8. 最后一夜

8. One last night

Needless to say, I was exhausted from the lack of sleep. I informed the staff the moment they woke up and had a change of room. From a mixed room of 4 to an eight, with 6 other men. I couldn't say NO as it was the only one available, and it was just one more night. I decided to risk it after I was convinced that a staff was also staying in the same room.

It was BS last day in Taipei, so we went for breakfast (and bumped into the girls!). The bacon 蛋饼 is somewhat like crepe, but Chinese style. I totally enjoyed it, and I wondered what happened to all the other days in Taiwan, why did I miss out such good stuff!! Then a little steamed bun sprinkled with sesame and a yogurt milk tea. Then I parted with BS who left to do his last minute shopping, I headed to find Havaianas and my skincare product which is 25% cheaper in Taiwan! On the way, I chanced upon some illegal stalls along the street selling dresses, they were very pretty... after some bargaining, I got a beautiful blue maxi dress.

I caught up with the girls again to head to Danshui, it was our last day hanging out together as they would leave noon the following day. Danshui is the last stop on the red line and it didn't take as long as we thought, but my lack of sleep was turning me into a zombie. I didn't feel as enthusiastic as I wanted to be. We found Havaianas though which was a good consolation! Then we wondered around to sample the delicacies of Danshui. The tall ice-cream, BBQ squid, fish balls and 阿给 (tofu with fishcake and rice vermicelli) and some 鸡蛋糕 (mini sponge balls). We also did the caricature by the riverside, it was 100NT, so don't expect too much ;) It was a fun experience but the uncle seemed a bit weird and violent from the conversation we had while he was drawing us. Then we did some last minute souvenir shopping, and enjoyed the sunset while we walked back to the station. It's definitely worth a daytrip I say.

The girls headed back to Shilin for more shopping, and I had myself a date with Carrie at Ximending who was in town for the weekend! Ximending is an uptown where you can find more expensive but not necessary better clothings. I didn't have the chance to eat the 阿宗面线，food totally slipped out of my mind after a sleepless night. All my friends persuaded me not to go back to the hostel,  and even offered me to stay with them but it was too much of a hassle. Well I guess I wanted to face my fear... that was the only way to overcome it.

Anyway, at Ximending, there is the 西门红楼, also known as The Red House. It is a historic building that offers space for creative and cultural exhibitions. Very arty! I was obsessed with it a bit too much that I almost missed meeting up with Carrie! There's this area where there were various petite boutiques with locally designed merchandise and I swear they were so delicately designed or made with love that I wished I had more money to spend on them! It was great to catch up with Carrie, we chatted while we window-shopped and talked about the plan for the following day. It wasn't too long before fatigue hit me hard. I wanted to do Shi-da nightmarket again but I wasn't really up for it. Sure enough, I bumped into the Finnish guy upon my return, he sure looked stunned to still see me around. I felt my stomach growling and went out to the supermarket to get a cup noodle and a packet of juice as fruit stalls had already closed by then.

I chatted with a few other Singaporeans and a roommate who definitely was more decent, but I just couldn't place my trust easily anymore. That night at 2am, I went to bed alone, no one was back yet. Each time the door opened, my subconscious mind would wake me up to check who was coming in... I was so glad when I woke up the following morning, everything was over :) I packed up, ready for check-out and lunch with Carrie.

Carrie took me to a tiny Vietnamese restaurant where she likes to dine, we had the vietnamese soup noodles. Then we were supposed to hunt for this chocolate place but it turned out that it wasn't selling their cakes in pieces, only as wholes. So we moved on to have Movenpick ice cream, Dan (my friend's friend) turned up and we all enjoyed the short time together. Then it was the last minute shopping time for me, Carrie and I went to Wufenpu 五分埔。She wasn't really keen at first, she said there wasn't much stuff for her. But after that trip, I think she has since changed her mind! LOL.

Wufenpu was really easy to get to from the metro station. However we got there near 2pm, and it seemed like there was too much to see and shop. The place was overwhelming. This is the place where wholesalers sell their clothes in bulk (don't go on Monday as it's only for distributors). I got myself quite a few good deals, hesitant about some... as cheap doesn't usually mean good! I kept prolonging my time there and I almost screwed up my flight! Before I left Wufenpu, I bought a packet of cherry tomatoes with prunes - my favourite!

It was a mad mad rush to the airport, not to mention trying to stuff my purchase into the already stuffed bags. I had to lug my bags to the metro station, then a high speed train to Taoyuan from Taipei Main Station, followed by another shuttle bus to Terminal 1. And guess what time was the flight? 730pm. I probably had to check in by 645pm latest. I left the hostel at 510pm... it left me with 1 hour 35 mins! I had mis-calculated the time, and best of all, left out the queueing time to get my high speed train ticket and the waiting time for train and shuttle bus. God was indeed looking after me, after 10 minutes in the queue, the train staff opened up the door for those whom would get free-seating seats and paid in cash, immediately I went for it. It saved my life! I got onto the train, and smoothly enough, got onto the shuttle without much waiting!

I arrived safely at the airport and checked in just about 645pm. I had some money left but there was nothing to get in the airport. I bought myself a drink, smiled at how miraculously I arrived there. I was one of the last to board... and I believed the person next to me had missed his/her flight, ended up having more leg room for myself! I sat beside a hunky Chinese guy who turned out to be Taiwanese, and we had a nice conversation.

And so this is the end of my Taiwan trip... Thanks for reading, thank God for seeing me through!

