Taiwan 2013 - Misty Villa Cingjing

There is no option to book this Misty Villa Cinging other than making it through their own website. Check out their website for more information. Booking of the room is via their website. After the booking, they would send an email to lead us through the payment.. It is through the completion of a visa form with your credit card details and then emailing them back. Thus, I guess some might feel uncomfortable to book through such system. Do consider it carefully.

However, the service at this Villa was great. They would advise and recommend activities to do during your stay there. 

Direction:

We took the Nantou Bus at Taichung Station which is located at the basement just at Exit 5. For more information on the bus, do check out this website for more information. To reach the villa, please alight off at "Guo Min house stay/國民賓館"and 5 mins by walk on "Rong Guang New Village/榮光新村", you will see us on your right hand side

We booked the standard room 2F and total cost is NT2520 come with breakfast only. The breakfast was a simple buffet where you have try authentic Taiwanese snacks. There is no lift at all, thus, do not bring big luggage there unless you want to lug up the stairs! 

There is no aircon in the room, but well, there is no need for that. The weather at Cingjing is really cooling. You would rather prefer a heater instead. Good thing about the place, there is a 'heater mat' under the bedsheet. You can on it if you really feel cold and would want to have a good rest at night. In the room itself, there is a water point that disperse both hot and cold water. What a good way, we do not have to boil our own water! For this room, there is a balcony - I like. You can just go out and view the place (well, we are up on a slope) - very nice scene there! See the stars, well, you can at night, but bear with the coldness!

Misty Villa

Address:
Misty Villa (雲濛仙境)

南投縣仁愛鄉大同村榮光巷9號

Taiwan 2013 - Jia's Inn Liouhe

Base stop at Kaoshiung is at Jia's Inn Liouhe - It is near to Formosa Boulevard Station and Liouhe Night Market. Find the exit that leads you to Liouhe Night Market and from the stretch of road, just continue walking. You will find Jia's Inn at the right side of the road after 10 minutes walk. 

Read that the 70 rooms at the hotel are individually decorated - thus, your stay for the night is unique - A small hotel with small room but they are very clean with complete toiletry sets. For our room, there is a sofa with a coffee table - a nice way to relax after the long tiring day! Both the interior and the exterior of this hotel are real cool - give it a uptown feel. 

Breakfast is included in the price and the the breakfast area could be a little crowded - is a free-seating concept and thus, you will have to find a seat yourself without the help of the service crews. The self-service laundry service and free wifi are among the reasons for the choice.

Check out their website for more information -  for this hotel, we booked through some hotel booking website instead of directly through their website - thus, full payment was being made prior to the trip. No hassle at all. 

Jia's Inn Liouhe

Address:
No. 128, Liuhe 2nd Rd, Cianjin District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
台灣 高雄市前金區六合二路128號 

Taiwan 2013 - CityInn Plus Hotel (Ximending)

Our base at Taipei is at CityInn Plus Hotel (Ximending). In my opinion, the location is a good one - it is at Ximending where it is known at the Taipei's "Tokyo Harajuku" fashion road but it is not situated in the middle of the busy road. Situated at the other side of the Ximen MRT station, it is a 3 minutes walk away from the start of the road. Thus, you are near the "Hip" place in Taipei but you will not be super disturbed by the noise. 

We booked two different types of rooms (twin room and Deluxe Room with Street View) as there is no available Twin Room in the later part of the trip. The cost of the rooms do not differ much but we thought 2 single beds are always better than a double bed for us. 

The service crews at CityInn Plus Hotel are really great - they are always serving you with a smile on their face. One thing about this hotel is that they would like us to deposit the key with them everytime we leave the hotel. It is a good and bad thing depending on  individual. Thus, every morning when we deposited our key, they would ask us where we are going and would give us their 2 cents worth of thoughts and tips - we got more updated information from them on top of our existing itinerary. 

The basement of the hotel is the service floor where there are computers, pantry and FREE laundry services. Wifi is free and this is totally an awesome thing so that we can keep in touch with family and friends back at home. 

My verdict for this hotel - EXCELLENT - Check out their website for more information. Be sure to book in advance as they are really hot-selling - I reckon it has to do with the affordable price of the rooms at great location. Payment is by credit card and you will have to pay 30% deposit and the rest at the hotel itself. I did a mistake in the booking and payment went through - but the hotel is prompt in their reply and everything was settled in minutes - They gave me a call 2 days before the check in to confirm the stay and also to ask if we would need the airport services - GOOD!

The Rooms

Address:
100台灣台北市中正區寶慶路63號
No.63. Baoqing Rd., Zhongzheng District, Taipei, Taiwan 100
 Tel: +886 (2) 7725-2288 

Taiwan 2013 - Day 12 - Taipei, Yangmingsan

Last day in Taipei and Yang Ming Shan (阳明山) was the only places of interest that was left on the list. Sister requested to start the day slightly later so as to catch up with some sleep - she had the impression that YMS can be conquered in half-a-day. By the time we started our YMS journey, it was around 11am. Trust me, to fully appreciate YMS, cater one day to it. There are many walking trails in each different stop which could lead you to nice scenery.

