Lovelytwo Taipei Trip
Lovely two's 2nd trip is to TAIWAN (30 nov to 6 dec) this time round we fly by jetstar..another budget airline..total cost for air tickets is 624 SGD for two..exchange rate is abt $1= 19.4 NT
7 DAYS TAIWAN EXPERIENCE 30th nov (wed)
our flight took off at 1.23pm..no entertainment onli if u r willin to pay $12.50 for their LCD to watch movie. Luckily bb brought his MP3..so at least we can keep ourselves entertained. The captain announced tat we wld b arriving in Taipei at abt 6.10pm..as usual, the seat was rather cramp..not much rm for extension..n bb is getting hungry..didnt wan to buy e food on e plane cuz rather expensive..cost abt 8 bucks for their meal..but still we ordered coffee for 3 bucks..then ate some biscuits which we brought along.. finally we touched down at C.K.S. Taipei International airport..feelin so excited man..we've arrived in Taipei! Yippee!!!
After getting our backpack..we went to board a bus tat wld bring us to Taipei city..it's called airbus and each trip cost abt 100 NT/pax..travelling time is abt an hr long..we alighted at a famous landmark Sheraton Hotel or known as Lai Lai Fan Dian..after tat we headed to take their Metro (like our MRT)..we bought their Easytop up card which has a value of 500 NT each (equivalent to our Ezlink card)..n it is refundable at the end..so we took the metro and headed to our 1st destination- Jiantan Station where the famous Shihlin night market is indeed a veri crowded place. We ate a lot of food n their famous ah hao da ji pai, chou dou fu, hotdog, ice cream puff..tian bu lah..sheng jian bao after filling our stomach..
we decided to head down to Kaohsiung City, the capital of the Sea, we took Ubus which is abt 400 NT/pax and the journey is abt 5 hrs plus..e bus pit stop at taichung..lucky e bus got tv so e journey aint tat bored..
1st dec (thu)
Kaohsiung Citywe arrived at 4.30am..e streets were quiet n dark..no choice but to find a place to get some rest..so we check-in at Victoria Hotel (location is gd- No. 1 Chung King St, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, R.O.C.- nex to Kaohsiung Railway Station)..one nite is 1100 NT..breakfast was provided but rather pathetic..porridge wif 3 small dishes..anyway after tat, we went to the railway station to check out the timing for the train to Hualien..our train is at 4.40pm..718 NT/pax..so we got a few hrs onli in dis city..we took a cab down (160 NT) to Dragon and Tiger Pagodas, Spring and Autumn Pavilions and Wuli Arbor walk down to Lotus Pond then to Love River Sightseeing Boat (175 NT)..
we cldnt catch the boat ride bcuz it starts at 4pm..so no choice if not I tink it wld b nice to take e ride down on the east and west coast to look at the romantic and charming sights of Love River to relax our body and soul..
we happened to pass by their Carrefour..so we went to their food court to hav our lunch..after tat we headed to two shopping malls- Pacific Sogo Department Store and FE21 Mega..things were xpensive..so we juz window shop n took some pics at their amusement park..keke..we met gd taxi driver tat there will b free shuttle bus frm the shopping centre tat wld bring us back to Kaohsiung Railway Station..so gd..we can save our taxi fare..wen we reach our hotel..the streets were open..sellin a lot of ladies wear but surprisely e clothings were abt e same price in SIN..so juz c c look look..
we had a shower first and ate at a shop nex to our hotel b4 we r ready to leave for Hualien....i ate ah bian gan mian (30 NT) n bb ordered lu rou fan (30 NT) and dong gua shui (20 NT)..then we bought a bian dan for 60 NT..in case we get hungry on the train..e bus leave exactly at 4.40pm..n so Hualien..here we come!!!
At abt 9.44pm..we arrived at Hualien..Yippee..our 2nd destination…
We were approached by an uncle e moment we step out of e train station..he offered us to stay at his mingshu for 800 NT..n bring us ard to all e must go sightseeing for 900 NT/pax..well we agreed..after dropping our stuff..we went to their famous night market..
omg..our pasar malam is far too gd to compare..well wat I mean is it's small..n it's like back to the olden times..bb ordered their or ah jian..almost vomit..cuz their oysters..nt fresh..but bb still managed to swallow them down..
