*03/11/2007 - 06/11/2007, 4D3N Trip to Ho Chin Minh (Vietnam)*

1) Flight Taken: Tiger Airways - @$223.98/person including taxes (not inclusive of $3 for electronic payment)
TR 328: SIN to SGN - 1240hrs (SIN Time) to 1340hrs (SGN Time)
TR 329: SGN to SIN - 1410hrs (SGN Time) to 1650hrs (SIN Time)

2) Accommodation: Elios Hotel

Booked a superior twin room with the hotel via email. Rate is @USD $54 per night inclusive of breakfast, 5% service charge and 10% VAT tax Total USD $162 for 3 nights.

Room was quite small with a small window. As for breakfast, there's isn't a wide selection to choose from. Pretty decent though and I like their yoghurt in small glasses. The view from the rooftop is nice too! =)

3) Exchange Rate as shown in most money changers in Ho Chin Minh:
**Exchange rate as on 03/11/2007 - USD $1 to VND 16,000**

4) Recommended Taxi (as suggested by others from forums):

5) Most Recommended Links:

Wiki Travel - Vietnam

Travelfish (For Maps too)

1st day, 03/11/2007:

1. Went to Sinh Cafe to book Mekong Delta Tour @5pm plus (5mins walk from Elios Hotel).

To go to Sinh Café (246-248 De Tham Street, District 1), go to the junction at Pham Ngu Lao Street and De Tham Street, walk downwards after you've by passed Kim's Cafe. Sinh is just a couple of shops away , on the very same row of shophouses.

2. Reunification Palace @135 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street. Open daily 7:30-11:00am, 1:00-4:00pm. Entry fee 15,000 dong.

We didn't went in as it was closed by the time we have reach there. Therefore, we just stand outside and take some pictures.

3. Lunch at Bac Ho Pho Mien.

Decided to try the beef pho at this stall as it look quite clean and since we were unable to find the small food stall recommended by others too. The beef pho comes with 1 fried fritters (you tiao) and they give you a bowl of basil leaves for you to add to the noodles. Also provide wet tissues too and they charge only VND 6,000 for a bowl of beef pho. Taste wise pretty average to me. Probably because I don't really like pho in the first place.

4. Notre Dame Cathedral

Lots of people and even at night, there'll be people praying outside this church.

5. Post Office @ 2 Cong Xa Paris, District 1

6. Diamond Plaza for to try the chicken @ Lotteria.

Like the chicken!! Taste much better than our KFC!

7. Pass by Opera House (7pm plus and it's already so dark!)

8. People's Committee Building

9. Tourist Information Centre (just opposite of Rex Hotel, next to Kimdo Hotel)

Went to get a free map there. However, the maps I gotten from Travelfish are much more detailed as compared to the free map.

10. Went Tax Shopping Centre supermarket for groceries & Coffee @ Highland Coffee.

The coffee and pudding is good. Highland Coffee is like Vietnam's equivalent of Starbucks. We ordered:

1 Traditional ice coffee with condense milk @ 20,000 dong
1 Yogurt Pudding @ 21,000 dong

12. Dinner @ Oriental Star (San Dong) in Ben Thanh Night Market. Total cost of what we ordered is 108,000 dong.

BBQ Tiger Prawns @ 30,000 dong
1 Shishamo (10 / 12 pieces) @ less than 30,000
1 bottle of San Miguel beer (330 ml) @ 9,000 dong.
1 Towel @ 1000 dong
Can't remembered what we other things we have ate.

13. Back to hotel.

2nd day, 04/11/2007:

1. My Tho - Ben Tre Mekong Delta Trip @ USD$10 / pax

Woke up pretty early for trip as we need to board the bus by 8.30am at Sinh Cafe office.

Excerpt from Sinh Cafe site: Tour from 0830hrs to 1800hrs which includes Bus, Guide, Boat trip, Vietnamese lunch, Fruits

"My Tho is the closest Mekong Delta City to Saigon where you will see part of the picturesque natural setting of Vietnamese country. The trip includes seeing a floating fish market, crossing Mekong River by motorized boat, a row boat ride along small creeks to the Mekong river estuary, cruising along the Phoenix Island, quiet villages of Ben Tre Province, seeing the manufacturing of handicrafts made from coconut trees, honey bee keeping farm, tropical orchards, tasting honey, tropical fruit, coconut candy, enjoying Vietnamese tradition music, visiting MEKONG REST STOP on the way back to Saigon"

After the tour while the bus was on the way back to Sinh Cafe, it started raining heavily which is about 1740hrs. The sky was so dark that if I didn't have a watch with me, I would have thought it's 8pm. We both got very drenched because I have both forgotten to bring my umbrella (in my luggage) and he was too lazy to bring along his umbrella (in his luggage to). =S

2. Dinner @ Restaurant 13 @ 13 Ngo Duc Ke St, D1 (Opposite Duxton Hotel): We ordered 4 dishes & 2 coffee ice with condense milk which cost us 300,000 dong.

This place serves classic Vietnamese food that is a step up from street food and is catered more to foreigners by serving chicken with no skin, no bones, etc. Recommended dishes are Lemongrass Chicken, Deep Fried Squid with Plum Sauce (read Crusty Squid), Caramel Claypot Pork, Thai Style Soup and Water Spinach with Garlic.

3. Dessert @ Fanny's. Think of Haagen Daz. Never knew ice-cream on a rainy day would taste that good. Their durian ice-cream rocks!

4. Back to hotel.

Labels: Vietnam

*21/05/2007 - 24/05/2007, 4D3N Trip to Phuket*

1) Flight Taken: Tiger Airways - @$167.98/person including taxes (not inclusive of $3 for electronic payment)
TR 152: SIN to HKT - 0700hrs (SIN Time) to 0735hrs (HKT Time)
TR 153: HKT to SIN - 0805hrs (HKT Time) to 1050hrs (SIN Time)

2) Accommodation: Deevana Patong Resort and Spa

Taxi From Airport to Hotel: 550 Baht (About 1hr)

3) Money Changer with best rates (at that time):
United Overseas Bank (UOB) along Rat-U-Thit 200 Pee Road.

**Exchange rate as on 21/05/2007 - 22.39
Amount exchanged is SGD $50 = 1,119.50 Baht

Actually for this trip, I have forgotten to bring the camera along. So, no pictures to show. Anyway, the places I went for this trip is the same as my first trip to Phuket in Year 2005. That's why nothing much to type too. Decided to go on a idyllic trip because of my fully packed Taiwan trip in April.

