Taiwan Trip 2010 Day 6

Finally, I am updating my last 2nd day of the trip. I will not be doing a travelogue of my last day as it was a short day to departure.

On day 6, we were in Taipei and was really happy to check in Taipei Grand Hyatt for the last night which is just a stone throw away from 101 Shopping Mall. A five star hotel at last.

In the morning, we visited the usual places of interests in Taipei.

We then visited National Palace Museum. No photos as all were crowded around the exhibits. It’s a place that holds the world’s largest collection of priceless Chinese art treasurers with almost 5000 years of history. We then proceeded to Yehliu to take a look at the natural rock formations. We were looking for this in Yehliu, The Queen’s Head.

Walking towards our destination, we saw some cute statues along the pathway. Couldn’t resist and started taking photos with them.

Okay, definitely trying to act cute. LOL

Walking on, I decided to take some scenery photos with Jonathan’s pro camera. Wanted to try out my photography skills also which I doubt I have.

What do you all think? I think not bad for first timer. Sometimes, it’s really nice to have a good camera on hand.

Finally a picture of mummy and daddy.

Picture of my daddy. People always say daughters are usually closer to daddy. My daddy is fun to be with cos he always has many interesting stories to share. LOL

Oh great! We found the head!!!! Hmm only certain angle looks like the queen’s head.

By the time we finished visiting Yehliu, it was about 5pm and the next destination was the YangMingShan TienLai Hotspring. Didn’t go for the hotspring as it was really cold. What did we do? We had coffee at the coffee house listening to gossips.

Taiwan is really a nice place to go to especially during the winter. Loves the cool weather since we don’t get it at all in Singapore. Planning for another one end of the year with family members. Hope we can all go together.

Awesome Nat + Taiwan Trip Day 5

Before I moved on to my Taiwan Trip updates, I am gonna share you a video of Kimmy’s daughter, Natacia, being captured in her daily training for her Cold Storage Kids Run 2011. Kimmy and I were from the YWC (Young Wives Club) set up by ourselves randomly. LOL There are 6 gals in this club. Studying together but young, we were all attached or married at that time. Hahaha, now we are known as OWC (Old Wives Club). Ladies, it’s been a long time since we meet up.

Anyway, Natacia is awesome to the max in this video and the video is well made. Support Nat by viewing the video. The closing date for the video contest is 13/5/11 at 2359:)  We are looking at the view counts. Go on and click, click, click. A new star arising…..

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Now back to the Day 5 of Taiwan Trip. We are travelling back to Taipei. Early in the morning, we boarded a train from HuaLian to SuAo. The main reason was to cut down the time taken to travel on bus and also to experience the train ride in Taiwan. I was glad that I bought the data SIM card. With my iph, I spent the 1 hour ride watching shows from YouTube.

As we did not have our luggages with us, the train was pretty spacious. It was very comfortable and happy to say that, I am satisfied with the ride.

Almost reaching Taipei, we visited the NaTien Temple. It is a landmark of NafanAo (南方澳). This temple is used to host the 妈祖, a goddess which was said to be there to guide and bless the fishermen. In this temple, we could see  the goddess statues made with three different types of materials. Besides the goddess, the view of the harbour is breathtaking.

I was totally mesmerized by the architechtural structures, the dragons and the red tiled ceiling.

Ooooo, then we spotted the peanut ice-cream crepe. It was a disappointment.  It was not as good as the ones we had in ChiuFen.

The “Yakcult” in the 7-eleven also caught my attention. It’s so much bigger in size than the ones we have in Singapore.

Oops… I bet you can’t see the size difference. LOL but yes, it’s about double the size of our Singapore Yakcult.

Finally back in Taipei. Today, the tour guide took us to all the historical sites. Firstly, we stepped into The Chiang Kai-Shek ShiLin Residence Park which was a homage to the former president. Besides visiting the home, we got to embrace ourselves in different flowers and garden scenary. To avoid getting lost in the big park, we sought the help of the map.

This is the house where the former president lived.

We are surrounded by flowers.

The Shine Cafe in the Park. Love the nostalgic feel to this place. Old vintage photos and decorations make this cafe comfortable to be in. I think is one of the attractions in the park as many people were sitting outside the cafe enjoying the scenary and coffee.