2nd dec (fri)
HualienE uncle drove us to hav our place..the so-called lao zi hao dou hua b4 we headed to Taroko National Park..which is famous for its spectacular mountains and marble canyons..indeed..it's grand and awesome..standing so near to nature..n e air is simply so fresh! Along this trail..we walked past taroko gorge, chang chun waterfall, yen tze kou (swallow nest), jiu qu dong and finally ci mu qiao..n of cuz it's within our expectations..
e uncle wld definitely bring us to some other places where he cld earn some extra commission..so he drove us to a place where they sell their well-known- rose limestone? And muah chee..e ah yi at e shop damn gd at sayin sweet things but after a few minutes of indecisiveness..bb said 'NO' n walk away..cuz we knew if we buy we wld b 'chopped'..u know wat I mean..haha..then at the muah chee we bought a packet each (80 NT)..well shldnt hav buy cuz it's available in SIN..so quite dumb..thou it's a super short day..we decided to proceed down to
Ruifang where e famous street Jio Fen is..our train is at 2.25pm and we reached there at abt 5.33pm..it's a nice place..mountainous area..facin the pacific ocean..so we decided to stay for a nite there..partly bcuz it's rainin oso..so we check in to a mingshu again for 800 NT..it's located at a coffeehouse..so it's like we own the place after e shop closed for the day..cuz there's no other ppl except the two of us..
3rd dec (sat)
Jio FenE nex morn we took a bus tat wld bring us to Jin Gua Shi- a special scenic area in Ruifang..u cld see Teapot Mountain bcuz e top of e mountain reali look like a teapot..one cld oso c Keelung Mountain..recommend place to visit..nice place nice food..after hangin ard to admire the nature..
Taipei City
we took the bus back to Taipei City..it's abt an hr journey..we alighted somewhere near the Sungshan Railway Station then walk up to Wufenpu whereby it's a fashion place..alot of clothings but majority winter wear..therefore nothing reali to buy except to cc look look again.. then we took the metro at Houshanpi then stop at Taipei City Hall and walk to Taipei 101..it cost 350 NT/pax to go up to their observatory floor which is at the 89th floor..
take the elevator frm the 5th floor and it takes only 37s to go up and 45s back down to the 5th floor..it gonna cost another 100 NT to the outdoor observatory so we chose not to..since it's city hall..there's a lot of mega shoppin ard..we headed to New York New York ..to make it sound like New York..u cld c the statue of Liberty…there's a IT exhibition going on at some halls so we went to take a look..well I bought a thumbdrive for 1300 NT..veri cute n got Disney Minnie design on it..so juz cant help it..there's oso Shinkong Mitsukoshi Department Store and Warner Movie Village..after dat..we headed down to Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall which is the nex station along the blue line (FYI-they hav six colour lines- red: Danshui, pink: xinbeitou blue:Bannan, green:xindian, brown: muzha, orange: zhonghe and two light green: xiaobitan and xiaonanmen) most of the places of interest is red, pink, blue and green unless u wanna go to zoo and mucha tea park which is located at the last two station of brown)
Anyway we managed to catch the changing of guards at Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall..wow the guards steady man..really din move abit at all..wonder hw they train nt to move..gd for us..there's a funfair there..so bb n I cld get some food to fill our stomach..we cld get a better view of Taipei 101 here..s
o of cuz we hav to stop to take a few shots..well u c..we r still carryin our bags ard..so we hav to get the load off by checkin in the hostel tat bb has found thru e internet..erm..it's 550 NT/nite,,nothing in e rm except a double-sized bed, a table, and a 3-tier shelf..shared toilet is outside our rm..so we thot well..we juz need a bed to slp so it's fine for us..somemore it's bcuz of it's good location..located at Shandao Temple..n near e famous landmark Sheraton Hotel..so it's easier for us in case we get lost..or traveled by cab..
after tat we putting our stuff down..we headed down to Ximen Station where Ximending is..veri crowded..things weren’t cheap again..but bb n I bought some adidas stuff (1740 NT)..there were so adidas and other sports outlet in tat area..after tat bb thot we might wanna hav a haircut..but I didn’t really want..but anyway..i did..n guess wat..bb had a so-called latest haircut- Dan Zhu Tou..n he had a shock..i did too..he looked so funny..oops..anyway it's like he's back to his army days only like juz tat his hair at the back longer onli..as for me..not much diff as usual juz a bit thinner n shorter..so conclusion..we're nt satisfy wif e haircut..
bought some small bite to eat..like their tomato wif plums..gd combi..bbq muah chee wif curry sauce and chocolate..orh ah mee suan
at abt 1130pm..we headed down to Longshan Temple where the Huashi Street Night Market is..it was raining heavily where we reached there..majority sellin food..lu bian tan..we settle our supper then took a cab back to get a rest..
