TAIWAN~ 12 MAY 2014 ! TAICHUNG DAY 1 & DAY 2 !!
Hey people! I am back from my Taiwan trip like one week ago and was really considering if I should skip out this blog entry since I have been there like so many times. BUT I still wanted to blog because it just did not feel right for not sharing~
Woke up 6.30 am in the morning and prepared ourselves to head out. Our flight is at 12 pm in the afternoon, we just thought of reaching there early so we can have our breakfast at the airport~
We managed to check in our luggage once we got there which is like 8 am in the morning? LOL! Because we do not want to take our luggage everywhere we go~ Nobody came to see us off except for Sis' boyfriend~
Waiting to board the plane and while checking in, we happened to witness a scene whereby there was this old man (who is probably at his 50s or 60s, Singaporean) who was making a scene because he tried to bring a OPENED bottle of alcohol. And of course he wasn't allow to bring it in and was stopped. He was making a BIG FUSS out of it. Shouting loudly and scolding vulgarities, he was even being racist as well because the officer who stopped him was two Indian ladies. T.T
While we were in the line, the air stewardess which i believed is the head of the crew went and tell the security officers that he was not allowed to be on the plane because for the others' safety, just in case he attacked or something. But eventually someone came and took him away. LUCKILY he didn't board the plane! I will be so freaking worried !
So after 4 and half hours, we reached TAIWAN!! =D
At the newly renovated Taoyuan Airport!! =)
Once we got out of the custom, we tried to look for a place to buy our local SIM card but didn't manage to get it. So I kinda think that its okay, because we can get it anyways while we are at Taichung.
So we followed the signboards and found our way to the bus interchange where you can buy your bus tickets~
In order to get to Taichung, we have to take a bus to Taoyuan THSR Station~ The ride is about 20 minutes I believed, it was kinda crowded and we were starving! T.T
Once we reached Taoyuan THSR Station, we bought our tickets to Taichung which will take 40 minutes. Initially before traveling to Taiwan, my plan was to take the bus ALL the way to Taichung,
BUT I figured that we will be so freaking tired and by the time we reached Taichung (Bus ride takes about 2 hours) , it will be so late. So we changed plans and took the bullet train instead~
We bought some riceballs and MILK TEA from 7-11 ~ All time FAVORITE!! =D
One ticket cost about S$26 depends on the currency rate of course.
But when we were trying to figure out on which bus to take and where to take the bus, there was this man came to us out of nowhere asking us where we were going, and saying that he can take us there. At first I was really worried that we will get cheated or something BUT turned out that he really just want to earn some money and helped us.
Even when we got there, he had no idea which is our minsu and so on. BUT we managed to find our way even though we do not have the local sim card to call the owner.. Phew! Luckily for us we reached our homestay safely.
Met the owner and the security was quite good, we just had to climb up the stairs which I dread the most because of my past experiences. Luckily for us that we just had to climb up to second floor that's all.
And our room was the very end corner room which creep me out the most. T.T
Our place for 3 days 2 nights! Which didn't turn out as I expected to be but it was still okay, it was VERY near to the Famous Fengjia Night Market. It only cost me S$ 85 for 3 days 2 nights for 2 person! So go calculate ! PLUS FREE WIFI! LOL! Very important! =P
The link for the homestay in Taichung - Garden Stay
After putting our stuff and freshened up, we went ahead to the famous Fengjia Night Market!
I am telling you, this night market is HUGE!! I am 100% sure that we didn't finish the whole night market for 2 Nights! It was so big that we got lost and found out that we were like freaking far away from our homestay!
So much to shop and eat! We even tried to find the Local Sim card from the local phone shop, but without any luck, we didnt manage to get it. It was either they don't sell it or its SOLD OUT. Oh whyy....
Anyways, we pretty much couldn't do anything, so we just head on for shopping..
I am gonna give this a BIG SHOUTOUT, even though we forgot to take a picture of the shop! (HOW CAN WE DO THIS?!) But it was featured in the newspaper, IT WAS SOOO DAMN GOOD! The BEST "Lu Rou Fan" We had so far!! When I said the best, its like this is my fourth trip to Taiwan, and this was the BEST I HAD!!
It comfort my angry stomach so much! Oh I miss this!!
And how can i forgot! MY FAVORITE , MY MUST EAT FOOD in Taiwan! 咸水鸡！Direct translation would be "Salted Water Chicken" ? LOL! Its the first time Sis ever got to try this.. Like seriously?! How can you miss out this?! I let her try it and I think she kinda likes it~
Fishball soup which tasted like hot water ? Too blend...
OH NOM NOM!
Like I mentioned, we got really lost, so lost that I couldn't tell where we came from and where to find the street name where we came from. So we asked the owner of the food stall, she told us how to walk back.. And we realized we were soo far away..
Cheap cream puff, the original flavor was good, but the minute i got to try the matcha flavor, I just couldn't finish all the rest.. So we kinda left it in the homestay.. =X
That was the end of Day 1 !
