Taiwan Trip - Day 6

We would be sticking around the shopping belt today, so can wake up later. Breakfast was the usual sandwiches and drinks, and a special - the cup noodles! Now can eat, because got chopsticks already! 2 bowls not enough for 3 lah!Got meat one lor! Bon appétit!

We checked out of our room and deposited our luggage at the hotel. The lady staff told us to put it at the lobby, together with those belonging to others - as expected. Can't imagine how unsafe it would be to leave easily opened bags there! Left a backpack containing Hualien essentials behind, for pickup later in the evening.
The weather was getting warmer daily. How would it be like down south today? Please still let it be pleasant up till our last day. After that, the mercury is free to rise.


忠孝东路 Zhongxiao East Road
Took the metro and dropped at Zhongxiao Fuxing Station. First stop, green Sogo. But nothing much to see there. Trawled through the department store for clothes and my shoes with my sister. My brother was bored to tears, so he left us to our own devices. I snagged 2 pairs of earrings with crystals for NT666, what a steal! But that's all, couldn't find any clothes matching our usual criteria, and no new shoes for me.

I was still full from my breakfast, so I skipped lunch. On the other hand, my brother got his much-needed calorie fix.

The queue card. They will beep you once your food is ready.

NT195

I think we took 15min trying to cross this road.

Because a school band started marching in front of us and we decided to stop and watch.

Then an endless procession of floats and people dressed as deities for Vesak Day came along. Free Chingay overseas at front row, when we have to pay at home!

Then the traffic light would remain at one color for minutes lor.

It was almost 4pm. Outside the white Sogo, was a clock on the wall. People were standing under, staring at it. Curious, we did the same.

So pretty! I think it's gonna be real happening when the clock struck 12!

Clock: Dong! Dong! Dong!
Bird: (Jumped out from behind 12) Cuckoo! Cuckoo!

Then it went back and the crowd dispersed.

Us: ...

I was expecting something more elaborate -_______-

Shoppers counter. Hao lian lor, can get so crowded that need counter for crowd control lor.

Continued down the street... very crowded and uneven.

Stopped at Clarks. The older models were unsuitable, but we actually found 2 models with suitable soles!! But the catch was, they were new models and cost a bomb, despite the store discount. We spent quite some time choosing and trying, with help from the obliging staff. I thought new stuff would probably cost the same in any country and I didn't want to spend time looking for it back home, so I bought a pair on the spot. Burned NT5512 OMG! Heavy bleeding! Most expensive pair of shoes ever! I really hope the LV was more expensive! I think it should be. The consolation was that it made my brother look really generous to open his wallet upon demand haha.

While I was mulling over my shoes, my sister went food-hunting, returning with a bowl of 阿宗面线 and a cup of their bubble milk tea. Didn't know there's a branch here! Yummy mee sua, but bubbletea cannot make it.
We decided that we shouldn't stray too far from the metro, so we turned back.

Went to the toilet at Zhongxiao Fuxing station. Interesting button! I could imagine the staff barging through the door to help the poor soul in need, only to see him watching water swirl down the bowl.

Encountered people giving samples in the street. We got some mints. A girl was giving some perfume sample strip. She gave my sister when approached! I think in Singapore, they won't hiu people like us lor!

Overall, we found this leg a waste of time.


西门町 Ximending
It wasn't the official Ximending day yet, but we just needed a place to while some time away. Ventured into the other parts we didn't pass by on our way to the metro, at the same time wondering how come we never saw the A Zong Mee Sua... and found it! Quickly made my sister join the snaking queue while my brother and I went to grab a bubbletea. I bought a 葡萄柚绿茶, thinking it's grape + pomelo

People queuing and standing around eating the mee sua.

Sooo sio and delicious! The pig intestines don't stink, but I must say I have a high tolerance for stinky food. There was vinegar in it, so in the end, my brother didn't eat it.

While I was eating, my sister went into a shop opposite A Zong selling Nike stuff. Bought bag already, still got things to buy?

Suddenly, the roadside hawkers were running with their carts! What happened?

Mata lai liao!

After a long time, my sister emerged with a pair of Nike shoes. She didn't ask for discount although it was the display pair. Should ask lor, don't know how much dust collected and how many people tried/touched it already.

Girls in costume. What a sight.

Back to hotel to repack our shopping.


Taipei Main Station
It's merely a station, but so much happened here. First, we had to look for dinner. Couldn't find anything to eat again... only got foodcourt. My brother only saw chicken at the Mos Burger. Again? Taiwan's fastfood only serves chicken?

