Taipei (Random pics 2)

Taipei (Random pics 1)

Taipei (Day 3)

On day 3, we had brunch at that same 24 hour HK restaurant we went to on the night of arrival. Food did not dissapoint. The sour & spicy soup and dim sums ordered were simply relishing. There was also a wedding lunch going on at that place while we were there.

We did a li'll shopping at nearby retail boutiques before taking the Metro to Shemending, one of Taipei's main shopping district. Being a Saturday, people were abundant everywhere. (Check out the first photo above). All over the place, unlicensed food stalls were set up only to be chased away by local municipal officers. But they'll return after a bit once the officer is gone ... I guess both parties know how the system works here. :) At street corners, buskers can be seen showcasing their talents too. A very lively atmosphere all around really.

We managed to sample the famous Ay Chung flour noodles as well as Taiwan's KFC. The noodles were divine ... every spoonful sent our tastebuds into a mad satisfying frenzy but can't say the same for KFC though. Our's are still better. Malaysia BOLEH!!! Hahaha. We didn't shop much there, merely buying souveneirs and doing rounds of window shopping.

At the main 'concourse' area of the district, 'artists' were doing their thing. For example, from photo 3 above, these 5 individuals just stood there motionless. People soon crowded around them and took photos. Near the Metro station, a group of people are trying real hard to convince the crowd to gather there at 7:30pm and just clap their hands. Weird if you ask me but whatever float their boats I guess.

We also stumbled upon a li'll complex where handmade crafts were sold, from photo frames to individually designed t-shirts, cool neck ties to li'll potted plants ... but be warned, the products here ain't cheap. Just beside this complex, lies rows of li'll pubs. All serving only beverages ranging from virgin mocktails to deadly cocktails. The thing we noticed was that in front of every pub, stood muscular men trying to lure customers in. It didn't bother us much, so we walked and browsed through the pubs until we came to a store selling men's underwear only. Through the glass windows, we could see posters of men ermmm ... kissing lo. So that was when we knew that this is an exclusive-men-only area. As we made our way out, people were shooting hostile glares at the both of us. Haha.

Across the street, we shared a milk + cincau drink at this place called 3gupu. Gupu is a type of grass that apparently have heaps of medicinal properties and it was blended together with dairy milk. Add in thick slices of cincau and you're in for a healthy treat.

With our feet rested, we then made our way to the Jiantan Metro station. Upon exiting the station, we crossed the road to land ourselves in the famous Shilin night market. So many food stalls it made SY and I pening. Most of them are selling the same kinda food but the question is which are the good ones. So we patronize the stalls with the most people lo. The fried chicken is a must try. Next up, we had their O-chien (oysters fried with flour and egg). Cooled it all down with some lemon herbal drink, we went for teppenyaki afterwards. Final stop, we had some shaved ice fruitty dessert. We walked around more and came to the pets section of the night market. Sooooo many cute doggies, just made us wanna buy one and bring 'em home. Oh yea, we also tried some sort of strawberry juice ... not bad too. Did a li'll more shopping and we headed back to the hotel. A tiring but fullfilling day indeed.

Taipei (Day 2)

Continuing from the previous entry, our 2nd day in Taipei brought us to Danshui. Taking the Metro to the Danshui Station, we got off and took a 3 minute walk to Danshui's Old Street. Along this road, you'll be surrounded with stalls on the left and right ... traders plying their goods ... from food to clothing, toys to fun fair games etc. Being foodies, of course we sampled some of the local delicasies. Amongst them were crispy fried chicken filled with melted cheese (ooo la la), taiwanese sausage, bubble tea and a 2 feet tall ice cream (yes ... no kidding, the ice cream is that tall. Will post up a pic of it soon). Just behind the Old Street, one can see the sea already. Just by the side, many artists can be found setting up their makeshift stalls to draw mostly caricature portraits of tourists and locals alike. We got our picture drawn as well (Will also post it up later) and there's a rather funny incident concerning SY and a cockroach. You wanna know more, go ask her yourself. Hehehe.

