Carpe Diem

Most ppl going to Yeh Liu make the following trip in one day, Taipei -> Yeh Liu Geopark -> Keelung -> Jiufen -> Keelung Miao Kou Night Market.

Prior to my taiwan trip, i was trying to find out how to get to the different places using public transport (bus). I had to get the information from different sources and sometimes, we had to ask people along the way. Below is my aggregated post on how to complete the above itenary in one day and how to do it using public transport.

NOTE : Below information is provided as-is. It is accurate as of Oct 2011. It is always best to check with the locals to verify before taking any bus or transport as written in the article.

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took 500 over photos at the Formula Drift Singapore 2010 @ the F1 Pit Building, 24-25 Apr 10. Photos are up at my facebook. Link below. Feel free to comment on the photos….

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=169141&id=694133678&l=4e8c53776d

I have a set of photos that i did not blog about. Places of the photos inside include HKIA, Wong Tai Sin, The Peninsula & Langham Place. Photos can be found at my facebook album.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=158155&id=694133678&l=fbc275c8be

Another related album that i have on facebook is on LKF and the streets of HKG. Dont really feel like writing about these. The photos of these places are here.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=159405&id=694133678&l=6ee3824949

Went to the Tian Tan Buddha @ Lantau Island in HKG. Took the bus up from Tung Chung MTR. Surprisingly, the journey up took only 40 mins and the bus seat was pretty comfortable. But as with the Peak, when we reached Ngong Ping Village, the place was foggy as hell. The weather sure does not like me…

On a clear day, a normal person should be able to see the buddha from the foot of the stairs before they climb up. However, on that day, i could not see anything at the foot of the stairs. Even when i reached the top and was just before the buddha, i could not get a clear shot either.

After the buddha, went into Po Lin Monastery and the wisdom path. Po Lin was pretty much like a normal temple. It was mentioned onine that the vegetarian food at po lin is good but i did not try cos i was full from a dim sum lunch when i went up. Maybe next time, i should try it.

Some parts of Wisdom path was under renovation. It was pretty foggy there too so could not see the whole figure ’8′ of the wisdom path. After the wisdom path, took the cable car down to tung chung MTR. the cable car journey was about 20-30 mins. Its pretty pricey though. Took it for the experience. But would prefer the bus if i have time as it is more economical.

Photos of Lantau Island below
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During my 4 days in HKG, the weather was super foggy. Thus did not manage to get very good views from the The Peak and the symphony of lights.

My friend from couchsurfing bought me to the Avenue of Stars to catch the symphony of lights. It would have been a nicer show if not for the fog and the crowd. Wonder if singapore will ever have such a show…imagine the amount of coordination of work needed to coordinate the lights on the different buildings with the music.

My friend did warn me not to go up to the Peak if it was foggy. However, i have a tradition of buying a Hard Rock Cafe T-shirt from the countries i go to and HKG Hard Rock Cafe outlet was on the Peak so we took the bus up. As warned, there was nothing to see at all. Wanted to take the tram down but the queue was ridiculous. It would have taken too long to get down to Central so i took the bus down again.

Now i have two reasons to go back to HKG. (1) to go up to the Peak and capture fabulous photos (2) to take the Peak Tram.

Since the photos are not too fantastic, i do not feel like posting it up here.

To see the photos, go to my facebook album.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=157822&id=694133678&l=9524434ba4

Part III will be about Macau. I actually reached Macau on the very first day of my 5 day trip. But i put up my post according to the order with which i process my photos. Ideally, i should go to Macau on the last day so that i can gamble with a bang but somehow could not fit that in…so in the end, gambled at Macau very conservatively, being very careful not too lose too much there such that i did not have any more money for the rest of the trip.

Macau is indeed full of casinos….I would think almost all of the big casinos that are on the Las Vegas stip is there…..Wynn, MGM, Crowne, Sands, Lisboa, Venetian and alot of other casinos, big and small…..Even the hotel that i stayed in, Golden Dragon Hotel, has a 3-floor casino.

Upon arrival, i went to Senado Square and Ruins of St paul. Ruins of St paul was crowded and it was pretty nice. There are alot of nice food around senado square. Tried the “Ka Li Yu Dan”. Its pretty spicy and nice. Would definitely be good in winter. Its similar to the yong tau hu in singapore where you choose the things that you want to eat and they cook it in boiling water. After which, they will add either spicy or non-spicy soup on the food.

There are a few other interesting sights around Senado square which you can find out more at the tourism office near the entrance to Senado Square.

