TAIPEI TRIP ( 28th APR - 4th MAY)

spent an amazing 7D6N in Taipei...

28th Apr

had lunch @ Crystal Jade Changi T2.. yummy porridge, noodles and xiao long bao... den it was off to check in my luggage, collect my boarding pass etc... my uncle, auntie, dear and paul came to send me off... hehe... uncle gave me some $$ to spend.. so touched...

sat alone on the plane cox i requested for a window seat.. watched some in flight movies.. sex and the city, listened to music too.. service on SIA was reel cool man.. so many nice things to eat.. haha.. gave cornetto icecream as dessert also.. haha

touched down @ Taoyuan Airport around 945pm.. was 10 plus by the time we got our luggage.. the host organisers came to fetch us to the hotel, YMCA Taipei.. the journey took approx 40mins by coach..

YMCA Taipei is located right in the heart of Taipei.. itz accessible by train, MRT, bus.. and lots of major shopping centres surround it.. slpt @ 12 plus.. cox super tired...


29th Apr

a brand new morning. 1st morning in Taipei. had breakfast @ the hotel cafe... served chinese porridge with 4 different dishes.. den the tcrs and us took a walk round the compound of our hotel.. no shops were open cox it was still early.. we walked our way to Ximending... but all the shops were closed.. then we took the MRT back to our hotel.. which was only 1 stop away only.. haha.. tried their MRT, similar to Singapore's ... hehehe

the organisers picked us up @ the hotel and drove us to Y17 Youth Party Centre, the place of the competition.. we met up wif the chairmen of the organisation, and had lunch there.. served us pasta with orange juice.. yummy yummy...

met up wif the students and tcrs frm Hong Kong, took many pics and v soon we were laughing happily.. we all became friends v quickly...

after lunch, it was off to visit some of the famous places in Taipei. 1st we went to Taipei Discovery Centre.. where there was an exhibition abt the past of Taiwan and how it evolved into the present state...den we met up wif the education minister and took some pics wif him.. and then we posed for a picture with Taipei Mayor Ma Ying Jiu... wah.. he looked soooo handsome.. and super charismatic... hahha.. many of the younger gerz were smitten by him... hahah...

den it was off to Taipei 101, the tallest building in the world. however due to time constraints, we were only given about 10 mins to tour the building... Taipei 101 houses many famous brands from all over the world, something similar to our Orchard road.. only that the things are much more expensive.. a simple Espirit blouse going for around $39 in SG is sold there for $50.. haha.. Even Giordano's stuff are also super ex.... only can see cannot buy.. hahaha...

in the evening, we went to one of the most popular night markets in Taipei - Rao He Night Market. they gave us 90 mins, OTOT to shop and eat... bought sooo much food and tried the different delicacies in Taipei.. haha... shopping wasnt that fantastic cox their clothes all not suitable for Singapore ... and the quality also v poor.. but i managed to buy many bags.. hahah... bags quite ok there.. ;op

reached YMCA ard 10 plus 11... had to stay indoors so we chatted in the room.. played games etc.. slpt ard 12...

30th Apr

met the delegates from Beijing and Taiwan and we all set off for Yang Ming Shan, one of the most popular sightseeing spots.sang karaoke on the coach.. everyone super high.. haha.. tried my hands at making bamboo rice, as well as DIY soaps.. a fruitful experience... saw it on Jack Wu's programme last time.. haha.. finally had a chance to try it out for myself. took pics in an icy lake.. wah.. the waters there super cooling and clear.. u can never see it in Singapore.. hahah..

ate lunch (my own creation of bamboo rice), together with their mud chicken (tu3 ji1). the name came about because the kampong chickens are wrapped in paper and aluminium foil and placed into a small pit full of mud... the heat frm underground is so hot that it can cook the chicken.. end result? a super tasty and sweet chicken... hahaha

after that, we ascended further up Yang Ming Shan to take some pics.. nice scenery but the weather super hot.. so i din have much mood to pose for pictures.. hahha..

after Yang Ming Shan, we went to Gu4 Gong1 (National Palace Museum)... they had 11 halls wif different exhibits.. walked ard and toured the place.. took some pics which might be useful for my future teaching...

