March is supposedly a beautiful season to visit Taiwan, with the cooling temperature and nice weather. But alas, the weather turned sour on us on our 2nd day onwards.
Took the early flight out from Singapore, via Scoot. Took the KRT directly from the airport to ZuoYing, caught the HSR and managed to meet the last bus up Alishan (1310) but the bus was full. Left without much of a choice, we took a taxi up (NT$1500), but was kinda of a blessing. On the way up, we passed an area with the Sakura with a full blossom and the taxi driver stopped for a while letting us take some beautiful shots.
Reached our Minsu at 23.5 Sunrise around 3 plus, checked-in and had our tea break provided by the minsu. The tea-break was all made by the owner which is pretty amazing. Took a free ride to Fengqihu and spend the afternoon walking around and of course got the all famous Fengqihu Lunch box set.
The next morning, we woke up very early(3.30am), checked out of the minus, and got all our luggage up the mountains. Managed to get the cab driver that gave us a better rate then the minsu. Took the cab to the mountain top, queued for the first train ticket and hope on the train for the sunrise viewing. However, the morning was too foggy and all we see is a sea of white. Did a morning hike at the mountain, and shortly, it started raining. It's a beautiful day, but as it got later, the crowd of tourists also increases. Finally around 9am, we gave up, and went back to the main train station. Despite planning to spend the day at Alishan, we took the 1030am bus back to the Chiayi HSR. Cold and wet morning, and finally we reached our hotel in Kaoshiung around 3pm. Just in time for check-in and a rest.
The rest of the trip was spent at Kaoshiung. One of the days was spent at Fo Guan Shan. My 2nd trip but still as amazing. We took the cab all the way up to the main temple, and from there, we walked around the temple grounds for around 1.5 hours, before making our way to the Buddha Memorial where we spent the rest of the day. The day is still a rainy day, making it cold and wet but we had a very spiritual day and it was really energizing.
The fourth day, we actually planned to visit Cijin Isle. But due to the rain, we decided against it, since our main intention is to ride the bicycle. Walked around and went to the British Consulate instead. The view up there is beautiful despite the rain. Took a walk all the way back down to the bridges and finally we decided to take the ferry to Cijin just to have our seafood lunch. Heading back, visited the Takao Railway Musuem.
On the last day, we went by Pier-2 Arts center, and came across their weekly Saturday Flea market. It's really full of little curios! Bought a few interesting souvenir's back for my friends. On the way back, we took the Duck Tour along the Love River. We passed by a Labour museum and had a eye opener visit to the small but interesting museum. they happened to have
Thursday, May 26, 2016
Thursday, March 31, 2016
HK 2016
Back from my 4 days of escape to HK with Ah Von.
IT was really a misty and magical 4 days. Almost everyday is a misty white due to the fog.
This trip, we did a bus ride (no. 15 from Admiralty Station) to the top of the peak and hike all the way down to Pok Fok Lum Reservior. It took us about 3 hours (ard 9am to 12noon). But it was a magical walk, probably due to the mist/fog. Everywhere is misty white and with the morning dew and the fresh morning air. True, our knees almost turned jelly due to the down stairs but it's still a worthwhile walk.
Another memorable part of the trip was our walk from Mui-Wo to the waterfall. It's kind of rural areas with many expats with their kids. The walk took us around 2 hours, slowing exploring the area, and the houses around. Beautifully quiet. Saw that they planted quite a few Sakura trees along the pathway at regular intervals. Once grown, the place would be super beautiful.
Oh we made a little off trip to discovery bay on one of the foggiest day. We couldn't really see anything , it's just a blanket of white!
Of course the rest of the trip is eating and shopping. We had dim sum, very nice coffee and much much more! Yummy Trip.
IT was really a misty and magical 4 days. Almost everyday is a misty white due to the fog.
This trip, we did a bus ride (no. 15 from Admiralty Station) to the top of the peak and hike all the way down to Pok Fok Lum Reservior. It took us about 3 hours (ard 9am to 12noon). But it was a magical walk, probably due to the mist/fog. Everywhere is misty white and with the morning dew and the fresh morning air. True, our knees almost turned jelly due to the down stairs but it's still a worthwhile walk.
Another memorable part of the trip was our walk from Mui-Wo to the waterfall. It's kind of rural areas with many expats with their kids. The walk took us around 2 hours, slowing exploring the area, and the houses around. Beautifully quiet. Saw that they planted quite a few Sakura trees along the pathway at regular intervals. Once grown, the place would be super beautiful.