After resting at the hotel, i went to Guia Fortress. On the map, it seemed like walkable from my hotel. It took me almost 1 hour to walk there in the end cos i had to make a huge detour to get there. and as it is not a very popular tourist place, there were not many signs to the place. Although it was hard to get there, the trouble was worth it.

Guia Fortress is on top of a hill and has a lighthouse and a small church on it. Did not read up on the history but from the canon that was placed there, i would presume that it is some vantage point as it looks out to the sea. It would have been a good place to defend the city from sea attacks. Anyway, the lighthouse is still operational as of today and it is not open to public.

I like the place as it gives one an unobstructed view of Macau island. It is also cooling and the view is simply breathtaking. To me, that is one of the must-go places in Macau.

Besides that, went to a few of the bigger casinos in Macau Island and the Venetian on the Cotai Strip, Tapai island. Venetian is really nice. The ceilings and decorations inside Venetian is very grand. There is even a long manmade canal with boats running up and down inside the shopping mall. Ppl actually have to pay to sit on the boats.

There were other things on Taipa island and Coloane Island that i did not manage to explore. Overall, i would say that it takes at most 2 full days to explore everything there is in macau. UNLESS you are a gambler, then that is a different matter….

Pictures of Macau below…

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During my stay at HKG, i stayed at the Royal Pacific Hotel Hong Kong. It is a 4 star hotel and although it is not the cheapest hotel in the tsim sha tsui area, i chose it for a few reasons. (1) They have a “stay 3 nights pay 2 nights” package that is value for money (2) it is a 4 star hotel (3) It is 10mins walk from tsim sha tsui MTR (4) it is directly above the Macau-HKG Ferry Terminal (good for me cos i was coming from macau) (5) it is in the shopping district (6) i want to pamper myself.

I also went to a good and cheap dim sum restaurant that was recommended by a friend in Olympian City (on kowloon island). The restaurant name is Federal Palace Restaurant. Although it is a bit far away from the city centre, but the trip was worth it cos we got good and cheap food. and it was also on the way to Lantau island which we were going to. To get cheap dim sum, go on a weekday and settle the bill before 11.30am. All the menu are in chinese which posed a bit of a problem initially cos my written chinese is not that good but all problems were solved when we asked the waitress to help us with the menu. They were pretty friendly as compared to the people that we met in macau…

One funny thing that i noticed about Federal Palace is that the place was filled with retirees that seemed to have been there since 7.30am. They were there reading newspaper and the waitress seemed to be fine with them sitting there and not ordering anything else…how can you go wrong with such a place….in the end, my meal there came up to abt HKD168 for two persons. We ordered abt 14 types of different food which to my opinion was pretty worth it…

Another place worth going to is City Gate Outlet Mall. It is near Tung Chung MTR, which is also the place to go to if you want to go to take the bus or cable car up to the Big Buddha @ Lantau Island. There are alot of outlet shops there and the prices are slightly cheaper as far as i could tell. Me and my friend were both guys so we did not buy anything there but i think a girl/lady will buy alot of things there….

Dragon Center is another place where girls/ladies will find alot of stuff. It is like the Far East Plaza + Bugis of singapore. There are alot of small shops and most of the shops are selling ladies stuff. The nearest MTR station is Sham Shui Po MTR. From there, it is abt 5-10 mins walk. Ask the locals for directions. Should not miss it as it is a pretty big shopping centre…

Pictures are below…

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During my 5 day trip to HKG from the 24-28 Feb 10, i went to Sai Kung. It is a small place that is by the sea and is a tourist attraction for fresh seafood. I love the place cos it is by the sea and it has alot of things going on, from the housewifes buying fresh seafood to people walking dogs to tourists walking around to seafood restaurant owners trying to get ppl to enter their restaurants.

It is very different from the tall skyscrapers of the city and the shopping centres. You can find people selling fishes that they caught in the day and even preparing it on the spot for you…after walking around, went to one of the smaller restaurants there to eat. The meal was very cheap and fresh. We paid only HKD128 for prawns, fish and a vegetable. The prawns were plenty too….although they were small but they were fresh. First time i ate prawns till i was sick of it cos my friend did not like peeling it.

Shall let the pictures do the talking….hope to find the time to put more posts abt other worthwhile places to go to within the coming weeks…

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December 2009 seems to have passed in a flash….December always seems to go in a flash probably cos it is the festive season and time passes very fast.

December is also my birthday month…it seems that year after year passes and nothing seems to have been accomplished. At 28, what have i done and accomplished? so i have started working and am earning a rather comfortable salary right now but is this really the job that i want to be doing my whole life?