Next destination was the Martyr’s Shrine where we got to watch an elaborate ceremony of changing guards. Anne and I actually walked all the way into the shrine to view the whole ceremony despite the hot sun. The guards are very professional. The funny thing is tourists who were there would follow the changing guards from main shrine to the main entrance. LOL

Oh, somewhere in between the trips, we dropped by the Grand Palace Hotel which was established by the former president Chiang’s wife, Song MeiLing. It’s really grand and according to the tour guide, some feng shui was taken into considerations in building this hotel. High hotel rates as well.

Finally, it was dinner time. This time round, we had the famous Xiao Long Bao for dinner. Dumplings in different skin flavors and colours. Not to be missed was the Sweet and Sour Soup. *YUMMY*

After dinner, we were given time to stroll along Hsienmenting (西门町). The first thing, we looked for was the Ah Zhong Mian Xian. Thumbs up for that one. Never to miss if you are at Hsienmenting.

Taiwan Trip 2010 Day 4

It’s like taking me ages to finish up my blog for my taiwan trip. I really need to buck up on my time management skills.

Day 4 was a short day as most of the time were spent travelling along the coastal areas.

My first pit stop for toilet break and this view is just beside the toilet. Breath-taking.

Something that we cannot go home without. Custard Apples, some would call soursop but they are not. Love it and we actually bought 2 boxes home. Definitely got to hand carry.

These are fresh from the farm. Just pluck that morning.

Finally we reached the Taroko Gorge. Taroko Gorge didn’t seem to be that beautiful compared to 2005 when I went. According to the tour guide, the part that was opened for viewing a few years ago was already closed and this was a new viewing site in the recent years.

According to the tour guide, the gorge was formed by rushing river waters which have cut straight through the marble and granite. The result of it was beautiful, narrow ravine with waterfalls and patches of mist clinging to the mountains. I used to stay in a house laid with marble flooring and I must said that it’s really beautiful but of course extra work is needed to maintain the sheen and shine.

Too bad that I just brought 1 type of camera lens with me; thus, could not capture a nice picture of the gorge.

With the extra time given and the slight drizzle, Aunty suggested for coffee to warm us. Weird thing was, we bought 2 cups of coffee and we were given free bamboo rice. The bamboo rice is fragrance and with the chillie sauce, it was edible.

Thanks Daddy for the nice trip. I totally enjoyed it eventhough I felt guilty leaving the children at home. :)

By the time we reached HuaLian, was already dinner time. After dinner, we visited the Ami Aboriginal Cultural Village aka A-Mei tribe. People of Ah-Mei are renowned by their beautiful voice and fascinating life style. It was quite enjoyable listening to their singing and their dance. In the end, Anne and I were even invited out to do the Aboriginal dance with them together with other tourists. Daddy took the pictures but mostly were blurred due to the fast movement of hands and legs. Nevertheless, a souvenir picture was taken and brought home.

Taiwan Trip 2010 Day 3

Day 3 was on 25 December 2010 thus was Christmas Day. It’s great to be able to celebrate with family members. Jamie and Victor had also planned Christmas party for the two kids over at Singapore.

The first stop we arrived was the 日月潭 (Sun Moon Lake). Remembered 5 years ago that I went with Jonathan, that was a beautiful lake. I think is due to the quake that has left the place in ruins and on the mist of rebuilding. Why is it known as Sun Moon Lake? Seems like in the northern part of the “Guang Hua Island” (in the middle of the lake) looks like the shape of a sun and the southern part like the shape of a moon. We visited the 文武庙 (WenWu Temple) which worships Confucius, Guan Gong and Yue Fei.

Picture description from L to R: The entrance of the temple, The temple staff explaining the procedures of the praying, The well-wishes that we could place in the temple, the entrance from the other view.

Since we were given quite some time to wander around, how could we miss taking pictures of the scenery.

Yea to family picture. Thanks to the tour guide who is “well-versed” in photography, we got this nice picture taken. The three little children from the same tour group. Seeing them, I missed my two children at home.

Can’t remember when was the last time I took picture with Daddy….

Sista with Daddy.

Leaving our footprints, we walked to the bus. Could not resist the Taiwan sausages stalls just beside the bus. It was quite a long journey to the next destination. Took a pit stop for coffee and snacks…. and I caught someone in the act.

