Taiwan Escapade 2012: Part 2 - Kaohsiung Day 1

:) I'm trying to at least post 1 part of my Taiwan trip everyday now because I know I would be too lazy to post by the time 1 month is over. *LOL!*

So here we are, part 2 of my Taiwan Escapade: Kaohsiung Day 1. 

By the time we reached Kaohsiung, it's already 5:30pm (already super dark, similar to 7:30pm). We hurried and made our way to Kindness Hotel Xiong Zhong (next to the Kaohsiung Main Station (TRA)). From the HSR Station, you need to transfer to their MRT. Thus, we bought a 2-days Kaohsiung 畅游卡 (NT$300/pax). This card comes with unlimited bus / train / ferry rides for 2 days.

You can easily find the hotel and though it's cheap and great location, the room is super small. I didn't take much photos because it's just like any typical hotel room just that it's a bit too small for my liking. However, it's clean and tidy (which is my top priority for a hotel stay). 

By the time we're done with changing clothes (it's hot in Kaohsiung, about 27C!!!), we're hungry to the max! So the first stop is at Liouhe Night Market (六合夜市). It's considered one of the popular night market in Kaohsiung, so do expect lots of tourists (of course there's local there as well). 

To get to 六合夜市, alight at Formosa Boulevard Station (R10) and take Exit 11. 

Pit stop at Formosa Boulevard Station first! :) 

:) One of the attraction in Kaohsiung, and it's inside the Station. So snap a shot as it's along the way! :)

:) 六合夜市 is just outside of the station, very easily accessible

One of the must-have in 六合夜市 is the 郑老牌 papaya milk, recommended by quite a number of Singaporeans. Of course, being typical Singaporeans like me, I'll definitely go and try it out! *winks!*

 

:) And yes, I wasn't disappointed at all! :) It's sweet and thick, but super filling, so drink slowly so you can enjoy more snacks at the market. 

:) Full of people at the Night Market, mostly tourists

It was quite crowded at the night market, but the road is quite spacious and lots of bins along the way for you to throw your rubbish as you walked down the streets trying out the food. 

After a few snack bites, we're super duper full and decided to go for a stroll at the Love River (爱河).

To get to 爱河, alight at Orange Line: Yanchengpu Station (O2) and walk about 5 minutes.

First impression of 爱河: Similar to Singapore's Clarke Quay. The River is in the middle and on both sides are pubs, restaurants and roadside stalls. 

 

The night scenery is good, and it's very cooling to take a long stroll along the River. 

Ended the night with a long walk back to the Station. Though the day is short, we're still quite tired from all the traveling since early morning. A good night sleep to start off the 2nd day at Cijin Island, about 10 minutes ferry ride from Sizihwan Pier.

Back for more tomorrow! :)

Taiwan Escapade 2012: Part 1 - Taoyuan Airport to Kaohsiung

:) 2 weeks ago, I started my 8-days Taiwan Free & Easy with Mr. I must say it was a definite unforgettable trip for us and lots of beautiful memories captured. 

We booked our tickets in early July through Cathay Pacific. I'm not sure whether it was a promotion, but I managed to get our return tickets to Taipei for SGD550/pax. I say this is a good deal! :) Jetstar was offering about SGD500 without any luggage check-in. 

The catch is that you have to transit at Hong Kong Airport. It's about an hour of transit time so we shopped around HK for awhile. The only time wasted is the taking off and landing. However, we still think that's is quite reasonable. 

 Breakfast meal served on board flight to Hong Kong.

 

 Beautiful sea as we get nearer and nearer to Taiwan! :)

We reached around 2pm at Taoyuan Airport. Since there's no time difference between Singapore and Taiwan, we were ahead of time as per our itinerary. 

Our trip will start from South, Kaohsiung and all the way back to the North, stopping along the way at Taichung and finally Taipei. We pre-booked our High Speed Rail (HSR) tickets online before flying off as we're afraid there won't be any tickets left due to peak weekend period.

To get to the HSR - Taoyuan Station, you need to take the Shuttle bus service 705 by Ubus (green color bus) from Airport Terminal.

 There's lot of signage around the Airport to guide you to the Shuttle bus. 

Bus 705 will take you all the way to HSR - Taoyuan Station. 

705 is operated by Ubus Service. 

You can either pay by using the Taiwan Ezlink card, or cash at the bus counter. 

It's NT$30/pax for a single trip.

Trip is about 20 minutes. So do take in consideration when you purchase your tickets online. If I didn't remember wrongly, if you purchase your tickets in advance, you get to enjoy a 10% discount. :) So book early! :)

Our HSR tickets! :)

:) Once you reached the station, you can collect your tickets at either those vending machine or approach the information counter. Lucky we went for the latter as the officer helped us to change our tickets to an earlier timing and also it's an Express train meaning that it doesn't stop at all station but selective. The whole journey from Taoyuan to Zuoying (HSR Station at Kaohsiung) took around an hour half. 

 While waiting for the train, some shots to kick start our trip! :)

HSR train! :) It's my first time on board this super duper fast train! :)

The good thing about HSR is that it's super fast (it's the bullet train!), and it's so smooth! :) It's even more comfortable as compared to the Airplane, especially if you're sitting near the engine! *LOL!* And the train is so quiet (I really mean it's Q.U.I.E.T!) that we have to whisper on the train if someone speaks a bit louder you can hear him. -___-""

**Do take note that these train is always very punctual, so it's better to be there earlier as they don't wait for any passengers.**

Found out seats, settled down, and off we go to Kaohsiung! :) Stay tuned!

Just finished 仁显王后的男人in 1 day! ^^

:) I just spent 1 whole day watching the 16-episodes of this Korean Drama - 仁显王后的男人, aka Queen In-Hyeon' Man. 

Starring Ji Hyun Woo & Yoo In Na

Sounds crazy, but then this drama is quite addictive! *LOL!* The first episode is quite slow, and it kept on going back and forth the past and present. But subsequent episodes starts to show how this guy from the past can travel 300 years ahead to the present and how the lovebirds began their love story. Am glad that the main guy character is someone with wits, and he thinks through everything before acting.

I'm not really a big fan of time traveling show, because usually I can't understand all the logic behind why people can travel past time. But this drama is very clear, it's all because of a 符咒 (Amulet). For someone slow like me, this plot is very easy to follow and logical to understand.

For a guy who lived 300 years ago, his sense of fashion is damn good. HAHAHAHA! Everytime he came back to the present, he had to change his clothes and bammm, it's always that good, that nice on him! 

Lots of kissing scene in the show, which is why they are actual couple in reality. HAHAHAHA! I mean that amount of kisses is enough to trigger some fireworks! :) Anyway, they look good together, so yes, it's good news to hear that they're both together now. Certain scenes are so sweet that my goosebumps are all over. *LOL!*

Now I'm quite interested in Korean History too! HAHAHAHA! It seems like there's a lot of plot against the officials during the old dynasty. -.-"
  

“So the real fantasy in this drama is not the talisman or the time-slip but the absolutely perfect man named Kim Boong-Do.” - writer Song Jae Jung

 
Definitely a 5/5 for this drama, so find some time and watch it! :)