甜甜圈donut in taipei

Back home...

2009-08-06T19:20:00.003+08:00

Touchdown-ed in Singapore last night 740pm.
Thank you Godma Cheng for coming to the airport to pick me up. It's nice to know someone is waiting for you when you come home. :)

Am missing Taiwan...
To cure my Taiwan-sickness I even watched Taiwanese news on TVBS. (And saw one of my fellow interns on TV!!!)

Had a wonderful time in Hong Kong. Thanks to my friends who took care of my entire trip.
I didn't even have to plan anything... Thank you Ah Mao and family + Tin Tin + Gum Zai + Ah Cake + Yuru for your hospitality... I hope to see you again!

Last day

2009-07-31T19:23:00.004+08:00

Can't believe that one month just flew past like that. The flurry of activity in the newsroom goes on as per normal like any other night I feel as if I will be coming back here on Monday... but that's not the case... To be honest think I'm starting to miss this place already...

Went to the computer fair... third day in a row. Must be some kind of fate.
Though it was tiring lugging back all the freebies (everyone must be thinking I'm so kiasu)
to the studio for filming, it was enjoyable spending time with Wu Jun and Qin Min.
Anw the cameraman got to flim lots of pretty (heavily made-up & scantily clad) show girls.
Though they were saying how tired they were, I bet they were salivating ( at least in their minds)...

"我們等你哦"
The public came armed with their own "professional" equipment
This uncle transported his own ladder using a motorbike.

败犬女王

败犬女王累了

福利真好可以访问美女！

Second last day

2009-07-30T18:23:00.003+08:00

Though it's countdown to the second last day, fatigue has overtaken whatever nostalgia I'm supposed to feel. Squeezing in meetings every night, waking up early in the morning (even earlier than when I was having my official internship), running around on assignments has started to take its toll on me.

Today was one hectic day having to cover the computer fair. Though two groups were sent, it was chaos with unclear and ever-changing instructions from the fickle and uncoordinated "up-above". (You hear a lot on the job...)

The staple of all computer fairs - hot babes wearing close to nothing were present at almost every booth. Men of all ages and types (but mostly otakus) clicked away furiously as the showgirls posed seductively. Armed with professional DSLRs it was hard to differentiate them from the media. Admist the chaos, psuedo media cameramen snuck on stage to get a better view of the showgirls. Smart move. Was supposed to do a news clip entirely on these showgirls, but in the end the one above changed her mind... had to change the news angle - the battle of the laptops.

Though today was pretty tiring, to me it's the company that matters. Got assigned (or should I say I asked to go along) with my fav pair (office couple). tbc

2009-07-30T09:19:00.005+08:00

Met Meixin for a late dinner at THE Ding Tai Fung. A must-visit place for tourists, the place was packed despite it being a weekday night. Luckily I decided to get a queue number before I headed home for a while. However, I was wrong to think that a half an hour wait could get us in. By the time Meixin arrived we were still 10 numbers away from getting in.

Finally when we were seated, we were treated to a sumptuous meal. Feast your eyes. (to upload photos....)

- xiao long bao with two different fillings: traditional pork and crab meat (xie ke huang).
- double boiled chicken soup
- spinach

They say that the Ding Tai Fung dishes are better here than back in Singapore...
Hmmmm.. to be honest I can't tell the difference. So I kept psycho-ing myself.
"What juicy filling this Taiwanese Xiao Long Bao has... much better than the one in Singapore"
Try it for yourself...

Last Tuesday

2009-07-28T19:01:00.002+08:00

This morning followed Zi Ling & her bf out for the screening of a Taoyuan documentary at the Xin Yi Eslite bookstore. There were at least 20 media people present, but no they were not there for the screening... they for a doorstop interview with one of the guests - Quanta's CEO Barry Lim.

When the man in question finally appeared, the media swarmed him. The scene was chaotic as cameramen jostled around to get the best angle, reporters fighting to keep their mikes at the prime spot in front of the interviewee.

We're from a financial station our questions were pretty generic - how's business for the next half of the year and details about their collaboration with MIT. But the question everyone was dying to know was about his rumoured mistress. However, this guy is known for blowing his top should you step on his toes. So...

Have done half of my SOT. Left with the sound bite. Waiting for the cameraman to come back....hope to get it done soon

Countdown

2009-07-28T08:59:00.001+08:00

Four days left...
Last night I lay in bed thinking next week I won't be here.
Two days into my trip I already started feeling nostalgic.
But at this moment I'm trying not to think about my impending departure
I just want to savour every moment that's left.

touristy trip

2009-07-27T18:21:00.005+08:00

In the afternoon got assigned to follow Ming Le for a news on an local entrepreneur.

Took a 30 mins ride to the outskirts of Taipei called San Xia - a retro tourist spot.

The story was about a obasan who sniffed out a the potential business opportunity in ㄍㄚㄐㄧ bags (roughly pronounced as ga ji)

Formerly associated with aunties, (according to) Madam Zeng says these are the new IT bags.

Designs of all kinds and sizes hang on the wall of her quaint little shop, forming a colourful sight that would attract the eyeballs of customers. Specially decorated with antiques and fitted with retro wooden furniture and items like an old rusty bike, stepping into the shop you feel as if you're transported back in time.

Starting from scratch, she sold her wares riding on a bicycle on the streets of Ying Ge. Seeing how the sales for the cheap (NT50=S$2.50 each) and uniquely Taiwan bags were good, she decided to invest in creating her own brand. From the design, manufacturing (in Taiwan she insists to show how it's truly a Made in Taiwan product) to selling, her family helps out in every aspect.

Besides the classic red, green and blue netted bags, to attract the younger crowd they made bags with modern designs like leopard prints and skulls. (These designs do look like they can be found on the shelves of shops in trendy Ximending)

We got interviews from customers young and old. The old woman said how nostalgic it was to see the bag she carried in her younger days, two young teenagers said how they would not hesitate to buy the once thought to be unfashionable bag and that it was cool coz it was really "tai". (Note: they said all these while the lady boss was standing next to them..... )

Anyway the lady boss was one spontaneous interviewee. Asked to shout to promote her wares, ride a rickety old bicycle down the brick road... nothing was too embarrassing for her. Really admire her tenacity. All the ups and downs she has went through to get to this point in her life. Before her successful venture into these uniquely Taiwanese bags, she mostly dabbled in selling souvenirs. Albeit many not-so-successful tries, she finally struck gold :) It helps that her bubbly personality would make her a media darling. And did I mention that it's a family business. It's so heartwarming to see her son and daughter pitching in to help their mum.

Covering lifestyle news was a great respite from the usual dry financial news that I usually have to cover. I wonder what's install for the next few days.

P.S: Oh no... I "modelled" the bag for our competitor TV station and got caught by my supervisor. Imagine your full Chinese name shouted across the cubicles...

度小月 & ice-skating with Yi Fan

2009-07-26T09:05:00.002+08:00

Following the "sacred" markings on the Taipei map given by THE foodie Wai Tze Yan,
I finally made the trip to 度小月. Yifan & I ordered 担仔面、炸卷、花枝丸& 油豆腐 .
Though it's in a restaurant setting, the food is not bad and the price reasonable. All together the bill came out to about $10 plus per person.

Ice-skating
Wanting to master the skill of skating, I made a second trip to the Taipei dome's skating ring.
The place was teeming with "durable" kids who could take any amount of hard knocks on the ground, "uncles" showing off their superb skating speed and stunts in a bid to get attention and at the the same time prey on first-time skaters = 小妹妹s (not surprsing), couples skating hand in hand and 跛脚 skaters like me.

It's not joke trying to navigate amidst a sea of people, not to mention with the pro-skaters skating zooming pass you causing you to lose ur balance. (After a while you realize falling down isnt that bad, it's getting up that's hard)

Not sure when's the next time I'll put on a pair of ice-skates back home... anyone up for a skate tell me :)

2009-07-24T15:43:00.004+08:00

The most important thing we ever learn at school is the fact that the most important things can't be learned at school.

-Haruki Murakami, What I talk about when I talk about running

NT10 for a NT 32,000 diamond

2009-07-24T14:40:00.004+08:00

Went out to cover a departmental store's closing down goodie bag giveaway. Pay a mere NT10 (Singapore currency: 50 cents) to get a chance to win a NT32,000 diamond! The store prepared 880 bags with gifts ranging from sunhats, cups, t-shirt to the big shiny rock. The raging noon sun was not deterence to the sunray-averse Taiwanese. They were prepared for the UV rays that beat down on them mercilessly, armed with umbrellas and caps.

The media was all ready to capture THE moment - when would the lucky winner appear? Queue numbers jumped from 001 to 200, 300, 400.... just as I was about to join the queue, a commotion erupted from the tent. THE BIG WINNER emerged. And who would have guessed that the winner was a reporter.

It was pretty hilarious. She was totally lost for words. Shocked with disbelief. Fellow cameramen and reporters huddled around her, rushing to get her comments. "Who will interview me. Interview myself?" With trembling hands she opened the envelope with the voucher that would lead to her big prize. Congrats!!! Bet she'll be bagered into giving treats to the whole office. But what's milk tea and toast compared to a valuable rock.

the lucky reporter receiving her rock

ok i admit... i queued haha

where is the diamond?

queueing under the scorching sun

os

2009-07-24T13:26:00.001+08:00

Probably have to do a voiceover later at night... shivers

it may be a good day after all

2009-07-24T08:59:00.005+08:00

today may be a good day after all
sometimes if u wish hard enough
u get what you want

a heart to heart talk

2009-07-23T23:01:00.002+08:00

Another thing we talked about is how cliques are formed and kept together out of convenience. Out of obligation we do things together, have to include every single person (if not face their fury should you leave them out), hold the mandatory celebrations.
Yet when you are troubled, you find that the person who is supposedly close to you, you cannot bring urself to tell them ur worries.
A good friend in name I would say.

On a sidenote, I've realized the conclusions I've come up with after my observations are quite accurate.

Someone once told me if you feel this way about something or someone, there's a high probability others feel the same way too.

office gossip

2009-07-23T23:00:00.009+08:00

Met Yifan yesterday for cake at Shida
(the tiramisu was horribly bitter)
Had a heart to heart talk with her
It feels great to be able to speak
freely and have
so much in common with someone
We both interned at the same place
but at different timings
( I interned one year after her)
Through the "info" we exchanged
realized there is more that meets the eye
gossip about flirts that prey on
interns every year
who all fall into the same pattern (small sized, kawaii)
the office romances (or failed attempts)
the good vs bad? (ok i admit i may be a lil bias)
the enthu, friendly XX who
seems popular on the surface
but is disliked by many

nothing is what it seems

through a talk with a friend
we came to the conclusion that
human relations here seem
much more complicated than back home
for one reason or another
not sure if this theory is true
but for one...

the media industry sure is complicated

holiday's over...

2009-07-23T13:25:00.007+08:00

the temporary relief is over.
now the end is drawing near
i want to cherish everyday
but today ...
time passed slowly..

it wasn't painful
but yet it wasn't like the past two days

i guess that's the difference between
getting along with someone
and clicking with someone

DRAM & Volkswagon (the latter is so much easier to understand and write)

2009-07-22T18:28:00.002+08:00

FORGOT to bring my camera battery and phone out! So no photos :(

Was greeted in the morning by information overload about DRAMs and government strategies to save the dying business. From what I understand the cost price to manufacture a RAM cost more than the sale price = LOSS. Reason being local companies have to fork out millions every year in technical know-how copyright fees to Japanese and American companies .
Lucky for me the reporter Qin Min was patient enough to explain everything to me, even drawing a diagram. (think he's strangle me if he finds out i didn't write my copy in the end)

Second news was about the World Games cars sponsored by Volkswagon. There's a high possibility that the cars will be sold at a 20-25% discount after the World Games. The car is practically new (driven for over 10 days) Interested car owners in Taiwan should keep their eyes peeled for this offer.

Bentley luxury cars & a world famous Japanese economist

2009-07-21T17:42:00.010+08:00

Early in the morning we were treated to the sight (& taste) of caviar, oyster and champagne. Of course I only tried the caviar, and to be honest the crumbly taste of the biscuit overshadowed any trace of exotic fish eggs. And probably coz I'm no food connoisseur. Back to the main point, I was there (of course not for food) but for the opening of the luxury car Bentley. A rich CEO scored the exclusive local dealership of the NT158,00000 cars (value equivalent to the price of a house). Think times are bad.. well apparently there is still a market for these luxury cars. The first shipment has been sold out! The cars are all made-to-order, so customers have to order the cars from a catologue!?

Super reporter Victoria: She found out that the the dealership owner's dad was the former CEO of a bank. And even managed to get an interesting anecdote from him.

The office couple- xiao lu & zi ling

oyster

caviar

THE car

被夸构图很漂亮

Kenichi Ohamae's talk

"Taiwan has only one year left to enter the China market"

Media pass!

Credits to the cameraman (xiao lu)

posing with mr ohamae

Now i realized what she means by "we're drawing stares"

*see the old man behind.. his OS must be tsk tsk

设计对白:干吗这样看我！

Pet exhibition, a trip to the dentist and my cameo on TV

2009-07-20T18:11:00.008+08:00

Covered the pet exhibition this morning... omg you should see the range of pet products and services available -cheese sticks, wedding photography, newest oxygen spa treatment, diamond studded bikinis to Hello Kitty dog prams (ironic huh).

Pets especially dogs lead an extremely good life here in Taiwan. I remember once when a stray dog entered the Family Mart convenience store, not only did no one react - make any attempt to chase it out, scream, stare at it with contempt - the cashier even greeted it by saying "hey XX you're here again". The next thing I knew the dog had its paws on the cashier's table, it's eyes locked on my breakfast. (my breakfast was saved.)

There are a lot of perks on the job esp freebies. Since it's a pet show... they gave us pet vitamins, dog biscuits and matching human clothes. (You know couple tee-shirts. There are dog-owner matching shirts) I wonder which unfortunate dog would wear the same neon pink striped shirt as me. (The "orbit" shirt goes at an exorbitant price of around S$50!)

In the afternoon, it was news about the growing potential of the TOOTH business. Made my first guest appearance on Taiwanese TV! (ok and in one my teeth made a cameo, though no one would know since i was all covered up)

Had to pose as a patient in need of teeth implants for a news on the growing foreigner customer base. Apparently it costs about 50% less to do ur teeth here in Taiwan as compared to countries like America and Japan! Might as well take a holiday and go home with gleaming white pearlies.

