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!

Taipei Trip - Day 3

28 April 2008

[Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall --> Taipei Central Shopping District --> Taipei 101 --> Shida Lu Night Market]

We started this trip with only half a tank of energy. By the time it came to day 3, we decided to surrender and sleep in instead. Finally figured that we need all the energy if we want to enjoy every bit of this trip.

We left the hotel at 11.30am and headed straight to CKS Memorial Hall, thinking of getting our breakfast on our way to the memorial hall. Big mistake!

When we arrived at CKS MH station, it was very clear that Taiwanese have a lot of respect for this man. Even the wall of the train station was specially decorated!

Before we entered the compound, we took pictures of the ‘自由广场’ plaque that had replaced the previous ‘大中至正’. This took place last year on 8 Dec 2007.





It was drizzling on our way to the main hall...



Right inside the memorial hall, the statue of CKS sits right on top with these three prominent words ‘伦理’, ‘民主’, ‘科学’at his back.



We visited the exhibition hall at the basement and saw many photos of CKS and read stories of his life since young. Took these 2 interesting photos of his cars. They look great, are’t they?

By the time we left the memorial hall, it was already 2pm and we still have not had our breakfast! Didn’t my friend already warn me before the trip that Taipei is a city where you can hardly find a place for breakfast in the morning??? Feeling very hungry by then, we took the train to Taipei Central Shopping District – Xinyi District.

After we had our lunch at the basement of Eslite bookshop, we briefly comb through the shopping mall and came to the conclusion that things in that area are too expensive (or similar in price as compared to Singapore). Therefore, it is not worth spending too much time there. With that, we walked towards the tallest building in the world – Taipei 101.

Inside Taipei 101, there is this open space where it is very ideal for tai tai to have their afternoon tea...



Bought the expensive ticket (NTD400) to find out what is there in the observatory of the tallest building. Wow! The elevator that brought us up to the observatory was very amazing. The screen will display the position of the lift within the building as it moved its way up; while the ceiling has the starry starry night effect with shooting star flying pass. It also holds the title of the world’s fastest elevator at the speed of 16.83m/s. Before we knew it (~20 seconds), we were already up on the 89th floor of the building!





On the 88th floor, we were able to see the world’s largest and heaviest damper weighing 660 metric tons. This damper will help Taipei 101 withstand the typhoon winds and earthquate tremors.





We were allowed to go up to the 92th floor (Outdoor Observatory) even though the weather was not very clear that day.

After the visit to Taipei 101, it was time for dinner. We have heard that Shida Lu Night Market had a lot of interesting food and have planned to check it out. True enough, the best food that we have eaten during our trip were those found in the Shida Lu NM.

These BBQ pork chop is super duper delicious! A must try for those going to this NM next time! 5 star rating!



The ice-cream sold here is made by the husband of the stall owner... Yummy! Super smooth!



Don't bother trying this steak... it looks good but if you see the way they wash the hot plate... you will think twice about eating there!



This stall sells very interesting crepes. Eh... these were not what we have ordered... We forgot to take a picture of what we had, so had to take a picture of what others have ordered... Anyway, theirs looked more interesting too!



On our way back to our hotel, we passed by this confectionery that sells deserts that look like beer...



By then, we were so full that we did not have space for any of these! What we badly needed was Zzzzz...

Taipei Trip - Day 2

27 April 2008

[World Soya Bean Milk Magnate --> Bakery Museum --> National Palace Museum --> Fisherman's Wharf --> Danshui Old St Night Market]

Woke up really early as we have planned to cover quite a lot that day. However, both my friend and I were really tired, so we have to drag ourselves out of bed.

Heard that Soya Bean Milk is very popular in Taipei, we went in search of this particular shop called ‘World Soya Bean Milk Magnate’ at Yong He Road. There were many things to try in this shop, but I would say that they are only ‘so-so’. Don’t bother going all the way for this shop, it is not worth the effort!

After breakfast, we headed straight to Shi Lin Station, our next destination was supposed to be the National Palace Museum. On reaching Shi Lin Station, I saw this shop selling all the Hello Kitty stuff, which reminds me of Tracy. So Tracy, the following were taken for you!





As we thought we had plenty of time to spare, we decided to explore the Bakery Museum near the train station. Alamak! When we got there, we discovered that it was meant for those ‘Aunties’ on tour group. Usually, their visitors will make prior appointment before visiting the Museum. And they will teach their visitors how to bake some of the more popular bakery stuff in Taipei, followed by a tour of the small museum showing the history of Chinese bakery. It was an interesting Museum, but as we did not make prior arrangement, the kind uncle gave us a very quick tour of the museum before saying goodbye to us! Ha ha ha!

Off we went to the National Palace Museum! Wow! I was really impressed by the ornaments we saw in this Museum. There were such a lot of things to see that we were so tired after combing the 1st and 2nd floor.

The most impressive piece was the jade carving. The original piece of jade came in 2 tones, from white to dark green. The creative craftsman carved it into a cabbage with a dark green grasshopper at the top of it! Such a masterpiece! Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take any pictures in the Museum. But we did take some pictures OUTSIDE the museum though. Ta da!





After we bid farewell to the museum, we had a quick lunch near the train station before heading to Fisherman's Wharf in Dan Shui. Actually, I think we should have taken a walk at the Dan Shui Old Street before making our way to Fisherman’s Wharf. It is best to reach there around 6pm as there isn't much you can do at Fisherman's Wharf except to enjoy the sunset and to watch the lighting up of the Lover's Bridge. Don't believe? Take a look at the pictures below!



Eh... with the exception of this picture! It happened that there was this van selling lingerie parked near Fisherman's Wharf that day!



The Lover's Bridge before light up



Fisherman's Wharf





Sunset...



Lighting up of Lover's Bridge



Finally, when we have seen enough of the Lover’s Bridge, we went back to walk around the Dan Shui Night Market and also to have our dinner.



This is the first time I tried BBQ smelly beancurd. Wah! Really very smelly... Still prefer the fried ones.



This is the famous Ah Ge (阿给). It is actually Dong Fen (冬粉) wrapped in fried egg with tomato sauce... Not bad!



This BBQ mushroom is only 'so-so', though it is something you hardly find in Singapore. Actually, I think it would have tasted quite nice if they did not put the sauce on it.



There is this weird shop displaying horrid stuff. Need to pay if you are interested to see what they have inside their shop...



Phew! Finally, get to eat my favourite mango ice before we head back to hotel.





Yummy!