*waRning*
this is gonna be a long long long entRy... pls let the photos load fiRst befoRe u Read k? =)
deaR came to my place to stay oveR on the 12th... and i got my bday pResent fiRst... it's a photo album!! with photos of us oveR the 4++ yeaRs of ouR Relationship... and footage as well... complete with some cute stickeRs... i was a bit shocked at fiRst... cos it's not like deaR to do such stuff mah... stickeRs somemoRe!! haha... but the photos seemed moRe like a hongkong 2005 Review.. cos majoRity of the photos came fRom theRe... =p but still.. i loved the pResent!!!
neveRtheless, i was still a bit disappointed that i didn't get a 10000 woRds letteR... i Really thought he wRote foR me u know... he keep telling me he's halfway thRough it.. oR finishing alReady... but well... i still like the pResent a lot!! =)
Day 1 in Taipei
0520 - dad dRove deaR and i to the aiRpoRt... we weRe a bit too eaRly.. unlike united aiRlines, cathay pacific customeRs weRen't that kiasu... =p
so... photo taking staRts while tRying to pass time... =)
see the pilots foR ouR flight? hehe... i wondeR if theRe aRe any female pilots at all! and why do i can't undeRstand what all pilots say at all??
me on cathay pacific befoRe flying to hongkong to tRansit to taipei... 1st disappointment foR the tRip heRe... sutee told me one of the channels shows the sceneRy below the aiRplane duRing landing... i did channel switching duRing landing foR all the 4 times i was on the 4 flights.... but didn't get to see at all! =(
Reached taipei at bout 3pm... guess who we saw? mei kee! Ronglun's secondaRy school classmate... saw heR when we weRe stepping out of the plane.. she was actually on the same plane as us!!! how coincidental!!
took fReego aiRpoRt tRansfeR to ouR hotel instead of guo guang... well... ouR itineRaRy was all messed up... think we aRen't well-pRepaRed enough... and the neveR ending Rain messed up ouR itineRaRy as well....
checked in Rainbow hotel @ ximending... =) my favouRite hotel!! just look at the toilet!! it's so spacious!! even has a bath tub!! it's pRetty clean.. and the Room's pRetty big!! has a cupboaRd and even a coRRidoR fRom the dooR to ouR bed.. big enough? =p
with a nice dRessing table, complete with TV set, wateR boileR, fRidge and even a HAIR DRYER!!! cool~!
the thing bout hotels is.. i'm usually pRetty scaRed when i stay oveRnight in a hotel/ chalet.. not so much bout the Room... but i'm afRaid especially in the toilet... (eh.. watch too much hoRRoR movie?) but this hotel made me felt Really comfoRtable and homely... in fact, i RatheR stay theRe then in my own home... i give 5 STARS foR the hotel~ thumbs up!! =)
not wasting time, we went down to miRamaR and had dinneR at sushi expRess despite my pRotest... come on.. i didn't go all the way to taipei to eat sushi, did i? but well... i compRomised and we ate a little, leaving stomach foR moRe food at the shi lin night maRket lateR...
Right afteR dinneR, we went to take the 2nd biggest feRRis wheel in the woRld... it is located on TOP of a building.... and it's Really HUGE that i couldn't manage to take a full pictuRe of it... it's Really scaRy as well... it goes Really slowly foR one big Round... and it goes soooooooooooooooo high up that even me, the all-time-RolleR-coasteR-and-thRill-loveR, got scaRed... =x i wouldn't want to go on it again loh....
so... take pics to distRact myself!! haha... the pic doesn't show us to be high up isn't it? but i tell u... it feels like we'Re 100 stoRies up? damn high.....
shilin night maRket!! we bought the big big chicken chop, bubble tea and sausage... yummy yummy!!
both of us couldn't even finish one seRving of the chicken chop which costs less than S$3!! cheapeR than those sold in singapoRe...
peaRl milk tea!! nice nice... =)
took the mRt back to ouR hotel... ppl queue up nicely theRe... and theRe's lots of station officeRs blowing whistles and signalling the movement of the ppl....
the mRt looks diffeRent fRom ouRs in theiR seating aRRangement... they had theiR announcements made in 4 language, english, chinese, cantonese and i think hokkien (oR teochew.. i can't diffeRentiate these 2)... it's damn funny to heaR announcements in hokkien loh.. hahaha.... cos it doesn't sound Refine at all... =x
even the escalatoRs had yellow lines in the MIDDLE... and ppl weRe supposed to stand to the Right side, similaR to hongkong....
deaR, who noRmally sleep by the count of 3, had to pacify me to sleep that night... as usual, i couldn't adapt that quickly and i always have tRouble tRyng to get to sleep on a foReign bed... and cos i couldn't sleep, i made deaR stay awake till i fall asleep... =x
Day 2 in Taipei
ouR hotel even pRovided fRee inteRnet seRvices!! went online foR a while... talked to ch and shan on msn... checked email..... but look at the keyboaRd!! theRe's chinese chaRacteRs!! =p
chaing kai shek memoRial hall! as u can see... it's Raining... (again...) although it doesn't look veRy heavy, i can tell u, the Rain dRenched us all... iRRitating!! plus my shoes was giving way.... my 5 yeaR old nike shoes decided to give up on me.... BOTH soles came out and i had to walk in a Really awkwaRd manneR.... to add to it, the Rain happily seeps in the big holes between the sole and the shoes... and my feet suffeRed fRom cRamps.. aRgh... should have gotten my puma shoes b4 i go... =(
in the memoRial hall... guaRd exchange at 9am... cool... they did maRching and some stunts with such pRecise cooRdination that i was amazed!
photo of us in the memoRial hall...
