The Great ORD Life

The Great ORD Holiday! Taiwan!
Yes I finally have time to start updating on my great O.R.D. holiday. Haha. It was a tiring but really fruitful trip to Taiwan this time now, without the restrictions by the Army. Haha.

Day 1 - Taoyuan/Taipei

Took the morning flight from Singapore Changi International Airport to Taoyuan International Airport. Reached at around 3pm. Pretty short flight of about 4.5hrs, but slept almost my entire way through. Haha. Was dead tired from the last few days of activities. Haha. Anyway, upon arrival, we immediately got onto the coach and headed straight for Ximending.

Did some shopping and food hunting there. Coz it was a saturday, the place is packed with people man. Haha. To make matters worst, it was raining. Haha. But it didn't really dampen our mood. Haha. It was, in fact, a pretty nice day for some shopping. Haha. After that, we immediately went to check in to the hotel. 

 

Checked into the Yaward Resort in Taoyuan. The place was pretty secluded so yah, nothing much to do at night, other then exploring the place. Haha. The rooms were awesome. Damn nice. Haha.

The place was pretty classy, but was far too boring. Plus it was damn cold out there! Haha. Hence we had an earlier night. Haha. 

Day 2 - Taoyuan/Taipei/Hualien

In the morning headed straight to the Taoyuan High Speed Rail Station. The place is also awesome. Looks like an airport terminal, and yes, a far cry from out train station at Tanjong Pagar. Haha.

Took the bullet train straight down to Taipei. The journey only took like 20min. Awesome. Haha. Upon reaching Taipei, we went to visit this Taiwan Pastry Specialty shop. Bought quite a few boxes of Pineapple tarts and Mochi. Haha. It was damn nice lah! Far better than the Singapore pineapple tarts I must say. Haha. Money well-spent. Anyway after buying the stuff, we walked over to the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall. The place is really nice. Haha. The Taiwanese really go the extra mile to commemorate their first ever President, Chiang Kai-Shek. Haha.

 

 Really good place to take some really nice photos. I like! Haha.

Next up, we headed over to Fishermen's Wharf to visit the site that the Taiwanese hit series Meteor Gardens was filmed. Haha. Other than the very nice bridge, the place was pretty much boring. Haha.

After that headed to the nearby Danshui Old Street for lunch and some shopping. Haha. The food was pretty nice and I must say that it's awefully cheap! Haha. After that headed over to the Taiwan Rail Administration (TRA) Train Station to take a train down to Hualien. Heard from the tour guide that Hualien is only open to tourists from December to March every year due to it's frequent earthquakes and typhoons. Yupz, so pretty nice time to visit Taiwan.

Took a 1hr train ride to Hualien. Upon reaching, we immediately checked into the hotel. It's called Naruwan Hotel. Naruwan means hello in the Aborigine language. Pretty good service from the staff, and the room was fine. To qualms staying there at all. Haha. After that we decided to go for foot reflexology. Haha. It was Wanyee and Vincent's random thought. Haha. So off we went. 

First time doing foot reflexology in my life. Haha. It was painful but damn shuang. Felt really refreshed after it. Haha. Paid like NT$450 for it, which includes shoulder massage too. Haha. Shioks! After that, we decided to go for some K-session! Haha. Went to this Holiday KTV nearby.

The KTV's awesome! Although there were only the 4 of us, they gave us a huge room that comes with a personal toilet and free buffet! And the best thing's that Betsy's NUS student card came into use here! Haha. The gave us a student discount too. Haha. So at the end, it only costs us NT$360. Damn cheap lah. Good quality, service, food and price. What more can you ask for? Hahaha.

Day 3 - Taitung 
Took a coach ride down to Taitung early in the morning. Headed directly for the Taroko National Park. The view's breath-taking indeed!

 

The temperature was also really low. Haha. Sooo cold. Haha. Enjoyed the scenery and explored the place for a while before heading to this Lingzhi specialty shop.

 

Not into too much of these Chinese Herbs so didn't buy any. Haha. But this deer skin on the wall's so beautiful and nice to touch. Haha. =D After that headed for lunch at this Hakka restaurant.

 

The food was so-so, but the scenery behind the place was great! Haha

After lunch headed for Chulu Ranch, where we had fun with some farm animals, mainly cows and horses. Haha. I loveee the horses. They are so adorable lah! Haha. Can't bear to ride on them. Haha.

Maybe one day when I get rich, I would consider getting a horse myself. Haha. After some exploration, we headed towards the Master Bear Resort.

 

Contrary to the name of the resort, that area doesn't have any bears. The only reason why it's named this way is because from an aerial perspective, the resort looks like the paw of a bear, and hence it's name. Haha. Went to cycle around before having dinner. At night, I got to play with fireworks! Haha. Another first in my life. Haha. So much fun! Hahahaha.

I guess growing up in Singapore has deprived many of us of such childhood memories and fun. Haha. Thoroughly enjoyed myself. The resort stuff also organised some activities for us like some dances, games, lighting of large lanterns and finally a firework display. Haha. Really really enjoyable night. Hahaha.

