Sunday, 18 November 2012

Stephen's Visit 2 - 5 Nov

2 Nov
Being a work day, unable to meet Stephen at the airport. Sms him to meet at Vivocity instead for dinner.

At Vivocity, met up with Raymond, Tim, Alan and this Taiwanese friends. Decided to have dinner at Dian Xiao Er (famous for Duck). Overall the meal was ok. Desserts was at Fruit Paradise.

The evening wrapped up pretty well.

3 Nov

A early morning start to Kranji to catch the bus to JB. Managed to get in without much delay at both immigration.

Taxi a cab to KSL Hotel. Too early to check in....went for a stroll at the mall and then back for high tea at the Hotel. The chicken Char Siew was delicious! Tasted like real Char Siew!

The room was nice & cosy - still relatively new!

In the late evening, went over to Pelangi for foot reflexology and followed by dinner at the delicious Bak Kut Teh place!

Ended the night watching SKYFALL at the mall's cinema.

4 Nov

Getting back to Singapore was a breeze and then went over to Novotel Clarke Quay to check in.

The room was ok....only no wifi.......

Went back to office to finish off some work before catching up with Raymond, Gerald and Jay for dinner at the Thai restaurant opposite my office.

After dinner, went over to Chinatown to get some foodstuff to bring back to Hong Kong.

5 Nov

Managed to get the stuff that Ah Pai wanted......after going to a few places searching for it.

Accompanied Stephen to airport to catch his flight back home.


I am glad that he has taken the time and effort to come to Singapore to spend time with me. Much appreciated.


----------------- Sawbear Travel ---------------

Hello Taiwan 9 - 13 Nov

After 20+ years.....finally booked my flight to Taiwan!

9 Nov

Early morning flight on Scoot to Taipei, arriving before 6am. Immigration was swift but waiting for luggage was a drag......

Came out to the arrival hall and Eddy was already there waiting. Its been years since we last met! Went over to the coach counter to get ticket to Taichung.

2 hours journey and we arrived into Taichung. Michael and family came over to pick me up from the railway station.

Allen drove me to the new house where I would be staying', to drop off my luggage before going over to his parents' place. It has been years since I last met up with the family!

Sightseeing started after the home visit .....first stop we visited the Taichung Park regarding the 921 earthquake. ...cannot remember much as I was too tired, from the overnight flight.

Lunch was arranged at a local restaurant....international buffet - Taichung Steak House. There was lots to eat......something similar to Sakura in Singapore...cheap as well. did not really have the appetite, though.

Dropped by at a shopping mall but I was really too tired and requested to go back to rest. 

In the evening, Allen drove us to the  night market - 逢甲夜市. This night market was situated next to the university. There were so many things to see, buy and eat! It was really great walking through the stalls!

10 Nov

Michael came over and we went to a nearby shop for breakfast. It was interesting to see the locals having breakfast.


This morning, we were heading to Sun Moon Lake. Along the way, we stopped at a rest stop - LAMUNGAN which was quite busy with lots of people. When we got to the Lake, the place was extremely crowded and we decided to move on.



We stop at Puli Shaoxing Brewery and tried the wine egg and sausage....interesting! We also stop at 中台禅寺........magnificent! Last stop at 东东芋圆 for desserts before heading home.










Dinner was home cooked food by Michael's mum. The spread was great! She spent the afternoon cooking the dinner for me!So touching! It was a good meal!

As there was a local night market on Saturday, we walked over to take a look. It was a much smaller scale but interesting.

A supper stop at 大卤桶........before we called it a night.































11 Nov

A visit to a nearby park to see the famous tree - 五福临门神木 before we went for early lunch at 石头 . The BBQ buffet was delicious, especially the Hokkaido ice cream!












After lunch, went back to get my luggage and headed to the  station to catch the train 快铁 to Taipei. The fast train took only 50mins to get into Taipei. From Taipei station, I changed to the MRT and only 1 stop to Ximen station. From the 3rd Exit, the Hotel was just a min's walk.


 The room's design was interesting but no window. Managed to get laundry done (self laundry FOC by hotel) before meeting up with Jack and Joseph.

Jack drove you to 宁夏 night market. We started with 卤肉饭 and ate, ate ate all the way......I had to call for time out!

After alighting me back at the hotel, I went over to the famous Ximen shopping zone.....lots to shops to browse......simply not enough time!

12 Nov

Joseph came to bring me out for the day. The trip was to   阳明山 . I have never been to 阳明山  and was surprised with the beautiful scenery. It reminded me of New Zealand! We stopped at a few key scenic spots and I totally loved the place!
















Lunch was at a lovely french themed restaurant with stunning views. Food was average, though.

We stopped at the famous hot spring zone.皇池...for some relaxation......

Dinner was at the hotel's buffet. The food was rather good! Managed to have a brief stop at 101 and bought some goodies from the supermarket.



Bought some snack again at the Ximen shopping zone to eat in the room - 阿宗面线,萝卜糕,茶叶蛋奶油布蕾........ So much eating!

13 Nov

Joseph was kind enough to bring me out for breakfast. It was a famous breakfast place...very crowded! 阜杭豆浆。The 咸豆浆 was not to my liking, but the 厚烧饼 with egg was delicious!

Got the hotel to arrange for airport transfer. The driver took a different route - via the coast... Managed to catch a meal and some shopping at the airport before flying back to Singapore.

The trip to Taiwan was rather rush but I managed to catch up with Michael and family and also Jack and Joseph. It was a good trip and certainly I look forward to going back there again....hopefully with my SomeOne Special!




---------------- Sawbear Travel -----------------