Day 1
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| The Singapore airport lounge |
Our journey to the hotel forte in Hsinchu began with a cab, and ended with one too.
The only difference, was the car model, the country we were in, and the seat on which the driver was seated . (Singapore has a right hand drive, whereas Taiwan has a left hand one.)
The flight....
The hunger games movie helped entertain me during most of the flight. Turbulence caused by foul weather, did nothing to soothe my uneasy stomach, however. Now, I shall head straight to the highlight, and skip the details. Anyway, my highlight basically is the entire night we spent exploring Hsinchu. Let me tell you about it....
Exploration
From my observation, when thing I find different from Singapore, is that the laws are not so strict. Drivers, and motorcyclists are reckless and do not follow the traffic rules, if there are any. As motorcyclists pepper the roads of Taiwan, they tend to weave in and out of the crowds(there is no law they prevents them from driving on the pedestrian walkways. They even park there!)
Zebra crossings, are pretty useless as well. Motorists don't seem to bother letting us cross the road! "Pedestrians first at zebra crossings" doesn't seem to exist.
Anyway, I shall now describe the temperature and overall weather in Taiwan.
Firstly, it is rather wet, like Singapore drizzling every now and then. The downpours are sporadic, with now clear pattern. The temperature then, was relatively cool, about 19 degrees Celsius and below. The days are very short, and 7pm in Singapore is like 5pm in Taiwan.
Well, you can't miss food in Taiwan. Bubble tea originated there, and thus, obviously is far Superior to that in Singapore. Even funny brands like George Peck has bubble tea that is both cheap, of large quantity, and tasty. We were all tired and exhausted after the flight. I still felt a little nauseous, and thus we retired to our hotel room, where I succumbed to a deep slumber.Day 2
I had an allergy in the morning and felt dreadful. Fortunately, I recovered before our train journey...
Bon Voyage...
A sharp, piercing whistle sounded, and the 11:18 train departed, headed for Tongxiao, our destination. Buildings raced past, and before long, man made structures transformed into foliage, and nature surrounded us. trees, streams, farms stretched out as far as the eye could see. I spotted wind turbines used to generate electricity along the coast. Upon reaching our station, we hired a cab to take us further in to the countryside, and to the flying cow ranch, situated in the heart of the 'wilderness' in Miaoli
The Ranch
Wooden lodges greeted my eyes, providing a welcoming picture among the fora. Our accommodations certainly were pleasant.
In order to get to the fields and barns where the animals were kept from our accommodations, we had to cross a bridge(it was more convenient). My younger brothers were screaming their heads off, in fear of armies of mid scale red bugs! I don't blame them . The masses of bugs certainly was disturbing. Thus, from that day forth, we deemed the bridge- "Beetle Crossing".
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| Beetle crossing |
Feeding the goats, lambs, and rabbits was rather fun. The goats and lambs would stick out their rough tongues, and using a 'licking' method, relieve us of the grasses on our hand. Some were picky, and would only consume those grasses provided. Others, would eat anything, from grasses on the floor, to paper bags!
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| Feeding the goats... |
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| ...and the rabbits |
Obviously, the larger goats would eat larger, thicker stems and the leaves. This resulted in a tug of war between me and the animal, since the stems were hard to tear apart.
Rabbits were far milder, and we enjoyed toying with them. We would pretend we had food in our hand, and thus cause the rabbits to stand on their hind legs to reach the 'food'. We also got an opportunity to pet the ducks during some of the activities.
Children, (students, I presume in a uniform that looked like PJ's) who probably were on an excursion, were at the ranch, and took part in the activities as well.
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| milking the cow |
For some of the larger goats, a green contraption with railings sloping upwards at an angle, simulating a mountain was constructed to make the goats feel more at home. At various points along the ramp were feeding areas. My brothers and I placed food in cans, before pulling it up to the ramp using a pulley system for the goats to feed. This was unique and an interesting experience for me.
My highlight of the day would probably be milking the cow. This was new to me, and as such I felt a sense of satisfaction once I succeeded in milking it.
We had night activities at the main activities building, which involved making muachi. This was fun as we could mould the dough into different shapes and sizes, and fill them with a red bean paste. Although the appearance of our hand made muachi after baking did not exactly look appealing, but, well, looks can be deceiving! It actually tasted delicious!
We retired to our lodge for the night.
