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

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.

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)

The temperature in Taoyuan now is between 10° and 12° celsius. Shiok!

• 2009 will be a big year for me as I will be graduating at the end of this year and hopefully I can find a job and start work in February/March 2010. I will leave January 2010 to be my graduate trip hopefully.
• 2009 will marked my 25th birthday, I am halfway through to being 30.
• 2009 will marked my 5th year together with Li Xiang.
• 2009 will marked the 7th year of lesterchan.net.
• 2009 is the year that my younger brother is going to enlist into National Service for 2 years.
• 2009 is the year that my dad starts retiring.

Wishing all my readers a Happy New Year 2009!

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!

My flight, SQ878, will depart on the 15th December 2008 at 12:25pm and I will be coming back via the flight, SQ877, on the 1st January 2009, reaching Singapore at 6:45pm.

During this period, http://forums.lesterchan.net will be in a read-only mode, meaning you can only search and read topics/replies. Registration of new account, replying to an existing topic and posting a new topic will be DISABLED.

I WILL NOT entertain any WordPress support questions that are sent to me via email during this period as well.

My Taiwan trip is confirmed, departing on the 15th December 2008 (Monday) at 12:25pm on SQ878 and coming back on the 1st January 2009 (Thursday), reaching Singapore at 18:45 on SQ877. My dad asked me to come back the same day as him so that my mom do not need to make 2 trips and so happen that the timing is about the same too. My dad will reach Singapore at about 18:00 on 1st January 2009. We will also be at the same Terminal (Terminal 3) as well as his flight is also SQ (Singapore Airlines).

I have revamp FRRO layout to the previous design as it is brighter and cleaner. The three of us came to a consensus that is is nice and I just port the old design (which is not based on WordPress) to be a WordPress theme within a day.

WordPress 2.7 will be out next week, hopefully I will have the time to release my plugins before I go Taiwan, if not it will be on 2nd January 2009 onwards.

Will be heading down to SITEX 2008 later at 12pm to hoot the Samsung 2233SW 22” widescreen LCD monitor for SGD$239 for Li Xiang. That is really a good buy. It boost a resolution nearly of a 24″ widescreen monitor of 1920 x 1080, an aspect ratio of 16:9 and a 5ms response time. Click here for the full specifications.

I will be leaving to Taiwan on the 14th December 2008 and coming back on the 31st December 2008. The first 6 days 5 nights will be a tour package and after that we will extend free and easy till the 31st December 2008. The flight is by Singapore Airlines (SQ). This will be my 2nd time taking SQ, the last time I took was to KL at least 15 years ago or so.

I think after I come back from Taiwan, my mandarin will definitely be improved!

School
Just ended my first week of school. It is a 4 day week for me where Monday is my off day. Just when I thought I have to take 4 exams for this semester, I was wrong, the new module CS3361 do not have an exam! Our lecturer who is the CTO of IBM Singapore, told us this piece of good news today. So now I have 3 papers to study for and my last date of my examination is 27th November 2008.

Taiwan
I will be going to Taiwan with Li Xiang during December. My mom got 2 free tickets for a 6 days 5 nights trip to Taiwan as she bought 2 lorries for her office and each lorry is entitled to 1 ticket. Li Xiang and I was thinking of extending the trip to about 2 weeks instead of just 6 days so that we can explore more. Hopefully we are able to do it. Keeping my fingers cross.

Wanted to wait till I am in Taiwan before I get the Asus EEE PC, but apparently the price difference is not that great. According to some online site I checked, it is just a different of SGD$50 and the keyboard layout maybe in Chinese and Taiwan has different voltage from Singapore. Since there are so many factors to consider, I think I shall get my netbook in Singapore. Now I am considering between Dell, Lenovo and Asus. Dell and Lenovo will launch their netbook soon.

Comex 2008
Comex 200 will take place on the 28th August 2008 till 31st August 2008 at Suntec City Exhibition Center (entire levels 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6). The opening hours is from 12pm to 9pm.

Thinking of getting the D-Link DNS-323 (2-Bay Network Storage Enclosure) and along with a 1TB Western Digital Harddisk Drive for my home. The DNS-323 is running on Linux and hence I can do a great deal of stuff on it like use it as a Torrenting machine, FTP server and even a Web Server.

Going to get Li Xiang a USB mouse as her mouse gave up on her a few months back.

Apple iPhone 3G
Singtel will be announcing the price plan for Apple iPhone 3G next week before officially releasing it on 22th August 2008. I have gotten all the documents (authorization letter and my mom’s NRIC) ready for me to jump ship from M1 to Singtel. Apparently when doing the true number portability from one operator to another operator, the account name must be the same for both operators. My M1 line is under my mom’s name and hence when I use the true number portability in Singtel, I need to apply under my mom’s name as well and not mine.

The funny thing is that my mom is using my name for her Singtel line as last time when I was in National Service (NS), they offered discounted plans for NSF and hence my mom switch it to under my name.

My M1 plan will end officially on 24th August 2008 and Singtel will launch the iPhone on the 22nd August 2008. This means that I have to sign up an account with Singtel on the 22nd August 2008 as well. I called Singtel to ask whether 2 days does make a difference in the true number portability as technically my plan with M1 have not ended yet and the CSO said it is fine. Woot!

I am using the iPod Touch and I dare to say that no other devices can come close to the iPod Touch/iPhone in terms of web surfing experience.

With the voice and data plan bundled together with the iPhone, I can surf the Internet wherever I go without worrying about the data charges.

Now the only thing we can hope is Singtel don’t disappoint us with the pricing.

Dad Coming Back For 4 Days
My dad is coming back on the 30th August 2008 for 4 days as there is a long weekend in Vietnam during that week and my dad just need to take 1 day of leave. I have already planned on where to bring my dad go eat to make my dad gain back the weight that he lost in Hanoi.

2 weeks ago, I have already book a table at MELT for Lunch on the 31st August 2008.