After much walking, we rested our tired feet in one of 'em li'll cafes. Good coffee and really soothing music but alas, this was not meant to last for soon, three middle aged ladies along with two kids came and sat beside us. They were loud and ermmm ... very very unladylike. Chatting away with ciggies in their mouths ... and the kids ... very ill behaved to say the least. We didn't stay long after that and went ahead to buy boat tickets which will ferry us further up the island.

The boat ride was really scenic and relaxing. Cruising along the mildly choppy waters, the wind gently carressing your face as the sun began to set ... truly, a calming romantic experience to savour. About 20 minutes later, we got off the boat and walked along the wooden planks of the Danshui jetty (see photo above). Here's a perfect location for taking panaromic photos of the setting sun, hence, many photographers can be seen setting up their tripods and clicking away on their expensive DSLRs. As the evening progressed, the photography crowd slowly began to disperse only to be replaced with the sight of romancing couples.

For dinner, we chose to dine at this place by the jetty called The Waterfront Restaurant. Really scrumptuous contemporary fusion food was served and the service was nothing short of excellent. Fantastic ambience with soft lighting, the sound of the lapping waves, french music playing tenderly at the background, lovers whispering sweet nothings into each other ears ... well, you get the picture no? :) Can't think of a better way to wind down the day. Later in the night, a live band performed mostly slow chinese numbers and it suited the scene perfectly. Every melodious note resonated so wonderfully into the dark of the night ... you simply have to be there to really appreciate what I'm describing about here.

After dinner, we took the boat back to the mainland and headed home to our hotel. Beyond any doubt, what a memorable day.

Taipei (Day 1 & 2)

Ni Hao.

SY and I took the Labour's Day hols to go on a short vacation and our choice of destination was Taipei, Taiwan. So on the beautiful Thursday morning, we made our way to the gym for a BC class. We needed the workout in anticipation of the calories we were gonna pile on during the trip.

After a good workout, we made our way to the airport and approximately four hours later, we were standing on the arrival hall of the Taipei International Airport. By the time we arrived at our hotel, the clock is ticking 25 minutes past 9pm. We checked in and dump our luggages in the room before making our way out to scavenge for dinner / supper. A 10 minute walk away and we found a 24 hour Hong Kong restaurant. Being seated by the floor to ceiling window overlooking the city, we were soon stuffing ourselves with steaming dim sums and a couple of chinese cuisine dishes. Not sure if we were too hungry or not but the food tasted heavenly. :)

Back at the hotel, we planned for our activity the next day.

Day two saw us waking up much later than originally planned. Hahaha ... I guess we were simply exhausted from all the travelling the day before. Anyways, we hailed a cab and our first stop was Taipei 101 ... the current tallest building in the world. Just like Suria KLCC, it has an upmarket shopping mall attached to it and we had our breakkie at their food court. Walking around on marble pavements, we soon reached the fifth floor where the entrance to the top of the tower is. If I'm not mistaken, a fee of 350 Taiwan Dollars is charged per entry per person. The fastest elevator in the world (built by Toshiba Elevators and took us 37 seconds to reach the top) transported us to the indoor Observetory on the 89th floor. From up there, one could literally see the whole of Taipei and the multilingual audio device provided helped guided us through what we saw. We also marvelled at the building's mechanical dampers which helped the entire structure stay in place especially during high wind speeds and as we all know, Taiwan is frequently being subjected to harsh weather conditions i.e. typhoons and thunderstorms. After that, we hiked up to the 91st floor to the outdoor Observetory. Here, with the cooling breeze in your face, it does really make you feel as if you were standing at the top of the world.

From 101, we took the subway to Danshui and I shall continue this on the following entry. Stay tuned k. :)

YO!!!

I'm back peeps. Posting shall resume soon. Stay tuned. :D

Adios senor & senoritas

Hey peeps,

I'll be off for a short break. Will resume posting when I'm back k. Try not to miss me. :p