1st day, 21/5/2007:

- Check in around 9am, after which decided to walk around & still unable to find the grilled bananas stall this time
- @1144hrs went to Carrefour and spend 657.75 baht on food stuff (7% VAT included = 23.32 baht).
- Ate lunch at the same small hotel cafe that sell the delicious Phad Thai which sadly to say, doesn't taste that nice anymore. Guess maybe the cook is different?...
- Went shopping at the new shopping centre, Jungceylon Patong.
- Back to hotel to swim in the pool and sun tan.
- Rest a while in the hotel after which we go to the night market to look see.
- Bought mango rice from the same stall back to the hotel as dinner and some kebabs too.. *drooling*

2nd day, 21/5/2007:

- Ate breakfast.
- Went sun tanning, walk around and explore Patong Beach
- Eat at the Family Seafood stall for dinner
- Walk around the night market.

3rd day, 23/5/2007:

- Ate breakfast.
- Went sun tanning, walk around and explore Patong Beach
- @1923hr went to Carrefour and spend 397.50 baht on 14 items.(4 boxes of 3-in-1 coffee for 38 baht each, titbits etc) (7% VAT included = 23.72 baht)
- Eat at the Family Seafood stall for dinner
- Walk around the night market.
- Back to Hotel to pack bags.

Labels: Phuket

7d6n Trip to Taiwan

Thursday, June 5, 2008

*24/04/2007 - 30/4/2007, 7D6N Trip to Taiwan*





1) Flight Taken: Singapore Airline - @$511/person including taxes
SQ876: SIN to TPE - 1240hrs to 1720hrs
SQ871: TPE to SIN - 1345hrs to 1810hrs (TPE to SIN)




2) Accommodation:
Wonstar Hotel (萬事達商務旅館)



Name card front:

Deluxe room @SGD$366.63/person including taxes:


I like the LCD TV and the bathtub! Bathtub slightly bigger than the other hotels I have stayed in before. As for TV programs, much better than SG!! Heard from friends that there's "special channels" not available in SG. However, forgot about it as due to the packed schedule. We stayed at the second level which is convenient as they only have one small lift. Free breakfast though not much variety but it's good enough to eat. Not bad for a budget hotel.



Directions From Airport to Hotel: NT$305
About 1hr 20mins from Airport to Wonstar Hotel

a) Take Free Go Bus: NT $135 for single way/person. The bus will drop you at "Ji Lin Guo Xiao/Keelin Guo Xiao"

b) Taxi from "Ji Lin Guo Xiao/Keelin Guo Xiao" stop to Wonstar: NT $170

Went to airport lobby to purchase the bus tickets at Free Go counter to our hotel. Seems that they don't provide a direct bus service to Wonstar. Was told by the ticket seller that the bus we will have to take a taxi to the hotel from “Ji Lin Guo Xiao/Keelin Guo Xiao". However while waiting for the 1731hrs bus at the bus station, we were told by the ticket collector that there would be a small bus waiting to drive us to our hotel when we stop at 'Ji Ling Guo Xiao". When we alight at our stop, we were given the same information by the ticket collector and were told to walk straight down the road to take our bus to the hotel. In the end we didn't managed to find the bus and decided to take a taxi to the hotel instead.






Day 1: 24/4/07, Tuesday


- Went searching for our dinner in the light misty drizzle without unpacking our bags first after checking into the hotel room as it’s already 8pm plus. Temperature is @ 19 degree celsius which is quite cooling to us as compared to the temperature in SG.

- 1st Stop: Dinner @ the famous JIN YUAN PAI GU (PORK CHOP) 金園排骨
Business hours : 10am - 9pm, takeaway 02-2381-9797

Directions: Map of Jinyuan Pork Chop @ Xining S.Rd

Cost:

Pork chop - NT$60
Pork chop noodle with soup - NT$100.

Went to the branch @ Xining S. Rd located at a small alley. Not really that fantastic but it taste much better that the pork chops I have eaten before in SG. Fried just nice with pepper though a bit oily. If the pork chop was crispier, it would taste better. Noodle and the soup taste okay.




- 2nd Stop: Dessert @ Tamago Ya (蛋蛋屋) @2150hrs: NT$60/brulee not including taxes. (11.30-10.30pm)

Directions: Take MRT blue line, Ximen station, Exit 6. The whole building is painted with yellow paint.

a) Brandy brulee was sold out. However managed to try it later on in Day 5, 28/4/07. Taste the best among the rest.
b) Egg brulee – Rank second in taste
c) Green tea brulee – As compared to coffee brulee, this taste slightly better.
d) Coffee brulee – Find the coffee taste too overwhelming, taste too bitter.

My advice is to just order the brulee as takeaway if you are not planning to have dinner/lunch there to avoid paying the service charge of 10%.

- 3rd Stop: Carrefour in Ximending - For my daily dose of grapefruit and "Man Han Da Chan" instant mee!! (Opened 24hrs)

Direction 1: Down the road from MRT Ximen Exit 1. From Ximending Circle, walk southward on Zhonghua Rd. (about 5~8 min.) to the corner of Zhonghua Rd. & Gueiyang St., near Rich Garden Hotel.

Took a long time to search for it Carrefour using the above direction until a few days later we found out another way to walk from our hotel.

Direction 2: From hotel side entrance (nearer to the lift), cross the road, walk straight down Ximen MRT Exit 6. Walk straight until you see Carrefour signboard then turn right to cross a couple of streets. It's near Guilin St.

- 4th Stop: 7-11 nearby Wonstar @ 2231hrs.

Bought: Total - NT$111
2 bottles of 1.5 litres of water - NT$56
1 bottle of milk tea - NT$25
1 "City Au Lait" Egg Pudding - NT$30

- Back to hotel to rest....

Day 2: 25/4/07, Wednesday

-1st Stop: LONGSHAN TEMPLE @Longshan MRT
211, Guangzhou St., Taipei (Opening hours: 5.30am. to 10pm)

Reach the temple around 0950hrs. Actually wanted to pray at this famous temple but don’t know how. In the end, we just walk around the premises and just took some pictures. Bought 2 fragrance sachets @ NT$45 & NT$25 as sourvenirs.