Oh we made a little off trip to discovery bay on one of the foggiest day. We couldn't really see anything , it's just a blanket of white!
Of course the rest of the trip is eating and shopping. We had dim sum, very nice coffee and much much more! Yummy Trip.
Monday, January 11, 2016
London~~off for a while more
Seems like my "fate" with the Europe countries have still not arrived. The Planned for trip to England has to be postponed, since my friend's sis is uncertain due to the financial commitment for this year. Maybe next year (hopefully).
anyway, decided to do another short trip with my friend. It has been years since we last travelled together. Hopefully we can make it happened. A short trip to Vietnam would be good! haha Phu Quoc would be nice. haha....
anyway, decided to do another short trip with my friend. It has been years since we last travelled together. Hopefully we can make it happened. A short trip to Vietnam would be good! haha Phu Quoc would be nice. haha....
Friday, October 30, 2015
it's HK & TAIWAN!!
Finally, me and friend decided to go for the "cheaper" option, and choosed HK via Cathay Pacific! We decided to have a rest and relax trip since it's only $248 for the return airtickets. But actually deep down, we really wanted to go Taipei hahaa...it's a big deilima for us! haha but it's done deed.
Shortly after, i saw the airfare promo for SCOOT and it's offering a 30% discount for flights to Kaoshiung. Reminded myself of a promise i made to my mum. Wanted to bring her to Fo Guan Shan in January, but we were waiting for my bro. So at the end, decided to take up this offer, and due to the dates, i ended up flying off to Kao Shiung the very next day upon my return from HK! This make my this twin trip into a "long vacation".
haha, can't wait for march to be here. Thinking of both, where i should be staying and doing in HK and Taiwan!
Likely going to Alishan for the Taiwan trip. Seems to be the Sakura season, but journey up is kind of complicated. Let me research a bit more. Apparantly, some of the b&B only open for booking 3mths in advance. i'm too early it seems, but i really wanted to get the booking of room over and done with! let me think a little more.. or maybe Yilan can make a good stop...i wanted to visit the Jimmy's park!
still lots of time for me to slowly do my research! :)
Shortly after, i saw the airfare promo for SCOOT and it's offering a 30% discount for flights to Kaoshiung. Reminded myself of a promise i made to my mum. Wanted to bring her to Fo Guan Shan in January, but we were waiting for my bro. So at the end, decided to take up this offer, and due to the dates, i ended up flying off to Kao Shiung the very next day upon my return from HK! This make my this twin trip into a "long vacation".
haha, can't wait for march to be here. Thinking of both, where i should be staying and doing in HK and Taiwan!
Likely going to Alishan for the Taiwan trip. Seems to be the Sakura season, but journey up is kind of complicated. Let me research a bit more. Apparantly, some of the b&B only open for booking 3mths in advance. i'm too early it seems, but i really wanted to get the booking of room over and done with! let me think a little more.. or maybe Yilan can make a good stop...i wanted to visit the Jimmy's park!
still lots of time for me to slowly do my research! :)
Friday, October 23, 2015
HK or Taipei? oh Crazy crazy!!!
Barely back from my Kaoshiung / Kending trip, i'm dreaming of the next holiday. Just chatting and laming with my friend, saw an airfare promotion and we started messaging non-stop, and suddenly, we fixed a date, and now it's left the destination!
Taipei or Hk? Taipei, more places to go, i wanted to go Yilan for the Jimmy park as well as the Sashimi at the fish market and of course my RuRouFan! But it's more expensive, and we don't have much annual leave. Hk is a more practical choice, being cheaper, (cathay only at $248!) but problem is, it's less exciting (at least to me, i seemed to caught the Taiwan poison! haha). One plus point though, is i can get my dSLR there!
HK, Taiwan? decided to go HK route, but then, the promotion needs my SCB card and i left mine at home. By the time my mum called me with the card details, the original date that we wanted is sold out!!!!! hmm.. now waiting for my friend to confirm another dates with me. let's see... if it will happen!
So exciting!!! hahahaha
waiting waiting... i really need something to look forward to!!!
Taipei or Hk? Taipei, more places to go, i wanted to go Yilan for the Jimmy park as well as the Sashimi at the fish market and of course my RuRouFan! But it's more expensive, and we don't have much annual leave. Hk is a more practical choice, being cheaper, (cathay only at $248!) but problem is, it's less exciting (at least to me, i seemed to caught the Taiwan poison! haha). One plus point though, is i can get my dSLR there!
