On a more solemn note...

I guess I’ve always been more of the heartless and cold sort… I never quite had sentimentality for fellow suffering human beings, unless they were really, really old and shriveled and pathetic looking and bullied. Only that would twang one of my weaker heartstrings. I only felt for the plight of animals; animals being tortured, being used, being abused and being degraded beyond their worth and having no home to return to because of us humans. Only that would really make my cringe and blur my vision and make me hold a little less hope in my hands for the world.

That’s why I need people like her around me. She influences me to feel for fellow human beings and feel their plight just like the way I feel for sad, helpless little animals, because those humans sometimes are really just like sad, helpless little animals. They are too weak and pathetic to harm nature or hurt animals so I really shouldn’t have anything against them. I need to learn sympathy for these people, because they need the sympathy of their fellow beings in order to survive. That’s how we live, it’s not the survival of the fittest, but the survival of those who stand together and help one another, now that the world has resources that are so unevenly distributed.

Human beings often disappoint me, but I guess it is in human nature to be disappointing. Because I see this less in animals, I feel they are more helpless and they can’t even do wrong so they really, really need people’s empathy. But humans, I feel like humans know, yet they still do all the disappointing and hurtful things to fellow human beings. Maybe I can begin to understand that those who can feel sympathy for certain human beings are forgiving, or do not consider the bad side of people, but simply, recognise the side they see now, the sad and sorry state before them, and they want to help.

It’s okay. I will begin to learn sympathy for humans. Because I am living among them and they are so plentiful it really is quite unavoidable in a country like mine. Also, I am a human myself. If I begin to sympathize with other humans, maybe I will finally begin to accept myself and my own short-comings and life will be much more pleasant for everyone around me.

Well, almost time for dinner and I’m starved.

Loots: Clothings from Shinkuchan/Rui Feng Night Market/Taipei Main Station Underground {Taiwan}

Hey Susan! Look I'm posting pics of some of the stuff I bought like you asked me to XD Some of the stuff is still in the wash n others given away so this certainly isn't all. how is it possible that I bought so little right!

First Pic: Some of NT100 clothing from Shinkuchan - skirt, top, skater dress. I also bought 3 T-shirts, 1 crop top and 1 guy's polo shirt and I forgot what 2 other items I got from here :X all NT100!!

Second Pic: Black shorts {NT150}, beige skirt{NT100} and Coral Skirt{NT190} from Taipei Main Station underground shopping area. Coral shorts from Rui Feng night market {NT 390} cuz the cutting is spot on and the colour is just too irresistible.

Loots: Guang Nan Stationery Shop

Just some things I bought from the guang nan stationery shop in Kaohsiung (where I spent a hundred dollars). Stickers were priced mostly at NT12 and the most expensive one (Alice in Wonderland) was NT57.

Notebooks and paper pads all around S$1.50-2? Everything was just really really cheap! I bought 50+ items in total so on average each item was only $2. The most expensive item I got was a $13 musical box I bought as a gift.

Taiwan Day 4/5 - Kaohsiung

After taking the taxi down from Alishan, we hopped onto the HSR once again to Kaohsiung, which was about an hour's ride from Chiayi. Okay, so this part of the trip starts to get fuzzy as I didn't record down anything at all during the trip >< lazy me...

Anyway, our hostel was found at Sanduo Shopping district station and was a short walk away. Susan's {and now also my} favourite stationery shop, Guang Nan Stationery shop was just a 2minute walk from our hostel {yipee!} and I couldn't wait to explore it. But that was an adventure for the next day. It was already quite late by the time we reached Kaohsiung too.