-2nd Stop: TAIPEI RAILWAY STATION
To buy tickets high speed railway tickets from Taichung to Taipei.

Took us some time to find the Railway Station from Taipei Main Station MRT stop as we were sort of lost in the underground tunnels even though there's signs in English/Chinese. When we finally found it, we realize that we had walk one big round to find the station. The High Speed Railway ticketing is near the East Exit 3.

-3rd Stop: Rer Tong Bus station (日統客運)
@ Taipei Station: No. 11 Zhongxiao W. Rd. Sec. 2 (near Ta Cheng St.)
公车 (台北日統客運): 忠孝西路二段11號 (忠孝西路與塔城街口)
Taipei Office hotline 車站查詢專線：02-25583131
Southern Taiwan Office for reservations of return seats: (05) 532-6167


To buy bus tickets (round-trip NT700/pax) & entrance tickets (NT$799/pax) to Janfusan Theme Park

Directions: Just walk straight from the west gate of the Taipei Railway Station, walk straight down till u see a red sign board showing “日統客運”.

-4th Stop: WULAI (烏來) @Xindian MRT

Directions: Directly in front of MRT station, take the bus with destination name: 烏來 Sindian-Taipei Main Station. The bus journey takes about 40min (much longer at weekends) Wulai is the last stop, so you can enjoy the journey without worrying when to get off.
Tip: Sit on the right side (door side) of the bus for the best view heading into Wulai.

Cost: NT$40/way

Then again, the bus was very crowded and we were forced to stand throughout the entire journey. Found out that it's good way to hone your sense of balance with the extremely bumpy ride and you can get to see the views from both sides of the bus instead of just one side...

- Cage train @1412hrs: NT$50/way

Directions: From the main tourist street in the town, cross the bridge, and take the wooden staircase across the road. It goes up to the left. Follow the pedestrian street to the station. The cage train, also known as the trail train was use in the past for transportation of lumber. The ride takes you about two kilometers to the terminus of the cable car. I do recommend this train ride for the fun experience.




- Cable car ride & Yunxian Amusement Park: NT$220/ticket (comes with a $10 drink voucher & a free souvenir voucher)


Yunxian Amusement Park is situated on the top of a nearby mountain, across the gorge from the terminus of the cable car. It's actually part of Yun Hsien resort. Thinking it would be like the cable car ride which I experienced in Langkawi and that the amusement park would have some exiting rides, I went to purchase the tickets enthusiastically. The moment I saw the cable car and board it, I regretted getting the tickets. The view was extremely disappointing and the amusement park is actually an arcade more for kids. Read somewhere online that the views were beautiful during the cherry blossom season (March/April). The picture on the ticket was taken in the cherry blossom season too. Guess I should visit during this period instead. Though I can't say the view from the top is amazing, but I do get a nice view of Wulai Waterfall as compared to what I have seen on my way to the cage train.

- Wulai Waterfall
During Japan colonial era, it has earned the beautiful name “Water of Heaven” as this waterfall seemed to pour down from the heaven to the world. It is located on a cliff on the left bank of the Nanshi River where water plunges down in a curtain 10m wide over the 80m cliff.



- Wild Boar Sausage @ main tourist street
Do give the wild boar sausage a try. Very meaty and juicy!! Taste much better than the Taiwan Sausages in SG which contain more fats than meat. And that used to be my favourite sausages. After trying a stick of the wild boar sausage for the first time while on my way to the cage train station, I can’t help but to buy another stick after I got off the cage train ride (@1527hrs) back into town.

-5th Stop: Hot Spring Bath @ 1616hrs in Spring Park Urai (春秋烏來)
No 3 Yanti Wulai Shiang Wulai, Taipei 233 Taiwan


Directions: Take the same bus that you took when going to Wulai to Spring Park Urai. The black building sits alongside the road to Wulai and can easily be seen from the right side windows of the bus. On Taipei buses there is usually a route map directly behind the driver's seat, so you can keep track. The driver is sure to recognize Spring Park Urai merely by its name, 春秋烏來. Or tell him you wish to get off at "Yenti zhan" (堰堤站), which can be seen on this Xindian-Wulai Bus route map. After alighting, just cross to the opposite road and walk straight up the hill to the building. To go back to Taipei, just take the bus at the same place where you have alighted.

Cost: NT$1280 /1 hour





- 6th Stop: GONGGUAN MARKET (公館夜市) @Gongguan MRT
By Bus: 284. 52. 311. 290. 280. 505. 253. Get off at National Taiwan University.




Recommended by others & tried:

1) Che Lun Bin (Wheel Cake)
A sweet cake with red bean paste and butter filling. (Taste normal, don't really like the taste of it)

Recommended by others but unable to find:

1) Longtan Bean Jelly (龍潭豆花) - NT$30

No. 239, Tingzhou Road Section Three

This dessert eatery has a history of more than twenty years and is supposed to have the most authentic Bean Jelly Dessert here.

2) Fruit Crushed Ice Cream (水果冰淇淋) - NT$30
Southeast Asia Crushed Ice Eatery (東南亞冰店) @ No. 3, Lane 136, Roosevelt Road Section Four

This eatery offers fruit ice cream with seasonal Taiwanese fruits, and is very famous among students. The owner acquires special techniques in Japan. Such technique emphasizes that no sugar is used at all and only fresh fruits are used in the making of ice cream. The taste is refreshing without the over-creamy texture commonly found in marketed ice creams. It also ensembles unique Taiwanese flavors such as papaya, cactus, tomato, mango, and etc.

Unexpected findings:

1) Stinky Tofu
This is the best stinky tofu among the others I’ve tried!

Directions: From Gongguan Mrt Exit 1, turn left, walk straight and cross the road. The roadside stall is in front of a bookstore.

2) Addidas shop (A two-storey building)

Did a comparison of the pricing. Seems like in Taiwan, Adidas is cheaper. Then again, when I was there, they are having a sale. Bought a BLACK jacket @ NT$1904.


Directions: At Gongguan MRT Exit 4. Reach a junction, turn left, walk straight. Just before the water park.

