Picturesque World

4d3n to Ho Chin Minh

2009-05-04T01:10:00.015+08:00

*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):

Vina Sun, Vina Taxi / Festival / Mai Linh Taxi. There are a few other reputable taxi companies but these are three of the most reliable. Others that the three, can take Saigon Taxi and Airport taxi too. Even then, make sure they use the meter. Taxi fare from the airport to hotel cost roughly less than VND 70,000 if u stay in District 1. Vinasun taxis flag down fee is VND12,000 and they have MPVs which cost the same. Suggested fellow tourists to ride the newer taxi van which usually have their logo stickers big enough to cover half of the taxi door. Also, remember the taxi id which is usually a 3-digit number printed inside the taxi.

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.

4d3n trip to phuket

2009-05-03T22:26:00.010+08:00

*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.

7d6n Trip to Taiwan

2008-06-05T13:32:00.054+08:00

*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

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.

6D5N Trip to Bali

2008-05-27T14:11:00.005+08:00

*30/11/2006 - 05/12/2006, 6D5N Trip to Bali*

1) Airline Taken - SQ
Price: $706 = $353/person including taxes.

2) Hotel that we stayed in - Melia Bali (****), Room 2227
Price: $765 for total of 6 Nights. = $382.50/person.

Took a taxi from the airport (IDR 85000). Nice room we got on the second level. Close to the reception area & breakfast area though a little far from the beach area. Nice natural surroundings, perfect for that relaxing holiday. Breakfast (buffet style) could do more improvement by changing the menu with different ingredients, not just cooking them in a different way.

3) Most Trusted Money Changer with best exchange rate (Kuta)
PT. Central Kuta - 168 Raya Kuta Street.
Kuta-Bali Ph:103611762996

Did my research online, read that the most trusted money changer that don't charge any commission are those inside Kodak shops. We went to exchange our cash at the main branch above at Kuta, need to search around as it's behind the main street of Kuta. Went around comparing the exchange rates of the other money changers and only this one gives us the best rates.

**Exchange rate as on 30/11/2006 - IDR 5.875
Amount exchanged is SGD $500 = IDR 2937500.00

4) Driver of this Trip – Dewa Marco, @IDR 350,000 per day.
email:dewamarco@hotmail.com
mobile: +628123918718

Dewa is more of a driver than a tour guide. If you need a tour guide to walk with you around the place and guide you, then best is to get a licensed tour guide. His rate is quite reasonable too as compared to the other driver/guides I have emailed around. They all quote me about IDR 400,000/trip and above. And if you read my itineraries below, we start the day at 9am, and reach our hotel at 10pm plus near to 11pm. Still we weren’t charged extra for it. Even when we were having lunch or dinner, despites our repeated invitations to join us, he would just politely refuse. His English though not fluent, it’s good enough to hold conversations during our journey to the various places. It’s best to hire a driver to drive you around if u are visiting a lot of places on that day as cabs are expensive over there. Blue Bird cabs are known to be honest as they go by the meter. If I didn’t remember wrongly, a trip from Melia Bali to Kuta cost around IDR 85000. So best to hire a driver to drive u around.

5) 30 Nov 2006, Friday

Went to Kuta square around 4pm to exchange our cash. As it’s a holiday that day, not many shops were open. Did some grocery shopping at Matahari quare. Purchase grapefruits for IDR 42,367 & 2 packets of Anggur crimson seedless grapes @IDR 26,214. Had dinner at the A&W for IDR 59,200. Don’t really recommend eating there unless you are very hungry. Not as nice as Bangkok’s A&W.

6) 01 Dec 2006, Saturday (My Birthday!!)

First time I spent my birthday in a foreign country. Felt something special when I woke up that morning. Well, that turns into dismay later on the afternoon when I realized that the camera’s battery went flat. Had to use my N91 to take the pictures around me that day. Can tell by the stares from the locals that they are wondering what the heck am I doing holding up my camera walking here and there. Even Dewa was giving me that amused and puzzled look on his face until I explained that our camera battery went flat hence had to use the camera in my phone. He even tried to offer me alkaline batteries for the digital camera.