First in the morning, we went to Yonghe Soy Milk which was walking distance from our hotel. After which, we took the MRT to MRT Jiantan Station (NT20, 17 mins). From there, we transferred to Bus R5 or No 60 Capital Bus which will take us up to the Yangmingshan bus station. This journey is quite long and thus, be sure to take a seat if possible. At the bus station, there is a visitor centre. Do take this opportunity to clear any doubts before embarking on Bus 108 which will take us around YMS. This Bus 108 Bus 108 (NT60 unlimited rides ticket at first stop) is a one-way circle route that serves all the main attractions on Yangmingshan: Yangmingshan Bus Station → Visitor Information Center→ Yangminshuwu → Xiaoyoukeng → Lengshuikeng Service Center → Qingtiangang → Lengshuikeng Service Center → Songyuan Stop → Jyuansi Waterfalls → Yangmingshan Bus Station.

We stopped at only Xiao You Keng (小油坑), Leng Shui Keng (冷水坑), and  Qing Tian Gang (擎天冈). From Qing Tian Gang, we walked to Juan Si Pu Bu (绢丝瀑布). I am not sure if this is a wrong move as we took quite a walk and landed at a bus where we were not sure where we were. Heading back was not advisable due to sky turning dark. We manged to find a bus stop and that the bus does take us back to Jiantan station - as it was at around 5pm, there was jam and the whole journey was spent standing on the bus and being squeezed! 

Oh well, back to the start of Yang Ming San, the first stop was at Xiao You Keng (小油坑) -  a place full of sulfuric acid and gas. Is really amazing to find such nature phenomenon up there.

Skip  Leng Shui Keng (冷水坑) unless you are into free indoor hotspring that are flooded with the elderly - for this, you have to be naked to get into the hotspring. There is also an outdoor foot bath.  

Next up is Qing Tian Gang (擎天冈). We had initially intended to skip here as it was well past the lunch hour but luckily Sis said to go ahead. Here is a flat stretch of greenery where the cows are free to roam about. A very leisure and relaxing place to be at - If you want, I suggest to pack some food here, and enjoy the scenery with a picnic. Maybe stay for the sunset, it should be nice!

From here, there was road sign pointing to the waterfall. Well, I followed and the route was up and downhill - my advise, if you are not into trekking, give this walk a miss and take the bus instead. 

The Beauty of Yang Ming San

Back at Ximending at 7pm - Still early as we had made reservations for our last dinner or rather supper at 马辣顶级麻辣鸳鸯火锅 before we headed to the airport. 

Thus, we went shopping again before going for dinner - This Mala steamboat is a buffet style and the food variety is quite good - choose from seafood like abalone, clams, mussels, prawns, fish fillet and sea cucumber, to fresh vegetables such as lettuce, tomatoes and sweet corn. For the meat slice, ordered from the service crew - I guess this is to ensure the freshness of the meat. 

For the beer lovers, the beer are free flow too, so are the drinks and ice cream - free-flow Haagen-Daz and Movenpick ice-cream, can you believe it!?

Oh ya, it is really popular among the tourist and locals, so be sure to make reservations prior to that. We made ours through our hotel!

马辣顶级麻辣鸳鸯火锅

Goodbye Taiwan and may we meet again.

Taiwan 2013 - Day 11 - Taipei, Yehliu, Juming Museum

On Day 11, we decided to take this Taiwan Tour Bus which caters this Crown North Coast Route.The route went MRT Tamsui Station⇔Qian Shui Bay⇔Sanzhi Visitor Center and Gallery⇔ Baisha Bay Visitor Center⇔Shimen Wedding Plaza⇔Teresa Teng Memorial Park(Yun Garden)⇔Juming Museum⇔Shitou Mountain Park⇔Yehliu Geological Park⇔Feicui Bay⇔Dawulun Industrial Parks⇔Keelung Railway Station.

For the one day ticket that cost NTD 100, you are allowed to alight at any stop and board the next bus again. However, do note that the bus comes in an interval of one hour and it could be late. They will not wait at the bus stop for anyone. So be on time. One advice is that you could not possibly visit all the places of interests in one day. Thus, make some research on the places that you are really interested in. This really helps. We did not do much research and we dropped off at the beaches where there were no activities going on - we just had to wait for the next bus and did rush through those places that we could have spent more time at if we did not drop off at the beaches.

If you like art and museum, do drop a visit to Juming Museum - this museum is located in a picturesque place on a mountain side, overlooking the sea with a park filled with stunning works of this great artist, Ju Ming. A splendid place to be at, how I wished I had more time there!

Juming Museum

Lunch was recommended in the pamphlet that came with the tickets. The stall is located in the middle of Jinshan Old street. Ask around, you will sure to find it. However, the ordering system is very confusing - You will need to queue to order (there is no menu and so just order what you can see). After ordering, you will be led to another nearby place where there are tables and chairs. The food will be delivered to you shortly. After you finished the meal, just call for the bill. Easy as it seems, confusing when we were there. A delicious duck meat - tender meat, nice!

After lunch, we went to Yehliu Geological Park - it is famous for its fascinating rock formations - a mixed sedimentary sandstone and shale sculpted by the wind and water. A number of its rock formations have been given imaginative names based on their shapes such as Fairy’s Shoe, Mushroom Rock, Candle Rock, etc. The most famous is the “The Queen’s Head” (女王頭), an iconic image in Taiwan. To take a close picture with the Queen, you would have to queue for it. A nice way to end this bus tour but trust me, you will need to do some research to see which are the places that you would like to spend more time on. The tour bus can be late, but if it reached earlier than the stipulated timing, it will simply drive off to the next stop. So remember to be at the bust stop 5-10 minutes before the timing. 