台中之旅

2009-07-19T23:40:00.006+08:00

Over the weekend, I made a trip to Taizhong and was lucky to have a fellow Dong Sen intern and Taizhong native host me. Unlike the action-packed trips that I went on during my exchange, this trip was a leisurely one. Took a coach down to Cao Ma, Tingyi's Ang Moh cousin drove down to pick me up.

LV ash tray @ her aunt's house

Made our way to Tingyi's aunt's house. The adults were having their X-rounds of mahjong, boy was it addicitive coz by the time her auntie was done it was already 2am! Passed our time playing with her 5 year old cousin, their English- golden retriever Mitsu, talked to their Filipino maid Wilma (she's chrisitan, and she was watching City Harvest's Kong Hee on TV. Apparently you can catch him here in Taiwan!), watched Lord of the Rings etc... By the time we went to bed it was already 3am in the morning. Tingyi was kind enough to let me have her bed while she took her parents'.

The next day we met her childhood friend for a all-you-can-eat barbeque and steamboat lunch...

Tingyi's maternal instinct surfaced during the meal as she was constantly adding meat to the grill, flipping it even when she was on the phone...

me & yu su

before

after

soaking in the hot springs in summer

the cold spring water was simply too cold to bear

美女zhang si min

很多男生的梦中情人哦

可爱的庭乙

搭火车去咯

我最爱台湾卤味

谢谢同学帮我们拿行李

Unagi Rice

2009-07-18T00:19:00.000+08:00

Dedicated to Ah Mao... Yummy unagi rice

Snapshots of work life in Taipei

2009-07-17T01:45:00.011+08:00

Yun Wei reporting live from the SNG car at New York New York

You You, Qian Qian & Me (in the loo)

Cameraman Tian You, Cancer survivor & CEO, Victoria

Cake from the Flextronics press conference

SPH correspondents office in Taipei

Cameraman Ah Da, Reporter Victoria aka Zi Ling & the intern (me!)

Muxian lookalike

My takeaway dinner! Look at the cheese oozing out of the chicken cutlet

Taiwanese brand e-book launch

The lucky Dong Sen reporter who walked away with an e-book

Harry Potter and the half blood prince (in Taipei)

2009-07-15T22:00:00.000+08:00

Contrary to myths, the movie was not dubbed in Mandarin. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I'm against Mandarin voiceovers but I love to hear it original. Somehow the actor who are actually immersed in the makebelief world better convey their emotions than voiceovers.

Caught the movie with Muxian and Xiao Ji at a GongGuan cinema. It was great being back at my old hangout back in my ChengChi days. The familiar 236, Mister Donut and the NT250 clothes shop were all there. Of course I was dying to shop but then I was on a mission to catch the show. We were too late to catch the 830pm show so we had to catch the one after that at920am. Surprisingly the good seats at the back were still available so we snapped them up.
While food and clothes are cheaper here, movie tickets are the one thing that Singapore has it cheaper. Watching on a Wednesday night I paid NT260 =S$13 (that's even more than what you pay when you watch on a weekend night!!) The plot was much darker than the previous installments with impending doom lingering. Not going to launch into a long movie review... Harry Potter fans go catch the movie soon!!

It was great meeting Muxian and Xiao Ji. Muxian is still as comical as ever and did I mention she's had a change of "taste" (and heart). The very much in love Muxian told us all about her romantic lovestory with her language exchange partner from Ukraine. (exotic huh)
The ever thoughtful Xiao Ji has become prettier. :) Too bad she's going back to KaoHsiong this Monday.

I'm still deliberating whether to go to TaiZhong over the weekends. Yifan and XiaoJi will be going to Wulai on Sunday, Xiaoji will be leaving on Monday, yet I wanna go see TaiZhong with Ting Yi. (But she's leaving on Friday and I can't think of any believable excuse.. everyone here uses the magic 4 letter word 家里有事) How??

Three weeks into the job: La New & staking out at the tax department

2009-07-15T13:38:00.007+08:00

Three weeks into the job....
From the uncertainty of working in a foreign company, now everything has become a routine.

I wake up to the sound of Super Junior's Sorry Sorry, only to hit the snooze button five times before I finally crawl out of bed. Wash up, get dressed in 10 minutes, scramble out to the nearby convenience store to get my breakfast comprising of a corn and ham sandwich and a carton of fresh milk. Beat the morning crowd at the MRT station, get off three stops later and make it just in time (ok before 9am) into the office. Sit at my desk, use the computer to check my email, chat online and blog； while I look over my back to check if there the reporter I'm assigned to runs out.

Today I followed the petite Yun Wei and cameraman Qiu Ming to a La New press conference. Went to the opening of the Taiwanese brand's flagship store which had a huge moutain model with hip-shaking teddy bears and dolls on it. (The brainchild of the CEO who loves to climb mountains) Later we were chauffeured to their SPA (sadly only for ) a look. 满轻松的assignment
But later the reporter received (an order) a call to stakeout the Tax department near our office to interview Wang Wen Yang. The reporter had to go back to the office to rush out her news clip so the duty was passed on to the cameraman and me. Wait for about 2 hours with cameramen and reporters from other stations. Some of them were already there at noon!
As time passed by, the reporters got called back by their respective TV stations, then I was the only reporter left. Before I came I asked the reporter what questions I should prepare, she said just shove the mike and the other reporters will do the asking. Oh my who would have thought there would come a time where I was the only reporter left. Thank goodness someone had a list of questions. I killed time by memorizing the four questions on the list.

When the shutters came down at 530pm, the man in question was no where to be seen. I kinda guessed he would get his secretary to do his taxes for him. But oh well in the dog-eat-dog media world here you can't leave anything to chance... brrr the consequences you will face if your competitor gets a scoop.

earthquake

2009-07-14T02:09:00.000+08:00

i think i just felt the ground beneath me SHAKE!

Fried my brain cells dealing with stocks

2009-07-13T12:02:00.003+08:00

Didnt go out to interview this morning
Just finished churning out a piece on stocks and holding companies.
Had a hard time translating and gaining a grasp of all the financial terms.
Made some headway an hour into reading the newspaper articles.
The gist of the story is that the Finance ministry is concentrating its resources on gaining majority control of Hua Nan Jin Holding company, placing lesser emphasis on Kai Fa Jin.
Reason being the Finance ministry is the major shareholder in Hua Nan Jin but only holds 6% share in Kai Fa.

(please ignore the gibberish above, just feel that I need to collect my thoughts in English)

Taxes and a ballon

2009-07-10T13:09:00.006+08:00

Today was assigned to put together a news clip on celebrities caught for evading taxes. The newest celebrity to hog the headline is Taiwan's top model Lin Chi Ling.

FYI: the sudden apperance of the leggy beauty at the Finance ministry yesterday caused a commotion. The model known for her high EQ gladly oblidged staff with pictures and autographs. Back to the main point, she was there at the Ministry to appeal against the decision to pay up NT1462 0000 in overdue taxes ...

Half way thru was sent out with the cameraman to some protest agst the decrease of taxes at a government building nearby. On the way back, came across a bunch of bright yellow balloons tied to a lamp post. The interesting part was the Chinese words "Ah Bian is innocent" emblazoned across every balloon. Couldn't miss the chance to bring one of the balloons home with me. Nearby there were makeshift tents with plastic chairs strewn all over and not a soul in sight. As we walked further, I spotted a lone protestor crossing the road. Wonder where the rest of the picketeers went... lunch?

In the afternoon, followed Jia Hui for a news about technology companies quarterly financial report... can't remember the details. The sup said its the best piece I've written so far. :)

Met Machiko and her multi-national friends at the Nan Ji Chang Ye Shi, night market... to be continued... (going out for an assignment)

OT...from now on

2009-07-08T18:25:00.005+08:00

It's the summer holiday, but this internship is by no means relaxing. Everyday's a constant race against time to squeeze out two to three full TV news copy before the mid-day and evening deadlines. With my limited and Singlish-fied Chinese, I can only cross my fingers and hope the supervisor doesnn't rip my copy to pieces.

In the morning I got to follow Ting Juan again. Though she's a property reporter, I was lucky enough that she was assigned to cover a simple press conference by a recruitment agency.

Today we all have to do OT, stay back for a meeting with the sup. Shivers....

Since we're staying back we ordered takeout - I had curry rice with chicken cordon bleu (chicken cutlet stuffed with cheese and ham). Taking a bite into the cutlet, I could feel the cheese oozing out... yummy... (please see picture to imagine.. to upload)
Before I could finish my dinner it was time for the meeting. From now on, the interns were to join their daily end-of-day meetings, which according to reporters end at around 730pm the earliest latest at 830pm.

The sup's straight talking nature can be pretty shocking when I first encountered her, but after a while you start to realize that she has a good heart despite her "poison tongue".
Though she's hard on you, you realise that she means well and wants you to have a fulfilling internship. We did feedback to her about the difficulties we have - about how we are only told very last minute about our assignments leaving us clueless when covering the particular financial news and also about how some reporters are not that warm = anti-interns. ( one particular reporter got interns to run errands yet is unwilling to bring interns on reporting assignments...the world has all sorts of people) Luckily most of the staff here are pretty helpful and willing to impart their knowledge to you.

To quote the sup:"It's going to be one tiring month"

A morning dealing with credit cards

2009-07-07T17:19:00.007+08:00

I've lost count what day it is already ... it was pretty uneventful today.
But at least I managed to churn out one TV new script about lowering of minimum amount required for a credit card installment. Went downstairs to do street interviews with the reporter. I thought it would take forever to get someone willing to appear on TV. But I've come to realize Taiwanese are much more open to appearing in the media and voicing their opinions. Perhaps there isnt much fear of repercussions

Here's a rough translation in English:

Consumers are tightening their belts during these gloomy times, it is no wonder that in May, Taiwan's total credit card spending hit an all time low in six years.
In order to boost credit card spending amdist the recession, credit card companies in Taiwan have lowered the minimum purchase amount to qualify for an installment payment.
Consumers can now opt for installment payments for amounts as low as NT999 (S$50).
Drawn by the promise of 0% interest, credit card perks and point accumulation, consumers are eager to sign-up and start charging to their plastic.

Wait a minute. Before you swipe your card, take a closer look at the hidden charges - handling fee and yearly interest rate.

For instance, charging NT10,000 (S$500) to your Fubon card would cost you NT350 in handling fee for each monthly installment. While it cost only NT59 per month to charge the same amount to a Citibank card.

There is no free lunch in this world, so whip out your calculator and do some Math before you go on a shopping spree with your plastic card.

Real work...

2009-07-06T14:09:00.006+08:00

It's the Monday blues. After my weekend getaway, it's hard to start up my engine, get out of bed and back to work. Judging from the past few days, I thought I would spend the day blogging about my trip. But I was wrong. Today the "real" supervisor returned from her medical leave. We were each assigned to follow a reporter and we were to hand in our scripts by 1230am!

Today's morning news: Taiwan Dell's website pricing screwup - NT 18000 for a laptop??

Bargain hunters had a big windfall when Dell's website experienced a pricing hiccup yesterday, it's second within ten days. Netizens realized the loophole and found that certain makes costs only NT18,000, a third of the original price of NT60,000.

Standing up for consumer rights, the "credit card guru" Miss Yang Hui Ru called together a press conference at the Yong Chun MTR station exit. The fiesty woman blasted Dell for its dishonesty, calling the whole pricing mixup a hoax to get customers' personal information.

In the afternoon, Dell had a press conference to announce its decision to rectify the situation - it will give each customer a NT20,000 discount coupon to buy the laptop in question, the Latitude E4300.

The power the media holds can be seen from how the reporters and cameramen just rushed into the conference room ignoring the PR personnel who was asking in all earnesty for their namecards. The China-Taiwan straits issue seems to be a constant point of contention as seen from the questions posed by the fiesty reporters. "Why is it when a similar online pricing problem happened in Mainland China, the mainlanders got better treatment?" , "Why under the customer care link is Taiwan placed under China?" Certainly the Dell GM would not answer the question, instead he gave a politically correct generic answer or should I say he skirted the whole issue. (PR move)

It was an action packed day, watching the fiery exchange between the reporters and Dell, it's no wonder that news in Taiwan is pretty much like watching a drama played out on TV.

TV journalists have to pack about three news in a day. In between the Dell interviews, the reporter squeezed in an interview with the Taipei county's "environmental doctor". The "clinic" provides free electrical analysis for residents of the Taipei county, giving them the diagnosis of their high electrical bills.

Now I have to write up the news scripts (which I have no idea how) to hand in to my supervisor. Not knowing how I just "anyhow hantam". You should have seen the look on my sup's face when I handed in my first script. At the end of the day, the sup asked the interns to stay back to point out our (many) mistakes. Our sup's pretty blunt and strict, she treats everyone as an equal and demands the same of every intern (even if you're a foreigner). While it may be a lil more pressurizing meeting her demands, I guess it'll be a good learning experience.

Machiko & friends

2009-07-06T09:59:00.003+08:00

Met Machiko and her friends at a quaint little Japanese restaurant near Taipei City government MRT. The restaurant is filled with knick knacks from Japan, the most interesting decoration is a a sea turtle specimen hung on the wall (from our touch test, we conclude it was once alive). The walls and the glass sliding door are plastered with Asahi beer, Japananese artists posters. Interestingly the restaurant does not have a menu. Apparently the chef takes a look at your face and decides. I was late so have no idea how the chef decided what dishes to cook.

The meal wasn't too bad, it was more of the company that I enjoyed. On my right there was a Korean girl masters student, Hui Mei, and seated opposite me was a Japanese piano teacher and of course Machiko who was dressed in her "at-last I found it" black tie dye t-shirt. They shared little quirks about their country. According to Machiko, the best Nato is eaten only after it's stirred vigorously for 300 times. Towards the end of the meal, I was dead beat and my mind was drifting off to my comfy bed at home.

I have no idea what came over me, but when I got home I just had felt the need to get rid of my piling laundry. So I threw my clothes into the washing machine and sat on the couch struggling to keep my eyes open. Unknowingly I drifted off to sleep. It was 2am by the time I woke up, I hung my clothes out to dry and crawled into bed... dreading to hear the alarm that would go off at 7:30am

Takao aka KaoHsiung

2009-07-05T10:20:00.009+08:00

Fulfilled one of the items on my to-do list by taking the High Speed Rail down to KH. It takes barely an hour and a half to get to KH from Taipei. The same amount of time I take to get from my house to ulu NTU.