Day 4 - Kaoshiung

Early in the morning, we headed further down south to Kaoshiung. Started off the day by visiting this Mei Nong Hakka Village.

Basically it's just a village selling and exhibiting Hakka specialties. Pretty interesting, lots of weird stuff. Haha. After that we went over to the famous Fo Guang Shan Monastery in Kaoshiung.

First had lunch within the monastery. Had vegetarian which was awesome! Haha. It's damn nice lah. Must try. Haha. Anyway this monastery is a far cry from what we see in Singapore. It's huge! And in it, there's a museum, a university, numerous pagoda's and temples, and to top it off, there's this super duper big statue of buddha.

Quite interesting place, good for people who believe in buddhism and excellent for sight-seeing. But I guess for kids, it's really not that fantastic a place to visit. Haha. So I guess I'm not a kid anymore? Haha. I found the place pretty good. Haha. After that went to this pearl specialty shop.

Bought some pearl powder for my mum. Heard it's good for this skin and for health too. Haha. Why not give it a try? Haha. Also, bought some collagen pills for my dad. He keeps saying that his knee joints are starting to give him problems, so I guess collagen will render some help to his ailing knees. Haha. Anyway, after that, went over to Kaoshiung Dream Mall to ride on the Hello Kitty Ferris Wheel! Haha.

 

Nothing really to wow about, with the Singapore flyer right at home, being many times bigger than this one. HAha. But I must say that it's the theme of Ferris Wheel that's special. Haha. Anyway I don't think I have sat on a Ferris Wheel before! LOL. Another first for me! Haha.

 

Oh and did I mention that the Ferris Wheel was on top of the shopping centre? Haha. Cool right? And it comes with a small theme park. Haha. So nice. Haha. Anyway after that headed to hotel to check-in our stuff before going to Liu He Night Market for dinner and some shopping! Haha.

 

It's one of the most neatly organised night market in Taiwan! Haha. Had no problems navigating our through. Haha. The food was also the best here! Haha. I love it. Anyway after some food and shopping there, with our aching legs, we went to have foot reflexology again. Haha. So comfortable. Haha. After that, we proceeded for more shopping and food at another night market.

Nanhua Night market was just a few streets away so we went over to visit it. But on the way, we passed this MRT station that look so cool. So we decided to go down and explore it. Haha. And we were pleasantly surprised..

It's damn nice inside right! Haha. So much effort went into designing this MRT station. Haha. Anyway back to the Nanhua Night Market. It's much less crowded than Liu He, but the stuff there is pretty much cheaper and there's more to shop too. Haha. Food wise, it's no match for Liu He though. Haha.  Saw some filming at the night market too. Haha. Cool! Anyway we shopped till we were totally exhausted. Haha. We decided to cab back to the hotel. The cab fare is so cheap lah. Haha. So nice.

Day 5 - Taichung
Started off the day with a long coach ride and visited the honey specialty shop first. Haha. It's set up by the Aborigine of Taiwan. Really warm reception and fun too. Haha.

The person in the centre is one of the Aborigine people's leaders. Haha. She's damn entertaining. Haha. Next we proceeded to the Wen Wu Temple in Sun Moon Lake. Haha.

 

The temple's beautiful! Haha. Too bad for the thick mist, if not the scenery of the Sun Moon Lake would be even better. Hahaha. Think I will go to this place again some day to take that new cable car. Haha. Damn cool. Anyway at the temple, we learnt quite a lot about religious practices and stuff. Quite interesting. I think the tour guide's super knowledgeable. Cool. After that had lunch at this green tea restaurant, we left for Taichung city. We headed straight for Fengjia Night Market. It's one of the 3 most popular night markets, the other 2 being Shilin in Taipei and Liu He in Kaoshiung.

Had the famous 大肠包小肠. It was alright, but I felt that it was a bit over-rated. Haha. The place is pretty big I must say. Ate quite a lot of street food and shopped quite a bit for me and my family. Pretty nice place to shop and it's cheap. Haha. Perfect. Haha. After that we headed back to the hotel to deposit our treasures and freshen up before heading to another nearby night market - Zhong Hua Night Market.

More shopping and eating. Haha. I think Zhong Hua Night Market sells mostly food while Feng Jia is more for shopping. Haha. But together, it's great. Haha. After that walked back to the hotel, since it's nearby.

Day 6 - Taipei

Started off by going to this tomato farm near Miaoli. The tomatoes and strawberries were great. Haha. Had some good morning snack. LOL. After that we proceeded to Xiao Ren Guo. It's a theme park with a lot of models of famous places of the world. Also, it has Doraemon themed attractions too. Haha.

 

It was drizzling so the place was not crowded at all. Haha. So it was nice and we could visit places easily. Haha. Anyway after that we proceeded to Yehliu Geological Park.

It was soooo cold! Haha. Really strong wind and low temperature. Haha. Nothing much to see during the winter season. Should have gone there during summer. It should be really nice then. Haha. We ended up at 7-eleven coz it was much warmer there. Haha. Had our late lunch there too. Nice. After that we proceeded to Taipei 101.

