First week of School

Well, it has been a week since I started school, and there's not much time to travel around anymore..

so,

on the 22nd of September,

Xinrong, Hyunmin, Hahye and I went to Taipei. It was Hyunmin and Hahye's first time there so we decide to bring them around. Went to 西門町 so that they could try 阿宗麵線! And of course I had to get a bowl too! Who could resist!

And for dessert, we went to...

Their 雪花冰 is a must-try! Highly recommended haha. Loved it to the max. There are many other flavours too!

After which, we went to 五分埔 for some shopping! This place is totally a heaven for girl's who love to buy clothes. It is an area that gathers wholesalers. So the clothes here are really cheap. What's more attracting is that they change their clothes every week. So you will never have to worry that there is nothing to buy!

五分埔 then leads to a very popular night market - 饒河觀光夜市. Which is where we went next.

There's basically two entrances for this night market. At the entrance that we were at, there is definitely one stall that catches your eye. And this is something you definitely have to try when you come here.

This! It is like a bun with minced meat and spring onion filling. The most important thing, it has a lot of pepper. Enough for you to taste it when you eat it. The queue is always very long (well of course since it is so famous).

There's a lot of food around too. Many choices haha. And there are also stalls selling clothes. The store for the taiwan online shop PGMall (sells bags) is also here.

It was a Saturday when we went to this night market so as you can imagine. It is super crowded. But too bad weekends are my free-er days.

On Sunday, Xinrong and I decided to stay in Hsinchu because we were too tired to travel. So, we went to the shopping mall here - Big City.

It is actually very convenient because they have a shuttle bus from Sogo near the railway station.

Big City... is really big. Haha. It also links to another SOGO departmental store there. Inside, there is a cinema, foodcourt, hypermarket, there's even Daiso! It's not a bad place to hang out, and outside Big City there are shops to walk around too.

And I had a first time there ----- Cold Stone Creamery!

My first time trying it. There are stores in Singapore! But I have never gotten down to trying it. So here I am eating it for the first time in Taiwan!

That's all for travelling till now. Till the next time.. It's studying and more studying... XD

Orientation

Yes, orientation. Not the kind where you play all sorts of games, but the kind where the admin staff briefs the exchange students about school and visa and what nots. Finally, I got my student ID! Yay to all the student prices!

This is a rest day again. After the orientation, had our lunch, then bought our dinner - cup noodles and went back to our rooms, only coming out to settle our dinner. Haha.

清境農場 + 墾丁 10/9 - 13/9

Woke up and travelled to 台中 with my big backpack. After about 2 hours, we reached 台中and met up with Xinrong's friend Miki. With that, we travelled for another 2 hours to our destination, 清境農場.

The weather there was so nice! It is so cooling but not too cold. Exactly what I wanted to experience when I came to Taiwan.

After leaving our bags at the accomodation, we went to 青青草原. What to do there? Very simple.

Get close to the sheeps! The sheeps here are free to roam so you can just go close to them and snap some pictures. There are also vending machines that sell sheep feed so that you can feed them.

There is also a shop where they sell 羊奶 and their products. There's even ice cream! Finally I got to drink my 羊奶. Haven't drank it for so long and they have it here! Super happy.

青青草原 closes at 5pm so we went to 小瑞士花園 after that. By the time we walked there, it was already dark. I forgot to bring my camera flash so no good pictures at night. :( But the night view is really very pretty! 小瑞士花園 isn't very big, so we came out very fast. The exit leads to a souvenir shop called Carton King. The things they sell inside are really interesting. All made of paper or cardboard. They even sell paper lights. I bought the Eiffel Tower one, but I'm only going to assemble it when I get back to Singapore.

The next day, we woke up early to go to 小瑞士花園 again, this time to see the day view. I can say it's really different. Actually we wanted to catch the sunrise but none of us could wake up. :/

It's the pinwheel festival apparently, so there were many exhibits that are all made of pinwheels.

After that, we travelled to 墾丁. We couldn't bear to leave 清境 actually :( But if we don't go 墾丁 now I don't think we will have the chance to go anymore.

It was a very very long ride down. Around 4 hours. By the time we reached it was already the evening, and we are all very hungry. To solve this, we went to the night market!

Ate so much until I was so full but the food is nice! Bought some souvenirs as well.

The next day! The main reason why we came to 墾丁 haha. After breakfast, we went to...

 yup the beach! and did so many water activities. We bought the unlimited package that entitles us to every activity offered, including snorkeling, jetskiing (but of course with the coach), banana boat, etc. The result? we were all sunburnt quite badly. But it was really satisfying!

At night we settled our dinner at the night market again. This time trying the 鹽酥雞 that the guesthouse owner recommended.

Take note of this yellow signboard!

Yup. At night we all crashed because we were all so tired from the water activities. Haha.

Woke up on the last day and it was quite a rush. Had to rush back to school for a health check-up, so we had to take the HSR. Took a taxi to 左營 HSR station and bought our tickets. The ticket is really expensive. 1160NTD for the journey to Hsinchu. But it took really fast to reach! only 1 hour 30 minutes.

And this marks the end of our short trip. After the health examination we all went back to our rooms to rest because we were so tired (and sunburnt) to do anything else. 

悠閒的日子

Today is rest day for us! We decided to just relax at the starbucks near NTHU and at the same time plan for the next week.

The starbucks here is much cheaper than in singapore! In singapore a venti sized drink and one croissant can easily go over SGD 10 but here it costs less than that. And what's best is that they have Hazelnut cafe latte here! Hazelnut eh! If only singapore has. sigh.

So we planned for our trip to 清境農場 and 墾丁! wanted to go 台南 but because we had to come back on thursday for the health checkup we have to give it a miss.

In the evening we decided to go explore 清大夜市 and at the same time have our dinner there. To our surprise the food there is quite nice! There is this 蔥蔬餅 that is really nice and feeling. I bought 仙草奶凍 for my drink. And this is enough to fill me up! Glad that there is a food night market near my school. Maybe I can frequent that place haha.

台中遊

Went to 新竹市區 to buy tickets for Shin Hyesung's music show on the 10th October. Totally underestimated the fans here haha. The VIP tickets were totally sold out and the Cat 1 tickets only left the side blocks, so we got the Cat 2 tickets instead. Haiz. Anyway, after that we travelled to 台中. Wow. It took really long. About 2 hours.

When we reached the terminal, we did not know where to go. Want to go to 薰衣草森林. But then we would not have time to go 逢甲夜市. Hence, we decided to just go around the city area. As we were taking the bus to 新光三越, Shirlynn spotted a fansign on the way.

對，就是汪東城. Haha. Decided to just see how it would be like, so we got off. Fortunately, nearby is 台中市一中街商圈. So we still had somewhere to walk. There wasn't much there, but we had to spend time. After which, we went to the place we really wanted to go.

逢甲夜市!!!!

Yes we are here! And how could we miss out on the food that is the most famous here?

官之霖 的 大腸包小腸. this is the trademark food here so it is a must try! If you do not believe, you can come here to take a look. The stall has a very long queue. That is how popular it is. I also bought bubble tea here! For 45NTD (around SGD 2) but you won't believe the size of the bubble tea.

Yes it is this big!!! OMG 超划算. I LIKE.

After that we went shopping for clothes. I spent the most on apparel here, mostly on shoes. Haha. But the shoes are really cheap! and nice too! How can I not buy them!

By the time we went back to the bus terminal, it was already almost 11pm. Then. we found out the last bus to Hsinchu left at 9pm. So early! Weekend eh! so people take note! Wasted our return trip ticket, and had to take the railway instead. The scary thing is we almost missed the last train too. The three girls (including me) didn't know how to read the railway schedule. It was until Hanwei pointed out that the last train leaves at 1105pm that we realised we only had 5 minutes to decide whether to buy the tickets. In panic we just bought and rushed to enter the platform. We even ran to the wrong direction. Sigh. Luckily we managed to be on time.

去看動物咯！

Woke up early in the morning just to catch the morning movie. Shirlynn wanted to watch 犀利人妻, and that was just what we watched. Movie tickets are kind of expensive here, but the food is cheap I would say. Popcorn and 2 drinks were bought at 99NTD (around SGD 4.50).

After our morning entertainment, we went to 台北市立動物園!

The zoo is so big! And there are so many animals that Singapore zoo does not have. We saw Koalas, and the two pandas 團團 and 圓圓! We saw penguins too! So many of them! The point is, the enclosures are not side by side. The animals have ample space to move around. I think Singapore is too small for this. Haha.

Wanted to go 貓空 after that but it just stopped raining and the cable car wasn't working for the moment. Sadly, we left. But when we reached 台北車站 there was an announcement that the cable car had resumed. PFFTTT. :(

Anyway, we decided to go 士林夜市 instead. To those who have went there a long time ago, let me tell you. The place has changed a lot. It is no longer so complicated. Now, all the food stalls are located at the basement, and the clothes shops on the road level. There are still food stalls on the road level, but the encircle the side of the night market.

The first thing that we could not miss would be:

Yes! 雞排! Okay as we continued walking we saw 豪大大雞排 but who cares? this is nice as well. The only downside is that it has bones.

Want a drink? Try this.

Yes. 青蛙下蛋. It's actually mainly 愛玉 and different things that go with it. 青蛙下蛋 is 愛玉 with 粉圓. But I'm not that fond of 粉圓. So I bought 愛玉檸檬. Very refreshing!

After that we went down to the basement and had

滷肉飯 and 蠔仔煎! Of course, it is nice! So yummy. We were really full by the time we finished all this. So we went to shop. The clothes here are not exactly that cheap, but still, it's nice. I'm still waiting for the end summer sale. Haha.

Before we head back to Hsinchu, we had our last food

起士馬鈴薯! This store is recommended by the programme 時尚玩家. And it is really yummy! For those who love cheese that is. This store can be spotted easily when you walk from 劍潭 station to the night market. And how can I forget? I had my beloved papaya milk again! :D

漁人的幸福

Really comtemplating to start posting all these in Chinese. Haha. Like a more feeling only.

First Destination：Hello Kitty 餐廳.

Located in 東區. It's not hard to find it. The inside is totally pink. Even the uniform of both the female and male staff. Got a place to seat, but we were only allowed to dine for 1 and a half hours, and each person must spend at least 300NTD. So take note if you ever want to dine here. It is actually not hard to reach the 300NTD mark, because the set meal alone is more than that.

I ordered a bread bowl set meal, and it came with a drink, salad, soup, starter, the main course and dessert. The salad I ate it with caesar sauce. The soup came with a bun and the bun had a Hello Kitty logo on it. Really cute. Starter I ate smoked salmon.. Now comes the main course...

so cute right! the bowl is Hello Kitty shaped leh! can't even bear to start eating it. And the food is nice! although a bit pricey, but come here once in a while to splurge is actually okay I feel. At least they don't compromise on the taste.

So after the meal, we walked around 東區 for awhile before heading over to 淡水! It is really a beautiful place!

Come to Tamsui definitely must walk the 淡水老街! So many souvenir shops and nice food! And of course, not forgetting the famous 鐵蛋! Too bad I could not find individually packed ones, so I couldn't buy or else I have to finish the whole packet of eggs when I open one. :(

And I tried 阿給! It is actually 油豆腐 but the inside is emptied and filled with 炒冬粉. Very nice! Should try if you ever come here.

After eating we took a bus to 漁人碼頭. It is really really pretty.

The lights at night are so beautiful. Can't stop snapping pictures when I was here. I don't think you will see such a nice place anywhere else.

Venture to Taipei!

Today, we ventured to Taipei.

From Hsinchu, we took 客運 to Taipei. A return trip costs 240 NTD. Rather costly but taking the railway would cost around the same as well. Our first stop in Taipei would have to be 西門町. So from the Taipei terminal, we took the metro. Our student ID would have acted as our 悠遊卡, but we haven't gotten it yet, so we bought the single trip ticket. Well.. a ticket it is. But in actual fact, it looks like..

西門町 is supposed to be a shopping district, and yes there are a lot of shops here. However, it is not that cheap to shop here. Maybe because it has become such a popular place to be in hence the rise in prices occur. Walked around, had our lunch, I did buy a top for 190NTD (less than SGD 10). Then we left and headed to 東區.

At 忠孝復興 metro station, there is an underground mall that leads to 忠孝敦化 station. From there, you can exit the underground mall to go to 誠品敦化店. 誠品 should not be unfamiliar to Taiwanese, as it can be found in a lot of places. Also known as Eslite, it is known as a bookshop. But other than books, it does sell nice pretty stationery and other things. Something like Kinokuniya.

東區 is another shopping district. However, the products sold here is quite expensive as well. The first thing I saw when I came out from the metro station is a dance school. This is when I wish my school was in taipei, because there are so many dance schools in taipei, and only so far two that I found in Hsinchu.

Oh. one more thing. 東區 is kind of the clubbing area. with famous clubs such as Luxy.

After that, we met up with Xinrong's friend, Bing Jen for dinner. We went to this very high class restaurant for Chinese cuisine. You wouldn't be able to imagine how happy we were. Not to be eating at a high class restaurant, but to be eating Chinese cuisine, as the three of us have not eaten any since we arrived in Taiwan. Some of the food we ate:

Minced meat with leeks. what the people there refer to as 蒼蠅頭 due to the black colour ingredient.

Some shrimp dish. Shrimp fried with 油條 you scoop a few spoonfuls of it into the cabbage and eat it.

Many should be familiar with this. 東坡肉!

A chicken dish. I forgot its name.

The restaurant we were at was situated in 誠品信義. Yes. Eslite again. The biggest Eslite in Taiwan.

Left to right: BingJen, Shirlynn, Me, Xinrong

Administration and more

Woke up at around 9am today. Not knowing what to do. Wondered how am I going to settle everything alone, from school administration issues to setting up a bank account.

Luckily, I met the two Singaporean exchange student girls who live next door, and I asked if I could follow them. They gladly agreed. Thank goodness.

Left to Right: Xinrong, Shirlynn, Me, Bryan

Hence, with them, we met up with their buddy, Bryan, who is a very nice guy. He brought us to have breakfast first. The breakfast is really cheap. And nice. After which, he brought us to the administration building to find Juilin, the teacher-in-charge. After which, he brought us around to settle everything. From the registration, to the dormitory internet, to even our taiwanese phone line. He helped us sign the plan under his name because we could not get a post-paid plan without a second identification. That was when I first had my internet again. YAY.

We wanted to settle our bank account in Taiwan, but we have not gotten our student ID. After that, he followed us back to our room to settle the wired dormitory internet. YAY! internet on the computer! finally. I was so miserable the previous day because I could not call anybody in Singapore, not even my family :(

After that, Bryan had something on and had to leave. The three of us decided to go to 新竹後站夜市 to have a look, as well as have our dinner. XD

Now for some food recommendation!

If you can read the chinese words, good for you. if not, erm. well it is some kind of spring onion pancake. What makes it special is that, there is egg inside. and when you bite it, the egg yolk oozes out. Really nice!

Papaya milk! Of course! how can you miss this in Taiwan! It is a must to drink if you ever come taiwan. The milk and the papaya is really well blended.

Yup, Didn't eat alot because my appetite is not that big, but this is some of the nice things here in this night market. The night market is not very big actually so there was not much.

Taiwan Day 1

Woke up early today to head to the airport. The guesthouse owner was nice to send me to the subway station to take the airport railway, also known as AREX. It is a much cheaper alternative as compared to taking a taxi.

Reached the airport early and queued to check in. The bad thing is, my luggage was overweight and I had to pay for the excess baggage. No choice.. My two hand carry bags were already very very heavy. After checking in, I settled all the tax refunds, and went to board the plane. Coincidentally, nobody was sitting beside me again. Just like the plane to Jeju. The flight was 2 hours, with a meal included on board. Had a quick nap before the plane landed.

Passed the immigration counter and went to collect my luggage. Everything was smooth and I came out to the arrival hall. Had to find the person picking me up, but I didn't see any sign, so in the end I had to call the driver. The driver told me to wait at the tourism counter so that the person picking me up could find me.

After that, we still had to wait for two other people because their flight was delayed. :( Could have reached NTHU earlier but all these happened. Reached NTHU and collected my dorm key. The room is really small for four people..

At least it was relatively clean.

After that, went to buy my mattress, blanket and pillow. By then it was already too late to go and find the teacher-in-charge of exchange students. Had to do it the next day. So I went to have dinner and headed back to the dorm.

What I was actually surprised was that my "buddy" actually told me to settle all the administration stuff the next day on my own. It is only my first day and I was left alone without guidance. Great.

Didn't have internet for the day as well :(

Korea Day 17 2/9/2012

Last day in Korea. Regina shifted to her dormitory today, so I decided to walk around. Met up with Heasoo again for lunch one last time. I don't know when I will ever see her again. Haha. But I'm sure I will. Wanted to meet up with Eunji unnie too, but our schedules don't match :(

Anyway, we met at Times Square and we went to a Korean restaurant. I tasted cold noodles, Naengmyun for the first time. It is pyeongyang style naengmyun. The taste is not bad, just that I'm not really used to putting so much vinegar.

After that, I went back to Ewha district to find this shop called Kosney. In this shop, they sell all kinds of things, including diaries and stationery that you find on blogshops and cost so much. But in Kosney, the cost much cheaper. I bought a diary to use for the year 2013 and a new pencil case that is on sale.

After that, I went back to Hongdae. As I was exploring hongdae one last time, I saw this cafe.

Coffee Lab. It looked special so I went in to have a look, and take a break. And it is indeed special. They decorate their ceiling with~

Yes. Chairs.

I ordered a Vanilla Latte, and an Oreo cheesecake. This is how my order came:

The vanilla latte is really aromatic. And it is not too sweet, neither too bitter. The balance is just nice. The oreo cheesecake is so creamy. The best thing is, it is not the kind of cream that makes you get sick of it. It makes you want to eat more. And all these for a reasonable price. Like normal cafe prices.

Went back to the guesthouse after this. Well, I shifted to Oasis guesthouse because there's gonna be repairs done on the room for Lavender Story. And guess what, I was treated to dinner by the owner. Like, erm he called in delivery for him and another guest which is a Korean that had been living in Australia. And it was something that I had wanted to try all along! Jjajangmyun! yay. YUMMY. and he opened a bottle of beer for us each. YES. beer again. Lol.

I really thank him for the hospitality. Really. He almost wanted to give me another bottle, but I refused, because I turn red easily from alcohol. Yup. And that was how the day ended.

Korea Day 16 Hangang 1/9/2012

Saturday! Decided to get out of the city area and head to Han river!

First thing we did was to buy tickets for the tour cruise. The tour cruise goes along the Han river and the have several types. They have the normal one, and they have those that have programmes on the cruise. Of course, since we want to enjoy the scenery, we bought tickets for the normal one (it's the cheapest one too).

The whole journey is about one hour, and it's really nice when there is wind. It is really cooling.

After that, we strolled along Han river, until the sky is dark.

And we managed to chance upon...

Totally like an outdoor clubbing event, just that there are people of all ages. haha. So amusing XD