Travelling together with Machiko and me, is her Taiwanese schoolmate from Shi Da and her mum. Thanks to her our itinerary was pretty much taken care of. Throughout the whole trip there was not a moment where our tummies were empty.

Our first meal was a XX-course (i lost count) chinese cuisine - there was sashimi, dang gui and pumpkin soup. Always on a tight budget coz I'm a poor student, this is the most luxurious meal I have indulged in. We then went to our hotel called City Inn which is a stone's throw away from Xin Jue Jiang - shopping haven. The convenient location, two queen size beds and 42 inch LCD tvs all come at S$150 a night. Though it says the room's for 4 people, the budget conscious can squeeze 6 people or more in the room. (Nope I didn't book the room.. and yes that's another story)

Throughout the next two days we were chaeffuered around first by a "big sister" and her dslr guy friend (unsure of their relationship status), the next day we were ferried around my "Mei Nu" Ah Yi. Yup her name is literally Mei Nu as in beauty in Chinese. Thanks so much for your hospitality!! :)

Will let the photos do the talking. (To upload)

Third day at work - my very first door stop interview

2009-07-03T16:32:00.008+08:00

In the morning I just hung around the office coz our supervisor forgot about the interns' existence. So by the time she remembered only two reporters were left for us to follow. I stayed behind and had a pretty leisurely morning, lunch, the mandatory bubble tea and walked around Muji.

After lunch, YouYou & I got assigned to go out. I was assignend to go out with a cameraman to do a doorstop interview at Howard Hotel (just a 5 minute walk away from home in Taipei)
Coz the cameraman's partner reporter is busy covering duties for her upper charge who is on leave, he has been conducting interviews himself for about two months. (Yup I asked, he doesn't get double the pay, looks like manpower is stretched pretty thin)

The task on hand was to ask 金管会主委陈冲 about the share dispute between the two banks 金鼎證 and 開發金. Financial news is already daunting in English, what more with all the unfamiliar jargon in Chinese spoken at high speed. Luckily whatever I needed to ask was basically what the other TV stations' wanted too, so I left the asking to the other experienced journalists.

The journalists and cameramen all formed a line to block 陈冲 from getting past, shoving the mikes in his face. At first his assistant/bodyguards that flanked him all said "no questions, no comments" trying to wave us away. Then the reporters all have to persistently "beg" for just one question. Guess it's a whole routine they have to go through before the newsmaker "relents". Nothing controversial about his answer. Just the politically correct stand that the external party will not interfere with the banks' affairs and will be impartial. If you wanna get a better understanding you can have a look at the article below, in Chinese though:

http://news.chinatimes.com/2007Cti/2007Cti-Rtn/2007Cti-Rtn-Content/0,4526,110103+112009070100957,00.html

Five minutes and the interview was over. Though it'll be another chop chop affair, but it became a stakeout. Coz our competitor station Fei Fan, another financial news station, was staying back. So we couldn't leave in case that get extra comments or scenes. The realities of the cut throat competition in Taiwan's prosperous (0vercrowded) media industry. We waited at the lobby at first, stealing glances at the our competitor to keep tabs on their whereabouts . They walked away quickly and we lost them...

Initially I thought they left coz they went in the direction of the back entrance, but the cameraman said we should go back to the 4th floor just to make sure. Bingo, he was right. There was the cameraman sitting there outside the door. We waited around an hour or so before Fei Fan reporter got the green light to leave. So off we went back to the station. Pretty exciting day...

Meeting Machiko at Shi Lin night market after work.

Tomorrow I'll be heading down to KaoHsiong on the Speed Rail (thanks to Ah Tio for the sponsorship) Lettme do some advertisement for Speed Rail: during this summer break to encourage more Taiwanese to travel across the country they have discounts on tickets and a special buy three get one free deal. Not bad huh...

Yuru!

2009-07-02T23:00:00.002+08:00

After work, I met my dear friend Li Yuru who came down from Kenting. This girl really loves the beach, if I'm not wrong she's been there three times, two times on her own. Meeting her feels so surreal, it feels like it was just yesterday when a group of exchange students led a carefree life at ChengChi University in dorm 9.

Have always admired this spunky lass, despite her petite size, she's one fantastic compass, tour guide and bargain queen. When Ah Mao and I travelled with her, to be honest, we didn't really need to use our brain. Really hope we can relive those carefree days and travel together. Speaking of which, please vote for us at
http://www.taiwanbesttrip.net/group/mini-united-nations/intro/%e3%80%8cmini-united-nations%e3%80%8d%e7%9a%84%e5%9c%98%e9%9a%8a%e4%bb%8b%e7%b4%b9?lang=en
So that we can fulfil our dreams. A million thanks :)

Had dinner at Chitaka at the Tong Yi Yuan Qi Guan. Being poor students we decided to go on a budget meal. For NT200 we got a crispy pork cutlet, with curry, rice and a drink. Despite the relatively reasonable price, the pork cutlet was good. (TO INSERT PHOTO)
Biting into the cutlet, you can practically hear the crunching sound with each bite you take. The cutlet is not oily at all.

We headed over to Macs as she had to wait for her friends who were out shopping. It felt like old times listening to her talk animatedly. I just wanted time to freeze. But soon it was time to bid her goodbye. A hug and we were off, but I could never resist looking back, watching my friend's back as she walked away... oh well till we meet again

Second day at work

2009-07-02T11:33:00.003+08:00

Dutifully reported to work at 830 sharp coz I was afraid to be left behind by the reporters. But I think I can come to work a little later tomorrow. The four interns in the interview team are all lost sheep. We pretty much have to wait around to be assigned to follow reporters. On tenterhooks, we are constantly on a lookout in case the reporter hurries off without us. But thankfully we have something to do now.

We drew lots (using our access pass) to decide who gets to go first and who stays behind. I was lucky enough to get picked and got to follow Ting Qi's sister, Ting Juan, who works as a reporter cum broadcaster. You can spot the similarities in their mannerism, especially they lively way they speak. Guess it runs in the family.

TV news is really about "chop chop". Together with the camera man, the reporter, we took a cab down to an office in Dong Qu to interview a property expert on property prices. Basically experts believe property prices are on the rise due to the relaxation of investment rules on China investors. Barely an hour later and we were back in the office. The reporter drafts the script, while the camera man looks for stock footage, then it's off to the editing suite. TJ gets the OS done in two takes, very eloquent! Looking at how the camera man's fingers fly over the keyboard, picking up footage, adjusting the sound, you can't help but marvel at their efficiency. Did I mention that one fo the camera man cum editor's fingers was all wrapped up in a bandage. (said he hurt it in a basketball game).

Happy enough that I was able to go out, it was a surprise that my fellow intern gave me the chance to go out again. This time around it's a land auction. Took footage from the auction, property expert then went to film the piece of land in the Xin Yi area.

Meeting Yuru later...

First day of work

2009-07-01T12:59:00.001+08:00

Somehow after I came to Taiwan, I seem to have an auto alarm clock installed in me. Today I woke by 5 minutes before my alarm went off. A miracle for someone like me who can hit the snooze button for two hours straight. The day before though I slept at 2am, I miraculously woke up at 730am!

I've been sent to the financial channel at EETV. Previously, Yi Fan interned here and she said she had a fruitful experience. She even went to a Chanel fashion show. So far for the the past 3 hours the interns have been sitting around using the computer, doodling, watching the news... hmmm guess the work will only start tomorrow.

Reported to work at 9:10am. Made a special effort to get up earlier just in case I would get lost. But my worries were unfounded. The office is really easy to find, about a 5 minutes walk away from the Taipei Main Station. Thank goodness the place where I'm bunking in is only 3 stops away. It takes less than 15 minutes to get to work.

The financial newsroom is a frenzy, everyone is rushing to get their news out. The TVs are all switched to either the news or share channels. Initially I was asked to go to the International news section where they watch the international news channels and grab news relevant to the Taiwanese audience and repackage it. But I dont want to stay in the office all day so I asked to be sent to the local news.

I'm the only foreigner amongst the interns. Most of the interns here study communications or journ ( talked to one who studies biotechnology...) Upon reading that I'm from Nanayang Technological University the news supervisor is pretty puzzled... guess the name makes me sound like a computer or engine student. Had to explain that I'm a journ student and oh yes... I speak Chinese. Think she thought I speak Malay or something... I will next semester if I get my Malay module.

The fellow interns here are very friendly. The best thing about being a foreinger is that you never run out of conversation topics. I've come to realize the first thing most Taiwanese ask me is can u eat chewing gum or about our strict Singapore laws. And we're famous for Jack Neo's I Not Stupid and the Michael Fay caning incident. Oh well...

Can't wait to go out and do some interviews. Will update on any exciting news I have...

Meeting up with old friends part II

2009-06-30T23:47:00.001+08:00

Later on in the evening I met ViVi Zifu for a dinner at the Peter Rabbit restaurant. It's a cosy restaurant tucked away in a corner at the Zhong Xiao Fu Xing area.

Ordered a Salmon cream pasta (yes CREAM pasta) set meal. The appetizer was fruit salad that came on a Peter Rabbit ceramic plate. Sadly I didn't really get to see Peter Rabbit coz I don't really like fruits... I tried stuffing down all the fruits I usually don't eat.. honey dew, cherry tomatoes... it helped that we had a bowl of yoghurt to drizzle on the salad... but fruit is still fruit. The mushroom cream soup was really good though. It's not to creamy that it's "gelat". Though the soup is not so thick, you still get the full taste of mushroom with a hint of onion. The portion of pasta is really huge... if you're a small eater you probably can share it with a friend. Last I had an ice milk tea in a Peter Rabbit glass cup. Really wanted to bring one of the plush toys home...

The outside isn't very conspicuous and not very attractive. Only a small door with a few Peter Rabbit decorations, but stepping inside you feel like you're in a little English cottage. Lined along the shelves on the wall are Peter Rabbit soft toys of all sizes. Even the electric plug has Peter Rabbit emblazoned on it.

Thanks Vivi for the treat. Too bad you're going to LA for a month... who knows when we will meet again...

After dinner, went with her to pierce her ears at a old rundown mall in the midst of all the shiny new buildings. The place reminds me of Far East back home comprising of many small shops in a mall. Unlike our shopping mall culture back home, the shops here simply line the streets. Though there are chain stores like NET and the familiar Hang Ten, there are many startups. Also there are many illegal hawkers where you can pick up bargains NT200 (S$10) for dresses, accessories and little knick knacks. It's amazing how prosperous this underground market works. Racks of clothes equipped with wheels in case of emergencies allow the hawkers to make a quick escape when the police patrol their area. It's often like a hide and seek game with some running as quick as their legs take them or some just cover their wares and hide in a corner. Often the proper shops are pretty accomodating and don't give the game away. I even saw one hawker hiding in one of the shops. Actually I think the police just close one eye... times are bad.. as long as they are not as ostentatious as to hawk their wares right in front of the police.

Meeting up with old friends

2009-06-30T13:33:00.007+08:00

Today I woke up real early at 7am. Thought I should get some early morning exercize so I flexed whatever arm muscles I had to mop the floor. Did I mention that mopping the floor with a Magic Clean mop is my favourite household chore. It's so easy to just manoveur it around corners and under sofas... I sound like a magic mop salesperson. Didn't bring my sports shoes along... may just get at NT200 pair at the "shoe street" at Taipei Main Station. Better watch my weight. At the rate I'm downing those cups of bubble tea...

Met Machiko at her hostel at Shi Da. Though it's a little rundown it's just opposite the Shi Da Night Market. Had a Green Tea Ice Kachang and yogurt.. Bought another dress (someone please stop me....)

oiishiiiiii

macha ice with milk and azuki beans

Storeroom at Shi Da sealed the ancient way

Machiko's dorm

Back in Taipei

2009-06-30T07:31:00.007+08:00

It feels so surreal to be back in Taiwan. Just half a year ago, I thought it would be ages before I set foot on Taiwanese soil. But here I am using New Taiwan Dollars, speaking in my Singlish-accented Chinese and hearing Mandarin and Hokkein spoken inside of the all-too familiar Singlish. The best thing about being a foreigner in Taiwan is that your nationality itself is an ice-breaker. Today I just met two Taiwanese girls who casually asked me what time Sogo closes. Apparently I look pretty local (that’s good meaning I won’t be “cheated” when I go shopping, but then again when I open my mouth...). Have met my host AL, very easy-going chracter. I have a whole room to myself. Only drawback is that there is no wireless. So I have no idea when I’ll be able to update my blog. Knowing how “monophobic” I am, I’m pretty proud that I made it all the way to Taipei all by myself. Sure I was all jittery when I saw the flight announcement of how the gates were closing, trying hard to figure out which stop to get off the coach, but everything went pretty smoothly.

Taiwan from above

Taiwan here I come!

2009-06-29T10:24:00.000+08:00

I'm taping into some random wireless signal which is highly unstable. So sadly I won’t be able to blog as often. Coming back to Taipei for a second time, it feels totally different. Somehow I feel so much more at home, as if I’m taking the MRT in Singapore. Revisiting the old places like Ban Qiao today but with a different friend this time (Machiko), feels like any other weekend outing to Orchard. Though only into the second day of my trip, I know I’m going to be Taiwan-sick when I leave this place a month later. Brought Machiko along to meet my Chengchi friends – Xiao Ji, Yifan and Ting Qi at my old hangout (when I was in ChengChi) – Shi Da night market. I love how welcoming my Chengchi friends are to new people. In fact we’ll be meeting for a round of karaoke in the near future. Counting down to my last day of holiday. Will start work in a day’s time. I have mixed feelings about going to work. On one hand I don’t want my free and easy lifestyle to end, but on the other hand I want to experience Taiwan in a whole new different way... part of the media frenzy here FYI: If I suddenly disappear while talking to you on MSN it's coz of the signal... DOES ANYONE KNOW IF HOW I CAN APPLY FOR WIRELESS INTERNET FOR A MONTH? ANY DEVICE OR SOMETHING? HELP...

(problem solved!)

Taipei again

2009-06-06T23:26:00.002+08:00

*Cross my fingers* If all goes well... in about three weeks time I could be breathing in Taiwan air again!!! Yipee!

i miss taipei

2009-01-17T18:57:00.001+08:00

i miss taipei loads.

omy.sg Love Matters contest

2009-01-17T18:51:00.002+08:00

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I'm home!

