)

中正纪念堂 / 周杰伦 / 淡水

was raining for the whole day..sian..and glad tat din rain yest, else spoil the day.. at least today is kinda relaxing planned trip.. woke up late due to tiring yest.. 12+ set off to 中正纪念堂.. ready our windbreaker and umbrella.. took some pics and tk shelter under 中正纪念堂.. suddenly, to our surprise, we get to see the ceremony of changing shift of the guide soldiers, which held every hr.. woo.. but the ceremony takes a bit long..ard 9 mins..but is really different from the way they march..




woo.. gona 2pm le.. rush bk to 西门盯 to attend 周杰伦签唱会..just in time~ and i gt a gd position, thou blocked by one tree..but stil gd view.. haha..was raining again and umbrellas blocked the view.. and one special thing is theres one jay chou superman figure holding one bunch of balloons.. tats kinda cute..sang 超人不会飞, den tv interviews, den ready for autography session..



used this session to fill up stomach first.. went bk to the place we planned on 1st day.. 金园排骨@萬年大樓 basement.. ordered 排骨面(NT$100), 鸡腿饭 (NT$110), 炸豆腐 (NT$40).. wah.. the food quality stil as gd as i ate previously.. the meat is real tender.. and the dou fu is very crispy outside.. must try again nxt time~.. hee..


zoom bk to jay chou side.. stil gt pple queueing..and i was in the queue too.. and again, start to rain..haiz.. jacket, umbrella time.. at this moment, was thinkg hw long r we gona wait? like kinda waste time here? in the end, gave up..den went to the front there tk closer pics of jay.. den the host announced tat pple without the queue no. can start to get signature liao.. and i see the queue like.. damn fast.. den.. haha.. zoom bk to the queue..and indeed, fast..and i was excited liao! woo~ and think my smile is the happiest throughout my trip..duno y.. hmm~ haha! was nt allowed to tk pics when go out..k lor,, i tk video.. haha.. =X managed to catch a bit of him..and no shaking of hand! wah lao.. sad.. is juz 15secs on the stage~ so fast! or cos is raining? so they fast fast? haiz.. nm..waited for the whole session to end, and caught the ending part..and end of jay chou~~ heee.. really lucky to clash with his released album promotion session.. ^^



bk to hotel, rest awhile, and time for 淡水..quite few pple.. cos raining?? went for its 阿给，鱼丸汤，米粉 (NT$30 each), 阿给 - dou gan packed with dong fen and covered with fish paste.. must-try food when u reach 淡水.. 阿婆铁蛋 (NT$100 per pack)，阿妈的酸梅汤 (NT$25) must-try drink..




Next will be my 1st trip, out of taipei to kaohsiung and taizhong..

Taiwan 2010 - Day 2

22nd May (Sat)

野柳 / 九份 / 基隆

today will be gng for 3 places, and bus travel time will be long too..so i planned for the 2nd day of the trip.. hotel provides free breakfast and delivers to us by hanging the brkfast on the door knob..


early morn, went to get our Easy Card (NT$500), refundable.. took mrt to 台北车站. den realised something! i forgot that theres timing for the bus departure! planned to tk 815am bus, but if missed tat, the nxt bus will be at 1215pm! omg.. was rushing like mad, thou already past 815am le..but juz try our best..haiz.. and.. was kinda lost in this big mrt interchange.. we should exit at Z3 to 台北西站A棟 Taipei West Bus Station, den take Guo Guang (國光客運) bus no. 1815 <台北 － 金山> heading to 金山, alighting at 野柳 station. cost ard NT$102 per person one way, ard 1-1.5hrs journey.. pls take note of the bus timing.. was glad tat today is sat and more time schedule is catered for wkend..phew..else, plan spoil..


Reached there ard 1.5hrs later..had to walk all the way to the end of the street, along the way, will see fishing harbour, seafood resturant


Tada~ reached Yeliu Geopark 野柳地质公园. entrance fee NT$50. Opening hours: 0800 to 1800 (May-Sept).. spent ard 3 hrs at there..haha..so for photographers..can estimate ur timing spent at there.. =D was a nice place..and finally get to go there before the 女王头 neck breaks.. so better hurry~! weather is really hot.. haiz.. tried their local 爱玉(NT$30), 蚵仔煎(NT$60)




Next will be heading to 九份.. walked back to opp bus stop and waited for bus for <金山 － 基隆>.. journey ard 50mins.. den chg bus for <基隆－(瑞芳－九份)－金瓜石>.. journey ard 50mins.. reached there ard 4pm..crowded again due to wkends.. ate handmade fuzhou fishballs / sotong balls (NT$40 each), snail x 3 (NT$100), taiwan sausage (NT$40)..bought pineapple tarts (NT$420), egg rolls (NT$120).. saw one long queue for yam cake? curious abt it, so queue and buy.. hmm~ nt nice..haha.. spent ard 2 hrs there..