- 7th Stop: SHIDA NIGHT MARKET @ Gu Ting MRT (古亭)
By Bus：3, 15, 18, 74, 235, 237, 278, 662, 663, 672, 907

Recommended by others & tried:




1) Taiwanese Crepes (Ke Li Bin) - NT$60
Arnold Crepes (Ah Nuo Ke Li Bin)
No. 24, Lane 39, Shida Road

This Taiwanese version of crepes features with fillings of more than sixty choices of flavors from salty to sweet. Outnumbering even toppings for pizza, these choices also include seasonal fruit fillings such as mango and strawberry. Filling is spread on larger crepes crust, and then folded to fan shape. The filling is so stuffed that it is about to come off the crust. Just one serving will satisfy person with smaller stomach. The most popular filling is the “Hawaiian Club” that ham and pineapple is added.

2) Pan Fried Bun (Sheng Jian Bao 水煎包) - 5 for NT$25 **Highly recommended!!**
The Hsu's Pan Fried Bun (Hsu Ji Sheng Jian Bao 許記水煎包)
No. 24, Longquan Street

This Taiwanese version of crepes features with fillings of more than sixty choices of flavors from salty to sweet. Outnumbering even toppings for pizza, these choices also include seasonal fruit fillings such as mango and strawberry. Filling is spread on larger crepes crust, and then folded to fan shape. The filling is so stuffed that it is about to come off the crust. Just one serving will satisfy person with smaller stomach. The most popular filling is the “Hawaiian Club” that ham and pineapple is added.

3) Taiwanese Style Beef Steak (Niou Pai)
Niou Mo Wang Niou Pai (牛魔王牛排)
No. 19, Longquan Street

It’s marinated beef steak served on dazzling hot iron plate and drenched with a spicy, salty and rich black pepper sauce. It comes with pan-fried spaghetti, corn soup, soft drinks and bread. The entire course of feast costs you around NT$100.

I found the beef too salty and a bit tough. Spaghetti seems a tad too overcooked. Corn soup is the better of the lot. I find it hard to finish the entire meal.

4) 3 Brothers ( 三兄弟) tofu Dessert
Taste pretty normal to me.

Recommended by others but unable to find:

1) Stinky Tofu (Chou Dou Fu) - NT$ 40
Crispy and Tender Stinky Tofu (Xian Su Nen Chou Dou Fu 香酥嫩臭豆腐)
No. 14, Lane 39, Shida Road


The owner of this stall soaks tofu with natural plants and herbals for fermentation to bring out blue cheese like unique flavor. The fermented tofu will not be deep fried before a order is taken. It is deep fried until the skin of tofu becomes crispy golden brown. When eating, break the tofu a little bit and dip it in the stall's exclusive sauce and chilly paste. It's not formidably stinky at all. On the contrary, it tastes more like blue cheese and matches perfectly with light sour cabbage pickles. The unique texture of crispy crust and tender tofu are really worth a try.

- Back to hotel to with a full stomach....

Day 3: 26/4/07, Thursday

- 1st Stop: Yangmingshan National Park @ Beitou MRT
Yangmingshan National Park Visitor Center
1-20, Zhuzihu Road, Yangmingshan, Taipei

Direction 1: MRT to Jiantan MRT, take leisure bus 109 / (Shuttle Bus) Red-5.

Direction 2: MRT to New Beitou / Beitou MRT, take minibus 9 / bus 230

Reach around 1130hrs. Didn't expect it to be so cold after alighting at the bus stop opposite Starbucks. Think it was about 12 degree celcius and we weren't dressed for the weather in Yangmingshan. As the sudden change in temperature was too much to bear, we decided to seek refuge in Starbucks for some hot coffee and cakes before we start our exploration.

What we ordered: Total - NT$375
1 Tiramisu Cake - NT$95
1 Swiss Choc Cake - NT$70
1 Big Coffee (Large) - NT$120
1 Latte (Medium) - NT$90

Thought I would be able to finish exploring all of Yangmingshan in half a day, however I didn't expect it to be so big. No choice but to make sure when I visit again, I leave 1/2days in my itinerary for just exploring Yangmingshan...

Leaflet taken at Yangmingshan Park:

Part 1: Front (Map)

Part 2: Front (Day Trip Guide for 10 Trails)

Part 1: Back (Other information like bus schedules etc)

Part 2: Back (Continue from Part 1 Back)

- 2nd Stop: Danshui Old Street @ Danshui MRT

Recommended by others & tried:

1) DANSHUI AH PO IRON EGGS 淡水阿婆鐵蛋
No. 135~1 Zhongzheng Rd. Danshui (台北縣淡水鎮中正路135~1號)
台北縣淡水鎮中正路135~1號

Nice, chewy quail eggs. Be careful of the high cholesterol.

2) Smelly tofu
The stall owner put the smelly tofu on sticks, barbeque them and sprinkled chilli powder on. A little different from the usual smelly tofu sold elsewhere.

3) Fried fish shavings chips (Yu Shu) **Highly recommended**
Bought a lot of packets back home, especially the one with chilli. Very addictive...

4) Fishball with meat filling @ famous "Ah Gek Lao Dian"
Love the meat filling in the fishball though soup is so-so...

5) Fried durian
It's actually artificial durian flavoured fried pancake. NOT recommended for durian lovers at all.

- 3rd Stop: Hot spring at Asia Pacific Resort (亞太溫泉)
Business Hours for Hot Spring Center : 8:30 AM ~ 1:00 AM

Direction 1: 10 min to 30min walk from Hell Valley
Direction 2: Free Shuttle Bus from MRT station

Tried the outdoor hotspring @ NT$1250 / 1 hour. Preferred the outdoor spring better than the indoor type which I tried in Wulai.

- 4th Stop: Shilin Night Market (士林夜市) @Jiantan (剑潭) MRT
Located between Wenlin Rd., Dadong Rd. and Jihe Rd.

Direction 1: 5min walk from MRT

Direction 2: By bus, take No.61,203,216,218,220,224,250,260,266,277,279,280,285,287,290,304,310, 508,606,633,634,102,109 and get off at MRT Jiantan Stop or Xiao Bei St. stop.

Shilin Night Market is divided into two major sectors:

a) “Shilin Night Market”, which is a food court, right across the Jiantan MRT Station. Any night market snack you could possibly think of may be found here. You can sit yourself at one stall and order your choices of snacks, and then go to other stall right away to order some other snack and have the other stall deliver your orders over to your table, so you may enjoy a feast of night market foods at relatively low prices without fighting your way through the crowds.

b) The other sector centers around the “Yanming Theater”, stretches to the blocks around Danan Road, Dadong Road, and Wenlin Road. Just move along with the crowd through the narrow streets and lanes that crawl all over this sector and you will find reputed delicacies and heart-pounding specialty shops.

