Haha my gosh i really really really didnt want to come back at first. Wanted to just forget that i'm Singaporean, from some sch called RJC and from oteam and shooting and just stay in taiwan FOREVER and eat and sleep. But haha that needs money....
Dont wanna bore everyone with some stoopid day-by-day account of my trip so might as well just write down random stuff that i find really interesting!
Fun Facts about Taiwan: 1. Everyone there speaks Chinese to some extent, but their chinese is traditional, not simplified. SO even if one's chi is very guat, one must still be prepared to ask for "translation" sometimes ^^.
2. STARHUB CABLE TV SUXXX. Long live taiwan tv. There're like 10+ news channels alone. Really enjoyed watching Xiao Qi Da Cai Shen and star movies everyday! There's even this show where 2 girls get sent into haunted places to be freaked out by scenes of tables and doors falling and moving violently. Creeepy...
3. Taiwan isnt the urban metropolis that some ppl make it out to be. In fact many of the buildings in the capital Taipei are actually quite run down coz there's no restructuring scheme like S'pore. Things get worse in the rural areas where haha some flats still have to make do with zinc roofs!
4. Ok la not abt taiwan but random! Chris left S'pore weighing 65 but came back 64! :P Amazing isn't it? ^^
5. Do you know that A-Mei is actually from the A-Mei aboriginal tribe? It's true! They have the complexion of malays and they have their own traditional dances and garb!
ChrisTang's guide to taiwan:
WHERE DO i GO?
That really depends on what kind of person you are! Muahahahha if you're a devout Buddhist, like my family is, you can go visit the various temples scattered throughout the country!
There's the Wen Wu temple, which commemorates historical heroes like Guan Yu and Yue Fei!
Theres the Martyr's Shrine, which commemorates the officers and soldiers who fell during WWII and the anti-communist movement.
There's even Fo Guang Shan, which is the centre of the Buddhist movement in Taiwan. you can tell coz there's a gargantuan Buddha Lvl 100 with brilliance aura mounted on the top of the hill with 500 acolytes around it! If you just like history in general you can go visit historical sites scattered around the country like the Wu Fong earthquake museum, which depicts the scenes of carnage of the 921 earthquake as well as the more recent 1999 earthquake!
Or if you're just there for the scenery, theres plenty to see just driving up and down the winding mountain roads or along the coastline! Some kid in my tour group threw up twice in the same day coz HE WASN'T MAN ENOUGH TO HANDLE THE ROADS ^^.v.
And lastly theres always the night markets! Its like Chinatown X10 + tons and tons of students with their bf/gf (xingfuuuu) and bargain hunters on their scooters! The stores are open till past 10!
What must i bring? 1. Number 1 MOST MOST IMPT THING is mp3 player. If not you're gonna be bored to death during the traveling. There was one day where we covered 300km in 7 hours. Thank god i had my iPod with me just set it to shuffle and went to sleep! YAY X ]
2. Jacket. I made the stoopid stoopid mistake of assuming the weather would be clear and sunny throughout, then on the last day i wore a short sleeved shirt and bermudas VS 9 degrees temp. Guess who won? ><> last you the entire trip worrzz! Enough for plenty of food, souvenoirs and presents for yourselves and your loved ones!
What do i eat?!
They dont call taiwan the kingdom of small eats (xiao chi wang guo) for nothing!!! Esp when you venture into the night markets, OMG for $20 (NT 400) you can buy one of everything and eat and eat and eat and eat until your stomach bao zha! Just have to be abit more adventurous! Stuff like Smelly tofu (didnt try coz i make it a rule not to eat anything that smells like shid)
Bittergourd juice (they use a special white colored bittergourd+pineapple+apple and the drink's actually very shiok! Closest thing to alcohol you'll find. Cooling and got slightly sweet and bitter aftertaste!)
Black Pearls (taiwanese equivalent of apples! Looks like an oversized strawberry with the complexion of an apple and the flesh of a starfruit! Soft and sweet)
Liu Ting (taiwanese equivalent of orange) Looks like an orange, but its flesh is yellow like a lemon, but the taste is almost always sweeeeeet..
Coffin Board (didnt try but from what i know its this giant piece of toast with meat and veggies buried in it <---- get the joke notnot?, almost like a burger)
What do i buy? If you wanna buy stuff, stay far far awayyyy from Taipei 101. Seriously that place is a sad excuse for a shopping mall, only has 5 levels and most of the brands there are like stuff that 99.999999% of ppl cant afford like mont blanc, gucci, prada blablabla. The real gems are hidden in the night markets and places like the mountain side city of Jiufen.
Seriously the ppl there really know how to do business. Food vendors will like put out tons and tons of food for tourists to sample, and as you know Singaporeans <3 free stuff! In the night markets themselves you're like GOD, seriously the hawkers will send out ppl with placards and menus to wooo tourists over to their stalls, and as long as you're nice, they'll give you SPECIAL PRICE (LOL Chinese ppl must look after their own mah RIGHT RIGHT???)
Haha i only bought music albums there. The rest of the money i spent all in my stomach right now ^^ got Joi Chua, Fish Leong and Zhang Xin Yu! TOo bad dun have Elva's 1087 RAWR went there at the wrong time X ]. Buy from s'pore shop not authentic haha. WOOOOO Taiwan ROXXORS! Chris LOLed @
ABUNDANT PEACE :)
5:52 PM
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What do you call a sheep with no legs? A cloud.
Profile!
Name: Christopher Tang
DOB: 06/10/1989
Star sign: Libra
School: Raffles Junior College
CCA: Shooting Club
Description: ENFJ (teacher), positive attitude, low self-esteem
Likes: Shooting! Friends! Learning! Gaming!
Dislikes: Liars, hypocrites and homework
Name: Matthew Lim
DOB: 09/02/1989
Star sign: Aquarius
School: Raffles Junior College
CCA: NCC/Cyber Gaming
Description: Small, yet physically active person
Likes: Computer gaming, table tennis
Dislikes: Homework, exams