the vending machines aRound sell milk tea!! didn't tRy it though... still bought my favouRite gRape juice... =p
we weRe still Relatively eaRly... so we went to the tRain station to buy advance tixs foR the next day to Ruifang (to change tRain to shi fen)...
photo of us again... =p
went to the undeRgRound mall at the taipei main station... of couRse.. deaR's face lit up a smile when he saw his favouRite shop... haha...
lunch at ding tai feng... it was... GREAT!!! FABULOUS!!!! the noodles that we had weRe veRy QQ... so weRe the xiao long bao!! like 100 times betteR than those i had in singapoRe with shan and Roz? aRgh... looking at the food makes me salivates.....
although it was still Raining pRetty heavily and my shoes weRe Really thReatening to give up on me, i knew i couldn't disappoint deaR on this oR it will be a RegRet foR him... so off we went... seaRching foR this shop opened by jay chou.... well... this is it!!! we found it... but it hasn't open yet... so we can only take photos outside... didn't see jay chou noR his caR aRound... but i think deaR is still pRetty satisfied... =)
the view fRom outside....
despite the Rain and the shoes, we still took a tRain down to wufenpu... saw this sign in the mRt... and was pRetty amused by the secuRity they pRovide foR females... so nice...
wufenpu fashion shopping distRict!! it's like 20 times biggeR than bugis stReet.. and the stuff aRe cheap!!! pity it's winteR and they sell mostly winteR clothes... i was telling deaR, if peiwen weRe to come heRe, we could shop 10 days and not finish the whole stReet...
the thing bout this place and all otheR night maRkets is... vehicles can dRive in.... yeah.. thRough that naRRow little Road... and we had to RetReat into the shops to allow the vehicles to pass thRough... a bit dangeRous woR...
Raohe night maRket... it was STILL Raining... most of the shops weRen't open... =( but still, both of us bought new shoes theRe!! FINALLY....
took a tRain back!!! but to my disappointment, it looks like an mRt in the inteRioR... =( i've always fantasized the tRain to be those kind that i see on tv? like seats facing each otheR in a Romantic setting.. and the tRains moves slowly oveR a big big gReeneRy wheRe one can see cows gRazing? well... it's not! =(
back at ximending.... peaRl milk tea again!!! basically, we had peaRl milk tea EVERY day we weRe in taipei... =p
my new shoes!! i couldn't find my puma shoes... and was Really despeRate to buy shoes to Replace the nike ones... so i bought this nice looking Reebok shoes foR like S$50+... i changed the lace to add moRe colouRs to the shoes... =p
deaR bought nike shoes to Replace his old shoes as well...
Day 3 in Taipei
eaRly in the moRning.. took bus to yang ming shan!!
RAINING as usual.... but the view was nice nonetheless... and it was FREAKING cold theRe.... i was tRembling and tRembling...
i had to quickly put down the umbRella while deaR quickly take a shoot... then i quickly put back the umbRella b4 we weRe dRenched... somehow it doesn't look like it's Raining isn't it?
walked this LONG LONG LONG and wet and scaRy Route to the visitoR centRe... at some points, the path was Really naRRow... and the sides weRe REALLY steep... i was so scaRed that we would slipped and tumble down...
as we walked that stupid tRail foR almost an houR, i saw these leaves on the gRound... of couRse.. me, the bio student, weRe moRe obseRvant of natuRe than deaR.. i went like, "isn't these maple leaves??"
indeed! theRe was maple tRees aRound!!! cool!!
and when we got into the centRe, it was nothing much bout some aRtificial display... SIANZ....
didn't get to see any hot spRings.... anotheR RegRet... =x
took the bus back down... at the top of the yang ming shan, the mist was pRetty heavy... inside the mini-bus, i couldn't see anything outside the window at all!! i was looking at the dRiveR's scReen and wondeRing how he's dRiving at all!! so scaRy...
lunch time at a cuRRy RestauRant! dun i just look like a dumpling with the ultRa THICK oveRcoat? =p
next stop, down to danshui... danshui was one of the COLDEST place we have been thRough the 7 days.. with a fReaking 10 degRees? *bRRRR* i can feel the chill heRe... my hands and feet just went numb...
while walking thRough the stReets of danshui.. i was looking foR the food stuff to buy foR my fRiends... while deaR was unusually quiet and looking aRound... of couRse i know what he was looking foR!! JAY CHOU SET MEAL! jay chou's favouRite food... and afteR much peRsistent in the Rain, we found the shop... theRe's sign boaRds and many newspapeR aRticles featuRing jay chou and the jay chou set meal...
wonton soup!!! eh.... i think i like ding tai feng's betteR.. =p well.. as long as deaR likes it... and we dun leave any RegRet not tRying the jay chou meal...
i was pRetty pissed by deaR 70% of the time in taipei... just look... it's Raining pRetty heavily... he took my umbRella, took my cap, took my shawl.. and walk in fRont of me, leaving me in the Rain half the time we weRe in taipei................... so selfish.
i know it's quite a daRk pictuRe... but the bRidge at the yu Ren ma tou is Really beautiful!!! and wet and cold as well... =x it was too cold and we couldn't stay long... so we quickly took some pics and left the place... see how daRk it is? it is actually only 5pm... the sun sets pRetty eaRly theRe... we weRe supposed to go theRe and see the sun set... but it was too cloudy and theRe was no sun... so didn't see... =( anotheR RegRet...
we Realised that theRe's 2 shi lin night maRket in the same aRea but diffeRent location... till now, i still dunno which is the authentic and publicised shi lin night maRket.. =p
deaR was still hungRy, so we went to find ah zong mian xian which is neaR ouR hotel... indeed, it is easily identified by the long queues outside the shop...
besides the inteRioR of ouR hotel Room, the otheR thing i like bout ouR hotel is the location... it is located Right in the smack of ximending shopping distRict... neaR the mRt... and we would shop till almost midnight then RetuRn to ouR hotel in a few minutes.. when we have too much shopping bags with us, we can also bRing back ouR stuff, put in the hotel, then go out and shop again!! =p
went back hotel and called sutee who's having heR 21st biRthday paRty in aloha changi... glad she's enjoying heRself...
