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| 台湾 Taiwan |
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NOTE Taiwan Vacation 4 May 2008 - 9 May 2008 Because Everything Has A Pre- Truth be told, I wasn't exactly excited about this trip, even right at the boarding gates. And if you're thinking an SIA would make me feel any better, I don't suppose you're right. Sigh. If only I could paint the pre-travelling blues red! (And Mrs. Edgeworth couldn't have known better (; ) So ayup, the confessions of a emo drama queen. The Irony of Departure at Terminal 3  Me, Wendy, Chin Yang, Xiu Yi, Zheng Wen, Edwin And here begins the story of 6 Spas-es embarking on a journey to Taiwan .... Actually, no. I'm just kidding. Haha~ Xiuyi and Zheng Wen went to send us off at the airport way early in the morning. How nice! Thanks :) Even if it was merely a week's trip. Just a reminder, be ready for a tornado of 150 photos coming your way!  (Painfully-priced) Tickets ready! What's that word I'm looking for? Ah yes. Seh-ed. Who wouldn't after waking up at 4 a.m.?!  The plane joyride! I should mention that it was a good thing the guys, in particular, Edwin were sitting in front of us and not behind. Just imagine: Pillows, Edwin, back seat. You get my drift? Travel Info It takes approximately 4 hours to reach Taiwan from Singapore, and the currency is about SGD$1 = NT$22. So just divide all NT costs by 20 to estimate prices! Great maths workout for your brain. And I just realised at this rate I'm blogging, I should start setting up my christmas tree already.  Lonely brunch bento for singles on the plane! Just too bad it ain't a Friday. And before we knew it ...   They say never judge a book by its cover, but one should always judge a country by its toilets! You can see that the toilets aren't really new-fangled and the door colours and floor tiles obviously called 1990s. So conclusion? Try not to give the locals an impression that Singaporeans love taking pictures in the toilet... this is a secret which secondary school girls must especially guard! And here's the dinner set we had on the plane when returning...  Ooo there was Hagen Daz ice cream too! Not many pictures taken on the last day so there you have it. I guess for every trip when you plot a 'No. of pictures taken' vs. 'No. of days overseas', you would get a y=-x graph, ja? Um, ok that's all for my blog! :) (Haha. As if the 150 photos I was talking about was a big fat lie. You wish!) Overall Itinerary Day 1 Miramar Indoor Ferris Wheel, Shilin Night Market Day 2 Sun Moon Lake Day 3 Sun Moon Lake, Alishan Day 4 Alishan, Taipei 101 Day 5 Xinbeitou, Danshui, Wufenpu, Shilin Night Market Day 6 Confucius Temple, Ximending These are the places that I've been to! Here's an overall journey because I won't be blogging by day but rather, by places/categories. So here goes!
3 WISHED THEY WERE THERE
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| Food |
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If you're not in a country for its food, then what are you there for?! (Erm. Actually I'm kinda guilty for that. Wasn't particularly interested in the food due to erm, so other major form of distractions *ahem* Guess what food I tried first? I think... you should know!  Kentucky Fried Chicken! Location: Ximen Haha. Have you forgotten that I'd made it a pact that I would try eating KFC from every country that I travel to?! Well anyway, I ordered this 'Ka La' burger, which was basically the Taiwan version of spicyless Zinger. Everything tasted like Singapore's, and the menu was quite similar except that they didn't have mashed potatoes :( But they did have egg tarts!  I think it's a must-try if you ever get to find one KFC in Taiwan, or Taipei for that matter. Tastes so good! Even better than Verdict: 5/10 Try the egg tarts will do. Save your stomachs for some other indulgence! Here are some of the foods that we found in Shilin Night Market which I suppose you could find it anywhere else, but the best-tasting ones are probably right there. 臭豆腐 Smelly Tofu Location: Shilin Night Market    Smelly Tofu! Think you've probably heard of this 'delicacy' from ancient drama serials or Taiwan variety show. "When something smells, it's usually the Tofu!" Wendy says that you can smell the real potent Smelly Tofus from even a mile away. But apparently there were too many smells going on everywhere that I couldn't smell much of it. It tasted rather mild as well! Or probably cause we ordered the 麻辣 (spicy) one so maybe the divine pungency has already been killed :( Verdict: 6/10 Try it if only it can satisfy your piqued curiousity. You probably won't proudly tell people you've been to Taiwan if you've never tried their smelly tofu! 蚝煎 Fried Oyster Omelette Location: Shilin Night Market  I'm not sure if this' supposed to be popular over there, but apparently for every 10 stalls you see, 6 of them sells this! Compared to Singapore's, it's wayyyyy too starchy! It was like 30% egg and 70% starch. Kinda reminds you of eating 黏糕 (sticky rice cakes). But somehow I liked it better than Singapore's version. Haha! Maybe the Taiwanese likes their omelette all sticky and gooey too. Verdict: 6.5/10 Got room for more food? Then read on! 