Kenting! 垦丁很美！

I just pressed about Kenting in ilovelongvacation!

Half a year later, I cannot remember the name of this beach. But I remember its beauty

Half a year later, I cannot remember the name of this beach. But I remember its beauty

Half a year later, I cannot remember the name of this beach. But I remember its beauty

Half a year later, I cannot remember the name of this beach. But I remember its beauty. 

Half a year later, I cannot remember the name of this beach. But I remember its beauty

Lee's Taiwanese

I  have been to the Star Vista a few times since it opened, and have always enjoyed its quiet ambiance and food galore. With the Circle Line, this is a nice place to hang out and you can venture out to One-North or Rochester Mall if you prefer more hidden outlets like Jimmy Monkey at the former and Starbucks next to the latter.

Was there again in mid March to meet GT for dinner and we decided to try the Taiwanese food at Lee's Taiwanese as we heard some good reviews about it. Glad we did!

A peek at Lee's Taiwanese - a lot of orange lights so I blame them for making the food look less delicious than they really are! Must compliment the service staff who  gave us some great recommendations.  



Pan-fried dumplings. Nice in a healthy way. My friend  love the vinegar with ginger which brought the  overall experience of eating this dish to a new level :) Sometimes, we cannot deny that condiments are important!



Pork Belly Bun. This is really yummy, I thought. Quite special as it has peanut and pickled vegetables  that went very well with the pork belly which was also lean. Must try!

And we washed everything down with the red milk tea which was on promotion at SGD 2 that day.  We usually drink green milk tea so the stronger red tea was a refreshing change. 

Our dinner cost about SGD25 - reasonable considering the aircon restaurant setting and that we were really full at the end of it. If you are craving for Taiwanese food and happen to be at the Star Vista, do try Lee's Taiwanese :) If you want to find out more, blogs like Miss Tham Chiak and Great New Places have also shared their thoughts about the restaurant. Heh.

It's surreal - I am blogging about my Taiwan trips in 2008 and 2012 in my wordpress blog ilovelongvacation so do check them out if you would like!

旧手机的照片- Great Ocean Road in Taiwan

This is going to be the last batch of Taiwan pictures from my BB that I am going to post. There are too many other memories to blog :P Hualien Taroko Gorge so reminds me of the Great Ocean Road. If you have been on the Great Ocean Road trip and the Taroko Gorge trip, you will know what I mean... It's always amazing how mankind can turn nature into tourist spots, and the sacrifices made to do just that. For that, I'm kind of thankful because that means so many people can bask in the beauty of these places.

 A walk along Taroko Gorge. A river meanders through the great rocks peppered along the gorge.

I love this part of the Taroko Gorge. Like a painting. The few minutes when I just close my eyes and listen to the waves was good.

A beach of pebbles, an extension of the rocks in Taroko Gorge.

旧手机的照片 - 台湾好住的！

第一次住民俗，还瞒 ENJOY 的。虽然睡得不是很好，但觉得很舒服。我想， 民俗的特色是它们都布置得很特别。从台北出发到花莲，发现忘了带相机充电器，还好有手机，要不然就无法拍照留影了。。。

Roseland B&B (http://www.roseland.com.tw/english.html) 以玫瑰花以主题。布置得很美丽，也很舒服。地点也很方便， 靠近很多好吃的。 主人养的两只小狗也很可爱 ：）这一点一滴，都让一个人旅行的我觉得很安全. 二月的台湾，天很早就黑了，所以我几乎每天都7，8 点回民俗，窝在房间里看电视！

九份的Windsor B&B (http://windsor.idv.tw/index.asp) 给我一种KAMPONG的感觉， 仿佛去了另一个年代， 象所在地一样。虽然它没有花莲的民俗舒服（床有一点硬），但它很宽畅，还有阳台呢！在这里的两天都下着雨，常躲回房里避雨，可以听到`屋顶嘀嗒嘀嗒的声音，晚上会觉得有一点恐怖。HAHA。 别有一番体会：）

旧手机的照片 - 台湾好吃的！

换了手机，把所有的照片都下载了。过去两年，拍了超过一千张照片， 上载不到一成。是时候好好整理旧手机的照片了。

近日有一点不开心，就来一些台湾单独旅行的快乐‘好吃’照片，过一过那三分钟热度的 LIVE TO EAT 的瘾吧！

热豆浆和蛋饼。 想念台北温暖的早餐。

猫空的茶饭。想念那一阵阵的茶香。

花莲民俗的早餐。想念用餐时的宁静。。。

和朴素。。。

和简单。

鹅肉和鹅血糕。想念在新加坡吃不到的味道。

基隆的天妇罗 。想念基隆的美食。

排骨羹。想念它的甜而不腻。

营养三明治。 想念它的特色。

九份民俗的早餐。想念它的简单。。。

和花茶香。

紅糟肉圓 和肉丸汤。想念它的Q。

芋園。 想念它的热腾腾。

ＭＯＮＴＢＬＡＮＣ蛋糕。想念一个人庆生的感觉。自由但孤独。

Solo Traveller - Step 4

我回来了！一个人旅行，说不上好玩， 但很自由，平静。旅行的意义，没有人和你分享， 只有自己能够体会。

第一次的单独旅行，有很多的第一次。第一次住民俗，第一次在异乡骑脚踏车， 第一次在异乡过生日。。。我想单独旅行在台湾并不普遍，当他们知道我是一个人旅行时，总会‘好厉害’，‘好奇怪’ 的。 二月的台湾又冷又湿，但让我感受到他们的热情。

