Taipei 台北, Taiwan Trip (Day 12)

28th November 2014, Friday

Our Breakfast

Today, we will be going to Taipei (arrghh...so fast)...so we woke up and got ready to the train station. We had bought the tickets for 10:00 am train, as most of the trains were full. This was a slower train, which need about 3 hour plus to reach Taipei. I went to the 7-11 shop in the train station, to buy breakfast to eat on the train. Got hotdog breads, and a milk tea for my friend and calbee snacks. Then we went to the platform to wait for the train as there were many people today. The train looked super old, the doors were still those spring type and the walkways were small, very hard to push our luggage through. Finally we got to settle down on the seats and had our hotdog breads. The milk tea i bought from 7-11 was nice too, not too milky and it was a little sweet. Then we just slept on the train until it was about time to reach Taipei. Bought a lunch bento on the train too, it was quite nice too. We reached Taipei at around 1.44 pm, then we took a cab to Ximending (cos there were so many signs to TRA trains, HSR trains and Bannian Line which was the blue line of the metro). As the cab driver wasn't sure where was the hotel really located, we got off and i tried to find the hotel based on my long long time memory (when i first visited Taipei in 2009). We did manage to find the hotel in the streets, so we went up to our room to rest first. The room was smaller this time, it was bigger the first time i stayed in the hotel.

Our Lottery Tickets

After resting, we made our way to Wu Fen Pu commercial area. Saw some new shops around Ximending and the famous Hot Star Chicken Cutlet was just beside our hotel. Saw 1973 Fried Chicken stall too (just outside Ximen Station exit 6) and many people were queuing for it too. We went to the metro station and bought a 3 days pass to use for the next 3 days. So we bought the single tickets to Huoshanpi station.Upon reaching there, we walked the wrong direction to Wu Fen Pu. We passed by a lottery shop and went in to buy 2 tickets for the 8.30 pm draw today (NT$50 for 1 ticket, 3 matching numbers min to win NT$400). But the further we walked, i told my friend i don't remember it was so far away from the station. So we walked back to the station and there, we saw signs direction to Wu Fen Pu....heheee...Then we just walked around the commercial area, bought sausages and corns and also bought a very cute cat tee-shirt. We walked until 6 plus, by then we were both tired. My friend thought i wanted to walk there some more, so she didn't ask me whether wanted to go back. Until i told her let's go back...then she was like soo glad that finally going back...hohoho....

The Red House

My friend was making noise saying she wanted to eat steamboat in Taipei, so we went back to Ximending area and we came out from the opposite exit, which leads to the Red House. So i brought my friend to check out the red house. The first time i visited i wasn't able to enter the house and looked inside. This time the red house was still opened, so i was able to look the inside of the house. After that, we went looking around to find steamboat. A lot of Japanese restaurants around the area too, we came across a mala steamboat restaurant, where there were a lot of people queuing outside. I asked the staff what is the available time, she told me after 9.30 pm without reservation. I was thinking it was sooo late, by then we both were be damn hungry...but the soup base really smelled very nice and the people were really eating very happily. So i went back to the staff and asked them can i make table reservation. As tomorrow and the day after were weekends, so they were fully booked. But she gave a slot which was on next Monday, 5.30 pm, so i said ok. And then, we went back down the streets to have our dinner. Just beside Uniqlo, there was a building with some restaurants on the 4th floor. So we went up and take a look. We decided to go for a Japanese steamboat instead but we also need to wait until 8 pm before we can eat.So i left my name there and we went out to walk walk first. We went Uniqlo to check out their sales, the fleece jacket which was having heat tech was on sales. The collarless ultra light down jackets were also on sales (NT$690 or NT$790)....There were ultra light down jackets with parka designs too but it cost around SGD$129 (which i don't see it in sg stores when i came back)......

Our Dinner

Nice Looking Pork!!

After spending our time in Uniqlo, we went back to our dinning place to have our dinner. There were 4 soup bases to choose from and 2 of them needed to top NT$50 for it. The soup was tasteless at first, but the more we cooked, the soup got more tasty. The food was quite nice but it was a bit limited in the choices. The pork was still the best...thin thin and very nice to eat. After eating, we walked back to our hotel to rest. We checked online for the lottery winning numbers when we reached our hotel room. No luck, got 2 numbers only....haiz....