4th dec (sun)
Wu LaiWe took metro to Xindian then took bus to Wu Lai..it's super cold there..but the scenery there was magnificent too bcuz of the Wu Lai Waterfall..
we cld actuali take the cable up to the mountain top but we thot we shld save the money..n it can b scary takin the cable..after tat we took the bus transport n headed down to Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall..cld get to watch the changing of guards as well as observe the majestic architectural design..the bronze statue of Chiang Kai-Shek is the same as the one at the Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall..after tat we took the Metro down to Longshan Temple again to go over to Wanhua- shopping paradise for ladies but it's winter wear nw..n of cuz e pricing sama sama..later we headed to Yuanshan Station and took bus Red 2 to go to Miramar Shopping Centre where the Ferris Wheel is abt 30 storey high located in the mall itself..
as we were damn hungry cuz it's freezing cold man..we had our din at their food court..after tat we took the metro and headed to Gongguan Station cuz it's veri happenin there too..after tat we headed to Ximending again..cuz u c town reali nothing much to do except for shopping so we ended up catchin a movie- 40 year old virgin..cost abt 260 NT each..after e show ended we quickly rush to the metro to catch e last train..
5th dec (mon)We slept till 10am this morning..took breakfast at a shop near our hostel..had wanton noodles..70 NT veri big serving..after dat we headed to Danshui to go to the Fisherman Wharf.
had to take Red 26 to get there..got the qing ren qiao..n guess wat..e weather suddenly bcme too cold..cuz e hanliu is here..didnt bring any winter wear..oh no..e temp is abt 13 degrees man..read the newspaper tat morn is abt 7..it's our first time experiencing such weather..so I reali got no choice bt to buy one winter wear..if nt there is no way I cld walk ard Taipei city..then we hang ard Danshui shops..we had our tea break at Mos Burger b4 heading down to Beitou..
We alighted at Xinbeitou Station and walk abt 10 min to the Hell Valley..but we didn’t noe tat mon is closed for maintenance..
but luckily the uncle allowed us to go in to snap pic after we told him tat we came all the way juz to look at the Hell Valley..if nt it gonna b a wasted trip..after tat we took a bus tat wld bring us to Yangmingshan..the weather is getting colder n colder at the mountain top..while waiting for another bus tat wld bring us further up to the visitin area tat wld allow us to view the spectacular nite view of Taipei..at Yangmingshan..
it's dark n cold n there's nobody else except the two of us n two cats..lucky the bus came in time to bring us back to Beitou Station if nt hw cld we tahan the cold..bb wanna to go back to the IT fair..so we headed down to Taipei City Hall but it was closed..so we decided to go to Dihua Street which is at abt 2km walk frm Shuanglian Station..nothin much to c oso..except for makan along e way to Dihua street..so we decided to go to Shihlin Night Market again cuz bb wan to eat the hao da ji pai..tis time round..bb managed to get a pair of puma shoes for 990 NT thou he wanted a pair of nike new arrival sneakers which cost abt 2300 NT as for me I bought two pairs for 400 NT..we bought 5 pairs of socks for 100 NT b4 we head back to our hostel cuz I tell u it's too cold..
6th dec (tue)
Last day in Taiwan..after packin our stuff..we headed down to the IT mall again..bb finally bought wat he wan..e 1GB sd card..disney design oso..after tat we hang ard the area before takin e bus down to Taoyuan city which is abt an hr journey..omg..it's even colder there..somemore drizzling along the way..this place is nearer to C.K.S. international airport so we still hav time to hang ard Taoyuan..we had our lunch at KFC..did a last min shoppin..bought tie dan..shampoo..stationary stuff..
Reach airport at abt 4.05pm..plane is at 6.25pm..so check in early to hav our din first n hang ard e DFS..then guess wat..bb's digital camera..the LCD cuckoo..he gonna faint liaoz..
Hmmm..cant wait to reach Sin..