Taiwan Trip Day 13 - Taipei

With no pressure from any guides, we always woke up late during our stay in Taipei. Day 13 was no exception. One great thing about staying where I stayed was that good food was just around the corner (literally). We noticed this stall with long queues the day before and decided to give it a try.

The stall's name is 姐妹凉面, which sells plain noodles covered in a gravy made up of garlic, peanuts and some unknown sauce(s). Coupled with a porkball Miso soup, we fell in love with it. It was just so simple, plain, cheap and appetising! Our food mantra is right - always follow the queues.





I highly recommend this stall. It is located at one of the corners at 五分浦 (Wufen Pu). =P If you are staying at Wonstar, just turn right and walk all the way.








After our brunch, we took the MRT and a bus to 阳明山, Yang Ming Shan.



While waiting for the bus.



The bus goes straight to the interchange at Yang Ming Shan. We explored the areas around the bus interchange and were amused by the number of elderly folks we see lying around in deck chairs, sipping tea. There was even a "choir"!



They even prepared their score sheets! (Hmm... I think the auntie spotted me, thus the bright smile. =p)










Afterwards, we decided to explore the rest of Yang Ming Shan by taking the Yang Ming Shan bus that goes to all the major sight-seeing points.



The dog looks like a Grelim. Haha! Oops. I just revealed my age.



(Did I mention that the Taiwanese are huge fans of Dogs?? By "Dogs", I mean Chihuahuas, Poodles and Labradors. I don't seem to find any other breeds in Taiwan.)


PX wanted very much to look at the famous Yang Ming Shan Calla Lilies and maybe buy some home. So our first stop was 竹子湖 where all the Calla Lilies farms are located.




A woman stopped us and told us that we can pick Calla Lilies at her farm for TWD 200. We agreed and she brought us to the farm.




When we reached the farm, she told us each person must pay TWD 200. -_-... So I told PX to go ahead since I'm not a very "flower" person anyway.



This is a Calla Lily!




Managed to find a shelter while waiting for PX. Very bored.



Borrowed the flowers from PX for some pictures. =P


After the visit to 竹子湖, I wanted to check out the waterfall since I have never seen one before. But I missed the bus stop since the names of the stops were not clearly written on the road signs. Haiz.. A pity



And I saw a pretty interesting sight on the bus ride.


Smoke rising from the ground! Ok, I'm a swakoo..



We went one round and back to the interchange. Slacked at the Starbucks before returning to Shilin Night Market for dinner.

When we reached Shilin, we realised that the Shilin we went to last night was only a very small part of Shilin Night Market! We had only explored the Shilin Market the night before. The whole stretch to the right belongs to Shilin as well! And it was huge!





And we decided to go for 麻辣锅!








Actually, it tasted very mediocre. Heh!


But we made the wrong choice to have steamboat for dinner. PX's Calla Lilies looked like they were doused in the soup when we finished dinner. The flowers drooped and the petal edges curled inwards from dehydration.


Was pretty excited that night. We had planned something big for the next day! =P

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Earwig??!

Two nights ago, I was lying on my bed, reading Harry Potter for the umpteen times when I saw some black and long crawling on the pillow next to my head. I took a closer look and immediately, a fierce gush of adrenaline rushed through my body. Everybody close to me know that I have a deep deep fear for insects that border on insanity and there was this freaking insect crawling next to my head!

That disgusting insect was an Earwig. The weird part was that that was the second Earwig we had in our house within the past week. My brother actually had to google "insect with pincer at the back" to find out what that was. An Earwig! I have only read of Earwigs in Enid Blyton books and never thought they exist out of Britain!

Go and google it if you are curious how it looks like. I don't want pictures of it stuck on my blog; I might ditch my blog like I ditched my room for the night.

A Very Happy 14th August!

I had a terrific night on the 14th of August! The night before, Dad told me that his friend might be able to get a room at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel the next day! He was going to give it to use for free! And to top it off, the hotel is facing the city and we might get to see the Youth Olympics' opening ceremony!



So on the morning of 14th August, I was waiting excitedly for good news. And good news came! We got the room! Yeah!! My parents went happily off to check out the room, and of course, the casino while I waited at home. That was because I had a date with my Secondary School girls for steamboat at Wan Lin's place! On one hand, I was feeling guilty that I had to leave halfway through dinner to make it in time for the fireworks. On the other hand, I was excited and feeling that I got the best of both worlds, steamboat and hotel stay! =P

Table filled with the ingredients for a steamboat party.





And my first ever, Sashimi in a steamboat dinner!



And the peeps I have known for 11 years!


And right before I left, we decided that a few group photos would be a perfect end to the dinner. So we started fooling around with my camera's multiple shots function!



































Oh, we just loved to camwhore. =P


I left after that and rushed to Marina Bay Sands Hotel. My bro said that they had already let off two rounds of fireworks and I was eager to reach there before it all ended.



Found out that our room was big! My twin nephews were there for the fireworks too! And they had a great time, climbing the beds and crawling on the carpeted floor.



My happy nephews.








Complimentary chocolates and fruits!



From our window, we could see the Marina floating platform! The seats were filled with people!


They looked like tiny red ants! Haha!



There are two main factors why I love staying in hotels. One, the room service and housekeeping, second, bathtubs in toilets. And I got my wish!

Munching on the fruits and chocolates while waiting for the fireworks to start.





Beautiful skyline. =)





And finally, the fireworks!

They even let off fireworks from the top of the skyscrapers! It looked like we were surrounded with fireworks! Alas, the show only went on for about 1 minute, which was way too short. Bleagh. We were guessing that they blew their budget and therefore, could only afford such a short display. =P


And then, it was time for the twins to go off. Alvin loved the room so much that he refused to leave. Heh! So, they had their milk in the room before they were carried away.