Hotel Stayed: Rainbow Hotel

Places Visited:
Wu Fen Pu Commercial Area
Ximending
The Red House

Taroko National Park 太魯閣, Taiwan Trip (Day 11)

27th November 2014, Thursday

Singapore Ba Kut Teh

Today, we had planned to go Taroko National Park but i was not sure whether there was any public transport to go up there. So we woke up early before 8, go ready and went down to the hotel canteen to take a peek on the breakfast. It was very simple, we had a bit of food there. Then we made our way to the Visitors Information Center, which was located at the main train station. There, i asked the lady whether there was still slots for the 1 day Taroko tour, luckily there were slots available. The tour costs NT$788 per pax, lunch not included. Need to add another NT$200 if want to include lunch in. Then we walked around the area first as it was still early and the bus wasn't here yet. Bought a small pack of sour plums for my friend, cos she didn't eat her motion sickness pills in the hotel. When the bus came, it was a mini bus and it was already packed with passengers. There was this fat guy who was sitting in a 2 pax's seats, so me and my friend had to sit separately on the single seats, and the fat guy's friend was sitting in between us. They were still wearing suit and the weather wasn't so cold today.

Qingshui Ciffs

The bus driver was our guide for the day too, so he had to intro us the places whenever we passed by while he was driving...hohoho...As we were sitting apart, i don't have a chance to translate to my friend on what the driver was saying. We passed by Hualien Air Force Base, which there was a fighter plane taking off right in front of us. We also passed by Qixingtan beach (七星潭), which was one of the beautiful beaches in Hualien and it was also the last place we will be going during the tour. There was a lot of hotels built near the beach now and one could also see fish traps out in the sea too. After that, it was long long way to Taroko National Park. First stop, Qingshui Cliffs (清水斷崖). This is the only seaside viewing location in Taroko National Park where one can witness the three distinct color tones of the Pacific Ocean. And the bus driver told us that from far, we can also see the old roads which were being used, until the government had built the tunnels to cut through. The bus driver gave us half an hour time to go and take photos....When my friend came down, her face was so pissed like that. She even shooed me away....think she was in motion sickness mode...so i went off on my own. After that, we went further up the mountain. Passed by a walking trail called Sha Ge Dan (Native words), the trail needs 3 hours to complete and it looked fun too but our tour doesn't have this. At one point, the bus had to stop for like 15 mins or more as that area was now doing clearance due to a major landslide in  August. Underneath was a river with muddy waters and with strong currents. The bus driver told us that there wasn't any fishes or prawns living in it. They will die immediately if leave in the muddy waters.

Buluowan Villagers

Finally, we can move on and the bus driver collected helmets for us along the way. We went to Buluowan Terrance. Buluowan means 'echo of canyon' in the native language and used to be a tribal village there. The place was separated by upper and lower terrances. The bus driver let us off from the car park and gave us around 1 hour time to explore the place. Me and my friend went to the upper terrance, where the Leader Village Taroko Hotel was. While we were climbing the stairs up, there was signs indicating to be aware of snakes. The rooms of the hotel were a hut itself, and the people can just come out with mountains around them and breathing the fresh air. There was a park further down which we didn't manage to go and take a look. By the time we were done, it was almost time to board the bus. And almost everyone had already boarded the bus, we were the last few pairs. Passed by a very long suspension bridge, the driver told us that trail to the bridge needed 7 or 8 hours to complete and needed experienced guides to follow. Then it was off to Swallow Grotto Trail (燕子口). It was a long trail too (around 45 mins walk) but the driver let us off at about half of the trail to let us walk down the road and he would be waiting for us at the end of the trail.