Day 4 in Taipei
Happy biRthday to me!!!! no suRpRises foR deaR... only got a hug... haha... thanx peiwen, sutee, guojun, ningyi, eunice, zhongxiao and all foR the biRthday gReetings... and big thanx to Ronglun foR being the fiRst to send sweet gReetings all the way back fRom geRmany!! =) thanx guys~
slept pRetty late the night befoRe... yet we had to wake up at 5am to Rush foR the tRain.... i pRomptly fell asleep on the tRain fRom taipei to Ruifang then to shifen...
it STILL had to Rain on my biRthday... we Reached shifen... and had to walk on the Railway tRacks... so exciting!! haha... what if a tRain was to come?? what if i can't get off in time?? lots of what if's came thRough my mind... haha... the tRacks weRe difficult to walk..
afteR ONE whole houR of walking in the Rain... we finally Reached.... the shi fen wateRfall!!!
the entRance of the wateRfall...
and heRe it is!! the BIGGEST wateRfall in the whole of taiwan... it was Really majestic.... took a video of it too... and it was so cold theRe that theRe was mist coming out of ouR mouth when we speak!!
at a bRidge neaR the shi fen wateRfall.... gosh.. i look so BIG.. hahah...
took tRain back to Ruifang wheRe we changed bus to jiu fen... even coldeR... and the Rain still peRsists.... behind me is the pacific ocean as deaR said... but it was sooooooooooooo cold that we didn't stay theRe foR moRe than 5 minutes...
instead, we went stRaight into the maRkets and shopped!! foR food souveniRs.... had some hot food inside to keep us waRm as well... aRgh... ate so much.. must have put on lots of weight....
afteR buying lots of food, we went down to kee lung....
afteR much time, we found the night maRket! sausage again!! it was GOOD! yummy!! nice!! haha... my vocab seems so limited.. =p
deaR is enjoying the hot food... hey! why is my cap and shawl still with him!!!!!!!
Day 5 in Taipei
last day in taipei.... AND THE RAIN STOPPED. we finally see the sun!! but isn't it a bit too late? we'Re leaving!! daRn...
because we didn't stick to ouR itineRaRy due to the Rain, we missed a few places scheduled foR each day... but in oRdeR not to leave any RegRets, we still managed to go to all places... befoRe leaving foR hongkong, we went to take a look at taipei 101... somewheRe neaR theRe, theRe was a maRathon going on... woo... i almost wanted to join them.. haha..
and the tall tall tall taipei 101... it wasn't open yet... so we just took photos outside...
and we saw a second statue of libeRty!! okok... i admit.. i foRced him to pose like that.. haha...
i saw this fake pictuRe on the wall and got cheeky... =p
human size holes in the wall!! what do u think i would do??
made deaR pose in it!! haha.. deaR's so shy as usual... =p
how can i miss out the fun!! this is one of my favouRite pics foR the whole tRip.. haha... shan says i look like supeRstaR... =x
one moRe!!! i knocked my head against the wall... a bit low leh.. =x
and off we fly to hongkong!!!
Hongkong
checked in into doRsett seaview... which was yet ANOTHER disappointment... we chose this hotel upon peiwen's Recommendation... and we totally RegRetted it....
just look at the Room!!! SO FREAKING SMALL!!! theRe was NO cupboaRd, NO dRessing table (how do i put on my makeup?!), NO table to put ouR stuff, NO fRidge (wen told me theRe was..) and the Room's just big enough foR the bed and nothing else.. dun even have the space to open my luggage!!! iRRitating.... almost wanted to change hotel.. luckily i spent my biRthday in nice nice Rainbow hotel...
the toilet's also way smalleR than that of Rainbow hotel... theRe was NO bath tub... the sink was half the size of that in Rainbow... WORSE OF ALL.... theRe's a dooR foR the toilet, but the dooR cannot be locked!!! theRe was NO latch on the dooR at all!! aRgh........ the 2 nights i bathed in that daRn toilet, i was so afRaid deaR would baRged in... =x
the hotel Room was soooo quiet and eeRie.... we got a coRneR Room (which i hate) on the 2nd level (i hate low level Rooms as well!) we had to play music fRom ouR HP whole night so that it isn't that scaRy...
even the xu liu shan with ouR favouRite mango desseRt outside ouR hotel didn't make things betteR....
we quickly got out of the hotel and Rushed to the avenue of staRs.. we missed the symphony of lights last yeaR, so this is to soothe ouR RegRet... saw it.. but it was boRing... think sentosa's wateR and laseR show betteR... =p
Rushed down to fa yuen stReet foR some shopping befoRe the shops closed....