回来的这个星期，心情是复杂的。离开熟悉的工作岗位和同事，会有一点不舍， 有一点不安。但我很期待未来的新挑战和将遇见的人。

有人问我，这次旅行是不是为了找寻某某答案。我想我是想尝试新的东西吧。Have the courage to do crazy things! 这就是我的答案。

Solo Traveller - Step 3

Over the last few weeks, I realised that I had to do more planning when I travel solo - there's no one to spilt up the research and no one to keep tab on the progress. Well, I do my best :P Today, the adventure starts. I am at Changi Airport now, about 50 minutes before my flight to Taipei takes off. It's been such a long time since I depart from T3 and the Butterfly Garden really made my day - it's so pretty and surreal as you walk amongst the butterflies flying around you! Nice! I'm so proud of our airport! :)

How do I feel? It's complicated - happy, excited, free, nervous, scared, high... It's like how you feel at your first day in school or at work - you don't really know what will unfold in the days ahead even though there are some plans in place. But I'm definitely looking forward to it and living to tell my story :) Daily updates over the next few days if possible, otherwise when I'm back in town.

Solo traveller - Step 2

I have never been much of a serious planner when it comes to travelling. Well, I have been assigned responsibilities for parts (usually 1 part) of a trip and I could always count on my dear friends and family to do all the research on the best hotels, tours, food etc. My philosophy has always been to just go and have fun! Free and easy mah!

So I find it quite funny (yes, it's fun in its own way) now that I have to plan for my solo trip to Taiwan in February 2012. If you have read about it (click here if you have not), I have been to Taiwan before so this time, I am planning to explore places I have not been and/or revisit places which I feel deserve more attention. Now that I have nailed down the places I want to visit, I have to book the hotel in Taipei and 名宿 in Hualien and Jiufen.

It's amusing how I emailed a few 名宿 owners in English and they all replied in Chinese. So I started to email them in Chinese (yes, my rusty Singaprean Chinese which I am proud of). That was part of the fun, I guess :) Got to sort all my accomodations before I start booking train tickets. And I just realised that February is winter in Taiwan and it's going to be cold. Based on my experience in Italy, perhaps I should also think about getting a thicker coat! Phew!

Solo traveller - Step 1

I finally took my first step to travel solo in 2012! Just booked my SQ flight to Taipei (ticket costs $500+, about $200 cheaper than a few years back) after thinking about it for weeks.

Have been wondering about how it is like to be a solo traveller for the past few years after hearing friends talk about it. Somehow I lack the courage to do it - I always tell myself it's cheaper (and probably more fun) to travel with people :)

Perhaps meeting so many solo travellers in Melbourne last month helped me to make up my mind and give it a try. If these European kids can travel in Australia for a few months on their own, I can surely survive for a week in Taiwan. I have been there, so it is not really foreign to me although I am visiting in a different season and planning to visit new places and stay in 民宿 this time.

It's also a big present for myself - I'm going in the week leading to my 33rd birthday :) I'm definitely looking forward to 2012 where I must really plan for the trip (because there is no one to rely on and share costs this time :P)

阿里山

几年前，我游了阿里山。很喜欢那里的满天星星，壮观日出， 也很享受那里不商业不做作的经验。如果能够重游，阿里山会是一个首选。

年轻的时候以为每个愿望都会实现， 每个都市都将重游，现在才懂得许多风景只有看一次的缘分。。。妹从阿立山带回来的守信上是这么写的。读了以后很有感触， 想把我的心情记在BLOG。但一直没有抽出时间。今天终于可以了。

现在想想，不知会不会有机会重游阿里山。毕竟台湾那么大，还有很多地方想去看看， 走走。所以，我们真的要好好珍惜每一次的旅行，把它存在记忆里，因为我们可能不会有看第二次的缘分。



阿里山的姑娘美如水。。。



阿里山的男儿壮如山。。。



阿里山上的一个餐厅。这是它的故事。很美吧？

很美味，很温馨的晚餐，很怀念。



等待日出。。。很冷。。。



阿里山的日出。。。



神木。千岁的树。



因为台风的破坏，无缘乘坐阿里山著名的火车。