Hi guys here's the last bit of my Taiwan trip! A read before the next one which might be end of May when i'm back from Melbourne.
Quite excited for this upcoming trip because the amount of workload at intern is so overwhelming.....i even had to go for work tmr when i'm supposed to be on leave already since my flight's on wednesday. But despite all that, i'm really loving my work and thankful i get to learn so much that i haven't get to feel/learn elsewhere.
31st March, Friday:
Up at around 9am and headed for beef noodles breakfast at 林東芳牛肉麵, which we walked from Zhongxiao Fuxing metro station! The soup was really savoury after adding the beef oil as recommended, beef was really tender and yummy as well! But noodles wise, it tasted just like some instant udon noodles. Though this place is quite famous, i thought we should have went for the one at yongkang street instead because my friends were vouching for its goodness and quality. So even though i haven't been to the one there, i will advise you guys to try that instead!!
^ Actually wouldn't mind a bowl of this with just the beef now.......
^ This is the famous beef oil to be added to your soup, i think all beef noodles shop in Taiwan have this on their tables!!! It'll make your soup alot tastier and also spicier, which of course for my case i added like a big spoonful hehehe
After a filling breakfast, we walked back to the same metro station and waited for our bus to JiuFen!
^ This is where we took our bus 1062! Don't fret if you can't find this place, just ask anyone on the streets where to take the bus to JiuFen and they'll tell you roughly where, cos that's what we did!
Halfway to JiuFen, we then realised JiuFen is actually on top of a mountain, which means it'll be really cold. I was in a sleeveless lace top and brought no sweater/jacket out. Can't blame me because i don't remember much about JiuFen when i was there 9 years back.
When we alighted at the JiuFen stop, what made everything worst was it started to rain. And we were literally freezing cold (more of me), and the poncho did save my life a little.
^ I could do with 10 more of this goodness...
^ If you can actually zoom in, you'll see my hair's drenched from the roots to the tip...
^ Everyone was staring at me like "This girl must be mad to dress like this in a 12 degrees rainy weather", mind you the weather fluctuated so bad when we left the house it was only 23 degrees....who knew it would drop this fast...
Took a cab from JiuFen to Ruifang train station (costs only NT264 for 4 people = SGD12.30), and from there we purchased the NT19 train tickets (less than SGD$1) to ShiFen for the sky lanterns!
We were actually considering if we should still go ShiFen since it was raining and we may not be able to release the sky lantern. But we went ahead with it because Adrian and Edgar haven't been to Taiwan before and it might be a pity to miss Shifen just becos of the rainy weather. So we were only hoping the rain would stop by the time we reach.
^ Nope the rain didn't stop but got even heavier...We were hastily jotting down our wishes and releasing it to the sky because the lady told us that the next train was in 30 mins time and she didn't want me to miss it as the next one would be in more than an hour's time (she was afraid i will catch a cold in my outfit). We also bought some fireworks to play with, and basically the whole night was so epic.
Thought the day would be kinda ruined due to a bad weather but you guys fill me up with so much laughter, it was still such a good day :')
Took the train from Shifen station straight to Songshan station where Raohe night market is located!
Exited the train station to realise the weather was 9 degrees already and i really couldn't take it so i bought a knitted cardigan from the thrift store.
^ Raohe Night Market was quite a disappointment though. Not sure if it's because of the rainy weather that made everything there quite shitty or that it has just deteriorated this much over the years.
^ Supper near our airbnb recommended by Sherman!
^ They aren't most famous for their 滷肉飯 but no denial it was still sooo fking good, i missed it so much!!!
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1st April, Saturday:
Woke up early for a long day ahead but everything got pushed back further due to a really long queue for breakfast at Fu Hang Dou Jiang 阜杭豆漿. Actually it is just you tiao and dou jiang but the queue was really insane, and it's insane all day 365 days. Heard it's due to the fact that taiwanese locals love simple breakfast like these but it's hard to find non-heavy breakfast in the city of Taiwan. But the queue moved on quite fast so it didn't took away much of our patience.