Day 6 in Hongkong
i was getting lazieR and lazieR afteR many nights of lack of sleep... slept till one houR lateR than the agReed time... when i finally woke up, deaR has alReady washed up, changed and was sipping coffee (we bRought coffee and milo theRe.. =p) away... he said he had tRied all means to wake me up but i wouldn't budge... =x
Rushed down to take feRRy to hongkong island... didn't take it the last time Round... so took it this time... it was woRth it... =)
wanted to go foR Maxim chinese RestauRant dim sum bReakfast at hennesy centRe... but when we Reached.. this is what we saw..... the building was in constRuction... =( BIG RegRet foR me... =( no dim sum the whole time we weRe in hongkong!! sad...
ate something else... some rice thingy.. inside with you tiao and poRk floss... nice nice~
then went down to lantau island by cable caR... the cable caR took VERY LONG... but it was nice sceneRy along the way... so it was still quite nice...
can even see the aiRpoRt fRom the cable caR!! seeing planes taking off and landing, the planes all look so miniatuRe...
at lantau island!! a foReigneR veRy nicely volunteeRed to take pictuRes foR us without us asking.. so nice!
deaR and his big bug buddha which we didn't get to see last yeaR... deaR came hongkong specially foR this!
me with the nice nice sceneRy behind... good weatheR isn't is? no Rain in hongkong at all... just cold weatheR...
next, we took bus to the peak... anotheR disappointment... peiwen told me to take bus which has open-top... appaRently, theRe's NO open-top bus at all!! bus 15 was a coveRed double deckeR... i even puRposely missed one bus to wait to see if theRe weRe any open-top buses... but no... theRe wasn't... disappointing...
got to the peak just in time foR the sunset... SWEET!!! although it is the dunno-how-many-times i have seen the sunset in hongkong, i still think it's beautiful... =) i wanna watch sunRise sometime!!
appaRently, the peRson who took the photo foR us isn't veRy skilled... =x
wax museum!! last yeaR when we went, it was undeR Rennovation... how can we miss it? the fiRst one we saw was jay chou... deaR's idol AGAIN....
alRight alRight... i couldn't make deaR hug his idol... so well...
i got cheeky again when i saw all the wax figuRes... haha... do i look fake? oR do the wax figuRe look Real? =p
deaR got influenced by me... hehe...
i must claRify, i was just being cheeky... this pic does not mean i do not Respect ouR leadeR oR anything... it was just out of fun k... dun shoot me pls... dun sue me eitheR! =x and u know wat? i love this pic a lot.. haha...
cheeky me wouldn't stop playing with the wax figuRes... =p
deaR joined in the fun... hey... dun hit him with the club k!!
deaR, tRying to shoot james bond... haha..
went to the top to see the view... pRetty!!
the night view is just so pRetty...
Rushed down to times suqaRe... to find the shop to buy the oRganiseR foR shan shan.. but we couldn't find the shop... we found it the next day.. but YET AGAIN, the building was undeR Rennovation............. ARGH.
we saw gRasshoppeRs!!
Day 7 in Hongkong
found anotheR Maxim and went theRe foR bReakfast... but theRe was no dim sum.... =(
went shopping aRound that distRict.. deaR bought his mouse...
went to ladies maRket... eveRything was just so Rushed and we couldn't stay at a place foR too long....
nice nice mango desseRt!!! veRy sweet and nice... also found the mango smoothie afteR going into countless of 7-11 and alike shops...
by 5pm, we weRe in the lobby waiting foR bus to send us back to aiRpoRt...
on the bus back to hongkong aiRpoRt...
deaR's a happy man afteR the tRip.. getting a jacket, nike shoes, eaRphone, wiReless mouse, many shiRts, many keychains (he has fetish foR keychains like how i have fetish foR post-stick notes.. =p), mango smoothie and lots of nice food...
me? i didn't get to eat my dim sum.. couldn't find my oRganiseR... didn't get much clothes (all winteR weaR!! and ladies maRket had moRe men stuff than ladies stuff) and food i got weRe all foR my fRiends and family and non foR myself... =x
what made me most happy was seeing deaR happy... =) this tRip was so much betteR than last yeaR when he just fRowned all the way... well.. he got so many stuff duRing this tRip!! and saw jay's shop, ate jay's meal.. and even took a photo with jay chou.. haha... he ought to be satisfied!
the woRld is JUST SO SMALL... i actually met huibee and peihua at the hongkong aiRpoRt when we weRe checking in!! SO COINCIDENTAL!!!!
while i was still feeling pRetty Reluctant to go home.. cathay pacific gave me a veRy good biRthday pResent... due to the oveR-whelming numbeR of people on the plane, we weRe given upgRades to business class seats!!!!!!! COOL!!! lucky us!! huibee and peihua didn't get it though..
the seats weRe SO spacious... lots of leg space... and i didn't feel RestRicted like i always do...
fiRst class tReatment xia!! we weRe seRved dRinks the moment we boaRded the plane (pRioRity boaRding somemoRe!! =p)...
we even had a menu showing us what we will be seRved!!! it was a 3-couRse meal fRom good RestauRants...
appetiseRs!! it was nice nice!! okok.. the salad i ate halfway alReady lah.... but wow... look at the pResentation of the food!! the aiR stewaRdess even knew ouR names!!! so cool!! we felt like big-shots... haha.. though one of them called deaR wRongly once...
and they just kept seRving us food and dRinks until i was sooooo full... and i couldn't go to the toilet cos i had so many stuff on my table... =p the food was gReat!! so was the seRvice!! i wanna sit business class again!!!!!! =p
we had ouR own tv set as well... and we could play games!! cool~!
touched down at bout 1140pm.. ch came to fetch us back... thanx ch!!! =)
and that maRks the end of the 7 day taipei/hongkong tRip... i guess afteR going on 2 oveRseas tRips in 2 yeaRs, we wouldn't be able to go foR anotheR soon... although i still hope to go foR one foR my gRaduation tRip... well... we'll see bout it...
full set of photos can be viewed at http://xiaocao.myphotoalbum.com/
this is gonna be a long long long entRy... pls let the photos load fiRst befoRe u Read k? =)
deaR came to my place to stay oveR on the 12th... and i got my bday pResent fiRst... it's a photo album!! with photos of us oveR the 4++ yeaRs of ouR Relationship... and footage as well... complete with some cute stickeRs... i was a bit shocked at fiRst... cos it's not like deaR to do such stuff mah... stickeRs somemoRe!! haha... but the photos seemed moRe like a hongkong 2005 Review.. cos majoRity of the photos came fRom theRe... =p but still.. i loved the pResent!!!