My pig's blood soup dinner NT170. Still quite full from the mee sua actually.

My sister's pasta NT180. The soup had a puff pastry on top.

Bought some bread for NT100 in case we got hungry. And water too.

After our meal, I decided I should empty my bladder first. We went round the whole place but couldn't find an accessible toilet. We went to the train ticketing to ask if we could change the tickets to the disabled seat, but they said cannot. We were told to go to the tourists counter beside the ticketing to ask for assistance instead. There, we asked for directions to the accessible toilet in the train station. A volunteer said go there, turn, blah blah, which we followed, but cannot find -_-;; Nevermind, time to board the train already. The volunteer took us to the platform, and asked a staff in a room to help us get on the train, but he said no help (???). How can it be lor, last time got help at Songshan, and there's a big fat ramp lying outside his enclave lor. Whatever. The volunteer advised us to just take the seats near the door and if someone comes looking for his seat, tell him to take ours. With that, the volunteer left us to our own devices.

Met some aunties waiting for the same train. We were so blur that we didn't realized when the train arrived, until we saw the aunties boarding the train! My brother carried me up the train and my sister carried the wheelchair up, which wasn't too hard actually. The aunties occupied the disabled seats. Hey... they choped already, that's why we cannot take is it...

The train moved on pretty soon. Hualien, here we come!
自强号, the fastest train as it went through tunnels in the mountains. Which meant no scenery, but I don't expect to see anything at night anyway.

New train that makes people feel comfortable. But the door between cabins were quite irritating. Will kiap people and won't spring open.

Cup holders provided.

Meanwhile, the feast started.

Cao zai guo from 2 days ago :X

But turned hard from putting in the fridge, not nice already. Threw the rest away.

Our routemap:
台北 -> 松山 -> 宜蘭 -> 羅東 -> 花莲


花莲 Hualien
2hrs 8min later, we were in Hualien! No ramp provided to get off the train, but we managed ourselves. But we had to be led to the station exit as people would normally use an underpass, but for us, we had to cross the tracks. If only we could stop in the middle for a photo!

The weather was COLD like Day 1! Further south ≠ warmer temperature. The ground was wet... hope it wouldn't rain tomorrow.

It's this late. I had arranged for pickup by Ocean BnB's owner. I already got missed calls from him... he must be getting kan jiong seeing all the people emerging, yet still no sign of us. We exited the station and turned right, but didn't see any white Toyota. Turned out he's waiting diagonally right.

Wow pachinko! It should be 24/7 like Japan mah!

We were driven past the town, which was so much quieter, that I could almost describe as deserted. We stopped outside a house. So this was 被浪打到民宿! The area so quiet lor... scared. The owner's wife and son were waiting for us too. Wa paiseh lor, so late already! We checked into our street-view room for 4 on the ground floor. The owners were so kind as to lend me a stool for bathing. After we had settled down, they left the premises as they don't live here.

The spacious room! Wa shiok! Big difference compared to our claustrophobic room in Neijiang! But I should emphasize that this was also the most expensive room of the trip at NT2500. Check it out! There's a backdoor! When you open it, it's pitch dark outside and all you can hear were the wind and waves going BAM! BAM!

Got tv, free mineral water (more in the fridge), assortment of teas and a curious orange machine, should be a sanitizer like in those $10 haircut shops.

Gigantic wardrobe, can sleep inside!

Big bathroom, big showerhead! The shower cream and shampoo were from a dispenser, but not sure if the dispenser really contained Lux products. Anyway, we had our own.

Mosquito spotted flying slowly, it got piaked. Taiwan mosquitoes all fly slowly?

After bathing and eating fruits, we should be sleeping already, but still watched 男儿本色 on tv -_-

We could hear the boom from the waves throughout the night. How close were we to the ocean?

Zzz...

Taiwan Trip - Day 5

Wanted to eat the cup noodles we bought from Carrefour for breakfast, but as I suspected, chopsticks/forks were not included. Doesn't it make sense to include them? Grr! Put the noodles away properly and hope to eat them soon.

Bad hair and eyes day! A tuff of hair by my ear curled up! My eyes were still red from the sand on Day 2, so had to wear specs.

Today is Labour Day in both Singapore and Taiwan. Blessed with fine weather, where were we going today?

Taipei 101
The tallest skyscraper in the world!

During the planning stage, I explored the idea of lunching at one of the restaurants up there and admire the scenery at the same time. Until I read that somebody did so at Diamond Tony's and ended up spending the whole afternoon there because the courses came slowly. What a waste of time!

