Category Archives: TAIWAN

TAIWAN DAY 6 (Jiu Fen 九分)

Second day in Jiufen. Everyone got ready and had a brisk walk to Mr. Hsu cafe house for our breakfast. Its a daily breakfast provided to all guests & made fresh daily.

a set of yummy & healthy sandwich

comes with a cup of drink, choice of milk-tea or coffee

After the breakfast; we went to the Jiufen old street. AGAIN? yea…again. Not kidding; its quite big actually. Yesterday haven done shopping & buying yet ma….  :-p

Look at the photos below on…

WHAT CAN YOU GET THERE:

Peanut Roll with Ice Cream. A special combination of grounded peanut, malt sugar, ice cream and celery leaves. It tasted quite good!!

assorted flower tea.

Hakka Glutinous Rice Cake. Another extremely popular store in Jiufen, so be prepared to queue up. Its very tangy & yummy!


assorted dried shrimps

grilled snails

wooden postcards

fish ball with pork filling

My favorite braised pork rice along with a plate of vege for our lunch. Braised pork rice is very popular in Taiwan. You can get it in most of the restaurants.

cute handphone hangers

from left: Phoebe, Ashley, Myself, Wanyi

night at Jiufen

There goes a day in Jiufen. Can you imagine, we spent the entire Day 6 only in Jiufen. Really unbelievable!!  Hahaha….

TAIWAN DAY 5 (Jiu Fen 九分, Jin Gua Shi 金瓜石, Gold Ecological Park)

A well planned day….

As usual; had our breakfast provided by the hotel. Packed our 3 days clothes; left our luggage(big items) on the hotel lobby; supervised by the hotel. Because we will be leaving to Jiufen which is away from Taipei for 3 Days. Actually we planed for Sun Moon Lake as well. Somehow we dropped the idea last minute; as the journey to and fro will take alot of time. Ended up stayed in Jiufen for 3 Days. Really a relaxing place I would say.

To get to Jiufen; if you are at Taipei, take train to north to Rueifang station, then in Rueifang, take Keelung transit bus across the station. But we have skipped the bus traveling part. Because the lodging area that we’ve booked, the owner arranged a transport to pick us all up from the train station. So nice of Mr. Hsu. I remembered it was a rainy day. The road to Jiufen all way up were quite narrow & steep. It took us about 1.5 hour to reach the destination.

while waiting for train….

the arrangement of houses in Jiufen

an overview of the cafe owned by Mr. & Mrs. Hsu

a welcome drink…. flower tea

beautiful landscape as background

a temple situated in Jiufen

Left our bags at the cafe; and headed to Jiufen old street to hunt for food. A strongly recommended beef noodles there. Since I can’t take beef; therefore I ordered for a different thing. The rest of them claimed that the beef noodles is really good!

from left: beef noodle; pork noodle


After the satisfying lunch; we took Keelung bus from Jiufen to Jin Gua Shi 金瓜石 and Gold Ecological Park with the entrance fee of  NT100. It sort of a park cum museum; where you can get to know about ‘gold digging’.

at the entrance.




beautiful scenery

of mountain & water

a fine & proper pose take 1

when the gila-ness strike post

The sky gets dark early. By 5pm, its already dark. Felt as though its so late. Back to Jiufen old street to walk & shop. Selling all sorts of food & crafts. Try to avoid to go on weekends & public holidays, as it will be crowded.

view of Jiufen oldstreet

the place where we had our dinner. Each of us ordered the “hot pot” set from the menu. Which comes with a bowl of rice, with the price of NT190.

Alex’s order. Kimchi flavor soup base

My order. The “Malat/spicy” soup base



After our dinner….its already about 8pm. Quickly we rushed to the stall selling Taiwan’s famous dessert “yu yuan”. Because by 9pm; Jiufen’s old street will turn into a dead street; I meant all the shops closed by then. You may order the cold or hot version. I personally prefer the cold one! 阿柑姨芋圓 Ah Gan Yee Taro Balls is one of the popular dessert shop in Jiufen. You can eat the yam ball soup while enjoying a great view of Jiufen here.

After a tiring day of workout; finally we got back to our room. You may browse through this link for the info:-  Windsor B & B

The room is really unique.

We booked 2 rooms to share among 7 of us on the first night.


TAIWAN DAY 4 (Yong He Soy Milk 永和豆浆, National Palace Museum 国立故宫博物馆, Miramar Ferris Wheel 美丽华摩天轮, Mr. J 意法厨房, Ximending Duck Noodles 鸭肉扁)

Day 4. Which means part of our holidays already over.

Did not take the hotel’s breakfast. We opt for Yong He Soy Milk (永和豆浆). Everyone agreed with it. When it comes to food, we will normally received the ‘sebulat suara’ thgy. We chose to go for the one located in Shilin. Its just few minutes walk from Shilin MRT station.