neveRtheless, i was still a bit disappointed that i didn't get a 10000 woRds letteR... i Really thought he wRote foR me u know... he keep telling me he's halfway thRough it.. oR finishing alReady... but well... i still like the pResent a lot!! =)
Day 1 in Taipei
0520 - dad dRove deaR and i to the aiRpoRt... we weRe a bit too eaRly.. unlike united aiRlines, cathay pacific customeRs weRen't that kiasu... =p
so... photo taking staRts while tRying to pass time... =)
see the pilots foR ouR flight? hehe... i wondeR if theRe aRe any female pilots at all! and why do i can't undeRstand what all pilots say at all??
me on cathay pacific befoRe flying to hongkong to tRansit to taipei... 1st disappointment foR the tRip heRe... sutee told me one of the channels shows the sceneRy below the aiRplane duRing landing... i did channel switching duRing landing foR all the 4 times i was on the 4 flights.... but didn't get to see at all! =(
Reached taipei at bout 3pm... guess who we saw? mei kee! Ronglun's secondaRy school classmate... saw heR when we weRe stepping out of the plane.. she was actually on the same plane as us!!! how coincidental!!
took fReego aiRpoRt tRansfeR to ouR hotel instead of guo guang... well... ouR itineRaRy was all messed up... think we aRen't well-pRepaRed enough... and the neveR ending Rain messed up ouR itineRaRy as well....
checked in Rainbow hotel @ ximending... =) my favouRite hotel!! just look at the toilet!! it's so spacious!! even has a bath tub!! it's pRetty clean.. and the Room's pRetty big!! has a cupboaRd and even a coRRidoR fRom the dooR to ouR bed.. big enough? =p
with a nice dRessing table, complete with TV set, wateR boileR, fRidge and even a HAIR DRYER!!! cool~!
the thing bout hotels is.. i'm usually pRetty scaRed when i stay oveRnight in a hotel/ chalet.. not so much bout the Room... but i'm afRaid especially in the toilet... (eh.. watch too much hoRRoR movie?) but this hotel made me felt Really comfoRtable and homely... in fact, i RatheR stay theRe then in my own home... i give 5 STARS foR the hotel~ thumbs up!! =)
not wasting time, we went down to miRamaR and had dinneR at sushi expRess despite my pRotest... come on.. i didn't go all the way to taipei to eat sushi, did i? but well... i compRomised and we ate a little, leaving stomach foR moRe food at the shi lin night maRket lateR...
Right afteR dinneR, we went to take the 2nd biggest feRRis wheel in the woRld... it is located on TOP of a building.... and it's Really HUGE that i couldn't manage to take a full pictuRe of it... it's Really scaRy as well... it goes Really slowly foR one big Round... and it goes soooooooooooooooo high up that even me, the all-time-RolleR-coasteR-and-thRill-loveR, got scaRed... =x i wouldn't want to go on it again loh....
so... take pics to distRact myself!! haha... the pic doesn't show us to be high up isn't it? but i tell u... it feels like we'Re 100 stoRies up? damn high.....
shilin night maRket!! we bought the big big chicken chop, bubble tea and sausage... yummy yummy!!
both of us couldn't even finish one seRving of the chicken chop which costs less than S$3!! cheapeR than those sold in singapoRe...
peaRl milk tea!! nice nice... =)
took the mRt back to ouR hotel... ppl queue up nicely theRe... and theRe's lots of station officeRs blowing whistles and signalling the movement of the ppl....
the mRt looks diffeRent fRom ouRs in theiR seating aRRangement... they had theiR announcements made in 4 language, english, chinese, cantonese and i think hokkien (oR teochew.. i can't diffeRentiate these 2)... it's damn funny to heaR announcements in hokkien loh.. hahaha.... cos it doesn't sound Refine at all... =x
even the escalatoRs had yellow lines in the MIDDLE... and ppl weRe supposed to stand to the Right side, similaR to hongkong....
deaR, who noRmally sleep by the count of 3, had to pacify me to sleep that night... as usual, i couldn't adapt that quickly and i always have tRouble tRyng to get to sleep on a foReign bed... and cos i couldn't sleep, i made deaR stay awake till i fall asleep... =x
Day 2 in Taipei
ouR hotel even pRovided fRee inteRnet seRvices!! went online foR a while... talked to ch and shan on msn... checked email..... but look at the keyboaRd!! theRe's chinese chaRacteRs!! =p
chaing kai shek memoRial hall! as u can see... it's Raining... (again...) although it doesn't look veRy heavy, i can tell u, the Rain dRenched us all... iRRitating!! plus my shoes was giving way.... my 5 yeaR old nike shoes decided to give up on me.... BOTH soles came out and i had to walk in a Really awkwaRd manneR.... to add to it, the Rain happily seeps in the big holes between the sole and the shoes... and my feet suffeRed fRom cRamps.. aRgh... should have gotten my puma shoes b4 i go... =(
in the memoRial hall... guaRd exchange at 9am... cool... they did maRching and some stunts with such pRecise cooRdination that i was amazed!
photo of us in the memoRial hall...
the vending machines aRound sell milk tea!! didn't tRy it though... still bought my favouRite gRape juice... =p
we weRe still Relatively eaRly... so we went to the tRain station to buy advance tixs foR the next day to Ruifang (to change tRain to shi fen)...
photo of us again... =p
went to the undeRgRound mall at the taipei main station... of couRse.. deaR's face lit up a smile when he saw his favouRite shop... haha...
lunch at ding tai feng... it was... GREAT!!! FABULOUS!!!! the noodles that we had weRe veRy QQ... so weRe the xiao long bao!! like 100 times betteR than those i had in singapoRe with shan and Roz? aRgh... looking at the food makes me salivates.....
