几件小事

更正启事
Thanks to Xuan, who pointed out that the hotel we visited on day 3 was 圆山大饭店actually. Eh I need some enlightenment, the poster hanging outside the theatre in 九份, 到底是候孝贤导演的恋恋风尘还是悲情城市huh? I am confused when different people say different things.

Photo Link
Think some still didn't realise there are more photos to view in flickr link, so I changed the link's name to make it more obvious. Haha.

On 九份Again...

Saw this article in My Paper on 26/4/07. Same sentiments!

台北记趣

台北人
Put people from East Asian region together and you could easily differentiate Taiwanese from others, judging by their demeanour. They are, in general, more polite, soft spoken, and cultured (博爱座 in train cabin, wow). There are times when we felt we were really hard of hearing (repeated several times still couldn’t catch what the person was trying to say, sigh).

台北学生
Believe what you see on 《花样少年少女》, the secondary and high school students’ hairstyles are really happening. So many guys are spotting 金秀伊 (汪东城饰)’s hairstyle or something similar to that effect. I don’t think this is going to happen in Singapore anytime soon. Oh Jane, even though I didn’t manage to see 大东 but I saw his junior from复兴美工!

The school uniforms there are in general, not bad, but the PE attire from some schools can freak us off. Imagine a bright red track suit from head to toe. Scary sia. Lucky we don’t have that in Singapore, at least not yet.

娱乐百分百
(I suggest you skip this section if you can’t be bothered about Taiwanese artistes, and don’t know what on earth is Hana Kimi=p）

Mayday is my favourite rock band, so naturally I would be very excited about visiting their homeland. Unfortunately, I did not feel much of their existence in this trip, but thanks to Xuan’s aunt, we visited台大, which was 怪兽的母校。Looking forward to the next trip to Taiwan, hopefully I can drop by 师大附中 (阿信，怪兽，玛莎和石头的母校) + 北投（阿信的家乡! ）. Haha.

Even though we didn’t bump into any artistes, one can catch plenty of them on TV commecials, with products endorsed by 杨丞琳, 黑人, 小猪, 小S, 蔡依林, and Japanese artistes such as 中岛美嘉, SMAP etc, the list goes on.



Anyway, if you go Taiwan now, you can feel the strong presence of a particular boy band. You see them on 7-11 TV Commercial, on magazine covers (at least three for this month) and in almost every entertainment magazine in Taiwan. You see their faces in every 7-11 outlet (and there are hundreds of outlets all over Taiwan, mind you). This is certainly overdosing of Fahrenheit.



各位发过"花烧"的朋友,有机会要到天籁温泉会馆一趟哦. We went there without realising it was where Hana Kimi was shot, until we saw that bench, that green carpeted staircase, that "Spa World" signboard, and so we entertained ourselves by sitting on that bench 左以泉 (吴尊饰)sat, and recited those classic lines. 想重温精彩片段,请看花樣少年少女 Episode 12 Part 1 of 8.

You may have thought I brought tonnes of posters back to Singapore. Nah, I didn't. Like all things on earth, they will fade away, and I have to move on. Hahaha.

Pic 1-2: 无论是繁华的台北或远离喧嚣的九份山区, 都有7-11商店…及飞轮海和S.H.E 的存在! 吓! 这只是店外的广告, 店里的广告我都没拍呢!
Pic 3: 这只是其中一间西门町偶像精品专卖店的外观…there’s tonnes of Fahrenheit/ Zun with Ella posters, stickers, cards inside, no kidding. (惊!)
Pic 4: See that bench (first from the left), green carpeted staircase and "Spa World" signboard?
Pic 5: 梅田老师和瑞希在戏里穿的就是这款浴袍。

饱到不行的第五天

20.4.2007
诚品@忠孝敦南街-> 永康街->台大->桃园国际机场

Xuan’s aunt brought Xuan and WL to this salon near 古亭站, while I make my way to the 24 hours Eslite bookstore situated near 忠孝敦南街, and discovered only one floor was open 24 hours while the rest would open at 11am. Oh well.

Due to time constraint, we did not visit Shilin Night Market (hey is just food, and there’s always a next trip to Taiwan yah?) Xuan’s aunt was determined to let us try as many Taiwanese snacks as we can stomach on the last day. From 古亭站 to 永康街, here’s the record of what we have eaten for lunch on this last day in Taiwan but alas, the camera died on me, so there’s no photos:

1.埔里肉圆 (minced meat wrapped in glutinous rice flour? Rice flour? Not sure lei. )
2.碗粿 ( yum yum! I love bowl cake, and so do Xuan and WL)
3.竹叶粿 ( yum yum! The texture of the skin is very soft and the fillings consisting of minced meat and prawns are very fresh, and Xuan agrees!)
4.韭菜包+包菜包+肉包 (All three types of buns tasted far better than in Singapore. Vegetables in Singapore lost out in freshness as compared to Taiwan, no kidding. )
5. 蚵仔面线 (yum yum!)
6. 盐酥鸡 (try imagining it as an improved version of popcorn chicken)
7.甜不辣 (deep fried fish cake)
8.芒果冰 (yum yum!)
9.大豆芋头冰 ( the yam is a bit too hard, can try it at some other outlet recommended by Xuan’s aunt on another day)
10.葱抓饼( yum yum! Taiwan’s version of roti prata)
11.烤地瓜 (yum yum!)

