After 2 years in Kindergarten, 6 years in Primary school, 4 years in Secondary school, 3 years in Polytechnic and 3 1/2 years in University, I have finally completed my course of study after 18 1/2 years! Went to Taiwan with Weiquan (knew him since Polytechnic), Kelvin and Hong Jun for our graduate trip for 7 days 6 nights.

Day 01 (Monday, 7th December 2009)

• China Airlines flight CI0752 departed at 10:30am. There was a delay of about 45 minutes because one of the runway in Changi Airport was closed to allow another airplane to do emergency landing.
• Reached Tao Yuan International Airport Terminal One at about 3.30pm and took the Free Go bus to our Nei Jiang Hotel (內江商旅).
• Free Go bus cost NT$240 for a round trip and hotel cost NT$2380 per night.
• Reached our hotel at about 5.30pm and spend about 1 hour to get the Wireless Router up and running but unfortunately it could not work because the voltage in Taiwan is only 110 volts and we need 230 volts. End up using Windows 7 Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) which is a pain in the ass to set up.
• Dinner was at Modern Toilet (便所主题餐厅) located in Ximending (西門町).
• After dinner, we walked almost the whole of Ximending (西門町)!
• Facebook Gallery: Taiwan Graduate Trip 2009 Day 01
• Hong Jun’s Blog: Day 1

Day 02 (Tuesday, 8th December 2009)

• Breakfast was at Ay Chung Mian Xian (阿宗面线) also located in Ximending (西門町).
• Went to Guang Hua Digital Plaza (光華數位新天地) which is like the Sim Lim Square of Singapore.
• Lunch was at Mr.J Restaurant (Mr.J義法廚房).
• Went to Taipei 101 and went up the Sky Observatory.
• After Taipei 101, went to walk around New York New York (纽约纽约) and Shin Kong Mitsukoshi (星光三越).
• Dinner was at Ding Tai Fung (鼎泰丰).
• After dinner went to Shida Night Market (师大夜市).
• Facebook Gallery: Taiwan Graduate Trip 2009 Day 02
• Hong Jun’s Blog: Day 2

Day 03 (Wednesday, 9th December 2009)

• Went to Xin Beitou (新北投)’s 水都温泉馆.
• Had lunch at 满来温泉拉面.
• Went to Dan Shui Old Street (淡水老街) to buy some metal eggs (鐵蛋).
• Had dinner at Shilin Night Market (士林夜市).
• Facebook Gallery: Taiwan Graduate Trip 2009 Day 03
• Hong Jun’s Blog: Day 3

Day 04 (Thursday, 10th December 2009)

• Had breakfast at McDonald’s. The McDonald’s breakfast there is half the price of Singapore!
• Took the Taiwan High Speed Rail (台灣高鐵) to Taichung (台中).
• Went to our Minsu (民宿) called Tomato Rooms which is located near Feng Jia (逢甲).
• After depositing our bags there, we went to Yi Zhong Street (一中街) to do some shopping as Feng Chia Night Market (逢甲夜市) only open after 6pm.
• Had dinner at Feng Chia Night Market (逢甲夜市).
• Facebook Gallery: Taiwan Graduate Trip 2009 Day 04
• Hong Jun’s Blog: Day 4

Day 05 (Friday,11th December 2009)

• Had breakfast at 小品屋 which is provided by the Minsu (民宿), we top-up some money for a better meal.
• Took the Taiwan High Speed Rail (台灣高鐵) back to Taipei (台北).
• Had lunch at Fei Tian Mala Huo Guo (飞天麻辣火锅). The buffet includes free-flow Haagen Dazs Ice Cream!
• Went to Wufenpu (五分埔) to take a look at clothes.
• Went to Rao He Street Night Market (饶河夜市) after that.
• Facebook Gallery: Taiwan Graduate Trip 2009 Day 05
• Hong Jun’s Blog: Day 5

Day 06 (Saturday, 12th December 2009)

