Back to being me
Hey gals. thanks for listening to me lately. I think i am close to straightening out my heart and brain. Figure the rollercoaster ride of emotional upheavals due to a certain person is not worth the effort. Been through this phase before and there was a lot of heartache involved. So i should tear myself from this stupid mess i created for myself before i actually sink in deeper. Time will make it easier for me to save myself. For now, i should just concentrate on other important things in my life and stop procrastinating.
From Auntie to Ah1 Ma4
Yikes. I have been relegated to the status of Ah Ma. At lunch, I ordered food from my favourite economical rice stall. However, I decided on porridge cos I wanted to satisfy my craving for tangyuan. The stall finally has the green tea tangyuan! When hk saw me eating porridge, he commented that he thought only the ah peks would have porridge. They old and could not bite the food properly. Ok lor, so now i ah ma. But I dun care. Porridge is nice.
只爱陌生人？
每天见面的人可以像陌生人。我讨厌这种陌生的感觉。想跨进一步却没那么多勇气。在新环境的我觉得好累。又是这种心情。并没那么厚的脸皮邀请自己加入一群 已粘在一起的人。但我会加油的。加油，加油，加油！
Love at first sight
Do you believe in love at first sight? I believe in that for things. The moment i saw tigger, i knew i must buy him back. I call that affinity. I buy things that i have an affinity for. i saw a couple of things today but kept myself in check. I evaluated the value of the item-is it a decorative piece? am i goin to use it often? etc. If not, i will be forever on a spending spree mode, which is bad for the pocket.
Do you believe in hate at first sight? I believe in that for people. But since i start out disliking the person, my standard for him/her will be lower. This means that i can like the person easier. Once the person does something nice, he/she will gain acceptance on my like list. So it's really hard to dislike someone forever.
New road ahead
The moment we had been awaiting for after the numerous rehearsals we had to go through was finally here. The few seconds we would be on stage to receive the award. The one handshake to perfect. The smiles for the camera. The proud beaming parents sitting among the audience. The applause showered on the recipient. 3, 2, 1 and all was over. A new journey has begun.
20 July Jolin is in town
Gals' night out. Jam had craving for burgers so we went to changing appetites at marina square. On our way there, we passed by the stage where jolin tsai was going to have her autograph session at 8 pm. E fans had startin to queue up. However, the cordoned-off area did not fill up with people. I was excited about seeing her in
person as she had been in the news recently for her famous bustline. Gals always wanna increase her bust. For? The male species? More self confidence? Sitting in the restaurant, we took half an hour to decide on our orders. Kept changing my mind-from burger to pizza to pasta then finally to the wow mushroom pizza and minty slinkie. The pizza was delicious. Plenty of mushrooms, cheese and garlic sauce. All of my favourite food. Hmmm. Sure deserved e wow remark put beside e food item in e menu. When i was done with e pizza, i went over to e stage area. Many people
were eager to catch a glimpse of jolin. I managed to see part of her once e tall people moved out of my view. Ha but din get to see her assets cos she was sittin down n partially blocked by her minders. Her fans were very orderly and did not create much disturbance. No screaming, shaking her hands or grabbing her.
Tagged by luen
Gosh i seldom play along with chain mails/sms. Now i get tagged by my good fren on a blog. Erm suppose i can reveal something about myself....
FavouritesColour: White,
pink,
blueFood:Soups, japanese food. generally not picky eater.
Song: Favourite singers mabbe like ah mei, elva hsiao, jolin tsai, gary, wu ke qun, fish leong and many more. those songs i k in ktv.
Movie: Not really a movie person. like romantic shows, comedies and action films.Scary movies are a BIG no-no.
Sport: Is ktv a sport? Iceskating and possibly roller blading. Shopping too.
Day of the week: Any day which is a holiday?
Season: Have not experienced the four seasons. Favourite weather? Perhaps cloudy day. Cool and the sun is a bit hidden
Ice-cream: Eaten with frens. Will remember the earthquake we shared at swensens.