HK, Taiwan? decided to go HK route, but then, the promotion needs my SCB card and i left mine at home. By the time my mum called me with the card details, the original date that we wanted is sold out!!!!! hmm.. now waiting for my friend to confirm another dates with me. let's see... if it will happen!
So exciting!!! hahahaha
waiting waiting... i really need something to look forward to!!!
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
Tainan - an unexpected Trip 19-22 Sep 15
Having blogged about my Kending & Kaoshiung trip, i thought it's fair that I blog about my Tainan trip. Been a while since i last travelled with this friend of mine, and so we decided to do a short get-away. Just a short trip to Bangkok. But shortly after booking the air tickets, there was the bombing incident, and to play it safe, we decided to change our destination, and So, it's off to KaoShiung!
Since it's meant to be a get-away, a relax trip, we decided to keep it easy, and do a simple trip to Tainan, Fairyland lake(farm) and Fo Guan Shan @ Kaoshiung! Tainan was amazing, with it's culture. Visited Anping old street,the fort, the Treehouse (my favorite place there) and had quite a bit of snacks there. THe whole afternoon was spent exploring the old streets, not forgetting the majestic Mazu temple! We got a bit lost especially with the bus options that eventually, we decided to take a taxi back to town! But managed to visit the very big Flower Night market before going back to our little minsu.
Next morning, we visited Chikan Tower. Had the fortune to meet a retired teacher who served as a guide for us. Very informative tour, learning about the history of Tainan!Were too early and missed the chance to try the famous Noodles. well next time perhaps!
Next stop was to Fairyland lake. We thought it was near Tainan town but how wrong we were! Tainan is actually very big!!! managed to get a cab driver who drove us there (2 hours!!) and enroute, we detoured and vistied Cigu salt mountain and had the best seafood lunch there!! Super yummy!
The farm was quite and peaceful and we really had the chance to sit and relax, playing with the little puppies (even for me!) and enjoy the sunset as well as the starry night! had a little tour in the morning before moving on to our last stop.
Fo Guan Shan in Kaoshiung has always been a must "wish" for me. SO decided to go for it this round! tried but failed to get accomodation at the temple (due to our very limited mandarin and well time) we decided to stay at e-da (the nearest hotel to FGS). E-da is mostly a theme park and as a shopping mall, well it's kinda of boring for us.. But our visit to FGS was amazing! we spent more than half a day at the memorial hall itself with all the exhibits etc. loved the vibes there. Can simply stay and relax the whole day there!
but time is running against us, and it's time to go home. Shopped a bit at Zuoying before moving off to the airport and bid good bye to our little trip! loved taiwan!! every where is a different experience! and everywhere is full of fond memories!
Since it's meant to be a get-away, a relax trip, we decided to keep it easy, and do a simple trip to Tainan, Fairyland lake(farm) and Fo Guan Shan @ Kaoshiung! Tainan was amazing, with it's culture. Visited Anping old street,the fort, the Treehouse (my favorite place there) and had quite a bit of snacks there. THe whole afternoon was spent exploring the old streets, not forgetting the majestic Mazu temple! We got a bit lost especially with the bus options that eventually, we decided to take a taxi back to town! But managed to visit the very big Flower Night market before going back to our little minsu.
Next morning, we visited Chikan Tower. Had the fortune to meet a retired teacher who served as a guide for us. Very informative tour, learning about the history of Tainan!Were too early and missed the chance to try the famous Noodles. well next time perhaps!
Next stop was to Fairyland lake. We thought it was near Tainan town but how wrong we were! Tainan is actually very big!!! managed to get a cab driver who drove us there (2 hours!!) and enroute, we detoured and vistied Cigu salt mountain and had the best seafood lunch there!! Super yummy!
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| Yummy seafood near Cigu Salt mountain |
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| View from the Fairyland Lake |
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| Our room at Fairyland Lake |
Fo Guan Shan in Kaoshiung has always been a must "wish" for me. SO decided to go for it this round! tried but failed to get accomodation at the temple (due to our very limited mandarin and well time) we decided to stay at e-da (the nearest hotel to FGS). E-da is mostly a theme park and as a shopping mall, well it's kinda of boring for us.. But our visit to FGS was amazing! we spent more than half a day at the memorial hall itself with all the exhibits etc. loved the vibes there. Can simply stay and relax the whole day there!
but time is running against us, and it's time to go home. Shopped a bit at Zuoying before moving off to the airport and bid good bye to our little trip! loved taiwan!! every where is a different experience! and everywhere is full of fond memories!
