依依不舍

最近，我买了一台新的 Creative ZEN Player。
因为容量大而把多年来所收集的歌曲统统输入这台新的唱机。
也因为这样， 我又开始听一些好多年都没听到的旧歌曲。

上个星期六，和朋友们约好见面。
一出门，便扭开唱机。。。
过了一会儿，唱机开始播放一首好久好久都没听到的歌曲。
是一首张信哲的歌，可是就是想不起是哪一首。

歌词非常感人，觉得‘男主角’非常可怜。
和女友分手，还要答应她那么多事。
张信哲也把歌曲诠释得非常好，让我听了差点儿落泪。

因此，决定在Blog里和大家分享这首歌的歌词。。。

依依不舍 曲:殷文琦 词:刘虞瑞 编:殷文琦/徐德昌

我答应你 再也不会 打扰你的生活
我答应你 再也不会 为你多喝一杯酒
我答应你 从今以后 我们都还是好朋友
你怎么说 我怎么做 这样子够不够

你看不到 我的双手 在痛苦地颤抖
你听不到 我的内心 碎得我都不敢碰
你想不到 我的沉默 压抑著多少话要说
爱不能有 泪不能流
你教我这种日子怎么过

舍不得你 所以才会骗了你 也骗自己
其实我也知道 只是我 没勇气 面对问题
舍不得你 虽然明知我的爱 你不珍惜
有些事情谁都说不出原因

First Attempt to Write a Short Story

Last week, my niece made her first attempt at writing a short story. Though it was just a very simple one, but I thought she has done a great job, considering she is only 7.

On top of writing the short story, she has also done an illustration for it. See! Not bad for a 7 year-old, isn't it?

Taipei Trip - Day 7 (Finally!)

2 May 2008

[Beitou Hell Scenic Park --> CKS International Airport --> Changi Airport]

Woke up with a dread... cos this was the last day of my Taipei trip!

Packed up before we went down for breakfast. After that, we headed for the last place on our itinerary - Beitou Hell Scenic Park!

Just outside the park, there was this signboard explaining about the origin, temperature and quality of the hotspring.



When I stepped into the park, there was a very strong sulphur smell coming out from the hotspring...



I was totally stunned! Never have I expected so much vapour gushing out from the hotspring.



Deeper inside the park, there was this small waterfall.



Though this park is quite small, but the amount of vapour rising from the hotspring due to the heat is amazing!



After we checked out from Sweet Me Hotel, we went back to Rainbow Hotel to collect our stuff and to take the Freego bus to airport. But since we still have some time, We decided to have my favourite Mango Ice for one last time!

Taipei Trip - Day 6

1 May 2008

[Beitou --> Hot Spring Museum --> Aboriginal Museum --> Miramar Ferris Wheel --> Danshui Old St Night Market]

Got up early to pack and check out of our hotel. No... we are not returning to Singapore yet. We have made plans to go to Beitou for Hotspring. Left most of our luggage with the Rainbow Hotel and off we went to Xin Beitou Station.

As we arrived before the check in time, we decided to look around the area before going to the hotel.

There was this Library near our hotel which I thought it looked very nice, so I took some pictures of it...

Beitou is a really small place, everything is within few minutes' walking distance to each other.
Just next to the library, there was this little stream which made the place looked so serene.



The place that we really wanted to visit was the Hotspring Museum. Didn't know that it looked more like part of a university from the outside.



After walking one full round, we finally found the entrance to the museum.



Inside, they showed us how the museum used to looked like many years ago. It also explained about the origin of the hotspring.



The following was a bigger common pool.



And finally, the biggest hotspring pool around... which reminds me of Bath in England.



A few meters away from the Hotspring Museum, there was this Aboriginal Museum. As no photography was allowed in the museum, all I can take is the photo of this wooden sculpture just outside the museum. Basically, the museum will show you the various tribes' costumes and location and history. And all these time, the only person that came to my mind is A*mei!



Finally, when it is time for us to check in, we headed back to our hotel... Sweet Me Hotel. I will certainly recommend this hotel to anyone as it is located very close to the train station and the rooms are really big and comfortable...



Furthermore, the hotel provides complimentary tea which was simply sumptious! If we have known that earlier, we would have skipped out lunch and just have tea instead. (Since they serve tea between 2pm - 5pm)



As our hotel stay also came with a pair of complimentary tickets to the Miramar Ferris Wheel, we decided to go for the ride after our tea session.





Though the Ferris Wheel was much much smaller than that of the Singapore Flyer, it was still quite fun when you are at the top of it.

We took some pictures when we were at the top and we could even see Taipei 101 far far away.

Wah! This was like a warm up session before we ride on the Singapore Flyer back home!



Actually, we were not sure how much a ride on the ferris wheel cost. But I would not recommend it since we have to travel some distance before we got here. And there was nothing else to do after the ride.

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As we would be returning to Singapore the next day, my friend wanted to go back to Dan Shui Old Street to buy more tidbits. So we went back to Dan Shui and shop around before we head back to Beitou.

Taipei Trip - Day 5

30 April 2008

[XiMenDing --> Wu Fen Pu Fashion Street --> Raohe Night Market]

Our plan for the day was to take it easy and roam around XiMenDing. Since the day we arrived in Taipei, we have not spent much time in this area.