Just to add on to the food we ate for the past few days:
葱油饼 ( a bit too oily for my liking)
炸鸡扒 ( I guess the one @ Shilin should be better, got ours from Xi Men Ding)
卤味(concept similar to Singapore’s 五香 stall, where one pick and choose what you want. We got ours @ Dan Shui, and it was really yummy! ）
炸地瓜( deep fried sweet potato topped with plum powder)
鲁肉饭 (yum yum!)
综合鱼丸汤 ( sotong ball + meat ball + fish ball, bigger and better than Singapore’s version)
烤菇 ( BBQ mushroom, I like! )
芋圆 ( yam balls in red bean soup)
炸芋条
饭团 ( fillings are youtiao, meat floss and pickled turnip, taste great!)
榨菜肉丝面
酱爆鱼条 ( sausage with fish roe)

One could see the extensive use of yam and sweet potato in Taiwan, and that my vocabulary on describing good food is indeed limited. Haha.

Let’s use one photo to sum up our food adventure - >



Before we leave for Taoyuan International Airport, Xuan’s aunt brought us for a car tour around National Taiwan University, it is her Alma Mata. The campus is Nth times prettier than NUS!! Elated to visit this campus actually, will tell you why in later entries. Haha.

乐透了的第四天

19.4.2007
九份->金山老街->天籁温泉会馆@阳明山->西门町

Jiu Fen and Jin Shan Street are tourist spots where you could stock up more snacks to bring home. Tourist groups from different countries, including Singapore, "raided" the shops that morning we were there. Btw, Jiu Fen resembled the town in Spirited Away, where Chihiro and her parents were. It was also the place where Hou Hsiao Hsien shot his film <悲情城市> City of Sadness. I wonder if anyone is going to do some conservation works there, the dilapidated cinema looked as if it could collapse anytime.

WL and I were not keen in going to hot spring initially, but I am glad we all did.
It was really shiok to view the mountain scenery while in the pool. Thanks to Xuan’s aunt’s recommendation, we went to the “correct” hot spring, where a big surprise awaited us (or should I say only me?) To find out why I was so elated (still “high” as I pen this down), please read upcoming entries. Heh heh.

Think of Xi Men Ding as a mega version of Annex One @ Far East and you get the picture. No wonder HL and Xuan's aunt rather not go.=p

Pic 1: 民宿外怡人的风景线
Pic 2: 民宿外观
Pic 3: 咖啡屋外凋零的樱花
Pic 4-5: 想象夜深人静的九份店铺吧, 街上的灯饰, 犹如《 千与千寻》的场景=)
Pic 6: 岌岌可危的戏院外《悲情城市》的海报
Pic 7: Why take a photo of a bench @天籁温泉会馆? 先卖个关子。哈哈。
Pic 8: 回台北路途经过的蔚蓝海岸。看到右下角的人吗？听司机说，他正采集海带哦！

非常冻人的第三天

18.4.2007
圆山大饭店->士林官邸->阳明山公园->竹子湖->小油坑->朱铭美术馆->邓丽君墓->野柳->山海关民宿@九份

What a cooling day after the rain…visited the five star Yuan Shan hotel while it was still drizzling outside. I wouldn’t want to stay in a hotel where hundreds and thousands of tourists stream in and out everyday. Haha.

The former residence of Chiang Kai- Shek and Soong May Ling was quite an eye-opener. As Soong May Ling love roses, their garden houses more than 200 types of roses. I am not very fond of roses, but I am glad I was there to feel the warmth of the volunteers and see how adorable Taiwanese school children are. =)

The volunteer (called志工, i.e. 志愿工作者) who approached us is a friendly lady in her 50s or 60s, I think. Very impressed by her knowledge of many plants, not just roses, you could see the sparkle in her eyes as she shared with us her knowledge of flowers.

Besides this lady there were a couple of other volunteers acting as tour guide leading kindergarten children in the park. I was quite amused when the volunteer addressed Chiang Kai- Shek as 蔣公 (Lord Chiang). Oh well, it was their way of showing respect. Anyway, I could understand why Y and J felt the kids in Taiwan look more lovable than Singapore children. Somehow they appeared to be more genuine.