2008-07-02T22:34:00.002+08:00

I'm finally back home in Singapore!!!
This past 5 months have been like a dream....
What a morning, seriously overweight luggage, being the VIP guest on the flight (coz I was the last one on board that they had to send someone to find me!!!).
Really have to thank my cousins moo, xiu and ah hao for all that help.
Without them I think I would have gone crazy with the enormous amount of luggage that I have.
My last days were spent being a "tour guide" of Taiwan. But apparently the 5 months in Taiwan hasn't localized me that much yet. Being the 路痴I am we got lost quite a bit.
ほんとにごめんなさい真的很不好意思SORRY
O well it was an interesting trip... not the usual touristy one
Most of our time was spent in the hotel watching the movie channel. Haha our idea of an ideal holiday...

Anw wll update some time in the future.. in a slack mood now. Wanna catch up with friends and TV before school starts again... :)

拜拜政治大學

2008-06-26T17:04:00.002+08:00

腦里一直浮現的那一天終於來臨了
沒想到這麼快就到我離開的日子

The decorations I painstakingly put up to make this place just like home are all coming down
The shelves that were once full are now empty
Goodbye...And thank you

I'll always remember my days in ChengChi
後會有期

Countdown

2008-06-23T00:39:00.003+08:00

每想到时间就这样不知不觉地过了。。转眼交换期就快结束。现在只剩下最后的考试。
好多事情要做，好不愿意这样就离开，似乎好像有未完成的事。。。可是这样一来可能永远也回不了因为有太多了吧。

有期限的时光才会让人珍惜吧。。。

谢谢台湾给了我那么多美好的回忆
我会想念你的一切。。。

HuaLien

2008-06-23T00:21:00.013+08:00

I can't believe that the end is near... :( Just came back from my trip to Hualien. It's officially my last trip out of Taipei with a friend. The many trips that I took with my khakis here are unforgetable. For my last trip I had a great time with 我的傻瓜朋友阿猫! Without our dearest compass Yuru, we were armed with only a rought plan and no place to stay for the night. It's a lil frustrating tryingto figure out our bearings and stuff all on our own, but WE did it!! Yeah!!!! Being tourist in a foreign place, we opted for the easy way of paying for a guide to bring us around. Honestly, we both didn't like the guide very much. One look and you can tell he's the money-grubbing guy. I mean he asked for payment even before the first day ended. Thank goodness we didn't have to see him after the first day. The first day was merely a customary tourist been here and done that tour to TaiLuGe and Qi Xin Tan. At first glance you'd be in awe of the enormity of the rocky terrain of Tailuge... but after a while it can get a little monotonous. As for Qi Xin Tan, we cycled along the sea... then we realized why people say Hualien is a place to visit. The sea view is BEAUTIFUL. 海天连成一线. You should see it for yourself.

ON OUR PLANE-LIKE TRAIN

My cold 鲔鱼蛋饼

Taroko Gorge

What a small world! I met my senior Kaiyan whilst admiring the gorge!

不速之客 Praying Mantis!

狗狗好乖！

DAY TWO

Had a good night's sleep on the comfy bed....可以自然醒真幸福！ We went in search of the Hualien's famous 曾记muachi. Apparently the famous chain has spawned many copycats. There are many variations of the famous brand name... most of them changing their surname to Zeng in hopes of misleading tourist into their shop. :) Hohohoho don't be impatient.. the muachi's will land on Singapore soil in about 2 weeks! The highlight of the whole trip was dolphin watching. At first I wasn't willing to part with my S$40 coz you're not guaranteed that you will see the dolphins. At last, I thought it's my last trip why not just go! And boy was I rewarded! :)

阿猫好介绍！

After I watched this video, I realize how much I miss Ah Mao, her accented chinese, her hearty laugh, her comical actions and just simply how she does silly things like this with me.

笨蛋二人组！

Mr J

2008-06-06T01:28:00.006+08:00

Jay Chou fans eat your heart out!! Haha... I've been to Jay Chou's restaurant.
Yuru wanted to try out the restaurant as she's leaving next week.. so it's sorta a farewell for her!I can't believe she's leaving already.. time really flies. :(
Wanted to buy 不能說的秘密琴譜...but it's out of stock!
Haha plenty of stuff to settle now that the END is near.....

主播体验

2008-06-05T17:10:00.002+08:00

今天我们电视新闻试验课终于进棚了。大家各自负责器材，run起棚来还真的蛮有feel! 我们是第一组所以我是首先上场的主播。坐在主播台上虽然有点坐立不安，因为大家的目光都在你身上，但无可否认我得却是兴奋的。这是很难得的机会所以我非常珍惜。下个星期就是正式录影了，希望一切顺利！

Pre-Departure Blues

2008-05-28T04:26:00.002+08:00

I know it seems a bit early to be having such symptoms considering I have slightly more than a month to go, but I've been feeling it! Especially so after we sent Yuru off to... KENDING. Shu Hui was almost fooled into thinking that Ah Mo & I wanted to send Yuru back to HK. Haha... The 3 of us were Yuru's bodyguards for the night, escorting her to the 236 bus stop. It was ages before the bus finally arrived. So meanwhile the four of us had a hearty talk. We were laughing & joking at all sorts of stuff, esp Green Island... In the silence of the night now, I'm just wondering how long more do I have to enjoy such great company. :)

我爱台东。绿岛！

2008-05-21T01:34:00.035+08:00

Finally back from my 4 day hiatus. And I must say I have a great time!

Travelling for the first time without a person without a good sense of orientation was pretty thrilling. 我和阿猫是路痴！We practically planned our trip hours before we set off!

My very first 火车便当！It's not very good though :(

If you notice we're sitting on the floor!! That's coz we couldn't get tickets with assigned seats. So we seat all the way to 花莲! 4 hours!!

The four days away from the hustle and bustle of Taipei city was a change. As what my wordy Lonely Planet guide suggested, if you're on a tight schedule you could give 台东a miss coz there isn't any fantastic scenary or special sights... cycled my day away. Feels like a ride in East Coast Park. But the rental fee is really cheap NT100 (S$5) not for an hour, for a day as long as you return the bike before 7pm! 台东 is a pretty deserted town, we were joking that there were more motorbikes than pedestrains.

Ah Mao's artistic shot

阿猫阿狗

Old railway tracks

Courtesy of Ah Mao

Elite Bookstores is EVERYWHERE!

I met a fellow Singaporean in 台东. He's a restauant owner now!! He could tell from my accent that I wasn't a local. Once I said I was Singaporean he said "Hello I'm from Singapore too" Ahhh that familiar Singlish accent!He's an owner of a western restaurant which serves delicious 起司猪排！如果有缘到台东可以多多捧场！

We cycled from 海滨公园to 森林公园. I love cycling!

Our bikes! 粉红色淑女车是我的哦

阿猫
不觉得很像相框

Greek architecture in the middle of no where.

好吃的食物是值得等待的

周日夜市

Kitty's big nose cousin
夜市也有卖牛排

Green Island 绿岛

To escape from the rainy weather in Taipei, we decided to head off to Green Island. But was instead greeted by pouring rain! 我们可真的是雨女！The rain follows off wherever we go!!!!! The main mode of transportion on the island are motorbikes... we were left stranded since none of us knew how to ride one! After much discussion, we decided to dig into our pockets and hire a guide to chauffeur us around in a car. *Heart Pain* Cost us a bomb..... but thank goodness we did! The best memories I brought away from the offshore island was not the great scenary nor the hot springs but the warm hospitality of the ppl there.

Visted a prison where political prisoners were kept during the white terror. Yuru and Ah Mao kept saying that I belonged there because of my jailbird styled jacket.

Listening attentively

哈巴狗
睡美人

朝日温泉~

I must say our hot spring experience was a different from what I had in mind. 朝日温泉is an open air hot spring with a great view of the sea. We were thinking of going there in the wee hours of the morning to watch the sunrise. But due to weather and transport limitations we ended up soaking up the rain too.

One of the activties at the hot spring was to cook eggs. The designated egg boiling hot spring was really faraway in some ulu spot. Braving the winds, we trudged our way carefully through the rocky terrain just to boil our eggs in the sacred spring water. Dressed in our swimsuit, we were practically freezing from the strong wind. In order to make our wait less painful, we started to counting in different langauges - cantonese, chinese, english, singlish...

Another highlight of the trip was to see the梅花鹿...but guess we weren't fated. Our night tour was cancelled due to the rain. Haha so we ended up playing 大老二 with the our guide and his friends. It was a knockout match - the loser had to give up his place and drink a glass of beer as punishment. I gladly downed glass after glass of Fruit Beer (Thanks to Machiko's recommendation)!I felt a little guilty losing coz I got to get free drinks!

It was a showdown between Yuru and the guys as she was our only representative left standing in the game. Did I mention it was the first time she was playing 大老二 . Smart gal!!

We packed up and got into the car....we though we were heading back to the hostel....but then we ended up at the karaoke! Haha to think we travelled all the way to Green Island to play cards and sing karaoke!

Snorkling AGAIN!
I never expected that I would get the chance to snorkel again. But I DID!! This time around the apprehension of facing the vast ocean was gone. I didn't even have to hold on to a buoy for my dear life like I did the last time. This time I swam in the ocean on my own away from the group...haha okok of course under the watchful eye of one of the instructors. I find the sea water in Green Island clearer than the sea at Kending. Probably coz Green Island hasn't been trampled
by tourists.

The multi-coloured corals are breath-taking... purple green yellow...the fishes come in all shapes and sizes and colours. There was fish with a long snout, a RECTANGLE fish and eve a rainbow coloured one. I had to coax the fish to come near me, baiting them with bread. Only one mischievous fish was brave enough that it tried to "steal" bread out of my hand.

Time in the sea flew by, before I knew it it was time's up.

教练和我们

Super friendly 台东ppl! Gave us a whole box of delicious hua lien mua chis!

We managed to get seats in the first class cabin！

But in the end we spent most of our time on the deck. Held on to the railings for our dear life.

This trip was really one of a kind. I wasn't just a tourist admiring the surface beauty of the island, I'm gald I had the chance to get to know the locals and experience their hospitality. 绿岛人谢谢！！

International Food Fest & Japanese Curry

2008-05-09T00:54:00.000+08:00

It's international food fest week! It's a melting pot of cultures here as the international community here at Chengchi is really huge. Of course I couldn't give up on the opportuniy to feast on food from all over the world.

I had polish potato salad, pancake from ?? (some part of Europe), rosti, milk rice from latin america, satay from Malaysia ....

I had polish potato salad! Combination of my favourites:potato, egg and mayo!

Machiko with a funny expression

Pancake

Megumi (Japan) Teny (Indonesi) Me (Singapore) Machiko (Japan)

Machiko invited me for a stayover and Japanese curry. I helped too! Haha due to space constaints the floor was our kitchen and our dining table. Don't worry it's clean! Even though there was much limitations the curry tasted GOOD! Oooooiishiii.

Itadakimasu
Pumpkin soup courtesy of me (Of course it's instant!)

After dinner we went down to the river side for a walk as we sipped fruit beer. But at last it was not to be coz it started raining!

We returned back to her room to watch I Not Stupid 2 which she recorded earlier. I'm amazed at how high tech her comp is. I can't recall the name of the device we learnt in CS, but it's the device that supposedly will threaten advertisements coz we can pause TV prgs and fast forward whenever we want to. it's really convenient! I want to own one of it!

ありがとまちこ！じあ

娱乐百分百-梁静茹和苏打绿篇

2008-05-07T00:28:00.001+08:00

一大早我们几位追星族又搭了公车远到内湖去这次是为了看杨小姐的爱苏打率。早上的录影刚好遇到了歌声优美的梁静茹。那天我们可真是有耳福！

梁静茹眼睛好大好漂亮！

猜猜这是谁？小鬼！
小猪觉得当天的影棚好冷！

影棚布置换了！

Are you ready for the highlight of the day.....drum roll please.....

Yes you're eyes do not deceive you! Shu Hui is on TV again! And this time she has INTIMATE CONTACT with Yiqi's beloved Mr. Pig! Haha... what are the chances! Thank goodness professional paparazzi Yuru took a photo of this historic moment! :)

Qing Fen in the shadows

龙山寺

2008-05-03T17:58:00.001+08:00

今天和怡帆到龙山寺去拜拜。龙山寺真是旅游胜地，挤满了世界各地的人。当天还有学生导游为洋人介绍龙山寺里的各神。多亏当天有怡帆带我去，教我拜拜的程序，不然就不灵了咯！那天我记得我跟孔子拜拜希望弟弟金榜题名！哈哈以后当官了可别忘了你老姐哦。去龙山寺当然要位家人求福啊。买了好多福带。。有过香炉的哦。

哈哈我也为自己求了红线。。駁杯擲在地下三次，三次都拿到圣杯！我没作弊哦。千秋学长！

爱吃的我们到了台北车站赴近的果子烧点。

口味多又特别，有一般的巧克力也有咸的如鲔鱼、熏鸡。

新光三月里巨大的熊熊！

Pasta. Mister Donut . 泡温全

2008-05-02T01:28:00.006+08:00

Later in the afternoon, Ah Mao & I headed down to Zhong Shan to satisfy her cravings for a good meal. This place is supposedly well-known, according to Ah Mao's guidebook. And it sure is. A few weeks ago went we came at dinne time, there was a snaking queue in front of the restaurant. So now we're back!!!

Though this place looks pretty high-class, the price is reasonable. You can enjoy a great pasta for under S$10. Haha though it's not as great a deal as 发现意大利面. As Yiqi puts it she would rather go to 发现意大利面 at Gong Guan. Pasta, unlimited soup & drink for NT100!! I love 发现意大利面!

A very hungry Ah Mao! Haha... do you spot a cutie in the background.
Super active kid! He kept running to the window. It's a great view isn't it!

Afterwhich we went to shop around the Zhong Shan area, and got stuck in none other than Daiso. Ah Mao was fascinated that everything in the shop went for NT39. " As she said"Even knives! Thank goodness we have Daiso in Singapore, if not there'll be a big hole in my pocket by the time I leave the shop.

Sorry to Yuru! The attraction of Daiso is too great, that's why we couldn't meet her in time to 泡温全.不好意思！

I finally sunk my teeth into one of those sinful delights- Mister Donut! Donuts in Singapore are nothing compared to this. You should see the wide array of choices. They offer different flavours, different series, so many choices... so hard to choose. Thankfully the girl at the counter was really patient.

