i love taiwan'08 part 4 - kaoshiung, tainan, taipei

finally, starting on the last part of this trip. haha =P thanks for reading till here, and for carrying on. heh =P

Day 5
we got back to the tent quite late cos there was very bad traffic jam and all. and by the time we washed up and wanted to sleep, it was about 515am. we talked for a while, then shuhui and yiqi went to sleep, while gwen, meixin and i played dai di - a period of time on shuhui's stomach. hahaha. cos she was sleeping in between us mah! LOL =P but she was sleeping quite soundly by then lah. heh. =P
this was at about 530am and dawn was breaking already. we played till 535am, then decided to take a rest. the original plan was to get up at 6am - meaning it was a mistake to go to sleep. hahah =P cos we only got up at about 630am? LOL =P anyway, after some packing up, it was time to say bye bye to kenting.
the pair of slippers that came with the concert ticket. it was white actually, but all the mud and soil made it turn khaki / beige / brown?? haha. i kind of regret not bringing it back actually. TSK. i took a photo of it and threw it away. hahaha =P
and this was a...resort (??) that's opposite our camping ground. very holiday mood right?? and that's the last photo i have of kenting...

we took a mini-bus back to kaoshiung. it's 350NTD per person, and it takes only about 1 and a half hours, faster than taking the normal bus for visitors. the only prob was that the mini-bus was supposed to be 9-seater, but there was a driver, 2 passengers in front and 10 of us at the back. TSK TSK TSK. so uncomfortable cos not only was it crowded, it was hot as well. rahhh. oh well, but for time saved....and while the rest of them slept soundly (i have a photo of the 3 sleeping like logs beside me!! but shan't put it up cos it's really quite tak-glam. haha =P), i was awake half the time trying to find sth to fan myself with and looking at the farms we passed by. lol =P

anyway, we got to kaoshiung, and took the metro - it was new, so they had a promotion period where you travel on the metro for free - to this place called ciaotou sugar refinery. it was sooooo crowded! like the whole of kaoshiung was there or sth. =/ and i dint expect to see what i saw. i was thinking maybe it will be some kind of factory where they will show you the sugar refining process, but no leh?! there was a big fair going on, and then there were so many other stuff besides the sugar factory (which i dint even see). haha. i asked the senior, she said it's just cos the place has been around since the jap occupation, and it's like a very much self-contained place with theatres, entertainment and accommodation for workers on-site. but i really couldnt see the special thing about this place. maybe the crowd spoilt its charm, maybe those night-market-like stalls spoilt it too. oh well. because we were at kaoshiung at about 1030am and had a train to catch to tainan at 2pm, we dint have much time. after the sugar refinery, the original plan was to go to 爱河, love river literally, but there wasnt time. so we went to the central park station instead, where the supposed shopping haven for young people is. there's this place called shinjuku, but we only had about half an hour to shop. hahha. well, everyone of them - shuhui, gwen and yiqi did walk away with something....damn good pressure shoppers. hahaha =P

and so we took the train to tainan. the trains in taiwan arrive very on time, and the journey was only 36mins. yiqi almost missed the stop. =/ because it was crowded, we dint manage to get tickets for the same car. yiqi and i were in the same car - i slept and woke up just in time to hear, "next stop, tainan". then i went to wake yiqi up. i thought she woke up alr, cos she was checking her phone. but when i got up to get off, ehhhh how come she not moving!!! so i faster went to tap her shoulder and tell her we were there alr! wah panic, she was so afraid the doors would close on her. hahaha. but yah lah, we got off in the end =)

we booked ourselves on the 7.30pm bus back to taipei. we had about 4 hours to spare in tainan. then we went on to this place called an ping fort. it was left behind from the dutch occupation era. we went there by cab cos it was the fastest and most direct mode of transport since we were in a hurry. on the way there, we saw several processions - i think it's some ma zu festival or sth. i really like it when i see different stuffs on foreign land. like these things keep reminding me of the value of my trip. haha. it's all for the experience lah.

and talking about different experiences, the cab driver sped whenever he could, and you know what? he always stopped at the area meant for motorcyclists and would beat the red light every time he could. i sat in front so i clearly saw him do it 3 times in a row. and he was like, “你们北部（we told him we came down from 台北）应该没有这样的吧？” only then did shuhui and meixin realise that he actually beat 3 red lights alr. =/ and the uncle said it in such a nonchalant tone. hahaa. which prompted shuhui to say, “你还很得意嘞”. haha =P
okay actually the main focus here is supposed to be the round-shaped tree, not yiqi with her auntie umbrella. LOL =P
and we walked along their 老街, old street literally, and stopped at this place called chou's for dinner. they are known for their prawn rolls, but being lazy people, we ordered their set meal that will let us taste a bit of everything good at the shop. hahha =p the prawn roll was yummy too. forgot to take photo before they all ended up in our stomachs. LOL =P

then there were little kids catching fish. haha. very kampong-ish leh! =)
we walked and walked to some kind of bridge and river place - i really cant rmb the name. was it 安意桥or sth?? rahh. oh wells.
the one sitting down is the nice senior, meixin, who brought us around lah! =) er...shuhui commented that gwen look like xu chun mei that day. HAHAHAHA. i laughed until i wanted to cry. but seriously, if you look from the back, really look like. hahaa. cos you know xu chun mei's style?? she's soooo skinny, then she likes to wear such dresses and she will wear a hat?! hahaha =P yah. LOL =P
due to the lack of sleep and being under the sun for the past few days, we were all quite drained already by the time we reached this stage of the trip. i, of course, was still high and energetic as usual, save for the accidental sudden twist of my ankle before we reached the bridge that led us here. yiqi was okay....but shuhui and gwen were almost gone. hahaha. you should have seen the MINI-steps shuhui was taking...and gwen looked like she was sleep-walking - sleeping as she walked. lol. looking at them really made me laugh, it was entertainment in itself can?! hahaha =P

