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.