• Took the Taiwan Railway (台鐵) to Ruifang Station (瑞芳).
• Went to Jiufen (九份) to get some snacks to bring back to Singapore.
• Went to Carrefour to get 满汉大餐 – 麻辣锅牛肉面 to bring back to Singapore as well. Love the instant noodles there!
• Went to Luxy but unfortunately there is some private event there and we ended back up in Ximending (西門町) and we caught a movie, Law Bidding Citizen.
• Law Bidding Citizen is good! Quite similar style to Prison Break.
• Facebook Gallery: Taiwan Graduate Trip 2009 Day 06
• Hong Jun’s Blog: Day 6

Day 07 (Sunday, 13th December 2009)

• Last breakfast in Taiwan at Ay Chung Mian Xian (阿宗面线).
• Had some drinks at Cafe 85 °C (85度C).
• Took the Free Go bus back to Tao Yuan International Airport Terminal One.
• China Airlines flight CI0751 reached Singapore at about 8:45pm.
• Facebook Gallery: Taiwan Graduate Trip 2009 Day 07
• Hong Jun’s Blog: Day 7

Took my last exams paper in NUS last Thursday on 3rd December 2009. It was an evening paper so it lasted from 5pm till 7pm. So technically I have graduated, but I can only double confirm it when my results are out on the 22nd December 2009.

Looking back last year on the 14th December 2008, I was also going to Taiwan.

This will be my second visit to Taiwan, this trip should be focusing a lot on food. I will be going with my NUS classmates whom I knew since year 1, shout out to Weiquan (knew him since Polytechnic), Kelvin and Hong Jun.

My flight, CI0752, will depart on the 7th December 2009 at 10:30am and I will be coming back via the flight, CI0751, on the 13th December 2009, reaching Singapore at 8:45pm.

I will be going with Li Xiang on a seperate trip to Hong Kong on the 19th to 27th December 2009.

Went to Desaru for a 2 days 1 night trip with my family (6 of us) on Saturday. It is SGD$178 per pax. It is organized by the Ngan/Gan Clan Association (my mom’s surname is Ngan). We gathered at the association at 7am early in the morning. There are 27 people in the tour group including the 6 of us, majority are aunties and uncles. Surprising with them around, the bus left at about 7.12am which is pretty punctual. I would think that if the group contains mostly teenagers, it would probably left at 7.30am instead.

There is not much jam on the causeway this time round. This is also the first time I used the new checkpoint in Johor Bahru since it opens its door on 16th December 2008.

Day 1
Breakfast was a Tim Sum breakfast at Restoran Chaw Yuan. Food was not bad especially the Chee Cheong Fun and the chicken congee.

Next we are brought to Yong Sheng Food Gift Shop. Some of the food gifts has pretty interesting and nice packaging especially for wedding or baby first year birthday.

After the food gift shop, we are brought to a temple and there are lots of dogs there!

Lunch was at Restoran Sungai Emas where they are famous for their baby lobster, I find it just average. There was a nearby shop called Se Yuan Bakery where they sell pineapple pastries freshly bake from the oven. Taste pretty good as they are fresh and piping hot, but once it is cooled, I wonder will it taste as nice.

We make a brief stop at some Herbal Garden mini plantation where Li Xiang took plenty of pictures as it was pretty relevant to her Final Year Project (FYP).

The next stop was Desaru Fruit Farm. It was pretty interesting to see the trees of the fruits and how they are grow as you can’t find it in anywhere in Singapore besides the Zoo where is nothing compared to there. There is even a mini zoo inside the farm. After about 30 minutes around the fruit farm, we are brought to a “lecture room” where they wanted to sell Honey to us, similar to what they did in Taiwan. This honey comes from the bees which are used to pollinate the fruits, these bees are reared by the farm. After the boring lecture, we have our fruits buffet. Very disappointing, they taste plain and even the durians are disappointing. I am guessing those good fruits are being exported and what is left behind are those “normal” ones.

Finally after the fruit farm, we can finally checked into the Hotel, our hotel is called, The Pulai Desaru Beach. Upon arriving at the hotel, the first impression it gives me was it looks pretty ok. After walking around the hotel, some parts of it looks pretty run down. Even for my room, I have to use keys! Apparently they did not finished installing the card reader for all their rooms yet or they don’t intend to do it.