Little did we realise that our clothing were not warm enough until we reach Yangmingshan National Park. The view was not too bad but we didn’t want to stay long as it was so cold. The same could be said for Zhuzihu Calla Lily Garden and the volcano hole, which were even colder.

There were quite a number of eateries selling wild vegetables around the vicinity of Zhuzihu Calla Lily Garden. Sizzling hot soup topped with delicious wild vegetables such as 山苏花, 龙须草 were all we need for a satisfying lunch @ Yangmingshan.

Juming muesum was the highlight of the day’s trip. I strongly recommend this place, where you can decipher, appreciate art pieces by master sculptor Ju Ming and play like a child. =)

The temperature at Ye Liu along north coast was just as chilly as up in the mountains. Really buay tahan the weather.!!! !! But the wave- cut rock formations was quite a sight, so the trip was still worthwhile. We arrived at Jiu Fen in late evening and stayed overnight at a neat and cosy lodge.

Pic 1-2: 圆明大饭店外观与内观
Pic 3-4: 知识渊博的志工/稚气好学的小朋友@士林官邸

Pic 5: 遍地海芋和雾气重重的阳明山脉相称得很

Pic 6: 爽脆的野菜+热腾腾的竹笋汤+ 香味四溢的三杯鸡…赞!

Pic 7-10: 朱铭美术馆象游乐场,可画画, 可模仿, 我喜欢!

Pic 11-12: 图中央乃野柳出了名的女王头

Pic 13:累了,在民宿歇一晚

好相聚的第二天

17/4/2007
台北车站->故宫博物院->渔人码头->淡水老街->台北101->诚品信义旗舰店

If you think Dhoby Ghaut station is confusing, then you will faint at the sight of Taipei main station. It has 8 different exits that are so far away from each other, it took us one hour to look for a particular exit!!!!! *almost peng san* If you are unfamilar with the MRT in Taiwan, please do not choose Taipei main station as meeting point, or you will cry.

Anyway, after an hour of unintentional hide and seek, we managed to find HL, my ex-colleague who is staying in Taipei for the next 2 years with her hubby. We strolled down underground Metro Mall, bought some yummy looking cakes, and got some travel pointers from her before departing for National Palace Museum.

National Palace Museum is a place for you to marvel at the intelligent and intricate works of the ancestors. It would be great to visit it on a weekday morning, before it's invaded by noisy loud spoken tourists from some countries *cough*.

Although weather looked gloomy we still tried our luck to travel down Dan Shui. Heard from Xuan's aunt that the sunset was really beautiful at the Fishermen’s Wharf, but alas, the time was really not right, all we saw was a piece of dreary looking sky.=( To me, there’s nothing special about Dan Shui, like so many other tourist places in Taiwan, it is another place for buying snacks. I am not sure how keen I am to return to this place just to catch the sunset.

At 9+pm, met PW, a friend currently doing masters in journalism over there, we were hoping to view the night scenery
from Taipei 101, only to be barred entry from the building.
Something must have happened as the media was doing their live
reporting outside the building. PW said one have to pay to get to the 89th
floor of Taipei 101, oh well; I rather spend the money elsewhere. =p It was a pity we went to Eslite flagship a bit late, some of the floors were already closed when we reached.

Nevertheless, we had fun chilling out at the café at Eslite...

Pic 1: The Metro Mall @Taipei main station is like artists' playground,

when all the shops are close, you see paintings of places all around the world!

And this background is just one of them=)
Pic 2-5:National Palace Museum + flowers outside the museum
Pic 6-7:Lovers' bridge @ Fishermen’s Wharf, what a tacky name!
Pic 8-9: Taipei 101 + café at Eslite

有点灰的第一天

16/4/2007
桃园国际机场-> 五分埔

The grey skies at Taoyuan Airport didn't seem like a promising start to 5 days of travelling. Looking at the traffic that contributed much to Taiwan's air pollution, I hoped the weather wouldn't work against us.

Things started to look a little cheerier when we arrived at Xuan's paternal aunt's warm and cosy home(she kindly allowed us to "wreck" her place for the next few days so that we could cancel hotel booking@ cityinn to free more $$$ for spending).She also proposed a completely different itinerary from ours. One that sounded ambitious with more picturesque places to catch.

Xuan, WL and I the three hungry souls then made our way down for dinner + shopping @五分埔 at 8++pm. We had chicken chop/ pork ribs/ cod fish rice set and unanimously agreed that the cabbage taste much fresher and crispier than in Singapore. Boohoo. So much for not having any natural resources. 五分埔 is a much larger version of Bugis Village. I bought six tops. Enough said. Haha.

开场白

在脑袋里呆了两年的部落格,到今天才出庐。哈。要不是因为上周的台北之行，恐怕部落格还是个储存在脑里某个角落的idea，没有落实的一天。
我想我应该不会经常update这里。每一天的心情故事我懒得讲，印象深刻的零星片段比较容易记录。^_^