Hahaha… That’s my tourguide. Check out his equipment for phototaking. He carried these camera stuff throughout the journey.

Finally, we reached the 美浓客家村 (Mei Non Hakka Village). Purpose? To know more about the Hakka culture. Definitely the easiest to know them is through their food. We had a sumptuous Hakka lunch following by strolling around the village.

Everyone was so curious about this old man who could create music with different household items. The most amazing one to me was the toothpaste. “Impressive” is the word Kaitlyn uses. Besides that, he appeared in different TV shows and one of the mediacorp show had him featured.

Dropped by the 85 Building for a city sight and mountains. The elevator easily took the group up to the 75th deck in just 43 secs which is 600 feet per minute. *Fast*

Oh before I moved on, we were at Kaoshiung. So we must visit the Love River. Took a 20minutes boat ride without taking any nice pictures. Too shaky and cold to hold my cam.

Daddy and mummy before we boarded the boat.

The sun set early due to the season which meant it was time for dinner. Fun days always passed by extremely fast. For the past two nights, we were at the night market. The third night, we visited a shopping area cum night market. We were only given an hour half to roam the place. Totally not enough for hardcore shoppers like us. After we reached the hotel, we took a cab down to 新崛江夜市 (New Chueh Chiang Night Market) for 2nd round of shopping.

Sister and mummy checking out the socks for they were really cheap. Probably due to the weather.

Day 4 was really short cos most of the time was spent travelling on the bus. We will be in Hualian on Day 4. Check back soon.

Taiwan Trip 2010 Day 2

Day 2 was a long day. The fun started with a drizzle at 九份 (ChiuFen). Totally in love with the old fashion building. I remembered the last time I stepped on this place with Jonathan in 2005, it was drizzling as well. ChiuFen is well known for some local dishes such as Taro and Sweet Potato Ball. Both sides of the small alley are packed with stalls selling local food. One of them was the 姜母茶. 

How could auntie and mum give it a miss? They spotted the orangy packing tea recommended by dearest cousin, Christina.

What is 姜母茶? It’s basically made up of ginger, some red dates, black sugar hardened into pieces. Then mix with water to make it into a drink. I like the taste of it and always boiled it for a while more for the ginger taste to be stronger.  Said to be good for cold days and to remove wind.

Oh… then one of their local food caught my eyes. Could see the queue building and without thinking further, I joined in the queue. It’s actually shaved sugar peanut accompanied by ice cream wrapped in popiah skin. The best I have tried for the whole of taiwan trip. We couldn’t resist and went to queue for second helping.

While taking pictures of each other… auntie went to get the taro and sweet potato balls.

Daddy decided to explore the balcony of the shop… A magnificient view awaited us. Glad that he asked me out to take pictures.

Check out the way daddy enjoyed his popiah ice cream with the magnificient view behind him.

Back to the main shop, the taro and potato balls waited for us. It’s always nice to have a bowl of hot dessert on cold weather. Moreover, it’s drizzling.

The 2nd destination was to the 深坑豆腐街 (SanKeng Tofu Street). Both sides of the streets are lined up with stores selling the famous beancurd. We didn’t have any of the beancurd since our tummy just packed with the popiah ice cream and taro.

It was nice just walking along the street and looking at the type of food sold.

LOL managed to captured a picture of my dearest family.

We then moved on to our 3rd destination of the day, the 莺歌陶瓷老街 (YingKo Ceramics Street). I am totally overwhelmed by the amount of ceramics. From household to decorations, you name it, they have it. IMPRESSED!!!!

Did not buy anything as it’s too heavy to bring home. So the only thing we brought home are the pictures for remembrance.

We then departed from the place and proceeded to destination 4, 逢甲夜市 (Feng Jia Night Market). The place is great for low priced clothes and delicious snacks. One of the best night market I been to throughout the trip. Managed to grab nice food and pretty shoes.

Totally in love with this prawny stick.  While waiting for the sticks of prawns to get ready, auntie bought stewed chicken feet from the next stall. Both are good but I still prefer the prawns *not because I am lazy*.

While walking… spotted a shop selling helmets. Most of the people in taiwan travel by motorcycles. The helmets are super duper cute. Almost bought one Thomas helmet back for Kaiden.