And because I do not have a SIM card, I couldn't contact the tour driver for the next day, so I emailed them at like 12 am.. AND LUCKILY they got my email and replied me! Phew! Kudos to free wifi!! =X
Woke up in the morning and prepared for the tour!
I would also like to highly recommend this tour service which they provided us a GREAT TOUR GUIDE !
roundTAIWANround - roundTAIWANround Website
Its a lil pricey for two person BUT for the convenience and safety for ourselves, I was willing to spend the money~ And whats more, they provided a great service so its all WORTH IT!
We even told the driver that we didn't get our phone card because he asked for it, just in case.. So he brought us to a place to get our SIM card with 3G ! Woohoo ~ After all that, the tour started!
FIRST UP, RAINBOW VILLAGE !
The weather was quite good in the early afternoon~
SECOND STOP - MIYAHARA
A place where you can buy all those snacks and chocolates to bring back~ With a very unique decorations inside, we didn't buy a lot of the snacks because I was on a budget trip this time, paying for two person for most of the time. So we didnt buy much, just 5 pieces of cookies. Which we didnt finish it even when we came back to Singapore.. =X
If only this is a REAL BOOKSTORE ! I will go CRAZY!
THIRD STOP - CARTON KING
When we reached Carton King, the first thing was FOOD! We were starving and I had to go there for one reason.. MILK STEAMBOAT! Which I read somewhere which is their specialty ~
I was just surprised that ALL the tables, chairs and cups are made out of Carton~ Great Idea! And it sure holds up to everything!
So cute ! With the Carton cup!
Sis' Order!
AND MINE!! Milk Steamboat! OH SO YUMMY!! Even my sis likes it! We just share everything! =D
After our lunch, it started raining!! =(
So we avoided the rain hoping that it will stop soon, so we just visited all the shops which was indoor.. Bought umbrella and how can I forget.. MOSQUITO REPELLENT !!!
Had fun writing on the chalkboard!
The Switch mode thingy is inspired by a Manga called Switch Girl! You will know what we mean if you read that Manga~ =X
We couldnt take any more pictures which was outside because it was starting to rain heavily.. So we hopped on the car and to our next stop. Which is a bit sad though because of the raining season.
FOURTH STOP - XINSHE CASTLE
I am sure this place will be so beautiful if it wasn't raining!!
Spent some time feeding the fish while waiting for the rain to stop but apparently it didnt stop completely, just getting smaller so we can walk with our umbrellas.
The tour guide was so thoughtful! He brought two BIG umbrellas for us! And carry our stuff that we bought. Also because the steps can be very steep, he even offered to let me hold on to him while going down the stairs. Because I am scared of heights even when I am going down the stairs, PLUS ITS slippery.. So yeah.. Thumbs up for Mr He !! =D
Some flowers blooming! I am sure you will get to see more beautiful flowers when its Spring!
The legendary fierce Black Swan. Trust me, you dont mess around with this swan ! He is really fierce! But because of his confident, we managed to take a nice shot of him! Thanks Mr Fierce Swan!
Of course some nice shots INSIDE the restaurant! So nicely decorated! Everything bout it, we LOVED IT!
HOW NICE~~~
We had to do a ugly shot each.. So here goes nothing right? =)
FIFTH STOP - LAVENDER COTTAGE
Of course, because of the raining season. We didnt get to see much flowers and its kinda wasted though~
At least we get to see this ~
TIME FOR PURIFICATION CEREMONY! LOL!! Thanks Sis for the Shot uh.. T.T
And there was a toilet that was decorated SPECIALLY FOR LADIES~~ =)
So cute please!! =D
LAST STOP - MONCOEUR
This is the place which is also in my list and something terrifying happened..
While we were on our way, there were TONS of flying bugs EVERYWHERE!!!
Even the staff was screaming and wondering why suddenly they came out of nowhere! So they told us maybe because of the rain? And they only lived for a day or even lesser.. All i know was that there were chameleons and birds WAITING to eat them..
They were EVERYWHERE !! We couldn't even walked in properly, we had to RUN OUR WAY IN AND SCREAMED! omg.. Scary experience!
I've always loved cute shops like this! =)
Decided to take a tea break at the Chin-Chin's restaurant~
Ice Cream with Waffles~ How can I miss out if its in the menu? =)
Sis' mango chocolate mousse cake ~
Lavender milk tea and soda~
The tour ended with a lovely sunset when it stopped raining~
The snacks we bought~
After going back to our homestay, we went out to Fengjia night market again. And we managed to do some shopping~
We slept and going to head to Taipei the next day!
It was a fun day! Though it rained and nearly had Typhoon ~ And I even got attacked again by the sand fly.. I even sprayed so many layers of the repellent and didnt work.. But it was better than the last trip though.. =)
Till next blog post! SEE YA!!