^ I think the angriest moment was when i was just 2 person away from ordering and that guy just decided to order all the you tiaos and i was just there like what the fuck??? They fresh make everything in the morning and once sold out they will close their business for the day. So we only had dou jiang and some egg crepes :'(
After a saddening breakfast, we made our way to Yangmingshan where we are planning to hike Mt Qixing!!
We took the metro to Jiantan station and initially we wanted to take bus S15, but the security guard told us most of the buses there can take us to Yangmingshan! So we hopped onto a random bus, alighted at Yangmingshan bus terminal and took another bus to Lengshuikeng!
Note: Yangmingshan is a huge national park and it covers many different attractions where you can decide which activities you prefer!! Lengshuikeng is just one spot where we are embarking our hiking trail from!
^ Starting from the right and alighting at the stop second from the left - 冷水坑
^ From Lengshuikeng, where we alighted, we just walked straight, locating Mt Qixing and its hiking trail!
And there we started this tortuous journey! Actually it was only torturing for me, the guys were all quite fit....
^ The midway view was so breathtakingly beautiful, it was all worth it :')
^ The rainy day before made the sky so much prettier today too :')
^ He's such a sweetie the whole day, holding my hands, waist, encouraging me and motivating me to keep going :')
^ Love this candid picture, i set it as my wallpaper
^ Yup pls take a good look at that longggg path
^ He even piggyback me for awhile and honestly he didn't need to do it, but he just did to make me laugh and make this whole hiking experience another good memory for us :')
^ Took us about 2 hours to get to the top!!! Wind was so huge and our fingers were literally frozen to an extent they can't bend. But the view was really something good to take away from this trip :')
Wanted to go for some relaxation a.k.a hot springs at Beitou, and it was something i was very looking forward to for this whole trip because i haven't been to the hot spring area in Taipei before!! But the bus journey back to Jiantan station was quite long and when we reached, it was about 7.30pm already. Forgo that plan and decided to just go for one last night of taiwanese street food at Shilin Night Market!
Filled our stomach so much but still decided to walk over to Formosa Chang for its lu rou fan! They have many different outlets but we went ahead with the one nearest to Shilin night market!
^ Theirs was sooooo good as well, comparable to the one we had near our airbnb! Highly recommend this!!
Ended the day dragging our lethargic and sore body to the night club Lava. Entrance fee costs NT800 for guys (SGD37.30) and NT500 for girls (NT23.30). Drinks was free flow but it tasted like juices and diluted liquors. Music was mehhhh, dance floor was too spacious and weirdly coordinated. Basically the whole experience there was quite bad. I ended up falling asleep at the sofa outside the club.
Don't recommend Club Lava but you guys can actually go other clubs like Omni which i heard my friends said it's really fun!
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2nd April, Sunday:
Woke up, packed our luggages, then Jon and I bid goodbye to Edgar and Adrian because we were taking different flights and going for different day plans!
Jon and I had a simple lunch at Ximending, got his stan smiths shoes, took a long time to find an empty locker for our luggages, and then took the metro to Songshan station for 五分埔. Known as a clothing shopping outlet where they sell clothes at cheap prices!!
Shopping there was alright, wasn't really cheap though, but good to visit if you haven't been there before!
^ Looked a little like Ewha University's shopping in Korea
^ Poor boy just tagging his girlfriend at the back while she shops
^ Took the new airport train from Taipei main station straight to Taoyuan Airport, this was only launched in early March and we were lucky to be there after their launch! Their tickets only cost NT160 = SGD7.28 and it took only about 35 mins to get there! Super convenient!
Flew back to Singapore and landed at about 1.30am with work at 9am the next day.
This trip was really good and probably why when i left Jon after we landed, i teared even though i will be able to see him in just 2 days. But those good times with him really make us crave for more together. I love you dear, i know i don't say it here often, but i do, for everyday you make me happy, for everyday you act like a child to tease me, and for doing silly things like paying for my air tickets when it's your own savings. Thank you :')
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Flying to Melbourne in 2 days and the most exciting part is attending my cousin's outdoor wedding when it's almost winter there! Can't wait to see Olivia too :)
Will be back with an update probably the start of June because i figured i'll be busy with friends' birthdays when i'm back 2 weeks later! Till then xx.