After we checked in to our hotel, we got 30 minutes to put our stuff and gather with the rest of the group to see Fireflies! The Fireflies Trip was the most interesting part of the tour and I like it the most, a boat will take us into the swap and move around it for 45 minutes! Saw lots and lots of Fireflies, it was my first time seeing Fireflies! I heard from Li Xiang say Fireflies have very short lifespan.

Dinner was at Restoran New Mui Tou, food was average. We also give Humin a birthday cake surprise as that day was her actual birthday!

We reached the hotel about 11pm as the Firefly location is quite far away from the hotel.

Day 2
Woke up at about 6.30am and we took a stroll around the hotel. The beach is very disappointing, it was dirty that I would not even want to take out my slippers and step on the sand. Met up with my parents, my brother and Huimin for breakfast at the Hotel. Food was also average, the nasi lemak was slightly better.

Checked out of the hotel at 10.15am and we went to the Ostrich Farm at Telok Ramunia. The tour guide was telling us that it is owned by a retired Singaporean pilot. I think the Ostrich Farm visit was pretty interesting, I have not seen so many Ostriches before. Ostriches are so cute and look so innocent. Ostrich’s egg are so hard that mother Ostriches need to break the shell for them, if not they will die inside the shell. After the tour around the farm, there was Ostrich meat prepared for us but Li Xiang and I refuse to eat it.

Lunch was at Restoran Makanan Laut and after lunch we are brought to a shop which sells salted fish!

Next stop was a durian fest at one of the durians wholesale center, durains there are much better than the Desaru Fruit Farm, but still, I think the better ones are exported out of Malaysia.

Finally some civilization! We are brought to Jusco at Tebrau City. We are only given 95 minutes there. We did a quick window shopping around the mall before settling for an early but light dinner at Old Town. The Old Town there taste better than Singapore’s one and of course it cost only half the price. We did not really shop within Jusco as I think it should look pretty much the same as any hypermarket in Singapore. We left there about 6pm.

Dinner was at Senibong Seafood Village, food was also average but the view is fantastic, overlooking Singapore.

Traffic at the causeway is pretty smooth as well, we got back to Singapore at about 8.30pm.

My Thoughts
I think Desaru is over-hyped, our Sentosa is way better and have much more things to do than Desaru. The only thing I like about this 2 days 1 night trip was the Fireflies Trip and the Ostrich Farm. I also think that the Desaru Fruit Farm is over-hyped as well. If you ask me, save the cash up and go to Redang instead.

Photos
Li Xiang has uploaded the pictures to Facebook, check it out: Desaru Trip – Part 1 and Desaru Trip – Part 2.

I am back from Taiwan! After following the tour from the 15th December 2008 to 21st December 2008, the remaining 12 days (21st December 2008 to 1st January 2009) are on our own free & easy.

Quite lazy to blog everything instead I will make it brief and let the pictures do the talking.

21st December 2008 to the 26th December 2008
We are in Taipei from the 21st December 2008 to the 26th December 2008 and hence we spent the Christmas there.

26th December 2008 to the 29th December 2008
From the 26th December 2008 to the 29th December 2008, we are in Taichung for the Fengjia Night Market (台中逢甲夜市) and on the way to visit my mom’s business partner there. Transportation in Taichung is quite a problem as there is no MRT and we have to take bus, but the problem with Taiwan is that their bus stop sometimes do not look like a bus stop. Luckily Taichung got quite a number of popular mountains as well as the Fengjia Night Market. If not I don’t really see a need to go there.

29th December 2008 to the 31st December 2008
From the 29th December 2008 to the 31st December 2008 we are in Kaohsiung. Transportation in Kaohsiung is much easier as they have MRT there called KMRT, but they are using their own system and hence the Taipei Easy Card is not applicable there. Kaohsiung is not really cold, normally the temperature hovers above 20° Celsius.

31st December 2008 to the 1st January 2009
From the 31st December 2008 to the 1st January 2009 we are in Taoyuan as it is closer to the airport. There is also the 2nd largest countdown in Taiwan after Taipei and we are there to witness it. It was fantastic!

