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Taiwan Trip Day 2 pT 2 July 27, 2009

Posted by ferreroroche in taiwan trip.
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so after lunch, we took a train to Hua Lien, the journey took around 3 hrs plus with numerous short stops in between. I didnt have a look at all the stops cos I was getting sleepy and tired. That said, the train was very comfortable and the seats are spacious and so is the leg room. The service to and fro Taipei is very frequent.

Along the way I see school kids getting on and off the train. I think its very safe and due to numerous train stations, it was convenient too. It was something unthinkable to do in Indonesia so my parents were thinking this is not like an out of town train, just like a normal MRT.

During monsoon / typhoon season, October (I think), the train may not run as it was just next to the sea, along the way we can see the sea actually, and the road leading to Hua Lien will also be closed. By then we can only take plane or wait for monsoon to past.

When we reached Hua lien, we immediately find our coach to go to the A mei Aboriginal Cultural Village where we were treated to a show of song and dance showcasing local culture. There are many aboriginal groups in taiwan, there are those who live on water and these “local” are the only ones permitted to hunt and gather at the national forests and parks.

the Amei people are famous for their beautiful voice and dance routine. I took several videos but I am not uploading them here as the quality is not as good as I expected as we did not really get the best seats and I do not have a tripod with me.

But they really have very good voice and though we do not understand the language, it was still quite enjoyable.

they also sell handicrafts at the village made by the villagers

Here is my sister and brother at the village main hall dressing as one of them. this is also their performance place.

after this, we proceed for dinner and back to hotel in Hua Lien.

as usual, we went out at night to explore hotel area but only bought tidbits from the 24 hr convenience store.

I will talk more about Hua Lien in next post

Taiwan Trip day 2 Pt 1 July 5, 2009

Posted by ferreroroche in hotel review, taiwan trip.
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Pic from the night before,

we were excited about our Taiwan trip, so we took pics with the hotel, usually we do not do this!

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thats right, our home in Taipei, Taipei Fullerton Hotel.
While the name Fullerton immediately reminded me of the very posh Fullerton hotel that is just right next to the Supreme Court, beautifully situated along the banks of Singapore River, the one in Taiwan is not as grand, and I dont think they are by the same management.

Nevertheless the hotel is really nice, free internet broadband in the room.
The room had a view of the TAIPEI 101, the tallest building in the world right now (yeah WTC is down thats Why). More about Taipei 101 next time.

and the room decor is simple yet comfortable and sophisticated. The best thing is for my sister, the WC had a bidet ( water for cleaning, directly from the WC, eliminating the need for copious amount of tissue paper), cos my home too, all toilets are equipped with bidet.

and they have half windows and then the study table cum cabinet to put all sorts of things from the fridge, stationery etc etc.

oh well no pic of the room either, I dunno why.
Location wise, its in Nanjing West ROAD, very near to Taipei 101, within walking distance to RAO He night market, I will tell you more about RaoHe in another post.

ok thats it about the hotel in Taipei.
we LEFT most of our luggage in this hotel, cos we are going to go outta town for a few days. and I forgot to bring alot of stuff cos I was too tired n forgot to pack many things.

today we went for a city tour around taipei after breakfast.

the hotels in taiwan are generally super small just like Japan hotels. the breakfast restaurant was so cramped, I can feel the heat from the food warmers, many times I am just so scared someone will pour their entire breakfast on me when they accidentally slip

the breakfast was decent though.

In taiwan, especially in Southern taiwan, ppl use Hokkien as their everyday languange, and most of them do not understand english.

Taiwanese are very hardworking ppl, just like most chinese although, as i have learned in Sociology, hardworkingness has nothing to do with race or gender. it is just their society and in order not to be labelled as a deviant, we will just follow.

Taiwan has many indegenous tribes too, their most famous singer A*mei, comes from one of these tribes, usually live in the mountainous regions in the middle of Taiwan itself.

our tour guide, is a neighbour of mine in Jakarta, by neighbour I dont mean he live in Jakarta and so do I, but really we live in the same neighbourhood. I can walk to his place kind of thing  but I dunno him of course, cos he has migrated long time ago to taiwan, he is quite knowledgable and friendly

thats our guide with my family, well my guide did not take a pic with my family he just happened to be in the pic

our first stop in the city tour, Chiang Kai Shek memorial hall.

chiang Kai shek marry the youngest soong sister, Soong may ling. credited as the father of taiwan, but because of politics his popularity is waning and even accused as the thief of china due to the amt of stuff he took that are now stored in the national museum, as usual due to lack of time we did not enter the place

thats the man himself, hard at work
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thats us outside, the guy on the left on my Dad is the tour guide, speak Indon quite well.

so after chiang kai shek memorial, we went to the martyr’s shrine, a place containing thousands of names from those who died in the war to mainly watched the changing of guards, quite impressive but i was lazy.