Recommended by others:

1) Herbal Stew of Ribs (Yao Dun Pai Gu 藥燉排骨) - NT$60
The herbal stew of ribs is the most classic and affordable nutrient gourmet dish.The stock soup is stewed for 3 to 4 hours with more than ten varieties of Chinese herbal medicines before used for boiling fresh pork ribs, making it soft with a unique aromatic scent of herbals. This dish is a must-try. You may find Herbal Stew of Ribs stalls on Jihe Road and in Shilin Night Market.

2) IchiBan Beef Steak

3) 3 Brothers 三兄弟 Dessert Shop (士林)

台北市士林區文林路101巷2號 电话：(02)2880-7268

4) Bun in a Bun (Da Bing Bao Xiao Bing 大餅包小餅) - NT$50
Wrapped under handmade flour crust is a crispy, smaller fried cake that comes with optional fillings including bean paste, taro, sesame, curry, and chilly. It tastes totally different from western style desserts, and is one of the most famous key signature snacks.

5) Wok-fried Squid (Sheng Chao Hua Zhi 生炒花枝) - NT$50
Fresh squid wok-fried with garlic, red pepper, bamboo shoot slices and carrots. After which boiled together with stock soup to make thick soup. Tasted somewhat sour with sweetness and aroma of basil. For spicy flavors, add some more chili paste and black vinegar which are offered by stalls on tables. You may find wok-fried squid stalls in “Shilin Tourism Night Market”.

6) Pao Pao Bing

7) Spicy cold noodles at Shilin Night Market.

There are several stalls selling this. But only one stall is good. Can’t remember the stall name but the boss is a petite lady who packs the noodles non stop.

8) Jumbo Fried Chicken (Da Ji Pai 大雞排) - NT$40 **Highly recommended**

Fried chicken at Shilin Night Market which is famous for its jumbo size. It is 1.5 times larger than regular friend chicken; perhaps larger than your face. It's soaked in a special sauce before frying and mixed with spicy pepper and aromatic herbals after that. Best to be eaten while it just came out of the frying pan. Crispy on outside and juicy & tender on the inside. Jumbo Fried Chicken stalls can be found in Shilin Night Market and in front of Yanming Theater.

9) Stinky tofu

The pasar malam side of Shilin Night Market, further away from MRT. It has a sit-down place behind stall which is just opposite Hu Jiao Bing stall

10) Hu Jiao Bing

- Back to hotel to with a full stomach again....








Day 4: 27/4/07, Friday

**Please refer to day 2 for location of purchasing the bus and entrance tickets to Janfusan and high speed railway train tickets.**

- 1st Stop: Janfusun Fancyworld (剑湖山世界) @ 1126hrs - NT799/Adult

Directions: Take Rer Tong Bus 日統客運 from Taipei Station to Janfusun (in Yunlin County) departing at 0620hrs (4hrs ride).The return bus departs from the Janfusun Prince Hotel (near the park entrance) at 1720hrs.

Too bad we were unable to sit on Asia's longest roller coaster. We waited one whole day but no sign of the ride being opened up for people to ride. Didn't visit the "Water Park Wonderland" cos there wasn't enough time.

- 2nd Stop: Taichung Railway Station (For the famous Tai Yang Bing 太陽餅 !!!)

Directions: From Janfusun to Taichung (about 2hrs plus bus ride)

Take Ren Yo Bus 仁友客運 to Taichung Railway Station departing at 17:40 (16:50 during peak days) It would be best to call them for the most up-to-date information regarding schedules and seats.

Taichung office of Ren Yo Bus: (04) 2225-5166

- 1) Taiyangtang 太陽堂, 台中太陽堂太陽餅
No. 23 Tz-yo Rd. Sec. 2, Taichung 台中市西區自由路二段23號
Tel: 04-22222662

Shop entrance:

Name card:

Heard that this is the original Tai Yang Bing and the best among the rest!

Too bad the shop has closed by the time I reach there. It's about two shops away from the 2nd best Tai Yang Bing shop.

- 2) Ah Ming 阿明師老店太陽堂
台中總店：台中市自由路二段11號
電話〈04〉2227-4007~8

Spent NT$2440 on Tai Yang Bing alone. Bought 4 small boxes of normal fillings as gifts for my colleagues and 2 big boxes with honey fillings for my family and own consumption. As in a hurry to catch our train to Taipei, didn't have much time to explore Taichung with our heavy packages.

- 3rd Stop: Taichung Railway Station
Bought the "Qu Jian Che"/"local" train tickets to New Wuri via the ticketing machines. Quite an experience for me as I get to learn some new words too. Heh. The first time when I check with information counter on where to purchase the ticket, I was directed to the ticketing machines outside. As my Mandarin isn't that good, I was confused by the different options available for purchasing of the tickets and have to go back to the information counter to check which ticket option should I select. I was told to select the option for "Qu Jian Che" but still can't seems to recognise which of the Chinese characters is "Qu Jian Che". Luckily for us, we got one nice lady to help us in purchasing our tickets from the machines.

**Make sure you are on the correct platform before boarding the train, You can check with the ticket conductor before going in.**

- 4th Stop: Bullet Train ride from Taichung HSR station @New Wuri back to Taipei Railway.
No.8, Kaotie Pei Rd. Wurih Township, Taichung County (台中縣烏日鄉站區二路8號)

High Speed Rail Ticket:

Since we have arrived the HSR station at 2048hrs, we decided to have a snack and try the MOS burger there to see if there's any difference as compared to the one in SG. The MOS burger outlet isn't like the ones in SG. They don't have any set meals, need to order a-la-carte.

We order: Total - NT$180 (no service tax charged)
2 Yakiniku Beef burgers - NT$130
1 Fries - NT$20
1 Milk Tea (Medium) - NT$30

- 5th Stop: Tonghua (通化) aka LinJiang Night Market 臨江街觀光夜市@Liuzhangli MRT
Opening Time: 18:00-24:00

Directions: From the first pedestrian bridge near the Taipei World Trade Center, walk south on Keelung Rd till you reach the second pedestrian bridge. The night market near the Grand Hyatt is Linjiang Night Market also commonly known as TongHua Night Market.