大排鸡 XL Crispy Chicken Location: Shilin Night Market  Gosh. The chicken cutlets that would blow your mind off. So much so that I forgot to take a picture of it. -.- The authentic Shilin chicken cutlet! This stall that I went past in Shilin had quite a long que and the customers keep coming! I hate to be typing this especially when it's near lunch time. It's bigger, and so much more juicier than Singapore's! Nnnghh.... Only downside was they they actually had bones in their cutlets. I'd fry you into a cutlet myself if you don't try it yourself in Taiwan. Heh heh. Verdict: 9/10 面线 Oyster Mee Sua Location: Shilin Night Market  You're now probably waiting for me to tell you how much better it tastes than the Singapore version. But sadly... nope. :X Because I myself have never tried the Mee Sua in Singapore before! For a first timer I would say it tastes quite fantastic. The gravy's just nice - not too thick nor watery, and the savoury level is quite acceptable. Look out for the flagship 阿宗面线 (Ah Zong Mee Sua) shop around Shilin Night Market or Ximending and you can be guaranteed a good eat. Verdict: 8/10 泡泡茶 Bubble Tea Location: Everywhere Ever wondered why's bubble tea called bubble tea? After drinking Taiwan's real bubble tea, I finally had this revelation, this ANSWER I've always been looking for!  Cup #1 - Honey pearl milk tea It took me about 5 minutes for me to get my honey pearl milk tea. Not because of the que, but because of its tedious preparation. You know those machine shakers you used to see in Singapore some eons ago? Well, over there they're still using it. A full one minute shake for the milk tea, then they add the honey, and then they shake it up again for another minute! .... One cup - and hook, line, sinker! Because of all the shaking and stuff, the honey milk tea has this light frothy taste and the honey is no longer a goo that is immiscible with the milk tea. Now you know where the bubbles came from! YUMMY!!!  Cup #2 - Yuan Yang pearl milk tea It's interesting to see them using paper cups instead of the plastic ones. Environmentally-friendly and makes bubble tea addicts like me less guilty :P They have all sorts of 'exotic' flavours over there too! Not your average "Strawberry, peach, lemon, green apple' kind of flavours, but flavours like 'Hokkaido milk tea', 'Assam milk tea'. And of course, the Yuan Yang (coffee+tea) milk tea. It was so good, ZVARRI!  Cup #3 - Pearl and pudding milk tea It's kinda disappointing for bubble tea lovers ....................... because you know you ain't gonna get such fantabulous bubble tea anywhere in Singapore! They added vanilla pudding or something inside, along with pearls! Ack.. the milk tea itself inherently tastes good already... and the pudding is just . LOVE. Enough said. It's making me feel highly uncomfortable typing these without a But be warned that it can be too sweet for you! Hehe. Verdict: 12/10!!! 刨冰 Ice Shavings ('Chua Bing')  I think this' another famous dessert in Taiwan. But nope, I didn't try it cause I doubt my sensitive teeth could take it. Anyway I wasn't there when Wendy they all were eating it so I'm not sure if it's actually ice shavings or ice cream in the first place! Many stalls in Shilin sell it so I guess it must be rather popular for its own reasons :) 甜不辣 Sweet not spicy (?) Location: Not very sure. But Wendy got this from Sogo.  Is this suppose to be on the 'must-try' list? Haha not very sure but I guess the name of the food sounds 'Taiwanese' enough. It's like a bowl of assorted savoury food stuff like dumplings with a kind of sweet sauce. I suppose that's where the name comes from! Verdict: 6/10 生蒸包 Steamed buns Location: Shilin Night Market  Hmmm there's something different to this bun which I can't put my finger on it. I think it's the bun itself, kinda has a slight crispy texture you know? But sadly .... I bought it, put it in a plastic bag for later consumption, and forgot all about it till the next day. So ayup... didn't get to try it in the end :( Bah. 槟榔 Betel Nuts  Ha! Never expected Betel nuts to look something like this eh? I was expecting some kind of candy or nut-like, reddish looking thingy. Does that thing above even look like it can be eaten?! Yikes. The taste is ... mind-boggling. I squirm even as I think about the fatal moment which I put that thing into my mouth, and regret I ever did :/ Would you ever eat tree bark? Or grass? No right?! If you answered yes then congratulations you're one potential Betel nut chewer. It supposedly has stimulant effects, something like caffeine which keeps people awake.  A roadside 槟榔西施 stall. Apparently Taiwan is famous for their 槟榔西施 stalls where girls dressed in revealing clothings sell the Betel nuts to drivers along the roads. Saw some while on the way to 台中 (Taichung)... but some were just 槟榔东施. Ha .. if you get what I mean. Meaning, just normal aunties selling Betel nuts like they were selling vegetables in the market. Verdict: 1/10 Have to give some credit to millions of Taiwanese who manage to chew Betel nuts everyday. 