TAIWAN 2012!
I know, it's a huge jump from where I should actually update on, but I've been missing my Taiwan trip ever so dearly that I just have to update on it while my memory of it is still fresh. LOL! Although I did complain a lot during the trip because I didn't get to shop enough (more on that later), I genuinely enjoyed the time I got to spend with my family (excluding my brothers as they had work to do :( ).
Was really tiring for me, had to fly from Melbourne - Singapore, and after a night's rest, flew from Singapore - Taiwan the very next day. Arrived in Taoyuan International Airport, and our extremely helpful and funny driver picked us up and to the hotel.. Rested for about an hour and off to the night market. Can't really remember the night market's name, but it was good :D
Clothes bought from the night market. OMG! You have no idea HOWWWW cheap and nice it is to shop in Taiwan! I practically wanted to buy the whole shop, if only I could have stayed there longer!! Everyone that goes to Taiwan, what would you think they're gonna do? SHOP!! But my family ended up following a tour =.= and what we ended up doing was spend 3/4 of our trip in the van driving around the whole entire island...yes we did see a lot of amazing scenery but seriously, I wanted to live in the vibrant, bustling city, not some calming, peaceful, beautiful country side. Haha although I did enjoy the scenery.. ok now I'm just contradicting myself....
moving on...
Had the traditional buffet breakfast at the hotel. omg! their buffet I must say, it seriously sucks to the max! like the worst breakfast ever tasted! ughh..anyways, took the bullet train to Taipei. haha a 20minute ride from Taoyuan to Taipei, and what for? not to shop, oh no, to drive around the city to see the sights and on to our next destination, HuaLien
Infront of the bullet train entrance. lol too sunny to smile..
OH! And one thing I noticed in Taiwan is their extremely exciting and interesting 7-Eleven stores. NO kidding! They have like sooooo many things there...
Y U NO HAVE THIS IN MELBOURNE?!
I'm sure if the 7-Eleven stores in Melbourne sold the same things, omg, I'd never go hungry again. lol! But, oh well, Melbourne has 24hours McDonald's.....
Our friendly driver/tour guide for the trip, Mr Lin, drove us to all the tourist-y spots you could find in Taiwan...
This is at the National CKS Memorial Hall
I know I didn't open my eyes in this one, the sun was toooo bright, but I find the colors here super amazing and my DIY DipDye Pink hair looks gorgeouz! LOL! I just totally had to bold that. haha!
Got majorly photobombed by mother-son duo =.=
And this, is at Yehliu Geological Park
It would have been a much nicer place to visit if it weren't burning and hot as hell that day! It's supposed to be a place where rocks naturally formed different shapes that resembles real life things. For example, those rocks behind my mom and I, are supposedly suppose to resemble MUSHROOMS...
Anyways, headed over to Chiufen. I absolutely LOVED this place! So many good foods to eat!
The starting of ChiuFen.
I really thought it was focused properly :( Sorry for the bad photo. But I was trying to capture the inner of the tofu. It was stuffed with tonnes of meat! haha absolutely DELICIOUS!
CUTE LED Lantern thingies with good luck/ auspicious messages written all over it. Mom bought one for me that read something along the lines of "Study go smoothly" LOL!! Obviously having no sense of faith in my studies, had to go and buy this one for me. hahaha! I AM STUDYING MOM!
teehee^^ Just pulled my brother's pose. lol! seriously this name cracked me up. hahaha!
The end of Chiufen. it was seriously long and steep!
If I look fat in all of my photos, well it's basically cause I really am fat and I couldn't be bothered with photshopping myself or any of the pics. TOO MANY TO PS! So yes, all photos are not photoshopped. omg! can die!!
After that, we drove through an entire 5-HOUR DRIVE of mountain-winding-bumpy roads to HuaLien! I honestly was trying to prevent myself from puking! I have rather severe "car-sickness" and the winding roads did not make it any better... Thank goodness I didn't puke in Mr Lin's car! haha! Arrived super late, and super tired, showered and went straight to bed. No pictures at all. I didn't even bother taking photos of the breakfast the next morning because it was just as shitty as well
So took off, after breakfast to the Taroko National Park
The view was awesome! And if you're wondering about the helmet, well it was a safety necessity and mom forced me to wear it. Apparently there had been a few cases where rocks came tumbling down the gorge and injured or even killed a few tourists o.O
Then off to the cutest farm ever called the ReiSuei Farm
where everything is made out of, they say, their own cow's milk. EVERYTHING, like milk ice-cream, milk pudding, milk cheesecake, and like all their drinks are made with that milk. Supposedly, it should taste heavenly divine..To me, it just tasted very mehh..
They had a lovely little Koi Pond nearby too..
After that little stop, we headed to our hotel at Taitung where it's supposed to have hot springs!
I thought it'd be something similar to the one I've been to in Melbourne where the setting's all really resort-like and natural-looking? Ahh, don't even remind me of how sad their "hot spring" was.. I didn't even take pictures of it.. too pathethic. seriously.. But their hotel itself was nice and gorgeous. Oh wait, I do have a picture.. Here it is!
You see that pool at the bottom left corner with like 9 rounded circular things? yea the pool on top of it, THAT'S their hot spring =.= HOW PATHETIC!!
Anyway, we were like in the middle of NOWHERE, the only thing we could do was to utilize their game centre down in level 2...
lol, you would think my Dad would be awesome at this since he's a really good driver and used to race and all, he actually lost to my sister. hahahahaha! He kept blaming the machine. lol! real funny!
Breakfast the next day was actually pretty decent. Atleast it was filling and more varieties! So picture worth taking. LOL! Also I felt I had a really good hairday. wahahahaha :D
oh! FYI, my pink did not fade over the trip.. I bought a blonde hair dye to dye over my entire head to make my top lighter, with my initial plan being to return back to Melbourne and dye my ends pink again.. But i ended dye-ing my ends blue. haha! well, anyways yes I was that free till I could dye my hair in the hotel =.= omg... I could've been out shopping but I was in the hotel dye-ing hair.... KMN!
Amazingly delicious Hakka restaurant called Mei Non Hakka Village.
The food served there was really delicious! Plus they allowed me to use their umbrella as prop for the photo. haha! totally awesome and cool restaurant people..
I was in a dragon's mouth =.=
An absolutely fat shot of me infront of the something something deity..
Forgive me for not knowing who this guy is. If I'm not wrong, he is one of the trio in SanGuo with LiuBei or something something.. I suck in China history :(
Drove, again, all the way to Kaohsiung
Headed over to the Dream Shopping Mall where, if you'd watch Taiwanese dramas before, would be familar with it for being the shopping centre where Rainie Yang and Mike He acts in it. And the infamous Hello Kitty Ferris Wheel!!! I didn't sit on it cuz, well nobody wanted to sit with me :( so just pictures infront of it will do.. Oh and if you're wondering what's up with the different shirts, it's cuz it was TOOO HOT! I had to change to a thinner shirt.. oh and FYI, the DREAM SHOPPING MALL SUX!!! Totally nothing worth buying!!!
Another night market, called the Lee Ho Night Market
That ends day4 in Taiwan..
Have to head back to my assignments now, plus I didn't realize how long this entry would turn out. hahaha! I WILL update this again.. not like how i always leave all my entries unfinished..
anyways, I MISS TAIWAN!!
:'(
