1st Day
021007
1030 HRS
Even before we left the soil of Singapore we already ran into a Taimei, and a local celebrity at that. If not for Nicholas’ heroics in making the difficult first move, we wouldn’t have been able to take pictures with the beautiful Vivian Lai on digital film. I had a chance later to take a personal photo (which means just me and her, not anything else la) with her, but my assumption of her catching a flight was wrong; she was merely sending her brother off at the airport.
There, at the new immigration gantry gates reminiscent of the MRT’s, I made a personal resolution to always seize the opportunity when it presents itself. Rejection is the worst that can happen, and that doesn’t beat the dreaded emotion of regret, does it? We’re about to lift off now- I hate that trademark smell of airplanes. Is that how high grade fuel smells like? Or is it just budget deodorizer? Our matronly flight supervisor’s quite condescending also- oh well you get what you pay for. Just kidding.
a trip by the budget airlines wasnt something that i enjoyed. esp sitting inside the airbus.. i didnt even know where to put my legs such that my knees wont poke the back of the person in front of me. as such i got scolded many many times argh. but i must say the sky view from the plane was very very nice.
My expenditure on the first day of Taiwan my true love came to me:
1. 25 NT for 01 x bottle of 600ml mineral water, when the limousine service reception across the hall was giving several bottles away for free, but the paid water tastes way better
2. 170 NT for an hour long journey by van to Chairman Hotel, which close proximity to Xi Men Ding spells convenience.
3. 35 NT for a small bowl of relatively tasty but extremely oily plain noodles
4. 50 NT for a dessert of finely sliced ice with ripe mangoes, strawberries and ice-cream, a la ice kachang. The waitress there is elephant-footed and slightly mentally unstable. Extreme caution advised.
the ice mango-strawberries-kiwi was very very nice! and the ala ice kachang was very smooth. bet this will sell in singapore. move away ice kachang...
5. 28 NT for a Caramel Macchiato from 7-11. Tastes just like the real thing
6. 30 NT for a plastic-looking white chocolate Dunkin’ Donut, maybe it IS plastic
2nd Day
031007
The shopping has been pretty disappointing so far, but the 26 degree Celsius temperature and low humidity is nothing short of brilliant. Strangely enough, the thermo-pillars located at strategic spots throughout the dense city displayed varying temperatures of up to 2 degrees, when the distance between them was only about 100m! Just like its country’s politics, it’s all a load of crap.
1. 30 NT for fiery, succulent fried oyster and prawn
2. 30 NT for a soothing, delectable bowl of pearl soya bean-curd
3. 189 NT for invigorating Neutrogena Hair & Body & Face & Feet & Hands wash
The Taiwan Zoo may not be as well-maintained as ours, but it certainly makes up for that lack in department with its gargantuan space! It seems most of the four-legged predators from Africa take mandatory afternoon naps, just like us diligent workaholics. A local up in the hills actually asked if I was from HK when I attempted to communicate via Mandarin; I must be Maggie Q’s fated companion! oh please
We ascended 299.3m in 12.3 min in a gondola (that’s what they call a cable car over here). I think I’m slowly but surely conquering my fear of heights.
you shld have seen the fear in josh's eyes as we headed up the gondola..
a view from the gondola.
CK just approached one Jeannie from MTV Taiwan on the metro, and actually got invited to some party at this plush club tonight. Now this is what I call moral courage, fighting spirit, leadership, care for soldiers! Apparently I dared Wong to speak to her, and if he did (which he did), I’m supposed to do 20 x 4 Buddha claps in the middle of XMD square. I’m quite sure this isn’t denial but I certainly don’t remember partaking in any sort of dare.
after maokong we went to visit taipei 101 and the eslite bookshop which apparently is 24 hrs. taipei 101 didnt really leave much impression in me cus we didnt manage to go up to the top of 101 (apparently laosai says it wasnt worth it). so we went down and bought 王德传 chinese teas.. the teas smelled nice. really.
3rd Day
041007
What day is it today? I have absolutely no idea. All I know is that last night was awesome!
Apprehension, anxiety, excitement got the better of our usual steely nerves as we navigated through the complex city and their alien street names (we don’t learn traditional Chinese characters in school) to our final destination for the night.
After a good half hour of seemingly endless walking, we finally saw a long queue of cabs along the road- always a good indicator of something happening nearby, unless that’s where the cab drivers gather to get their supper/sleep or whatnot. Upon arrival at plush, my notion that all the hot Taimei migrated elsewhere was finally dispelled! Beauty in all its abundance. It was my 2nd birthday of the year, and we celebrated with Johnnie Walker, Mr. Vodka, Dr Tequila, FOC champagne (thanks to the genius of Wong).
Alas, the club was not nearly at its full capacity- we actually managed to make it through to the bar without having to shove any guy out of our way or having to squeeze between any girls. Ha. The amount of people on the dance floor was similarly disappointing as well, but the eye candy on the podiums balanced things out somewhat.
