Wednesday, January 03, 2007

i know most people probably won't care about what i have to say regarding the trip to taiwan but what the heck! i'm going to write about it anyway. sorry that most names of places are in hanyu pinyin instead of english.


also included notes in case anyone wants to plan a trip to taiwan and needs references. everything's just my POV though.


DAY 1: Singapore-Taipei + Shihlin Night Market



at changi airport. EXCITED!
from left:
top row- wenyun rongyao weijian chunhong haojun
bottom row- candy me xueli



WELCOME TO TAIWAN
the girl very cute hor!!



on the mrt to shihlin!


note: shihlin night market is not at shihlin station. in fact it's at jian4 tan2 which is the stop before that.



candy and i outside jian4 tan2 station.



random poses while waiting for the guys WHO WERE LATE!



on our way back to hotel.


DAY 2: Songshan High School (surprise visit!) + NJ TIP reunion at t.g.i. fridays



songshan reunited!
top row: jimmy buddy and me
bottom row: steph huyongting daxiong



group photo #1 inside t.g.i. fridays restaurant
WE SAW KANGKANG INSIDE.



from left:
top row- daxiong henry christine lisa barbie
bottom row- ziyun yingying steph me



jimmy and zhaoyu acting SCANDALOUS.



taiwanese.



steph jimmy yingying. random poses.



group photo #2 outside ximen station


DAY 3: Taipei-Chiayi + Chiayi-Alishan (omg 3 hour bus ride up the mountain)



this is kind of random but it's a LILY.
tribute to my chem teacher hahaha.



uhm. reflection. kinda artistic i think. LOL



sunset at alishan.
REALLY PRETTY.



group photo!


DAY 4A: Alishan Sunrise + Alishan-Chiayi (omg 3 hour bus ride down the mountain)


note: chiayi and kaoshiung have super polluted air. you'd think that your eyesight is blurry or there's fog or something but no, it's really the hazy air.



train to the place which is supposed to be best for viewing sunrise!



yu4 shan1 (jade mountain)
the sun's supposed to come out from behind it but it was too cloudy so we missed the sunrise.


DAY 4B: Chiayi-Kaoshiung + Qi2 Jin1 + Ai4 He2 (Love River) + Liu4 He2 Night Market



ferry to qi2 jin1. very cheap. 50 cents sing ONLY.



view from the ferry.


note: qi2 jin1 is this offshore island (i think so) near kaoshiung and is famous for seafood, can go try. also worth trying the shui2 guo3 bing1. 1 "small" bowl is enough to feed 8 ppl. fruits used are seasonal though.



me eating some shell thing after losing at finger guessing games!



rainbow coloured tops. red orange yellow green purple.
we really didn't agree on this!!
anyway. sunset at the qi2 jin1 beach.



candy and i teaching the guys how to take romantic pictures.
HAHA



there's this chinese saying: ZHU1 PENG2 GOU2 YOU3
i can see where that came from.



ai4 he2 (love river) night scene


note: kaoshiung buses are damn cheap! standard fare, 60 cents sing only.


DAY 5: random shopping malls + Xin1 Jue2 Jiang1 shopping district



macs breakfast!


note: they have NAI3 CHA2 (milk tea) as drink! SO NICE LA. and like ham+egg burger and bagel on their breakfast menu! can try!



SHOPPING MAKES US HAPPY. :))



me carrying my stuff and switching rooms 'cos our bathroom was leaking!
UNGLAM.



this hairdryer always had a burning smell coming from it, so when candy and i were watching tv and i suddenly turned and saw this, i thought she had burnt her towel! HAHA
but the thing was originally black la!
laughed like MAD.



i didn't forget about the guys who went taidong and left us behind!


DAY 6: Kaoshiung-Hualien + Nan2 Bin1 Night Market



the 3 girls trying to be goofy while we're alone at the hotel.
shit. damn unglam.



everything on the table besides the blue bag on the left is MINE. LOL



we bought fireworks! the big one here is $4 sing. small ones (quite a lot in a pack. i think at least 20) go for $2 sing.



at the beach near nan2 bin1 night market.
attempted to set off the smaller fireworks in bunches but that kind of failed so we ended up setting them off one by one. (look like joss stick hor)


note: i think if you go to taiwan or any country that doesn't ban fireworks, you should really try them! it's nice (though a little scary)


DAY 7: Qi1 Xing1 Tan2 + Taroko National Park + Zi4 Qiang2 Night Market



at qi1 xing1 tan2. the waves are HUGE! you can actually see a hole through the centre!!



accidental poser shot



at taroko national park.


note: taroko national park's basically a really huge (marble) gorge formed by river erosion. this place has like lots of caves and marble to look at. rivers. mountains, etc. i wouldn't recommend going unless you're the scenery type of person. you probably have to book a taxi in advance though. or sign up for their tour coach.



do you see an indiana person's head!
FREAKY!
this was made from natural erosion of marble!



the group at ci2 mu3 qiao2
i am a CI2 MU3 okayy. :))



zi4 qiang2 night market
candy and i eating SMELLY TOFU


note: actually it really tastes ok despite the smell. just dip more sauce.



S.H.E (short horny elephant)
they are very proud of themselves. HAHA.
if you're interested in a video of them singing, please ask me for it.


DAY 8: Hualien Ocean Park aka Farglory Ocean Park + Hualien-Taipei


(only haojun and i went ocean park)



can you believe they have their own CABLE CAR system!



at the pirate ship.
it's the first time i took pirate ship with only 2 people on it.
uhm interesting experience la. haha



sealion performance. uhm. volleyball i think.


note: the shows at the ocean park are very worth watching. entertaining!



sealion. IT KISSED ME. hahaha. poor thing!



mascots.
the sealion mascot v cute! it saw the picture that we took with the sealions
then it was like pointing at itself in the picture!



dolphin.



i like this picture.
i think it makes me look, uhm, VERY MOTHERLY. HAHA.


note: it's $15 sing dollars to feed both sealions and dolphins as well as take pictures with them. kind of ex but it's once in a lifetime so yeah you try it!



omg my face v big! haha.
going into the flume ride thingey. which we took 3 times to get perfect pictures. (see below)


note: the flume ride here is super cool. it has 3 "slopes" and one of them lets you move down BACKWARDS!!



coming down!


we even knew when to pose! haha



DAY 9: Beitou Hot Spring + Danshui (fisherman's wharf + old street) + Wu3 Fen1 Pu3 + Ximending

note: wu3 fen1 pu3 is like this wholesale area where most shops get their stocks from. quite good for shopping if you don't go in winter!



fisherman's wharf at danshui. A LOT OF PPL LEI.


note: it's very windy there. and there's a branch of shihlin's famous XXL chicken.



random restaurant in ximending.
E trying to suck his stomach in
S trying to stop him by not letting him breathe.
HAHA


DAY 10: Taipei-Singapore



final picture at changi airport.
home sweet home!



i just spent 2 hours typing this entry. no wonder i've been putting it off.