After covering some of the shops, we decided to go into this coffee house for a drink. It was an ordinary-looking old coffee shop, but when we got to the second floor, the decor looked quite trendy. And when we saw the menu, we were quite surprised that their prices were equivalent to that of Starbucks and Coffee Beans. This was the cup of coffee I have ordered...

These were the decor on the wall of the coffee shop.





After we were done going around XiMenDing, we decided to go back to our hotel for a short rest before heading to Wu Fen Pu Fashion Street in the afternoon.



Decided to take a picture of our hotel to remind us of how tiny our rooms were!

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When we got to Wu Fen Pu Fashion Street, there were many many shops selling all kinds of fashion clothing. We were so excited that we kept on buying all kinds of clothes and accessories and we forgot to take any pictures of Wu Fen Pu!

My most satisfied purchase was a leather jacket that cost NTD1,100(~SGD50)!

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Just when we were about to leave Wu Fen Pu for Roahe Night Market, we passed by this shop that sells my favourite mango ice! Decided to take a break and enjoy the mango ice.

Wow! Surprisingly the mango tasted so sweet! It was the best mango ice I have had throughout my entire trip in Taipei! Super Duper Yummy!



The first stall that greeted us when we got to Raohe NM is this Pepper Biscuit. We decided to give it a try since there was a long queue waiting to buy the Biscuit.



This is how they make the pepper biscuit.



After they baked the biscuits, they looked like these.



As this is the 5th NM we have been to, we couldn't find anything interesting except for this stall that sells pouches for handphones etc. The pouches looked so cute!



That night, we left Raohe NM without having anything much. We decided to buy the Kebab from the Egyptian man near our hotel instead. But when we passed by this shop selling beancurd with peanuts, we can't help but stopped to have a bowl before we head back to hotel.

Note: Forgot to mention in my earlier post on Day 3 that the beancurd sold in Shida Lu NM was very nice too! However, we took the picture far too late. It does not look very appetising by then.



When we returned to XiMenDing, the Egyptian man was no where insight. We hunted high and low for him, but to no avail. *sigh* As that was our last night in this hotel, we felt really disappointed not being able to try his kebab for one last time.



Feeling really upset, we decided to vent our frustration by having a go at this basket ball thingy. Wah! Didn't know it is so difficult to score a goal! In the end, I did not even manage to clear round one. I think my score was only around 30+. Hee Hee! Paisei!

Taipei Trip - Day 4

29 April 2008

[Yeliu --> Shi Lin Night Market]

Learned from our experience the day before, we have decided to buy some fried carrot cake and fried eggs from the auntie selling breakfast along the streets. Hmm… not that delicious, but beggars can’t be choosers.

Took a bus from Taipei Intercity Bus Terminus (NTD102 per trip) and got off at Yeliu. Walked for about 300m before we got to the Geo Park.

So… What is there in Yeliu? Well… see for yourself!

The most famous is the Queen’s Head… Looks very much like it, isn’t it?

Other than the Queen’s Head, most people are here for the scenery.

If you make an effort to climb up to the top, you will see all these…

Oh! There are some beautiful lilies too!

After we left the park, we had some simple lunch and bought some cuttle fish etc from the stalls below. But upon returning to Singapore, I felt that they didn't taste as good anymore... Felt kena cheated!

Originally, when we were planning our itinerary, we wanted to cover Yeliu, Keelung, Jinguashi, Jiufen, Miaokou all in one day. However, on our way to the bus-stop, my 'lazy-cum-tired' friend asked if it is alright to end the trip and head back to our hotel. She was so tired that she wanted to go back and rest before going to Shi Lin Night Market. Well... what can I say? I can't possibly go to Jinguashi on my own! *sigh* Felt kena short-changed...

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By the time we left our hotel for the NM, we were feeling quite hungry. There was this Egyptian man who was selling kebab just outside our hotel and we decided to buy one from him. Surprisingly, the kebab tastes so good that when we returned from the NM, we bought another one from him! For those who planned to stay in Rainbow Hotel when you visit Taipei, do look out for him! His Kebab deserves 5 star rating! Simply yummy! (but must eat it while it is hot!)

Ok... Let's see what we have found in the famous Shi Lin Night Market!

In the NM, they sell fresh fruits on push carts... Like the way they have displayed the fruits, though I am doubtful that the fruits are clean!

The sausages sold in Taipei are super duper big in size! However, we didn't think we could finish one sausage without spoiling our dinner, so we gave it a miss.

This huge un-cut 香鸡扒 seems very popular... Just look at the queue below! But we did not manage to finish it... simply too big!

This is the first time I saw a white color bitter gourd! Wonder how does it taste like when you make bitter gourd juice out of it??

We tried this Chicken butt (七里香) above. So-so only! They also sell other interesting stuff like the pig's blood (black in color) below!

I regretted not buying this Almond tidbits! It is actually very nice, but my luggage has no space left for it!

This shop has a very weird name! What they are selling is simply thick slice of bread with stuff inside!

I thought this 泡泡冰 will taste real nice like my favourite mango ice, but it was too sweet!

This is something which I did not try it myself. But felt that it looks very interesting! It is called 煎包!