After the movie was lunch, then bowling and pool. In between we played those machines that picked up toys, $1 per try. I got 2 toys with 4 trys!!! Pro right. and they are cute too.
And then...it was walking around, and home. Pretty good outing, and glad that ziyang enjoyed himself.
A bit of commentary next time~
Firstly, I still don't understand the term 'friends'. Or anything similar. It is a concept I find it so difficult to grasp, that I have screwed myself up many times because of it.
Secondly, I am a 'double-standard' kinda person. I treat different people differently. Sounds ok to some of you, but...Ok, there's this something that happened fairly recently that made me really wonder why I end up getting the blame. The fault lies with me, I know, but why was it that I did not deal with the matter in a better way? Why did I choose to tell her only at a later date when I got to know about it? Isn't it supposed to be the right move? Or I shouldn't have cared at all? I haven't spoken to the person involved ever since, hope she's doing well. (If you read this, please give me a tag...)
Thirdly, I suck when it comes to dealing with relationships. I suppose such an ability is innate.
Well...enough of this kinda touchy stuff. Just hope that everything works out eventually.
Now...here's a list of things I want to do before, during and after NS. haha. Wish list, I guess.
1. 1 and 2 Star Kayaking Course
Till then.
Taipei is definitely a great place to be. With more than a few centuries of history and culture hidden beneath the city, there is too much to see. As the saying goes, 读万卷书不如行万里路, I guess what I saw and experienced there is much more valuable than what I've learnt in history back in O Levels. I won't bother describing them here; those are meant to be felt, not read.
In short, I love the land, the scenery, the people, and the food. Well, of course the shopping. (I bought tons of things.) And travelling with a friend isn't that bad a thing...I must say i enjoyed myself alot.
Now for the details...
Day 1.
We took the 1235 SIA flight to Taipei and reached Taipei at around 5. The flight is supposed to be a 4hrs20min one, but there was a slight delay and stuff. Checked into the hotel at 6 plus, and went for dinner at Ximending. Because hz's stomach problem recurred, we didn't eat much for the first day, just the Lu Rou Fan and Ah Zhong Mian Xian. Following that we walked around Ximending, then went back to rest.
Here's the hotel. Pretty old, room is pretty small, but still acceptable.
Day 2.
Today was the complimentary one day tour, which started at around 8am. We went to the Zi You Guang Chang, then the Martyr's Shrine to see the changing of guards. After lunch, we headed to the National Palace Museum, Jiu Fen and finally, hot spring! Shall let pictures do the talking:
Liberty Square. Ex-President Chen Shui-bian changed its name actually. It's now a centre for protests and stuff. Great place though.
Forgot the name. Bleh
CKS
Overview of the Liberty Square. Pretty cool.
Martyr's Shrine. Just a simple guard changing ceremony. I found the UK's one more impressive.
Jiufen. Became famous because of a movie. Now people go there to shop, not for the scenery. Such a pity...
Beautiful place.
Well, we didn't take any photos at the hot spring, because their etiquette is that everybody goes into the hot spring naked. And we were too busy shopping and eating at Shilin...so no photos there either. haha.
Day 3.
We were supposed to embark on the half day tour to Yehliu, but because the tour only allowed advance bookings, we had to push it to the next day. In the meantime, we decided to chill out at Starbucks and decide on the rest of our schedule.
It was here where something interesting happened. LoL. Apparently, there was a news report on the previous day saying that the coffee in the Starbucks was tainted with detergent (I heard it was featured in Singapore too). So, being in Taiwan, the reporters flocked towards that outlet and began to interview the patrons, which included me and hz. Well to be exact, they only interviewed hz, and when too many of them came, he stammered. haha it was so funny la...how often do you get interviewed by the media, especially in a foreign country??
Well, we headed to Danshui after the break, then the famous Confucius Temple. Then it's time for shopping!!! Wufenpu is a great place to shop, especially for the girls. But I preferred shopping at Shilin; Wufenpu has so great a range that you would literally go BLUR. Dinner was at Raohe Night Market, which was a great place to shop too.
More photos...
Fisherman's Wharf @ Danshui. Meteor Gardens was shot there.
Wonder why there's a massive cloud above the mountain. LoL.
Danshui. Pretty landscape.
Fishermen I suppose. =)
Day 4.
The half a day tour to Keelung and Yehliu was great.
Keelung, 2nd biggest port in Taiwan. It actually is of a U shape, just that it is difficult to capture on camera.
Giant ship. haha. It keeps raining there though...and the motorcycles there have this screen. Too bad didn't take any photos of it.
Along the way to Yehliu.
Below's Taiwan on rock. LoL.
the Pacific Ocean!!!
Me and the famous Queen's Head.
What about a King Kong there?
After the tour, we headed to Zhongxiao Dunhua Station for shopping. Stuff there is more high end, but you could get a great deal if you were looking for second hand branded goods or older models. I went there primarily for the Porter International Boutique, where I bought a bag. A swee swee one. haha.