CurrentsMood:Awake from karaoke and shopping.
Taste: Japanese food.
Desktop: A lovely sunrise taken in yushan recreation area.
Toe nail colour: No nail polish. A healthy pink?
Surroundings: Tv on and radio playing on FM 933.
Annoyance: I am starting work !!! wanna slack some more.
Thoughts: I wanna blade tomolo. good weather please.
FirstsBest friend:A gal in kindergarten. Went on to primary school together. But we din remain as best of friends since we went to different classes.
Crush: Some guy in school? i cant really remember the first crush. though there is a current crush.
Movie: Cant remember. Think was a chinese movie watched in an old cinema when tix were still $3.50.
Lie: just dun say the whole truth?
Music: Singing classes at the RC. remember singing tong2 nian2.
LastsCigarette: Never
Drink: Two days ago. Sheridian.
Car ride: From the airport.
Crush: On going.
Movie:X men II
Phonecall: From my ma this evening, asking me if i was coming home for dinner.
Cd played: Gary, gary, gary. Listened to him before sleep, just last nite.
Have you ever"Dated one of your best friends: No.
Broken the law:Accidentally littered but not caught? Vandalised the playground during mid-autumn fest with candles and sparklers?
Been arrested: No.
Skinny-dipped: No.
Been on tv:Acted as a passer-by in an arcade when i was a child.
Kissed someone you dont know: No.
5 things you are wearing: My geeky specs, blouse, hairpin, shorts, undergarments
4 things you did today: Went for ceremony rehearsal, ktv at ten dollar ktv joint, shopped at this fashion, blogged.
3 things you can hear right now: Drums (tv commercial. why are there so many commercials???), Someone talking on the radio and my typing.
5 pple whom i want to do this thing: Anyone who wanna play and let others know you better.
Why i like chinatown
I go to chinatown quite frequently. Today, I was with Jam and she said we auntie, always going to chinatown. So let me defend myself. Reasons why i like chinatown:
1. There are many ktv joints. Besides partyworld, kbox, kster, there are other cheaper joints around. i joined the ten dollar family ktv joint today. Not a bad deal. As anytime you just pay 10 bucks to sing. We got to sing from 2 plus till 7. Free flow of drinks and one bowl of shark's fins soup. Good deal definitely. No wonder the place is always booked.
2. This fashion joint. There is 30 % off for members during their mid-year sale. Buy, buy, buy, That was wat i did. Burning a hole in my pocket.
3. cheap cds. parallel imports. i can buy lotsa cds at one shot.
4. new youth shopping area like far east. clothes imported from hongkong etc.
5. yummy food. best egg tarts (in my opinion) from liang2 chen2. ah balling tang yuan at food street (with almond mild and green tea stuffing)
6. wonderful memories from the congress
Finale. homeward bound 9 July
Yup we were on our way home. I had such a hard time packing the stuff in. 4 pieces of luggage in all. One cabin bag, one backpack, one sportsbag and one plastic bag. Show you the stuff i bought.
I can open a shop with the foodstuff. 4 packets of jelly, 3 packets of metal eggs, 1 packet of bamboo shoots, 2 packets of mochi, 6 packets of handmade mochi, 1 packet of preserved plums, 1 packet of almond powder, 1 bottle of sakura fruit, 1 box of train mooncakes, 1 box of greenbean cakes, 1 box of pineapple cakes, 1 box of preserved quail eggs, lychees, 1 bottle of rose jam and 1 box of bbq pork slices.
The other stuff i got. Jeans, skirt, 2 tops, bag, 2 pairs of shoes and froggie. The skirt and pink top was a bargain (NT250 toget). I cant resist buying shoes and bags.
The ride home on the airplane was full of turbulence. I was clutching my seat fearfully. Thank goodness, i reached home safe and sound. Did more shoppin at the airport. Bought my sheridian. Been bio-ing it since i left singapore.
For the record, I finally mastered my courage to weigh myself. Phew, i did not gain weigh. Must be the low carb diet and the intensive shopping and walking around.