7. 台北夜市 & 九份，念念不忘

7. Taipei Nightmarkets & Jiufen, unforgettable

Back at Taipei, I wasn't sure if I was feeling more relieved and proud of myself that the solo traveling had more or less came to an end... or I was getting a little upset that my holiday was coming to an end very soon. But one thing for sure, I was looking forward to hooking up with 2 of my Singaporean babes whom freshly arrived for their short holiday!

After settling in at Cat's Pajamas, I made a trip down to Taipei Main Station for an easy night of shopping. Cat's Pajamas is a really nice cosy place, the beds are thoughtfully designed with what travellers would need! I wasn't sure about the bathroom though because it always seemed to be flooded. The location is great and feels very safe, even walking back at 1am! As the babes are staying near the Taipei Main Station, I rang them but to my disappointment, they were out. After much hoo-ha, we finally caught up that evening and went to Shilin nightmarket for some Oyster Omelette and Mango 绵绵 ice. It wasn't like the Matcha shaved ice I had, they seemed to have added condensed milk or some sort to sweeten the ice.

We did some quick shopping at Shilin too. I didn't get much as I had already bought a few things back at the main station underground and Shilin's stuff didn't really appeal to me. Bought the stuff friends back home had requested, normally I don't enjoy running errands during my holiday, but since I came across them, I guess I would just do them the favour. I just wished I had a bigger luggage then, and not a backpack :P

After that, it was back to the hostel and a good night of sleep. The next morning before I went out, I briefly chatted with this Finnish guy who was travelling alone. He had just arrived, and so I thought I would give him some suggestions where to go. Then I roamed around on my own at Taipei City Hall area, I went to get a recyclable bag from Daiso after I realised 7-11 never give us bags for our loots. It was also the first and only time I was near 101 building, so I used the chance to snap some photos before meeting the girls for lunch at Mr J restaurant.

Mr J restaurants are Jay Chou themed dining places with french-italian cuisine. The one we visited has a very classic design, the place is beautifully decorated with framed posters of Jay. It was extremely hard to locate, all my friends whom been there had the same problem, I hope they will put up prominent signages on the alleys! I got lost in that area for 10 minutes and was starving when I finally found it! The set lunch was very affordable, it came up to less than NT200 after excess charges if you didn't order anything extra. Food was good. I had soup, smoked duck salad and bubble milk tea, they didn't last long in my stomach though.

After lunch, next on the itinerary was to visit Jiufen, which is approximately an hour away by train and bus. I got myself another bento lunch box from the Ruifang station, but it wasn't as good as the one I had from the train (TRA's). When we finally arrived some time after 3pm, I was thrilled. It's situated at the north-east coast where you get a view of the Pacific Ocean. We caught a beautiful view when we alighted from the bus.

The must-do in Jiufen is probably walking down the old street (the entrance is below the 7-11 logo sign in the picture), there you walk down the cobbled pathway to lots of local food, eateries, souvenir shopping, leather shops... alongside a massive crowd of tourists :) Then you would come to an intersection where you could walk up or down the stairway lined up with teahouses. There by the 阿妹茶楼， it was indeed the one of the most beautiful parts of Jiufen to witness sunset! We tried the popular Taro balls at 賴阿婆芋圓 and then settled for a tea-making experience in 九份茶坊 which was quite a pricey experience, considering a NT1000 bill for 3 of us. Still we enjoyed it, well we were tourists... so I guess we ought to act like one. Some friends had recommended me to do Pingxi as a detour back to Taipei, however we were really in a rush, so I really hope to do that the next time! It was past 7pm when we caught the bus back to the train station, I had a feeling we missed the last train back. I was right, so we topped up some money to take another train back to Taipei. Then it was Miramar ferris wheel time! I really hate dislike the inconvenience of Miramar, so out of the way.

The ride was alright, there wasn't any sight nearby, we could almost see the lit up 101 from where we were. It was at Miramar we chanced upon Havaianas and they seemed much cheaper than Singapore, but it was almost closing time and we didn't have time to shop. I decided to hunt it down the following day! Then we bought ourselves dinner at Mos Burger, it was like way past 10pm!! The girls headed back while I decided to continue to Shi-da Nightmarket near my hostel.

I got to Shi-da near midnight, but there was still a crowd. Shi-da is a more funky nightmarket than Shilin, there were more exclusive boutiques selling better quality stuff. Shilin shopping gives me a more "thailand goods" impression, where goods' quality are relatively poor. I also realised on my photos (when I am back) that I missed out the Havaianas stores there! I didn't eat or buy anything, as nothing caught my fancy... guess being fussy sometimes helps ;) But I enjoyed the smaller nightmarket, with a cool younger crowd and better quality clothings. I headed back, and didn't sort myself out till about 2ish in the wee hours. I was still awake near 3am when I saw the Finnish guy came back. He climbed back on his bed (we were on the upper bunks) without a shower (eeewww) and then tried to make a conversation on seeing that I wasn't asleep. His breathe reeked of alcohol. I told him I was doing research for tomorrow, and he went to bed.

The most horrific thing I realised next was that he jumped onto my bed... the rest you can read on my earlier entry. Such a monster! It ruined my whole night, my sleep and my energy for the following day :(

6. 清境天堂

6. Celestial Cingjing

After a few hours of bus journey, we arrived in heaven. That's what I would describe Cingjing. Cingjing is located in Nantou county which lies in the centre of Taiwan. The mountainous area makes it perfect for just chilling, doing nothing at all, watching stars at night, feeding sheeps and goats and enjoying the cool weather (24°C).