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Martyr’s Shrine, very expansive place and one of the view still guarded by the elite guards and many tourists flock here to watch the changing of guards ceremony and so did we.

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My pretty Sister outside the National Museum.

All these places are actually quite near each other, the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial, Martyr’s Shrine, National Museum and even the Presidential Palace. all had expansive ground, with beautifully manicured gardens.
while the rest of Taipei is kinda shabby,crowded and just look grey to me. Even Singapore look so bright. but it seems like most of the buildings are not maintained properly, esp the exterior. Maybe because its winter, everything just gets dark faster and add to the gloomy mood.

then we went to have lunch, yeah I do not take a pic of whatever I eat because, my family is around, it feels quite weird to be taking such pics. secondly, other ppl are around cos we are in a tour group. Lastly cos I thought nobody cares about the food as part of the memory and do not want to look Kampung/SuaKu.

However I was wrong. Some people even took videos of their family eating! and all the courses.

oh well nothing special about the food, regular chinese food, with lots of chicken (its cheap), Pork (also cheap), egg (very cheap i heard) and veg. I get bored of it and sometimes just go to 7-11 and buy snack.

Hi-Chew sweets are very cheap (8-12 NT) my sister bought alot as souvenirs, cos it comes in many different flavors instead of the usual apple flavor found in Jakarta. They have strawberry, lychee, honey melon etc etc.

continue on to Part 2,

after lunch is our journey to Hua Lien by their high speed train.

Taiwan trip day 1 February 10, 2009

Posted by ferreroroche in december trip, taiwan trip.
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time for me to update on my TW trip

we went there the day after Xmas = 26 Dec 2008 = mrK bday, yeah he was quite anal about it

We took China Airlines at 1pm, but of course we reached the airport way before that, cause we want to eat at the loung, we tried 2 different lounge. firsly is the smaller lounge near terminal D, mom said they serve You C-1000 and Since we all have not tried it we went there.

No you C-1000 cos their stock arrive late, by then we decide we need solid food so we move over the the big one at terminal E. for those who doesnt know, airport lounges in Indonesia is almost free. well Mom and dad sign up for credit cards that entitle them to it. Mom gave me one supp card too so I can get it for free as well.

for this TW tour, we joined Avia tour with 36 other people,including a baby (well not really he is near 2 already and can walk) many old ppl and even a honeymooner, I could not imagine a honeymoon on tour actually. I mean you have to wake up at 5 or 6 every morning kind of thing….well maybe I am just not a morning person..

anyway fees for the tour is ard 1369 USD after all kinds of taxes plus 500,000IDR for TW visa.

ok airport lounges done, we took China airlines to Taipei, flight time is near 6 hrs.

the plane itself is fantastic, each seat with its own screens with many games and latest movies, I think I watched some love dramas.

we arrived nicely in Taipei, supposedly winter but not that cold so did not take out any jacket except a thin one. On this trip I didnt even bring my Mango Overcoat that I wore the entire time during my JPN and Korean trip. Cause I checked the weather forecast, it says its just gonna be 15-20 deg. Later on, you will hear me regretting the decision

Arrive in Taipei, get luggages and had supper (the famous  TW porridge I always eat with MrK for supper) buffett at restaurant near the airport. I think its some hotel, either holiday inn or similar. but the food sucks, really. I mean supper buffet was really bad. Luckily plane food was not bad.

Taipei is not really a night town despite what they said about the famous night markets. they all close at 1 or 2 latest on weekends. my hotel in Taipei is the Taipei Fullerton hotel, a short walk from the tallest building (for NOW) in the WORLD (taipei 101).

the good thing about every decent hotel (3 stars and above i think) is that they provide free internet, so I could skype MrK almost every night.

just like Singapore, everywhere you look there is the 24 hrs convenience store. In Japan, my sis always go crazy at such stores buying all kinds of snacks and instant noodles. In TW these stores are very famous for their tea eggs at 8 TWD each they r very nice actually.

after moving all my stuff into the room and separating the stuff for the 3 nights after outside taipei (for convenience only allowed to bring a small luggage). due to my excitement i didnt do a good job, left quite a few important things behind :P

I then went downt to ask the hotel what night market is still open, it was ard 1 am at that time, they tell me only night clubs and pubs are still available.

disappointed, went back to the room and shower and sleep.

the hotel, a nondescript hotel in Nanjing Lu taipei, from outside, but the room is quite big (maybe because its a triple sharing room) and with a long nice work table overlooking the taipei 101.

Tomorrow is Taipei city tour and then a train journey to Hualien

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