My Summary About Taiwan
It is a difficult task finding public dustbins, public toilets and money changers! Also it seems to me that Taiwanese do not have the habit of helping people to press the “Door Open” button of the lift when people are moving large objects. Communication is a problem to me as my Mandarin is just average. I can speak but it seems that some of the terms we used (we always mixed Malay, English and Mandarin together) is not applicable there. I can’t really read Mandarin characters and most of their menu are in Mandarin and only sometimes there are English “subtitles” to go along with it. Taiwanese are quite poor in English.

I LOVE the weather day, I hardly perspire during my 18 days there but the moment I landed in Singapore, I perspired.

Taiwanese love beef and pork! Other meat types are a little bit more difficult to find there.

Somehow, the taxi drivers there give me a better feeling that they are more honest, friendly and helpful when compared with those taxi drivers in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

The myth that Asus EEE PC are cheaper in Taiwan is a hoax. Singapore is definitely cheaper and if you get it there, the warranty is in Taiwan only. Luxury brands and some most of the “above average priced stuffs” are also cheaper in Singapore than in Taiwan.

Pictures

• Taiwan Trip Free & Easy – Part 1 (Taipei, Taiwan)
• Taiwan Trip Free & Easy – Part 2 (Taipei, Taiwan)
• Taiwan Trip Free & Easy – Part 3 (Taipei, Taiwan)
• Taiwan Trip Free & Easy – Part 4 (Taipei, Taiwan)
• Taiwan Trip Free & Easy – Part 5 (Taipei, Taiwan)
• Taiwan Trip Free & Easy – Part 6 (Taipei, Taiwan)
• Taiwan Trip Free & Easy – Part 7 (Taipei & Taichung, Taiwan)
• Taiwan Trip Free & Easy – Part 8 (Taichung, Taiwan)
• Taiwan Trip Free & Easy – Part 9 (Taichung, Taiwan)
• Taiwan Trip Free & Easy – Part 10 (Taichung, Taiwan)
• Taiwan Trip Free & Easy – Part 11 (Taichung, Taiwan)
• Taiwan Trip Free & Easy – Part 12 (Taichung & Kaohsiung, Taiwan)
• Taiwan Trip Free & Easy – Part 13 (Kaohsiung, Taiwan)
• Taiwan Trip Free & Easy – Part 14 (Kaohsiung, Taiwan)
• Taiwan Trip Free & Easy – Part 15 (Kaohsiung, Taiwan)
• Taiwan Trip Free & Easy – Part 16 (Kaohsiung & Taoyuan, Taiwan)
• Taiwan Trip Free & Easy – Part 17 (Taoyuan, Taiwan)
• Taiwan Trip Free & Easy – Part 18 (Taoyuan, Taiwan & Singapore)

There are are a total of 2 tour groups for this Taiwan Trip. Group A went on the 14th to 20th December 2008 and Group B went on the 15th to 21st December 2008. We belong to Group B.

Day 1 – 15th December 2008 (Monday)
Had breakfast at Changi Airport Terminal 3 and meet up with the tour group at Row 10. Flight SQ878 suppose to depart at 12:25pm but it was delayed till 12:50pm. Plane took off at about 1pm and reached Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (台北中正国际机场) at about 5.15pm. The temperature is about 19 degrees!

The buffet dinner was at 海霸王 and the food kinda suck. That was my first meal in Taiwan!

It is about 2 hours drive from Taoyuan to Taichung. We proceed to Fengjia Night Market (台中逢甲夜市). The tour guide only give us 1 hour to shop there which is definitely not enough!

Checked into Howard Prince Hotel at Taichung at about 11.15pm

Pictures: Taiwan Trip Day #1

Day 2 – 16th December 2008 (Tuesday)
Had breakfast at Howard Prince Hotel. I think it has the best breakfast among all the hotels that we stayed.

We proceed on to Sun Moon Lake (日月潭) at Taichung and on the way we have lunch at Tai-Yi Ecological Education Farm (台一农场). Lunch was average but the ambiance was good. We (Singaporeans) are still not used to the food in Taiwan as we did not even finish half of what is served to us.

We went to Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village (九族文化村) to learn more about Taiwan Aboriginal Heritage and Cultures. This part is damn boring, but opposite the entrance of the village there is this very nice European style garden called European Gardens (歐洲宮廷花園). Due to the limited time, we only manage to take a few photos there.

