Taiwan Graduation Trip (Day 3: Sun Moon Lake, Nantou)

Woke up real early this morning too cos its a long journey from Miao Li to Sun Moon Lake, Nantou. Have to take a train to Taichung, then transfer to express bus and then transfer to shuttle bus that will bring us to our hotel (The Lalu) in Sun Moon Lake area. ARGH! We had to wait approximately 45 minutes for our express bus to depart from Taichung and so we shopped around the vicinity. Things are really cheap in Taiwan. The ankle socks were going for SGD1.00 a pair and I bought enough to last me a lifetime.



When we finally arrived at Nantou from a 2 hours bus ride, our hotel car was already waiting for us at the bus stop. It came to pick us and us only! So atas right? The moment we got out of the car at the hotel entrance, we were greeted by their staff and escorted to the lobby area where plum tea and nuts were served. Apparently The Lalu is a 5 star hotel that provides luxury accommodation, comprehensive facilities and immaculate service and that do not befit our status. We were budget travellers who had no other cheaper alternatives. Sun Moon Lake is a very famous tourist attraction, hence all the hotels in the vicinity charge rocket high rates for their rooms. The Lalu seemed like the most value for money (SGD$340 per room per night) accommodation available on Asiarooms (http://www.asiarooms.com/).

A staff escorted us up to our room once it was ready and gave us a brief orientation. The room, in fact the entire architecture of the hotel, was beautiful. Furnishing was contemporary with a touch of Zen, exuding elegance. I was really facinated by the design of the toilet because it actually blended with the rest of the room (instead of the usual enclosed design) by having the basin cabinet located in the centre of the room like an island on a vast ocean. There was also a balcony, with a day bed and a spectacular view of the lake.

The Lalu also has a warm water swimming pool. How cool is that?

Later in the afternoon, we went on a 1.5 hours boat tour around the lake for SGD$15 per pax, one of the recreational activities offered by the hotel.

The boat made stops at several islands for passengers to explore on foot. I managed to try the best herbal tea eggs I have ever tasted in my entire life. It was flavourful and the egg white was very Q, not too hard or soft. Story has it that this herbal tea egg shop has been around for at least 50 years and even has an online blog!

Eugene and I met a real cool Singaporean dentist couple during our boat tour. Justin and Jeanie treated us to a sumptious dinner and invited us to their room for a chit chat session afterwards. It was only after we visited their room then we realised that our room was of the lower grades. Justin and Jeanie's room was TWICE the size of ours with a living area and a huge bathroom. Pretty~~

Card playing was our favourite past time during the trip.

Taiwan Graduation Trip (Day 2: Miao Li)

We woke up early this morning to catch the express bus down to Miao Li. When we finally reached Miao Li after a 2 hours ride, I realised we were kind of lost in the mountains! Fortunately, there was this Ah Peh, who was very hospitable and kind enough to offer his help. He called the owner of Dahu Hakka Village Resort (the place where we will be putting up for the night) to come pick us up at the bus stop. While waiting, we took our lunch at McDonald's. Eugene bought the McSpicy Chicken Burger but I got something special for myself. Teriyaki Chicken Burger! Singapore don't have.





The owner of the Village Resort had a cherubic face with rosy cheeks. Comparable to my face after I apply blusher. You have no idea how envious I was. Anyway, he offered to drive us to Sheng Xing Train Station (a tourist attraction) before we head back to the village. So nice right? Eugene and I took about 20 minutes to explore the place, take photos and buy souvenirs while he read newspaper in his car.

The ride up the mountain to the village took about 20 minutes. According to cherubic faced owner, it would take us approximately 2 hours to walk, crawl, climb up to the mountain top by feet. That was what he did in the past when he was a child.

I simply loved our theme room. Just as I had expected it to be. Comfy, romantic and we had a view of the vast greenery from the balcony.

Miao Li offers a totally different experience with its breathtaking scenery, fresh air and serene environment. We spent the afternoon lazily, drinking Ke Jia Lei Cha (traditional Hakka tea), picking strawberries and basking in the serenity.

Dinner was sumptious and slightly pricey. I suppose it is because they use really fresh ingredients. They grow their own fruits and vegetables. Turns out the cherubic faced owner was the one who whipped all all those delicious dishes! We had meat with preserved vegetables, stir fried vegetables, prawn balls and strawberry salad and a pickled vegetable soup. Yum! We also realized that he is actually head of the village cause halfway through our meal, villagers gathered at a huge table beside us for their dinner. We paid only SGD125 per night for our room, inclusive of breakfast and ultra good hospitality! Find out more at http://www.130.com.tw/

Taiwan Graduation Trip (Day 1: Taipei City)

My dream is to travel around the world with Eugene, to see beautiful places and experience beautiful things with the love of my life. We went on a short trip to Bangkok, Thailand before he left to study in Melbourne for 2 years. Now that he is finally back from Australia and I have completed my course in TP, it is time for us to embark on a deserving long holiday to... TAIWAN! We decided not to follow a tour group so that we have the freedom to go places we want to at our own pace. So I researched and planned our itinerary using the free time I had during my internship in Vietnam. The long awaited day finally arrived and believe it or not, I could not sleep the night before. So excited!

We reached Changi Airport Terminal 1 way before our flight so that we would have time to chillax, eat lunch and shop around. We flew on Jetstar and touched down Taiwan at about 5pm (local time). Eugene felt rather uneasy in his new environment with all the signages written in traditional chinese. Lucky for him he has a girlfriend who took Higher Chinese in school.

We saw a crowd at the customer service counter (to the right of the arrival hall) and walked over to see what was going on. The staff were actually issuing the "Youth Traveller Card" to the tourists and so we got 2 for ourselves too! The card comes with lots of privileges such as discounts for attractions, accommodations etc. so be sure to grab one when you are travelling in Taiwan.

To the left of the arrival hall were the ticketing counters for all the express buses that bring you to the different parts of Taiwan, including hotels. We bought tickets from Free Go Bus cause they could bring us to our hotel in Taipai City (Wonstar Hotel).

We really loved our room even though it was small. We paid only SGD90 per room per night for such a cosy and clean accommodation located right smack in Xi Men Ding. The hotel provided complimentary breakfast too. A real good deal! Can visit http://www.wonstar.com.tw/ for more details.

By the time we settled down, it was time for dinner and so we took a walk around Xi Men Ding. Eugene was craving for their local delights so we ate braised meat rice (SGD1.20) and oyster omelette (SGD2.50). Taiwanese oyster omelette is slightly different from ours. It was served on a bed of green leafy vegetables and topped with a ketchup like sauce, tasted more sweet than savoury. Wierd. I prefer Singapore's version of it.