~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..

4 comments:

mayc 7/28/2006 10:03 PM  

N-I-C-E!! bt, how did u cope after losing the magic guidebook?

btw, its more like us frens were worried if u got kidnapped by aliens..~ okla, thats quite unlikely.. but, u did leave without any words..

ps: wat issit about 'the stage of not putting own pics in own blog'??

shingo 7/28/2006 11:45 PM  

さあ、
お前ら、あれは台湾之旅じゃないよ!!!
MAKAN の旅だ。

Kelly 7/29/2006 10:12 AM  

Mayc:Round di lar..

Kim:This is only the first few days,the scenic views of Taiwan is on the 3rd and 4th day..You wait and see..

Anonymous 8/04/2006 12:15 PM  

maybe late on commenting this ...

im not worried my stomach will be bloated in taiwan later as it is already bloated..hehe

cant wait to go taiwan

My Blog List

Powered by Blogger.