although it was still Raining pRetty heavily and my shoes weRe Really thReatening to give up on me, i knew i couldn't disappoint deaR on this oR it will be a RegRet foR him... so off we went... seaRching foR this shop opened by jay chou.... well... this is it!!! we found it... but it hasn't open yet... so we can only take photos outside... didn't see jay chou noR his caR aRound... but i think deaR is still pRetty satisfied... =)
the view fRom outside....
despite the Rain and the shoes, we still took a tRain down to wufenpu... saw this sign in the mRt... and was pRetty amused by the secuRity they pRovide foR females... so nice...
wufenpu fashion shopping distRict!! it's like 20 times biggeR than bugis stReet.. and the stuff aRe cheap!!! pity it's winteR and they sell mostly winteR clothes... i was telling deaR, if peiwen weRe to come heRe, we could shop 10 days and not finish the whole stReet...
the thing bout this place and all otheR night maRkets is... vehicles can dRive in.... yeah.. thRough that naRRow little Road... and we had to RetReat into the shops to allow the vehicles to pass thRough... a bit dangeRous woR...
Raohe night maRket... it was STILL Raining... most of the shops weRen't open... =( but still, both of us bought new shoes theRe!! FINALLY....
took a tRain back!!! but to my disappointment, it looks like an mRt in the inteRioR... =( i've always fantasized the tRain to be those kind that i see on tv? like seats facing each otheR in a Romantic setting.. and the tRains moves slowly oveR a big big gReeneRy wheRe one can see cows gRazing? well... it's not! =(
back at ximending.... peaRl milk tea again!!! basically, we had peaRl milk tea EVERY day we weRe in taipei... =p
my new shoes!! i couldn't find my puma shoes... and was Really despeRate to buy shoes to Replace the nike ones... so i bought this nice looking Reebok shoes foR like S$50+... i changed the lace to add moRe colouRs to the shoes... =p
deaR bought nike shoes to Replace his old shoes as well...
Day 3 in Taipei
eaRly in the moRning.. took bus to yang ming shan!!
RAINING as usual.... but the view was nice nonetheless... and it was FREAKING cold theRe.... i was tRembling and tRembling...
i had to quickly put down the umbRella while deaR quickly take a shoot... then i quickly put back the umbRella b4 we weRe dRenched... somehow it doesn't look like it's Raining isn't it?
walked this LONG LONG LONG and wet and scaRy Route to the visitoR centRe... at some points, the path was Really naRRow... and the sides weRe REALLY steep... i was so scaRed that we would slipped and tumble down...
as we walked that stupid tRail foR almost an houR, i saw these leaves on the gRound... of couRse.. me, the bio student, weRe moRe obseRvant of natuRe than deaR.. i went like, "isn't these maple leaves??"
indeed! theRe was maple tRees aRound!!! cool!!
and when we got into the centRe, it was nothing much bout some aRtificial display... SIANZ....
didn't get to see any hot spRings.... anotheR RegRet... =x
took the bus back down... at the top of the yang ming shan, the mist was pRetty heavy... inside the mini-bus, i couldn't see anything outside the window at all!! i was looking at the dRiveR's scReen and wondeRing how he's dRiving at all!! so scaRy...
lunch time at a cuRRy RestauRant! dun i just look like a dumpling with the ultRa THICK oveRcoat? =p
next stop, down to danshui... danshui was one of the COLDEST place we have been thRough the 7 days.. with a fReaking 10 degRees? *bRRRR* i can feel the chill heRe... my hands and feet just went numb...
while walking thRough the stReets of danshui.. i was looking foR the food stuff to buy foR my fRiends... while deaR was unusually quiet and looking aRound... of couRse i know what he was looking foR!! JAY CHOU SET MEAL! jay chou's favouRite food... and afteR much peRsistent in the Rain, we found the shop... theRe's sign boaRds and many newspapeR aRticles featuRing jay chou and the jay chou set meal...
wonton soup!!! eh.... i think i like ding tai feng's betteR.. =p well.. as long as deaR likes it... and we dun leave any RegRet not tRying the jay chou meal...
i was pRetty pissed by deaR 70% of the time in taipei... just look... it's Raining pRetty heavily... he took my umbRella, took my cap, took my shawl.. and walk in fRont of me, leaving me in the Rain half the time we weRe in taipei................... so selfish.
i know it's quite a daRk pictuRe... but the bRidge at the yu Ren ma tou is Really beautiful!!! and wet and cold as well... =x it was too cold and we couldn't stay long... so we quickly took some pics and left the place... see how daRk it is? it is actually only 5pm... the sun sets pRetty eaRly theRe... we weRe supposed to go theRe and see the sun set... but it was too cloudy and theRe was no sun... so didn't see... =( anotheR RegRet...
we Realised that theRe's 2 shi lin night maRket in the same aRea but diffeRent location... till now, i still dunno which is the authentic and publicised shi lin night maRket.. =p
deaR was still hungRy, so we went to find ah zong mian xian which is neaR ouR hotel... indeed, it is easily identified by the long queues outside the shop...
besides the inteRioR of ouR hotel Room, the otheR thing i like bout ouR hotel is the location... it is located Right in the smack of ximending shopping distRict... neaR the mRt... and we would shop till almost midnight then RetuRn to ouR hotel in a few minutes.. when we have too much shopping bags with us, we can also bRing back ouR stuff, put in the hotel, then go out and shop again!! =p
went back hotel and called sutee who's having heR 21st biRthday paRty in aloha changi... glad she's enjoying heRself...