Jinshan Old street,
Yehliu

Dinner was at Miaokou Night Market (廟口夜市). Our last dinner at night market and we just ordered whatever was recommended by bloggers and friends. A very filling dinner to end the food street night! Alright, we popped into a stall which we ordered butter crab and clam soups. A very nice clam soup - hot soup for the cool day, especially, it started to drizzle.

Tried the tempura too - deep fried fish which are chewy. It is different from the Japanese Tempura. It does not use much flour during the frying, thus, it was not crispy!

Pork Ribs Soup (排骨羹) is a must have, though I found it a little oily. This was really good too where deep fried pork ribs appeared in a sweet soup with cabbages and pickled vegetables.

Last but not least, had the last oyster omelette of the trip - need I say much!?

 

Miaokou Night Market (廟口夜市)

Taiwan 2013 - Day 10 - Taipei, Beitou, Danshui

We started off the day by heading to Xin Beitou (北投) for a walkabout as well as hot spring. Take the train Red Line heading towards Tamsui and change into another train at MRT Beitou Station to the Pink Line, which travels one stop to MRT Xin Beitou Station. The whole journey will take around half hour to 40 minutes. 

The area is quite an easy accessible place which we managed to follow a walking trail which I found online. The route went like this: Ketagalan Culture Center > Beitou Hot Spring Museum > Millennium Hot Springs (which we went for Hot Spring) > Plum Garden > Beitou Thermal Valley > Puji Temple > Lunch. 

At the entrance of Xin Beitou Station, you will be able to see the Beitou Park across the street on the right. A water fountain is situated at the entrance of the park. Our first stop is to Ketagalan Culture Center which is just across the street from the park on the left. It is a 10-floor high building where the entrance is into POP art culture. Believe me, you won't miss  it unless they change the design of their entrance from time to time. This museum gives a broad overview of the history of 14 different Taiwanese aboriginal groups, with displays of the equipment and costumes used at that concern period. The museum is open every Tuesday – Sunday from 9am – 5pm and admission is free. It would take less than an hour to comb the whole museum. 

Next up, continuing on the right side of the center, we walked to the Millennium Hot Springs (千禧湯露天溫泉). This is a mixed bathing bath and requires the use of bathing suits, so you won’t be getting completely naked like in Japanese style baths. Price of admission is  at NT$40 - affordable with great experience. You may either bring your own swimwear or purchase a swimsuit at the entrance. It was really an experience for me though I had been to both Japan and Korea before and had tried nude hot spring before. In this hot spring, there are many elderly with a couple of their grandchildren, scattered with tourists as well. I guess the affordable price allows the locals to spend their time at this hot spring. The people there were friendly and guided us along the way, telling us the dos and don'ts. Felt so refreshed after the whole thing. 

Next up, we went to the Beitou Hot Spring Museum. which was the main public bath in the area during the Japanese Era. Visitors are to remove their shoes before entering (Japanese custom) and change into slippers that are provided. Learnt more about the Japanese culture in Taiwan, and now we know why Beitou seems so Japanese..

Another highlight of this morning was the visit to Beitou Thermal Valley (地热谷). A nature phenomenon where a volcanic crater is filled with steaming natural sulfuric hot spring water. The area is open Tuesday – Sunday from 9am-5pm. Admission is free.

A very quick detour to Puji Temple before we stopped for lunch - A well preserved temple which is located on a higher ground. Get up the stairs to visit this temple - a Japanese Buddhist Temple to be exact.

Beitou and its beauty

After all the walking, it was time for lunch. Upon google, I noted that there is this popular Ramen option -Man Lai Hot Spring Ramen (满来温泉拉面). Following the direction, we saw Man Ke Ramen (满客屋拉面) instead. We thought the shop has changed its name and with the long queue, we thought we got the right shop. With a bit of waiting time, we managed to get a table within half an hour. Following the recommendation, we ordered the hot spring egg （溫泉蛋), cold tofu and the Miso Ramen with braised pork (味噌叉燒拉面). I have to say, the egg is really great and so is the tofu. The ramen was so-so but it was good enough to go with the side dishes. A good lunch after a good walk. 

Time to head to Tamsui (淡水)and along the way back we saw the shop name:  Man Lai Hot Spring Ramen (满来温泉拉面). Oh man, it has shifted nearer to the train station. But well, luckily we had a good lunch at the other Ramen shop. 

Man Ke Ramen 满客屋拉面

From Xin Beitou, take the train to Danshui Mrt. It will take around half an hour. Exit the station and we walked through The Old Street (淡水老街). It was time to hop in and out of the shops but well, we did not managed to buy anything. We walked to the Fort San Domingo (紅毛城) and  Little White House (小白宮) which took us about half and hour. Along the way, we saw the shop that sell Ah Poh iron eggs (阿婆铁蛋). It is a must buy back souvenirs together with the fish crackers. Remember to get them! 