Places visited:

- Taman Ayun Temple in Mengwi - Rp 3000/person

In my honest opinion, not really worth going unless there’s a festival or some religious ceremonies.

- Water temple Ulun Danu - Rp 10,000/person

Weather wasn’t very good when we went up the mountain. A bit cloudy if you see the pictures. And looks as if it’s going to rain too. Love the fresh air though. Feel that I could just sit there one whole day and enjoy the mountain breeze.

- Git Git, highest waterfall - Rp 3000/person
Along winding path to the 40m falls, you can see a lot of vendors selling their stuff. Thanks to Dewa’s advice, we didn’t say a word or look at the kids who came running up to us hawking their stuff to us. Though it may seems rude to us, Dewa said if we were to even say “no thanks” or smile at them, they will see it as we are willing to consider their offer to purchase their stuff. Do prepare to walk a long distance and climb up a couple flights of stairs.

- Sunset at Tanah Lot Temple - Rp 10,000/person, Parking for Driver: Rp 5000

Lots of tourists and locals waiting to see the sunset when we arrived at 5plus. After the sunset, we went shopping for souvenirs for our family at the stalls that were set up along the road.

- Dinner at Made’s Warung @ Seminyak

Nice romantic ambience. Ordered their pork sate and nasi campur. Taste nice, though can’t really say it’s fantastic enough to make me want to go back again for more.

6) 02 Dec 2006, Sunday:

Places visited:

- View rice terraces at Ubud Tegallalang

- Mas village for wood carvings
Karya Mas Gallery Tel: (0361)975284

Between the both of us, we purchased 6 wood cravings for total of IDR 1350,000 after much bargaining. I love the Balinese Musician made out of ebony wood the most. Got it at IDR 400,000. The workmanship is very good as compared to the others. Wanted to get the other craving of a Balinese woman with a basket on her head, but didn’t have enough cash on hand. *Sigh* Anyway, we were served by a nice bespectacled old man with white bread and crew cut hair. After our purchases, we both got a wooden box each as a free gift from him

- Lunch @ Babi Guling Ibu Oka
Just in front of Ubud Tourist Information

The specialty of this warung (hawker stall) is the nasi babi guling (roast suckling pig).This dish is an all-in-one platter of rice with pork meat, fried pork skin, pig intestines, gizzet, and vegetables. Cost around Rp30000 or less. Just the thought of the roast pork with it’s crispy and spicy skin is enough to make me drool as I’m typing this. Dewa helped us ordered the food and I can't really remember how much we paid but roughly it's about SGD $4-5/person including drinks.

- Goa Gajah, elephant cave temple at Bedulu Village

- Tirta Empul "Holy Spring Temple"

- Holy monkey forest near Sangeh – Opening hours: 8am-6pm

- Sunset at Uluwatu Temple

I can sit at the cliff for hours and not get bored. Love the view there. You got to walk some distance away from the temple and at a certain part of the track, there's no barrier at the side. If someone accidentally push u or u are not careful with ur step, next thing u knew, you will falling into the ocean below, smashed on the rocks! This is where I ate prawn sate, shrimps drizzled with garlic and vinegar oil I think. Delicious!

- Dinner @ Ryoshi Restaurant
Jl. Raya Seminyak, Seminyak Village, Kuta District, Badung District, 80361

Sashimi lovers, this is the best place to eat your heart out! Value for money authentic Japanese food. Find it better than Sakae Sushi in my opinion. Can't find the receipt for this though, so can't really list the price here.

7) 3rd Dec 2006 , Monday

Went to the beach. Water's too shallow to swim, too many rocks poking your feet as you walk further into the sea. Decided to give up and just admire the clear water while sun tanning at the beach. However it got kinda frustrating to be at a beach resort and unable to swim in it's crystal clear waters. Went to the hotel’s swimming pool that’s just beside it instead. Lazed at the beach, slowly took our time as the past few days we woke up very early to tour around. Not really that relaxing for a beach holiday.

