Taipei Trip 2013

Hi everyone! I’m back with a lengthy update! We just got back from our 2-weeks holiday a few days ago. I managed to squeeze in some time in editing some photos for this blog post so *pats my own back* , “Thanks Jess for the effort and time that you put in for this update!”, haha!

So, Mr S and I joined my family and relatives for this 6 days trip to Taipei, Taiwan (there were 13 of us!!!). We then headed back to our hometown, Miri for a couple more days since it’s been 3 years since Mr S last went home! Poor dude. He missed all our local food and delicacies dearly!

On the first day of our holiday, Mr S and I flew to Kota Kinabalu via Kuala Lumpur. We reached KK at around 9:35pm. It was about 10pm when we reached the hotel motel to meet up with the rest of my family. We were both knackered and couldn’t wait to check in and have a good night’s rest before the early flight to Taipei the next morning.

But guess what Miss Bimbo did?

I accidentally left one of our hand-carry luggage in the cab!!! Ahhhhh…… The nightmare! Mr S was so frustrated and I could almost see him fuming with anger whilst I explained to my mum that I was too tired to remember. Sigh, I’m always full of excuses… 😦

Mr S then proceeded to search for the cab driver back at the airport with one of the staff members of the hotel motel. THANK GOD he found the cab driver! Kudos to Mr S for always being so good at saving the day, hahaha! The cab driver wasn’t even at the airport but at a shop nearby the airport and Mr S actually spotted his cab. Geez I couldn’t even remember the car plate number of the cab alright? Mr S… ♥ ♥

We reached Taipei safely the next morning! We were all filled with excitement and curiosity as we didn’t know what to expect. We were all expecting the weather to be a little chilly though, since it’s winter after all. But how wrong we were! It was actually scorching hot when we stepped out of the airport and everyone started taking off their scarves and outer jackets, haha!

The first thing we did after landing was EAT. I’m not even gonna bother posting photos of the food we ate throughout the entire trip because they were soooo many. I didn’t bother taking them as well because I was busy EATING rather than taking photos when it comes to food, haha! My sister was super persistent though in taking food pics. I browsed through the stack of photos we took throughout the trip and she basically had photos of every dish that we had!

We then dropped off our luggage at the hotel. We couldn’t check in until 4pm so we decided to first “check the city out”. This was the lounge/reception area of the hotel.

Free tea & coffee and biscuits for the guests. Inside the clear table-top desks are ready-made and DIY-ready postcards available for sale.

The first tourist spot that we went to was 五分埔, known for its cheap shopping, especially shoes I think. But there was so little time or rather, we were too tired to be interested in shopping at all. So we left the place empty handed after circling the place round after round. This was also where we came across reckless-driving motorcyclists. Seriously, they were EVERYWHERE, coming from every direction possible and they have no regard for your safety at all. The funny thing was, we saw one of the female motorcyclists stopping by one of the shops and browsing through the clothes on the rack, hahahaha! What a way to shop, huh?

Afterwards, we decided to walk to the nearby night market – 饶河街夜市.

It was a long, long night and it took us ages to reach the end of the street, haha! Our legs were all wobbly by now and we just wanted to head back to the hotel right away. We were up since 4am in the morning and the bed seems to be the only thing on our minds by 9pm. Unfortunately, we had to walk ALL the way back to the train station to take the train back to the hotel. No complaints though ‘cos it’s good exercise after all the fatty street food that we just had!

Day 2 – 8 of us went on a 2 days 1 night trip to the more rural/scenic places near Taipei City while the other 5 decided to stay back. This was taken at The Sky of Happiness, which is one of the largest stop stations in Taipei/Taiwan I think?

Wedding bells are ringing!!! Hahahaha!

After a few hours and stopping by several tourist spots (including the second biggest Tao temple in Taiwan and a cable car ride), we arrived at 日月潭. It’s the largest lake in Taiwan and home to one of the aboriginal tribes in Taiwan. The other main attraction is their infamous 阿婆茶叶蛋! It is so, so, so, so delicious I tell ya! Maybe it’s more due to the fact that I was hungry or that I am an egg lover but the eggs just tasted heavenly that evening!

This is what happens when you sit at the front row when watching performances by the local people. My sister and I got dragged unto the stage to dance with them!!

Mr S looking rather clean and neat although it’s been a super-duper long day for us. I was in the toilet and he was posing outside for my sister’s camera. -_- We stayed at a home-stay accommodation that night, hosted by an aboriginal Taiwanese couple, who were very friendly and cooked us supper that night!

We also tried their locally-brewed rice wine after supper, which tasted really good!

One with my beloved – Nini!! Sisters for life. ♥

We then spent the night walking around the village, filling our stomachs with local street food once again and later with authentic aboriginal dishes during supper.

Day 3 – The next morning by the lake. Love this shot taken by Mr S!

Next stop was 清境農場. The views are breathtaking because Taiwan has a lot of mountains and they just look so beautiful plus they look amazing in photos too!

Blue skies!!

Sorry, Mr S I’m gonna be your burden for the rest of your life now, hahahaha!!

Time for piccies with the lamb!!

Unfortunately, none of my lambs liked my mum so they all ran away whenever she got near them, hahahah!!! This was probably the best shot taken before my mum got frustrated and started sulking, hahahaha!!! And, and, and she looks like a shepherd wearing the traditional aboriginal coat my aunt lent her. My aunt got it from Taiwan about 15-20 years ago and when the aboriginal couple saw what she wore that morning, he said that he felt so warm and close to her, HAHAHA!!!

Brother looked really happy too!!

Guess the lambs didn’t really like me too 😦

It’s okay, I think the horse likes me 😀

They also had a pony wandering around too!!

I absolutely love this family shot! Gonna frame it up at home whenever I get the chance to 🙂

Mr S tried squinching, hahahahahaha!!

Best shot of the day taken by Mr S!!! Cutest shot ever of one of the lambs, LOL!!!

Meet Mr Liu, our cab driver and personal tourist guide. He is extremely friendly and warm and informative. He was breaking the chicken into pieces for us to eat, which is something you’re meant to do there by the way, not that he was being uncivilized, haha!

Last stop for the day was at 逢甲夜市.

Time to try the famous ou ah jian!

Most of the famous street foods have appeared on TV shows.

There was a super long queue for this one – 大肠包小肠.

French bulldog puppies!!! Super duper cute to watch!!!

Day 4 – The other 5 joined us. First stop, 青铜火车站, where one of the scenes of 那些年，我们一起追过的女孩was filmed.

People wrote their wishes down on these bamboo sticks and hung them along the stretch of bamboo fence.

Ohai!!

Emo shot which I secretly like a lot. Ahem.

Next stop was 十分, where you can light wishing lanterns and let them fly into the skies.

Getting a little impatient already, are we?

Met this big fella on our way to our next stop – 九份.

Doesn’t he look just like the dog in “Up”?

九份 was where we queued up for a lot of different food in different stalls. The crowd was crazy, seriously. We were packed like sardines and squeezing our way through was not easy at all. We sneaked up this little alley halfway through so we can enjoy our beef noodles without having someone pushing us from behind.

Our next stop was Taipei 101. We bought our wedding rings there. Another thing checked off from our to-do list, yay!!!

Day 5 – 西门町 a.k.a. Taiwanese harajuku.

Day 6 – Free day. The 5 of us went hunting for my bridal veil while the rest went to 淡水.

All in all, it was a good trip! The most important thing is I got to spend time with my loved ones – especially mummy, Siang, Nini and Mr S! Thank you Lord for Your abundant blessings and wrapping up year 2013 so perfectly for me!