Swallow Grotto

Before we alighted, the driver was telling us that there was a rock formation that looked like Indiana Jones. But the people in front on the bus were blocking me, so i wasn't able to imagine. Then we took the helmets and started walking down the road. The road for the trail was also done by using TNT to create openings and then smoothed the rocks manually. This actually caused about 200 people to lose their lives in this project. We took our time to walk and enjoyed the views. There were swallows flying too, and there were signs indicating to beware of falling rocks and warned people to walk faster. In the earlier days, cars and people had to fight for space in Swallow Grotto. Until in 2007, the Taroko Authorities decided to separate the vehicles and pedestrians by building tunnels and bridges. And the road for Swallow Grotto was only used by tour buses. By the time we walked back to the bus, we were the last pair. We were thinking why these people walked so fast to go back to the bus....Then we were off to have our lunch. Saw a walking trail which was closed as there was an accident before which killed 2 people and injured 4. They were currently doing works to make it more safer. Then we passed by Cimu Bridge (慈母橋), we could see Tiande Temple at the end of the bridge and the world's highest Buddha statue with seven-story Tianfeng Pagoda.

Eternal Spring Shrine

Then the bus driver dropped 4 of us, included the two of us at the recreation area to have our own lunch whereas the rest of the people would be going further upstairs to have theirs (included in their tour). We bought set lunches at one of the eating places (only got 2 eating places which were trying to pull customers in). The food wasn't so bad, quite nice though. After eating, we walked to Cimu bridge to take some photos, wanted to climb up to Tiande Temple but doesn't have enough time to climb up (and it looked like very high up). By 1 plus, the bus came and picked us up and once again we were the last pair again (but we weren't late).....heheehehe...Now we were off to the Eternal Spring Shrine (長春祠). This shrine was built in memory of the 212 people who had died during the construction of Central Cross-Island Highway. So the highway was actually built with "blood, sweat and tears". There was waterfall coming out from the shrine too, pouring into Liwu River. It was very nice to see from across. But the bus driver gave us like half an hour time and even told us we can walk to the shrine if we want to. We just took our time to walk over the bridge and to the entrance of the tunnel. Then we made our way back to the bus. Again, we were the last one to reach back the bus. Aiyo, don't these people walk?

Qixingtan Beach

After this, the bus driver brought us to the famous Ah Mei's Mochi Wholesale Place. There we can try the products before deciding to buy them. Tried some, they were nice. We also tried one of the drinks....with don't know what flower. It was very tasty and refreshing. We kept taking and drink...hehehee....We bought some snacks back too and went back to the bus. This time we weren't the last ones...hahaha...There was a guy who haven't got back, but the driver went off after we boarded. Then the passengers were yelling the driver to stop...hahahaa...guess he thought we were the last ones. After the guy came back, we were off to Qixingtan beach. The beach was a pebbled beach, there were pebbles around, so i picked a few pebbles to bring back...hehehe...We even bought yam and sweet potatoes to eat (NT$50 for 3). The beach was really beautiful and felt sooo good......Well, we were the last ones to board the bus, as usual....heheee...Then we were off back to Hualien Train Station. Luckily we didn't walk to the beach last night, it was quite far away. We alighted at the main train station and went and buy our train tickets to Taipei (as it was their election voting day on 29the Nov and we were guessing the trains may be full as the locals would be rushing back to Taipei for voting). After buying the tickets, we went out and just sat there to eat our sweet potatoes..It was sweet..nice...

Chicken Wings!!Must Try!!

As it was still early for dinner, we decided to walk around first. I wanted to go see a restaurant called 太监鸡. It was having 2 branches nearby the train station area, so we made our way to check out the restaurant. It wasn't opened for dinner yet when we reached, so we went to the next door cafe called Green House to rest our feet first. We ordered a cold chocolate drink and it was a super big cup....We just nua there until it was time for dinner. We went back to the restaurant, there was not many people around, only 3 tables which the customers were brought in by tour coaches. We wanted to order the chicken soup but the small size was soooo big, it was for 3 to 4 people. So we ordered 3 dishes instead and we can't even finished them...hehee...After dinner, we walked slowly back to our hotel. Passed by a stall selling 冰火波蘿油, so we bought 1 to try. It wasn't as nice as the one we bought from Fengjia Night Market. Then we also passed by a cafe called Shark Bite Toast, we saw the christmas decorations quite interesting, so we stopped and checked out the food menu. The food did looked interesting. So we went in and i ordered chicken wings....and while we were waiting, my friend was asking me why we didn't came here for dinner...hohoho...this cafe wasn't listed in the food map.....After buying the wings, we went back to the hotel. I ate the chicken wings while my friend slept...Ohhh...the chicken wings were sooo nice, crispy too!!! After eating, it was shower and zzz time.....last night to enjoy the big big room.....

