一步一脚印，发现新台湾 (Day 8-Last day)

Back to Singapore

It was our last day in Taiwan, the place that we had called home for the past one week or so, and where we had so much fun in. there was a definite tinge of sadness in the air as we woke up in the morning to wash up and pack our stuff. It was lucky that we had only stayed one night in HI Taipei, so we only had to pack minimally, before we set off for breakfast with another of LW's Taiwan friend.

She brought us to an eating place called 大世纪餐厅, which was supposedly the place of origin of the famous tao huay shop in Geylang (the one that sells salty tau huay and 小笼包). Naturally, i was curious to try out the famous salty tau huay, which according to the waitress there, is their 招牌 and most popular dish there. Besides tau huay, we also ordered other side dishes to go along with, such as carrot cake, 煎饺, 油条, 韭菜饼 etc. I did not really enjoy the salty tau huay, which i found tasted kinda weird, and very unconventional as compared to the sweet type. Perhaps im just the less adventurous type (im only more experimental when trying seafood/sashimi). The other dishes were great tho! I esp. loved the 煎饺, which was very tasty and not too oily. The 油条 was very special too, and quite a mouthful.

Thereafter, we went to a shop selling traditional pastries and snacks called 新东阳。Besides getting the usual snacks such as 太阳饼，黄梨酥 and 芝麻酥, a new find was 绿豆糕，which is a very yummy snack that has two fillings for you to choose, red bean or yam, and best eaten refrigerated. I promptly bought two big boxes of it after sampling it, and although it costs about S$6 per box, i felt it was worth it. Haven't really tried finding it in S'pore, but i doubt there is, as I have never seen it before in S'pore.

We went shopping at the area around 忠孝敦化 station, where we had gone on our first day for dinner and where the 24 hr bookstore is located (think it's called 诚品书店, the one that Jolin Tsai, Taiwan ambassador, recommended as a good "nightspot". Anyway i thought it was funny she recommended a bookstore. I thought she would say places like nightclubs or ktv lounges, hmm well that's my impression of her). The weather had taken quite a drastic change as it had been very cool and windy for most days we were in taiwan, sometimes drizzling. On our last day, the weather was super hot, and the temperature had gone up to 34 degree celsuis! We were sweating profusely by the time we walked finish the area, and i was very exhausted from walking around in such hot weather, and i think the fatigue of the entire trip had finally gotten to me then.

Our flight was at 5:55 pm, so we went back to out hostel at about 2 to collect our luggage. Last pictures taken at our hostel:

Washing machines:

Kitchen. Haven't had a chance to use. But looks very well-equipped and clean, doesnt it?:

The relaxation lounge with pool, computers, manga etc.:

Entrance to the reception counter of HI Taipei. Haha now then i know that K Mall is actually call 群贤楼 (eh, think so ba):



Corridor to our 6-person dormitory. If you're sharp, you will probably see this net hanging in the space in the middle of the building. Quite a few pieces of crap are found lying on it. Wonder if they were thrown there accidentally, or people from upstairs are just bored and throw down random things.

Exhausted looks on our faces:



That's it. The end of our 8 day trip in Taiwan. It was a fun-filled, adventurous and eventful journey, filled with lots of laughter, food, shopping, photo-taking and sightseeing. I have made some great friends along the way, and have experienced the luxury of staying in hostels. Never thought that hostel stay can be more enjoyable than hotel stay. I would definitely come back Taiwan to backpack, and my destinations would be 花连, 台中，绿岛，Sun Moon Lake and probably 垦丁 again. Of course, who can forget about the shopping in 五份埔，where cheap and latest fashion can be found.

End of my series on Taiwan. My next holiday might be sometime later due to work commitments, so i would probably only update this blog with new trips toward the end of the year. It had been fun writing these blog entries as it had brought back wonderful memories.

一步一脚印，发现新台湾 (Day 7)

Go-karting, paintball in 垦丁 and back in 台北

The next morning, after having a good night's sleep, we packed our luggages and bags before leaving 垦丁 in the afternoon. We would be going back to 高雄 for transit and straight back to 台北。After depositing our stuff at HI counter, we set off for breakfast and some fun-filled activities.

Last pictures of HI on our way out:

Geese found outside the hostel:

Waiting for public bus outside the hostel:

A cabby stopped by and he's willing to bring us around 垦丁 the whole morning for a fee at NT300 (about S$15)which was pretty ok. The cabby took us to the go-kart area at a distance away from HI.

The go-kart track:

It was pretty fun riding the go-kart round the track. Although the track doesn't look too big, it was pretty thrilling at certain points when you made too sharp turns at high speed. The car itself was very easy to manoeuver, but minor mishaps can happen. Like me crashing into the tyres and causing them to overturn onto the next track, and luckily i was able to brake in time to avoid crashing at a high speed. And LW and DC colliding into each other, and causing one of them to turn in opposite direction. Overall, it was a very fun experience!

