Taiwan is Love!: March 2010

Day 2: Random Street Shots, Taoyuan Morning

Early morning in Taoyuan.

Another random street shot.

Cute snack I bought from 7-11 to snack in the bus. Doraemon sponge cake! NT 20 (around $0.90). so cute rite!

closer look. it's 3D! :)

Another packet with heart shaped sponge cake. It's super Q, and delicious, with butter flavored. yumz! This cost only NT12!

Look! heart shape butter sponge cake with smiley face!

We're on the bus ride to Tao Yuan High Speed Rail (台灣高速鐵路, commonly known there as 高鐵 ), similar to Japan's bullet train. Going to take the train down to Taipei (台北).

Here are some random street shots on the way there. You're going to see tons of random shots i took everywhere throughout this blog. I strongly believe that these shots is the best way for us to understand the city better, and the best way for us to remember the places. :)

One of the many wedding boutique. It's so huge! Sophia Wedding can also be found in Singapore. It's along the stretch in Tanjong Pagar (Tras street I think), that's full of wedding boutiques. compare the size of the shop if you're there! :)

One of the schools in Taoyuan. They even have student guards, who will salute when some big shots (probably their teacher, or principal) enters.

I can't remember if this is an apartment or office building. This is a common sight in big cities like Taoyuan, KaoShiung, Taipei etc. You don't get to see these in the more rural areas.

One of their second hand car-dealer. The grey car is only NT40,000 (around S$1818) and the green car is only NT100,000! (around S$4545)!

Another second-hand car dealer

Sad looking tree..I actually thought this is a beautiful shot. :)

Street markings

Road under construction. Please slow down.

Day 1: Taoyuan Night Scene

one of the random night street shots in Taoyuan.

Another random shot in Taoyuan.

Look at the Watsons! The Watsons store in Taiwan are all so huge. The smallest I've been to is 2 storey, and the biggest is 4 stories high!

PartyWorld KTV 钱柜. not sure if it's under the same management as the one in Singapore. Heard it's a very popular (and expensive) joint in Taiwan.

PartyWorld KTV price list.

Day 1: Taoyuan Street Food

After putting our luggage in the hotel and freshening up, we went for a walk at the nearby night market (夜市). The weather was so good! It was around 20 degrees, and compared to the heat in Singapore, we welcomed the cooling weather with open arms. You may need a sweater, or a little scarf. It felt so good! Felt like you're in a aircon room, just that this is natural, and the air smelt alot fresher.

This is one of the many mobile food stalls that you'll see everywhere in Taiwan. The food is usually cheap and good! The owners are quite hygienic too, so you can eat with ease. The stall in the picture above is selling deep fried spring onion pancake (葱油饼). It taste like Roti Prata, with fillings. You can choose the fillings you want like ham, cheese, chicken, etc. Cost NT40 - NT45 (around S$1.80 to S$2.00)

deep fried spring onion pancake (葱油饼)

the very popular Taiwan street dish 卤味. You can find it everywhere in Taiwan, and we've tried it at different stalls in different parts of Taiwan. So far, this stall in Taoyuan is still the best!

It's abit like yong tau fu in Singapore, where you get to choose the stuffs you like (eg. vegetables, muschroom, sausage, fishcakes （甜不辣), fishballs, meatballs, seaweed etc.), and they will cook it in a very delicious soup/gravy for you. This stall in Taoyuan is the only one we've tried that cooked it in soup. The others are all served in gravy.

*slurp* I'm hungry just looking at this picture now! And it's super cheap! Only cost us around NT100 (ard S$4.50) for 2 big bowls!

the very delicious yam cake from the 卤味.

this is a MUST-TRY. that is also sold everywhere in Taiwan. Hot Chin Chow (热仙草). Singapore only sell cold chin chow, with bits and pieces in the drink, but not in Taiwan. I still remembered my first comment when i first tried it. "It taste weird!". But soon, I got hooked! When first served, it's watery, and looks abit like herbal tea. The interesting thing is it will slowly hardens to jelly form. Very interesting dessert that got me super hooked on it. You can choose to have it in plain form (just the chin chow), or add it with small little dumplings etc. Nice! Highly recommended. Must try if you're in Taiwan. Cost around NT 35 - 45 (depending on size and locations.)

Day 1: Taotyuan 桃园

First night was spent in Taoyuan. Can't recall the name of the hotel now (will go check and update). when we arrived, the exterior looks really disappointing and we had to climb stairs to get to our storey! thank god it's our first day and we didnt have too many luggage.

However, when we reached the room, we were WOWed! 3 of us were staying in the same room so we need an additional bed, and look! we had a mini suite!

the miscellaneous table we saw when we first went in...

The additional bed

the cupboard

the sofa

the bed

dressing corner & TV

the bathroom. look at the showerhead! shiok!

there's a steam bath in the bathroom! right in our room! shiok rite? here's the switch, for you to set the duration preferred you can't set the temperature though.

the seats in the bathroom for you to enjoy your steam bath.

overall, we conclude the climb up the stairs worth it. quite a not-bad hotel. no views though.