I fell for the sales gimmick! Bought another donut in order to get another coaster! The service at Mister Donut is superb. Mister Donut employees go around asking people whether they need refills, armed with a pot of coffee in one hand and a basket full of 奶球,sugar! And the basket where are donuts are placed is lined with handy-sized paper so that we can pick up our donuts without dirtying our hands! I love Mister Donut. Not to mention their hot 代言人。。。:) Tamaki Hiroshi!

We finally got to 北投, the place to head to in Taipei if you're looking to soak in hot springs.

When I earn enough money, I'm heading down to one of these hotels for their hot springs.

For now, the poor student here will settle for this....

Looks just like an ordinary bathroom right. The secret lies in the spring water... haha you really can feel you heart being faster. Heard soaking in hot springs are good for your health. I'm not sure but I did have a deep sleep that night:)

Chanced upon this grand looking house whilst exploring the area. Wouldn't it be cool to live here. You could always pop by the hot springs after a stressful day at work! :)

华语班成果发表会-艺文中心

2008-05-02T01:08:00.004+08:00

This morning, I managed to crawl out of my comfy bed at 8 30 am (a miracle!) so that I could rush to the florist before going for my Jap friends' performance. The performance was put up by students of the Mandarin classes.

It was quite a sight watching people of all races speaking Chinese, each with a special accent. I had fun trying to figure out which countries the performers are from.

Machiko & Ayako's class did a spoof of the popular talent search show 超级星光大道。

Machiko as the female lead

Ayako as 章鱼 (Haha 张宇！Get it the judge Phil Chang）

I'm gussing the that guy who acted as the host is Jap.

He reminds me of half of the duo Kinki Kids.

Machiko the host. Her co-host, Ali from Iraq.

Cool hairdo. Must ask her where she go it done :)

The guys from this Mandarin Class are really sporting. Cross-dressing as sexy mermaids in bikinis.

My very first postcard!

2008-04-28T13:38:00.002+08:00

I received my very first postcard last week from none other than Shi Hui!! Thank you Shi Hui you made my day!

Dear Jasumina, I think your letter has been lost in the pile of mail. :( But thanks anw.

Shu Hui's Birthday Part II

2008-04-27T22:01:00.011+08:00

In celebration of Shu Hui's birthday, the three of us decided to have a girl's day out...

First stop... the Taipei Zoo!

The Zoo is about a 10 mins bus ride away from our school. Really near huh... not to mention the enterance fee costs NT30 (S$1.50) cheap as compared to the Singapore Zoo.

As it was a weekend, the place was flooded with parents with their kids. The kids are super kawaii. :) In fact I felt the kids were a greater attraction as compared to the animals. Maybe coz it was really hot that day, the animals were all hiding in the shade. So it was a test of our eyesight as we scanned the enclosures for them. Most of the time our efforts were futile. :(

One of the better shots we could take was an the Insectorium. People were allowed to mingle in the enclosure freely amongst the fluttering butterflies. The butterflies seemed to have acustomed themselves to the snapping of cameras, posing long enough for us to capture their on camera.

The Year of the Rat

Bear hug

我也要感谢长荣载我来台湾！

Wall of Poo

What really amused me was the wall of poo situated none other than outside the loo.

Poo comes in all sizes.

Don't you think this is a rather well-taken shot.
ll thanks to our little photograher featured below... 谢咯弟弟！
That concludes our Zoo Trip.

O well we can always visit the animals another day when they're not so sleepy.

The McDonald's where My MVP Valentine was shot.

火辣辣的SHE!!

Our dinner reservation wasn't until 740pm, so we went in search of food to pacify our rumbling tummie. We chanced upon a Croissan Chain Store offering various flavours of the pastry. It's called 牛角面包in chinese literally translated as Cow's Horn. It's pretty obvious why it's called so right.

I chose the original flavored one. Yum yum yum.. I'll be back for more. Too bad it's situated in such an ulu spot.

The highlight of the day for foodies like us was the restaurant 学姐recommended 古拉爵. I just have this to say.... おいいし。ありがと学姐.

If you ever have the chance to come to Taipei, I recommend you try the food at this Italian restaurant. Great ambience, great food at an affordable price.

Guess where this photo was taken. The toilet! I'm not kidding. At first when I went in I was like WOAH. The walls were lined with red curtains and the toilet bowls are equipped with seat warmers with temperature setting. Such extravagence!

Decor is one thing, but food is always the main thing when it comes to an eating place. And we were not disappointed.... FEAST YOUR EYES!

Our appetizers.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Stewed Rice with Chicken and Cheese

Strawberry Yoghurt Drink

Before we even dug into the main course we were already discussing when would be the next occassion we can come here to celebrate. 90th day in Taipei..haha just an excuse.

We ended off the day visiting 师大夜市's stationery shops, one of our fav hangouts. We love stationery. It's where you can cheap and pretty stationery.

谢谢你们俩位哦。。我今天玩得很开心。生日快乐淑慧！

Happy Birthday Shu Hui!

2008-04-26T21:57:00.000+08:00

I know this photo looks kinda ghostly. But yeah we sorta surprised Shu Hui by playing paparazzi. It was hilarious how she tried to dogged our cameras.

It was a simple celebration with chocolate eclairs from 7-11. There's not much you can get around here after 12 midnight. Eh but the ecalirs are good even though they're not from some top notch bakery. After coming to Taiwan, I've become a regular of 7-11. I must say they're much more well-stocked than the ones in Singapore.

Back to the topic... HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHU HUI! Glad to come with you to Taipei. You've brought us so much laughter with your wit and humour. All the best to you!! Hope you liked the present. :)

Chiaki~

2008-04-26T21:17:00.000+08:00

Tamaki Hirosi has a new show!! Sadly it's not a love story...more a sci-fi meets best friends movie. But still..... Haha I wasn't the only one going gaga over the movie posters. Yifan's senior posed with Tamaki...pouting her lips as if she were kissing him.

Haha... the charm of Chiaki.

Hello Kitty Sweets

2008-04-25T20:49:00.000+08:00

Finally I've realized my dream of going to the Kitty restaurant in Taipei!

There you have it Kitty galore. :) Haha I know I know Kitty's not everyone's cup of tea. But don't you agree that the decor's cute? Even exquisite, especially the chandelier.

Kitty Princesses!

Haha oh well what should the caption be since we were all lying on the princess chair in the........... toilet!!

I'm not kidding. This is how the toilet looks like.

Gem studded tissue dispenser

Kitty dustbin

Kitty Soap

Chandelier in the toilet cubicle

You may be called a pervert if you're caught taking photos in the toilet.. Not in this toilet though. It' s totally understandable why you would want to!

Enough about Kitty... Haha almost forgot to introduce the people who went along. This is Yiru my Broadcast Journ groupmate. I'll intro the ppl as we go along.

The exquisite menu filled with exorbitant overpriced but of course delicious looking cakes! The set meals all had grand but weird sounding names. I mean how bad could it be looking at the price right. Think I was to adventurous for my own good...You'll see later in one ofthe photos later.

Cream soup was great though.

Cakes Galore

Meal Time

Can you tell from their expressions which meal was delicious and which was not? Think it's pretty obvious.

My meal for the day. Baked potatoes stuffed with tuna. (We were betting that the tuna came straight from the can)

The only two in the group of five who didn't suffer our horrible fate. .

The waitress described this as "很高的棺材板" with plenty of seafood stuffings. Definitely more worth it... choose this dish if you're going there

This is not bad too. I can't remember it's name. Something about lotus root strips. Though after trying it we were wondering where were the lotus roots.Taste a lil like pizza. It's bread with cheese, tomato and savory toppings.

布丁奶泡
At least I got a drink with a Kitty face on it. YiFan got the same drink as me. She challeged herself to finish the drink without disfiguring Kitty. She succeeded!!

Last but certainly not least delicious was 果冻.
Kitty Before
Kitty after her ears are bitten off!

The waitress are dressed in pink from top to toe! Haha I could just put on an apron and start work immediately.

From top left clockwise: Me, Yiru, Pudding, Yifan, LiuSi (Yifan's senior from the English Faculty)

We couldn't get enough of the toilet. So we went in for another round of photo-taking before we left. :)

Conclusion: It's not that I wouldn't recommend this restaurant but just remember you're there for Kitty.

投名状

2008-04-24T23:14:00.003+08:00

Today went with まちこさん Machiko to watch Warlords which was screened for free in school. It's been a long time since I watched a movie in a cinema (it wasn't a cinema but it was just as good...wide screen comfy seats, best of all it's free).

Was expecting a good show after hearing that Warlords has won plenty of awards. Well I wasn't disappointed, it was sad that everyone had to die in the end. Plus my teacher unknowingly gave out a spoiler during his lesson in Photography class. But it did make me seat my and take extra notice of the deeper meaning that lies behind the value of a life. In the context of the movie, the value of a life was no more than a pawn. If you're a citizen you live, if you are a soldier you got to be prepared to die. Hmm... makes me thankful that I'm living in this civilised era.

What struck me was when Machiko's Iraqi friend Ali said that he found the scene where the mother had to bade goodbye to her sons off to war very touching. I didn't really catch what he said but I think it was something like because he has seen a lot of such scenes. Never thought that I could ever meet someone from Iraq. That aside, he's really hilarious. He and Machiko are going to be hosts for their Mandarin Class performace. がんばって～

More Photos!!

2008-04-24T02:03:00.003+08:00

Just got more photos from Yuru and I have to post them up!!

Shu Hui's early birthday present

帅哥们！

娱乐百分百！

2008-04-24T00:16:00.011+08:00

It's so surreal. I finally got to attend the live recording of 娱乐百分百. The stars that I see on TV miles away in Singapore appearing right before my eyes.

Let me narrate the day's exciting events right from the start. We travelled all the way to 内湖with not much hopes of getting into the studio since we weren't fan club members and it was 12 noon by the time we reached there.

I was number 70! I was thinking even if I didn't get into the recording at least we could say we came to 八大. It was a bonus to get in. And 大东pratically walked passed me as he entered the building!!! 帅呆了！

Too bad I could only take his backview.
Number 70 that's me!

The long queue ahead of us.
Yeah and we're in!

Before we entered the studio, 唐禹哲 brushed past us twice. 我想台湾人看艺人像家常便饭。

The all familiar studio

The pretty files you see the two hosts carrying all the time.

Studio 9

We Singaporeans were the sua ku ones. Whipping out our camers and snapping away at almost everything in the studio. We were practically oozing with excitement!

The recording's guest were 唐禹哲&大东 who were there to promote their new show. We made the right decision to join the 唐禹哲camp coz we ended up with really good seats. Nice view of the hosts and guests! I find 娱乐百分百more entertaining than 我猜's recording. Probably coz the two hosts are super hilarious.

大东is really friendly. Saw him making eye contact with his fans!! Now I recall why I prefer him to the other 3 members in Fei Lun Hai :)

唐禹哲

Haha got to take 大东 's front view at last.

We decided to hang around to attend the next recording. Was told to go down and queue up again. But coz we hung around too long, by the time it was time for us to go down it was time to go in. Haha.. 反正课都翘了，干脆充分利用时间。

薛凯琪, a Hong Kong celebrity,was the next guest!

Bubbly and cute Fiona dressed in a smart military uni. She's a really unassuming celebrity with no airs at all. You can almost imagine her as one of your girlfriends. Unlike most politically correct celebrities, she's really candid. I think she just got herself a new fan. And the highlight of the recording was when Shu Hui got a T-shirt made by Fiona coz her birthday is this Sat!! Lucky gal.

The seat we got this time around was even better than the previous one. Xiao Zhu could practically hear us lor. HE was practically looking at us during the recording because of our position! He even reacted to the funny sounds that Shu Hui made.

Haha...Oooo I got to pass Xiao Gui tissue. OK I know! CHEAP THRILL mah.

I'm really impressed with Xiao Gui's hosting skills. He has really improved since I last saw 娱乐百分百, his jokes are more natural and really made the audience laugh! Too bad we weren't sitting at the side close to him. Coz he was talking to the fans who were sitting near the slam dunk machine!!

Honestly, I think for us the main attraction wasn't the guest but the two hosts! You can see from the number of photos we took.

Xiao Zhu was busy tinkering away on the piano during the breaks. Of course the audience like me wouldn't give up on this rare opportunity to snap away. (We're not allowed to take photos during the recording)

Today was an unexpectedly fruitful day! I want to do this again!

Larger than life burger outside BK！

Keelung

2008-04-20T22:31:00.000+08:00

小猪greeted me first thing in the morning at Taipei Main Station! Boost your energy with XiaoZhu's brand's essence. :)

Took a train to Keelung. If you're in Taipei for a holiday you can head down to the outskirts of Taipei -Keelung.

We saw an Afro speaking Chinese!! 全世界在讲中国话！！

Unidentified object makes its appearance again. (Ah Mao's omnipresent finger)

Reflection on An Ping Island

Another picture to add to our collection.

Doesn't 8-Twelve sound suspiciously similar to the famous 24 hour convenience store 7-eleven.

！It's been a long time since we took a group shot... sooo here it is plus a sword fish.

An Ping island is pretty much a family place. Parents with kids were everywhere, catching tadpoles, taking family shots. Haha I guess coz we've seen lots of scenary like this we weren't very excited. The main aim for foodies like us was 庙口夜市!

Another group shot!

To get to our next stop An Ping Park, we had to climb 200 plus flights of stairs. Hopefully this works off some calories that we were gonna put on later.

Okie no great scenary here but do you spot Chiaki's name in the background!

The grand building that awaited us after our ardous climb up. That wasn't the top. At the peak of the mountain was a statue of the Goddess of Mercy. But our tired legs couldn't carry us further...

My artisitic shot of Ah Mao

Mini rice sculptures given as offerings to the gods. They're really life-like!!

At last庙口夜市!

We saw many people holding this tasty looking dessert in their hand. So we thought it must be good! And we weren't disappointed. I had the strawberry flavour. Nice balance between creamy and sour taste.

The origins of 庙口夜市can be deciphered from its name. Coz there really is a temple in the midst of the night market. Interesting huh?

I had my favourite soting ball and the milk tea. OMG I really better go swim soon.

P.S: Realize my posts are getting shorter and shorter... :)

寻泳衣逛中山区

2008-04-19T23:54:00.001+08:00

After that I met Ah Mao at 中山 in order to find my swimsuit. Ah Mao says as long as I'm not around she sees swimsuits EVERYWHERE. It's always like this. When you want something you can't find it, but when you don't you see it everywhere. To my horror the whole row of shops at 中山地下街were closed! See what I mean. So we decided to go fill our rumbling tummies first.

