day 1 - Singapore-Taoyuan airport-Jiantan 剑潭 -Shilin 士林
day started like any other saturda
wake up, have breakfast, come home and mummy "forced' me to mop floor -_-
wake up, have breakfast, come home and mummy "forced' me to mop floor -_-
then, head down to airport
FINALLY! going to TAIWAN!! WOOHOO!!
And (although everyone tells me it's really no big deal, i still wanna say it)
we were departing from Terminal 3 - first time in the newly opened terminal, must take pics la!
we were departing from Terminal 3 - first time in the newly opened terminal, must take pics la!
mummy keeps saying she is a backpacker....
although she is only 'backpacking' 1 out of 4 backpacks -_-
anyway, i think terminal 3 is beautiful. i like how they used alot of natural lighting.
and the huge open space as the check-in counters makes the place less claustrophoic..
Changi Airport never fail to impress me :D
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4h10mins later
we arrived in Taoyuan International Airport
4h10mins later
we arrived in Taoyuan International Airport
somehow forgot to take pics of the airport...except these ones
taiwan is alot 'greener' and 'green'-conscious
after SARS, hand-washing is of vital importance in Taiwan: even social handwash has a standard 5-steps
took the skytrain to fetch Dinnie from terminal 1
unfortunately YQ and i were not very used to the system
(or rather, we've never been on it before)
so we tried to get off the sky train on the wrong side
only to be corrected by an airport personell (though he said it rather gruffly)
and that was our first moment of silliness on this trip
(completed with a bout of giggles from both of us -_-)
met up with Dinnie
then onto the airport bus to go to Taipei 台北
the airport bus was nothing great, but got very strong petrol/diesel smell
the airport bus was nothing great, but got very strong petrol/diesel smell
along the way we saw alot of 槟榔 stalls, but no 西施.
probably cos it's kinda cold so they are hiding inside the shop *shrug*
then we changed to taking the MRT
Taipei MRT single-trip tickets is alot 'groovier' than sg. u tap to enter, then slot the token into the machine on exit :D
mummy looks excited about taking the MRT
happy singaporeans/malaysians taking their 1st ride on the taipei MRT
it was a 10min walk from MRT station our accoms
accoms#1 in jiantan 剑潭. there're actually 6 beds in this room
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after a very brief rest, we head down to shilin 士林 for our dinner/supper
shilin is this famous place/nightmarket with lotsa good taiwanese food
臭豆腐，蚵仔煎，大肠包小肠，蚵仔面线，七里香，管材板，超大鸡排 etc etc etc etc
臭豆腐，蚵仔煎，大肠包小肠，蚵仔面线，七里香，管材板，超大鸡排 etc etc etc etc
mummy waiting for our orders: 七里香，大肠包小肠
each stall sells many different things, but there are a few which only specialises in a few dishes
if i'm not wrong,
if i'm not wrong,
shilin used to be a huge open-air nightmarket with food and many other stalls, including games, clothes accessories, pets etc etc etc etc
game stalls: pretty much the same kind in the funfairs in sg
one of the 'etc': ear candling...or should i say, mass ear-candling
but for certain reasons (i guess hygiene being one of them), most of the food stalls are now housed in a building
food galore! come here with an empty stomach!
so, for food, we head to the sheltered one
but the smell of 臭豆腐 trapped in a building, mixing with smells of other food...
that kinda killed my appetite a little bit (just a teeny weensy bit)
some other stalls continue to be open-air, combined with sheltered stalls (e.g. pet shops)
SO CUTE! there's a indoor 'street' where pet shops congregate, selling all kinds of pets. Dogs being the most popular, and for this year, hamsters too!
but there are still some yummy food stalls in the open-air part too...
cut fresh fruits: fresh probably cos it's winter/spring. come summer, i am not too sure about the freshness...and flies...
from their looks, i guess u can safely say the fruist were indeed fresh
BUT, no matter sheltered or open-air, it's SUPER CROWDED on a weekend
feels like Chinatown during CNY...minus the heat and humidity
we squeezed our way in, got stuck somewhere in between, and came out empty handed.
we squeezed our way in, got stuck somewhere in between, and came out empty handed.
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after filling our stomachs,
i went with a very empty stomach
and getting squeezed left, right and center in the crowd
we went back to our accoms, tired and stomachs satisfied :D
and everyone pretty much konked out after showering...
i'm not sure how many of us had sweet dreams that night...
i sure did...despite the cold and lack of heating....
little did i know what would be installed for us the next day........
to be continued