Yong He Soy Milk (永和豆浆)

the soy milk is fine. but not the rest. especially the ‘yau char kwai’. here can get nicer one.

After our breakfast; we went to National Palace Museum (国立故宫博物馆). Went back to Shilin Station and took a bus from there. The journey took us about 20 minutes to reach the museum. To be honest; I hate museums. But go all the way there…takkan don’t visit any of it meh… Therefore; resulted everyone was so bored & sleepy. muahahaha….

the results of being too bored

When purchase our ticket to the Museum; we bought the ticket  for Miramar Ferris Wheel (美丽华摩天轮) as well. With the youth travel card; you are entitle for discounts. From National Palace Museum; we took a bus to Miramar Mall.

While on the wheels; Ashley called up and made a reservation on Mr. J’s French-Italian Restaurant (Mr. J意法厨房) for our lunch. From the Miramar Mall, we took the bus back to the Cityhall MRT station. From Cityhall MRT station, we took the shuttle bus (there’s a shuttle bus timetable in the website above) to the Taipei Medical University (台北医学大学). The Mr. J restaurant that we went is located inside the medical university. Inside the restaurant; its well decorated with Jay Chou’s stuff. Photos, wallpaper, piano, the songs. Everyone of us ordered the set meal which comes with a starter(soup), main dish, a dessert(cake) and a glass of drink with an affordable price. Thanks Ashley for bringing us there.  🙂

very romantic feel….

my order….the food was good!

a group photo before we left

From there, we took a bus back to Ximending. Returned to our hotel; and rest for awhile. Then down to the street we went. Walked & shopped around in Ximending itself. Had our dinner at the famous duck noodles restaurant (鸭肉扁) located in Ximending.

Erm…taste fine..the duck’s meat is very very tangy

The end of Day 4……

NOTE : Ashley’s Blog as reference 🙂


TAIWAN DAY 3 (Xin Zhu Leofoo Theme Park 新竹六福村, Wu Fen Pu 五分埔, Rao He Night Market 饶河夜市)

We gotto be early today! Hence, we are still late for the day. To MRT station again. But this time, you gotto take take the MRT blue line to the Zhong Xiao Dun Hua (忠孝敦化) station, take the exit to Zhong Xiao Dun Hua road, go across the street, there is a bus stop there. Wait for the bus to go to Leofoo Village (六福村).

Waited  for about 1/2 hour for the bus to arrive. The journey took us about 1 hour to reach the destination. Slept all the way there. Wakakaka……

The weather wasn’t that good on Day 3. So windy and cold. Was about 13 degree. With my thin sweater, really could not withstand it. Luckily I got Phoebe to lend me her spare sweater. I’m wearing 2 coats….can you imagine how cold it was…

at then entrance of Leofoo

tigers in the cage

the roller coaster ride

merry-go-round.

Alex & I bought gloves here for less than RM10. Did not expect it was so cold.

Hoping to get into this ride. Unfortunately did not do so because afraid of getting wet and catch cold 😦

Andrew was so brave to take this ride. Screaming Condor (笑傲飞鹰)

I only took 2 different rides. Wasn’t that brave. The weather was so cold till I hardly want to walk.  Had our lunch there, took the fast food, all about burgers, fries & carbonated drinks. Well the food was good!

At about 3+pm; we took the bus back to Taipei City. From there; we went to Wu Fen Pu (五分埔) as planned. One can reach by MRT Bannan (板南) line to Houshanpi (后山卑) station. First it was cold & windy. And now…it was drizzling. Guessed Day 3 wasn’t a good day. Walked on wet roads with an opened umbrella all the way to Wu Fen Pu (五分埔). About 15 minutes away from the station. Had a light dinner there. I was told that the clothes in Wu Fen Pu (五分埔) are cheap. Well…. its not really that cheap. May be I put too high expectation or rather you gotto buy in bulks to enjoy the better bargains. Nevertheless; indeed a place with wide range of clothes!

From there; we walked over to Rao He Night Market (饶河夜市), which is quite near.

Rao He Night Market (饶河夜市)

a temple near Rao He

Wanyi bought this cake(with filling). Quite nice….

We did not spend much time there….While walking back to the MRT Station, we saw this COSMED (like Watson) recommended by my friend. Selling masks with good deals. Without any hesitation, each of us grabbed a few boxes. Returned to our hotel. There goes a tiring day…..