Thirsty, thirsty, thirsty… Decided to try their tea since Taiwan is well-known for bubble tea. Yucks… one of the worst milk tea I tasted. Nevertheless, I still finished it.

To make up for my bad tea day, I decided to have this and no more road side tea stall.

Yea to KOI and checked out how excited sis and I were. Finally a good cup of tea.

My last food before we left for dinner. Oh, I got to tell you… the mushrooms are really good.

Before leaving FengJia, I was so glad to find DaGeDa, the teleshop to buy a Taiwan simcard. I got a sim card with unlimited data plan for 5 days. Can’t remember the price but was so glad that I could msn with Jonathan while he was in Indonesia, call home to check out my kiddos and watch youtube while on the journey. It’s a really good buy. For those going to taiwan, you can try it.

Out last destination before we retreat back to the hotel was to a very unique restaurant, the 伍角船板 (Five Cent Driftwood House). The architecture is very special. It is a cavernous eatery built without blueprints. Most of the items to build up this place are by driftwood and recycled wooden train tracks. Could not take nice pictures due to the dim lighting. The food is not bad. A place which is more for visual enjoyment.

A family photo taken by the tour guide to end the day’s trip. Nice picture. Totally loves it. Tour guide is a photographer lover and is holding the same camera (Canon 7D) as me. Decided to bring along Jon’s camera but yet did not know how to use it wisely. Felt so paiseh when I knew nuts about Jonathan’s camera and he kept talking to me about photography. LOL

Taiwan Trip 2010 Day 1

This is a long overdue post. It was a 7 days/6 nights trip to Taiwan. The trip was supposedly to be a family trip with my parents, siblings, Jonathan and the kiddos. Sad to say… Jonathan was posted overseas and because of that, I “dumped” my kiddos with my in-laws to have my well-deserved break (a self-declared one ) Andrew and Angie, both are not free due to work. So instead of my own family, the trip was extended to my aunties, the big and the youngest aunties. A good experience for me as this was my first trip out with my aunties.

When we reached Taipei, it was already 4 plus thus only 3 destinations on our itinerary. The first destination was the Fisherman’s Wharf. Supposedly to be a place for lovers because of the Love Bridge. . It was pretty windy and dark for phototaking. Due to the winter, the sun sets as early as 5 plus.

So windy that daddy and mummy got to hide under the LOVE bridge for the photo.

The next destination was the 淡水老街 (TamShui Old Street).

Daddy was very excited when he saw the food. Though not very hungry, we decided to try our 1st food which was the red bean “tong luo shao”. The smell attracted us to the stall. As we walked down the street with our “tong luo shao”, we spotted the ‘Jiang Mu Cha”. Couldn’t resist due to the cold. With the “tong luo shao” in one hand and “jiang mu cha” in another…. heavens!!!!!

Anne was happy with the 1st food in Taiwan.

Besides the food, the shopping also attracted us. The 49 bucks on the cardboard attracted my attention but the pricing is not applicable to all the bags wo.

Small auntie spotted another good food. We suddenly became food critics. Gave our comments here and there. LOL The squid is definitely good. Too bad that was the first and last time we ate cos we couldn’t find in any other towns.

We departed the place and proceeded to our 3rd destination which was the 士林夜市 (Shihlin Night Market). The time given by the tour guide at Shihlin was short too short. I think was only about 2 hours for us to have dinner and shopping. We decided to spend our time on food since the time given was too short for shopping.

The first stall we sat down to have the following…. Daddy didn’t really like the fried oyster. We still prefer the Singapore version. Maybe oilier??? LOL I like the beehoon and squid soup though.

The tour guide also recommended the soups to us. So we definitely must try. The next stall we sat down, immediately ordered the different herbal soups.

Besides that, I ordered the fried smelly beancurd and the dumpling. On the table are the 麻油鸡 (sesame chicken) and 十全大补汤 (some tonic soup which said to keep the body warm).

Tummy filled up, then we took a slow walk to the other side of ShihLin before we headed back to the bus. First night ended off at TaoYuan. Day 2 will proceed to 台中（Taichung).

Hong Kong Trip Day 4

Day 4 was pretty short. We were to leave Hong Kong for airport at about 1pm.