Here is our backpackers hostel. We chose this hostel because it had really cute decoration and we thought it would be really cosy. However, it was rather more strict and uncomfortable than we expected. There were plenty of rules such as strictly no eating in rooms and lights out at 11pm, and we certainly weren't quite willing to adhere to such rules especially when you're on a journey and your stomach can start rumbling anytime and who wants to sleep at 11pm anyway! There were no locks on any of the room doors either but there were lockers provided to put your more precious belongings. The worst part? There was a bathroom attached to our shared dorm but we weren't allowed to use it for bathing, only for the plainest of toilet-going. What! Why can't we use the shower when it's there, I just don't understand. Instead, we had to go to the 2nd or 5th storey to share showers with the other people in the whole hostel. {We were on the fourth floor}Our dorm was a 6 bed dorm and we had 2 other girls join us later in the day. They were nice people so it made the stay much happier. The old auntie guarding the hostel interrogated poor Susan so thoroughly when we were leaving to go out and it was quite annoying to say the least. I certainly wouldn't advise anyone to stay here, much less stay here myself again.

Anyway, on to more pleasant experiences!

1st stop: Lian Chi Tan 莲池潭

- Alight at Zuoying station from Sanduo Shopping District Station. Take bus to lake.

So this is the place with the stunning pagodas and I think we got there at such an awesomely spot on timing that after we finished exploring, we were not only rewarded with a display of fireworks at the temple opposite the lake, but also a gleaming sunset that reflected golden sheens onto the buildings in the distance. What a sight it was... 

Edit: I was the only one with energy to climb the pagoda so climb I did and what a worthy climb it was...

Sunset coating the buildings with a golden sheen.

A further walk down the lake.

I would certainly recommend coming here near evening time. Not only is it more bearable to the body in terms of the elements, but you get treated to a most splendid view of the pagodas basking in the glow of the end of another magical day.

2nd stop: Liouhe Tourist Night Market 六合夜市

- Alight at Formosa Boulevard Station from Sanduo Shopping District Station

I think only the MRT station is worthy of a picture because as Susan had warned us in advance, the night market itself would not be a very pleasant experience. Sure, the food was tasty, but the people were downright nasty! I mean, they have a grudge against China but it just boiled down to having a grudge against all tourists that were Chinese, regardless where in the world you came from. They automatically assumed you were from China and gave you the fiery eyeballs and looked so smelly to be getting business from you. Honestly folks, you just gotta treat people right you know? Anyway, we experienced getting our food thrown down onto the table because we did not order like 4 portions when there were 4 of us, because obviously you come to a night market to share and try various kinds of food right. We were denied full sitting because we did not order full portions {only 2 of us were allowed to sit}and their faces were blacker than batman's suit when the pair standing took munches from the pair sitting down.

Tasty food, but a pity, nasty shop owners.

Anyway, once is enough to get a taste of nasty night market to contrast what is a good night market. And we did visit a good night market the following night. 

3rd Stop: Carrefour 

Lol. Yes we made a deliberate stop at Carrefour that very night because we left the night market so early {I think within 15minutes we were on our way because it was so terrible.} and anyway it was about time that Marmee Noodles and I found our sharing luggage for checking in our stuff for the flight back. We managed to find a medium sized luggage for ~S$45 and Chair also bought mountains of instant noodles to bring home. We took a cab back and the driver was nice and patient with us although we didn't know the exact address of our hostel. Made it back safely with our truckloads of stuff and crashed for the night.

Day 5 

1st stop - Guang Nan Stationery Shop

- Walk from hostel

This is where I spent so much I didn't even bother to take a photo! I spent like S$100 on stationery inclusive of notebooks, stickers, files, pens, goodness knows what else I bought but I realllyyy held back and still ended up with a huge hole in my pocket. Dam.

2nd stop - Dream Mall 夢時代

- Take KRT to Kaisyuan Station then shuttle bus to Dream Mall

Lucky, lucky us! We were able to see both types of buses while waiting for our turn to go up the shuttle bus. Open is the good character and Lock is the antagonist and they are the Taiwan 7-11 mascots! 7-11 is really big here in Taiwan and that's no surprise considering how much more considerate they are of people's need for cheap and instant food. It is certainly not to be compared with Singapore's 7-11 where everything is overpriced and you usually step in it as a last resort. In Taiwan, breakfast is just a 7-11 away and you never have to go on a hungry stomach because you can get a whole lot of wholesome stuff for just S$1 in the stores. We had plenty times of breakfast in 7-11 throughout our trip and it really served well on our stomachs and pockets.