Everyone was sporting, played the perennial “Guess Fist” game and as a result got extremely inebriated. We are a bunch of typically well-behaved gentlemen, but after adding and multiplying some alcohol content, err-body got tipsy.
when we were getting high and drunk...
11 shots by kahwee and me.. feeling high!
MC Jeannie was extremely charismatic, so much so that I didn’t even know it was her until she left. She took many great photos with us and danced in front of the birthday boy (me =D) with one of her sexy-back friends, although she had to leave early because of her recording session the next day. Why, oh why?!
and what happens after we were drunk?
Today, we pay a 10 NT visit to the National Taiwan Museum. The building is fairly diminutive in both its size and contents compared to the one we have back home, but so is the entrance fee. It costs only 20 NT for an adult and 10 NT for students like us. Looks like we won’t be getting anything from Santa in December, hahaha…
following which we walked past the 总统府 and 中正纪念堂. we wanted to go inside the latter but apparently there was a reheasral for their double 10th celebrations so we had to satifsy ourselves by taking photos outside the building. then we took a trip to the 忠孝复兴 road where wong wanted to find the shop that was opened by jay chou. we walked the whole afternoon only to find that the shop was closed down. nevertheless wong managed to buy alot of his shirts from many of the shops down there. we saw this leftfoot shop in taiwan! cool
The trademark metallic stairway with its multi-coloured panels of the BAPE store is truly mesmerizing, just like its price$.
we went to 公馆 at night for more shopping. but to my dismal there wasnt anything nice to shop and the 臭豆腐 stench was really overpowering. argh..
4th day
051007
went to 忠烈祠 in the morning to witness the MPs change of guards parade. but it was raining as usual. and instead they had this wet weather programme where the guards just walked in steps from the entrance of the matryrs' shrine to inside the compound. WHAT THE HELL that wasnt spectacular at all man. after which we caught lunch at the 士林 market.
We savored some excellent steak after braving it through the boisterous hawkers at Shilin Day Market. They would surely make brilliant pimps.
National Palace Museum- If only we were senior citizens, or cultured scholars like Eugene.
hold hold hold. it was really an experience for me. how can dont go 故宫 if u visit tw? for me i enjoyed all the exhibits.. i wonder why they dont.
The hot spring we patronized at 新北投 was quite the treat to our shopping-battered bodies. The sulphuric scent of the milky waters was unpleasant, but certainly not as putrid as ammonia or the stench emitting from the used waste paper in the toilet bins.
Get well soon, Jeannie! Even the Click Five are in love with you, evidently so with their recent single.
headed back to 士林 at night. for more shopping. but it didnt really succeed all thanks to krosa. it's coming... and we ended up shopping in the rain
5th
061007
TYPHOON DAY!
The day the typhoon ran riot through the city and our hearts. The unforgiving winds uprooted ancient trees and blew over innocent motorcycles and massive signage, resulting in a confinement of sorts. It was exhilarating to be blown around (literally!). To run in a straight line, you had to be almost leaning 45 degrees against the wind. Had my slippers had any less traction, I would’ve been sliding all over the place without expending any energy. Now that’s what umbrellas are for!
bullshit joshua. if only i have the photo of your umbrella after 蹂躏ed by the typhoon. anyway the after effects of the typhoon was really a disaster. advertisement boards being torn down by the typhoon, landslides, scooters getting knocked down and falling like dominos, the casing of lamp posts blown down and cracking all along the road. pretty scared. and we were lucky not to get blown away by the wind or get injured by the falling objects. while joshua and co were shopping in taipei underground mall, the rest of us were stuck at the hotel playing cards and watching movies.. what a way to pass time~
the effects of krosa got less serious at night and we managed to go out of our hotel for dinner. but sadly most of the shops were closed. after dinner we headed to 西门町 for last min shopping via train. that's when we saw that 猫空 was closed due to the typhoon. we were lucky to catch the gondola while the weather was good. the adventurers (wong and joshua) braved themselves to LUXY at night while the rest of us headed back to chairman hotel for more movies throughout the night.
LUXY: Despite the typhoon’s best efforts to hinder fun from being had, the fearless fun-lovers still made their way down to Taiwan’s most reputable nightspot, including the revered Grandmaster Flash, who got the crowd going with his slick style and cool music. Wong and I got acquainted with a number of foreigners from NZ, London, US of A, Jamaica, and 7 girls from SINGAPORE! Of all people! In Taiwan! JUMP AROUND!
6th
071007
more last min shopping at 西门町 before we headed back to CKS international airport. there we saw a female TVBS reporter interviewing some other foreigners.. apparently their flights got delayed thanks to the all-great krosa again. the almighty desperado joshua went to approach her as he couldnt hook up any 台妹 for the past week. and she looked pretty stunned as we took a photo with her.
and that summed up our taiwan trip.
i miss tw!
and never ever ever go to taiwan during the winter season. stupid typhoons will just come and eat up your day..