Next will be heading to 基隆 庙口夜市.. last time din manage to go there due to rainy day.. from 九份, go to opp bus stop and wait for bus for <金瓜石 － 基隆>.. wah.. so many pple! actually there has 2 night markets, 爱四路 and 庙口夜市.. ordered one drink 纎珍珠, instead of 冬瓜茶.. nt tat nice.. haiz.. ate one bowl of handmade 豆花＋花生＋粉圆 (NT$45)..nt bad..but the dou hua nt tat smooth as sg's. finally reached 庙口夜市.. is rather cramp there, nt enuff walking space, esp during wkends..wanna eat also sian..and some food looks full..ate my 盐酥鸡 (NT$50) at stall 35, 鲁肉饭 braised pork rice (NT$20)＋ 肉羮 (NT$40) at stall 31..and their local fav 木瓜牛奶 (NT$40)..



after tat, took train bk at 基隆车站 from 基隆 to 台北 (NT$43).. on my way bk to hotel, surprised to see 50嵐, sg's Koi Cafe~ ordered 百香红茶 (NT$30) yummy~..

tonite is a sway nite.. i was abt to bathe..and suddenly i heard some noise, is from the bathroom curtain.. is PEELING off~.. omg! faster wear bk my clothes..and.. inform the hotel pple..haiz.. they offered us another room for bathing only and paste newspaper on the windows.. pengz.. is impossible, cos..next morn stil need to bathe, and no extra rooms for us too.. so in the end, they DIY by tking out the curtain roll? and roll back the curtain..to a standard length..and tell us try nt to adjust the curtain, leave it as it was..haiz.. they will call the technician to fix it.. well, nxt day stil the same~ but better than none.. no choice..

Taiwan 2010 - Day 1

21st May (Fri)

机场 / 西门盯

Going Taiwan for my 3rd time..hee.. taking Jetstar to Taipei..the flight timing really sux..reached TPE @ 1830.. at the right of the arrival exit, went get free Youth Travel Card for discount in selected places.. this is only for tourists aged till 30 yrs old.. so, better hurry~! at the left of the arrival exit, went for airport transfer by FreeGo!.. direct transport from airport to hotel.. one return trip NT$260.. this time will be staying at Neijiang Hotel 內江商旅 @ 西門町.. need to call hotel for reservation.. wkend price (NT$1580), wkdays price (NT$1380).



wah, reach hotel was like already 840pm liao..did some washup and zoom to 西門町. so crowded as usual..went to our 1st stop, 阿宗麵線.. ordered 2 small bowls (NT$45 each)..


and walked to where we planned for our dinner 金园排骨@萬年大樓 basement)..but reached there too late, shop was closed..no choice, went for small foods liao..went explore 西門町 and bought our fav bbq sotong (NT$110)~ missed tat since my last trip.. big and Q~ had my 1st bittergourd juice with honey (NT$45).. hoho.. nvr try b4 ba? the bitter taste still okie for me.. yummy~ next, followed by smelly smell~ yes! is 臭豆腐 time (NT$45)~! 4 small cubes of toufu with some cabbage.. so-so taste.. bought Starfruit juice (NT$30) and went to Sophisca, candy shop with cute funny shapes..


and my 1st try of 鹹水雞 chix in salt water (NT$130).. tot will be whole chix only, but mixed with some other veg..hmm..can give a try, but i wun get it nxt time.. haa..

Medical records

finally feel recovered from sore throat and gum.. thanks god..

haiz.. duno y like tat also.. din really eat alot of fried food? drank a lot of water also~.. but y? cos of bad weather ba? and body is damn heaty.. sore throat, let me think, sore almost 1 mth? on off..den happily lead to my gum sore~ more worse.. yup, i have extracted ONE side of wisdom..so swollen part is non-extracted side..and tis time is.. the top part swollen, and nt bottom.. (long tm no experience the pain.. =( pain till wakie me up.. hate this feeling.. mk me hv to tk one panadol in order to cont my sleep..

seen 3 docs for throat.. MAC lozenges..tats what i aiming for..
1st time see dentist for my gum.. $20.. for mouthwash~

and they cure me.. dentist said.. listerine is too strong for my gum? instead give me their clinic recommended mouthwash.. and still waiting for nxt yr for wisdom tooth extraction..

forgot to mention something..one fine day, was surfing omy.sg..then gt one portion on horoscope..and *ding ding* it said..for Aries, Gum will sore! wah pengz..where gt so zun one?