中山区is a very upmarket place... Coach, Gucci, LV... not my kind of place. O well if I can't afford such luxury I'll settle for a picture :)

We went about a futile hunt for the recommended food places around the area. Ah Mao was craving for Pizza but we weren't fated to have it. First "Piece of Cake" resturant was closing for the day when we walked in. Next stop, some famous pasta reaturant with a fancy Italian name.
It must be really good coz there was a long queue of people in front of us. Our rumbling stomachs couldn't wait so we continued with our search...

We chanced upon a quaint looking burger joint which had no customers. Ah Mao described it as “打苍蝇”. From the time we came to the time we left, we were their only customers.

I ordered a cheese burger, whilst Ah Mao settled for a double cheese burger (PIG!!)haha..Her's looks more appetizing than mine. Must be coz her ingredients are all double of mine.

The burger wasn't too bad, reminds me of Botak Jones. The fries a close match to Long John Silver. When it comes to Western Food, I'm pretty much easily satisfied.

While waiting for Ah Mao to chomp down her burger, I started to play with my food.

OUCH!!

Ah Mao's very appetizing looking burger.

We discovered that the shop keeps frogs!

The boss wanted to take a photo with us so that he could decorate the wall with it. We then found out that the shop opened recently. Ahhh now I see why the shop's so empty.

Oh yesh! About my swimsuit. On the way back, we found the shop Ah Mao was talking about. I settled for a tankini. Pink top with stripes in the middle and an aqua blue shorts. Not fantastic but I think it's something I would have bought in Singapore. Considering it costs NT590 I think it's not bad a buy. At last I can embark on my swimming regime...

庭琪的生日！Happy Birthday 庭琪

2008-04-19T01:48:00.000+08:00

今天很高兴能够跟我台湾的朋友庆祝庭琪的生日。可惜怡帆胃部舒服不能和我们一起庆生。不怕虽然你不再，科技很发达。。。哈哈看下面的照片吧。Happy Birthday 庭琪!!

我们到了师大有名的转个弯餐厅吃了个丰盛的午餐。我点了店的招牌餐-蓝带猪排。猪排里夹着火腿和溶化起司。。真是一大享受！浓汤也不错，thick & creamy with lots of ingredients. Not like those watery cream soup. You really feel the soup coating your tastebuds, and you can't bare to swallow in coz you don't want to let the taste fade away. I think I'll never get tired of cream soup. Besides soup, it comes with salad, a drink & dessert. It costs NT200 (S$10). Not bad for such a subtantial meal enjoyed in such ambience.

听小鸡说，黄色能增食欲。所以使用能让照片偏黄的mode。你看了饿了吗？

很特别的绿茶果冻。吃起来很香好像香水。

During the meal, there was a point where the conversation topic touched on the way Taiwanese like to use double words like 车车，狗狗。。etc. 母贤was saying there was this once she used it for books 书书. WRONG. Just like Singlish there are rules to using these double words. You know for Singlish you cannot anyhow add the lar one there is syntax one ok. Haha...

Ever since I came to Taiwan, it's been really interesting to hear the quirks of other cultures. And vice versa, the comments people have on Singlish. Generally, the verdict is that our English isn't really understandable. Coz no matter if you speak proper English or not, we still have a tinge of Singaporean accent. I remember how the guide at Fort Domingo was so amused by our Singlish. Singlish pronunciation: "Verticle". The Taiwanese guide's way: "VeRticle" They emphasize their "R's" which I guess is the American and more accurate manner. Haha.. oh well... But that's what makes Singaporean Singaporean.

Walking a pig.

Another PIG as a pet. The owner had to bait the piggy with a piece of bread in order to make it walk. It's really cute the way it walks as if it's tottering about on high heels. :)

After that I went to meet Ah Mao to buy my swimsuit... TO BE CONTINUED

杨明山之采海芋

2008-04-13T01:10:00.004+08:00

Yang Ming Shan revisited! For the three of us (Shu Hui, Yiqi & Me) it was our second time to Yang Ming Shan. Thinking that it's now Spring and that the weather has warmed, we went there rather unprepared. Next time whenever I visit a mountain of any sorts I'm bringing a warm jacket and a scarf.

上山咯

After taking a bus up, we then took a taxi. Boy was it a thrilling ride. 司机说要走小路会快点，没想到他的小路真的很小！Winding up the bendy and steep path, the taxi driver had to keep honking in order to warn any vehicles coming in the opposite direction of our existence. OMG.. scary!!

For the rest of the day, we were surrounded by beautiful flowers everywhere!

It was the season of the Calla Lillies of course these pretty white flowers stole the limelight.

We love roses! Too bad there weren't any roses to pick. :(

白色海芋和显黄色的太阳花相得益彰！

真的没骗你。很冷！Haha do you spot an unidentified object? That's Ah Mao's finger.

路边的野花不要采。。所以我们当然是采院子里的花啦。

采海芋三部曲

Get a firm grip on the stalk of the lily.

And PULLLLL...

Victory!

俏丽的姑娘配美丽的花 :)

我好不要脸。可是有自信是好的。

Notice how wet my fringe is. The atmosphere on the hill is rather wet.. hence we all looked like we just had a shower

Don't let these innocent looking flowers decieve you. Though they look seemingly fragile and vulnerable, they aren't.

这些海芋还真是“根深蒂固".

Don't believe me please ask Shu Hui. Poor gal fell backwards into a shallow ditch. Luckily the flowers in the ditch broke her fall. But it was the scene after that was hilarious. She fell in such a graceful manner that we thought she was kidding when she said she couldn't get up.

The people around were chanting "拍照"! As I was her photographer for her flower picking session, I gladly obliged to capture this rare moment. For photos please ask Shu Hui. In the end it was Ah Mao & Yuru who were the nearest who went to to the rescue of the damsel in distress. Thankfully she was all right!

下山咯

Dinner was Pork Cutlet Japanese style. Love the potato salad but found the pork cutlet a little too dry for my liking.

不乖的兔子被锁起来！I have the exact same rabbit at home in Singapore. A gift to me from Quack & Wei Min back in my secondary school days. :) That day I became a proud owner of a new stuffed rabbit. How could I resist.. it's eyes were telling me take me home. Aww...

We dragged our tired bodies back all the way to hall... this week we're having our mid terms. For now it's time to hit the books, but that we're back to our holiday lifstyle. :)

P.S: I'm actually back-dating so now mid-terms are over.. woo hooo...

NT399 吃到饱!

2008-04-12T13:03:00.008+08:00

Yesterday we had a sumptuous all-you-cat eat hotpot at 锅大爷! Coz we didn't have reservations at first we had to play our sympathy card... haha... well in the end we did get a place. And there it was food galore. We were like a pack of wolves who were starved for a month! Perhaps its the kiasu Singaporean spirit in us. Plates of food were stacking up on our table... There ain't a lot of photos coz we were too busy eating.

Besides having a wide array of food to throw into our piping hot steamboat, there was salad, fruits and yes...a chocolate fondue fountain and Haagen-Dazs & Meiji ice cream!! I think I had 9 scoops in total. Sinful indulgence.

杨小姐干吗嘟着嘴？

Being the Kiasu Singaporean & Hong Kongers, we ordered a wee bit too much. So we ended up playing 终极密码. Shu Hui suggested throwing chocolate into the hot pot.. ewww... but we gamely took the challenge.

By the end of the meal, we all were patting our over-stretched tummies. What a lip-smacking meal with great company!

重新爱上花より男子

2008-04-10T23:04:00.002+08:00

Ximending revisited. And it was a better visit. Perhaps the first time I visited XiMenDing was when I barely made sense of Taiwan. Armed with a better sense of direction and of course friends who know the place better than me... I saw the real Xi Men Ding.

We went there merely to pass some time so didn't really take photos. Will do in time to come. Finally visited the famous 卤肉饭that Shu Hui mentioned. It's really good. I have the place noted down in my notebook coz I'm getting all ready to bring my cousins there when they come. :)

The highlight of the night was when I chanced upon a comic shop and saw the poster annoucing the release of the latest Magaret! Guess what it's only NT85 (S$4++) here. It's probably sold for two or three times the price in Kino. Now I know how overpriced comics are in Singapore. This new discovery means a bigger hole in my pocket.

After reading the special Rui edition, it rekindled my love for Hana Yori Dango. It's the one comic that I really read, watched, even bought for keepsake. I've watched the anime, live version - Taiwan and Japan version. Haha...

*Spoiler Alert* One frame that really caught my attention was one where Makino offers to find the contact of a girl for Rui. And there's Rui in the background with the small words 抽痛 near his heart. Sadness. I've always wanted Rui to end up with Makino. But I guess I shouldn't get my hopes up too high though the development so far shows some light. After all she didn't let Tsukasa & Makino go through all those trials and tribulations so that Rui & Makino can end up together in just one Yomikiri. Hiaz... waiting for the second part which comes up next month. I can't wait!!!! Hanazawa Rui :)

Thanks to Zifu for fattening me & Yiqi. She bought us special edition Strawberry&Milk koala biscuits. Zifu was saying coz of the strawberry season there are lots of special strawberry products during this period. Interesting. I really love my room and my roomies. Such a harmonious relationship we enjoy. Makes me not want to go back to Singapore... ahhh...

With the mid term exam coming next week, its a reminder that we've reached the mid-way mark. :(

The New Sunday Times

2008-04-08T22:30:00.001+08:00

On Tuesday I made a discovery when I went to the library to see whether I could return my photocopying card which I found I have no use for. We have the Straits Times here in National Cheng Chi, Taipei. I guess it shouldn't be shocking but guess I've been so out of touch that its a nice feeling to see a familiar item from back home. I flipped through the latest issue of Sunday Times looking for my cousin's byline. And there you have it.. tada! Ah Moo see your articles are read all over the world.. ok I'm exaggerating. At least you're article has been read in Taipei. ;)

游玩高雄。台南

2008-04-08T22:11:00.013+08:00

We made it just in time to take the newly opened 高雄捷运for free. It was the last day! Super shiok to just walk thru the gates without having to fish out my ez-link card.

My Starwberry Popcicle which according to Shu Hui taste like medicine.. thanks ah... should have taken Yam its much nicer. Honestly from the way ppl were hoarding boxes of these popcicles home I thought they would have tasted fantastic. Evidently herd mentality isn't a good thing. The name of the factory in chinese is 糖厂 I was expecting something like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. But 糖厂 actually meant Sugar Refinery.

Shu Hui's drink. Don't you think the small round gooey stuff looks like frog eggs.

One hat five looks

One of the mascots of the 高雄捷运

Next stop 台南

我在垦丁。天气晴！

2008-04-08T00:54:00.019+08:00

Day One

Setting off from Taipei Train Station, we thought that no one would be as crazy as us to leave at the stroke of midnight. But boy were we wrong. Being the Spring Break and more importantly Tomb Sweeping Day, people were rushing to go back to home. See for yourself the CROWD. We bought offer tickets before hand so that we could take the bus at anytime. Bad choice. We waited from 12:30am to 4:55am. But time passed by relatively fast coz we were entertained by a hyperactive girl. It all started when Shu Hui offered the lil girl a piece of Krispy Kreme strawberry donut (courtesy of LayMing Thanks!!). The girl got all friendly and started playing with us. It must have been the sugar overdoes.

On the coach to Kending, Shu Hui & Yiqi were busy catching some shut eye. I think Lay Ming eats batteries. Don't know where she gets her energy from.

Our dear guide Meixin! The reason why we can enjoy a worry free trip is thanks to her planning.
Our first stop was our camping ground where we unloaded our bags. More pictures on of our camping ground up ahead...

We headed off to 垦丁大街where we did some aimless browsing... the shades there are really cheap. You can get funky looking shades we fake crystals for NT100 (S$5) and that's the expensive ones. 垦丁大街was flooded with people who were going to attend 春浪or 春呐...the Taxi Driver that took us to our camping ground was saying that 垦丁is only so crowded this time of the year. I bet the shop owners including the taxi drivers made a killing out of the exorbitant prices they charged us.

But we did get freebies.... in exchange for a temporary ad space on our skins.

Cool huh... 唯我独尊tatoos.

Louis Koo. Jolin & Edison

Realized that each bottle had a different celebrity plastered on it. Wanted to keep my Jolin bottle but due to space constraints....

Our lunch for the day. 卤味 Wu Master Froods?? Food??Not bad but I still find 卤味too salty for my liking.

春浪@猫鼻头公园

Tanya

The last act of the day was Tanya. 不懂是不是看到“自己人”，感觉有莫名的亲切感，让我特别捧场。她说的每一句话我都会做回应，听她音乐会跟着摆动。能当压轴戏我想Tanya还真的蛮有人气。新加坡之光！

自弹自唱的新加坡才女

海洋乐团

The first act we saw when we reached. The only thing I rmb was the lead singer screaming into the mike and he saying that he was afraid the audience would forget them. Kinda sad but not my kind of music.

新人王若林Joanna

When she sings you just feel so relaxed. A jazz kind of singer. She sang lots of English songs, in fact most of the songs she sang was in English. Even some of her own compositions, though I found "Trilogy" warped. It's three songs stringed together- the first abt how an old woman who fell in love with a young boy and so she kidnapped him, the second when the boy grew up, realized he was abused and kills her, the third he stares at her dead body not knowing what to do. Interesting huh.. you can google her. Definitely not your average cutsie pie Taiwanese singer.

Soda Green 苏打绿

苏打绿主唱Qing Feng唱腔不仅特别，本人还真的蛮搞笑。While we were strolling on the streets on Kending later that night we met 3 members of Soda Green!!! 我们宝贵的合照在我们身在香港的丽敏同学的手里。。。

张震岳

张震岳的音乐好high! 他歌词真的会让首次接触他音乐的人感到惊讶！Think 4 letter f words blatantly peppered in his songs....tsk tsk

烟火

In Taipei, people can buy boxes of firecrackers to set off. Imagine the extents we Singaporeans go to watch the National Day fireworks. It's peanuts to them here. But it's pretty scary sitting on the beach amongst people setting off fire crackers. I saw a runaway sparks zoom across the beach nearly scorching a person who was lying down....

Day 2

Breakfast for the day was flown in specially from Hong Kong - 老婆饼!

We headed off to 鹅卵鼻,the venue of 春呐. A little explanation of the difference between the two music events. 春呐 features underground indie music whilst 春浪features mainstream music. 地下乐和流行乐之争!