Checked in at Sun Moon Lake Fenisia Hotel (雲品酒店日月潭) and we stayed there for the remaining part of the day going to Hot Spring and Spa at the hotel. There is even a inbuilt bath tub where the water flows from the hot spring right in your hotel room. The buffet dinner was at the hotel and I am surprise that the ice cream included is Häagen-Dazs. You can even take cans of coke and bottles of Yakult as it is included in the buffer.

This is the BEST hotel we stayed in. Heard it cost SGD$350 per night and it is the 2nd most expensive hotel at Sun Moon Lake area at the moment.

Pictures: Taiwan Trip Day #1 & Day #2
Pictures: Taiwan Trip Day #2

Day 3 – 17th December 2008 (Wednesday)
Breakfast was at the hotel and after that we took a boat ride around Sun Moon Lake and we visited Wen Wu Temple (文武庙). There was some Fa Lun Gong members camping along the stairs along Wen Wu Temple.

We visited 毛王爷之家 where it was like a sales pitch asking us to buy Royal Jelly and Dried Baby Deer grinded into power form, it was said to cure Asthma. Of course we did not buy them as we are totally not interested in it.

Lunch was at 原住民攴厅, it kinda suck.

We visited Chung Tai Chan Monastery (中台禅寺) where we donated NT$180 for good luck. The view was fantastic as it was situated high about the mountains.

Dinner was at the Fenisia Hotel’s ballroom, it was a gala dinner and we played Bingo, the first prize was NT$10,000. The game was really exciting!

Pictures: Taiwan Trip Day #2 & Day #3
Pictures: Taiwan Trip Day #3 (Part I)
Pictures: Taiwan Trip Day #3 (Part II)
Pictures: Taiwan Trip Day #3 (Part III)

Day 4 – 18th December 2008 (Thursday)
Breakfast was at the hotel as well and after breakfast we checked out of Fenisia Hotel.

We went to Taichung Station to take the Taiwan High Speed Rail train to Taipei Train Station.

Lunch was at 顶厨, finally this lunch was something that is more suitable for our taste buds.

We visited Yeliu Stone Park (野柳) to see unique geological features, such as rock formations sculpted by nature, with names that echo their shapes such as Queen’s Head and Fairy Shoe. I kinda like Yeliu, it is windy and the view is excellent!

After that, we wisited Taipei 101 (台北101最高摩天楼). We went up to the Observatory at level 89 as well as the outdoor roof at level 91. The outdoor roof is very windy and freezing cold! The tour guide only give us 1 hour there and we spend the whole hour at the Observatory taking photos and enjoying the view. The lift is amazingly fast, it takes about 40 seconds to go up 81 floors (starts at level 5 and ends at level 89).

We checked in at Taipei Garden Hotel (台北花园酒店) after Taipei 101. The hotel is new and it is near a 24 hours Carrefour! But I hate the hangers the most because you can’t hang in anywhere except the cupboard and the place to put my bath soap is so small! Worst of all, they DO NOT provide free Internet Access. You have to pay NT$300 for a day worth of Internet Access. I managed to tap onto a unsecured wireless network from my room and managed to connect it to the Internet. This is the ONLY hotel that I stayed in that do not provide free Internet Access.

Dinner was free and easy at Shilin Night Market (士林夜市). We tried the famous extra large chicken cutlet (好大大雞排). It was big but the bone was included and that makes up 1/2 of the size. I still prefer the Singapore’s version. Tried the Big Biscuit wrap Small Biscuit (大餅包小餅） but it tastes kinda plan. For dessert we have the banana milk shake and Peanut Snow Ice (花生泡泡冰). The 花生泡泡冰　is fantastic!

After we are back at the hotel. We went to opposite the 24 hours Carrefour to buy instant noodle as Li Xiang was craving for it!

