~Taiwan Part 2~

DAY 3


We went to 九份 the next day by bus,unsure what awaits us there for we had very little information bout the place but Min Ley was VERY sure there was something special there.Sure enough,it was a tourist spot where we get to buy loads of souvenirs and took pictures of scenic views.This 芋圆(yam balls) was our breakfast,very cooling and appetising from the scorching hot weather.(by now,I'm already a dark skinned pig)
The beautiful view from the hills of 九份..
Look at the houses built there..nice eh???
We also tried 红槽肉圆(a local meat delicacy)after a few walk and souvenirs buying.阿妹茶楼 was our rest stop where we splurge and relax ourselves with the art of Chinese tea making and 'gua ji' eating while enjoying the breeze and the view from the traditional,beautifully built architecture..

Tea anyone?

Next we went to a place called 蘇澳(su ao) for its 蘇澳冷泉(cold spring)Yes,its cold spring,not hot spring.One of the few special places in the world.On this hot summer,when you get all sweaty and sticky,what's a better place than to dip yourself in icy 21degrees cold spring?Its so cold that we were shivering throughtout the 40minutes dip in our own private cubicle.It was damn nice and worth the effort to take a train there.The next stop was 花莲(Hua Lian),the place which has the best view of the nature side of Taiwan and the place where I have the most unpleasant memory..

We went there by ourselves but there was this taxi driver who showed us a place to stay,I was grateful towards his help but I can't help feeling being lured into some scam when on the way,all he talk about is the advantages to book a taxi while travelling in this place.The thing is,the hotel he took us to,of cuz,is someone he knows.Once he see that we settled down,he start talking about the plans for the next day and all the fees we needed should we chose to travel ourselves.Then he tried to say that all these money is needed etc,so why not travel in a taxi where its more convenient and relaxed blah blah blah.I'm not really sure if the amount he showed us if we chose to use public transport is correct,or if he had marked up the price,for we just arrived and had no time to ask around.But we realised after dinner that compare to other towns we had visited,this Hua Lian place really lack bus stops and we didn't see any public bus.So although unwillingly,we booked his cab the next day.Above is all the places he took us on the first day.(there are more pics,but I just upload the best scenic views).We had a damn LOUSY seafood for lunch,no doubt,he intro one.The only thing worth eating is the sashimi.By booking his taxi and the food he introed,we had spent in one day,what we had spent 3days before we arrived at Hua Lian.This old fox is really damn cunning wehhh...I even noticed that he had the same seafood lunch as us,only,I didn't see him PAY!!meaning,he asked the aunty to cook a lot,take some out from our dishes for his lunch,and pay under our expense....DAMN!

DAY 4
The next day we went more place with this taxi driver as our guide to 太鲁阁 but we didn't want to go any further as the money need for the transport need was far more than our budget could afford.So we head back to Taipei after that and man,we were all smiles once we reach there..I guess all the ill feeling was gone after that..(actually,I would love to state what we had for breakfast etc,but I have to remember that this is no about-food-only blog so,I'll just leave them out this time)

WE went back to Hotaru hostel,a day earlier than we said we will arrive but nevertheless,the Obaasan again received us with open arms.The thing I love about this place is that we have free laundry service.hahaha..That night we went to Warner Bros Village cinema(The biggest cinema in Taiwan) and watched Pirates of the Carribean and had our first non Taiwanese dinner(had pasta).Enjoyed our movie and took the last MRT back,tired out for the day.. End of part 2...

~Interval =)

A short post between part 1 & part 2 of taiwan trip.

Simple dishes that I had for the weekend. Maybe this looks a little different from what you normally get at home or maybe it's the same but one things for sure, mixture of chinese and malay delicacies are specialised by the nyonya(s) and of course, the baba(s). ;)


Yup, you guessed it right...
I had a fantastic meal today.
Bless the family =)
Above is the 'kacang sup' that most our mother makes and beside is their 'rendang chicken'. It's not too spicy for me, and it tasted wonderful. It tasted just nice when you mixed it with hot white rice. Nyum nyum~


The next dish that i had for lunch today was 'sayur campur'. It's a mixture of carrot, cauliflower, green peas and some other veges. It's just a normal dish actually; most of you might have tasted it at home.