Anyway, the Fort San Domingo and the Little White House are quite well preserved and we were able to know more about the history of the city. A leisure walk to spend under the nice breezy weather. Next up, we took a bus to the Fisherman's Wharf & Lover Bridge (情人橋) as it was quite a long distance to walk. We were hoping to see the sunset at the bridge but it was too cloudy. Nonetheless, we managed to take some great photos there. 

Dinner was of course spent at the Old street after taking a ferry ride back from the Fisherman's Wharf. We had the famous Ah Gei (阿給) - it is tofu stuffed with glass noodle. It was quite an unique food. Besides that, we also ordered the fishball soup and the meat patty.  A very simple dinner at the classic Old Street! 

Tsam Shui

Taiwan 2013 - Day 9 - Taipei, Jiufen, Shifen

Day 9 was spent visiting 3 different places at the same region - Jinguashi (金瓜石), Jiufen (九份) and Shifen (十份).  We took the Metro to Taipei Main station where we need to find the exit to South Gate 2 and took the TRA train to Ruifang Station 瑞芳. Sis said that we can pay using our Easy Card but well, we made the wrong decision. While with Easy Card, we were able to board the train but we did not have a seat. I reckon that we need to buy a ticket with allocated seats. That would be better given the point that the journey was not that short. 

After existing from Ruifang Station, we had to cross the street to the bus stop next to the Wellcome Supermarket and boarded the Keelung Transit bus towards Jiufen. I forgot if we had to tap the Easy Card when we boarded the bus or when we alighted - so just asked the driver when in doubt. The bus dropped us off right at the start of the Gold Ecological Park in Jinguashi. As easy as that. 

At Jinguashi, we joined a tour that brought us through the park, enlightening us on some important history. Scenic views with history of the mining industry. Further to that, the area was fairly influenced by the Japanese Culture. Interesting. There, I visited the Gold mining tunnel which cost NT50. Nothing much exciting within the tunnel though it was an experience to experience what the miners did back in the past. A very nice place to spend the morning at. 

Jinguashi, 金瓜石

After that, we returned to Gold Ecological Park entrance to take the bust to Jiufen Old street - that would mean eating and shopping again. Get off at the bus stop by the 7-Eleven and the old street begins just across the street.

Jiufen Old street is really a maze. If you have the whole afternoon to it, just walk and walk. Stop and eat, stop to take photos and stop to shop. Never a moment of boredom. Or find a place to drink and relax. Just go with the flow, it is a nice place to simply walk around. Here, we managed to buy the Jiang Mu Cha (Ginger tea) back home as souvenirs - seems that it has many health benefits attached to it. GOOD!

Jiufen, 九份

Well, if you were to visit Shifen (十份), please remember to take note of the train timing. They really have very strict timing where the train from Ruifang (瑞芳) will depart every hour. If you missed it, you got to wait for an hour. Well, we missed the 4pm train and as a result, we were not able to visit the Shifen Waterfall as it was closed by 5pm. What a waste but I guess this makes it a very good reason for me to revisit Taipei again. 

With the hour to spend at Ruifang, we simply walked around the area near the station -  I have to say, nothing much to walk. Finally, we managed to reach Shifen at around 5pm. Shifen is the place where we went to release  the Sky Lantern - Pen down your wishes and may your wishes come true as it flies up the sky. There are many shops offering the Sky lantern services. Just pop in to any shop - the shop that we went to, the lady boss was very helpful and even offered to help us take photos. Good service. At Shifen, when there is no train arriving or departing, we were free to walk along the railway tracks to take photos. A very good experience to be walking along an active track!

Shifen十份

Well, since there is no waterfall to visit, we spent an hour there and managed to catch the next train back to Taipei. As per the trip over to Ruifang, we headed back to Taipei Main station with no seats.  Had a cafe dinner at that area as well as to shop around. Final stop for the day was still Ximending since it was so near to our hotel - a plus point to stay near XMD. 

Not much days left in Taipei...

Pizza Hut Lunch Value Meal

Pizza Hut has this Smart Choice Lunch deal/promotion which is available on weekdays from 11am to 5pm , excluding on eves and on public holidays. It includes a main course, a drink and soup of the day, starting at S$8.90. Quite worth the price, I reckoned. 

Today, I ordered the Hawaiian Pizza set and the soup of the day was chicken soup. Not that bad for the soup. Pizza hut's pizza never failed to brighten up my day. The crust is crispy on the outside but fluffy on the inside. It was served hot though the waiting time can be up to 20 mins or more. So we order the sweet and spicy drumlets  first. It was  also on promotion together with the lunch menu but I forgot how much that was. The drumlets were great. I love it!

Pizza hut is considered a relatively affordable Fast food cafe in Singapore with a drink, a soup and a pizza!

Pizza Hut Lunch Value Meal

Funan DigitalLife Mall
109 North Bridge Road #03-05/06
You can find more Pizza Hut locations here:
http://www.pizzahut.com.sg/dine_in/locator/north.asp

Taiwan 2013 - Day 8 - Cingjing Farm, Taipei

Walking up as early as 2am was not really a very desirable thing to do during a tour - but well,  all for the sunrise, I really thought it was worth the sacrifice and trouble. 