I had booked myself a room at Shangrila Hanging Garden & Resort after chancing upon it on the brochures from the Taiwan visitors' centre.The pictures were stunning and so was the real thing! It lives up to its name and beauty, but the pictures must be pretty old now as they have built a shelter over the stairway and the trees have grown so much that they cover its side view and it's impossible to take a shot like the one on the website.

It was slightly past 3pm, we checked in and was led to a room on the very top at the attic. The whole place seems to be in accordance with the wooden theme, yet with a bit of an elegant touch. There are cute handmade sheep figurines, plenty of teddy bears and a huge dog living under the same roof. The staff was exceptionally hearty and remembered my name throughout the stay, I was really impressed! The room was tiny, with soft bouncing-perfect twin beds. The beds were right under the low walls of the attic so we risked our heads getting bumps in the morning, and I decided to sleep facing the other way round. The room though small was well-equipped, it had a fan, TV, table, coffee & tea and a private bathroom which had literally no wallking space.

I was pleased. Everything seemed perfect. I would not regret or gave up anything to skip Cingjing for sure, that few hours of bus was worth investing. We sorted ourselves out, then headed out for a walk around the surrounding... There were plenty of lovely places to stay nearby too and each with their own unique style and a panoramic view of the amazing mountain scenery. It was then we felt our stomaches growling and decided to head to 7-11 for quick fixes, there were a couple nearby and there was no issue finding food when needed. I sure began to love 7-11.

Right besides 7-11, there was this honey store where they exhibited the bee-making-honey process and a paper museum named Carton King Creativity Park accompanied with a paper themed restaurant and a park named 小瑞士。I had the honey ice-cream as my dessert and it was a pleasant surprise! It was really so good that I couldn't bear to finish it... It tasted just like the real honey melted in your mouth, and the fragrance had overpowered my senses. It was a very sweet feeling, just like falling in love :) Friends are telling me to import them now!

It had started to rain by then, so we just hanged around till it stopped. I didn't go to 小瑞士 though, BS wasn't keen and I guess it wouldn't be fun without anyone snapping photos for me. We got back, and we watched TV till we knocked out... BS went out to shoot some pictures, whilst I stayed in and tested my strawberry hair curlers (left overnight) :)

At probably 5am, I heard BS leaving the room, he had gone out to snap the sun rise. So I sat up on my bed and peeked out of the window. The morning was chilly, my hair was curly, and dawn was breaking in... It was serene and a beautiful morning. I went back to bed and when BS got back, we went down for breakfast. It was buffet style and a really nice spread; there were coffee, a few types of tea, milk, soft drinks, cereals, porridge, hams, eggs, mushrooms, fruits, salad, breads with butter or jam (brown, green, purple and black!) and probably more that I couldn't remember. It was a great start... then we saw someone who looked like Angela!

The plan for the day was to visit the Cingjing farm (@ Green green grassland), there was a 20-30 minutes trail to follow from where we were staying. The hardest climb was the 步步高升 which consists of 487 steps to the top, there we walked along a nature path and bypassed many adorable fluffy rabbits with almost no eyes to get to the entrance of the farm. The admission was cheap... but the downside was that the sheeps and goats weren't allowed to roam around due to precaution against disease outbreak. It was a letdown but I just had to see them even if I couldn't touch them! :)

We saw the goats behind the fence first, and tried to feed them with grass! It was fun. I love nature... I feel so at home everytime! After the goats, there was only greens and mountains, no sheeps in sight... except probably from a faraway farm. I was getting a little disappointed, but decided to head further to see what the farm offered. There was also pony or horse riding, but I didn't try it because the space for the riding was so confined. There was this musical sheep castle, wonder what they used it for, it was empty except for a souvenir shop but it was a great spot for pictures.

Cingjing is truly enchanting... I will even consider having a B&B here! With the perfect weather, lots of greens, sheeps and easy access of 7-11, tell me why not? We walked and walked, enjoyed the beautiful greenery, nice blue sky... Then to my surprise, BS pointed out sheeps to me! I was thrilled!! I rushed forward to see a lining up of sheeps' backsides. Obviously they weren't that keen to meet me huh, but I found one feeding very near the fence and we took pictures :)

I was satisfied, even though there was no touching involved... but someday I will be able to! That was almost it, we had seen what we could at the farm... We went for some food and sheep souvenir shopping (for myself, of course). On the way back, we fed the rabbits!! Look at her (I guess it's her), she is a darling, isn't she!!

We went to the nearby malls to check out restaurants and more souvenirs. Well there wasn't much to do there anymore! It was impossible to walk down the road to look at further places as it wasn't safe, there were signs to prohibit walking down the winding road. Then on the way back to the resort, rain started to pour. We stayed in to watch TV, and then it was still pouring, so I decided we should have dinner at the resort instead. It wasn't cheap but for great comfort, it was worth it :) It was salad buffet dinner. Then more TV till I fell asleep. That night, BS went out to take pictures again, I opened my eyes on my bed and was stunned to see the sparkles. I sat up, peered out of the window, it was pitch dark up there but it was dotted with many many diamonds, I couldn't count. But I just stared in awe.

The next morning, I woke up with great reluctance to leave this place! I had breakfast with heavy heart, just thinking of how lovely it would be if I had a week here! Then we did a last minute looking around before checking out. The 1 hour bus journey down to Puli made me nauseous (too much winding down the road), my motion sickness was back. Fortunately, it did not persist during my 4.5 hours bus journey to Taipei, it was a comfortable ride with TV and big chair... and I fell asleep.