FATE is a FUNNY Thing @ Kending & Kaoshiung (13-18 Oct 2015)
This trip with my 2 friends just happened. We had planned to travel together for years, but it never happened. Not even a short trip to Malacca! This round, just a prompt on air fare promo, and bingo, within 2 hours, the tickets are booked and the trip finally happened! All 3 of us were stunned!
And finally, on 13 Oct 2015, we went on our way, first to Kenting and then to Kaoshiung. There, we somehow met a driver at the airport and decided to take his minibus straight to Kenting (instead of the public transport as originally planned). The 3 of us were seated right at the back of the mini bus. But somehow, through the driver, at the end of the day, we met a lone traveller, seated right at the front! The driver kept cajoling us to travel together for the rest of the day to save on expenses, which after a bit of hesitation, we agreed! And there, it started a 4 pax travel for the next few days! We had so much fun together, though we just met! He’s a very nice guy, keep offering to take photos for us, and even when we offered to take for him, he would offer to take for us before himself!
And because of him, we had so much great photos of the 3 of us! Ended up, by miracle, we met again at the night market, without the need to spell out our location, and the following morning at the beach! It happened again when we went to the Liouhe Night market at Kaoshiung. We spent most of our time at Kenting together, 3+1 of us. Did jump shots together, climbed a tree together, ate together and shopped together! It’s amazing. I even gave him a crash course on his dSLR (I admit, I had a great time playing with his dSLR! Wahahhaa)
We went back to Kaoshiung together in the same mini-bus, and he happened to be staying within walking distance from our hotel. Met both nights to visit the night market together and we even had a KTV session together, all the way till 2am in the morning! It’s amazing night. The following night, we had a super nice dinner together and he helped us traced the location of the miffy’s shopping center and took the photos for me! After that, ended the “trip” with him after a walk at the night market till 1am! Basically he was our “consultant” at the night market, accompany us to buy things, and see things, but he didn’t even buy anything! Lol
Well, that’s fate! Haha seems like we are fated to meet the traveller on this trip, to join us for that few days, and be our photographer! Lol… well, let’s see if fate will con’t and if we will con’t being friends! Hahahaa……..
On our own though, we also had so much fun. It’s like we have been transported back 10-20 years, having fun like small kids, kicking sand at each other, “bullying” each other and even pillow fights… haha…..it’s been a long time since I had such a “HIGH HIGH HIGH” Trip! 
And finally, on 13 Oct 2015, we went on our way, first to Kenting and then to Kaoshiung. There, we somehow met a driver at the airport and decided to take his minibus straight to Kenting (instead of the public transport as originally planned). The 3 of us were seated right at the back of the mini bus. But somehow, through the driver, at the end of the day, we met a lone traveller, seated right at the front! The driver kept cajoling us to travel together for the rest of the day to save on expenses, which after a bit of hesitation, we agreed! And there, it started a 4 pax travel for the next few days! We had so much fun together, though we just met! He’s a very nice guy, keep offering to take photos for us, and even when we offered to take for him, he would offer to take for us before himself!
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| with our travel mate! |
And because of him, we had so much great photos of the 3 of us! Ended up, by miracle, we met again at the night market, without the need to spell out our location, and the following morning at the beach! It happened again when we went to the Liouhe Night market at Kaoshiung. We spent most of our time at Kenting together, 3+1 of us. Did jump shots together, climbed a tree together, ate together and shopped together! It’s amazing. I even gave him a crash course on his dSLR (I admit, I had a great time playing with his dSLR! Wahahhaa)
We went back to Kaoshiung together in the same mini-bus, and he happened to be staying within walking distance from our hotel. Met both nights to visit the night market together and we even had a KTV session together, all the way till 2am in the morning! It’s amazing night. The following night, we had a super nice dinner together and he helped us traced the location of the miffy’s shopping center and took the photos for me! After that, ended the “trip” with him after a walk at the night market till 1am! Basically he was our “consultant” at the night market, accompany us to buy things, and see things, but he didn’t even buy anything! Lol
Well, that’s fate! Haha seems like we are fated to meet the traveller on this trip, to join us for that few days, and be our photographer! Lol… well, let’s see if fate will con’t and if we will con’t being friends! Hahahaa……..
On our own though, we also had so much fun. It’s like we have been transported back 10-20 years, having fun like small kids, kicking sand at each other, “bullying” each other and even pillow fights… haha…..it’s been a long time since I had such a “HIGH HIGH HIGH” Trip!
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