A young girl peddling her wares. Perhaps because of her age she's rather honest... when Shu Hui asked if the sand in the bottles were from the beach of Kending she frankly said NO. Haha... Oh well.. sometime ignorance is bliss. But they still bought souvenirs from her...

The main attraction there seems to be the white, tall and majestic lighthouse. Me & Yiqi couldn't resist taking the customary tourist shot. One of the rare shots where you can see our legs since we came to Taiwan.

Lay Ming caught in the act doing sit-ups... no lar she's trying to take a full shot of the light house.

We climbed and walked and climbed and walked just to reach the southern most point of Taiwan to see this rock. We were joking that we should try opening a tourist attraction like this in Singapore and collection an enterance fee. Brilliant huh? :)

Water Sports

One of the taxi drivers brought us to sign up for a water sports package the day before - we chose snorkling and a ride on a water motorcycle. (Is that what it's called!?) Honestly I was totally freaked out at the mention of water sports. But I recall the last time I tried it out during camp I did enjoy it just that the apprehension before the actual thing scared me. Well we're only young once. So I went ahead with them. Thank goodness I didn't back out. It was a great experience seeing the fishes and corals before my very own eyes. The water motorcyle was scary coz 4 of us squeezed onto one. And I was seated at the back so I kept slipping off... and finally when he made a turn I slipped... :( Haha

Soaked from top to toe

The coach who took us out to sea...

Finally I get to wear my orange sun dress... Do you spot my tatoo?

Yiqi and I made it a point to patronise the Taco Pachi stall of the lorry owner who gave us a lift the previous night.

又是另一名创作才女-陈绮真

The act everyone was waiting for - 五月天

I'm not kidding. Before this act, some of the audience. One die-hard Mayday fan remarked to me that she saving her energy before their act so that she could go all out. I was amazed at how Mayday managed to get everyone all high! People were jumping and waving their light sticks madly. All eyes were on Mayday...esp during Love-ing!大家都好配合。跟着阿信比LOVE!不愧是台湾天团！

Our blinking horns we bought to get in the concert mood...

Thank goodness we managed to catch the shuttle bus back to the main street. Unfortunately there was no space and we had to sit in the luggage compartment. 好像难民。。Ever since we came to Kending we really tried all sorts of transport. This trip is really memorable coz everything is unplanned.. so things are so unexpected.

I have sinned

Since I've set foot in Taiwan, I was counting how long before I finally take the bait... looks like we will never be able to escape the claws of the omnipresent MacDonalds. It's really EVERYWHERE. Though I can't say it's very clean. The bins are overflowing, leftover meals are strewn all over the tables... it's hard finding a clean table. There's no one cleaning up.

By the time we reached our camping ground it was 3 am in the morning. Since we were planning to leave early in the morning, there was a preposition that we just stayed up till then. One by one they couldn't resist the allure of Mr Sandman. Shu Hui was the first, followed by Yiqi. It was amazing Shu Hui could fall asleep coz me, Lay Ming and MeiXin were playing Tai Ti around her. We joked that we used her as a table.... haha.

Packing up to leave.... we took a mini bus down to 高雄. We all had difficulty find a comfortable position to rest, but thank goodness the trip was shorter than the time we took a bus up..

TO BE CONTINUED...

Spring Break is here

2008-04-03T15:29:00.001+08:00

On the first day of my Spring Break what better way to start with a nice curry meal with my new Japanese friends. 日本のともだちと一緒に昼ごはんおたべいました。I've forgotten quite a bit of my Japanese sentence structure & grammer :( My Hall 9 neighbour 彩子 (Ayako) left me a note last week to say her Jap friend 真智子 (Machiko) wanted to get to know me. Hohoho. And of course I jumped at the chance.

Since I was eating with my Japanese, I thought we could try out Japanese Curry. Haha... but 真智子kinda forgot the directions. 所以我们就将错就错，在这家尼泊尔咖哩餐厅用餐。还不错哦! 吴宗宪来过的。

彩子was extremely amused by the Pepper and Salt shakers. 这里是公共场所，别再卿卿我我了！
猪排咖哩

At first I was afriad that I couldn't take the spiciness, but it turned out all right.猪排 was thick and crispy. 咬起来超有嚼尽。My favourite - Cream of Mushroom！

Luckily I took a photo before the last piece was gobbled up. Somewhat like roti prata. In fact I think it is...prata with sugar. Ahhh... the familiar taste...

Fruit juice and red tea flavoured jelly.

老板可是下来苦功布置店，让顾客上门仿佛到了尼泊尔。那我们更不能辜负老板的一番苦心，当然要好好利用店里的布景拍照留念。

彩子

真智子

Zen 真智子

我猜我猜我猜猜猜

2008-03-24T20:18:00.006+08:00

今天终于如愿以偿去看了综艺节目的录影！这要多谢我们香港来得同学ChuQiao帮我们打电话巧好的。今天起身比别天来得容易。哈哈!应该是太兴奋的关系吧。本以为到现场看录影是个很复杂的事，可是我们11位就大摇大摆地走进中视，都不用查什么证件之类。各位别羡慕我了，以后来到台北想看节目录影就到台视去排队。看到吴宗宪和阿雅本人和电视上没差，还是一样搞笑。可惜我们没办法与他们合照。:(

Meow meow meow ... Ah Mao, Me & YuRu

我猜猜猜

I don't have a lot of good photos, the pro photos are with the person on my right 阿猫. The first two super clear photos are courtesy of her.

鸭子。阿雅

I guess the theme for the day was yellow.

Jackey Wu! He's really as funny in person.

Us! The curtain behind is where the contestants "magically" appear from amongst a puff of smoke!

Chu Qiao & Me. The pretty gal who made all this possible. Unfortunately my face is blurred!

The host & celebs

The celebrities for the day. Do you recognize them?

Reflection again!

菁桐。平溪。十分。

2008-03-23T20:15:00.016+08:00

I was raining in the morning but we were praying hope against hope that it would stop. It's no fun going sightseeing with an umbrella. Thank goodness our prayers were answered.

Woke up early today (7:56am) to go to 菁桐,平溪&十分。
Early by our standards considering we haven't been waking up before 8 for a long time. I have to say 对不起美欣学姐我们迟到了！We made a made dash to Taipei train station which we had some trouble finding. But we eventually made it there.

Taipei train station is different from it's MRT. It's rather confusing coz they have a few railway systems here.

On the right, my new purple shoes. Did I mention that they only cost NT150 (S$7++) And it's really comfy! Kept looking on the floor coz I was really proud of them. I burnt a hole in my pocket buying three pairs of shoes the night before.

Sleep faces aboard the train

The seats are very comfy. Padded which thick cushion and adjustable leg rest. All this just for NT62 (S$3++).

Bye bye train

我们买了一日票，坐火车去菁桐站，然后再沿着火车线一个地方一个地方玩下来。

Yiqi, Shu Hui, MeiXin, Gwen

Us again! I'm not sure what my hand was doing?!

Can you see my fear in my face? I was super scared that I would get knocked down by this train. It's not an old unused train, it's the train we just got off. Omg. Had to get Meixin to go down and take a photo with me. Phew.

鸡卷tastes and looks similar to 五香Nyoh Hiam

A customary stop for all tourists -the souvenir shop

I bet the make a killing out of profits from silly tourists like us who buy overpriced knick knacks. I bought a handmade notebook for NT90 (S$4.50) so that I could get collect the stamp prints. Such gimmicks that we all fall for. We spent almost 10 mins there just stamping our books.

We settled our lunch at a quaint little shop which has old school furniture. I read a name of a school off the back of a chair. The furniture is such a contrast with the graffiti on the walls. Of course we left our mark. :)

鲁肉饭套餐

化身为龙猫

到处都是狗狗

还蛮短的一条老街

吃了当地有名的冰棒

菜看起来好新鲜好绿
(Digression: The image of Cabbage Patch Kids floated in my mind. )

我们当天走了好多路，从菁桐走到平溪。平溪的老街蛮安静的。离开城市的喧嚣，悠哉游哉地游荡还蛮轻松。
美欣突然想到平溪为什么会这么叫。是因为它的溪很平。哈哈好聪明！

好！
别看美欣这么苗条，她可是个大胃王！

Unglam moment

The highlight of the day was food. Besides this ultra crispy you tiao, I had my fav sasauge! Sinful to max.

To whom it may concern, you all should know why I took this.

"Our" cave!

There's really nothing much in this cave, but it's pretty exciting walking in semi-darkness. It led to a temple. Somewhat like a secret passageway.

平溪bridge is falling down falling down falling down....

"Riding" someone's bike

Haha two big kids trying unsuccesfully to hide from Yiqi & Shu Hui.

五彩缤纷的迷你天灯

老板精巧的手艺

好像收集这幅美丽的画

We tracked along a long winding road in search of the waterfall. After a long long time, we spotted a tiny waterfall. And we were shocked! Is this the so called grand waterfall we walked so far to see. Haha it turned out to be only the prelude of what laid ahead of us. But sadly we didn't make it to the waterfall coz the sky was turning dark. And it would be freaky to walk in the dark in the wilderness.

The small waterfall wasn't grand but still it was beautiful.

天灯

Leaving the best for the last, we wrote our wishes on the traditional lantern. The lantern is huge so there's plenty of space. So I wrote English, Chinese & Jap. Haha... Just in case mah...I shared a side with Meixin. As you can see mine is the one on the left. Seeing how ugly my handwriting is.

Me penning my wishes down.

Hohoho Mr Ng Tze Ming Benjamin. Ain't I a good sister. In case you can't read the Chinese words, I prayed for you to get superb results for the A Levels.

金榜题明oops I mean 金榜题名! 那不是错别字，是故意这样的。因为弟弟的名字是黄志明吗。所以希望他的名字真的能考上金榜！

天灯要飞了！飞得好高好远，希望能把我们的期望和祝福传到神的耳边。

在等车的时候我们还不放过拍照的机会。

As I said trains are really confusing. We took train after train to get home. First we bought tickets for 电车which wasn't operating from WanFang Station which we got off. So we had to take another train down to BaDu where we could take it. We had a scare when the train at BaDu arrived earlier than expected and Yiqi was at the loo. Thank gooness she made it back in time. oh noo it was the opposite of a blessing in disguise. Just as we were about to sit back, relax and take a good nap the annoucer said it was the last stop at KeeLong. Omg we took the wrong train in the opposite direction....

By the time we reached Taipei Train Station it was 10 something. Our dinner had become supper.. haha

What an exhausting day!

再游淡水。偶遇不能说的秘密

2008-03-21T01:10:00.001+08:00

This is my second time visiting 淡水. The last time I came it was super windy, probably because it's near the sea. So this time I came all prepared with triple layer protection and thick leggings. But... it was super hot! The sun was beating down on us as if it were like in Singapore. :(
After figuring out our orientations, off we went. I think lady luck was smiling on us that day coz boy did we cover a lot of places that day. We trudged up a slope surrounded by "sleepy" looking shops when Shu Hui our tour guide for the day pointed out excitedly "文化阿给".

阿给
The 阿给was huge in comparison to the one we ate the last time. It was smothered with sweet sauce and stuffed with lots of 冬粉. The taste was a lil tomato-ey and to me I found it a lil peppery. But overall rating ---- GOOD!! So don't be fooled but the signs all around that claim to be the true blue 阿给, go for 文化阿给! (Taiwan shld start paying me commission for actively promoting their tourism industry)

不能说的秘密
Hohoho we literally took the unbeaten path and found walked around aimlessly. But we were rewarded when we saw IT - 淡江高中!! Hohoho for the uninitiaed this is where THE MOVIE 不能说的秘密 was filmed and more importantly the ala mater of JAY CHOU!! I'm not exactly a Jay Chou fan, but still.. cheap thrill :) Plus the architecture of the school itself is a tourist attraction itself. The security guard even stopped us to give us a map of the school. Here in Taiwan schools, esp universities are attractions. Honestly if they charged an enterance fee to go into 淡江高中 I think I would have paid for it. Since we were there, of course we took couldn't miss out on this excellent photo taking opportunity. Feast ur eyes!

红毛城
Yes 红毛as in Ang Mo! Same as Ang Mo Kio. 红毛城 a fort built by the Spanish but later taken over by the Dutch (Holland). It's one of 淡水's famous sights. It reminds me a bit of the red fort in Malacca. Guess they all stem from the same root. We climbed a steep slope and were awed by the breathtaking scenary that awaited us.

It was rather hard to get good group shots that day coz there was only the three of us there that day. We chanced upon a group of Jap guys and got one of them to take a photo for us. It wasn't a very good shot but he was rather good lookingハンサムな男 !(According to Yiqi he looks a bit like Kokkei Tempei) Later on our way out I turned to Yiqi and bemoaned the fact that I should have taken a picture with the Tempei look alike!! Haha it turned out that we shared the same sentiments. Oh well.. we missed our chance. Oops I digress..

O and we also met a really friendly guide there. He graduated from 台大 and READ THIS is doing his national service as a tour guide at 红毛城. He said that in Taiwan you can choose to do cultural service of sorts. And he was shocked that the guys in Singapore have to do NS for 2 years! I salute the sons of Singapore (yes Ah Hao you included!)

Sent wooden postcards back to Singapore. Hope it reached there. Coz this time it costs much lesser to send it back. It's either the auntie who sold us postcards cheated us or the wooden postcards at 红毛城 are lighter?!

渔人码头
Next stop 渔人码头,where celebrities concerts are held. Though I didn't spy any area large enough to hold those concerts I see on TV. 渔人码头is famous for its Lovers' Bridge. And true enough we saw couples cuddling, walking hand in hand all lovey-dovey. So the trio couldn't just sit back and watch them in envy. Haha see for urselfs. I'm amazed at the silly poses we could come up that day.

There were sketch artists who would do ur potrait for NT100 (S$5). Next time before I go back to Singapore I want to go back and have one done. :) Took a bus to and fro coz it was rather late and the pier was rather far away. Next time got to try taking a ferry. (I see a lot of "next time" in my entry here. Hope there will really be a next time)

老街again
It wasn't as crowded as the last time we came, probably coz it wasn't a weekend. So I didn't get to eat the Sotong Balls I was craving for. So we settled for 综合贡丸汤. I remember telling myself to note how silent it was when we were busy slurping our soup and chewing our food. Coz I found that the silence wasn't awkward like it was at the starting. It was comfortable. :)

Not satisfied with just eating 综合贡丸汤 I was on the prowl for more food. Finally found the famous 蓝带起司鸡排but I was simply too full. So I though I'd wait. Who knew I would regret this decision. Coz the next time I found myself eating, I was gobbling down hot Taco Pachi. 狼吞虎咽！Without knowing it, it was already 11pm. Crossed our fingers that we would reach 公馆in time for the last bus. As I said in the beginning Lady Luck was smiling on us, so we took the last bus at 11 50pm. Phew!