It was 6ish in the evening we arrived back in Taipei.

5. 吃喝玩乐在台中

5. Eat & be merry in Taichung

The first sight of Taichung wasn't impressive, more so after I had a short stroll around. The location of the hostel was a mess, I ended up on the right address but the place wasn't there. After getting lost for 15 - 30 minutes with my 10kg burden, I finally saw a familiar face. My friend had arrived and I managed to get into the hostel. The owner is a real beautiful Taiwanese woman, I swear the most beautiful I saw on this trip! And she carries a very unique style, I like her. She lives across the road but checking in is troublesome as she's not always at the place. There are only male and female dorms, and I had only one roommate, a Hong Kong girl who was travelling alone too.

It was great to get around Taichung with the locals. BS had arranged a steamboat dinner with his friend, and she had reserved a table and also came to pick us up from the hostel. Taiwanese are a welcoming bunch of people! The steamboat was in this lovely local restaurant that was apparently very busy... no reservation probably means you won't be able to dine there! The girls ordered so much food that I was already stuffed after the first 15 minutes!

After the rest managed to clear the plates on the table (they really did, so impressed!), the girls drove us to an area of Taichung with uptown fashions. Things were definitely pricier than many places I been to, but it was a quiet and nice chill-out place. They introduced us the famous Taichung's "Sun Biscuit" (Thanks Fenny & friend), and I am so in love with it! I still can't bear to finish the 2 precious pieces in my box! Pineapple tart is another of the popular Taichung delicacies but I don't fancy them really. I tried the ones friends brought back, they were moist, sweet and a bit too heavy for my liking. I also found a cute affordable "Alice in the Wonderland" necklace in one of the petite boutiques the girls brought me to! Then we settled for a bubble tea place (which is also well-known), and only 2 of us still had some space in the tummy for the drinks. I couldn't find space in mine for even a sip!

The night ended with the girls surprising us each with boxes of sun biscuits and cheese cake. They are seriously too kind... Now we owe them a favour when they are in Singapore! We returned to the hostel. I took hours to settle in: showered, chatted with the roommate, laundry before finally knocking out... and more packing the next morning!

I forgot to mention I arrived on a Monday, the two exciting museums in Taichung are closed on Mondays. What a shame! It would be great to see them, oh well... next time! We also didn't go to the Feng Jia night market which was supposedly very good. It was rainy that evening and well we had very good dinner too. It all has to be a next time!

The journey to Cingjing the following morning wasn't the easiest but we had yummy cheesecake for a good start. We took a cab for 100NT to get to the Nantou bus station where we had to take a 1.5 hour coach to Puli and then another hour of bus up to Cingjing. The cab driver kept trying to talk us into taking a cab there which will cost 2500NT (after his discount!)... God, that is a lot of money! So glad we found our way there...

4. 老台南，老朋友

Chapter 4 - Old Tainan, Old friend

Tainan, one of the oldest cities in Taiwan, has become one of my favorites. It's no doubt the friendliest place so far, which I already felt it when I arrived.

It was about 3pm when I settled down and was ready to put my roaming feet to good use. I was informed of the sightseeing bus numbered 88 and 99 which would take me around the city! Not for free though, it's free for people living in Tainan though, how lovely that is! Singapore doesn't offer me to sit on the ducktour for free!

I paid the bus fare to take me to Anping Fort 安平古堡, one of the old remains since Dutch occupation. There was a guide in every sightseeing bus, and this uncle was really friendly. We spoke for a bit, he gave me really good advices about getting around. Then I realised I could have bought the 100NT day ticket in Tainan which would give me admission to 2 attractions and unlimited bus rides! Felt a little silly for not getting this when I boarded, but I got it since it was the only day I had, tomorrow I had to leave for Taichung.

The Anping Fort is not too huge and has walls made of beautiful red orange bricks, it is actually over 300 years old and is the oldest fort in Taiwan. Worth a read about its brief history with the link I've provided :) I also climbed up the tower where I could catch a pretty view of the city... After the fort visit, I paid a visit to a famous temple situated right behind, then was led to a whole street of food and shopping. It was packed as it was a Sunday... people were everywhere. I found myself a nice BBQ stick of stinky tofu and a "cow tongue" biscuit which they named it literally from its shape, not that it's from the cow of course!

The clumsy me accidentally kicked a stick which then poked a little hole on my feet... ouch! It was bleeding quite a bit that I thought it was time to end my walk and head back soon. The last bus timing was pretty near too, but it was a shame I didn't get to see more than the fort in Anping district. There are so much more, but I believe if I will return on my next Taiwan visit!

On the bus back, there was this lady guide, she was also telling us all the nice food in Tainan as the bus went by many places. I decided to ask her about getting to Flower garden night market 花園夜市 which is not accessible by walking. It is quite far and the bus would only take you to a place 10 minutes walk away. I asked if I could take a cab and suddenly she seemed hesitant and said she wasn't sure if it was safe to take a cab alone (being a girl). Carrie also called me earlier to check if I arrived safely and warned me that about lots of  "army boys" in Tainan. But I only saw a lot of OLD MEN!!! I brushed off the thought and decided to wait for a bus to the night market.

While waiting, I saw a bunch of chinese girls. I spoke to them and realised they too were heading to the night market. So we waited together. It was nearly 15 minutes and no bus arrived... but many cabs stopped by the girls and asked if they wanted to get in. ALL THE OLD UNCLES. For once, I suddenly didn't feel so right, and I wondered if I would be able to run when needed with my "injured" foot. So I turned back, decided to do something else instead. I walked back to the hotel, and on the way, indulged myself with a nice orange pamelo passion fruit tea and a takeaway of 5 delicious dumplings for supper... Lovely.