Wulai 8 July
Our final full day in Taiwan. Decided to go Wulai since it was highly recommended by many of the locals. Home to aboriginal tribes as well. We had not had any experience of aboriginal culture. In legend, when the Atayal braves hunted there, they saw smoke from the riverside. They yelled,"Wulai, Wulai!" In Atayal language, hot water is pronounced "wulai", meaning hot spring. Many Japanese tourists go to Wulai for the hotsprings.
The morning started out on the wrong foot. Thanks to me, we took the wrong train. I just remembered we needed to take to the end of the line of one of the coloured lines. After a few stops, it was nearing the terminal stop. The train we were supposed to be on would take about 40 min. That was when i realised we were on the wrong train! Eventually we made it to xindian to take the bus which would bring us to wulai. The moment we stepped out of the train station, we saw the wulai bus. It was already packed till the front door. Thus, we waited for the next bus.
Thinking there was possibly a less crowded bus stop, we walked further on. At the next bus stop, I asked the traffic police if I could wait for the wulai bus there. He had no idea. A passer-by heard me and said that i should just wait at the mrt station bus stop. So we were back to square one.
Soon, the wulai bus came along. Just when we were contemplating over how to pay the bus fare (at point of boarding/alighting), the bus driver said,"Pay up now. NT 40 to wulai." I gathered both mich and my easycard (similar to our ezlink card) to deduct the fare. The bus uncle barked,"After using easycard, still need to pay NT25 each." The machine deducts a flat rate of NT7 only. Need to top up the difference. Anyway, 25+7=32 not 40. Perhaps cheaper if pay by easycard.
Before long, we reached our destination. Our first stop was the wulai atayal museum. Again, no photos to show. The Atayal people tattoo their faces to mean adulthood. Males must fight in combat or hunt and prove their bravery. Females must be able to weave. It is shameful to be without any tattoo. You cant get married without one. The Atayal people are also headhunters, literally. They justify cannibalism by the fact that many people died in wars waged between countries. Their killing one or two did not matter.
After visiting the museum, we had lunch at wu lai snackshop. Reading my lonely planet guidebook, the must trys are the bamboo rice and black boar meat. We ordered beehoon, soup and a mysterious dragon's whiskers veg. The black boar meat was well seasoned and tasty. The bamboo rice was better than that in Alishan. More fragrant.
With our stomachs filled, we set off to explore the area. It was a long walk to the cable car station. The weather was hot and not breezy. The tourist tram was out of order. So we could walk on the tracks.
Along the way i took some photos of the wulai waterfall. Just a small waterfall.
The weather was so hot that we bought ice popsicles to suck on. I bought bai3 xiang1 guo3 flavour. Whatever it was, it tasted sweet and fragrant. Finally, we made it to the cable car station. The highlight of the ride was flying across the wulai falls. The top was Yun2 Xian1 Le4 Yuan2, a holiday resort.
Me and mich in the cable car. The cable car was very stuffy. No ventilation. But we were too busy trying to take a photo of us to admire the surrounding scenery. Had to admire on the way down.
A photo taken at the top. In the holiday resort.
What can you do in the resort? You can soak your feet in the waters. Cool waters. Very refreshing. Healthy too. Something happened while i was soaking my feet in the water, i slipped on a rock and fell into the pool. My pants were all wet. Quite embarrassing....
What else can you do? You can take the kiddy rides. Nothing exciting.
You can watch performances as well if you go on a weekend.
To watch it live, go to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyrIIj1SsoE. This one shows a younger lady and an older lady dancing. Was surprised to see the auntie as an anchor dancer though.
For younger, sexier dancers, go to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jATf7VFbdesYou can go boating in the pond.
Walk around the resort and take photos. 
Photos from cable car. 
I insisted on walking all the way up to the waterfall park while Mich waited for me at the cable car alighting point.
Grasshopper at a signboard.
Facial tattoos on Atayal people.
A closer look at the waterfall.