But this, my friend, is their own very best specialty, 'Masak Buah Keluak'. Me myself also have never heard of this dish. It's pretty similiar to the asam pedas that we always have, just that this dish uses chicken and the 'keluak fruit. The fruit is imported from indonesia, and i heard not many know how to enjoy the taste. I don't really prefer it as well. To describe the taste of it, i would say that it's a combination or bitterness and quite flavourful to others who know how to saviour it.


Then i had this chicken feet dish that is originated from the chinese. Although it looks simple, but it's quite nice.








Nothing could beat this home-made cendol! And yes, even the cendol (the green green thingy) is home-made. It was sweet as 1st, but after adding ices and a little bit of cold water into it, marvellous! And the best thing is, it's free! =p No need to travel all the way to jonker and pay rm1.70 for a small bowl of cendol.



After all the food today, i was given one whole cempedak to bring back. It smells so strong and sweet! So right after i reached home, my housemates and i quickly took the knife and cut it open. We were actually unsure of the method to cut it, but being a young innovative men, hehe.. we 'bedah' it and managed to get all the fruits inside, one by one.




And Taaaa Daaaa~~~ the after effects of frying it with flour. My supper for tonight. Manis giler!

Ps: Sorry mayc, I'll get the ice kacang as soon as possible =P

~Taiwan Part 1~

A country which has good food,cheap stuff and scorching hot weather.I went there from the 16th til 23rd of July,ate lots,got sunburned and spent lots.As its a super duper long week trip,accompanied by my ex-roommate with thankfully good stamina and enthusiasm,I will minimise my blog with only loads of pictures.What to do,even writing my diary took me 5hours,reaching only on the 3rd day.What more typing every detail?So hear goes..

Can't believe I just arrived here 3months ago.Narita airport

One thing that amazed me about Narita Airport is the conveniences available.Aside from easy access by public transport,they have the whole 2nd floor of SHOWER ROOMS!!!So convenient.And when we have to check in to get our flight ticket(E-ticket,cuz we booked through online),we have to scan our passports ourselves,and they even ask you to scan it with your travel partner..Whoa,talk about technology...By scanning our passports,all our flight details and seats were confirmed.

Two gals taking down the world..hahaha..Taiwan here we come...

For the first time though,we were given 'special treatment'.I have no idea why,but our luggage were manually checked and we had to let the female officer scan through us with the metal detactor.As if to say,2 Chinese gals travelling?Cannot be trusted.Well,though I felt uneasy being checked with arms wide open,it sure is a memorable experience compared to the give-ticket-go-in-and-find-your-seat procedure..hehe.

We arrived after a 2 hour and 45minutes plane ride,gaping at the window of the plane,for the brightly lighted Taipei city's view was magnificent.It sure fueled up my anticipation and enthusiasm.Min Ley must be really 'zha dao' with my 'Oh my God,we're here WE ARE HERE!!I can't believe this!!!'^_^"'What to do,I never dreamt that at the age of 20 I can go Taiwan marrr...Bear with me with my hyper enthusiasm lar....

We took a bus to Taipei Railway station cuz based on the map I had(A handy travel guide loaned by Ghai Leong).the area is surrounded by all the ehh hmm,cheaper option for accomadation.So we went on a merry go round,and finally found a place to stay at 10.37pm!!Yes,we book no hotels,hostels etc..WE went there with only our backpacks and an airticket..That's why-lar,I damn hyper excited.We were very relief to find this Hotaru Hostel,owned by a half Japanese 72-year old Obaasan,and was counting our blessing She even told us where to get supper that late and off we went.First stop,Shilin 'pasar malam'(士林夜市).Man,that place has nightlife,mind you though,its a healthy nightlife.We were worried at first that Taiwan might be like Japan,closes every damn shop at 10pm,but to our relief,Taiwan has lots of common with Malaysia..