- Dinner @ TJ's
Poppies One Lane Bali 80361 (Kuta)

Forgot to bring camera out to take pics of the food. Luckily I got the receipt though can't really make out some of the writing on my receipt. Mexican food @ a great price with nice ambience! Don't try the desserts though...

Table 12, total cost = IDR 307,000

1 Baileys Comet - 30,000
1 Cosmic Vodka - 30,000
1 Buffalo Wings - 25,000
1 Potato Skins - 20,000 (Highly recommended!!)
1 Quesadilla - 25,000 (Good!)
1 Chicken Fazillas? - 50,000 (a dish of meat on hot plate, comes with masa dough for u to wrap the meat)
1 Carne??? - 40,000 (Can't remember what this dish consist of...)
1 Banana Split - 23,000
1 Fudge Cake - 23,000
Taxes: 41,000

8) 4th Dec 2006 , Tuesday

Places visited:

- Mt Kintamani.
Lots of people hawking their stuff. Dewa mentioned to us that if we want, we can get someone to guide us in climbing the volcano. However, got to wake up as early as 4am. Think that will be on my list the next time I come back here...

- Lunch @Bebek Bengil "Dirty Duck Diner"
Padang Tegal road, Ubud 80571, Gianyar, Bali . Tel: 62361975489

Nice ambience, great food @ reasonable price. Can imagine if such a place were to exist in SG, would cost a lot more...

From: 1310hrs - 1406hrs
Table 35, total cost = IDR 189,420

1 Thuringer Bratwurst - 44,000
2 BB Fried Chicken - 94,000 @47,000 for 1 (Highly recommended!)
2 Hot Lemon Ginger Honey - 16,000 @8,000 for 1 (Love the taste of this drink!)
1 Diet Coke - 10,000
Taxes - 25,420

- Shopping @ Kuta.
Did a lot of last min shopping. Bought a surfer girl tee @175,000. Did a lot of exploring too cos the first day when we were there, most of the shops were closed.

- Seafood & Sunset @ Jimbaran Beach
Jl. Pantai Kedonganan, Kuta - Bali.
Tel: 62361709094 / 62361709419

Went to Sharkeys Cafe. Seafood definitely much cheaper here than in Phuket. If you wish to have the best seats without your view being obstruct, best is to call for a reservation. Extremely romantic ambience as compared to East Coast / Fisherman village @ at good price. A nice way to end your last night before you fly back to SG the next day =) .As for the below, not quite sure of what does the quantity means on the receipt but I guess that's the weight of the food. (Qty - Unit - Price Total)

Table 22, total cost = IDR 469,000

1 Live Garaupa - 017 - 170,000 - 119,000
King Prawns - 015 - 160,000 - 80,000
Crab - 015 - 75,000 - 34,500
Squid - 016 - 75,000 - 45,000
King Prawns - 015 - 160,000 - 80,000
Crab - 015 - 75,000 - 34,500
2 Diet Coke - 9,000 -18,000
Mango Juice - 9,000 - 9,000
Taxes - 43,000

2008-05-07T03:42:00.003+08:00

*3D2N Bangkok trip*

22th July, Friday 2005.

Just a fleeting thought from the both of us on Wednesday night is brought into action on Thursday night and completed just now on at 6am.

Fang and I decided to go on a trip to Bangkok before we start work on 1st August.

Didn't have enough money for the trip but was thinking, what the heck, we most likely won't be able to travel again together once she started her editor job. We may even have less time to hang out again...

Dipped into my savings of $1 coins saved over the past few months. Not much, just enough for the trip. Luckily I had the Jetstar voucher from Singtel, makes the trip more affordable for the both of us.

Don't intend to sleep, feel that today is a good opportunity for me to adjust my internal clock.