A group photo of us after our round:

LW being funny:



Some individual shots:

We left the go-kart area and went off for some paintball game. On the way, we saw beautiful scenery by the beachside and thus we requested the cabby driver to stop for us to take some photos.

A stone that reminds me of some Hollywood actor (Jack Nicholson?):

One of my favourite photos taken for the whole trip:

Lotsa greenery found on the coast:

Weather looked very gloomy then. Lucky it did not rain:

Image of 大尖山 captured on the other side of the mountain:

After taking some very nice shots, we went to a secluded area for paintball game. It was pretty much like a war game, and we divided ourselves into guys vs girls groups, vying against each other.

Pictures taken before we started the game:

The instructor, also a 少数民族, taught us how to use the gun, such as how to load the paint darts into the gun, check the safety valve, how to aim etc. We were allowed to practise at the shooting ground before we went onto the actual "battlefield". There were 3 rounds to our game. Each of us were given 100 paint darts before we start. The first round was at the grounds with boxes stacked as "shields" for us to hide behind while aiming to get the opponent group. After 10 minutes or so, the girls emerged as winner for the first round, as we had less paint stains than the guys, hehe.

In the second round, we moved to the forest area, and the girls played the role as defenders and the guys were the attackers. The aim was to secure our flag pole, and to try to get down as many opponents as possible. Here, when somebody was shot, he/she must leave the battle immediately. It was more fun here as we had a great laugh getting the guys down while hidden. But we lost in the end after LW managed to get the flag.

In the third round, it was fair play, and we were no longer grouped. The aim was to shoot at anyone you see, and we would play until all our darts were used up. I think most of the time my gun acted as my shield also as i notice that my gun was smattered with paint all over after the game. Some of us also sustained minor bruises on our limbs where we were "shot" at. I felt the power of the shots were rather great, and seemed very real.

We left the place and went for some lunch. We spent the last hour or so walking along 垦丁大街 and having some dessert before we went back to HI.

After that was a sad journey back to 高雄, as we had all truly enjoyed our stay in 垦丁, and wished we had more time to explore the area. the same private bus that brought us to 垦丁 came to fetch us from HI, and we spent a couple of hours on the bus chatting about miscellaneous stuff. After reaching 高雄 左营 station, we bought tickets to travel back to 台北 via 高铁。The trip took us about 1 hour plus as well.

By the time we reached 台北 it was about 7 pm and we checked into Hostelling International Taipei for the last night in 台湾. After unpacking out stuff and bathing, we went out to meet LW's taiwan friend for dinner and some catching up. She had also helped us to buy some 黄梨酥 from a famous old store in taiwan. We went to a ramen shop for dinner/supper, me and HM shared some grilled fish as we were not very hungry. It was funny to see WL eating a bowl of 麻辣 ramen as his whole face was red after finishing his bowl. I think the 麻辣 level was only medium, and it was really spicy already, what more the most spicy one!

We went for some 泡泡茶 at a 茶馆 nearby. it was quite relaxing having drinks and chit-chatting with friends. LW's taiwan friend was amazed at the places we've visited over the past few days, and she had commented that she had never been to 垦丁 before, keke.

Some pictures taken:

We left the place close to 12, and prepared for our departure tomorrow.

Outside our hostel room, DC and LW with funny poses for the benefit of my camera:

一步一脚印，发现新台湾 (Day 6)

垦丁大街 & water activities

We woke up early at about 730 am for some hotel breakfast before checking out of Gear hotel, and making our way to 垦丁. Although the breakfast was rather yucky, i felt that the service more than made up for it. for one, the canteen lady came over to explain to us why there was no sunny side up that mornin, and that we could request to have more omelette if we wanted. i think taiwanese are generally very friendly and warm. i managed to stuff some porridge down as i know we would have a long day ahead.

After checking out, we took cab down to 国通捷运 to enquire about the rates. me and DC went to check out the departure schedule for a couple of places there and in the end we decide to take up an uncle's offer for a private bus, as it was slightly cheaper, and we could leave immediately. although the others had their doubts about taking a private bus instead of the established 捷运, we took it anyway, and soon we had left 高雄 (and the polluted air) behind.

The whole journey took about 1 hr 30 min. as we approach 垦丁, nice scenery awaits us

We stayed at Hostelling International, 垦丁, Taiwan. HI Kenting is very different from HI Taipei; instead of three double-decker bunk beds, we had six mattresses laid out side by side in a semi tatami-style room. when we first enter the room, all of us were pleasantly surprised, as we had expected the double-decker beds like in Taipei's. and we had a TV set! it is definitely more comfortable here and i can tell you i had such a good sleep that night that it was the first morning out of so many days that i was the last person among all to wake up!

Inside our room:

After unpacking our luggage and changing into beach wear, we went out to 垦丁大街 for some lunch before HI's private bus picks us up for some water activities.