Day 4 in Taipei
Happy biRthday to me!!!! no suRpRises foR deaR... only got a hug... haha... thanx peiwen, sutee, guojun, ningyi, eunice, zhongxiao and all foR the biRthday gReetings... and big thanx to Ronglun foR being the fiRst to send sweet gReetings all the way back fRom geRmany!! =) thanx guys~
slept pRetty late the night befoRe... yet we had to wake up at 5am to Rush foR the tRain.... i pRomptly fell asleep on the tRain fRom taipei to Ruifang then to shifen...
it STILL had to Rain on my biRthday... we Reached shifen... and had to walk on the Railway tRacks... so exciting!! haha... what if a tRain was to come?? what if i can't get off in time?? lots of what if's came thRough my mind... haha... the tRacks weRe difficult to walk..
afteR ONE whole houR of walking in the Rain... we finally Reached.... the shi fen wateRfall!!!
the entRance of the wateRfall...
and heRe it is!! the BIGGEST wateRfall in the whole of taiwan... it was Really majestic.... took a video of it too... and it was so cold theRe that theRe was mist coming out of ouR mouth when we speak!!
at a bRidge neaR the shi fen wateRfall.... gosh.. i look so BIG.. hahah...
took tRain back to Ruifang wheRe we changed bus to jiu fen... even coldeR... and the Rain still peRsists.... behind me is the pacific ocean as deaR said... but it was sooooooooooooo cold that we didn't stay theRe foR moRe than 5 minutes...
instead, we went stRaight into the maRkets and shopped!! foR food souveniRs.... had some hot food inside to keep us waRm as well... aRgh... ate so much.. must have put on lots of weight....
afteR buying lots of food, we went down to kee lung....
afteR much time, we found the night maRket! sausage again!! it was GOOD! yummy!! nice!! haha... my vocab seems so limited.. =p
deaR is enjoying the hot food... hey! why is my cap and shawl still with him!!!!!!!
Day 5 in Taipei
last day in taipei.... AND THE RAIN STOPPED. we finally see the sun!! but isn't it a bit too late? we'Re leaving!! daRn...
because we didn't stick to ouR itineRaRy due to the Rain, we missed a few places scheduled foR each day... but in oRdeR not to leave any RegRets, we still managed to go to all places... befoRe leaving foR hongkong, we went to take a look at taipei 101... somewheRe neaR theRe, theRe was a maRathon going on... woo... i almost wanted to join them.. haha..
and the tall tall tall taipei 101... it wasn't open yet... so we just took photos outside...
and we saw a second statue of libeRty!! okok... i admit.. i foRced him to pose like that.. haha...
i saw this fake pictuRe on the wall and got cheeky... =p
human size holes in the wall!! what do u think i would do??
made deaR pose in it!! haha.. deaR's so shy as usual... =p
how can i miss out the fun!! this is one of my favouRite pics foR the whole tRip.. haha... shan says i look like supeRstaR... =x
one moRe!!! i knocked my head against the wall... a bit low leh.. =x
and off we fly to hongkong!!!
Hongkong
checked in into doRsett seaview... which was yet ANOTHER disappointment... we chose this hotel upon peiwen's Recommendation... and we totally RegRetted it....
just look at the Room!!! SO FREAKING SMALL!!! theRe was NO cupboaRd, NO dRessing table (how do i put on my makeup?!), NO table to put ouR stuff, NO fRidge (wen told me theRe was..) and the Room's just big enough foR the bed and nothing else.. dun even have the space to open my luggage!!! iRRitating.... almost wanted to change hotel.. luckily i spent my biRthday in nice nice Rainbow hotel...
the toilet's also way smalleR than that of Rainbow hotel... theRe was NO bath tub... the sink was half the size of that in Rainbow... WORSE OF ALL.... theRe's a dooR foR the toilet, but the dooR cannot be locked!!! theRe was NO latch on the dooR at all!! aRgh........ the 2 nights i bathed in that daRn toilet, i was so afRaid deaR would baRged in... =x
the hotel Room was soooo quiet and eeRie.... we got a coRneR Room (which i hate) on the 2nd level (i hate low level Rooms as well!) we had to play music fRom ouR HP whole night so that it isn't that scaRy...
even the xu liu shan with ouR favouRite mango desseRt outside ouR hotel didn't make things betteR....
we quickly got out of the hotel and Rushed to the avenue of staRs.. we missed the symphony of lights last yeaR, so this is to soothe ouR RegRet... saw it.. but it was boRing... think sentosa's wateR and laseR show betteR... =p
Rushed down to fa yuen stReet foR some shopping befoRe the shops closed....
Day 6 in Hongkong
i was getting lazieR and lazieR afteR many nights of lack of sleep... slept till one houR lateR than the agReed time... when i finally woke up, deaR has alReady washed up, changed and was sipping coffee (we bRought coffee and milo theRe.. =p) away... he said he had tRied all means to wake me up but i wouldn't budge... =x
Rushed down to take feRRy to hongkong island... didn't take it the last time Round... so took it this time... it was woRth it... =)
wanted to go foR Maxim chinese RestauRant dim sum bReakfast at hennesy centRe... but when we Reached.. this is what we saw..... the building was in constRuction... =( BIG RegRet foR me... =( no dim sum the whole time we weRe in hongkong!! sad...
ate something else... some rice thingy.. inside with you tiao and poRk floss... nice nice~
then went down to lantau island by cable caR... the cable caR took VERY LONG... but it was nice sceneRy along the way... so it was still quite nice...
can even see the aiRpoRt fRom the cable caR!! seeing planes taking off and landing, the planes all look so miniatuRe...
at lantau island!! a foReigneR veRy nicely volunteeRed to take pictuRes foR us without us asking.. so nice!
deaR and his big bug buddha which we didn't get to see last yeaR... deaR came hongkong specially foR this!