NOTE: Ashley’s Blog as reference 🙂

TAIWAN DAY 2 (Yang Ming Shan 阳明山, Xin Bei Tou 新北投, Dan Shui 淡水, Shilin 士林夜市)

A fine Day 2. Weather was good. Had our very first breakfast from the hotel.

got ready for Day 2

Walked down the street to Ximending MRT station(our main transportation) at about 9am, took the red line to Shilin (士林站) station. From the MRT station, walked few minutes to get a bus to Yang Ming Shan (阳明山). Once reached Yang Ming Shan (阳明山); we waited for a mini bus that fetched us right till the top of the hill. That pretty spot that we went called Xiao You Keng (小油坑). You can see there’s alot of sulfuric there. Strong sulfuric smell though. Confirmed no SNAKES. Hahahaha…

From YMS, we took the same Red 5 bus back to Shilin station. Then we took MRT red line to Beitou (北投) station. You have drop at Beitou station and then make transition to another train to get to Xin Bei Tou (新北投). It was already noon by then. The weather suddenly changed to hot & sunny. Simply, we picked a restaurant nearby to fill our hungry stomachs. Nevertheless, the food was good!

my very 1st cup of bubble milk tea. so nice….taste so much different from the one we had in Malaysia.

From there; we walked Xin Bei Tou Hot Spring Museum. We did not have any hot spring soaks .

no kidding. this is a library. saw it on our way to museum.

remove your shoes before entering. slippers are provided there.

OK. We are indeed just faking it…. LOL whenever i recall it again.

Now the guy’s turn….

From the museum, we walked back to the MRT station to board on the red line all the way to Dan Shui. Our destination was to Dan Shui old street (淡水老街).

All of sudden the weather changed to cold & windy. Everyone was shivering.

Dan Shui old street (淡水老街)

similar to “TAKO-TAO” that we used to buy from Malaysia

smelly tofu for Day 2 – from Dan Shui

all about dogs and clothes. you can get one for your dog. its very cheap there.

MOS Burger in Taipei.

It was already about 8pm. Hence we still want to carry on with the next destination, as the night is still early. Therefore we decided to go to Shilin Night Market (士林夜市). Take the MRT Red line to get to the Jian Tan station (剑潭). Shilin is just across the road. A huge night market with incredible full crowd.

NOTE: Ashley’s Blog as reference :-)


TAIWAN- DAY 1 (Taipei 101, New York New York, Ximending 西门町

Finally I’ve decided to blog on my Taiwan trip. Really trying hard to recall everything which I suppose it would be a tough one. Hope I could feed the readers with my simple yet brief iternary.

Booked our air ticket during Air Asia promo 1/2 year in advanced. Both ways for 2 person cost us only RM9XX.It was my first time traveling with a group of friends; Ashley, Andrew, Wanyi, Yew Kong, Phoebe and of cos with Alex. The temperature during the entire trip was 13-18 degrees. Traveled to Taipei on 20th January 2010. Flight took us 4 hours to reach Tao Yuen International Airport, arrival time : 3pm. Once reached, collected our luggage; moved to Hall 2(Tourism service center) to collect and register for Digital tour buddy and Youth Travel . If you are traveling on your own (free & easy); its best that you apply them 2 weeks before hand to avoid the long waits. Its beneficial as you can enjoy discounts on the entrance fee for certain places. Apart from that; its free of charge. You will also be given a set of handphone (manual book, sim card-with NT200 talk time, battery charger). Just go to any 7-eleven outlet to top up your phone credit.

After settling everything there; we headed over to the bus ticket counter(FREEGO) to purchase our ticket to Ximending 西门町. This bus eventually stops just a walking distance to our hotel Rainbow Hotel (长虹大饭店). Booked the hotel 1 month ahead for the price of NT1680 (twin sharing) inclusive of a simple breakfast. Though the room wasn’t really huge nor luxury; but the location is really convenient and the service is good too.  By the time we check in to our respective rooms, leave our luggage; there goes we hunt for Ah Zong Mee Suah (阿宗面线) – juts few blocks away from our hotel. Still early; therefore less crowd. Sharing a bowl of warm noodles under the cold temperature; really feels good.

Ximending 西门町

After filling up our stomach with the yummy mee suah; we head over to Taipei 101 by taking the MRT blue line to Cityhall (台北市政府站). The MRT station is just a few minutes walk from our hotel. Convenient right? (Please purchase the EASY CARD from the MRT Station Information Counter. Quite similar to our TOUCHnGO card. Sky gets dark pretty early, by 5pm during cold season. Each and everyone of us was so excited though we walked for about 1/2 hour from the MRT exit without even realized the distance.

Taipei 101

Taipei 101 observatory

You can purchase the entrance ticket to Taipei 101 observatory at the fifth floor of the Taipei 101 shopping mall. It’s NTD400 per person, but with the Youth Travel Card, it is NTD350. After getting up till the roof of Taipei 101’s tower; we walked over to New York, New York Department Store which is quite near actually. Did not buy anything form there….

At about 9pm; we return back to Ximending and had our dinner there. Snacking around, munching, nomming till our stomach is real full!! At Ximending; you can see those traders setting up stalls along the street selling all kinds of food. But its illegal actually. You can witness the running as in Hong Kong drama, when the officers show up.

Our dinner for Day 1.

Clockwise: smelly tofu (臭豆腐), fried oyster/ohh chien, taiwan sausages, braised minced pork rice (卤肉饭)

NOTE: Ashley’s Blog as reference 🙂