As it was a Sunday, we got up at about 8 plus as there should not be any shops opening so early. We went to the small eatery just outside the hotel. This shop sells really nice Chee Cheong Fan. The shop is really small with just 2 sets of kiddy furniture. Many ordered take away instead. Some just stood outside the shop enjoying their Chee Cheong Fan.

I like the Chee Cheong Fan for their thick sweet sauce and lots and lots of sesame.

After breakfast, we walked to Tsim Sha Tsui. It was actually a stop away from Jordan but usually we would take the train. That day we decided to take a leisure stroll there to collect the goose that we had ordered the day before. Before collecting the goose, we had some time and decided to shop at Harbour City again. Most of the shops are not opened yet. Basically, we were just window shopping.

At one of the entrance to Harbour City, I saw these cute little bottle shape sculptures. Intially thought was barrier just like on our roads. On second look, there were a few people surrounding the cute bottle shape sculpture. Only then that I know that those were for smokers to throw their ash and cigarettes. Who says a cigarette dustbin got to be in the shape or look of a dustbin.

We went to the directory to see what other shops we could venture and was really excited to Gong Cha. Been wanting to get Gong Cha for the whole trip. Gong Cha is something like KOI in Singapore. We walked from one end of Harbour City to the other end only to find out that it opened at 11am. In the end, we just took some pictures of the harbour.

Eager to collect our goose, we walked back to Taiwan Beef Noodles. Along the way, we spotted a very unique shop with unusual stuff. Secretly took a few pictures of it.

Not sure if Singapore has them but they are definitely not cheap.

With that, we ended our 4 days 3 nights tour in Hong Kong. It was fun once in awhile without the kids. However, we do miss them and promised to bring them for our next Hong Kong trip. The next time, it will be their trip.

Oh just a word of caution. For those who wants to tabao back goose, we were in the airport only to find out that we can’t bring poultry into Singapore. To our horror that a big bottle of gravy was packed together with our handcarry goose. In the end, we discarded the gravy and put the goose in Jonathan’s bag. I think the restaurant that we bought from did not do a good job on the packing. The best is still to pack them in your check in baggages. Nevertheless, my in laws and family enjoyed the goose. *I hope*

Upon reaching Singapore Changi Airport at the immigration , I spotted the Youth Olympic mascots. Took a picture with them only to see that they looked so sad in the pictures. Well, probably was because YOG was already over and they were left there.

The moment we reached home, went to pick up the kids. So happy to see them but also the start of our nightmares. LOL

Hong Kong Trip Day 3

We started to slow down our pace for Day 3. Due to the enriching program on Day 2. We decided to sleep in a little later. Woke up at about 9 plus. Sometimes, it’s really nice to just laze in with the curtains drawn tight. We prepared ourselves and by the time we decided to leave the hotel room was about 10 plus. A good timing for Dim Sum.

We dropped by the restaurant just outside our hotel, Majestic Seafood Restaurant. We had missed out a good deal cos if we settle the bill before 11am, the dim sum that we have would be half price. Just too bad… we went there real late.

We ordered so much more stuff that are shown in the pictures. Just too busy eating that we only took pictures of those that came earlier. After dimsum, we proceeded to MTR and to Central. Day 3 was basically a free and easy day. We just roamed Central without a map. The H&M at Central was my first stop since it was just across the road that we exited from the MTR. The sudden downpour caused us to be stranded in H&M for about 2 hours and I literally shopped to my heart for 2 hours.

We then walked along the main road and came to a small road with many staircases. Not sure where we were heading as we didn’t have a map. We decided to venture the long and endless staircase. The staircase turned into a long slope. The walk of it reminded me of the roads in San Francisco, tedious and difficult to climb slopes.

On both sides of the slopes, there were little shops that sell apparels and they were pretty cluttered. We then saw these buildings when we reached the end of the road.

These olden kind of British buildings caught Jonathan’s eyes and he could not help but kept snapping them. I didn’t bother to find out about the history of the buildings but I am sure there must be some interesting stories behind it.

We then turned into another road. The feeling was totally different. The place had transformed into another new dimension, a wet market selling fruits, vegetables, poultry and seafood.