Adjacent to Taipei World Trade Center, Linjiang Night Market is the most vibrant night market in the heart of Taipei. It stretches from Jilong Road along Lijiang Street, down all the way to Tonghua Street. All kinds of delicacy stalls and shops are cropped up in this cross shape street block and more than 1 kilometer in length.

Recommended by others:

1) Budget Teppanyaki Teppanyaki (平價鐵板燒)

For merely NT$100 to some NT$200 you may get yourself a generous meal of teppanyaki and a show of splendid cooking technique from the chef. Just sit yourself at the teppanyaki bar, you will be served first with bean sprouts and vegetables, pan fried on sizzling iron plate right in front of you. There's also complimentary steamed rice, soup and soft drink. After which you may order your choice of entrée such as beef, fish fillet, chicken, or surf and turf combo that allows you to taste several entrée in one meal. Taiwanese style of teppanyaki have lots of garlic, red chilly pepper, black pepper sauce and butter. You may put a request to the chef to adjust the flavours towards your liking. Several teppanyaki restaurants can be found in the night market at the cross of Linjiang Street and Jilong Road.

2) Stuffed Bun (Ge Bao 割包) - NT$35
石家割包 (Shi Jia Ge Bao), No. 104, Linjiang Street

Stuffed bun” is Taiwanese hamburger. Chinese style pot stewed pork is stuffed in soft and tender bun; cilantro, pickles, and sweet peanut powder are added as garnishing. Many think it is more delicious than western style hamburger. The stewed pork is not just juicy and tender, you can also request for fatter or leaner pork in the stuffed bun you ordered.

3) Barbeque Sausage (Kao Xiang Chang 烤香腸 ) - NT$30
Barbeque sausage is the key signature snack here and stalls selling it are all over the entire Linjiang Street. Their sausage has a firmer quality of meat with some sweetness. Quite a difference as compared with American hot dog or German sausage. After roasting the sausages, you can choose garnishing such as ginger paste, garlic paste, black pepper sauce, green onion, and teriyaki sauce. In fact, there are more than 26 choices of garnishing.

4) Soybean Milk (Dou Jiang 豆漿)
青島豆漿店 Qingdao Soybean Milk Restaurant (Qing Dao Dou Jiang Dian) No. 73, Tunghua Street

Traditional Chinese style hot soybean milk and other cakes to go with the soybean milk such as omelet, green onion pastry, white sugar crispy roll, deep-fried fluffy dough stick and leek box like a jumbo size dumpling. Every item is handmade and the taste is solid, aromatic and crispy. This 50-year old restaurant opens 24 hours, perfect for those wants to have a Chinese breakfast at any time of the day.

5) Iced Jelly Fig & Mesona Milk Jelly (Ai Yu Bing & Xian Cao Niu Nai Dong) - NT$40
Wonderland of Jelly Fig and Mesona (Ai Yu Zhi Meng You Xian Cao 愛玉之夢遊仙草): No. 56, Tunghua Street (通化街56號)

Jelly fig is a seed of a plant. Rubbing and twisting the plant will produce transparent, golden yellow jelly. Mesona is an herbal medicine. After simmering for a period of time, its juice will condense to black jelly with unique flavor. These two “jelly” are often added to sugar water and served as desserts. Iced jelly fig sold here is pure natural product. With some lemon juice mixed in, the sour, sweet and slippery taste is very special. Condensed milk is added on mesona jelly. The crossing color of black and white is very interesting. These unique desserts with aroma mixed with milk and special herbal are only available in Taiwan.

Day 5: 28/4/07, Saturday

Before we left the hotel for our next stop, we purchase our bus tickets to the airport for our last day in Taipei at the hotel receptionist counter. Was told that the bus would not be picking us directly at the hotel and we would need to walk from our hotel to another hotel that's behind it and wait for the bus there. Can't remember what's the hotel name though.

- 1st Stop: TAOYUAN ST. BEEF NOODLES
No. 15 Taoyuan St.

Direction 1: Starting from Ximending Circle, walk down Heng Yang Rd. (heading away from Ximending); turn right on Tao Yuan St., and the two storey noodle shop will be on your left. You'll recognize it by the men tending to the vats of soup cooking right by the sidewalk. From Ximending Circle to Tao Yuan St. it's only a 3~4-min. walk, and Tao Yuan St. is very short, so the shop is hard to miss. The restaurant is so well-known that it doesn't need a sign; we just refer to it as "Tao Yuan Jieh Niu Ro Mien" Official name, though it's not on their sign: "Lao Wang Ji Niu Ro Mien Da Wang" (Old Wang Beef Noodle King).

Direction 2: From Ximen station Exit 3, look for Baaoqiang Street, turn left. There you will see the two storey building.

Taoyuan Beef Noodles Kitchen:

A bowl of delicious braised beef noodles!

- 2nd Stop: 1402hrs in Miniatures Museum of Taiwan 袖珍博物馆 @Nanjing E. Rd. Station MRT
The museum is located in the same building as Thai Airways.
Open: Tues-Sun 10AM-6PM (last admittance 5PM).
Admission: NT$180/adult

We got the tickets @NT$162/person. Can't remember why we got the discount of NT$18/pax... maybe we were behind another group of people at that time that's why we got the 10% discount of the tickets? Hmm.....Anyway, I'm amazed at the amount of details shown on the miniatures, regardless of their size. I would love to own one of the miniature houses, especially "The Rose Mansion" & the smallest TV set.. hehe.. Left around 1536hrs for our next stop.. beef noodles!

- 3rd Stop: Food Street @MRT Zhongxiao/Dunhua > Exit 2>
The walk shouldn't take more than 10~15 min. Walk to second traffic light, cross the road and turn left on Yanji St. The first lane to your right many food shops, very crowded .

***Highly recommended***
Found a bakery that's having a long queue while on our way to find our beef noodles. We decided to stop and try their signature bun which is also their shop name as indicated in the name card below. It's so delicious that we bought a few more buns after eating our beef noodles at 688 while walking back to the train station!!!

Name card:

Price list of their buns behind the name card:

- 4th Stop: Beef Noodles in 688 Beef Noodles @ Zhongxiao Fuxing / Dunhua MRT
No. 15 Alley 27 Lane 216 Zhongxiao E. Rd. Sec. 4 TEL:886-2-27783075 886-2-87715358
台北市忠孝東路四段216巷27弄16號

Name card:

- 5th Stop: Taipei 101 @Taipei City Hall MRT
45, Shifu Rd, Taipei
Sun-Thu 11:00-21:30, Fri--Sat 11:00-22:00

Directions: Taipei City Hall MRT, take a bus at the No.2 exit, turn right for Free Shuttle Stop to and fro 101 building.