We did not have time to go to neidong forest recreation area. Heard that there is a bigger, nicer waterfall. From the cable car station, we took a cab down to the wulai st. Then we tried finding the public hotspring. The description given was hot waters with steam. I did not see any steam. Only the uncles were soakin in the hot spring. This hotspring was pretty difficult to locate. Had to climb down from the road side. You only see the stairs down if you know where they are from the road. Anyway the hot spring was disappointing.
Back at the bus stop, the bus driver (the same grouchy bus driver) refused to drive off unless someone took his fren's cab. In the end, we took the cab and had a brief intro of taiwan from the cab driver. He mentioned that wulai hotsprings were better than beitou's cos there was no sulphurous smell. He also recommended us to go wufenpu for clothes. Mich found the cab driver irritating and tried to 'suan' him.
Cab driver: wulai waters very good. you will get younger and prettier.
Mich: yeah lor. I only see uncles around.
Cab driver: waters really good.
Either he din get it or he pretended not to understand. He dropped us off at the mrt station. Since bi4 tan2 (a lake) was nearby, we walked over to take a look.
See the boats? Can do some paddling. Think this was where "it started with a kiss" was shot. Ariel lin and Joe fell into the pond on their "date". Funny show. Joe is so cute. It gives hope to those who are in secretly in love with someone. Cos ariel's love was reciprocated in the end.
Last minute late night shoppin was done in wufenpu. We took a train from the taipei main station to songshan train station. You can hope onto any train as long as it passes songshan. We did not know until we asked the train officer. As usual, he was a grouchy guy.
Wufenpu offered cheaper shopping but no trying was allowed. Managed to get some cheap buys. Totally broke. Need to leave some money for bus to airport the next day. When i was back in ximending, i found my frog prince. Been wanting to get this cushion. Now i really had no space in my luggage.
Grand Palace Museum 7 July
Finally we visited the grand palace museum. One of the world's best museums. The free guided tour at 10 am was already full so we had to walk around ourselves. We rented the audioguide and off we went to explore. The audioguide was good and provided clear explanations. How to see which works were from which era. The pots started out dull in colour, then became more colourful with indian, french influence. Since no photography was allowed, I had no photos to show. There were guards holding up signages which said "no photography" and "keep quiet". They would flash it at anyone who breached the regulations. After an educational morning, we took a walk in the Chih-shan garden nearby. Some photos:
The fat fishes in the pond. You can buy fish feed from a dispensing machine to feed them. No wonder they are so fat.
The swans.
Mandarin ducks.
Map of the garden.
Entrance to the garden.
The Grand Palace Museum. My camera cannot fit the whole palace in.
A pictorial representation.
At the entrance before we climbed up the steps to the palace.
The public bus and the view from the bus stop.
The bus. The bus driver very fierce. He shouted at an old man for blocking the way up the bus.
Lunch at ikari coffee. Not a bad deal. Set lunch under S$10. Pasta, soup and ice coffee.
The keep right rule. All the taipei citizens abide by this rule. The people who wanna overtake will walk on the left. See the passageway is clear on the left.
Dinner was at tian1 wai4 tian1. A place which serves buffet steamboat. Good deal. It serves meiji ice-cream. Plenty of fruits to choose from as well. Yummy beancurd jelly. Too much food too little space. The different soup base you can choose from. Can split the pot into five types even.
We chose two types of soup: ma lan and clear soup. We cooked a lot of mushrooms. I love mushrooms!! Also been a long time since i ate duck's blood. Banned in singapore. All the blood products.
lazy day 6 July
Woke up late cos had a late nite or was it an early morning? Ktv plus world cup. So we had buffet for brunch. The place was called xi3 duo1 wu1, located at mingyao department store. There are two sets of lifts at the department store. One set does not take us to the top floor with the buffet restaurant. We asked a salesgirl and were told to take the transparent lift. Ah wat transparent lift? All the lifts had opaque doors lor. The transparent part could only be seen from outside the building. Eventually we did find the correct lift. Happily, we arrived at the restaurant. But it was not opened yet. Had to come back later.