It was really cold in the wee hours and on our mini van, there was another Singaporean young couple. Off we went together with the driver up to Hehuanshan. The driver told us that it would be well below 0 degree when we reached the top for the sunrise view. Good thing about his service was that he had prepared winter thick jacket for us. Thank you so much as our basic jacket would not be able to take the cold for us. 

First, he dropped us off at the convenience store to grab some drink and snacks. Then off we went to a dark pitch place where we dropped off and looked at the starry starry sky!. Then the journey up was a little long that we fell asleep. The next moment when we woke up, we had reached the pitstop for the sunrise. It was still a little early and thus, we sat in the van as we did not want to be out in the cold. But time came and off we went to the viewing platform. Good sunrise for the trip - totally loved it. Here's some of my captures:

Hehuanshan, 合歡山 - Sunrise tour

After the sunrise, we went back to Misty Villa for breakfast - a very simple buffet spread but it was good enough. Took a quite rest in the room and off we went back to Small Swiss Garden (really wanted to make full use of the time at Cingjing). The view in the day and at night was totally different. While there was new lightings at night, the Small Swiss Garden in the day seems so calming and relaxing. 

Small Swiss Garden, 小瑞士花園

We checked out at 11am and rushed to take the 11:10 Nantou bus back to Taichung HSR. Though the timetable stated 11:10, we waited for quite some time. So my take was, please be there early, just in case though you might have to wait - we did not want to take the chance as we had prebooked the HSR tickets. Our trip back to Taipei was smooth-sailing and back to CityInn Plus hotel at Ximending area. After checking in, and resting, we decided to head to Shilin Night Market (士林夜市) for Dinner. Eating street food has been a routine for us. Loved it!

At Shilin Night Market (Jiantan MRT), remember to try the 豪大大鸡排 and 卤肉饭. But well, like I always say, try whatever you think you want to try - my liking may not be yours! At this market, I bought 2 pairs of shoes - wooah... at NT390 for each pair and well, I am still wearing them now!

Shilin Night Market, 士林夜市

Taiwan 2013 - Day 7 - Cingjing Farm

Start of day 7 was spent on travelling again. From Zuoying Station, we travelled to Taichung Station (高鐵台中站) to take a Nantou bus to Cingjing Farm (清境農場). Like I mentioned before, we pre-ordered our train tickets online and collected them via the machine at the station - it is really a fast and convenient way for tourist.  

When you reached Taichung Station, get to the basement and look for a ‘Nantou Bus’ counter inside the station, just beside the exit 5. There, you would be able to buy the bus tickets to Cingjing Farm. We bought the return tickets that came with some perks and well, it was cheaper in that sense. There are actually timings for the buses and some buses only brings you to Puli Station. Do opt for the direct bus to Cingjing farm though it will also stop at Puli Station to pick up other passengers. Do be clear and check out this website for more information. We took the 10:20 bus and managed to reach Cinjing Farm area at 12 plus. Do check with your mingsu on the location to be dropped off. There are quite a number of stops in which the bus will drop off the passengers. 

As we stayed at  Misty Villa (雲濛仙境), we were advised to alight at "Guo Min house stay/國民賓館". Thereafter, it was a 5 mins walk (up slope) along "Rong Guang New Village/榮光新村". Misty villa is located on the right. A very nice villa with very nice host. It was not the time to check in and thus, we left our luggage at the counter. The coutner lady, Ms Chen recommended some of the attractions and showed us a map. She was very attentive and was able to give good advice, introducing us to places according to our liking. There, we booked the sunrise trip to Hehuanshan (合歡山) from her. That cost NT400 per pax. 

Then, off we went to the Green Green Grassland (青青草原). There is shuttle bus services that brings us from the Cingjing Carpark to the Grassland on Weekends only. If not, I reckon the walk to be half an hour. There was not much direction and we decided to take the bus. As there was still time, we went to 7-11 to grab a bite - there, I had the instant noodle, with a tea leaf egg and a drink. It was not an expensive meal but the hot noodle brought warmth to us. The temperature at Cingjing was drastically different from that at Kaoshiung. It was cooler and was around 15 degrees. Travel time for the shuttle bus to reach Grassland is about 10 minutes and the fare is NT$20. However, this was included in the return tickets package that we bought earlier on. It was only a one-way ticket but that was fine as we were able to walk back to our minsu from the Grassland.

It was great to spend the afternoon at Green Green Grassland. A very relaxing day with sheeps to keep you company. After the entertaining sheep shearing show, some of the sheeps were left free to roam around the grass patch. It was time to take some memorable photos with them. While strolling back to Misty Villa, we encountered beautiful sunset -  something we did not expect. Nice calming view.

Green Green Grassland

As we reached back Misty Villa, we did the check in and rested for a while. Next up in the itinerary was DINNER. We were also advised by Ms Chen to visit the Small Swiss Garden (小瑞士花園) after 7pm. In this way, we would be able to see the nightview of the garden tonight and the morning view of it tomorrow morning. Wasn't that helpful of her, ensuring that we see both views of the garden. Thumbs up.

After the musical water show at Small Swiss Garden, we proceeded next door to Carton King Creativity Park ( 紙箱王創意園區). It is a creative park where almost everything is made of corrugated cardboard - from the ceilings, the floor, the furniture to everything! We had our dinner at the restaurant where we sat on cardboard, dined on cardboard!. Lucky us, we heard that there were shortage of water after we ordered our food and the restaurant had to deny entry for other customers. Phew!