Bangkok trip -

bangkok trip on last wk of july 2005 (HEALING PERIOD)

Fang was late and our flight's (Jetstar Asia) at 9.20am. I arrived pretty early and was panicking when the check-in time was nearing. Eventually we missed our flight. Fang was in tears when she arrived at T1. She had set off from home pretty early, however, on seeing the heavy rain, she decide take a cab instead.. But it was peak hour so she decided to take the train again. Mobile phone got stolen and we couldn't contact each other. *Sigh* I was actually thinking if I should board the plane without her but decided not to. To cut the long story short, Fang bought another pair of tickets (Singapore Airlines!!) to Bangkok and extend our stay by another day.

Managed to navigate our way around. Quite fun except for the smoke and crowds. Think we ate something bad though cos we both we fighting for the restroom on the last day and our stomachs still feeling quite jialat for two more days after arriving back in SG.

4d3n trip to phuket

2008-05-04T07:04:00.025+08:00

*4D3N Phuket (Patong) Trip via Tiger Airways*

22 Feb, Tuesday 2005

Today read in the newspapers about Tiger Airways offering round trip to Phuket for $20+ and that the hotel stay for one night inclusive of breakfast at Deevana, a four star hotel, is only for $38 and that is half of their normal price.

Now checking on the total cost for the ticket and the total for one ticket is only $74.96. Cheap right. Can't wait to go....

23 Feb, Wednesday 2005.

Arrived Phuket at 10am+(11am+ SG time). We upgraded from garden view room (ground level sucks, room very small, bathroom sucks too) to superior room (it rocks!). It was worth it, only TBH200(SGD$8+) difference. Superior room cost TBH1,100 per night and it comes with a nice view, unlike the garden view room. That's what I call a 4-star hotel lor... the garden view room looks like a 3-star hotel room.

Explored the area around the hotel (Deevana Patong Spa & Resort). Bought a 5.5 litre bottle of mineral water, grilled bananas, banana fritters, bbq fish and bbq chicken as lunch. Only the fish taste average and too bad Fang can't remember where she placed the the grilled bananas. Pity, was excited to try it.

Wanted to explore the area again but Fang was tired and the weather was hot so seeing her zzz made me feel like zzz too. Sleep until 5.00pm as our transport to the Simon Cabaret Show is picking us at 6.15pm. Dine at this small hotel restaurant and the thai noodles taste good!!! It has chopped peanuts, fresh uncooked beansprouts and spring onions. As for the noodles, it resembles a bit like guo tiao but instead being wide, it's narrow. When u mixed everything together, it tasted good alone with its slight vinegar taste but with chilli powder, it taste better! Damn it... Feeling hungry as I'm describing this. This is what I call cheap and good lor.. TBH40(SGD$1.60) only....

We tried to finish our dinner as quickly as we can as we were going to be late. We half walk and run to the hotel. It's a pity we couldn't enjoy our dinner longer.

The Simon Cabaret Show (THB650) was interesting at first, but I got bored halfway through the show as they all seem the same, just songs and dances throughout the one and half hour.

After the show, the driver drop us at the night market which was pretty near our hotel. Bought a lot of things there for friends and family. Bought a pair of boots which cost only TBH1,000(SGD$40+) which is a pretty good deal, in Sg they sell a pair of similar boots for $70-$90. Anyway I spend about TBH 2000 in total which was pretty bad cos it's only the first day and I spend so much. However, it was pretty fun bargaining with the sellers. You can't really do that in Sg without ppl thinking u are stingy. It's like the norm to bargain there.

Bought 2 packets of mango rice as supper opposite the hotel for only TBH30. Cheap leh.. and they give u a whole mango, unlike in SG, they only give u a few slices of mango.

Packed the stuff nicely into my bag before eating. Overall the day was pretty good, except the fact that we wasted a few hours and that I can't stand Fang's need to bathe that often.

24 Feb, Thursday 2005.

Woke up early at 8am for breakfast. Deevana's breakfast is much better than City Bayview's as it has more varieties.

Went to Patong beach at 10am. Rented two chairs for TBH100. Shouldn't have brought the mat along, waste of bag's space. Tan for awhile before going in into the water. Saw a school of fishes near the shore and went round chasing them. Heh, it was pretty fun.