We went to Daiso and Sophisca mainly, although this is the second biggest mall in Asia, because our pockets didn't allow us to explore any further. Sophisca is a sweets and gifts franchise that you can find scattered around Taiwan and the packaging of everything is really cute! They really make perfect gifts and I just wish I could have bought every single cutely packaged item...

Of course, the main goal of the trip was to eat at the Magical Open kitchen! Although the prices were pretty steep {came up to about S$20 a person} we just had to eat here. The whole shop is decorated in such lively colours and there are giant soft toys that you can play or take photos with randomly sitting in the shop. The main point of eating here was to take photos haha, because the food was only so-so.

After lunch, we visited the basement of the mall for the pet shop. CUDDLY CUTE BUNNIES FOR ONLY S$25, makes me wanna cry really. And a Peter Rabbit merchandise store!! Had to resist greatly!! Marmee Noodles got all excited about it and did most of the buying here! Who doesn't have a soft spot for Peter Rabbit, I arsk you la. It took great resistance to peel away from such classical cuteness okay.

When we were queueing for the shuttle bus to leave the mall, Susan got really excited about the Door Boy. I shall call him that because I have no idea what's the proper name for it. He simply stands at the door and bows as the bus leaves. It was really funny cuz she couldn't quite hold in her emotions and Chair and I were spamming pictures of the fellow for her XD.

3rd stop: Rui Feng Night Market

- Alight at Kaohsiung Arena Station

 Piggies get the big picture because they were oh so tasty. Must try okay!!

So this night market was the HUGE contrast to the previous day's, where the store owners actually treated you like people and all's fair and square.

 Did not quite like this as I'm not into gula melaka!

 LOVED this chicken on a stick thing! Sooo crispy was the skin of the chicken I would fly back just to eat this.

 Cute socks

Spot the living things.

It was crowded like flies on a banana so we had a really hard time getting through the whole thing, but I was just so hyped up about it that I pushed through from lane 1-5 until the others really wanted to get out of the heat. So we left and along the way....

MY DREAM FOR THE TRIP CAME TRUE!! 

It was soooo crazy difficult to find a gong cha along the whole trip and we actually found one without even looking for it! Really a treat for the last night here in Taiwan!!! So I got a cup and it was only S$1.50. Tasted the same as Singapore's but the cup was like twice as large and price is like half. I was so happy at this point I was ready for anything Anything!!

So we pranced off to our last destination of the day...

Last stop: Shinkuchan!

Again, all I did here was shopping so no photos to show except maybe pictures of what I bought. Susan specially brought me to a shop where everything was dirt cheap and I got 10 pieces of decent clothing for just S$50. I literally spent all my last pennies here. Man, this is another place to fly back for!!! I will be bacckkk Shinkuchan!!!

Day 6 - Last Day

The last day was simple. We checked out, took a taxi to wherever it was that we went {I forgot ><} and made our way back to Taoyuan Airport... and home sweet home it was. 

Taiwan Day 3/4 - Alishan

The next morning we left our hostel really early to catch the 7:36am HSR train from Taipei to Chiayi. Grabbed breakfast from 7-11 and hopped onto the train for a short 1.5 hour ride. From the HSR station, there was a shuttle bus that dropped us right opposite the tour shop where we had booked our taxi from. Yes, we decided to book a taxi to go up Alishan because Susan and I had such a terrible time with the transportation planning, this made it all a lot easier. Anyway it was only about S$30 per person for the entire ride up and down.

The taxi driver was really friendly! He recommended us Turkey Rice for lunch and it was like chicken rice levelled up. For just NT50 you get 3 side dishes {one thrown in complimentary by the auntie just because she thought it was yums!} and glutinous rice bursting with flavour buried in a mountain of succulent and juicy turkey meat. Never thought turkey could be tender? Well me neither till I tried this!