When we were back later, there was a queue forming at the counter. This showed that this restaurant was indeed very popular. We were worried that all the seats had been reserved. Luckily, there were still tables available. This place served japanese food and seafood mainly. But you can get Chinese food as well. So what did the buffet queen eat? She could not eat as much as before. Only tried a bit of most of the food. Example, one small piece of chicken, one small bite of fish etc.
Mainly sashimi. Salmon was too popular. Only two slices left. There were tuna, swordfish sashimi. The oyster was yummy. Lotsa food. The aunties not very polite. If you tried to get sauce (not food) she would think you were cutting queue and ask you to queue up. Another auntie tried to cut in front of me. She told me to hurry up. Gosh.
The chinese herbal soups. Longan red date, eel soup, frog soup....
Some of the desserts. The fried thing was durian. Green tea mochi, custard and red wine. I had some beer as well. Was worried about pairing wine with durian. Some deadly combination? (you will find out later why i said this)
It was one plus when we finished gorging ourselves with food. Then, it was an afternoon of shopping. We wanted to find sogo department store. Again, we asked passers-by for help. Sogo department store is high-end shoppin in taipei. All the branded goods. This was where i had diarrhea. Very bad diarrhea. It's the explosive kind of diarrhea. Luckily, no one was in the toilet. This was not the end of my woes.
We decided to walk back to the mrt station. There was an underground mall at zhongxiao dunhua. More shopping. Actually shopping is a good form of exercise to compensate for eating too much. The downside is you will burn a hole in your pocket. We bought more stuff. Next, we set off for guanghua st. Supposedly there are cheap electronic goods and manga. I got my second diarrhea. Yikes. Wonder what was the cause. Oyster, beer, red wine, durian--things that Mich did not eat.
Anyway, I did not see cheap pda phones. Wanted to get one to complete my IT gal collection. Have a mp3, laptop, digital camera, dvd recorder....Maybe should get a 3g phone. Mich bought more comics and vcds. I din get anything. The korean dramas they had were not the new ones. Singapore has a better collection.
In the evening, we were off to Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall. It was 7 plus by the time we got there. Surprisingly, the place was still full of activity. Students practising dance, people jogging (jogging in hot weather? something i cant understand. I only jog on cool days) and others who were just sitting and chatting.
Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall with taipei 101 in the background.
View of the memorial hall from where i entered.
The statues. Thought it looked eerie in this photo.
The front which had the name of the place. We had started to walk back to the mrt station when we saw a map of the place and realised we were at the back area of the memorial hall.
A plant sculpture in the garden. I still could not find the pond. Found a carpark instead. Upon consulting the map, think the pond was near the school side which was near the mrt. I had diarrhea again. Decided it was time to get charcoal pills at taipei 101 later.
We took the mrt to taipei cityhall. Once we stepped out, we could not see taipei 101. Isn't it supposed to be the tallest building?
We tried to locate taipei 101 using a photo i had taken previously. Taipei 101 was blocked by some building. Then we started to walk towards it. We walked and we walked. We were still not there yet. It was another case of so near yet so far. The first thing we saw was the fountain show. We were very lucky as the show was on every two hours. To see the show, go to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOEbKofzRIQ
Queuing up to take the lift up to the observatory tower on the 89th floor of taipei 101. It is the world's fastest lift.
The tickets. Different colours. Raining and sunny day. We were wondering if there was a four seasons edition as well.
View from the top. Typical night scenery.
Me and 101.
The tuned mass damping pressure. to resist wind pressure for high-rise buildin.
By the time we were done, the food court was already closed for the day. I tried to buy charcoal pills. But the pharmacy did not have charcoal pills. So, we took the bus shuttle back to taipei cityhall mrt station. We din wanna walk again. the so near yet so far. However, the cafes at ximending were closed as well. Bought white sausage (din realise white sausages are stuffed with rice-bad for my diarrhea) and instant soup from 7-11 for dinner. The soup was quite delicious. Better than the instant soups in singapore.
.jpg)
.jpg)