Our first Taiwanese food..甜不辣 and 蚵仔面线..What to do,we too hungry,tertumpah a bit lo....It was damn deliciouswhen you are hungry anything is good.I was glad Min Ley came with me,cuz I had never even heard of any places in Taiwan except Taipei and what more the names of the food?She is a good guide alright..While she plans what to eat and where to go,I was the navigator,looking at the maps etc.Of cuz,she's better,she asked around lots and helped with the map looking too..haha..WE had lotsa food there,including 绿多多,盐水鸡,豆花and 冰糖葫芦.As it was getting late,we head back before the 12.30midnight curfew by the Obasan.

Very nice冰糖葫芦 up for grabs....

The Obasan was very nice,gave us pajamas to change,slippers to wear,made us go to bathe and dry our hair etc.Though strict as she was(typical Japanese),I was glad she taught us how to behave in a Japanese family,might come in handy during my homestay.So end of day one,slept in the double decker bed of Hotaru hostel...

Day 2

Had our first Taiwanese breakfast of 综汇蛋饼(Omellete with ham and chicken floss inside,nice) and milk tea.Our first stop of the day was 淡水,reknown for its food and tourism spot.That where,being over excited and eager,I lost the valuable guide book,which was our main safety net..I was really dismayed and searched all the shops we went there but to no vail,from there onwards,its all up to our own..

The views of 淡水渔人码头(loosely translate as Port of Danshui firsherman)

Then after dropping by 红毛城and 真理大学(with Oxford college there),we went to food town!!haha..淡水老街(Danshui old town) for lunch..heyhey...this place,VERY well known for its good food so..Makan-spree!!Even with our stomach bloated we managed to stuff in quite a lot including...taddaaa..

The names are...haha(I love doing this...)滬尾黑豆花(black taufufa with beans) ,绿豆牛奶冰(green peas shaved ice),巨无霸冰淇淋(super huge ice cream),阿给,鱼丸汤，切仔面(pic starting from top,clockwise..fishball,a local delicacy and noodles),担仔面,皮蛋豆腐,老红茶.So much food in one afternoon,we were gobsmacked but felt happy....

We quickly headed to our next stop when I realised I lost Ghai Leongs' book..sighh...Next we head to 乌来(Wu Lai).There,we saw some waterfall,and the abrorigines of Taiwan.We also tried the food there,a lot like Malaysian's Orang Asli,with their own language and food..竹筒饭(bammboo rice),乌来拉面 (Wu Lai ramen)and乌来楏筍汤(Wu Lai bamboo shoots soup) was the dinner we had there..here are the pics..

The waterfall and the nice splurge(first time on meals)of the Orang Asli meal.

Our day ended at基隆(Ji Long) where we found a super duper cheap but nevertheless (Amazingly)clean hotel.It cost us RM35 only per person.The best part is,unlike the Obasan's hostel,this place has a TV and aircond!!Relax giler...A bit suprised but were glad that lady luck was smiling upon us.We went there by bus,travelling to the east downwards of Taiwan island.基隆庙口夜市 was our place for supper,though we were still full form the Orang Asli meal,but this place is the best 'pasar malam' of Taiwan so we HAD to go there..锅贴(we have this in Malaysia but nothing beats the real thing)米苔目,泡泡冰(the best in Taiwan,try the peanut flavor,its the best) and Min Ley had 杂果冰糖葫芦(mixed fruit candy)Super nice but I couldn't stuff in any more food so...Enough...I'm bloating...The day ended with two satisfied gals,snoring off after watching the 60+ TV programmes of Taiwan..ahhhhhh...bliss...

Ok,by now,I spent loads of time finishing this already,so will continue next time..Look forward to it ya?(It might be a bit late cuz my summer hols are all packed,hard to find time to even online,what more blog??Sorry)If you guys notice,I seldom put my own pics on this blog at the end of this entry,for the sake of your eyes due to excessive eating,I have reached a stage where its better to leave my picture outta the blog..You get the idea don't yea???

ps:Glad that some of you misses my presence.I'm happy to receive e-mails and messages from you all asking about my whereabouts..