Hotel Stayed: Anhwa Hotel

Places Visited:
Taroko National Park
Qixingtan

 

Hua Lien 花蓮, Taiwan Trip (Day 10)

26th November 2014, Wednesday

Train Tickets to Hualien

Today, we need to catch the train to Hua Lien, which was 6 hours ride from Taichung. We had to wake up at around 5.30 am to get ready and made our way down to the train station. Our train was to leave at 7,28 am (which was a faster train, which needs 5 hour plus), so my friend went alone to Mos Burger to buy hot chocolate drinks. We boarded the train when the train came, we had a bit of problem getting our stuffs into our seats (cos we got breads, the goat's milk egg rolls and fruits). When i was taking the hot chocolate out from the paper bag, the drinks had already toppled and the hot chocolate was dripping. My friend's jeans also hot chocolate too, after wiping her jeans, she turned to pass me the hot chocolate again. This time, the cup slipped out from her hand and split some out onto the egg rolls, on the floor and even the side of the wall. Faintz....in the end, we had to wipe the floor and wall. Then after we settled down, i told her not to move anymore....hahaaa....

Hualien Food Map

As it was a long ride, we just slept on the train. Passed by a lot of small towns, even Taipei, when it was about to reach Hua lien, saw the pacific ocean along the way. After i work up, i was just jumping around the seats to take photos of the views. We reached Hua Lien at around 12.33 pm and went to the Visitors Information Centre to check on the directions to the Hotel while my friend cleaned up the plastic bag holding the egg rolls (having hot chocolate). The staff told us it would take about half an hour to walk there and she gave us a food map where their famous food places can be located, so we went back to the station to get a cab. Once we reached the hotel, we checked in and went to check out our room. It was huge (the biggest among all), it was having a single bed and a queen-sized bed. And the toilet was with glass partition, able to see through, curtain to cover too. We rested for a while and then we went out looking for food. In the food map, we saw a pork cutlet bento picture which looked very nice. So we decided to head there to try, but when we reached there, there was nobody eating there and the staff looked grumpy. We ordered 1 bento set to try, it wasn't very nice as it was cold. But there were still people coming by to tabao back the food.

葱油饼, Must Try!!!

After the meal, we went a cafe next door to relax. There was a 1-for-1 promotion too, so i bought 2 drinks. The cafe had some old antique stuffs too, like an super old TV and sewing machine. There was also a giant teddy bear, sitting on one of the tables too. We just drank our teas slowly and rest rest. My friend told me that it would take half an hour to walk to Qixintan beach, so i thought ok...we still can walk to the beach then. After that, we made our way to the beach, along the way, we detoured to Joe's Sausages, and opposite it, was the famous 炸弹葱油饼. We bought the sausages while gave our orders to the 葱油饼. I had ordered 1 without egg and 1 with egg. I also asked the sausages boss how long does it take to walk to the beach. This time, the uncle told me at least an hour...Then we continued our way to the beach, while eating the 葱油饼, the egg yolk 'exploded' out from my friend's...hehee...almost split out on her clothes.

Old Train

As we kept walking, the sky got dark and it even started to drizzle and it got heavier as we walked further. Then i told my friend let's head back, forget it. So we went back to buy more 葱油饼 as i wanted to eat more (bought another 3 more)...hehehe....There was a young lady, who went back to buy another one as she got the egg yolk split all onto her hands and clothes, she was telling it out but seems like nobody cares....hahaha....After buying, we just went around shopping.
My friend bought a new bag as her old bag was shredding its cloth inside....After that, we made our way back to the hotel to shower and rest....

Hotel Stayed: AnHwa Hotel

Places Visited: Hualien City