Always keep a smile on your face! ^^

"A smile is a curve that sets everything straight!"

I super like this quote, so remember people, always have a smile on your face! ^^

Have a great week ahead!

*Psst! Taichung post coming right up! I know I'm slow, I'm trying my best now!*

Taiwan Escapade 2012: Part 3 - Kaohsiung Day 2

Back for Day 2 in Kaohsiung! :) Woke up early to start our day since it's the last day we'll be in Kaohsiung so we hope to go a few more places. 

We had our breakfast in the hotel, typical Chinese cuisine and different varieties of bread. Simple spread but it's enough for breakfast. :) 

Plans for today: To visit Cijin Island (旗津岛) which is about 10 minutes ferry ride from Kaohsiung. Remember the tourist Ez-link card that we had bought the day before? It's also applicable for this ferry ride to the Island.

To get there: Alight at the Orange Line Sizihwan Station (O1) and walked about 10 minutes to the Gushan Ferry Terminal. Signboards are clear nowadays to guide you there. 

:) The Gushan Ferry Terminal and the ferry to fetch us to Cijin Island

About every 10-15 minutes, there will be a ferry back at the terminal, so waiting time is quite short. During the peak hours, it'll be faster too.The ferry is divided into 2 levels, 1st is to ferry both bicycles, scooters while 2nd is meant for passengers. Of course, the pricing is also different. 

Some scenery along the way, beautiful backdrop especially with the hills and clear water

Along the pier area, you can see lots of people fishing

And right in front it's the Kaohsiung 85 Tower, the 2nd tallest building in Taiwan.

Arriving at the Cijin Island! :) 

Weather was good that day, sunny yet windy. Lucky I put on lots of sunblock because we intend to cycle round the island to explore. First impression of the island when I alighted was that it not only an island, but a tourist attraction too! 

HAHAHAHA! It was crowded and buzzing with people shouting "Bicycle for rental." We got ourselves 2 bikes, NT$200/pax for the whole day (if I didn't remember wrongly). Since it's an island, we thought that cycling around it will keep us entertained for the whole day! *LOL!*

:) It's quite comfortable to cycle around the Island, very windy yet the sun is super duper strong. Follow the road and you'll pass by the beaches and parks.

At the Wind Mill Park :) So breezy and cooling! :)

:) We got free tickets to the MOME (Museum of Marine Exploration) from the bicycle rental. Museum is on the other side of the island. A small museum showcasing the evolution of ships. We just walked around and enjoyed the air-con for awhile. 

After enough of air-con, we cycle our way back to the pier to return the bike and also to get some food from the roadside stalls! :)

The first stall that got us interested was this 旗鱼黑轮. In case you're wondering, 旗鱼 is actually swordfish. Yeah, I haven't eaten swordfish before, so it's pretty much something new to try. For this 小吃, the minced swordfish is used to wrap a quarter of a half boiled egg and after that deep fried it. A bit of the seasoning and you're good to go. It's quite delicious that we went back for the 2nd round! ^_^!

After walking around, we decided to go back to the main island (we're actually behind schedule). The weather is quite hot even though there's plenty of wind. About 27C, which is similar to Singapore's weather. Anyway, we stopped by 海之冰, which is recommended by Keith for their famous mango ice! In this kind of weather, eating a bowl of ice sound so good! ^_^!!!

We ordered a 2-person portion, but was quite taken aback when they served this super big bowl of mixed fruit mango ice! HAHAHA! I guess this is the up-sized version and it took us quite awhile to finish this whole bowl! -__-" 

Just a word of advice, be prepared to wait quite some time at this shop. Their business is super good (and I really mean very good, because nearby shops selling ice are quite empty), and thus it will take them sometime to prepare your desserts.

With a filled stomach, we went on to the Kaohsiung 85 to have a bird eye view of the City. It's the 2nd tallest building in Taiwan (of course the tallest is Taipei 101), and thus we wanted to check out the view. And it's much cheaper to go up as compared to 101. Each ticket costs NT$150 and allows you to go all the way up to level 74 (observation deck).

 

Spent some time up there, was a bit disappointed with the view. Maybe it's because we went up a bit too early, and there's nothing much to see except high rise buildings. I believed that the night view would be better! :)

Dinner was at 瑞峰夜市. 

To get there, alight at Kaohsiung Arena Station (R14) & take Exit 1. Walk for 5 minutes straight and you'll see the night market! :)

This night market is slightly different from 六合夜市 be it in terms of size, varieties. Not only do they sell food, they also have games stalls and clothing, accessories, shoes, etc stalls for you to eat, shop and enjoy at the same time. We spent almost 2 hours there eating, stopping to buy stuff and also to learn some of the games that Taiwanese play. Very interesting place, and I definitely recommend you guys to visit. 

Do take note that they don't open everyday. If I didn't remember wrongly, they're open on Tuesday, Thursday & Friday.

2 days just passed in the blink of an eye. Tomorrow we're on our way to Taichung and we're meeting our Taiwanese friend A先生! Very excited!!! :):):)

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!