me with the nice nice sceneRy behind... good weatheR isn't is? no Rain in hongkong at all... just cold weatheR...
next, we took bus to the peak... anotheR disappointment... peiwen told me to take bus which has open-top... appaRently, theRe's NO open-top bus at all!! bus 15 was a coveRed double deckeR... i even puRposely missed one bus to wait to see if theRe weRe any open-top buses... but no... theRe wasn't... disappointing...
got to the peak just in time foR the sunset... SWEET!!! although it is the dunno-how-many-times i have seen the sunset in hongkong, i still think it's beautiful... =) i wanna watch sunRise sometime!!
appaRently, the peRson who took the photo foR us isn't veRy skilled... =x
wax museum!! last yeaR when we went, it was undeR Rennovation... how can we miss it? the fiRst one we saw was jay chou... deaR's idol AGAIN....
alRight alRight... i couldn't make deaR hug his idol... so well...
i got cheeky again when i saw all the wax figuRes... haha... do i look fake? oR do the wax figuRe look Real? =p
deaR got influenced by me... hehe...
i must claRify, i was just being cheeky... this pic does not mean i do not Respect ouR leadeR oR anything... it was just out of fun k... dun shoot me pls... dun sue me eitheR! =x and u know wat? i love this pic a lot.. haha...
cheeky me wouldn't stop playing with the wax figuRes... =p
deaR joined in the fun... hey... dun hit him with the club k!!
deaR, tRying to shoot james bond... haha..
went to the top to see the view... pRetty!!
the night view is just so pRetty...
Rushed down to times suqaRe... to find the shop to buy the oRganiseR foR shan shan.. but we couldn't find the shop... we found it the next day.. but YET AGAIN, the building was undeR Rennovation............. ARGH.
we saw gRasshoppeRs!!
Day 7 in Hongkong
found anotheR Maxim and went theRe foR bReakfast... but theRe was no dim sum.... =(
went shopping aRound that distRict.. deaR bought his mouse...
went to ladies maRket... eveRything was just so Rushed and we couldn't stay at a place foR too long....
nice nice mango desseRt!!! veRy sweet and nice... also found the mango smoothie afteR going into countless of 7-11 and alike shops...
by 5pm, we weRe in the lobby waiting foR bus to send us back to aiRpoRt...
on the bus back to hongkong aiRpoRt...
deaR's a happy man afteR the tRip.. getting a jacket, nike shoes, eaRphone, wiReless mouse, many shiRts, many keychains (he has fetish foR keychains like how i have fetish foR post-stick notes.. =p), mango smoothie and lots of nice food...
me? i didn't get to eat my dim sum.. couldn't find my oRganiseR... didn't get much clothes (all winteR weaR!! and ladies maRket had moRe men stuff than ladies stuff) and food i got weRe all foR my fRiends and family and non foR myself... =x
what made me most happy was seeing deaR happy... =) this tRip was so much betteR than last yeaR when he just fRowned all the way... well.. he got so many stuff duRing this tRip!! and saw jay's shop, ate jay's meal.. and even took a photo with jay chou.. haha... he ought to be satisfied!
the woRld is JUST SO SMALL... i actually met huibee and peihua at the hongkong aiRpoRt when we weRe checking in!! SO COINCIDENTAL!!!!
while i was still feeling pRetty Reluctant to go home.. cathay pacific gave me a veRy good biRthday pResent... due to the oveR-whelming numbeR of people on the plane, we weRe given upgRades to business class seats!!!!!!! COOL!!! lucky us!! huibee and peihua didn't get it though..
the seats weRe SO spacious... lots of leg space... and i didn't feel RestRicted like i always do...
fiRst class tReatment xia!! we weRe seRved dRinks the moment we boaRded the plane (pRioRity boaRding somemoRe!! =p)...
we even had a menu showing us what we will be seRved!!! it was a 3-couRse meal fRom good RestauRants...
appetiseRs!! it was nice nice!! okok.. the salad i ate halfway alReady lah.... but wow... look at the pResentation of the food!! the aiR stewaRdess even knew ouR names!!! so cool!! we felt like big-shots... haha.. though one of them called deaR wRongly once...
and they just kept seRving us food and dRinks until i was sooooo full... and i couldn't go to the toilet cos i had so many stuff on my table... =p the food was gReat!! so was the seRvice!! i wanna sit business class again!!!!!! =p
we had ouR own tv set as well... and we could play games!! cool~!
touched down at bout 1140pm.. ch came to fetch us back... thanx ch!!! =)
and that maRks the end of the 7 day taipei/hongkong tRip... i guess afteR going on 2 oveRseas tRips in 2 yeaRs, we wouldn't be able to go foR anotheR soon... although i still hope to go foR one foR my gRaduation tRip... well... we'll see bout it...
full set of photos can be viewed at http://xiaocao.myphotoalbum.com/
befoRe i went foR the tRip, my deaRest fRiends gave me a pRe-celebRation! i got a make oveR photoshoot as a pResent fRom wen, sutee, xiao, chenchin, patRick and jeff... and it was tiRing.. i smiled till my muscles weRe tiRed...
they even pResent an ice-cReam cake fRom swensons which Really suRpRised me... so sweet!! and they sang biRthday songs loudly in swensons bugis which made me so paiseh.. but loved!! =)
photo of us togetheR at the diamond xmas tRee in bugis... =)
woo!! i'm 21!!
got email... didn't manage to get PGP noR otheR Rooms on campus... =( can't appeal... dunno how to get on waiting list eitheR... i dun think i can find enough Room mates to Rent an apaRtment neaR school...
this means i got to give up 3 modules which i Really wanna take but ends at 8pm and 10pm...
=(
daRn NUS.
i need accomodation neaR school... anybody willing to take me in?