The driver then brought us to Heaven{above} and Earth{above above} bridge. We didn't get to go on the Heaven Bridge though cuz you might really go to heaven if you try to walk on it. The Earth Bridge is much like the HSBC suspension bridge in Bukit Timah Hill.

View from Earth Bridge

Along the way we also stopped by Fen Qi Hu, a cute little village which housed part of a movie setting as well as a retired railway. The roads here were really steep so it was a good time for some calorie burning.

Random sights in Fen Qi Hu.

Abandoned rail. Photo credit: Chair

Finally, it was off to Alishan itself. We booked a Japanese style room which was wonderfully decorated and all pretty and cosy, just perfect for four of us girls. Booked it from http://wanguo.mmmtravel.com.tw/?ptype=info at $37.50 per person.

Our room! The flooring is heated {or the mattresses forgot which}, but I didn't really feel it. Still freezing!

Alishan's air was crisp and cold, but the workout walking about the mountain was enough to keep up a heat within the self. We were lucky it didn't rain throughout our trail because there had been a typhoon just 2 weeks before our arrival and the whole of Alishan was closed because of it. 

The following photos will represent a fraction of the mystery and beauty of Alishan's strange trees and foggy forests.

And of course, the much anticipated strange tree which Susan and I had so looked forward to meeting before we began the trip! We had seen it on other websites and were slightly afraid we might take the wrong path and fail to find this magnificent product of nature. You can actually go right inside the tree and walk all around it! 

The whole experience was really rewarding and really easy to walk because the signs everywhere were clear enough so you would know right where you were [except at some parts where we were uncertain simply because we doubted ourselves]. The last part of our journey involved a trek past 20 odd forest giants and this was a killer trek. Uphill all the way and foggy mist shrouding our path, it did get quite scary at some point. But we made it out finally, and burst back out into the pathway near the Shen Mu, and then it was a long, long way back again to the entrance of the park.

The endless stairs...

We took comfort in dinner, which was HOTPOT! again! Hotpot is absolutely delightful in the cold of the mountain air and the dishes that came with it were more than we could ask for. We simply pranced into the first restaurant we saw after exiting the trail because we were THAT in need of a break after the walk.

To-die-for chicken.

Next Morning - Sunrise

We woke up at 3:30am to catch the train at 4.20am to the Sunrise viewing point. The sun was set to rise at 5:20am that morning. I had breakfast which I bought from 7-11 the previous day {yes! There is 7-11 on Alishan! Just gotta love 7-11 in Taiwan.}It was freezing, at 16 degrees, but the excitement kept us warm and awake as we rumbled through the darkness towards the sight that would give us the warmth of everyday. 

Alishan Forest Rail

You couldn't really see a clear cut emergence of the sun from the horizon because it was so cloudy and the mountains were in the way, but it was a sight to behold nonetheless. There were also some vendors at the sunrise point so we could have hot soup or toast while waiting for the spectacle to happen. And have it we did, it was a great comfort in the freezing morning air! 

After sunrise, we had a mini buffet breakfast at a restaurant using a complimentary coupon that came together with the hotel booking.

Name of the restaurant was JiuJiuJiu.

Goodbye Alishan!

After breakfast it was just last minute exploring and waiting for the taxi to bring us back down the mountain. 

The verdict, certainly a place worth going at least once in your life. I think we didn't cover the entire trail, but we had seen enough to fulfil our expectations far and beyond and every moment here was a moment of sparkles and fairy dust. Couldn't ask for much more.

Taiwan Day 2 - Still in Taipei

Day 2 was a sight-seeing day comprised of cultural places and scenic landscapes {can never get enough of those}!

Breakfast - Traditional Breakfast as recommended by Susan

Breakfast place was a walk away from our hostel, behind Kmall {where we also dropped by Daiso!}. It was a simple, but lovely and fulfilling breakfast. I had a chicken sandwich, which is not pictured here, and somehow their sandwiches are like the kind you feel like you can't just wrap them up yourself at home. They add some magic dust to it I swear.

