TAIWAN TRIP!!!

Started off 2010 with a great taiwan trip!!! was so glad that we finally managed to go on an overseas trip again after so many years (since hawaii i guess). on hindsight it was really a vv fun trip! sufferng from withdrawal symptoms now so thought I'll pen down the trip summary while the memory is still fresh! (no photos here, too many to upload liao!)

Day #1

Reached Changi Airport Terminal 3 at about 10am. Still vividly rmember my excitement cos its the first time I'm gonna take an SQ flight (also the first time in T3). Plane took off punctually at 1220pm.

Reached Taoyuan Airport at ard 5pm, and the sky was already dark. temperature was about 15 degrees. we proceeded to take a bus down to taipei railway station, where we ran into some problems trying to find our accommodation.

After throwing our bags in our room, we took e subway to Hua Si Jie Night Market, which was famous for.. er.. snake meat. had our first taste of taiwan sausages, lu rou fan, snake soup, smelly tofu etc. Feeling unsatisfied we continued to Ximen Ding, which was the fashion district of Taipei. There we had more goodies such as oyster mee sua, bbq squid and cong zhua bing!! Headed back to our hostel at around 1130pm.

Day #2

Woke up early and headed to Beitou for my first hot spring experience!!! found the place after a short walk from the station. Entrance fee was super cheap but too bad we weren't allowed to take photos. had great fun cooking ourselves in the steaming water hahahaha..

left the place at about 1pm and headed to Danshui for food!!! there we began purchasing foodstuffs to bring back home (all the while stopping every now and then for food). From wat I can remember we tried smelly tofu, tie dan, taiwanese nougats, fried squid, ice cream, butter crabs, pork cutlet with cheese, more taiwanese sausages, fried durians and even had a mini challenge to drink the extra bitter ku cha!! really very bitter.. lol classic expressions on everyone's faces sia...

after eating continuously for 6 hours, we headed to Shilin Night Market!! As expected, we continued in our task of trying to eat everything taiwan has to offer hahaha.. we had mang guo bing, steak, more lu rou fan, lu wei, baked potato, chicken cutlet, chilli dumplings, bbq mushrooms and chicken's behind, guan cai ban, and many more!! by the time we realised it we had eaten for a full 10 hours!!! unable to eat anymore, we headed back to our hostel.

Day #3

had breakfast at tapei railway station and boarded the train bound for taichung! reached our corner backpackers' hostel at ard 4 pm and started our trip around taichung after receiving some brief getaround-instructions from the owner of the hostel. To our dismay, many of the places recommended to us were closed on mondays, resulting in us eating alot of 闭门羹... however we still managed to have some 豆花and really delicious mini cheesecakes!

took a taxi to the largest night market in taiwan -- feng jia night market. it was really huge!! got myself a new pair of shoes (which turned out to be my most exp purchase in tiwan =p). went around eating and shopping throught out the night until 1 am..

Day #4

WL and JR went to the arts park early in e morning while e rest of us chose to be lazy and continue sleeping ahhahah.. went to a breakfast shop nearby to have our breakfast of sanwiches, burgers and 蛋卷. nice!

checked out of the hostel and proceeded to the train station to meet up with JR and WL for e journey to our next destination.. hua lian! it was a gruelling 6-hr ride and we were kinda tired by the time we reached. luckily the 民宿that we stayed in was really nice and cosy. after dropping our luggages in the room we proceeded on our hunt for dinner. first stop was a place selling cheap and delicious 小笼包and水饺! only NTD 5 and 3 respectively each omg! but we were carefull to leave some room for other delicacies along the way.. next up was pork ribs noodles, followed by goose meat. i personally felt that both were not exceptionally delicious despite being recommended.

went on to see a folkdance by the aboriginals (missed the firt 30 mins of it). guess everyone ws feeling abit tired from all the travelling so we just decide to chill out at a coffee house while waiting for the 民宿's boss to fetch us back. din manage to sleep well thanks to WL's and JY's incessant snoring =.=