Day 3
We left the Flying Cow Ranch in the morning, and headed by car to
Taichung. We were chauffeured by Mr. Hong.
Our first destination was the
National Science Museum. That probably was my highlight for the day. We
explored two sections of the humongous Museum- The Life Science hall and the
Science hall. The Life Science hall made up nearly half the entire museum, and
was home to a variety of collections of items, ranging from insects, to
dinosaur skeletons.
Not surprisingly, it was the most fascinating part of the
museum to me, especially when we came up and personal with visitors from the
prehistoric era- the dinosaurs.
However, what made the visit to this exhibit far more
exhilarating would be the robotic representations of the dinosaurs. The skin
texture, behavior of the robot, and sound effects all added up to a near
life-like creature from the past. Tyrannosaurus, the Stegosaurus,
Velociraptors, Chamasaurus, the Pteranodon, are one of the few dinosaurs
featured in either their skeletal form, or robotic representation.
Other
sections of the hall included parts on the human body, animal life, insects,
even evolution and viruses.
We spent nearly three hours at the National Science Museum (and still
had not explored the whole of it), but I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
The weather became foul, with sporadic downfalls. However, we still
decided to visit an annual event called the hua hai (sea of flowers). This trip
was not as acquired to my taste as that of the National Science Museum. The
freezing weather, with strong gusts of wind, not to mention that it was
still raining, did not really help change my impression of the place. However, I
must admit that the scene was rather beautiful. I always wondered how the
flowers managed to survive harsh elements.
We cancelled our plans to visit
Lavender Cottage due to foul weather, and instead visited the mushroom. There
was nothing much to do there apart from purchase some mushroom chips.
The last tourist attraction we visited for the day would be Carton King.
This probably would be the most unique and intriguing of the places that we
visited, since almost every sculpture was created out of nothing but cartons!
The walls were layered with carton, the furniture in the cafe was created out
of cartons, as well. There was even a miniature zoo with carton animal
creations! The cafe also had a carton
train, where visitors could chill out on the open air carriages.
Lastly, in the late evening, we explored the night market in Taichung,
relishing tasty snacks that we bought from various stalls. We also purchased
several thick clothing in preparation for our journey into the mountains,
before checking in at the best hotel we had been to so far- Park City Hotel.
What’s so unique about this hotel? You might ask. Well, it provides free
laundry services!
Day 4
We left the hotel after breakfast, which was provided. We were
chauffeured by another driver, by the name of Mr. Chen. His name sounds decent
doesn’t he? Well, we were in for a surprise. Let me tell you about our
experience with him…
To begin with, we had hired drivers to be tour guides. However, this
driver, in particular, seemed to know absolutely nothing about the region. Come
to think of it, he didn’t even know where he was going! Well, at least he
managed to get us to our first destination the Sun Moon Lake. 
Fortunately,
there was good weather that day, and so, the view was spectacular. Clouds
dotted the clear blue sky, mountains like jagged teeth over the horizon, and
the wide expanse of the lake, like the cavern of a giant’s mouth. We took a
ferry across the river to different islands, where there we various activities
to do. However, they were not exactly inclined towards our form of enjoyment.
We visited the Snake Kiln after this. The atmosphere was more quiet
there as compared to the Sun Moon Lake, probably due to the lack of tourists.
However, it was by far a more memorable visit as it was my first time seeing someone
molding clay to form bowls. The ‘shi fu’ did it in such a smooth and controlled
manner that it seemed extremely easy. The way he used two fingers to change the
shape of the bowl gradually, the swirling clay, the way it ‘opened up’ like a
petal to form the depth of the bowl. All this, he made into one smooth motion,
which had me transfixed, s though hypnotized.
You may be wondering why they called it Snake Kiln. Well, it's because the Kiln, which is used to harden the wet clay is long, and shaped like a snake.
Oh, and guess what the temperature is for baking the clay? A blistering 1250 ̊C!
We left Snake Kiln and prepared ourselves for the long drive up to qing
jing farm. Due to Mr. Chen’s inexperience with the roads, we became lost. We
stopped at our ‘destination’, a dilapidated looking farm, with no sheep! This,
was what Mr Chen deemed as the qing jing grassland. Little did he realize that this
was where the sheep were kept, not where they were put for us to touch and look
at! When he finally found his way, again, the place was about to be closed in
half an hours’ time! We rushed in, and fortunately, were just in time before
the sheep were being herded to the place we originally were at. Well, at least
we had the opportunity to pet the sheep! The wool was, moist, and soft, and we
all had fun petting the sheep. After taking a few more photos of the scenery,
we departed for our minsu. 