Well, after that, hz and I decided to head back to Shilin for shopping. Shopped abit, before heading back to hotel to drop our stuff and then meeting one of my uncle's friends. This is the part that didn't go as expected, but still we have to thank the friend for treating us for dinner. We actually intended to go clubbing after dinner, but went out of cash. =( So it was just Ximending, where we tried the donuts (they were delicious) and alcohol at hotel.
Day 5.
Decided to sleep late, since there wasn't much to see in the morning. Went to Taipei Main Station to shop at their underground mall. Stole quite a few great deals here, till we went completely broke. Then ate at Ximending before departing for the airport.
Then bad news!!! Flight delay!!! How lucky lor, traveled so many times never once have I experienced a flight delay, and it's SIA some more. So we had to stone at the airport. Some photos that I took while I was bored...
So the 6pm flight only departed at 8.30pm...and then it was home sweet home.
As I said, it was an enjoyable trip. One of the better places I've been. I will definitely go there again, there's still Hualien and Ah Li Shan to visit. Hope to go there after NS (unless there's another place which catches my eye) to shop and to sightsee, but not sure if hz would want to travel with me again. If possible, I would like to travel with jordan and hz; this trip would have been even greater if jor went. haha. Well, there's still 2years before NS ends, so it's really too early to say anything.
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Now that the holidays are over, it's back to reality. I have a room to pack, application essays to write and fitness to build up. Hope everything goes well...Till then.
Day 1.
Took a ferry to Bintan. Seasick...Lucky it was only an hour's ride. We arrived about 4pm (forgot which time)...and suffered from jetlag. You may think it is crazy to suffer from this when Bintan's time is only one hour behind Singapore's, but I'm just lazy to make the switch. We checked into our beautiful resort, and prepared for BBQ...
Now for photos!!!
Beautiful Resort + Ziyang doing star jump. LoL.
The 2 Guards.
Me and Ziyang's room...
Is this paradise?
Can't resist...
Nora, Kwan Ling and Andrea
Where are we pointing towards???
All this has made Ziyang emo. LoL
3 guys doing star jump. HAHA.
Coconut tree.
Isn't that simply wonderful?
OF COURSE!!!Amazingly, the fire for the BBQ was too BIG till we can't get it to die down. Usually it is hard to even get the fire started...all thanks to the wind. Monsoon season...what to do.
Day 2.
Woke up in the morning, with Han Xiao's parents preparing breakfast for us. We played beach volleyball and captain's ball afterwards...Super noob sia. Beach volleyball is tough...
As Singaporeans, how can we forget to shop??? Haha. Bought tons of stuff at Pasar Oleh Oleh. Everything was at 50% off, I guess because there's too few people there. I hope because it's not the peak season, otherwise it will be tough for those people to survive...
6 of us + Han Xiao's mother at Pasar Oleh OlehAfter dinner (which was prepared by HX's parents), we had karaoke for an amazingly low price. Of course the songs are old ones, but still it's value for money.
Day 3.
Wanted to kayak and go for a night tour, but the rained spoiled everything. It's all the monsoon season's fault. Ended up only going for a jungle trek and a massage at Pasar Oleh Oleh at night. The massage was pretty good though; feel really really relaxed.
In the middle of the trek. Fantastic view there. =)Day 4.
Checked out in the morning, and went SHOPPING again lol. Then went back home...Sad thing is I left my jacket there..If everything else could be left there like the jacket...
[more photos next time]
Afterthoughts...
Well although the monsoon season ruined our plans, it was still a good trip. Bintan offers us clean beaches, good hospitality and most importantly, a good place to relax. With that, my aim of the trip is fulfilled.
It became apparent to me that Bintan is a newly developed tourist destination, at least relatively. Many of the resorts there are still expanding, and the facilities are not considered complete. The people living there basically depend on tourism for a living...and I must say I am impressed by their good service. I hope that the low number of tourists there is only seasonal, for it will be difficult to survive with such low number of visitors...
Also, it struck me that we are really lucky to live in Singapore. Education is made available to almost everyone. There, children hang out in the shops all day, not knowing what the world holds for them. Are they going to continue operating their parents' shops when they grow up?
Or are they going to move out of Bintan to seek a brighter future? No one knows.
Despite their living conditions, people there are optimistic. They serve every customer with their best smile, and will help you get anything so long as it is within their means. They sincerely hope that through better service, tourists will return, more tourists will come and subsequently life will be better...
Contrast this to Singapore. People complain about poor service. We do not care whether customers will return or not. We are self-obsessed and selfish, caring only about our own lives...Is that what is supposed to be?
We can only hope that tourism will help the people living there step out of relative poverty and live a better life. To the people living there, continue striving!!!
PS: Sorry for the poor language. Haven't written for quite some time. =(