anyway, it was also here that we saw ALOT of people flying kites, and guess what? we saw a PIG too! as in, a real pig. hahaha. someone was keeping a pig as a pet =/ go see the photo on gwen's blog. i keep referring to her blog cos she's the only one who's updated about the trip mah. haha =P

after getting some prawn crackers, we went back to the bus station. this time round, i dunno why, i dint have as many things to say to the cab driver - maybe cos he was speaking in 台语 half the time that i dint know what he was trying to say =/ hahaha. oh wells. it was a nice experience nonetheless. and being a curious baby (and esp since my dad is a taxi driver), i asked him how much his rental was. he said he had to pay 300NTD a day, but after paying for a year, the taxi will belong to him. hmmm that's like soooooo much cheaper than the rate in singapore lah! haha. ehhh dad, you can go taiwan and be taxi driver le if you get bored of singapore. LOL. yes yes, i am just being lame lah can?! =P

we managed to get on the 7pm bus back to taipei cos there were a lot of seats left...i was coughing more than half the time. i think the guy beside me must be so scared that i would pass the germs to him. hahaha =P

we got back to taipei at about 12midnight and i had to look for a place to sleep for the night...i felt bad having to make the rest of them walk with me to find a place cos they all looked like walking zombies by this time, but well, they followed. we tried cosmos, which was nearest to the train station, cos i thought i dun want to make them walk too far. but in the end, it was like 2340NTD a night. then we walked on to onestar, which was a little further, but i rmb seeing it when we walked past it on the night we went to kenting. i heard about it, and it's not as atas as cosmos apparently. i was given a room for 1980NTD, which is about 90SGD. not cheap for one person, but it was late at night alr, so i just took it. hahhaa.

and you know what?! i knew i dint make the wrong decision the moment i stepped into the room!!! it was soooo big and spacious and the bed looks so comfy for one person!! there was a study table and a single-seat sofa as well! WOOHOO~! then there was a LCD tv, and even stereo and dvd player can?! hahah. first time i stayed at a hotel on my own, i was so excited! hahha. and it's really one big 享受 you know?! haha. especially after camping and feeling dirty under the heat for the past few days, you just love clean toilets and big, comfy beds. hahaha =P i lazed around, refusing to go bathe until it was about 1plus?! haha. there was just sooo many things on the numerous tv channels to watch! =P
they gave me a breakfast coupon to be used at a cafe opposite and breakfast is from 7 to 10. but er...i only woke up at 1030am??? hahah =P then i packed up and checked out at about 1130am, leaving myself with about 5 hrs to look ard. i am really learning to enjoy and starting to like solitude. hahaha =P
the building in the distance with the red roof and some blue thing on it is the taipei main station. i realised i nv took a photo of it despite passing by it a couple of times both last year and this. hahaha =P

i went to lung shan temple just 2 stops away. i really like the peacefulness i feel within myself when i step into a temple. really, everything just seems to calm down the moment i walk in. hahaha =P
then i went to ximending to walk ard since it's the nearest place to go...i only got myself 2 t-shirts. hahaha =P then i chanced upon this 鸭肉扁 shop which was full-house so i decided to give it a try. heh =P not bad not bad, actually tastes a bit like the lor duck i eat in singapore. if only their chopped duck got no bones leh. hahaa =P

then i was frantically trying to look for a supermart so that i could buy the brand of cup noodles that my sister's fren recommended to her and we brought home quite a few last year. i was told by the cashier at the duck place that there was a super big carrefour nearby. i walked and walked and walked before i finally got to the place. ehhhh i was afraid that i dint have enuf luggage space so i only bought 4 bowls of noodles in the end lor. sad. =( but i did get some other stuffs lah. haha. cos you know, i had the backpack, and i brought a long my old, green nike duffel bag - which is very small, cant put a lot of things....then i was looking for 沙茶酱. somehow, i just couldnt find it after asking like, 5 people?! hahaha. oh wells. =X then i decided to go back to the supermart near taipei main station my sis and i got our cup noodles from last year. lol. i'm actually quite thankful for the fact that i have a pretty good memory and sense of direction. hahaha =P

then it was back to the hotel to pack my stuffs. my green bag was really stuffed with food. lol. could barely zip it up. i had to remove the packaging of some mini-cup noodles i bought. LOL =P
with that, i bid taipei goodbye and embarked on the 1-hour journey to the airport for my flight back to hong kong. see the sign for my hotel? yup. hahah =P

but before i left, i just had to eat something. hahhaa. really eat until the very last minute. =P there was this dessert place right beside my hotel, and i da bao-ed tao huay with pearls. YUM. hahaha =P i amazed myself by being able to balance the tao huay precariously on the jerking bus. hahahaha =P

all in all, the trip has been a really good one. all the travelling was worth it for the different sides of taiwan i saw, the genuine people i met and the good food i ate. there is so much more to taiwan that should be explored. you will find that the places to the south are really different from taipei, even the people are different. you just feel it. after months of being in busy busy busy cosmopolitan hong kong (shuhui said i walk as fast as the hongkongers now -.-), this trip to taiwan was a good rewarding relaxing holiday for both the heart and soul. i really think it would take me a while to get bored of taiwan. haha =) another sunset for the collection.