Edit: I do have a picture of my sandwich afterall! Phew!

1st stop - Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall 國立國父紀念館
- Alight Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall Station from Taipei Main Station

We came here to watch the guard changing procession that happens twice a day. Pretty eye opening, watching them stomping their feet and applying their guns to the ground with much force and vigour. It's the kind of thing that you see once and it leaves an impression because everything is just so controlled and precise, it's scary. Gotta give it to the guards, standing in the same position for heavens knows how many hours {or you, if you bother finding out}, bet they really look forward to the procession cuz it's a rare chance for them to stretch out their limbs.

Go watch it for yourself I say! Pictures will do nothing to represent the intricacies of the march.

2nd stop - Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall 中正纪念馆
 - Alight Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall Station from Taipei Main Station

I've already posted a pretty spectacular picture of said memorial hall to open this post so here instead, is the National Concert Hall found on the left side of the memorial square grounds, facing the memorial hall. (Opposite would be the National Theatre but they really look quite the same so I didn't take a picture of it) The sun was excruciatingly bright that day, with hardly any cloud cover, and it was impossible to walk around without either an umbrella or shades. And if you walked around with just shades you still risked getting a good toasting on the shoulders.

Lucky us, we were treated to a surprise performance by a school band practising around the premises, as also can be seen from the opening picture. Certainly added to the grandeur of it all.

We spent only about an hour or so here, and only because we were waiting for Chair to meet us from her bakery rendezvous. Any longer and we would surely have been fried like eggs on a car hood on such a blistering day.

3rd stop - Fisherman's Wharf 淡水漁人碼頭

 - Alight at Dansui Station from Taipei Main Station (Last stop!) Take bus red-26 to last stop

Sometimes I can't believe these are my own pictures. Anyway, a place meant for lovers is a place where lovers are meant to be because truly, this place was lined from East to West with lovers of all ages and shapes and sizes, and certainly with the right atmosphere for lovers to love free. Just look at that landscape! 

We came here for the sunset and the sky was just magnificently cloudless and the wind was just mercifully soft on our backs already scalded from the heat of the rest of the day. The only thing that the group of us lacked was lovers by our sides lol. But how gloriously wonderful was that sunset, don't think I've ever watched such a clean sunset, the sun being sucked down into a slit square upon the horizon and then vanishing and all darkness pursues. Okay, so it wasn't that dramatic but it certainly felt like it as I watched the day dissolve away.

And of course, if you have your partner beside you, this is a great photo opportunity. Otherwise, it still makes good scenery!

4th stop - Old Street at Tamsui 淡水老街
 - Just behind Tamsui Station

Guava pic credits Chair

Heh, again, the focus... food!! Tamsui Old Street was like a night market place again and we had hotpot here! The hotpot shop is right at the end of the street opposite a cute little bear shop. 

Left photo credit: Chair

The drinks and desserts were decidedly strange though, so we barely touched them. At this point Susan was at the height of her sore throat so she was spared from these weird tasting foods!

Reasonably priced at NT498 for 4 people, inclusive of 1 hotpot, 2 set meals and 4 different desserts. T'was alright considering we were already stuffed from the earlier food trail. 


We also got a $2 giant carrier bag to put all our nonsense that we had bought over the past... 2 days {What! Running out of luggage space already??} and I think this had to be the best deal on the entire trip! $2 for a huge carrying bag! Should have bought like 10. Also got my bunny bag from here. Saw it at Bugis Street for $35! Was so tempted to get it that time but I'm glad I didn't cuz i got it for S$20 here muahahha.

Bunny bag with the next morning's 7-11 breakfast

5th Stop - Really?? Another stop?? Taipei Main Station


Okay, maybe this doesn't count as an actual stop but we still had time in the night so we decided to shop here for a bit! Very cheap clothing found here ranging from S$5- I don't know how much. But starting at $5 is good right? I bought 4 bottoms and 1 top which I gave away as a present.


And this ends the second day of the Taiwan experience and is also our last day in Taipei!