Reach Taipei 101 and bought the observatory tickets @1800hrs. Tickets cost NT$350/person. Each ticket comes with a voucher that gives you a discount of NT$50 when you purchase the observatory's Visitor Souvenir photograph & a Sky Cafe voucher which gives u NT$15 off ice cream (Brand's Bigtom) only which is valid only for 1 person each.

The observatory consist of two sections. One on the sights that are seen from the different parts of the observatory, the other is showcasing the different types of coral figurines. You can get audio tour of the different landmarks that can be seen from the observatory. Too bad it was too cloudy that day. Was unable to take any nice pictures without the hazy look...

After which we had a light dinner in KFC (Basement 1) @1952hrs. Total cost: $217. The chicken there taste so much nicer than the ones in SG.

Read somewhere that the fruit vinegar sold at B1 is very nice. Found that they also sell different kinds of preserved plums. Decided to buy a 300g of preserved plums (Total: NT$300) from that store instead. Wish I had bough more back then cos it taste so good! Tried searching SG for the same type of preserved plum but was unable to till date.

Sticker on the preserved plums:

- 6th Stop: Raohe St. Night Market (饶河夜市) @Houshanpi 后山碑 MRT
Opening Time 17:00-24:00

Direction 1: By bus: you can take 棕 (zong) 1 , 藍 (blue) 7 , 28, 53, 63, 203, 204, 205, 276, 306, 311, 518, 605, 622, 625, 629, 668, 675 and get off at Raohe Street entrance / take 207, 256, 531 up to Songshan Station

Direction 2: By train: New Songshan Rail Station

Direction 3: From Taipei 101 to Wufenpu/Raohe St.
Take Bus 611 or 284 to "Songshan Rd." stop. (Board these buses in the Xinyi District; the stops are very close to Taipei 101, Taipei World Trade Center, NYNY, Warner/Vieshow Village, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi, etc.) After alighting the bus, cross the pedestrian bridge outside Songshan Station over the train tracks to Raohe St. Night Market.

Recommended by others:

1) Sweet Water Tofu Pudding
Tel: 02-23456928｜Sweet Water Tofu Pudding $25, extra toppings $5

With a history spanning twenty years, the owner is from Guanyin township in Taoyuan picked the name: ‘sweet water tofu pudding. This delicious, traditional Chinese dessert of melt-in-you-mouth tofu pudding goes especially well with tapioca balls and peanuts.

2) Keelung Miaokou's Tian Fu Luo (Tempura)
Tel:02-24624900｜Large Box $60, Small Box $35, Mixed (Tian Fu Luo and Fried Prawn Rolls) $50

If you want to sample authentic Keelung Tian Fu Luo, you can also enjoy it at Raohe Street. The boss is from Keelung and he uses fresh fish from his hometown. Everything made is sold on the same day, so the Tian Fu Luo here is always gets great reviews

3) Pork Feet Noodle String (Zhu Jiao Mian Xian 豬腳麵線) - NT$ 70
Lian’s Pork Feet Noodle String (Lian Zhu Jiao Mian Xian 連豬腳麵線) In front of No. 66, Raohe Street (饒河街66號路中)

You may taste the most classic recipe of pork feet here. Pork feet are cleansed and then simmered with various Chinese medicine herbals for about 3 or 4 hours. The fat in pork feet is simmered out and only the elastic and tender meat will stay. The taste is fresh and great; even the stock soup is wonderful. It is recommended that you order a dry noodle string on side. Some lard, onion soybean sauce and exclusive sauce are added to and mixed with boiled and dripped dry noodle string. Lovely taste and you will be longing for more.

4) Beef Noodle Soup (Niu Rou Mian 牛肉麵) - NT$ 90
Sergeant Cheng's Beef Noodle Soup (Cheng Ban Zhang Niu Rou Mian 程班長牛肉麵) In front of No. 138, Raohe Street (饒河街138號路中)

This stall is one of the most famous beef noodle soup stalls in Taipei. The beef is pre pan-fried and then slowly simmered with exclusive sauce, garlic and rock sugar. It's served with chewy handmade thick noodles. There is always a crowd of customers waiting at this place for a treat of beef noodle soup. If you like strong taste, the beef noodle soup with strong herbal scent and soybean sauce aroma here will definitely satisfy your appetite. The boss uses fresh Australian beef, sautéed briskly Chinese-style and then left to simmer for twenty hours, resulting in a first rate beef stock. Their most recent offer, a twist on beef noodles that combines cuts of meat, tendons and tripe is worth sampling. 3-in-1 Beef Noodles @ NT$100.

5) Herbal Stew of Ribs (Yao Dun Pai Gu 藥燉排骨) - NT$50

There are several stalls selling Herbal Stew of Ribs. The stock soup made with more than one dozen of herbal medicines is very sweet and fresh with mild scent of spices; very delicious. Soft and tender meat melts right away in your mouth. It is recommended that to take out the bones, and dip the meat in the chilli paste whereby the taste will be even better. Those who prefer mutton meat has option of mutton ribs.

- Back to Hotel with a very full stomach again but this time round with some more space for dessert (brandy brulee from Tamago Ya) bought earlier in the day @1242hrs. heh..









Day 6: 29/4/07, Saturday

- 1st Stop: Jiufen 九份

Direction 1: By Train

a) Take a train from Taipei Railway Station to Ruifang (about 40mins) (buy one day before)
Train to take: Tze Chiang Hao 2035 - Shulin To Hualien @11:00am. Reach @ 11:41am

**Make sure you are on the correct platform before boarding the train, You can check with the ticket conductor before going in.**

Cost: NT$80/person.

b) Bus transfer to "To Jinguashih" (金瓜石) bus (20mins), alight at 7-11 at "Jiufen" stop. From Ruifang station entrance, cross to opposite road to take the bus to Jiufen. Don't worry about taking the bus on the wrong side cos if you are at the bus stop on Ruifang's station side, there will be a sign telling you that you will need to cross over to the opposite bus stop. The bus will go all the way to the top across from 7-11, where the bus stop is at. Most people will alight there.