I decided to pay Chikan Tower a visit since it was open till 930pm, and it was situated near my hotel. Chikan Tower or Fort Provintia was built during Dutch occupation and served as an administration centre, during the Japanese occupation, it was turned into an army hospital. But since it has been restored and looks absolutely stunning at night. It was packed with aunties and uncles seated on the chairs near the entrance, listening to a pretty Chinese lady singing English songs. I thought that was a little weird but she sang really beautifully and even I was charmed.

Quoted from the blog link above, "Two ornate stone and wood towers sit amongst the grounds of lovely gardens that include a koi fish pond and several statues." Can you already imagine its beauty? Plus, it was brightly lit up at night. I took my time and walked around the towers, took pictures... and couldn't bear to leave the place really! Up on top of one of the the towers, there is a deity statue where students come to pray for success in their studies.

It was about 10pm I decided to head back for a shower and relaxed in front of the TV. I decided to nap a little with the TV on, so I could just watch the final World Cup match when it came on. Christ, the match lasted till 5am!!! Spain won! Adeline must be thrilled now I thought since she betted on them! :P I was glad I could laze and enjoyed the free breakfast till my check-out before taking a last look around Tainan. Tainan's temples are amazing but a little too overwhelming, I visited 2 or 3 and decided to end it by having another bubble tea (Oolong with milk foam on top). I also managed to DIY some amulets for my family :)

The hotel was kind enough to arrange me a scooter ride to the train station! They do offer free pick up if you arrange in advance, which I didn't realise when I arrived. When I got to the train station at 1215pm, I was told that the next train to my destination would be over an hour later. The uncle at the train station teased that he would normally charge for keeping bags but would look after mine for free. Cheeky. He told me where to get some local delicacies and said I must have them while I was there.

And I did :) I followed his advice, walked and shopped a little on the way. I also bought the recommended famous shrimp rolls 周氏虾捲 and 安平豆花 bean jelly (it comes with 2 accompanying add-ons, so I had green beans and mini pearls). They became my lunch onboard the 3 hours ride to Taichung! Thanks uncle, he really made my day and a perfect exit from Tainan. BS should have arrived at Taoyuan by then, we had arranged to meet in the hostel in Taichung, from there we would be going to Cingjing the day after.

3. 屏東之星，Carrie

Chapter 3 - Superstar of Pingtung, Carrie

Thanks to Anson, I made one more friend. She's a god-send to me, and she is Carrie! Before I departed, Carrie had been helping me lots, she even rang up to confirm a booking for one of the places I was going to stay. We had been e-mailing in Facebook for a few weeks before my arrival... and I couldn't wait to meet her.

It was about 1pm when I arrived a Chaozhou 潮州 station, it's a real tiny station... And there she was, with that prominent curly hair, I would recognise her from afar. She recognised me too and was shocked by the weight I was carrying on my back! She was driving down to Kenting with her niece to catch up with a couple of friends there, so I chucked my bag in her car and followed. I never had the intention to go Kenting on this trip because it was not near the train station and would take another 2 hours of bus journey... but it suddenly became part of it, I was certainly more than happy to go!

Carrie took us to a less touristy beach, which was apparently much cleaner. I met her 3 friends who awed me with their fluent Spanish. Carrie's niece was so engrossed playing in the waters that she was sulking when we asked her to come under the shade. I was sitting under the shade enjoying my belated lunch from KFC, not very keen to get under the blazing sun! But Kenting is truly beautiful, the blue waters. We stayed till about 5pm and had to leave as her niece had to collect an award at school in the evening.

It took about two hours for her to drive back, on the way we enjoyed bubble tea and saw the most romantic sunset. We couldn't help but stopped for a few pictures! We were almost too late when we got back, her poor niece had to rush for a quick shower and skipped dinner to go out. Carrie's family live in a small town near Pingtung, it's probably a 3 storey house and fits the family of 5 comfortably. Carrie's mum cooked us a fabulous dinner... very chinese, but not what we normally have in Singapore. I decided to join in the fun and went along to see the school Carrie's niece was attending. I had my first two scooter rides!

We got back with the little girl very pleased about her 300NTD prize money. She's adorable and reminded me of myself when I got my scholarship too. After a short while chilling out in her brother's room, her brother's friend arrived. He was taking all of us in his car to 東港 night market, a very local one. Carrie and her brother are such hospitable people and I felt so at home!! They bought a lot of food for me to try but I was already so full!! I really like the mango shaved ice though!

The next day, Carrie was supposed to go Tainan with me but unfortunately work caught up and she couldn't. Her friend whom was supposed to host me couldn't make it either. It was a panicking night... but I assured her it would be okay, I could always arrive and asked at the visitor centre. That night, we watched the World Cup match for 3rd placing... but Carrie dozed off. I did too but eventually I finished the match!

The next morning, with a bit of luck, I found a budget hotel at an affordable price in Tainan. I was so pleased with myself, and of course it did give Carrie peace of mind! She got me a bus ticket to the train station after a nice Taiwanese breakfast her family bought. I sure miss them, they were super nice!

The train ride to Tainan was pretty fast, but I had to switch at Kaohsiung. It was easy though. Soon enough, I was there and I visited the visitor centre for the first time in Taiwan. The staff were super helpful and suggested all the things I could do given the time I was there, and gave me lots of helpful maps. Right then, I knew I was right for not skipping this wonderful city! I love Tainan and the friendliness.