We kept on walking and then spotted a cafe tucked along those little shops. We then decided to take a rest. We were then at Li Yuen West Street No 12. This cafe reminds me of Old Town White Coffee. I am totally in love with their peanut butter bread with a spread of condensed milk on top. The bread and the milk tea only cost us HKG $11. Jonathan had luncheon meat sandwich with his usual Yuen Yang. The peanut butter bread is a definitely MUST try. I can’t forget the good taste that I make them at home for snacks now.

Continuing our journey after the tea break. We decided to just travel back to Tsim Sha Tsui for another round of shopping.

On the way out of that cluttered road, Jonathan did not forget to put down his camera.

We shopped at Harbour City. Zara sales attracted our attention and were there for another hour or so. Soon, our stomachs were rumbling and decided to search for good dinner. The moment we stepped out of the building, the beautiful lightings of the shops attracted Jonathan. He immediately set up his stand and took pictures of them. Chanel, Prada, Gucci, LV… all *Love*.

Jonathan had not had his goose so we decided to walk into this restaurant when we saw the mouth watering goose hanging at the windows. Taiwan Beef noodles is along Canton Road. Just a few shops away from Tang Chao which we had in Day 1. We even ordered a goose to be packed the next day for us to bring back to Singapore.

After dinner, we walked to the harbour for The Symphony of Light. We were late when we got there. Nevertheless, Jonathan had a great time taking pictures of the night scenery.

Picture perfect on the way to the harbour.

The night scene shots that Jonathan took. So postcard feel.

We ended the day at Temple Street. Managed to get some hairclips and children’s stuff along Temple Street. I realised that Temple Street are selling many inspired bags… or rather replicas. Wonder if they are even allowed. The usual way to end our night was with a round of supper.

Hong Kong Trip Day 2 Part 2

Been procrastinating about doing the pictures for my Hong Kong trip. On the other hand, I can’t wait to get all of them done… so that I can have time to blog other stuff.

The photos for HKG day 2 is finally done. Judging from the photos we have taken, Day 2 definitely is a very enriching day. So many things were done in a day.

After we left Ngong Ping Village and reached mainland. We shopped for a little while at the Citygate Outlet. As there were not much eateries, we actually settled for MacDonalds for lunch. Jonthan had Big and Tasty burger which Singapore does not serve. It was really good.

At about 2 plus, we took the train to Sham Shui Po. I have gotten some information from an accessories making magazine that there is a stretch of beads shops along Sham Shui Po. As a jewellery enthusiast, how could I give that place a miss?

For many trips that I have been to Hong Kong, it was my first time I set foot on Sham Shui Po. It was indeed a different experience for me. The place, the noise, the culture….. totally immensed and attracted.

Sham Shui Po has got really unique stuff for sale. Instead of a lot of female apparels, I saw electrical appliances, hi-fi, 2ndhand products and etc. I would say now there was really something Jonathan could look at.

Could not believe that Sham Shui Po is also a crowded place. Hmmm… or maybe Hong Kong itself is crowded. LOL

 This whole stretch of road (Yu Chau Street) has many many shops selling accessories making stuff. A must go place for me if I get to visit Hong Kong again. The accessories making shops has tonnes and tonnes of beads for sale. Besides that, there is a shop that sells really unique and nice charms. Best part of all, most of the beads are cheaper than Singapore. Poor Jonathan, I took about 2 hours to just browse through the items in different shops while he waited outside.

Suddenly a market place appeared in front of us.

At about 6 plus, we decided to finish off Sham Shui Po and went to Mongkok again. Jonathan and I decided to search for the fishball noodles which we had 10 years ago when we visited Hong Kong during our poly days. To our surprise, the shop is still there. *Super Duper delighted*

The place was not very crowded and we managed to get a seat immediately.

Managed to capture a picture of Jonathan in front of the stall.

After dinner, we treated ourselves to Xu Liu San again. Super nice and cooling after the hot and stuffy dinner at the Fishball stall. So lucky that Xu Liu San was just beside the fishball stall.

This time round we tried another flavour. Could not remember the name though.

Instead of shopping at Argyle Center again, we decided to just window shopping along the streets. We kept walking along Fa Yuen Street and was really glad to stumble upon one of the eateries recommended by some of the bloggers. It was also the queue that attracted us. For those who like big squid and pig intestines, this is something not to be missed.