~ HoMe ~

Being away sure has it's own good such as unlimited freedom but what our parents can give us is not what we can get by ourself at this period of time.
A solid reason for all of you out there to get back home ASAP is none other then...
FOOD!!!

Especially if you haven't been home in a long time =)
Here are pics of one o the meals I had sorry but the picture of the crabs and prawns were deleted from my camera =.=
It's really scary how a simple meal like this can cost a 100++ per head...

This is the fish...

siakap can cost 100 bucks per kilo.. wat the heck...

again... only happens when you're with parents =P

Hahaha, free tau geh!! so sweat.. when go classy places, even the normal dish taste great.

there was also the cheese prawns and the marmite crabs.. not sure of the spelling =P

My bro's home made bday cake..

much better then secret recipe. lolx

~Kobe City~

I went to Kobe on Friday morning after getting my re-entry form done.Chatted lots with the office people who drove me to make the re-entry form.Next,cycled to the Shiroko station,beginning my highlight and most anticipated programme of the week,the trip to Kobe City. These are some pictures I took before meeting up with the rest..Which consist of Michael,May Ching,Kim,Clement and Chin Leong. Noticed that Kobe city's architecture is a lot different then those in Osaka city,Nagoya city etc.Oh this is my first time taking a train myself to somewhere as far as Kobe.Was cheated by the internet which gave me a cheap option but didn't tell me I have to add money to actually take the Limited express.So I had an adventure of my own,changing trains without consulting the info that I can get from phone,but went back to the basics and asked around.The train people were really nice,and one of them even gave me a map,pointed every place he explains and told me patiently which train to take,to change etc.Arrived safely to Kobe..haha.Nothing beats experiencing everything oneself.

Met the rest and we went to Chinatown!! Had dinner there,buffet style.My my,when is the last time I tasted Chinese food?3months ago!! Then jalan-jalan,took pics,jalan more....

It was cloudy so we cancelled our original plan to go up the hill to have a nice Kobe city night view. Went around the park,the port and took pics instead.(Why not even one of them dare to go in the Ghost Mansion with me???)As I was supposed to stay at May Ching's senior house,so we left early.Nice sempai you got there May Ching.(she even made us breakfast...So touched,dahlah let me stay at ther place)The next day,went to have a look at Akashi kousen...Then had a nice cake breakfast on top of the super delicious porridge Kun-san made..

Went to visit the Akashi bridge,said to be the longest suspension bridge..Nice nice.Then we had pool game organised by Michael with the MSAJ students at Round 1.Clement and I got 3rd.Luck?Who knows...Then more makan and we headed to the hill..Only to be greeted with a super 'cool,thick'...FOG...so there goes our 1500yen,going up all the way to the hill,disappointed not being able to catch the famed-night view of Kobe city.. We then went for MI3,which was superb.Then bid Michael goodbye after he took us around Kobe city,us going to karaoke,him heading back. Thanks a lot.

It was my first night staying up all night.Singing and dosing off in between.Karaoke is so not a good place to stay overnight.Morning came,and we went up to the hill to see the some early foreign settlement's amazing houses.Head home because of the lousy weather and it was too early for us to do anything.Me made another great attempt to come back.Simply just take the trains that came,(of course according to the map,its on the same rail,just nearer station)made at least about 4times changes,not wanting to wait for one hour for the next 'fastest' train after missing it within a short toilet trip of 3minutes.Anyhow,didn't get much sleep on the train afraid of missing the station.(And why is it this empty one ler????REally nobody takes Kintetsu one marrr????Scare me thought it was a last station,took the wrong train or something)Without the help of a watch and handphone(amazingly both battery died out),I took trains based on instinct and map and thank goodness reached back safely,1hour before the rain starts pouring here..Lucky huh? Well,I loved the adventure....But not so much as the test I'm going to face tomorrow..sighh....
The fogggg....
The famouse suspension bridge...
Those who went for the pool game..
One of the earlier settlement's building...
The empty carriages of Kintetsu on my way home...