Getting to the hotel was a bit of a walk but I had no trouble finding it! There were signs along the way and definitely very helpful! The old lady at the reception was just as nice, she gave me a room key and even told me where I could take the sightseeing bus. She asked me to check the room if I liked it or I could switch. Then I realised I was given the biggest corner room, what more could I ask for? I felt so blessed!

2. 花莲及太魯閣历险记

Chapter 2 - Hualien & Taroko adventure

That morning I got my 5 days unlimited train pass which was valid on normal & semi-express trains, after some difficulties (hehe, luckily I managed to convince the staff!). But travelling with the pass, I wasn't allowed to reserve seats, so I got chased around and finally had to stand till everyone alighted at Ruifang (for Jiufen). It was 4 hours train ride to Hualien, and I was fortunate to be able to find a seat for over half the journey! I was also starving by noon time and fortunately they sold bento lunch in the train! I got mine after reserving one, apparently they were selling like hotcakes and it was quite impossible to get them if you were at the last few cabins. Delicious, I tell you!

When I arrived at Hualien finally, the weather was incredibly hot! I finally found the hostel, Colorful Taiwan, after walking for like 10 minutes, it seemed forever with that nearly 10kg backpack! The staff was kind enough to pour me a drink, and helped me settle in. It was ridiculous the weather, I didn't even want to head out... I surfed the internet, had a nice shower and did my laundry. Not long after, I saw a Hong Kong girl in the same room, we chatted and she was travelling alone too. She was keen to go out, if I wanted to tag along, so I agreed. She suggested cycling to the coast... "Did I hear cycling??" My mind went blank, because I haven't cycled for the longest time (if you read my post earlier) and I was such an accident-prone cyclist. But instead of being a wet blanket, I decided to give it a go. Then that was 4 hours of hell. LOL. Seriously.

But that certainly has helped me overcome my fear and I think I will try cycling in Singapore again! It was still an exciting night nevertheless, we went to 南滨海岸 where we saw someone litting a sky lantern (oooooh, I so wanna try next time!!) and also had stinky tofu at the local night market. It was served with pickled cabbage and chilli, unlike the ones in Hong Kong. We then cycled on to the city centre to hunt for more food as my companion wasn't keen about the food at the night market. So we shared some 小笼包 (little basket buns)， 香酥鸡 (fried pieces of chicken with mint leaves) and I had my first shaved ice, matcha flavoured! I had to thank Stella, my companion, for remembering the way back because I was terrible without a map. So we finally got back, and I was sweaty, dirty and very exhausted!

The next morning, I had booked myself a bus tour to Taroko National Park, I was looking forward to some comfort and shade from the sun. A Malaysian couple in my hostel happened to be on the same tour too, and Stella decided to join in the very last minute. Though she wasn't a good sport really, she didn't really enjoy herself and was complaining a lot about spending too much money on this trip. She's only 19, and this probably was one of her first few trips so I tried to sympathize.

The tour was okay, not impressive but it took us to enough places to have an idea of what Taroko offers... I certainly would like to go on my own and do a trail or something! But it was inconvenient to do so without a car or scooter... I like the short trails at Swallow Grotto and Tunnel of Nine Turns, which were great for photos (but didn't have a great photographer with me, what a shame!). The bus ended its tour at Chi Sing Tan Beach, a quiet simple stretch of very pale colored beach... It was peaceful, kids were blowing bubbles, there were small kiosks selling ice cream. Stella had 2 cones, while I had one!

I dropped off at the train station where I wanted to buy some handmade nougats which looked really good, I saw them when I arrived. As I had to catch a super early train the next morning, I decided to make this detour to get them... The uncle was really friendly and patient with me, I got a bag enough to split into three as I wanted to give to friends whom I would meet later on. Then I had a problem, I couldn't go back to my hostel as there was no way I could walk from this exit of the train station. I went up to a train staff and he suggested me to get a "platform ticket", it was the first time I ever heard of such thing! As I didn't bring my train pass with me, I just paid 6NTD so I could get across to the other exit which was 10 minutes from my hostel.

It was 7-11 dinner for me as I couldn't be bothered to get out of the hostel again... Everything was pretty far away. The owner Sunny was kind enough to offer her daughter as my dinner guide but I told her I already bought some food. Gloria was also very approachable and asked about the tour I did.

I had a very early night. Stella and the others had left by now and I was joined by an old Chinese couple and two American-chinese blokes. The next morning I woke up at 515am, to catch the 630am train. I couldn't miss that or I would have to wait 4 more hours! It was then I realised the sun was already out at 5, it was bright and certainly very safe to walk! :)

I got my breakfast from 7-11... and also a magazine to last me for the next 6 hours! I had 6 hours to waste on the train, but I love taking trains!!! I was almost never bored (even without a magazine!). I had to switch train at Taitung as there was no direct train I could use with my pass. Then I would alight at Chaozhou (near Pingtung) where Carrie (my friend's friend who is now a good friend of mine!) would pick me up.

1. 迷失在台北

Chapter 1 - Getting lost in Taipei

Something I can learn very quickly, the skill of getting lost. Immediately upon arrival, I already picked up the skill! I took over 2 hours to get to my hostel, I would think if I hadn't lost my way, I would arrive in an hour and a half. It was situated at one of the small alleys, and I swore it was no joke walking under that freaking scorching weather!

By the way, I applied for a youth pass at the airport , it's eligible for any travellers between age 18 to 30. It gives really good deals for admission fees, accomodation stays and also train passes. I also changed some money at the airport, the rate was not bad really.