The queue at Fei Jie Snack Shop was pretty long. We actually had two servings. The first time round, Jonathan bought the big squid and small intestines. The two sticks were covered with two types of sauces. I do not know what the sauces were. The dark one seemed like sweet sauce while the yellow one looked like mustard. However, when I ate it, the mustard sauce tasted like wasabi. It was so good that Jonathan went for second serving and came back with liver, big intestines and more squid. Definitely a must try if you happen to go to Fa Yuen Street.

Hong Kong Trip Day 2 Part 1

There are so many pictures taken on Day 2. Even the uploading of pics is taking way too long. I will be breaking the post for Day 2 into 2 parts.

On Day 2, Jonathan and I woke up really early cos we have planned to visit the Big Buddha. We went to Austrialian Dairy Company for a Hong Kong style breakfast.

The place was packed with people. Many tourists as well.

We ordered the Breakfast set which consisted of the marcaroni, 2 slices of bread, 2 eggs and a drink. On top of that, I ordered a steam milk pudding and one more drink. Definitely, I had the tea and Jonathan ordered ‘Yuan Yang’ (tea + coffee). The set came with 2 sunny side-ups. Eating was quite messy due to the liquid yolks. We should have ordered it in scrambled, at least we could stuff the eggs into the bread and eat them. The hot steam milk pudding is super duper nice. It’s really soft and smooth. *Heavenly taste*

After breakfast, we proceeded to Jordan station and made our way to Ngong Ping Village where we will visit the Big Buddha. We got to take the train all the way to Tung Chung station and take a cable car to Ngong Ping Village.

The ride was quite comfortable and not very crowded as we have passed their working hours. The only set back was the very long walk from Central Station to Tung Chung line. The train to Tung Chung was a little crowded as it also led the passengers to Disneyland Resort station.

Amazingly the moment we reached Disneyland Resort Station, the train was empty. Apparently, the Disneyland was more attractive than the Ngong Ping Village.

Upon reaching Tung Chung Station, the Citygate Factory Outlets welcomed us the moment we stepped out. We walked pass that building to Tung Chung Cable Car Terminal.

The food court in Citygate Outlets is by Food Republic. Isn’t Food Republic one of Singapore’s food courts? Besides that, I think I saw Breadtalk in one of the buildings in Tsim Sha Shui.

We were awe by the long queue when we reached Tung Chung Cable Car Terminal eventhough the train we took was pretty empty when it reached.

Jonathan and I couldn’t wait to get up the cable car. There are a few choices for selection. The normal cabin queue was the longest. To get 360 degrees view, we paid a little more to hop on the crystal cabin. What do they mean by 360 degrees? Keep the suspense.

Each cabin can take up to 10 people and before you board, there will be photographers to take pictures of you. At the the end, you can view the pictures and if you are satisfied with it, you can purchase it. Personally, I think the pics Jonathan took are far more better than the ones taken by the photographers. *grinning*

We love the view from the cable car. It’s so refreshing to see greenary and to be so near to the sky. However, there was a point whereby the cable car went higher and higher, it’s so frightening when I looked out to see the rest of the cable cars that were behind me, the whole experience just felt like riding on a roller coaster before it plunges.

It’s really a 360 degrees experience with our feet lying on a glass bottom.

We could see what’s below us. Basically, the  flooring that we stepped on was made of clear glass and we could see the sea and greenary as we travelled up the hill.

The cable car ride was about 30 mins. We had to walk through the Ngong Village before we reached the foot of the Big Buddha. The weather was really hot and was glad that I had my umbrella with me.

We past by the ‘San Sui’ Beancurd and was not really attracted to it. Finally, we got to the foot of the Big Buddha. Looking at the flight of stairs up to the Big Buddha, we decided to just take pictures of it at where we were.

Again, we walked past the Beancurd stall. Now we couldn’t resist it cos we were really hot and sweaty; therefore, decided to sit down for a bowl of cooling beancurd. To our surprise, the beancurd was really good…. Another heavenly taste.

Jonathan’s expression tells it all.

By the time we decided to leave was about 12 plus. The sun was right above us and we couldn’t wait to board the cable car back to mainland. As it was still early, not many people were leaving the place, we had the whole cabin to ourselves on our way back. *Yipee*

Some silly shots of us . Too much space and time for us to camwhore. LOL

Finally, a photo as remembrance that we have visited the Ngong Ping Village.

To be continued…..