糖葫芦 Caramel Haw Candy Location: Shilin Night Market  Heh. Never tried this but kinda reminds you of the ancient drama series set in the Tang dynasty eh? Tempted to try, but more tempted to take a picture of it! Tall Ice Cream Location: Danshui  Mind you, I only bought the 'small' size of the ice cream and it's about 15 cm tall! Isn't the dragonfruit colour just pretty! But don't get tricked by it though, it's not really ice cream actually. More like, frozen flavoured ice water :P And that's how each of these can cost only S$0.50! Apparently many famous Taiwan celebrities like Wang Lee Hom have bought the ice cream from the very stall that I went! Verdict: 4/10 Looks nice, but doesn't really tastes good. And it melts like butter on a frying pan! Remember to bring tissue. 铁蛋 Iron Eggs Location: Danshui  Famous local product again! It's like those eggs you buy when you order duck rice, ja? Haha and again, I never did try it. Just took a picture for picture taking's sake :D No point 'buying' 50% of the eggs cause I don't eat egg yolks. And they're not cheap! It's like S$5.00 per pack you know! Traditional Taiwanese Confectionaries Location: Danshui  Here's an assumingly famous shop for selling traditional Taiwanese confectionaries, the 三协成 shop right in Danshui.  Loads of free samples. Not that I'd care to try all! I think I'd prefer sticking to the Western kind of confectionaries... hehe. Well, chinese influences just ain't my way, yo. xD  太阳饼 Sun Biscuits It bears a striking resemblance to its evil cousin, Wife biscuits. And since I hated eating Wife biscuits, I don't suppose I'd like these Sun biscuits at any time. Hate savoury foods which looks deceivingly sweet but none the other, period. I wonder what's the attraction in it that made Zheng Wen and Cheng Hong order one big box of it each! Subway  Another rare sight in Taiwan! But everything tastes the same, so no biggie. Yea, everything the same except when it comes to ordering - in chinese. Never knew pickles were called 双黄瓜 in chinese! And try ordering 'Parmesan bread' in chinese. I can't remember the chinese name of it already, but it sure got my tongue tied. Hmmm. Pointing and saying '这个' seems a much better option at any time! McDonalds  Ah ha. At last something which fared better in Singapore. For a start, the sausages are pork! Eeew! And the hotcakes seriously could do with some leavening agent help, you know. 7-11 Bentos  7-11s in Taiwan totally rule! Gosh. Though it's like bento and you'd think it's some cheap fare, but no! First, it tastes super good (especially for the Japanese curry one I had). Second, the staff opens and heat the contents for you. Third, it's cheap! Like S$2.50 for that Japanese curry bento over there. Fourth, you actually have a choice, unlike in Singapore. Other than bentos, walking in any convenience stall is like walking in a mini Japanese supermarket. Sigh. Yet, I could never sigh enough! Dunkin' Donuts  And finale of the food blog post - Dunkin donuts! Not really a personal favourite over here, but seems like donuts are the rage over there as well. Mister donut, dunkin donuts, what have you. But it certainly is better than Dunkin' donuts in Thailand! |
| Shopping |
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Singapore may only be 4 hours away from Taiwan (Taipei), but fashion trends sure take a much longer time to travel here. I wouldn't be surprised even if it took 4 months! Ha ha ha ha. What else can be my niche topic other than shopping?! But since I was only hanging around Taipei for no more than 3 days, I suppose the places that I've been to were certainly rewarding enough. Shopping wise, that is. 士林夜市 Shilin Night Market  Travel Info How to get there: Take the Metro (aka MRT) down to Jiantan (剑潭) station. Don't get fooled here! There's another station called Shilin (士林) but that's not where you go down to get to Shilin Night Market for sure. Opening hours: The place probably gets resurrected at around 5 in the evening, but closes at 2 a.m., apparently! The place in the picture above is something like the food centre part of Shilin, actually. The place where I got all my smelly tofu and oyster omelettes from. Right next to the train station, how convenient!  LOADS of food for the gastronomically-deprived. But be careful of the throng of people, some delivering food and whatnot!  The gastronomically-satisfied. *burp* Hehe. Bubble tea again! A huuuge cup costs only S$1.50! Enough talking about food, and let's hit the shops already! Walk further down, away from the food centre will be the heart of Shilin Night Market. It's kinda huuge especially on weekend nights. Try not to lose your friends there. Just round the corner you see something like a walking street:  Everybody dresses up when they go shopping!  