Again, Mr. Chen could not find our minsu! Perhaps he
was not observant enough, or perhaps he was driving too quickly in the dark,
but he missed our minsu along the way. By the time he had found it, it was
dark. The way in was both narrow, and treacherous. Visibility was low, due to fog,
and poor lighting. Fortunately, we managed to reach our minsu unscathed. I
wonder if our driver made it out alive…
Day 5
He Huan Shan
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| At the summit! |
We left our Minsu in the morning. Thankfully, clear skies greeted our eyes. The route we took to reach the summit of He Huan Shan was both narrow, and windy. As we drove up the moutain metre by metre, the view grew more and more breathtaking. We had a bird's eye view of the ground below us. Buildings looked like lego blocks, clouds like candy floss. However, as fog started to envelop us, our visibility dropped. And that was when I began to feel nauseas. Fortunately, we were nearing our destination, the peak of the moutain, some 3275m above sea level! At such high an altitude, and since it was during the early winter, the temperature was freezing. It was so cold, that when we spoke, the warm air escaping from our mouth instantly condensed and transformed into water droplets, forming 'clouds'. I had fun pretending to smoke. We did not remain out in the cold for long though. I found it difficult to breath,, possibly because at such great heights, oxygen levels were low. We headed down the moutain, much to my relieve, and entered the Taraoko National Park.
Taraoko National Park
The road down, was just as treacherous, and was littered with hairpin turns. Not to mention that the roads were built on the edge of the moutain, and that rockfalls were part of everyday life...
Though it was frightening at moments, yet during those moments, I could feel adrenaline pumping through my veins, in exhiliration. We were delayed slightly along the way due to an excavation along the road.
Our next stop was at the Bilv Divine Tree in Taraoko National Park. The tree is actuallly over 3000 years old! We had a hot lunch, and drank hot black tea. The feeling of hot tea trickling down my throat on a cold day is undiscribable. We bought peach honey there. It tasted like honey with a peachy essense.
We stopped at different places along the way through the national park. There was a certain part of the road where we stopped. That section of the road, was on the edge of a cliff! I took up the courage to peer over the barrier, and I was nearly frozen to the spot! It was a steep drop down. If that barrier had collapsed...
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| the ledge |
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| preparing to enter the cave |
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| crossing a bridge... |
Anyway, somewhere during the middle of our journey, to stopped by to trek through a trail by foot. This trail was extremely thrilling, due to certain sections where we had to walk across a narrow ledge, several metres above sea level. Our only protection- a flimsy railing. To our left and above, was an outcrop of rocks, hanging perilously, threatening to send us to our doom. To our right and below was either a rushing river, or the twining road cutting through the national park. There was also a mini cave 30 m deep. I was surged with excitement when we entered. It was pitch black dark in it, apart from the small traces of light, marking the end of the passage. Fortunately, our driver provided for us a piece of head gear, with a light installed to help us see in the tunnel. Once we exited, we had to enbark on the rest of the trail along a ledge on a cliff side.
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| wildlife |
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| the rushing river... |
I was relieved when we neared the end of our trail-the carpark (and also the 2nd entrance to the trail), where our driver was waiting.
Our next destination was the Taraoko Gorge. We actually drove through the gorge, and thus could see the formation of rocks caused by the tectonic plates which cause this gorge. The scene certainly was astounding.
Our last, yet not the least stop would be the unique beach- qi xing tan. (a pebble, not sand, beach). I enjoyed our time here, as there were rather large waves, coming from the Pacific Ocean. My brothers and I had a whale of a time trying to outrun the waves. It was a rather lively activity, although we would be soaked at times.
We reached our minsu in the evening (a rather pleasant accomodation which was two stories high), before heading to the night market for dinner.
We returned to our accomodations. I had an awesome day.
Day 6
Today, we awoke to foul weatehr. It drizzled throughout the entire day! I had a western style breakfast which was provided by the minsu. It was delicious.
Personally, the highlight for the day would be the boat ride at Li Yu lake. This probably would be because I had the opportunity to paddle a boat around the lake. Although it was tiring, and exhaustive, we had the opportunity to get up close and personal with the wildlife- birds, insects, flora and fauna. If we were to be in a high speed motor boat, we would have missed all this! The peacefullness and tranquility was a moment I would never forget. 
