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: