Well, I didn't. I saw the brochure distributed by our faculty, "Discover Taiwan" or something, i forgot..that was 2 years ago.
The price of the trip was RM1900++, not too cheap and not too expensive. But since i've got some extra money in my JPA account, which i didn't even know there was money in there until after half a year, so...voila...
That was 2 years ago..pardon my freakish hand sign..
- 1st day -
So, with all the excitement, I boarded China Airlines - the famous airline with the most beautiful Chinese stewardesses. My God, that is true.
Then..YEAH..i reached Taiwan..lol
A lot of courage to admit that…ummm sounds familiar, I think I heard that when I was departing from KL
1st stop in Taiwan to cure our sounding stomach. We stop at the 士林夜市, the Shilin Night Market. For the good food seeker, this is the place you won’t wanna miss before you die.
Seriously.
They have everything Taiwan has to offer there. If you wanna have a taste of every food, this is the place not to be missed. Well then, let the pictures speak for themselves.
The famous chicken chop. It’s really damn big piece of chicken chop. For just around RM5. Not to be missed.
After some heavy dinner, we went to check in our hotel. Followed by some sweet Taiwanese bath, we decided to venture ourselves to the unknown streets of Taipei.
Some unknown China Town/Street
- 2nd day -
The first thing i remembered in the morning, is our beloved tour guide morning wake up call...zzz...if i were backpacking taiwan, i would leave some snoozing time already..
First visit of the visit-monument day, Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall 中正紀念堂
This place is full of history, one visit can make you more familiar with this guy, Chiang Kai-Shek, the former President of the Republic of China (or we can say, Taiwan lah!)
Chiang Kai-Shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. In 1928, Chiang led the Northern Expedition to unify the country, becoming China's overall leader. Chiang led China in the Second Sino-Japanese War, during which the Nationalist Government's power severely weakened, but his prominence grew. During the civil war after the Japanese surrender in 1945, he attempted to eradicate the Chinese Communists but ultimately failed, forcing the Nationalist government to retreat to Taiwan, where he continued the struggle against the communist regime. Ruling as the President of the Republic of China and Director-General of the Kuomintang, Chiang died in 1975.
Some history to swallow lah...but quite interesting though
Somebody please give me a left hook
Cuz we’re Malaysian. Lei Chui Meh?
Next up, Martyr's Shrine 忠烈祠, a shrine dedicated to the war dead of Taiwan. There is a constant changing of the honor guard conducted in the temple complex. The honor guards are required to stand motionless while they're on duty.
Never seen anything so still before - and alive as well.
Hence the hand sign.
Afterwards we visit the National Palace Museum 國立故宮博物院. Probably Taiwan's top sight. When the Communists were advancing on Beijing in the final years of the Chinese Civil War, the Nationalists grabbed all they could from the Forbidden City and brought it to Taiwan. Needless to say, the Communists weren't very happy about this, but this way the treasures were probably saved from destruction in the Cultural Revolution — and the museum today has what is quite possibly the best collection of Chinese art in the world. Famous pieces from its collections include the jade cabbage, pork belly jade, and passenger boat carved from an olive pit.
Cameras can't be brought in. So only photo of its outside appearance. Damn.
Then the tour guide brought us go kai kai in the busy streets of Taipei. Then i saw this. Whooping~
This is Miramar Entertainment Park 美丽华百乐园, 2nd largest ferris wheel in Taiwan, standing at 70 m tall.
Then proceed to the most famous landmark of Taiwan, the 101 Tower.
Literally consists of 101 floors and was standing tall ever since 2004 and overtaken by the monster Burj Dubai on July 21, 2007.
A US$1.76billion project. 628,639,497,844 of 1 cent syiling of Ringgit Malaysia stacked up.
Crazy guy falling in love? nope. Bridal wear ad. LMAO
After some window shopping (without really buying anything,poor guy,bo bian), we reach here.
Ximending 西门町. This area is in the northeastern part of Wanhua District in Taipei City and it is also the most important consumer district in the Western District of Taipei. The well-known Ximending Pedestrian Area was the first pedestrian area built in Taipei and is the largest in Taiwan. Ximending attracts an average of over 3 million shoppers per month.
Shopping again. Duh.
Well, this was what i shopped so long for.
The food of the houseflies. The stinky taofu. How stinky it is? When they’re cooking, you better stand some distance away. You can smell it on every corner of the street of Taiwan.
Tired day. Fuh. And a lot of history to swallow.
But at least there were something to cheer me up.
LMAO..Taiwan porn channel. But they don’t really strip everything. The flashing of the cleavage and they call it a day. The girls walk around Taman, garden and street like some Bollywood movie then a little bit seductive movements and they say its PG18. LMAO. More like MTV.
- 3rd Day -
The morning of the third day, we held a 'international', well it's just 2 countries only, conversation with the National Taiwan University. NTU is the top ranking university by scientific paper performance in Taiwan and ranked by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings as the 124th in the world. It is also ranked 2nd in Asia. Impressive eh?
So impressive i wanna take photo of their emblem.
International Conversation? yeah it was really a conversation. We talked about what courses we have, what courses you have...blah blah blah...
Never really got the chance to get to know Taiwanese chicks. Sad.
Well, there wasn't any also. LOL
OOps, this doesn't look like university.
After the visit to NTU, the pick of the day - visit to the recording set of 齐天大胜
After some heavy traffic jam in the city of Taipei, we reached the recording studio of 齐天大胜. And it was always going to be some long wait for the show to start. Even though, before we reached, we had been late for 1 hour. We waited for at least 2 hours for the show to start.
Basically the whole recording process is just under 2 hours. The time spend waiting? 5 hours or more. Cuz those hosts and guests took so long to drag their asses back to the studio. Haih Bo bian lo..who ask they are superstar? But the recording process was fun. There was one scene, where one of the guests won something from the game, but the camera did not capture her expression. So when the show was over and everyone was preparing to leave, the director shouted “STOP!!”, then asked they all come back again to record the remaining scene to capture her expression - again. LMAO
This is what happen when there is food being introduced in the show, during the recording process no one dare to take a bite...afterwards then only everyday swamp over
The recording session took up most of the day, when we're out for dinner it was already 10pm.
Hearty Tom Yam Seafood Soup
- 4th day -
This was gonna be another monument day.
First we head off to the Sun Moon Lake 日月潭, the largest natural lake in Taiwan. The area around the Sun Moon Lake is home to the Thao tribe, one of aboriginal tribes in Taiwan. Sun Moon Lake surrounds a tiny island called Lalu. The east side of the lake looks like a sun and the west side looks like a moon, hence the name.
We arrive at the Wenwu Temple 文武廟, nearby the lake. The temple consists of 3 parts. The first is used to worship Confucius 孔子. The second is for Guan Yu 關羽, Shennong 神農, Wen Chang Di Jun 文昌帝君, San Guan 三官大帝 and the Jade Emperor 玉皇大帝.
The 3rd one, well, full scale view of the Sun Moon Lake.
Then we proceed to the village of the aborginal tribes. At one of the that sell the famous original bee honey.
Looks like somebody came earlier than us.
Orang Asli Wannabes
The betel nut beauty (girl) 槟榔西施
It refers to a common sight along roadsides in Taiwan: a young woman selling betel nuts and cigarettes from a brightly lit glass enclosure while wearing revealing clothing. Though betel nuts are chewed in many regions of the Asia-Pacific, the betel nut beauty phenomenon is distinctly Taiwanese.
Betel nut is one of the special phenomenon in Taiwan. It was said that the competition of selling betel nut is so fierce that eventually they came up with this betel nut girl phenomenon. Betel nut is mainly chewed to eliminate fatigue.
After a long ride back to Taipei, it was free time
Taiwanese Steamboat - a must try. Malaysian steamboat is said to be originated from Taiwan.
After some long steamboat session, we go take a walk in the street of Taipei. The crime rate is relatively low. Even if your walking alone in the street there is no need to feel unsafe. Cuz it is said that Taiwanese are smart. If they wanna commit crime, they rather do the big thing like rob a bank than snatch someone's purse. Oh well then, why Malaysia so many snatch thieves ar? lol
- 5th day -
The trip is almost done. On the last day, we take a tour at the famous Tamshui Fisherman's Wharf, 淡水漁人碼頭, a scenic spot at the western tip of Tamsui, Taipei County. It is well-known by its beautiful sunset and fresh seafood. While having sightseeing and leisure facilities, it still holds its functionality as a harbor for fishing boats.
But, we went during daytime. So it looked like this
Instead of this
Sad. Wrong timing.
But the port view is beautiful.
Looks like Kuala Perlis though.
The bridge (the white thingy) is called The Lover Bridge 情人桥, launched on Valentine's Day 2003, named by the Former President of Taiwan, Chen Bien-Bien.
Then we proceed to the Tamshui Street 淡水老街（中正路） to do some shopping. (again)
Surprisingly, there was someone in the crowd too.
Hello, Mr.Horse
That's right. The Future President of Taiwan. Lucky day.
After that we went for sight-seeing in Shilin Residence 士林官邸, it was one of Chiang Kai-shek's abodes during his Taipei years, and the sprawling grounds were opened as a park in 1996. This residence is famous for the European style of its architecture and gardens.
Madam Song Mei-Ling's Sedan
After one hectic day of visiting, the Taiwan trip had come to an end.
The busy street view of Taipei.
Traveling can be tiring.
Taiwan is the country that I've venture the furthest at this point (July 2009). Overall it's a nice experience though i did not really venture into a place where its uniqueness or diversity is at its best. Taiwan has a relatively short, however controversial, modern history. It's more like a place for you to shop, shop, shop till you drop. The longer you stay the more boring you get.
Taiwan
Fun
Shopping and shopping. Heaven for shoppers. Culture diversity is there. But the attraction of shopping outshines the culture. Interesting history though if you are willing to spend some time in the museums.Expenses
Like living in KL.Food and Drinks
Quite cheap in some part of the country. Delicious? You bet they are! You can easily gain some weight in just under one week.Shopping
Prices of the branded products are almost the same with Malaysia. But their electronic products are far cheaper. Clothing and accessories are mostly made in China, so can be purchased at a very fair price, given that you have persuasion skill. Quality? It's made in China, don't ask too much.Similarity to Malaysia
There are a lot similarities. Countless to be exact. What's the difference? They don't have multiple ethnics, mainly Chinese.