Throughout the whole of this year, i have felt a lot of impulses to travel but cant seem to find friends to go with and also because i want to save money and not spend all my money on travelling only….sometimes i wonder, what are we really working so hard for? is it really to save for our retirement which is like 30-40 years away….is it worth it to slave and save so much now? or is it just better to be carefree like alot of passing tourists that i have met on couchsurfing? dont care abt saving and traveling as and when i like to all the different countries that i like? to save or to enjoy?

One of my best friend just got married recently. Feel happy for them as the couple have come a long way but at the same time, it makes me start to think? Ppl are already starting a family at 28 and i am still single at 28? Of course, being single has its benefits but sometimes, it is always better to have companion to share your happy and sad times….

A new year has just started….the journey ahead is so hazy…contract renewal due in oct? to stay or to move on? how to make my life more enriching? where should i travel to? 1001 questions but no answer to most of the questions….

Went to Taroko National Park while i was in taiwan. Its a very beautiful place with all the high mountains and nice valleys. It was a pity that i only walked one trail at taroko cos i was too tired from all the previous days walking and i did not take the taxi to ferry me around.

The trail that i went on is The Shakadang Trail. Its amazing and i saw in a recent Travel And Living program that the trail was made by aboriginals who chiseled the rocks in the past to form a trail with overhanging rocks above. Photos taken from the trail below.

The best way to take in the sights of taroko is to take a taxi and the taxi will bring you around the different trails of taroko. It saves you alot of walking and you still get to see the most beautiful sights. Its even better if theres 4 persons in the cab so as to split the cost. Think the cab fees for a full day tour is ard NT2000-3000 and they are readily available from HuaLien, where most travellers will stay before gg up to taroko.

Speaking about HuaLien, The place is pretty small and i would say that it has nothing very special to offer. The more special place at that place is 七星潭. It is a beach. I did not go there so not much i can say abt that place. Another place that i went to is the 魚港. Over there, there are stalls that sell live seafood and beside them, there are cooking shops that can cook them for you on the spot. The place is quite isolated and you will have to take a cab from Hualien city centre to get to the place. To get back to HuaLien city centre is not a big problem. The shop owners should be able to call a cab for you. If not, you can always get a number to call from any cab driver.

One unique thing that i experienced over at Hualien. In singapore, you have to pay extra to call a cab to come and pick you up. In Hualien (not sure abt other taiwan counties), the taxi drivers will deduct a small amount of money from the metered fare if you call a cab. And the meter only starts when they pick you up from your location. What a funny contrast!

Pics Below:

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When in taiwan, one of the must-go-to place is Taipei 101. It is the tallest building in Taiwan and one of it’s pride. That was what I did. Went on my first day in Taiwan and wanted to reach there in time to see the sunset from the observation floor.

Due to some unexpected delays and the crowd that was at Taipei 101 (I queued for half an hour just to take the lift from the 5th floor to get to the 89th floor), I reached the observation floors at abt 7pm local time and the sky was beginning to get dark.

One thing that is worth mentioning is that u have to pay an entrance fee of NT400 to get to the observation floors. The lift that visitors will take to get to the top is really fast. It took only 37secs to get to the 89th floor (382metres).

The view was spectacular from the top and i managed to take some pretty nice night shots of Taipei. They have 3 main floors for visitors at Taipei 101, 88th, 89th and 91st floor. The 89th floor is the indoor observation floor. The 91st floor is the outdoor observation floor and the 88th floor is where u can see the huge pendulum which serves as a tuned mass damper (this floor is also where you can buy touristy stuff or have a bite at the cafe). The pendulum keeps the building stable when there are strong winds.

Some photos that I took at Taipei 101 are posted below.

On another note, for ladies that go to Taipei, WuFenPu is one place that should not be missed. There are many shops that sell ladies clothes and accessories there. I have also heard from the locals that it is possible to get cheaper stuff there as the shops there are wholesale distributors to other shops in Taiwan. Sadly for guys, there are very little shops there for us. 9 out of 10 shops there sell ladies stuff. The area is abt 5-10 mins walk from the Houshanpi mrt station. Ask the locals when u are there.

After shopping at WuFenPu, it is recommended to go to Rao He Night Market. It is abt 5-10mins walk away from WuFenPu. The streets there are more cramped than Shilin, the famous night market in taipei. But the food is equally delicious and you can find alot of stalls selling funny and cheap stuffs. Rao He night market is near the SongShan Train Station (note : this is the train station, not MRT station. There is a difference in taiwan between these two). Do ask the locals for directions.
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