Saw quite a few Caucasian women doing topless sunbathing. Can't help but to stare even though there's nothing much to see. Just wondering how come they can show their sagging breasts to so many people? If they are young, like in their 20s, I find it pretty acceptable. To see women in their 40s & 50s doing topless sunbathing is a bit weird... And I thought you are not supposed to do topless sunbathing in Thailand? Then again, I admire them for being so daring…

Left the beach at 11.30am as our transport for the elephant trekking trip(half-day trip, TBH950) is at 1.15pm and plus the fact that Fang takes a long time to shower. (Can't stand it, morning before we go down for breakfast, she took a shower. Can't understand why she even bother taking a shower when she knows that we are going to take a dip in the sea after breakfast.)

When we arrived at the elephant camp, we realised we were the only tourists there. The tsunami really affected the lives of the people here greatly.

It feels kind of funny to step on a elephant's back. And something's telling me that I shouldn't have sign up for this trip. Feels like I'm supporting animal cruelty. The way the elephant was behaving makes me feel worse. The trekking lasted for 30mins. The elephant nearly threw us off its back twice. While we were trekking uphill, the elephant went off track the path and was going to walk down a uneven steep slope. Before that, it was stopping every few minutes to pull at the leaves. We were like thinking, "The elephant must be pretty hungry, man."

Noticed that whenever the elephant refused to heed the keeper's instructions, he would use a hook to poke him on the head, between the eyes or the earholes. The hook looks sharp even though our guide assured us that it's not sharp enough to draw blood from the elephants. Still, felt very uncomfortable whenever I see the keeper poking the elephant with the hook.

When we were going downhill, the elephant started to walk very fast. Each step he took made us slide down from our seats even more and the both of us were grabbing very tightly to the seats, trying to hang on for our dear lives. Seems that he’s pretty happy that everything's going to be over soon.

Our guide apologised for the elephant's behaviour and told us that it was due to the fact that it's not used having a different keeper riding him. His own keeper had taken ill and the company had to get another keeper to stand in for him.

Next, we went to the monkey school and learn how monkeys were trained to picked coconuts. On entering the site, we saw about 10 monkeys being chained up. A lady tried to sell us 2 bagful of bananas to feed the chained monkeys. Felt pity for the monkeys. Really feel like I supporting animal cruelty. Seeing the monkey show made me feel worse. The trainer shows signs of being a violent person. The monkeys were supposed to perform certain tricks for us but they sort of screwed up. The trainer looks as if he's going to hit them or torture them later after the show.

Went a rubber plantation and see how rubber trees are tapped to produce natural latex. Kinda boring to me....

Anyway the tour ended with a demostration of Thai cooking(hokkien mee) which was our dinner too. Not that fantastic, our version of hokkien mee tasted better. But the fishball used in the Thai hokkien mee is unique. Looks unappetising as it's grey but tasted pretty good. Better than the white fishballs we have here.

Asked our guide where we can get durian chips as I can't find any up till now. She brought us to the cashew nut factory where the both of us spent a lot... TBH2000+. Shouldn't have bought so many stuff as such places normally charge higher prices than other places. Well, what's done is done. That's what happened when u put two girls together on a trip without a guy. They spend without thinking rationally when it comes to shopping. Heh....

We went to Phuket Town but it was boring. Everything is expensive and reminds me of Singapore. Sianz.

Decided to rest a bit at the hotel. Went out to exchange money and meet this cute French guy. He tried persuading me to give him my number but I refused and in the end, he gave me his number. Felt flattered but then again, I look like a local… hmmm

Bought mango rice again and some kebabs. Pretty good too..

Aloysius gave me a call to chat as he was in Chiang Mai that day. Talked for pretty long as he was telling me how to get around to the beaches by their bus which is actually a lorry.

25 Feb, Friday 2005.

Last day in Phuket.