Direction 2: By MRT & Bus
From the Exit #1 at MRT Stop: Zhongxiao-Fuxing, take a Keelung Bus to Jiufen and Jinguashih.

Things recommended by others to try / buy:

1) Fishball soup (五味中合鱼丸汤)

2) Those thin pancake looking stuff wrapped with shredded peanut and ice cream.

3) There’s a shop where you walk up these flights of stairs, and at the very end there’s a store where they sell these famous yellow, purple soft and chewy stuff along with bunch of green, red beans over shredded ice. You can take it and walk into and through the shop to the back of their shop where you can see an awesome view of Jiufen.

4) Tai Yang Bing, Pineapple tarts & Mochi
Taiyang bing (10 for NT100) & Pineapple tarts (24 for NT220)

Name card front & back:

- 2nd Stop: Keelung (基隆)

Direction 1: From Jiufen - Cost: NT$45/person
Take the bus at across the 7-11 bus stop where you have first alight in Jiufen. However after you have finished walking the street, most likely you will end up at a lower place. If you don’t wish to walk all the way back up again, you can go downhill where there is a police post and opposite it, there is another bus stop.

We waited for about 1hr plus for the bus and the journey is about 40mins.

Direction 2: From Taipei.
Take the Guoguang intercity bus from Taipei Intercity Bus Terminus (formally known as The GuoGuang Bus North Station) behind the Taipei main Station.
Located above Taipei Railway Police Bureau as in the map, it would be easier if you exit from Exit 6 of the Station Front Metro Mall and walk across Beiping West Road. Please note that if you are taking the Guoguang intercity bus from Taipei to places like Yehliu or Keelung, you have to return the ticket upon alighting the bus. So remember to keep the ticket safely in an easily retrievable place so that when you get down the bus, you can pass the ticket back to the driver. Don't stand there fumbling around for your ticket while everyone looks at you.

- 3rd Stop: Keelung Miaokou (Miao Kou Xiao Chi 庙口小吃)

Directions: From Jioufen to Keelung
Take the Bus that goes to Keelung Station. The LED Signs in front of the bus is very clear. NT$44

To night market: From railway station main entrance, turn right, cross the overhead bridge towards Starbucks. Walk straight towards McDonalds' on the right after 2 traffic lights. To get to McDonalds' side go via underpass whereby there will be directions pointing to Miaokou.

We walk for sometime before we reach Miaokou. In fact, we gotten kinda lost and had to ask our way around for directions.

Stalls that I remembered to have tried:

- Stall 7: Braised Pork Rice (魯肉飯)
Can't remember if this is the stall that serve the very nice braised pork rice. But I remember to have eaten one of the best braised pork rice in Miaokou

- Stall 28: Glutinous Oil Rice (油飯)

- Stall 10: Crab Thick Soup & Glutinous Oil Rice (螃蟹羹/油飯)
I like the crab soup very much!!! Highly recommended!!

- Stall 16: Tempura 天婦羅 (Fried Fish Paste）
Didn't really like the taste of it.

- Stall 36: Oyster Omelet (蚵仔煎)
Didn't really like the taste of the oyster omelet which was a bit too watery for my liking. Prefer it better if the egg was fried with the right amount of crispiness on the outside. However, the oysters are very fresh and big.

- Stall 25-3: Cream Crabs (奶油螃蟹)
Flower crabs cook in butter cream sauce. Find it so-so.

- 4th Stop: Back to Taipei.

Direction 1: From Keelung train station, simply walk to the train station and take a train back to Taipei

Direction 2: If you chose to go to Raohe night market, take the train directly to Songshan NOT Taipei. You will exit at Raohe St NM on one side and Wufenpu Shopping on the other side.

Direction 3: Take Guoguang bus @NT$51/person.
From Keelung Railway, turn right where you will see a bread shop on the right and the bus ticket counter will be there too. Last Guoguang Bus departs Keelung for Taipei Station at 23:00. The travel time is about 50 mins and it's faster than the other two options in my opinion.

- 5th Stop: Carrefour for last min shopping @0019hrs.

Bought: Total cost - NT$902
7 packets of Lay's Garlic Pork potato chips (Jiang Shao Chong Rou) - NT$441
1 packet of Lay's Spicy Chicken potato chips (La Zhi Ji Ding) - NT$63
1 packet of Lay's Crab potato chips (Bi Feng Tang Chao Xie) - NT$25
1 bottle of Zero Coke Light - NT$15
2 bottles of milk tea - NT$80
1 cloth box for clothes - NT$219
(Not enough space in luggage for all the stuff we bought so used this as an alternative to contain the stuff for check in)
Miscellaneous (can't tell from the receipt) - NT$59

- Back to Hotel to start packing our bags for departure the next day... *sigh*

Day 7: 30/4/07, Monday

- Take 1345hrs flight back to SG.

What can I say about this trip is that it's a bit too packed as we got to wake up very early every day during this trip as to complete most of the itinerary planned for that day. For people who want a more relaxing trip, maybe you can extend the duration of the trip to 2 or 3 more days. Really missed the cooling weather while I was there. Anyway, below are some other useful links & notes for those planning a trip to Taiwan.

**Useful Links**

1) Taiwan Tourism Bureau

2) Taipei Travel

3) Taipei Metro

** Some notes with regards to the different types of trains and the names**

1) Electric Car (Slowest): Dian Che
2) MRT: Jie Yun
3) Train: Actually got there are 4 names but in Taipei usually is Tze Chiang (Zhi Qiang) the one which I'll be taking to Ruifang on Day 6
4) BulletTrain: Gao Tie

**Other notes**

1) Always check taxi meter is on.
2) Make sure you have enough coins for taking the bus
3) EZ Link = YouYou Card - comes in NT$500, $100 Deposit, $400 Rides. You can get them at Station Control.
4) For Year 2007, in Taiwan it's known as Zhong Hua Ming Guo 96
5) Plastic bags are not for free in convenience stores. Do bring many plastic bags, if not, you can opt to pay 1 NT dollar per plastic bag at the store.
6) Please do remember to keep right when traveling up & down the escalators in the MRT stations as the left lane is for those who wants to walk faster.
7) Don’t take anything or any vouchers for free gifts. Sales people will push it into your hands and then drag you to their selling counters to help you exchange your gift and make you buy their stuff.

Labels: Taiwan