So cute.


My family then had their late dinner at Rise, a restaurant in MBS Hotel. One word to describe the service - sucks. The service was definitely not what I would expect from a 6-stars hotel. No initiative, slow service (despite us being the last few patrons), wait staff who don't understand English, etc. And the price! Totally not worth it. One suggestion to MBS, open a 7-eleven which sells cup noodles. I believe we would have enjoyed that more.


Anyway, after dinner, my parents hit the casino while I hit the tub!



I can't remember when's the last time I soaked in a bathtub. It was so soothing and relaxing. Shiok!


Soon after, it was bedtime for my parents and me. I didn't get to sleep much. Being with my father in a room, it was like I was caught between a thunderstorm and a train in a tunnel. I would want a room to myself next time. =P



View in the morning!

My parents left before me as I was meeting my girls in town. So I had the room to myself in the morning before I checked out! A funny thought came to my mind when I checked out. I was in a floral dress and my high heels, holding onto a clutch with no luggage (Mum helped me bring it home) and suddenly, I felt like a hooker who was there to spend the night. Haha! Ok, I thought too much.


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One Day In My Sleepy Estate...

It all started when I saw a sign put up yesterday. Determined to be part of it and to show a bit of love, I decided that, "Yes, I will sacrifice some of sleep!"


So today, I woke up at 830am despite sleeping at 3am. I dragged myself to get freshen up and by 930am, I was ready to go. Mummy decided to join me too!


We walked to our traffic junction and saw no one waiting in sight. A little disappointed and worried, we were afraid that we were on the wrong side of the road, we decided to wait and see what happened.



Slowly, people started to trickle in. A school of young preschoolers also appeared, carrying purple and orange poms-poms and musical instrument, showing their best spirit.

Then, several Traffic Police officers arrived on their bikes. We could feel the excitement mounting in the air.





Suddenly, the preschoolers started cheering and a red bus appeared round the corner.






Then, came the blue bus.






And then.... We could see it! A man in an orange YOG T-shirt, bearing the Olympic torch, running before us! That was the moment we had been waiting for!

It only hit me afterwards that "Hey, THAT is the OLYMPICS FLAME!" Legend said that that flame is the same flame that has been burning in Greece since the first Olympics! However, that is not the reason that I was so happy and honoured to see that flame. The reason that I was thrilled was because this flame, passing through our tiny island, signifies that we have come a long way from our Kampong days. Who says that our country is like a piece of 鼻屎 or snot, on the map? Who says that we are just a little dot in the world? Now, eat your words! This little piece of snot or dot has done what the others cannot do! The world will know about us (hopefully)! No more explaining that, "No, we are not part of Malaysia or China." I am so proud of my country. =)


The flame was then passed on to another torch bearer.

Off it went, continuing its journey around Singapore.



And there it was, a 5-minutes bit of excitement in my sleepy estate. =)



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Taiwan Trip - Day 12

Day 12! I believe that this is the day when I started looking forward to going back to Singapore. I missed my bed, my parents, my friends, the food, etc etc. =P

Anyway, that day, we went to the Damshui Harbour.


We ate some pretty expensive 关东煮 which was not value for money. Then, we just strolled along the bridges.




The sky was so pretty that day!




So.. We took plenty of photos to capture that moment!










Took this picture through my shades. Creative eh? =P





Toilets for the feminine guys only. The tough guys will have to rough it out in the wild! Haha!


After loitering around Damshui Harbour, we decided to try out the hotspring baths in Beitou.

And we took the cutest train to reach Beitou! Why can't they make our trains like this in Singapore? The last time someone actually tried to create some form of Art on our trains, he was jailed and caned. Tsk tsk..












We had a room each this time round. I actually fell asleep in the bath. So tired from the travelling.



Feeling fresh from the bath, we decided to go to the famous Shilin Night Market!

We could see crowds and crowds of people when we alighted from Jiantan station (this station is nearer than Shilin station). It was so exciting! The huge crowds signaled the promise of good food!




There were many stalls squeezed side by side. What surprised us was that many of the stalls had air-conditioners installed! I have never seen a market stall with air-conditioners, but I wasn't complaining. =P





We chose a stall that was packed to the brim with people. I have learnt that as long as we followed the crowd, it won't go wrong.

We ordered a shrimp omelette and a plate of bee hoon. We didn't quite like the omelette because it was cooked differently from what we are used to. They added a lot of starch in the omelette, making it sticky and filling. Needless to say, the combination of starch and gravy covered the taste of the egg. I would prefer a simple omelette.








Next, we headed straight to the famous chicken cutlet store that was featured in all the tour books and forums that we read or visited. Our friends also highly recommend this particular store, calling it the "blue label" store.





Just look at the long queue!




Camwhoring while waiting! Our favourite past time! =P


And finally, the dessert, Peanut Butter Ice-cream with chunks of peanuts inside! I like it a lot but PX dislikes it. So I had it to myself! Yums! But the portion was too big for me to finish it alone. I really like Taiwan! They always make sure that you get what you pay!




That night, we were rather disappointed with Shilin Night Market. I guessed our expectations were raised too high. We thought that Shilin was rather small and the varieties of food were limited. Moreover, we didn't see any shops selling clothes, shoes or accessories.

However, that part of Shilin we went to is only like... 20% of the whole Shilin?? We thought that Shilin was located on the left side of a road but actually, the right side of the road belongs to Shilin too! We only found that out the next day by accident.


Tell you more when I blog about Day 13!

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