Hiroshi Tamaki
We were all exhausted by all the walking we had done that day. On the way back on the MRT, the two of them took short naps while I read Kite-Runner.

From the corner of my eyes, I spied a Hiroshi Tamaki look alike. But I told myself that my eyes must have been playing a trick on me coz I just finished watching Nodame Cantabile the day before when Yiqi turned to me and told me "Don't you think he looks like Chiaki Senpai"!! Haha second telepathic moment of the day.

Mister Donut! Had to sneakily take a photo of the poster coz they removed the huge life sized one. I missed the chance when I had it. I still rmb Shu Hui asking me "Eh is that some Jap actor" and I just dismissed him as some model. :(

Today I felt like a true blue tourist on a holiday. Relaxed.Enjoyable.Fulfilling :)

P.S: Photos will be up later coz its 2am! And I have to get up real early to catch a train to 十分. So stay tuned!

A flea market a stone's throw away

2008-03-20T22:33:00.004+08:00

猜猜看照片里的盒子是用来装什么？

猜不到吧

。

是菜饭！！好美的图案！用来装我的菜饭觉得有点可惜。

Hooo hooo... I passed my camera exam! I made it thru all the BJ workshops!! Yeah!! Anw I decided to reward myself with a hearty meal - 自助餐. Nope not buffet but 菜饭. Here 菜饭 is called 自助餐 coz you really get to help urself to the food. Hoho today I got to eat one of my favourite food items - potato salad!! And it's good. I'm definitely going back for more.

Flea Market

There was a flea market going on literally a stone's throw away from my room. I thought I'd just take a walk around... but I should have known that I'd dig into my wallet since I brought it along.

Sourcing for good buys

There's even makeup!

我今天的收获。

2 Hello Kitty Figurines, a hello kitty card holder, a wooden Pooh postcard, panda notebook, Mayday album & Jolin behind the scenes DVD + postcard!

Sexy sexy jolin... though I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it since the walls around my desk are pretty full..

Film.A kind soul.Two very filling meals

2008-03-19T21:25:00.006+08:00

Black & White Film

Yesterday we developed our black & white film on our own. In total darkness, we fumbled to twist our films in rolls. It was hilarious coz you could hear ppl panicking and dropping stuff and calling out for help. (Me & my partner Yiqi incld) It was then did I realize the importance of lighting, it really makes you feel much safer. Step by step we were taught to place our films in a canister and pour in liquid after liquid. Had a great sense of satisfaction after the negatives were out. Too bad my film was torn and the part which had pictures of me are gone. Oh well.. these sort of things happen. Wanted a black & white photo of me coz tot it would be rather vintage looking. Nvm there's always photoshop. We collected our strips of negatives which we left to dry. As usual since it's our maiden attempt at developing our negatives of course we had to take photos for memory's sake.

A Kind Soul
O which reminds me yesterday I went for my studio camera workshop. I was the only one learning how to use the camera that day. The main thing that happened was after the lesson it started to pour. And I didn't bring my umbrealla. I contemplated running back all the way to hostel, but decided against it. Luckily a kind soul decided to lend me her umbrealla whilst she ran back to her office to get another one. Thank you kind soul. Sadly I don't know her name, just that she works as an assistant to a prof.

Two very filling meals
Today I indulged in two very filling meals.

For lunch we finally went to the hotpot place. You get to choose from a large variety of soup and ingredients. When I saw the menu I was perplexed and shocked that they actually sold dolphin meat 豚肉。So I asked the waitress and she was like Noooo it's pork. Phew.... Anw I choose a milk based soup. Yum yum my fav. Though I feel that the ingredients aren't very tasty, as long as there's milky soup I'm satisfied :)

For dinner we met two fellow Singaporeans for dinner at Bo Bo Cha Cha. I had curry chicken vermicelli. The food there is supposedly not very spicy, but I should have expected that for someone like me with low tolerane for spicy food, not very spicy = spicy. Hot hot hot.....

Tml I'm having my camera test. Wish me luck. :)

垦丁。铜锣烧。。。

2008-03-17T21:28:00.005+08:00

早上又和雨君去了健身房一趟。今天怡帆加入了我们健康运动大作战！可惜太多人我没法用跑步机。运动过后我们到了Subway。。路上我们看到一只懒洋洋的猫正在享受它的午觉。我们的嘈杂声吵醒了它。不好意思啦。

在Subway，怡帆拿了英国的电视法条让我翻译。了解是了解可是要用华文解释真的没那么容易。总觉得没把字句完全的意思表达出来。让我觉得有点惭愧。哦不谈功课，我们讨论春假要到哪里玩。怡帆会回高雄扫墓。雨君还在计划，可能会跟我们一起去垦丁露营！！Yeah!!

之后我去波波恰恰和美心学姐和新加坡的同学会面。BoBoChaCha is an eatery that boast familiar food from home. Though it's still not as authentic, but it's good to taste something familiar. Anw we decided that we will be having a two day three night trip to Kending. Thanks MeiXin for planning. Ooo and we might be going to Shi Fen this Friday :)

铜锣烧

どら焼きdoriyaki

YiFan got her friend from Xin Dian to get me a piece of doriyaki. It's supposed to be a famous shop which offers flavours of all sorts. I had coffee with red bean. And when they say red bean they really mean bean! Not the paste. Yummy! Next time I wanna try Tiramisu with red bean. Sorry lar wanted to share with the rest but then yum yum gobbled it up whilst the teacher was droning on in class. Yum Yum...

Anw me & Shu Hui launched into a discussion on the Japanese name of 铜锣烧. Using my limited Jap vocab, I recognized the first two hiragana characters as "dori". As for 烧 we deduced that the last word was pronounced as "yaki". (From Teriyaki etc.)

The funny part was when Shu Hui had a "eureka" moment and exclaimed that that must be how doraemon's name came about- because he loves doriyaki. A true anime fan. Anw I wikied it and found out it's not true. Though many ppl have speculated that was how doraemon's name originated.

According to Wiki, "it was revealed in one of the manga chapters that his name originates from the Japanese word nora neko (のら猫, nora neko) for "stray cat", and the -emon (衛門, -emon) ending which is part of traditional Japanese names". Ahhhh... I seee....

Anw that concludes the entry for the day. Nothing much as you can see coz it's a school day. Just wanted to share doriyaki. 以后来台北可以尝尝看。

A walk around the campus

2008-03-16T01:36:00.011+08:00

Today I shall let the camera do the talking.

My very pro-looking camera, which is sadly not mine.

Love the sound of it makes everytime I press the 快门

四维堂

Multi-purpose hall

Heard Soda Green performed there before.

Too late all the celebrities have graduated. Ariel Lin was from the Korean faculty.

行政大楼Admin Building

The fountain that greets you when you enter by the main enterance

研究大楼Masters Building

The education system here is a lil different from Singapore. But I guess it's the equivalent of a masters degree.

校狗School Dog

The dogs in Taiwan live a very good life, esp the dogs here at NCCU. Though they are technically strays, they're well taken care of. You can see how well fed they are from their size. Half the time they're lazing in the sun enjoying life. Oh and unlike Singapore stray cats are a rarity.

Rain & Wind Walkway - it is called so because the structure is such that it does not shield you from the rain or wind.

综合楼Combined Building (Sounds weird)

I guess it is named as such because of the classes of all sorts take place there?! I have my Jap Society lesson there.

咨讯大楼Technology Building

One of my fav spots in school. Like the photoframe effect.

Swings

Benches

My voyeuristic tendencies. This is the couple that sat in front of us. I bet they were guessing which country Yiqi and I are from.

Yiqi & Me & the track behind us

I was supposed to be look like I was running. Unfortunately, I look like I'm doing martial arts. Haha.. we joked that we looked sporty in our NTU jackets. FYI we're in the swimming team. And Yiqi swam 20laps today which is peanuts to her coz she has been swimming competitively since Pri 4. (Okie we're joking.)

NCCU is practically like a park for all. It's a common sight to see parents bringing their kids to play around the campus. There's a hiking trial around our school too.

It's a weekend and there are still plenty of students. No not because they're really hardworking, but coz there's the Masters Enterance Exam going on today.

We ventured beyond the campus...and tada the omnipresent MacDonalds'.

Busstop

Chanced upon a swing.

Just short of turning it into a black and white photo and you would be fooled.Has a very retro sixties feel to it.

Yamapi!!!!!

A very posh looking condo.

An elementary school

Yiqi caught on camera

Kuma Supermarket
Where I get my daily necessties & sinful snacks

Since I only had apples for lunch (coz I woke up late and in turn a very late breakfast. Don't worry I'm not dieting), I decided to treat myself to subway. Been craving for subway. Had a Turkey Breast and Ham sandwich which was on offer. Oiishi!

Since I finally got to eat my sandwich of course I would have to customize it to my liking. That meant plenty of mayo!! Subway here is cheaper. A set meal costs NT114 (abt S$6) And you get free flow of drinks. So me & Yiqi took the liberty and stayed on to savour our food whilst browsing thru mags. Bon Appetite. :)

Meeting my frens for a gym workout tml morning so better get to bed soon. Burn all that fats from all the sinful food.Good night!

我台湾朋友人好好

2008-03-15T23:14:00.002+08:00

Went out with my Broadcast Journ groupmates & their korean friend today. After walking for a long time... we finally chanced upon a rather comtemporary looking restaurant. Went we went in, there were a few customers but no waiter. No one was at the counter... so Mu Xian (korean friend) peeked into the kitchen to look. Yup that's the waiter cum chef cum cashier. Poor guy he was so busy having to multi-task.

We sat in the smoking area, but of course there was no one there. It has a pretty mural on the wall.

Yi Fan's korean notes. She was asking Mu Xian how to write some Korean words. When you don't know a langauge everything seems so foreign to you. Amazed at how all the circles and squares actually mean something.

The Menu.

Mu Xian has steady hands.

The restaurant facade.

The highlight of the meal... cake!! Don't salivate.

A lil rich if you eat a whole piece, tasty in small bites.

Top left clockwise direction: coffee cake, 焦糖烤布丁，strawberry cake & my brownie. (I'm sure the real names sound more appetizing, but they were all in Chinese so I can't really rmb)
台湾朋友

母贤left us halfway to meet her senior who had come down from another part of Taiwan to Taipei. The three of us walked from Shi Da to Gong Guan to look for second hand bookshops coz 怡帆wanted to find politics textbooks. We ended in a place called 茉莉, which looks nothing like those dusty old second hand bookshops. In fact it looks rather posh with brown polished wood. They sell second hand mags which are rather recent. Managed to get a Jan issue with 林依晨on the cover. She looks so pretty!! Though I know my friends beg to differ :( It claims to have exclusive behind the scene coverage of "They Kiss Again". Sadly it only contains 2 pages with limited words and gorgeous full body shots of the leads. Not that I'm complaining.. just that I wished there was more. As what Yiqi said, Taiwan mags are mostly fashion.

Back to the outing.. another of their friend Ting Qi joined us at the bookstore. As my Taiwan friend describes, she's very "lady" (pronounced as lay-dee). Love her dressing. Very poise and elegant. Imagine dress shirt, trench coat and high heels. Future career woman. Too bad I didn't get to take a shot of her. Not very close to her at the moment. Honestly, I was pretty intimidated by her at first. But I realized she's really nice. She treated us all to drinks. I had 青苹多多 Green Apple Yakult. Another of my dream come dream. I always wished that Yakult would come in bigger portions.

Anw it's not only coz she treated me to a drink that I'm full of praises for her. When I told her I need to answer the call of nature and we were in the middle of 师大夜市 where public toilets are scarce, she simply walked into a puzzle shop & asked. Amazed. And thankful. Ohhhh and she gave up her yellow ribbon strap to me. She took a pink silk one instead. Feel indebted already. Thank you thank you thank you!! 谢谢你的照顾。

谢谢你们陪我一天。我玩得很开心！以后再约出来:)

甜甜圈donut in taipei

Back home...

Last day

Second last day

Last Tuesday

Countdown

touristy trip

度小月 & ice-skating with Yi Fan

NT10 for a NT 32,000 diamond

os

it may be a good day after all

a heart to heart talk

office gossip

holiday's over...

DRAM & Volkswagon (the latter is so much easier to understand and write)

Bentley luxury cars & a world famous Japanese economist

Pet exhibition, a trip to the dentist and my cameo on TV

台中之旅

Unagi Rice

Snapshots of work life in Taipei

Harry Potter and the half blood prince (in Taipei)

Three weeks into the job: La New & staking out at the tax department

earthquake

Fried my brain cells dealing with stocks

Taxes and a ballon

OT...from now on

A morning dealing with credit cards

Real work...

Machiko & friends

Takao aka KaoHsiung

Third day at work - my very first door stop interview

Yuru!

Second day at work

First day of work

Meeting up with old friends part II

Meeting up with old friends

Back in Taipei

Taiwan here I come!

Taipei again

i miss taipei

omy.sg Love Matters contest

I'm home!

拜拜政治大學

Countdown

HuaLien

Mr J

主播体验

Pre-Departure Blues

我爱台东。绿岛！

International Food Fest & Japanese Curry

娱乐百分百-梁静茹和苏打绿篇

龙山寺

Pasta. Mister Donut . 泡温全

华语班成果发表会-艺文中心

My very first postcard!

Shu Hui's Birthday Part II

Happy Birthday Shu Hui!

Chiaki~

Hello Kitty Sweets

投名状

More Photos!!

娱乐百分百！

Keelung

寻泳衣逛中山区

庭琪的生日！Happy Birthday 庭琪

杨明山之采海芋

NT399 吃到饱!

重新爱上花より男子

The New Sunday Times

游玩 高雄。台南

我在垦丁。天气晴！

Spring Break is here

我猜我猜我猜猜猜

菁桐。平溪。十分。

再游淡水。偶遇不能说的秘密

A flea market a stone's throw away

Film.A kind soul.Two very filling meals

垦丁。铜锣烧。。。

A walk around the campus

我台湾朋友人好好

游玩高雄。台南