The next place we visited after lunch would be Lin Tian Shan, where a logging community was preserved. I was fascinated by the detailed wood carvings, and marvelled at the craftsmanship. The systems used to transport logs to and fro amazed me as well. I had not realised that men during that time possessed such knowledge to be able to use pulley systems to transport logs as efficiently as possible.
We also visited an unused sugar factory where there were fish which lived of ice-cream! That probably was because people would throw their unfinished ice-cream in the pond. We bought ice-cream from the shop, and upon eating our fill, threw the remains in the pond. You might be surprised! They actually fought over it! I had chocolate and mint ice-cream.
Our last trip was to the shan yu lake. You may be surprised, but the lake really looked blue! This was because the minerals in the mud gave the lake a hue of blue. There were swans paddling gracefully over the water. Trees littered the area, and a mini waterfall was located at the far end of the lake. People could actually cross this! However there were only stepping stones to provide a dry pathway. Rapid flowing water could be seen between the stones. It was a sensational experience.
Further in, there were trees coloured red and orange, thus creating a symphony of colours.
That night, we went into the city center where we ate dinner and zha dan. We returned to our Minsu, our hands carrying packets of muachi.
Day 7
we left our minsu in the morning and headed by train to Jiaosi. The train ride would have been boring, had we not had tense-filled 'zha' competitions. These reflex games certainly helped past time. 
My highlight for the day would be when we reached the Evergreen Resort hotel. It was the best hotel that we had gone to so far. While waiting to check in, we visited the 3rd floor of the hotel, where we played kinect sports. I was very enthusiastic when we began playing bowling. We simply had to use hand movements, to control our avatar on the screen. Time certainly flew when we were having fun!
A while later, we decided to explore the indoor ball room, where we tried our hand at table tennis. It required a lot of skill, and since we were still amateurs, had difficulty in serving and returning the ball. After plenty of frustrations, I decided to play baseball with it. Seeing the tiny ball fly up to the ceiling, before bouncing off walls certainly helped liven up our spirits.
It was slightly pass 3pm when we proceeded to check in to our rooms. Well, were we in for a surprise! The rooms were both humongous, and luxurious. There were two beds, one of which was colossal! It was so big that it could actually fit 4 of us on the bed comfortably! The toilet was yet another surprise. We had our very own spa in the lavatory! 
After admiring our room, we decided to try out out the fish spa. At first, when I tried it, it was ticklish, when the fish 'sucked' away the dead skin on your feet. Just looking at mid sized fish nibbling at your foot was enough to send a tingle down my spine! However, I soon got used to the feeling, and took joy in the entire experience.
That night, we became spectators for an acrobatic performance organised, and hosted by the resort. I especially enjoyed the changing of masks act. The performer had an air of mysteriousness, adding to the whole atmosphere. The swiftness, and smoothness of it all made it hypnotising in its own way. It astounded me.
We watched the Three Musketeers before retiring to our beds.
Day 8
Today, most of our activities were planned by the hotel. After a hearty breakfast buffet provided by the hotel, we went for a vegetable planting activity at 9 a.m. Perhaps it was because the other guests from the hotel wanted to enjoy their breakfast, but we were the only ones going for the activity. This educational tour was both fun and interesting, although most of the technical explanations were made in Chinese. What I found fun was that we could pluck tomatoes from the vegetable farm should we perceive them as ripe! We could also try our hand at planting vegetable seedlings. Though our shoes and jeans were muddied, I enjoyed myself.
We busied ourselves with video games during the late morning, till mid afternoon. We mostly played wii sports. Our favorite game was Kendo, as we could use wooden swords to'whack' opponents. We tried out snooker at the ball room, and practiced table tennis.
As we had enjoyed our previous fish spa, we decided to try it out again.
However, the highlight of the day would be the 'naked' spa- as we called it. It was a hot spring, where men, naked men, soaked in hot water (40 degrees Celsius). At first, we were a little reluctant, but when we found out that we were the only ones, we opened up. Actually, the proper way to enter was to be calm, and composed. We were the complete opposite! Laughing away like mocking jays, we created such a ruckus that staff from the counter outside came in to check if we were all right! The process is as follows: Upon taking a bath (with soap), we would have to soak ourselves in the hot water for about 10min, before entering nerve numbing cold water (19 degrees Celsius)! We would then have to repeat this process (skipping the bath). It was a new experience, but I enjoyed it.