Other than being the tallest building in the world, and the nice bakery at the basement, there's nothing nice about the place. It's like Ion Orchard minus the basements, which means it's all the super expensive brand name shops. So for students like us, it's totally boring. Haha. After that, we headed back to the hotel to deposit of stuff and freshen up.

The hotel is really grand and nice. Haha. Didn't expect such nice hotel. It's supposedly 5-star, other than the fact that it's been there for quite a while le. Haha. After that, we took the MRT down to Jiantan Train Station - Shilin Night Market.

Anyway the MRT was really advanced! Haha. In my opinion, it's better than Singapore's. Haha. Anyway, we were at Shilin, so of course, the main attraction was FOOD. Haha.

This is the famous 鸡排. It's SUPER BIG. Haha. So big that me, Wanyee and Betsy have to share one piece. Huge. Haha. After that proceeded on with more food - Oyster Omelette, 官财板, etc. Really good food. Next up, we went to walk around and explore the shopping streets at Shilin. Bought quite some stuff. And the place was really crowded, even on a weekday and when it's raining. So nice though. Haha. Our spirits are not dampened by the rain. Haha.

See, I'm like the 2 Tai-Tai's bellboy lah. Hahaha. Anyway after that we decided to head back to the hotel to deposit our stuff before we headed over to Taipei Main Train Station where there's this underground shopping street.

It's really quite big. managed to buy some stuff from there too. Oh and we saw this Bee Cheng Hiang. Haha. Good to be able to see Singaporean companies set up their businesses overseas. Haha. After the long shopping trips, we decided that it's time that we sit down at some nice cafe to have some nice dessert and stuff. Yupz, so we went back to the hotel area and settled down at this Italian Gelato Cafe.

Betsy bought this book about reading hand prints or something like that. So we decided to read it up and see how it works. Haha. Really cool. Spent quite some time there having good Italian Gelato and reading palms. Haha. LOL. Really a day well-spent. Haha.

Day 7 - Taipei/Taoyuan

For once, I get to wake up abit later during the trip. HAhaha. We headed off to Matyr's Shrine in Taipei City for some sight-seeing and also to watch the drills there.

 

It was raining slightly, but everything went on as per normal. Haha. I think that it's really tough to serve the nation in Taiwan. Haha. They have to stand at the same spot for 2 hours everyday, and they can't even move one bit! Also, they can't tell their parents that they are stationed at the Shrine lest they come and visit. Really gald that we could book out every weekend in NS. Haha. Anyway after that we proceeded to this Fengshui Shop in Taipei. Ok I think that place is totally a scam. Pardon me but it's really unbelievable and expensive. Haha. So don't bother visiting there. After that, we headed down to this really posh restaurant for lunch.

The meal was alright, but the place was awesome. Hahaha. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Haha. After that signals the end of our trip le. We proceeded to the Taoyuan International Airport.

I really miss the place as well as the tour group people. Haha. Probably coz we were the youngest group there so they all took the best care of us. And our tour guide BETTY! Haha. She's one of the best tour guides I have ever met. Really strict but fun and knowledgeable at the same time. Really interesting person. Haha. Lucky I have her contact. I would probably call her the next time I visit the place. Haha. And also, there are places that I haven't visited yet, such as Yangmingshan, Chiufen, etc. Hence, probably if I have the chance, I will go back to Taipei to do a free-and-easy trip. Haha. Although it was a tiring trip, I felt that I learnt quite a lot on the trip, in terms of culture, etc. And also I really enjoyed the company of my friends during the trip, namely Vincent, Wanyee and Betsy. Haha. They were really great people and I really had lots of fun on the trip. Looking forward to more trips in the future!

TJC Open House 2010!

Hours after landing back in Singapore, I am back at TJC! Haha. Went back with the primary purpose of visiting the teachers who I am in-debt for life. The great tutors of TJC. Haha. Saw Mrs Aileen Lim, Mrs Jagit Than, Mr Desai, Mrs Lim Kia Huan and Ms Tan Chork Meng. Haha. Too bad Mrs Ng Chee Yen was already posted to MJC. The rest were pretty much still the same. Haha.

 

Mrs Than's as funny as ever. Hahahaha.Spent quite some time chit-chatting in her office.

Haha. Here's a tip, to get into her office, first buy her a cup of coffee! Wahahaha. Oh and we attended Mrs Than's sample Econs lecture too!

After that, went to have lunch opposite TJC at the hawker centre. Eating there brings back really good memories. Haha.

Meiying's 21st!
In the evening, went to celebrate Meiying's 21st Birthday at Liquid Kitchen near Chomp Chomp.

The food and place was alright, but the service was terrible and slow. I'm never going there again. Haha. Anyway, on such occasions, the people is more important than the place. Haha. Had really great fun with the TMS guys yesterday. Haha. Looking forwards to more 21st birthday celebrations this year! Hahaha. O this note, I wish Mei Ying all the best in whatever you do in the future. Stay cheerful, healthy and fun like you always are and all the best! Jia You!