This is how our hostel (It is also called Youth Activity Centre) looks like:

Entrance to the admin. office:

A 7-11 (便利商店) located in the premises, very convenient:

At the exit of our hostel. The three guys had decided to take a picture with the dog since they are all born in the year of the Dog. I wont explain why LW (in red) posed in this manner, since i think you can figure out yourself =) :

A group photo at the entrance:

A map of 垦丁:

Thereafter, we made our way to 垦丁大街。垦丁大街 is one long stretch of shops selling all kinds of beach apparel such as t-shirts, slippers, bikinis, wakeboarding equipment etc., and also restaurants that serve Thai food, yummilicious seafood delicacies as well as desserts for hot summer.

Some pictures along 垦丁大街:

A surfboard equipment shop with its shop name on a wooden "surfboard":

Many, many shophouses that line the street:

大尖山 ('nuff said):

Cute signage:

A rather gu-niang shop. I wonder which guy would "bravely" enter:

Creative, legal gratifiti on a storehouse of sorts along the way:

You can see many signboards along the way, particularly seafood restaurants':

Huge mannequin of bikini babe:

A drinks stall which at first i thought was a fruits stall, since it looked so green and so many fruits were on display:

At a Snoopy shop. DC posing with Snoopy:

HM (looking so happy, haha):

Entrance of Kending National Forest Recreation Area:

Another image of 大尖山:

A hotel outside the park. Dunno why i thought of 大奸商饭店 when i see the hotel name, hahah:

We had lunch at guess where? MacDonald's. I know, i know. with all the good food there, why did we choose Mac's? well, i didn't care too much as i was famished. but instead of stuffing myself with food since i hardly ate much the day before, i only managed to finish my burger and a few strips of fries. hmm my appetite continued to be smaller than my usual for more than one week, and i did notice my tummy slimming down. good way to lose weight? hee.

After having lunch, HI bus came to fetch us to the beach for our water activities. The sky looked rather gloomy and I had my doubts as to whether we would still be allowed to continue with our plans. It was fortunate that no heavy rain or thunderstorm ensued, and we changed into snorkelling (diving?) suit. Me and HM were apprehensive as we did not know how to swim well, but we were assured by our instructor (who's a Taiwan 少数民族) that we would be very safe.

I'm glad I did not give up snorkelling just because of my fear. Although the seawater is not as clear as that in the Maldives or Australia, we were treated to beautiful sights of coral reefs and fishes once we set off. Despite the slightly choppy waters (probably due to the bad weather), we were able to see quite clearly, and after getting used to breathing through the tube, i pretty much enjoyed myself alot!

Thereafter, the instructor led us snorkelling to the deeper waters. And over here, where the speedboat was waiting for us, we began the second part of our water activities- banana boat! Haha I have always wanted to try that, and true enough, it was pretty nerve-wrecking! Funny that the instructor asked us beforehand whether we want to fall into the water or not. I was like, can choose one meh, i thought sure fall one. None of us except for LW wanted to fall, but one person's strength turned out to be enough to overcome the majority. We fell into the water when the boat turned at a sharp angle, with none of us being able to stay afloat (since we are all on the same boat, technically speaking). We promptly boarded the speed boat before we took the banana boat again. I think the "fall" was probably the highlight of our ride, as all of us berated LW while merrily recapping the "fall" haha.

We took the speed boat back to our original spot of snorkelling after finishing the banana boat ride. Here, we were allowed to snorkel on our own (before, we had to follow the instructor's lead, and all of us were "connected" by ropes, with two of us in front holding onto a swimming float led by the instructor).

It was 5 plus by the time we returned to shore. Picture of us after our successful first attempt at snorkelling and banana boat:

While we took turns to take a nice shower back in our hostel, we had a rather fun time watching A Chinese Odyssey: Cinderella, a Stephen Chow film that is typically full of lame jokes. What i enjoyed about the show was the time-reversal parts, where Stephen Chow went back to save Karen Mok, his beloved, before she commits suicide. Haha we almost didn't want to leave our room for dinner as we were so engrossed in the show.

It was getting dark and drizzling when we left our hostel. Wafts of sumptous smells of seafood lingered in the air and enticed us to step into one of those restaurants that had live seafood displays outside. My stomach was practically growling like mad at this point. We ordered lotsa food, including steamed prawns, fish soup, stir-fried vegetables, fried fish (it's abit like japanese shishamu, where the whole fish is deep-fried in a batter coat), etc. The meal turns out to only cost about slightly more than $10 per person! I thought it was freaking cheap, given the amount of food we had (we had at least 7-8 dishes). The only gripe was the lack of chili or other sauces for us to dip in. I think Singaporeans would only truly enjoy seafood in our own country, where dishes like chili crab can never be rivalled elsewhere.

Pictures of some of the dishes:

Thereafter was some shopping along 垦丁大街. We played a few rounds of basketball arcade before heading back to our hostel for some rather "unclean" fun of gambling keke. The overall winner, XY, had acquired for herself enough coins for her to play many rounds of basketball arcade game the next day haha.

P.S. Very nice pictures coming up in the next entry.