The observatory opens at 10am, so we wanted to catch it at the opening before the shopping crowd came in. Took the metro to Taipei City Hall Station. Next, was Taipei 101 on the left or right? Was it even within walking distance? From Google Maps, it seemed so, but could it be trusted? It didn't help when tall buildings always look near, the surrounding was all boarded up due to construction and passers-by giving conflicting directions. Fortunately, we found someone who sounded quite confident, so we turned right.

Diagonal crossing. Why don't we have this in Singapore?

Bicycles for rent. But I don't think it will work in Singapore. They will either go missing or return damaged.

We went round Taipei 101 to find a door that's actually open. We had to take a lift to the observatory's reception on the 5th storey first and the lift was crowded with kiasu tour groups already. Sian. Queued up to buy tickets for NT350 each, no discount for me :( Then there was the snaking queue to enter the lift to go up. So much for being early.

But the pro of having me around was that the staff gave us priority :D The same treatment was given to a couple with a pram. But only now then we were told no bags allowed. Crazily trying to conceal our cash and passports in our pants lor!

We were ushered into the super-fast lift. As it ascended at lightning speed, a staff gave an overview of Taipei 101 at the same speed, in English, Mandarin and Japanese. Must complete upon reaching the Indoor Observatory at the 89th storey, stress!

The Indoor Observatory is spacious, so it still was comfortable despite the number of people seen downstairs. Thanks to their crowd control measure too!

From there, we got a 360° view of Taipei and picked out places that weren't in the itinerary. See before already, no need to go!

Rooftop pool! Or is it fountain...

The cafe selling items at Coffeebean prices, instead of taking the chance to rip tourists off. The ticket offered NT15 off Movenpick ice-cream and NT10 off drinks, how encouraging... but still more encouraging than Hu Xu Zhang.

One of the numerous 河滨公园s in Taiwan. Apparently, all parks by the river are called 河滨公园. In forums, people were asking how to get to 河滨公园, presumably after listening to S.H.E's song. Funny lor.

The damper.

Not sure if the 91st storey Outdoor Observatory was opened, or if we had to pay to go up. We asked a staff and were pleased when we were shown the way up :D. Normally, people took the stairs, but there was a lift.

The outdoors was a world's difference from indoors! The wind was howling, cold, worse than in Yeliu! If I were standing, confirm guarantee plus chop fly away! There were guards standing in the wind... so poor thing. Not strong cannot be guard. But I think the overweight security guards in Singapore sure can tahan lah.

Couldn't see much up there due to the high walls. Watched a video before going back down to 89th. Used the toilet (no queue!) before leaving.

To leave, we had to pass through a hall of tourists' traps, selling coral gems and other souvenirs. My sister checked out 新东阳. My brother and I were convinced that prices must be marked up in such a place.

Lunchtime. Walked all over, but like nothing to eat. There was a Japanese buffet with super long queue, like the whole mall had descended there. We contemplated making a reservation first and coming back later, but even people who made reservations had to queue, which sort of defeated the purpose. Bo bian, continue walking lor. I suggested the foodcourt, which was highly raved online, but my siblings like not very keen ley. But really no choice liao, so with great reluctance, we headed for the basement foodcourt.

No, I did not come all the way here to eat this!

My 红烧牛肉面 NT158. Better eat now, don't know still got chance to eat this in Taiwan or not.

Brother's, NT150

Sister's, NT160

All not bad at all. But expensive neh.

Walked around Taipei 101, but nothing to buy, all high end. Entered a LV shop for the first time. One of their shoes appeared suitable for me. But LV ley, will buy when it's the last suitable pair in the world lah!

The only other things we bought were bubbletea for a quench, and a sakura dessert, wrapped in a very, very salty piece of sakura leaf. All from the foodcourt lol! The only place we could afford.


New York New York
Took the bridge to New York New York.

Found BK packet junk food!

Checked out the Wacoal sale, but not cheaper at all. Took a spin at Daiso, where each item is NT39, cheaper than home!


Vieshow
Out to the streets for the next venue.

Drumming pro at the Vieshow arcade.

Don't think anybody will wear costumes in Singapore ^_^;;

We saw the NET boutique everywhere in Taipei. Now we were finally checking it out. Found my work pants, which is like, so hard to find that I have been buying from G2 Blu these years. Love the fitting room with a seat.