We ordered the pork rib set and a seafood hotpot -  nice hotpot for the cool weather. We even drank our drink from a carton box. Well, there was a cup inside but I guessed they wanted to showcase their cardboard legacy. The good thing about ordering drink was that, you can bring back the cardboard (asked the waiter to dismantle') and it could be a good souvenir to bring home - it can be converted to a piggy bank!

Alright, back to the food, I quite liked them. I guessed the set was pretty well-thought - Each set comes with a cup of olive rice, soup, vegetables and dessert. They are priced pretty reasonably between NT$200 to NT$360 and I think there was a minimum purchase. Do check this out again if you plan to eat there. 

Carton King Creativity Park 紙箱王創意園區

Okay, time for a good rest after the dinner as we had to wake up super early for the sunrise tour that starts at 3am!

Address:
Misty Villa (雲濛仙境)

南投縣仁愛鄉大同村榮光巷9號

Taiwan 2013 - Day 6 - Kaoshiung, Cijin Island

Today was a cycling day and off we went to Cijin Island (旗津島) at Kaoshiung area. The nearest station is Sizihwan Station (Orange line 01). Initially we thought of taking the ferry over to the island before embarking on the cycling trip. However, at the train station, we rented the bicycle for the whole day at NTD 90. Cheap deal but the catch would be we will be cycling along the cars and trucks to the ferry terminal. Really an experience which we would never do in Singapore. Cool thing was we could take the bicycle on board the ferry to Cijin Island, which will cost you NTD$15 NTD (less than S$1).

Here's the planned route within Cijin Island but well, since it was all about cycling, I think everyone could just go with the flow, not really a fixed route to follow:

旗津區風車公園 (Cijin Wind Turbine Park) – 旗津海岸公園 (Cijin Seaside Park) – 旗津天后宮 (Cijin Tianhou Temple) – 旗後山隧道 (Cihou Tunnel) -旗後燈塔 (Cihou Lighthouse) – 旗後砲台 (Cihou Fort)

As some places did not allow bicycles into the premise, we had to park our bicycle by the side and locked them with a chain provided by the shop. Ok, I guess no one really wanted to steal the bicycles. I simply loved the relaxing day with the nice weather - clear blue sky!

Beauty of Cijin Island

Almost spent the whole day at Cijin Island where we had seafood. There were a lot of seafood shops around selling fresh seafood. Not knowing which is a better shop, we just pop in to the nearest shop available. There, we ordered sashimi, calamari and some shell dish -  it was not very expensive and I can safely say that the food was really fresh. Thereafter, we went to a dessert shop to have some cold mango ice. Well, the shop is just next to the chinese temple near to the ferry terminal, you won't miss it. It was marvelous and refreshing - mango is indeed fresh as well!

Seafood Lunch and Mango dessert

Afterwhich, we went back to the main island and continued our cycling trail. As compared to Cijin Island, Kaoshiung's road traffic was heavier and so, please do take care when cycling along with the motorist. There, we visited the Takao Railway Museum, Love Pier/Pier 2 Art Centre (驳二艺术区) and any places that we happened to pass by which attracted our attention - a very random hop on and off kind of trail. The scenery was really a beauty! 

Beauty of Kaoshiung

After the whole cycling event, we went back to Liuhe Night Market (六合夜市) for dinner. Nearest station will be Formosa Boulevard Station which was near to our hotel. You got to try the papaya milk, it was really great with many famous people visited it as well. As for the other food, just buy whatever that caught your attention - Taiwanese street food is really up to standard. But do try out the dessert - red bean soy milk pudding - it was great especially after eating the main course. 

Food at Liuhe Night Market (六合夜市)

Time to rest for the next day - a day to see the sheeps. Like I said, weather at Kaoshiung had been great for us that my tan-line was formed. Boo-hoo!

Taiwan 2013 - Day 5 - Kaoshiung

Said Goodbye to the beach and off to Kaoshioung (高雄). Luckily for us, the weather had been great since we left Taipei.Time to leave Kenting. Here once last look at the place. Did I mention that the room come with a simple breakfast that we had to walk to a cafe blocks away.

Love sea 126

Like how we travelled to Love Sea 126, we took the car pool service back to Zuoying. We reached Kaoshioung before noon. Off to a Japanese Restaurant for lunch as we had 'enough' of Taiwanese food! After which, and we went to the Lotus Pond ( 蓮池潭) which is a a man-made lake and popular tourist destination. 

We started off the trail by taking a bus at the bus stop outside the train station to the Lotus Lake. It is a 15-20 minutes ride over, which only cost you NTD$15-20 (less than S$1). After alighting, we passed by the information centre. There, you can grabbed a map of the place. 

First, we visited the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas - zigzag entrance to the mouths of the dragon and tiger where you would pass by the pond filled with lotus leaves. I reckoned the view will be a beauty if the pond was filled with Lotus plants instead. When visiting the pagodas, we entered through the Dragon Pagoda and exit through the Tiger Pagoda.  We paid a nominal fee which in turn, we received 2 postcards. The view up at the Pagodas were great. 