Fortunately, I had a Taiwanese mobile number and it really helped me when I got lost! I managed to get to the hostel near to 3pm (after landing at 1130am). The hostel is named Eight Elephants, they hanged a pink elephant on the lamp post outside but it was useless for me as I couldn't find it still... After settling in, and paying a 1000NTD deposit (that's a shocking amount), I made my way to the National Palace Museum 國立故宮博物院 where they displayed lots of old gems and treasures from the early Chinese dynasties. You can visit the website for very good examples of what to see to decide if you like to make the trip down. I went down as I was given a free admission ticket... and also to have a look at their renowned jade cabbage and meat-shaped stone! Pretty impressive but no pictures allowed! I was overwhelmed by the size of the museum, it was too huge and I was pretty exhausted by the early morning flight and all the getting lost. I love the Ming & Qing Dynasties' porcelain design best, that blue and white dragon and the floral prints, so pretty! I had a quick browse around, took me about 2 hours before I decided to call it an end to pay Shilin night market a visit.

Shilin night market is huge! So big that I almost had a headache after all that browsing! As it was my first day and I had a round the island trip to do, I couldn't buy anything! I looked around, checked out the stuff... It was my lucky night as there was an outdoor bazaar right outside the food centre, and I got my 冰糖葫芦! They are actually skewers of fruits coated in caramalized sugar. I bought them mainly because I only saw them on TV and I really wanted to take a picture of me eating it! LOL. They were too sweet for my liking, but I loved the fruits inside. I did have a lemonade there though and it became my favourite drink in Taiwan, it's so refreshing!

So the night ended with me getting lost on the way back again. Not surprising. I decided to stay at another hostel on my return at the end of the trip (I heard this place was full anyway), so I went to look up at the other place. It took me a while to find it but eventually I did! That night, I heard some people watching World Cup outside my room, as the lounge was just right outside. I woke up to use the ladies and then decided to sit with them to finish the game :) But I was a little sleepy and feeling anti-social, so I decided to join again the following night as Germany was going to play!

Next morning, I planned a daytrip to Wulai. It's actually a very serene place, I really enjoyed it. Wulai is famous for the waterfall, also hot springs (not in this hot weather!! it was something like 35 or 36 degrees!). There's also this little train I took to get to the gondola station, the gondola goes right to the peak where there's the waterfall and a man-made park. I met a Taiwanese mum and her teenager daughter whom travelled from Kaohsiung and we spent the time together at Wulai. My friend saw my picture of Wulai (similar to above) and commented that it looks like its flooded! That's what I called Venice style! This is also where I ate a stick of chicken backside unknowingly :S They named it such a nice name in Chinese called 七里香！

After Wulai, I got back to Taipei to meet my sister's friend, Grace. She's living in Taipei as her husband has been moved there for work. Grace and I visited the Taiwan Storyland which was great for photo taking and seeing the old Taiwan, the place is set up nicely to depict the olden days. Then we headed to 龙山寺 temple which is really touristy. Many people were there even at night... and it was spectacular. I went around to snap a few pictures and then headed to the nearby night market for food. It was really nice to have Grace around as she introduced me to many local delicacies that evening. We had BBQ cuttlefish， 甜不辣 (like yong tou foo stuff)，爱玉冰 (like Singapore's ice jelly without the fruit bits) and 葱抓饼 (like chinese version of roti-prata). I was stuffed!

Then it was time to go back and yes I got lost again!!! I sorted myself out and rejected a partying invite as I had to wake up for World Cup match at 230am! Kevin, a Canadian-chinese bloke, in the hostel was my World Cup companion, so I woke him up and we watched the match with 5 other people. I also enjoyed my last stick of 冰糖葫芦 during the show :)

Time to leave Taipei the next day...

0. 台湾背包旅行

Chapter 0 - Backpacking Taiwan

5 years ago, I did a similar solo trip starting off from Germany. It was only 11 days to London, York, Edinburgh & parts of Scotland and ended at Cologne. Finally, I could do it all over again. This time, 13 days to Taiwan, it was originally booked for 14 days but Jetstar had made too many flight changes to my timings and so I decided to shift my return to a Sunday (1 day earlier).

Dates: 6 - 18th July 2010

Airline: Jetstar

Itinerary: Taipei - Hualien - Pingtung (Kenting) - Tainan - Taichung - Cingjing - Taipei

Companion: Domo

The flight was booked months ago during a promotion, and there wasn't really any excitement. I had always wondered about Taiwan and seen lots about it on television. There was no anticipation even when I was on the 4.5 hours flight.... Until the plane landed at Taoyuan airport, my face suddenly lit up! As I peered out of the window, I smiled to myself... The adventure was about to start!

I hope you'll enjoy reading my travel diary, it might be a bit long (I'll only know when I start writing)! I'll try to leave out the details and post some photos to share with all of you whom are not on my Facebook where I have 5 photo albums on there.

Taiwan 感想

Caught a sneezing bug today... ahhhhhhh chooooo... nevertheless, I'd like to share my thoughts after 13 days in Taiwan.

台湾帅哥不多，但是好多酷哥！

What I said in Chinese above, is that Taiwanese boys aren't the best looking lots but they are full of style and character. I noticed many of them fancy black plastic frames with cool hairstyle...

The trip has definitely made me realized many things. Travelling alone is awesome, I enjoyed the freedom I had, I never had to report to someone when I was coming back, there wasn't any sort of compromise needed! There are so many advantages, except for the fact that I don't get many photographs of myself (which doesn't really matter). I brought Domo along and he was my replacement in many of the pictures.