Pictures: Taiwan Trip Day #4 (Part I)
Pictures: Taiwan Trip Day #4 (Part II)
Pictures: Taiwan Trip Day #4 (Part III)

Video: Taiwan Trip Day #4 – Taipei 101 – Going Up to Level 89
Video: Taiwan Trip Day #4 – Taipei 101 – At Level 91
Video: Taiwan Trip Day #4 – Taipei 101 – Going Down to Level 5

Day 5 – 19th December 2008 (Friday)
As usual breakfast was at the hotel. It seems that all the hotel that we stayed served VERY similar food. We got kinda sick of it!

After breakfast went to take a group photo with both Group A and B at 自有廣場 as Group A is leaving to Taoyuan later in the day.

Went to Fisherman’s Wharf (渔人码头) where the place is used in the filming of Meteor Garden. Nothing much to see there in the day.

Proceed on to Tamshui Old Street (淡水老衔) where we bought some Metal Egg (阿婆鉄蛋) to bring back to Singapore.

Lunch was at 五角船板. The food there was unique and I love the ambience and the design of the building. See the photos and you will get what I mean!

After lunch, we went to Pi-Siou Arts Center (天禄艺品中心). It is not really an arts center but a place where you will get to spend money on Feng Shui (風水). I gave my Chinese name and Chinese Zodiac to the master and it predicted some things correctly! I was SHOCKED! It was my first time trying something like this (fortune telling).

He said I am smart, I got money but I will not save it, I am extremely good in one area and I am healthy. Basically what he said are all true! He then asked me to buy a jade pendant to counter the “I will not save” part, but it cost like NT$8999 (SGD$450). I rejected and he was not pushy at all.

Even Li Xiang fortune was also told correctly. He said Li Xiang like to save money and she is not healthy especially around the stomach area (Li Xiang got gastric). I was shocked x2! Of course he asked Li Xiang to buy a different colour jade pendant to counter the “not healthy” part.

We are brought to Ximenting (西门盯) to do some shopping. The things there are not really cheap, in fact some of the stuffs are more expensive than Singapore. There are quite a lot of movie theatres there. Watching movie in Taiwan is really an expensive hobby. It cost like SGD$12 per ticket.

Dinner was at 夏慕尼. It was a Teppanyaki dinner and it is the BEST teppanyaki dinner I have ever eaten! It cost NT$980 (SGD$50) per pax.

After dinner, we went to 五分埔 to do some shopping. There are quite a lot of things there, prices are quite reasonable but you can’t really bargain with them.

Pictures: Taiwan Trip Day #4 (Part IV) & Day #5
Pictures: Taiwan Trip Day #5 (Part II)

Day 6 – 20th December 2008 (Saturday)
After breakfast at the hotel, we proceed on to National Palace Museum (故宫博物院). The museum houses the largest collection of priceless Chinese art pieces collected over many centuries by Chinese emperors and royal families. This part is so boring that I almost fall asleep walking from one exhibit to another!

After the boring part, lunch was at 金品茶楼小笼包. There are so many types of 小笼包. As Li Xiang do not eat pork, I have to eat her share of 小笼包 as well and I practically eat like 12 original flavour 小笼包 alone! The 小笼包 is nice!

We are suppose to go to Wulai (乌来) to see the Wulai Falls (乌来瀑布), but instead we went to 九份 to do some shopping as some of the group members wanted to buy the Pineapple Tarts (鳳梨酥). The view is kinda nice and it is cooling as 九份 is basically at the top of a mountain.

Dinner was at 海霸王, the food is just average only!

After dinner, we proceed on to Taoyuan as it is nearer to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.

Checked in to Holiday Inn Express. The hotel is not bad, kinda small but I like the business decoration within the hotel room. It has a proper desk to place your laptop with a table lamp. There is even an alarm clock plus music player for you to dock your iPod!

Pictures: Taiwan Trip Day #5 (Part III) & Day #6

Day 7 – 21st December 2008 (Sunday)
Breakfast is at the hotel, the cafe area is very small and they didn’t even check to see if I am staying at the hotel. Of course the breakfast variety is very limited as well.

We left together with the tour group to the airport and later on the coach uncle fetch us to Taipei Train Station. We paid him NT$200. A total of 5 of us stayed backed. The remaining 3 alighted at Shilin.

Pictures: Taiwan Trip Day #6 & Day #7

Part 2 of my Taiwan Trip, Free & Easy coming soon!