Day #5

had breakfast at 民宿 and went to tour taroko gorge!! had great funadmiring the scenic views and taking random photos hahahha.. feels great to just stare at the pacific ocean and standing in the strong winds. refreshing. WL even got his shoes wet hahahah =p had beef noodles and pork knuckle noodles for lunch, befor continuiing our tour to various other scenic places

JR an WL decided to stay for another dayin hua lianwhile the rest of us decided to take the train back to taipei that night. J went to meet her fren while me and JY went to explore the area near our hostel for dinner. ended the day with a McCafe latte hahhaa =p

Day #6

Brought J and JY to ximen ding to search for 饭团! was actually kinda surprised that i still remember my way to the breakfast shop after so long. felt really nostalgic! felt great to be eating piping hot 饭团 in the cold weather! walked about ximen ding for awhile b4 proceeding to wufenpu for some serious shopping!

had fun lookig and trying out the clothes.. was kinda shoscked ate the rate J was buying hahahha.. we only managed to cover half of the place after one whole afternoon. hungry, we went to the nearby 胡须张卤肉贩 for dinner! turned out to be the nicest 卤肉贩 i've had in taiwan!! highly recommended to everyone who wishes to go taiwan for a gourmet tour haha.. and best thing is its not pricey.

went back to ximen ding to meet up with WL and JR in e evening. did some last min shopping for souveniors befor going back to our hostel for our final night of rest...

Day #7

got breakfast from a nearby breakfast shop before taking a taxi to taoyuan airport again for our flight back to singapore.

well, that concludes my taiwan trip for 2010. really hope to go back again in summer and visit other places such as gao xiongand ken ding! not forgetting to visit luxy and other clubs in taiwan =p (promise guarantee plus chop i will go the next time rarrhhh!!)

2010...

I know its already the 11th day of 2010, but somehow I'm not feeling like it. I mean, 2009 just came and passed in a flash. So many things happened in the past year, yet somehow there wasn't really anything of specific significance.

Jan-Feb

Chinese New Year was pretty much the same as previous years, except last yr i had to endure my relatives' probing me about my ex-gf. For the first time in a long long time (except 2004 where it was spent in tekong), Valentine's Day was not spent with her, but with a friend chilling at some bar.

The news came just as I was about to stay in at OCS, and hit me real badly. But well, watever doesn't kill you makes you stronger I guess.

March

Commissioning. A once in a lifetime event. An event i've waited for more than 4 years. All the effort put in, all the training, it was all worth it. It was the first time I saw a double rainbow. Awesome.

April-June

Began working for real. Heavier responsibilities to bear, infinite things to learn, tough decisions to make, and a live-firing exercise to plan for. Work was busy, but kept me blissfully occupied. Went to KL with my family for a short getaway.

July

Took part in my first Army Half Marathon. Though it was only a 10km run, it was the first time I ever signed up for such an event, and the sense of accomplishment is addictive indeed.

August

Took up dancing at O-school again after a year long break. Re-discovered my interest for street dance and also helped to keep my saturday afternoons busy. Not to mention I had a great instructor! Totally lovin it =)

Sept-Oct

Joined SAFSA netball on impulse, despite my previous stereotypical thoughts on netball being a gals' sport. I was quickly proven wrong, and gradually began finding the sport both challenging and enjoyable. Guess we should all approach things with an open mind =)

Began going clubbing again after my virgin experience..... 3 years ago?? I've got to admit, I kinda enjoy it actually =p

Nov

Went for my first ever overseas exercise in Aussieland. If I remember correctly it was also the first time I've gone overseas for so long (18 days) Very enriching experience and really learnt alot from my boss.

Dec

Joined my first Standard Charteered Marathon. Surprised myself when I crossed the 42.195km mark (given the fact that the furthest I trained for b4 this was a mere 10km). Despite the following few days of muscle cramps, the experience was totally worth it. Even till now I still beam with pride just looking at the finisher medal.

Got a well-deserved long holiday during Christmas period, happily planning for my Taiwan trip with my sec school choir buddies! was so glad we finally managed to really organise a trip overseas despite all our conflicting schedules. Definitely one of the most memorable trips in a long time to come.

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Yup that pretty much sums up the whole of 2009. Will update on the Taiwan trip and DT's concert in the next entry!