den we moved off to Chung1 Zheng4 Ji4 Nian4 Tang2 (Chung Cheng Memorial Hall).... v v majestic.. super big... hahah... observed their flag lowering ceremony too.. ;op

@ night was a welcome dinner.. Peiling (NUS contestant who won the 1st in the end) finally arrived in Taipei after being kept @ the immigration for 4 hrs... turned out that her passport's expiry date was less than 6 mths.. so the taiwanese side refused her entry...had to call SG MFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) to settle it... phew!

the organisers entertained us with a lot of different programmes and a sumptous dinner.. each country also had to present a song on stage.. and we were give Sammi Cheng's Zhi2 De2 (my fav!) hahaha... had a fun time...

went back to hotel early to prepare ourselves for the competition.. we were all in our tcr's room for the final briefing when i felt the hotel room shake... EARTHQUAKE!!!! i finally experienced for myself.. though not v violent, we could feel the ground shake and the painting on the wall also shifted itz position.. haha,..... a bit scary, but it was over in abt 3 mins... @ night.. it happened again.. but i was sound aslp so i din feel it...

1st May

watched the news on TV and realised that the earthquake last night came from Hua1 Lian2, a city near Taipei.. their earthquake registered 4.8 on the ritcher scale while ours in Taipei was ard 2.2... hahah.. interesting morning...

competition took place in the afternoon.. i was v v nervous though i kept trying to calm myself down.. finally went on stage to deliver my speech on "MY LIFE GOALS"... was happy that i din fumble (too much)... and glad the whole thing was finally over... other contestants were all v strong also.. but Peiling was the best among the whole lot.. she delivered her speech on "HOW TO FACE THE FUTURE" with gusto, confidence and lots of actions.

Singapore clinched the champion in both the varisty and junior college level.. hehe.. so happy for them... though i din win, i was rewarded with a lot of other good stuff, experience, learning and observing how others present themselves on stage, made new friends etc... ;op

that night after the competition, we all felt much relieved.. haha... slpt late cox i was chatting with the students from Beijing.. understood more abt their university system there ;op

2nd May

visited National Taiwan Univeristy.. the campus super big... lots of greenery... ;op made some new friends too.. ;op

visited Ximending in the afternoon.. shopped ard.. bought 5566 items for dear's sister.. haha... din buy much myself cox the things too hip for a tcr to wear to sch liao.. haha...

at night we went to Dan4 Shui3... tried diff foods too.. then it rained, so we all bought raincoats.. haha.. wonderful experience to wear raincoats... cant rem when was the last time i wore a raincoat? primary sch? ahahahha

3rd May

in the morning, we had breakfast with the rest of the SIngapore students before they left Taipei.. Peiling and me extended our stay for 1 more day.. we went back to Ximending to get some stuff settled, den we watched a movie.. SUPER boring.. wasted my money... hahaha...

at night, went clubbing.. the organisers brought us to Hyatt Hotel, where there was a live band singing tunes like This Love, I will Survive, Falling etc.. v v nice atmosphere... drank johnnie walker wif coke (smth like Long Island Tea).. haha.. quite nice... came back to hotel ard 3am

4th May

packed my luggage, had breakfast and we set off for the airport at 10am... bought some food frm the airport... perfume too... den boarded the plane at 220opm... watched Coach Carter on the flight back... super touching... highly recommend u guyz to go and watch... had a sumptous international fare of western food, and dessert was Haagen Dazs icecream! yummy!!! hahaha

touched down in SG ard 6 plus.. mummy and dear dear came to fetch me and my 6 bags of luggage.. hahaha..had dinner @ the coffeeshop below my house.. missed SG food.. ate carrot cake, satay and chicken wings... hahah.. feels so good to be home!!!

conclusion? Taipei is a nice city to go.. not that dangerous.. pple are quite friendly.. food is great! lots of choices.. weather wise also ok.. slightly cooler than Singapore... recommended for those who wanna experience a different city life!

tatz all for now.. gg to meet dear dear.... will be back for more updates! enjoy the pics!