Took the wrong bus as we were at the wrong side of the road. We didn't even realised it until we saw a lady telling the other passengers that the bus was going to Phuket Town. Crossed to the other side of the road and we had just missed the bus. While waiting for the bus, a taxi driver by the name of Charlie came up to us and offered to take us around for TBH200 upon knowing that we are Singaporeans. Apparently, he has a lot of Singapore friends and took it upon himself to take good care of Singaporeans that are visiting in Phuket.

We told Charlie that we wanted to go to Karon beach but he told us that Kata beach is much better as water at Karon beach is not as clean as Kata's beach. Anyway, we were thinking no harm in going since it's just TBH200 for the whole day.

And boy, the water there is damn clear. At Langkawi's Tanjung Rhu, at neck level, you can't really see the bottom clearly. At Patong, it's slightly clearer than Tanjung Rhu's, think like only 10%? When u are at neck level at Kata's... it's super clear. Comparable to the waters of a swimming pool, around 80% likeness. Just the thought of Kata beach makes me want to go there again.

At Kata beach, there are a lot of topless women walking around as compared to Patong. Was suntanning in my chair with young topless women on my left and old topless women on my right. Seeing the ladies on my left makes me feel fat and hoping I have nice breasts like theirs while seeing the older women on my right makes me wish hard that my breasts wouldn't be that sagging as theirs when I'm that age.

Saw a couple making out in the sea. We can't helped but to watch the free show. That couple went in into the waters to "perform" 3 times. People give free show so must show appreciation mah... heh...

Had a terrible headache. Think gotten sunstroke. Didn't go to Karon beach cos it was too unbearable.

On our way back to the hotel, we saw the guy selling grilled bananas and wanted to get off the taxi to buy since we didn't get to eat it the other time but didn't do so cos we both wanted to shower as soon as possible. Should have got off the taxi as he wasn't there when we went back. Well, guess we are not fated to eat it.

Went to have lunch at the small restuarant again and ate Thai noodles. While I was trying to get the flies away from our food, I accidentally upset my glass of banana shake into my noodles. Tasted a little bit funny with the chilli powder and vinegar in it. Fang was like laughing at me throughout the meal and I was like ".............................."

The headache was getting from bad to worse. Couldn't zzz at all after going back to the hotel cos it was too painful. When I coughed, it hurts even more... felt as if my brains are going to be squeezed into a pulp any moment. Forced myself to get up from the bed to go out and buy Panadol. Might as well cos Fang was getting hungry as it was dinner time.

Charlie recommended us to eat at Family Seafood stall. Seems like a good choice as the stalls around are half filled with people, unlike Family, which is nearly full house. Anyway, I have never seen such big prawns before. About 9 inches long and the meat is juicy and tender. We ordered 1kg of prawns(9prawns) for TBH900 and TBH400 for 1kg of crabs(2 crabs). Quite satisfying for our stomachs and our eyes as there were a lot of cute guys at the seafood stalls’ area ;)

Bought the kebabs again as we both know it will be a long time before we get to eat it again. You can't find such nice kebabs anywhere in SG. Decided to try their soya drink whereby you can choose to put red dates, corn and other stuff into the soya milk. Taste pretty good. We were thinking if we bring it to Singapore to sell, it might sell pretty well. Heh.. think we both daydream too much, keep on talk about bringing mango rice and the other stuff we ate into SG to sell and earn big money.

Haiz, can't bear to leave Phuket yet. Should have opt to stay for 5 days instead of 3. Went to bed early even though was still feeling quite full. No choice cos our flight was at 8.15am. Got to wake up at 5am to shower, eat breakfast at 6am and leave the hotel at 6.30am.

26 Feb, Saturday.

Touched down in Singapore at 12pm. Bought a bottle of Bailey's and wine at duty-free. Helped him buy some beer for his dad.

Got a surprise from Dom, didn't expect to see him waiting for us at the arrival hall. Fang wasn't that happy to see him though. She thought that I purposely got him to wait for us at the airport. He's such a nice guy, helped us carry our bags. Anyway, we ate lunch together and talked about our trip....