Besides that, I also challenged myself in many situations. Things that I fear, I stepped out of my comfort zone and saw myself overcoming them. I feel so proud! One evening, a roommate in my hostel suggested cycling to the beach and night market. I haven't cycled for years in Singapore or anywhere else, even when I was in Germany, I had the phobia as I was a terrible cyclist. I have fallen down a few times which could have seriously injured myself, but I escaped unhurt. But that evening, I agreed and off we went... 4 hours of cycling on the road!! I was actually warming up quite fast till I had to go down a tunnel with the scooters on a narrow lane to get to the other side, it freaked me out. I crashed my bike but fortunately the scooters didn't run over me. My hands were smeared with black soot from the wall, and a blue-black bruise on one of my legs. I survived the few more hours and also the return journey via the tunnel which was such a nightmare! I really want to thank God that night for looking out for me :)

The rest of the journey was easy, especially as I could speak Mandarin, it certainly helped! Taiwanese are generally friendly and approachable but do not expect them to go out of the way for you. My 19 year old roommate expected a lot, she was complaining about the people, the hostel and the tour that she became such a nuisance. I was so glad we weren't on the same journey after that one fateful night :p

On the last few nights in Taipei, I had another freak incident. So from now on, I swear that I shall keep a distance from all Finnish men! During my stay in Taipei, there was always one or two of them in my hostel. During the last days in Taipei, I casually spoke to one twice briefly. The next thing I knew, he jumped onto my bed in the middle of the night! Both of us were on the upper bunk. I was shocked and frightened, and didn't manage much sleep that night, that freak actually tried to come over a few times. Needless to say, I requested for a change of room, as the following day we would be alone in that room as the rest had checked out! How freaky! It's hard to believe such things will happen in a dormitory, but indeed it has... I forgot my alarm this time but the next time I will carry one with me!

7 days to Taiwan

7... 6... 5... 4... 3.... 2................... 1.

Dreading.

I have no mood for planning. I wish I can just go. I used to plan every holidays... and I wonder why I can't be bothered anymore now.

13 days 12 nights with only 6 nights booked. I am leaving the rest to fate ;) I hope I will be able to hook up with my friend's Taiwanese friend, C. She has certainly been very helpful in my past research and route planning, I really want to thank her personally! It has been 5 years since I travelled alone. I can't wait. I can't help but feel that this trip will be very enlightening and beneficial, I will come back seeing things in another different light. I will learn and adapt.

After work ends on Wednesday, I have stuff practically lining up till I leave. I can't imagine the crazy schedule... world cup matches, one more pilates class, a birthday party to attend, changing currencies, doing some freelance writing, sorting out a rough and finalised travel plan and packing, buying things for trip... etc. I suddenly wish that I have more time.

I am crossing my fingers that I don't bring rain to Taiwan!

And anticipation awaits...

I am finally on my way to Taiwan... well, not now. In July.

It has been on my list of destinations for a while, like Australia, Japan and Northern & Central Vietnam. Let me get to those later! After a few years of delay and procrastination, this is happening - almost couldn't believe it! I intended to visit in January 2010, but due to the Hong Kong trip which I took my parents last year, I couldn't, it burnt a hole in my pocket. But now I am ready... well I will be by July :)

It was a shame it wasn't the cheapest flight, but to save the hassle of flying from KL (Well, Air Asia had a no-one-can-beat-it offer!), I decided to go with Jetstar's promotion. I am not a fan of budget airlines nowadays, especially since they started to incur so many hidden costs (for checked in luggage, for picking a seat, for credit card facilitating fee)... I think we as customers felt cheated when you see another amount added onto the supposedly "promotional" price. What to do? I save merely S$160, which I would be given food, choice of seat and free in-flight movies if I have chosen Cathay (which will transit in HK, thus almost doubling the traveling time).

I booked the flight on Sunday, just a day before the promotion ended. Many dates were sold out for the cheapest seats, so I had to carefully plan and 14 days that is! It was nerve-wrecking as I did not have anything else planned except for getting the flight sorted out first. I wonder how much I can see in 14 days and how much I will have to spend for 14 days... but well, I will tell you when I'm back! I finally paid for the flight last evening on the SAM machine after much hesitation... my heart was pounding for the whole of Monday afternoon. By surrendering my money to them, it's non-refundable and it means I AM GOING TO TAIWAN!!!

I decided to sleep away my worries last night... I haven't been on a solo trip since 2005, and this is going to be another start. I know, it will be an adventure but I just can't help being such a worrisome loser... Singapore is a horrible horrible place to "want to be independent"!!!! It's protected, sheltered, convenient and anyone who stays long enough just become some kind of coddled babies. I certainly miss my life back in London where I would learn to handle crisis when it comes. Right here right now, even booking a holiday to somewhere alone, I'm clouded with so many vexing thoughts which I shouldn't even bother, or if I had a choice I don't want to be bothered! I want my life back!!!!!!

I know for sure, going to Taiwan will find back the old "me", the "me" I want to be... and therefore I know it is the right decision. I shall look forward to it... I have so many ideas (going to Ceramics museum and perhaps make something for myself? staying in a wonderful minsu by the beach? couchsurfing? doing nature trails?), so many places I'd like to go and I think 14 days is a barely minimum. Another consolation is that my friend will be in Taipei nearing my end of stay and we can probably hang out.

台灣，请歡迎和期待我的到來吧！