Next up, we also visited the Spring Autumn Pavilion where there is a statue of the Goddess of Mercy riding a dragon. Walked a bit further and we reached the Polar God of Mystic Heaven - A magnificent statue. Our last stop was at the Confucius Temple - an impressive complex of buildings. Enter the premise and you can see some of the items used in the past - A history lesson done!

Lotus Pond and its surrounding attractions

After the walk under the hot sun, we were walked back to the train station which was just round the corner. From here, we took the train to Formosa Boulevard Station where we walked passed the Liuhe Night Market premise to reach our hotel - Jia's Inn Liuhe. A nice hotel stay which I will talk more about next time. 

Taking some time off to rest and wash up, we proceeded to Singuang Ferry Wharf (新光碼頭). Take the Red Line and get off at R8 (Sanduo District). Walk west down Sanduo 3rd Road towards the Harbour for 10-15 minutes. Alternatively, just asked anyone and they will be more willing to give you the directions. After the nice sunset, we went to Dream Mall (統一夢時代購物中心). The nearest station is R6 Kaishyuan Station and a shuttle bus service is available to fetch us to the Mall. Stay and shop if you love shopping. But instead, I went to the top floor to take the Ferris wheel. A nice nightview from the top. 

After some window shopping (well, we did not want to buy and lug our shopping items back to Taipei), we headed to Ruifeng Night Market (瑞豐夜市). The nearest train station is R14 Kaohsiung Arena Station and follow exit 1 or well, follow the crowd. According to the hotel service crew, tt is a very localised night market.

Singuang Ferry Wharf (新光碼頭), Dream Mall (統一夢時代購物中心) and some others

At Ruifeng Night Market (瑞豐夜市), we ate and played the market game. For NTD50, we were given 20 hoops where if we landed it at any item, it will be our prize! In total, our luck was not that bad, we won 3 items overall. As for the food, well, just buy whatever you would like to eat. No worries, they tasted great. We had a prata, 3-kind omelette, chicken chop and more! It was really very full!

Ruifeng Night Market (瑞豐夜市)

Time to head back to hotel to take a early rest. It had been a long day!

Address:

Jia's Inn Liuhe

No. 128, Liuhe 2nd Rd, Cianjin District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
台灣 高雄市前金區六合二路128號 

Singuang Ferry Wharf
At then end of Singuang Road, Lingya District, Kaohsiung

Dream Mall
 No. 789, Zhōnghuá 5th Rd, Qianzhen District, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan 806

Taiwan 2013 - Day 4 - Kenting

Day 4 was the co-trip with a couple from the USA. And we went for a trip round Kenting. 

First of all, we started the day with the east coast of Kenting - 船帆石 (Sail Rock). See the natural phenomenon, does it look like a face? Cool, and with the blue sky white clouds accompanying us, it was really great. There is also an exhibition centre near the place where you can learn more about the sand and the place.

Next up, we went to the 鑾鼻燈塔 (Eluanbi Lighthouse) which is within the Eluanbi park. We spent almost 3 hours in the place. There is admission fee to the place but it was not that expensive (I forget how much that was). The lighthouse is considered one of the most popular icons in Kenting. Though we could not enter the lighthouse for a better view of the place, the lighthouse itself blended well with the sky. Within the park, you can take a trail along the sea and enjoy the sea breeze and view. After some walk, we reached the next phenomenon - 鹅銮鼻公园的亲吻石. The 2 rocks seems to be kissing and that's how it got the name for it. 

Top:  1. 船帆石 (Sail Rock), 2. 鑾鼻燈塔 (Eluanbi Lighthouse) 3.鹅銮鼻公园的亲吻石
Bottom: 1. 臺灣最南點 (Southern Most Tip of Taiwan) 2.龍磐 (Long Pan) 3. 风吹沙

Following up, we went to the most southern tip of Taiwan - 臺灣最南點. Kenting is at the southern part of Taiwan and there we went to the most southern tip of Kenting. Did not get to take much photos there as there were a crowd of tourists there as well.  But well, we needed to walk for 10 minutes in order to reach the place - that's how deep we needed to reach the tip. 

For a relaxing view, we were brought to 龍磐. We were facing the big sea with nothing to block our view. The wind was strong and the place was really amazing. It seemed that we owned the sea, the land and the sky. I really hoped I could stay there the whole day, relaxing and doing nothing but to stare blankly at the sea. 

Next up was another phenomenon - 风吹沙. How did the place gotten its name. It seems that the sand at the beach is blown up by the big wind and slowly with time, the sand covers the piece of land and slowly forms what we see now. WOW, imagine how strong the wind is in order to make the light sand 'flew' such a long distance. 

Time for lunch at 2pm was well, making us hungry. We were brought to 恆春古城 (Hengchun Ancient City). This is an old town but it was made popular after a movie Cape No. 7 (海角七號) was filmed there. The guide recommended us to try the local dessert - 绿豆蒜. For a hot day, this cold icy dessert really made my day. We did not have any staple food as we were told that he would bring us to a seafood place for meal. 

So we took the time to explore the place like the stand alone southern gate that was left, the house which the male lead lived in in the movie - you need to pay a fee to step into the house and well, we did not since we were not into the craze. 