Wonder when's my nxt trip though? I enjoy travelling and it's like once u start, it's hard to stop. heh

5D4N Trip to Langkawi

2008-05-03T19:16:00.011+08:00

*A 5D4N trip (Tour Package) - My first overseas trip unless u count JB in... *

16 Feb, Wed 2005.

Took Silkair flight to Langkawi. Reached there at 3pm plus. After unpacking our bags, we went exploring the area around the hotel which we were staying at - City Bayview Hotel(4-star). It is situated in Kuah Town. While exploring the area, we realised that the town is pretty quiet. Not used to it, as our own Orchard Road is always full of people in the afternoon. Seems like a ghost town to us. The population here seems pretty small.

Anyway, we found a shop selling Billabong stuff and we decided to spend some of our cash there. Stuff bought - 2 caps, one black choker and a Cult bikini(SGD $50).

Went back to the hotel to rest after 3 hours of exploration in the hot sun.

Went to the night market at 7pm plus. The night market is held everyday but at different locations. We were lucky that we arrived on a Wednesday. Apparently the night market is held at Kuah on Wednesday and Saturday.

Lots of good food at the night market and we bought a lot of stuff. The nasi briyani is fantastic($1.25). The satay($0.15/stick) is marinated in a spicy seasoning. Tasted good without the usual peanut sauce even though they are a bit cold. They also have barbecued chicken breast/thigh($1.25) on chopsticks. The chicken meat were marinated with satay sauce and cooked over the fire. *Drooling...*

17 Feb, Thurs 2005.

Woke up at 8am plus for breakfast. The hotel breakfast suck. Not much variety and only the bread pudding taste good.

After breakfast, we went to take a nap. Overslept and was feeling shitty. Luckily he's around and with his quick thinking; we managed to make full use of the day. :)

We book a taxi for RM$60 for 3 hours.

1st stop - Cable car ride which goes up to the top of Mount Mat Chinchang (708m above sea level).

My heart was beating very fast as the cable car glide above the sea of green, towards the mountain top. Worth it though, the view is marvellous. Go to http://asiaforvisitors.com/malaysia/penisular/kedah/langkawi/cablecar/ for more details.

2nd stop - Went to the seven wells which is located at Burau Bay, on the slopes of Mount Cincang.

Bought ice cream to eat as the weather was pretty hot. As we walked up a slope, a lady told us to be careful as there are a lot of monkeys on our way up. So it's like I'm walking, eating my ice cream happily at the same time and looking out for monkeys. Saw none so I wondered out loud, "I don't see any monkeys what, where are the monkeys?"

Right after I said that, one monkey came scuttling down the hill, followed by 4 more monkeys. The 1st one looked at my ice cream as if it wants to snatch it from me. I quickly throw the ice cream cone towards it when I heard him telling me to throw it.

Sad sia, I was starting on the best part of the ice cream - chocolate coated cone. Sob, stupid monkey. It was quite interesting to watch them fight over the cone though... heh.

Anyway didn't really see much cos he didn't want to walk up all the way to the top.

3rd stop - Reach Pantai Cenang at 5.30pm for dinner @ Little India.

Was thinking of having an early dinner but forgot that all the eateries start their businesses only after 6.30pm -7.30pm.

We took a walk down the beach for about 2 hours. Saw a lot of closed clam shells and decided to take a few to bring back. While picking, I noticed something interesting. As the waves washes the sand off the beach revealing the clams hidden in it, the clams scurry to burrow themselves back into the sand. It was then I realised that the clams I picked may not be dead after all. Then again, those that I picked up didn't burrow themselves back before the next waves. So, I decided to put them in a bottle of seawater and sand to see if they would burrow back in. It was pretty fascinating watching them burrowing themselves and we were thinking since we are going to Tanjung Rhu the next day, might as well bring them back the hotel for a night and released them back into the sea the next day. I know we are a bit cruel but at least we did release them back into the sea right.

Saw a dead jellyfish too and that dumb guy tried to turn it over with a tree branch as he wanted to see what it looks like underneath and wasn't successful.