At the counter, my sister asked for a hole to be punched in her belt. The sales assistant obliged, took the belt, squatted down behind the counter and hammering sounds were emitted. My sister couldn't see what she was up to, but I could, as I was behind the counter. The sales assistant took out a hammer, long nail and a block of wood and started hammering the hole! I mean, didn't they have a puncher? I thought the whole world uses punchers at this age??

My sister and I spent NT3369 together. Sounded like a lot to spend in a single shop, but it's money well-spent. The quality is good and so was the service.


Neo19
My sister spotted a Nike shop at Neo19. Came out empty-handed.


Shinkong Mitsukoshi
Shinkong Mitsukoshi was more affordable than Taipei 101, but still not within my buy-and-buy range. However, my sister managed to find her unavailable-in-Singapore Nike bag, which cost a staggering NT3257 after the VAT refund. A VAT refund of 5% is applicable for purchases above NT3000 at participating stores, usually major department stores. We had to find the customer service counter to obtain the documents, then claim the refund at the airport. So mafan...

View of Taipei 101 from Shinkong Mitsukoshi's rooftop.

Interestingly, Shinkong Mitsukoshi has elevator girls. Immaculately groomed girls who help you press the lift, announced the stops and ensure nobody got kiaped. Wonder how much the salary is. If it were Singapore, I'm sure not even one would survive the training.

Dinnertime. Again, we had difficulty finding something to eat, despite going through the foodcourt and restaurant levels. Somehow felt that the choices were very limited. Didn't want foodcourt again, and the restaurants were too expensive. Only a Korean BBQ in A9, 两班家 was affordable. We decided on it although we were not fans of Korean food and would need to wait for a table.

First, we chose the set we wanted. The portion was fixed, not a buffet.

The napkin has double-side tape so we could stick it to our top.

The starters. All nice!

Each table was assigned a waitress to do the cooking, so goondus like us will not undercook or burn the food as to ensure that we tasted the food at its best. As each dish was served, she gave an introduction on how it tasted like and how we should eat it.

We should have bought this in Jiufen had we known it could be so yummy.

Juicy and tender!

The waitress asked if we wanted chilli in our 石锅饭. At first we said no as we were afraid of spiciness, but she persuaded us to try, saying it would greatly improve the experience. Ok lor.

Mixing the rice after adding the chilli.

Boy, we were glad we took her advice. So delicious! Better than Gyu Kaku :X I was already bursting, but I HAD to finish it!

Us: (eating quietly)
Waitress: 东西不好吃吗?
Us: 好吃啊!
Waitress: 真的吗? 看你们都不出声, 吃得好严肃的样子.
Us: 我们吃东西都不说话的啦! 真得很好吃!
Waitress: (heaved a sigh of relieve)

Fat, fat scallops. Slurp!

The dory fish and prawns browning on the grill

Half-way, our waitress multitasked at the next table. We were initially worried that she would forget about us, as we watched our food cooking rapidly on the grill. However, she actually remembered, and our food came out perfect. Pro!

I was shocked when the waitress came with this gigantically full pot of kimchi soup. That's for 3 pax?! More like for 10 lor!

But it's so flavorful, so no MSG that I had to drink bowl after bowl. Already past max? Who cares! I would finish it to the last drop if I could!

The bill was NT1628. This turned out to be one of the best meal choices we made in Taiwan and showed me how good Korean food could be, and how those I had back home don't even come close. I want to go back again!

My sister went to the toilet. Under my brother's instigation, she returned with a few disposable toilet seat covers hehe.

Street busking

While the shops had started closing, the tent bazaar outside was still bustling. Nothing much, some local produce and souvenirs. My sister was attracted to a stall selling shells because Jeanette Aw likes shells. She thought it would be meaningful if she could get some Taiwanese shells. Until I reminded her that the shells may not necessarily originate from Taiwan. Sure enough, they were from Indonesia. Ok bye.

While my brother went to take a dump, my sister and I watched a bunch of dogs play frisbee.
Each dog had to grab a plate each and lie down with it. They would do anything to get a plate, such as jumping into the crowd and snatching from their fellow performers. A lady standing in front of me jumped out of the dog's way and collided into me, almost falling over. She was apologizing profusely, but no need lah, I think she would have it worse if she really fell.

On the way back to the hotel, we dropped by 7-11 to kop chopsticks, but came out empty-handed because... I think too shy? But we definitely need them lor... so my sister was dispatched to try her luck with the hotel staff. She got lucky - they gave half a plastic bag full!

Gonna check out of hotel tomorrow, packing time. All must fit into the 2 boxes!

Ate fruits, zzz.