There'll be shops on both sides of the street, so I'd suggest walking down on one side first, make a turn, then walk the other side! Wouldn't want to get a neck sprain while shopping eh? Ah, the crowds just make night shopping so much more lively. And it's not just clothes and food they sell! Check this cute little pup out ... *melts*   Look at the kinky costumes they sell! Haha. Anyway costumes are aplenty in Taipei, great for cosplayers huh? :) I'd gurantee you that you'll need a minimum of two nights to shop in Shilin Night Market to shop till your fill! 西门町 Ximen  The famous Ximending crossroad, as seen in many Taiwan variety shows. Tokyo of the Chinese, I would say! Haha, incidentally, it's the header picture in this blogskin as well if you noticed. Just so you know, the "ding" in "Ximending" merely means 'district' so it's alright to omit it when referring to Ximen, you know. Tip: Get a hotel in Ximen where it's near the Ximen train station Anyway, here's where our hotels were when we stayed in Taipei.  Ximending on a Sunday afternoon. It's like there's this unwritten rule about dressing up when shopping in Ximending. "Dress up or die!"  View of Ximending from the second storey of the 5-storey KFC I was telling you about. Doesn't it just yell "Come join in the fun!"?  Here's a shop right next to our hotel selling hoodies for all moods, and it's not the only shop. The hotel's right smack in the middle of the Ximen shopping district! Just how many times you wished you could "go your house downstairs" and find yourself in say, Far East or Bugis?!  长虹酒店 Rainbow Hotel Note: It's Chang Hong, not Cai Hong We stayed at this hotel for the first night. Not too bad, at about SGD$46 per night. Location is fantabulous! No better place to stay at :) Though there was this queer smell in the guys' room heh.  大顺大饭店 TS Hotel The hotel we stayed in for the 4th and 5th nights. Also in Ximending, but in a slightly more less-shoppy district and slightly further away from the MRT station. Well, what to do! Rainbow Hotel was already fully booked! But this hotel is awesome for the comfort-seekers. Great tv, great bed :) At around $60 per night, promotional price however.  Can you believe I almost wore bedroom slippers out?! 10 paper bags wouldn't even be enough!  Noob acting pro with the guys' pro SLR camera Don't these cameras just put the 'pro' in 'professional' ? Lo and behold ........... !  Ximending on a depressing rainy Monday morning. How .... depressing. Yea. Depressing's the word. 五分埔 Wufenpu PARADISE IS HERE!  It's another mini Chatukchak over here, except the clothes are more Japanese-style! Clothes! Tons and tons of clothes, all brand new in slick plastic packaging. Wholesale price, no less! The average price of a piece of garment be it dress or top would be around 300 NT. That's like SGD$13-$15, ja? How cool is that! And mark my words they would be something your average SFG (not telling you what SFG means :P ) would pay $30 for, I bet! Out of all the clothes I bought in Taipei, 90% are from here! Toughen up your legs, girls! Cause it's time to hit the shops! Ha. In fact, I shopped for about a whole 6 hours there in Wufenpu till the shops started to close. Fortunately or unfortunately, I ran out of money at that time too! Mostly sold there are clothes though. Not many shoe/bag/accessories shops nor guys' apparel. If you're going to be there the whole day, you better have a heavy breakfast. Because you can't really find any eateries there... which is almost why the reason I forgot to eat lunch while shopping there. Ooops! Travel Info How to get there: Take a train to Houshanpi station and walk on straight ahead for about 5 minutes from Exit E!  I bet I was one of the first few customers to reach there! No crowds to jostle with this time :) It's quite easy to bargain as well. Just a simple sentence of asking whether the price can be lowered, and there you have it. About 20-30 NT (S$1) off, just like that! Strike up a conversation with the lady boss, and you may even have more! (HAHA is that the reason why I actually stayed there for 6 hours?!) So, happy shopping there! Taipei Main Station Underground Shopping Mall  Travel Info How to get there: Take a train to Taipei Main Station mrt station. And follow the signs around you should be able to reach this underground mall right in the station in a jiff. And the last place where I shopped at was at the Taipei Main Station (mrt) underground shopping mall. It's more a place for like the rush hour office shoppers. Plenty of well-diversified shops e.g. books and stuff, but not very exciting per se. Hmm. Maybe I walked in the wrong section! Cause this underground mall is supposedly very big... It stretches from Taipei Main Station mrt station till Zhong Xiao Fu Xing mrt station. Ack! And that's about all the shopping experience you can get from me, for now! Last but not least .... gotta show you my loot of course!  Before packing. After a day's worth of shopping binge and frenzy.  My 回乡袋 (just the red-white stripes one) with 7 kg worth of treasure :) I knew something like this would happen, so I actually brought and put the bag in my luggage.  And that's... 4 pairs of shoes 3 pairs of boots 13 tops/dresses .... and 1 jacket for you. Me, rather. ZVARRI!!! |
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