Near the dead jellyfish, there's a big rock and underneath it, is a cave full of crabs. Not bad, a pretty educational evening.

The Manchurian chicken at Little India is fantastic! For your info, the dish is not on the menu. *Saliva drooling*..... thinking of it makes me hungry for it again...

Played with our new "pet" after we went back to the hotel. Never fail to put a smile to our faces when we see them burrowing themselves back into the sand again and again. Get to see their tube-like siphon and foot up close and personal. They use their tube-like siphon to draw in water, from which they extract oxygen and filter plankton. The foot is used to burrow into the sand. Pretty cool huh.. heh

18 Feb, Friday.

Tanjung Rhu beach looks beautiful though it would be marvellous if the water is clearer.

Went to Pasir Hitam beach. Not a nice view as it seems in the pictures and from Veron's description. It’s a jetty and there’s lots of flies . Wonder what's in the black sand that attracts the flies though. Bought a few tiny bottles of black sand back as souvenirs.

Went back to the hotel and decided to have a long soak in the bathtub. No bathtub at home mah.. so must soak long long. Heh, it was pretty relaxing.

Took dinner at 9pm+ at Wonderfood. The fried kway teow there is damn tasty, better than those I ate back home. Fried just nice... not too dry nor wet with the right amount of soy sauce. Need to improve on the cockles though, too small. Think if we bring it back to Singapore to sell confirm will sell as well as Shilin Night Market XXL Chicken.

They also sell this dish called "Kang Kong Sotong" It's actually a very simple dish, kang kong and cuttlefish with a rojak-like sauce over them. Taste good too but maybe not for someone who don't like cuttlefish..

19 Feb, Saturday.

Actually supposed to go Pulau Paya today but by the time we want to book it, it was too late. The day was spent by shopping around and going to the book village which was a waste of time and money.

Went to Mahsuri's Mausoleum. This shrine was erected in honour of Mahsuri, a fair maiden who was unjustly accused of adultery. According to legend, she bled white blood at her execution as a sign of her innocence. In her dying breath, she laid a curse on the island that it would remain barren for seven generations. Fact or fiction, seven generations have since passed and today, Langkawi is a flourishing tourist destination.

Luckily the night market was held at Kuah that night. Bought a lot of food this time round as it was the last night. Bought 4 packets of briyani and 20 sticks of satay from different stalls plus other food. Couldn't finish them in the end but it was pretty shiok to watch tv and have a big spread of food in front of us.

20 Feb, Sunday.

Woke up at 8am to ask for late checkout since our flight back home is at 8pm+ . After breakfast decided to zzz for awhile and soak in the bathtub for a last time. Gonna miss the tub..

After checking out, we decided to walk around the town again and do some shopping. Bought some beach wear at a good deal. Cost less than SGD$15 each.

Bought some more miniatures again. Gotten this miniature barrel of malt whisky.

Weather was pretty hot and with nothing to do, we decided to go back to the hotel coffee house to have a drink after we had ate and drink at a bakery cafe.

Slept for awhile at the coffee house but too bad can't zzz there until 7pm. The staff was staring at us all this while.

Reach the airport at around 8pm. Saw a box of the miniature barrels of malt whisky in different colour and a bottle of liquor with a ship in it. Wanted to get them too bad I had already checked in my luggage.

Got sick again when the plane touched down in Singapore. Must be all the bumpy taxi rides in Langkawi and the curry chicken roll served on the plane.

Was feeling extremely crappy when we were told that passengers on flights from Malaysia to Singapore can't purchase any alcohol from DFS..

Reached home and realised that I left my 3310 over there. Crap, though it's not worth much but I'm going to Phuket in a few days' time. Don't wish to bring my 6670 to Phuket, what if I lost it or it get stolen? New phone leh...

Stupid also lor, remember to bring the spoilt charger back but not the stupid phone. Still can't figure out how come I didn't pack my phone with the rest of my stuff the previous night. Funny, I remember I did pack it though......

Anyway it was great to be back here but I can't wait to go to Phuket on Wed. Don't feel like going to work though..