Top: 1. 恆春古城 (Hengchun Ancient City) 2. 南门  (Southern Gate)
Bottom: 1. 阿嘉的家 (Ah Ga’s house), 2. 绿豆蒜

After our seafood, it was time for sunset. We reached 白沙灣, Baisha Bay. Okay, remember the movie,  Life of Pi? One of the film locations was at this Baisha Bay. Taiwan is really a great and nice place for film making. 

Some of the sunset I took along the way and at 白沙灣, Baisha Bay

After 白沙灣, Baisha Bay, it was time to head back to our minsu. After some wash up, we headed back to our food street for dinner. Seriously, we still had many food that we had yet to try. The highlight for the night was the stinky tofu. It was really delicious! The cheese shrimp balls was not that bad but too bad, the lady boss was not flexible enough. There was this tourist lady who liked to try mixed flavours, and paying at a premium price but the boss rejected. Wonder if it was communication breakdown or that the lady boss believed that certain sauce can only go with certain ingredients and that's why she was not willing to compromise. The pan fried dumpling was special - normally we always had the steamed kind. The boss even told us that he has relatives staying in Singapore. So coincidental!. 

Food, Food and more food
1. 臭豆腐　2. Cheese Shrimp Balls, 3. Pan fried dumpling 

The food street ended our night in kenting and time to pack up for our Kaoshiung! Kenting, you have been very nice to us with all the great food and the great weather, we will miss you!

Taiwan 2013 - Day 3 - Kenting

On the third day, we were venturing to the south of Taiwan. Thus, we did an early check out and deposit our luggages at CityInn plus, bringing only bare essentials for the day trips. In order to reach Kenting at the soonest, We took the High Speed Rail (高鐵) to reach Zuoying station (高鐵左營站) where we waited for the driver to pick us up to our Minsu (民宿) at Love Sea 126 ( 戀海126).

We had earlier booked our tickets online and managed to get it at a discount due to their early bird discount - it works in such a way that the early bird discount of 35% off, 20% off, or 10% off are offered with limited quantity no later than 8~28 days before the departure date (including the departure date). Thus, it is always good to plan your itinerary early in order to enjoy such discount. The collection of the ticket is very simple as well, so no worries on it. 

Ok, back to the day. From Ximen station, we took the train to Taipei Main Station (NT16, 3mins) and then walk to Taipei Station (5 mins walk) to take the High Speed Rail. We bought a train bento as our brunch so as to save time. There was only two types of bento sold at the train station, namely the pork and vegetarian. Needless to say, we bought the braised pork bento. We took the 09:54 hr train from Taipei which will reach Zuoying Station at 11:30hr. A very smooth trip without any hitch. The bento set was simple but tasty. 

Taiwan Bento - Braised Pork

As the arrangement for the driver to pick us up was at 1pm, we had about 1.5 hour to spend at Zuoying station. We spent out time walking around the shopping area at the station and took a light lunch at a cafe. The pick up service cost NT350 per person per way and it will be shared with other passengers. The car journey took about 3 hours and we eventually reached our B&B inn at around 4pm. 

As mentioned, we stayed at Love 126 and here's the link to their website in English. For the 2 nights we stayed, we paid NT$2200 per night with simple breakfast included. It is a double room with sea view. Nice! The room has all the basic necessity, not a luxury place to stay if you prefer a room with more facilities. But it was well equipped enough for us. They do provide housekeeping which we were not informed of. The owner of the place who also acted as the receptionist was very friendly. He directed us to the beach and also the way to the Kenting Main Street for dinner. 

Through our previous email correspondences, we were also informed of a half or full day tour which he could help arrange for a car/driver. The rates are as follows:

2 persons half day tour (5 hours) - NT2200

2 persons full day tour (8-9 hours) - NT3200

4 persons half day tour - NT 2500

4 persons full day tour - NT3200

As there were only the two of us, we opt for the 2 persons full day tour. But luck was on our side. There were a couple staying at Love Sea 126 who also wanted such tour. So together, we formed a group of 4 which we managed to save cost. It was quite nice of the owner to make such an arrangements.

Love Sea 126 戀海126

Alright, after we put down our luggage, we went to the Dawan beach 大灣沙灘 opposite our inn for a stroll, and hoping to catch the sunset. Here's the few pictures of the beach... I really love the sun, be it sunrise or sunset. 

Dawan Beach 大灣沙灘

The night was still young but there was not much we can do in Kenting. We went to the Kenting Main street to look for dinner. Here's the food we had on the first night:

1. Fried Milk balls 炸鲜奶 - a special dish that I have not tried before. They really fried the milky mixture. Do not pop the whole ball in your mouth as it is really hot from the pan. Should try if you have not eaten before. 

2. Grilled Cuttlefish 烤鱿鱼 -  very chewy, very flavourful

3. Grilled meat 烤肉 - tender meat - you can choose what you want and they will grill in front of you. 

4. Sausage - I found it normal!

Food street at Kenting Main Street

If I remembered correctly, by the time we felt full, it was only 7pm in the evening. We popped into some shops to see if we could find some special souvenirs to bring home. After a while, we decided to go back to the Inn to rest. Well, an early good night rest. It was quite windy at Kenting so do bring along a jacket when you visit the place though it is a beach area!

Address:
Love Sea 126 - 戀海126
No. 126 Dawan Road, Kenting Li, Hengchun Township, Pingtung County 946, Taiwan (R.O.C.)