We went out for dinner, and had a meal of beef steak, while our clothes were washed at the local laundry. In the cold weather, the hot meal was delicious. We watched another round of acrobatics in the night, before returning to our rooms.
Day 9
We relished our last spa in our room (bathroom) after breakfast before leaving the resort with a heavy heart. I wished we could have stayed there longer.
We went to Ximen for a meal of pork chop (dinner) and to check out shops, before retiring to our rooms.
Day 10
Today's plan was slightly unusual. We checked out of the hotel, planning to visit Jiufen and stay there for a night. However, instead of dragging our luggages along, we decided to travel light, and leave the luggages in the hotel's consiege, bringing along a haversack with a days necessities.
We visited an abandoned gold mining area, which was made into a museum. There were plenty of outdoor sections, and thus I did not really enjoy the visit due to the cold and rain. There was one interesting thing though, and it had nothing to do with the museum. It was a man selling umbrellas. The interesting thing about the whole affair of selling umbrellas, was that this particular salesman did plenty of vigorous demonstrations (I emphasize on the word vigorous). To prove the strength of the umbrella, he would place the umbrella on two stools, stand on the umbrella, and begin jumping! At first I was rather shock. He would take any umbrella in his shop and perform various demonstrations. It was rather interesting. The types of umbrellas he sold were rather unique as well. There was one in particular which looked like a piar of conjoined twins! According to him, it was a two person umbrella. Somehow, one umbrella was conected to another. It was all rather intriguing.
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| view from our minsu |
In the evening, we took a train to shifen, to release a lantern into the sky, upon writing our wishes on them. It was a unique experience. The sight of a several red glowing orbs floating up into the grey sky was spectecular. Ours had a special surpise- it had firecrackers attached at the end!
In the evening, we took a train to shifen, to release a lantern into the sky, upon writing our wishes on them. It was a unique experience. The sight of a several red glowing orbs floating up into the grey sky was spectecular. Ours had a special surpise- it had firecrackers attached at the end!
That night, warmth from the electric bed embraced us, seemingly protecting us from the harsh weather.
Day 11
We returned to our former hotel (Caesar Park Hotel) in the afternoon. Due to time constraint, we decided to visit Tamsui (fisherman's wharf) instead of the Taipei Zoo. The main point of visiting the wharf was far the beautiful sunset. As we were too engrossed in the view at other parts of Tamsui, and in eating long ice cream, by the time we reached the fisherman's wharf by bus, we thought we had missed it! Let me tell you about the experience...
But first...
Some photos taken at Tamsui
We gazed despondently at the horizon, as the scarlet red sphere raced us to the looming grey clouds. It moved at an unseemingly brisk pace, and before we could take a shot at the blood red sun, it had already run to seek refuge. Clouds in the sun's wake glowed with a hue of red, creating a breath taking sight- if the main object had been still hanging from the sky. I trudged towards the raised seaside walkway, dejected. We had come to this place to see the sunset, and we had missed it!
As I walked along the walkway, gazing out at the wide expanse of blue, I caught a glimpse of orange from the corner of my eye. Shouting in surprise, we saw it. The sun, stepping from behind the cloak of darkness, once again revealing its majestic self, glowing for all to see. However, time would not stand still. Slowly but surely, it retired, behind the turquois waters of the ocean. 
By this time, we had reached the bridge. Along the bridge, the winds were strongest, so strong, in fact, that I thought a great tempest was brewing. I could literally lean out into the wind, with no fear of falling forwards. With our sweaters flapping wildly behind us, the wind threatened to rip it from us, and far out into swirling waves of the Pacific Ocean. I felt free, as though all thoughts and worries were removed from me, by the power of the wind.  |
| Blown away... |
That night, we ate at a night market, before returning to the hotel.
Day 12
Day 12
We left our hotel room for the Taipei Zoo in high spirits, looking forward to visiting the panda enclosures. Upon arriving at the entrance, we took out the DSLR camera, preparing to take a photo. To our dismay, Dad had forgotten completely to put in the battery after charging it that night! I was discouraged, as the pictures that the DSLR camera could take is far more superior than that of the digital camera.
However, the animals that were featured in the Zoo helped liven me up. We saw Kuola bears, one of the few animals that the Singapore Zoo does not house.
