Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Are you a neighbourhood kid?
Difference between neighbourhood kids and non-neighbourhood kids.
1) Do you know what "orh-bee-good" means and when to use it?
A: Yes. B: No
2) Does your family buy lana cake to celebrate birthdays?
A: No. B: Yes
3) Do you know bread dipped in egg and then fried as "Bombay toast" or "French toast"?
A: Bombay toast. B: French toast
4) Do your friends consider your house a high-class hotel? (Example, big bed, big room, nice cutlery, even for BBQ, complimentary packaged toothbrush and toothpaste, etc)
A: No. B: Yes
If your answer is mostly "A", you qualify as a neighbourhood kid. (Welcome to the family!)
If your answer is mostly "B", you qualify as an uppity-class kid. (Congrats or Consolation?)
Which are you?
1) Do you know what "orh-bee-good" means and when to use it?
A: Yes. B: No
2) Does your family buy lana cake to celebrate birthdays?
A: No. B: Yes
3) Do you know bread dipped in egg and then fried as "Bombay toast" or "French toast"?
A: Bombay toast. B: French toast
4) Do your friends consider your house a high-class hotel? (Example, big bed, big room, nice cutlery, even for BBQ, complimentary packaged toothbrush and toothpaste, etc)
A: No. B: Yes
If your answer is mostly "A", you qualify as a neighbourhood kid. (Welcome to the family!)
If your answer is mostly "B", you qualify as an uppity-class kid. (Congrats or Consolation?)
Which are you?
Chien's birthday
Hmm... wanna hear of a plan being aborted, due to cartoons??
Original plan:
Buy flowers. Buy cake. Go to Chien's office. Surprise her. At 7pm.
Foiled plan:
Meow and Becky were late.
Daffy was even later!
Meow and Becky bought flowers (They chose them themselves! Pretty!)
Meow insisted that flowers will die if they were out in the open at the busstop. (In essence, she wanted aircon.)
Meow and Becky returned to Novena Square.
Chien decided to go for a walk.
Yes, you guessed it! Chien spotted them with the flowers! (Which Becky tried fruitlessly to hide behind her back.)
Daffy gets a call. "Plan B! Plan B!! Abort! Abort!!" In Becky's words, it was "Mission Impossible being played out".
Daffy remains calm. "Still have Plan B."
Plan B:
Goes to Ichiban Boshi (which Chien did not know, although there is an unspoken rule that the birthday person always knows where to go!)
Orders food as per normal. Feeds Chien rice, to fill her up.
Exchange gifts as per normal.
Signals to Meow and Becky to go to the Ladies. Becky is lost. Meow fortunately takes the cue. =)
Subtlely asks Chien if she needs the Ladies. Thank God she said she didn't mind!
Hurriedly takes the tiny cake out from bag and places candle in it.
Becky attempts to hide it behind the presents and soy sauce bottle. Daffy checks the angle.
As Chien approaches, Becky reminds Daffy of the cake box.
Daffy clumsily hides it behind her back.
Chien suspects that Daffy has something up her sleeves.
Chien focuses on Daffy and conveniently loses track of the more important issue - what that thing is.
Chien turns around and spots the cake. SURPRISE!!! =)
Plan B: SUCCESSFUL! *grin*
Debrief on reasons why things happened the way they did:
1) Meow and her flowers and aircon.
2) Daffy's "punctuality"
3) Chien's hyperactivity
4) Becky's reasoning on how we didn't sychronize our watches.
Chien resorts to drawing watches on all of us. Her drawing skills have yet to improve. She made a hockey stick look like a boot last time. Now, she makes "10:10" look like a digital screen instead. After drawing, we realized we have yet to learn from the past. We all had different timings on our watches. Mine was 9, Meow's 10:10 (supposedly), Becky's 11, and Chien's "ABCD" cos she can't read numbers. Haha!
Chien tried to kill us all by offering strawberries coated with chocolate. She inserted a pin into the plastic bag. Woe to the person who ate it! I almost did, suspecting it was some sour berry. Heh. What a close shave we all had! I placed the pin onto the red cherry on the cake and offered it to Chien instead. It looked totally natural. Haha! She was the last to know again. Heh.
She didn't die. How could we bear to?? The cake sucked though. Shops should allow customers to try their cakes before purchase. Anyway, it turned out all fine. ABCD. *Happy*
Original plan:
Buy flowers. Buy cake. Go to Chien's office. Surprise her. At 7pm.
Foiled plan:
Meow and Becky were late.
Daffy was even later!
Meow and Becky bought flowers (They chose them themselves! Pretty!)
Meow insisted that flowers will die if they were out in the open at the busstop. (In essence, she wanted aircon.)
Meow and Becky returned to Novena Square.
Chien decided to go for a walk.
Yes, you guessed it! Chien spotted them with the flowers! (Which Becky tried fruitlessly to hide behind her back.)
Daffy gets a call. "Plan B! Plan B!! Abort! Abort!!" In Becky's words, it was "Mission Impossible being played out".
Daffy remains calm. "Still have Plan B."
Plan B:
Goes to Ichiban Boshi (which Chien did not know, although there is an unspoken rule that the birthday person always knows where to go!)
Orders food as per normal. Feeds Chien rice, to fill her up.
Exchange gifts as per normal.
Signals to Meow and Becky to go to the Ladies. Becky is lost. Meow fortunately takes the cue. =)
Subtlely asks Chien if she needs the Ladies. Thank God she said she didn't mind!
Hurriedly takes the tiny cake out from bag and places candle in it.
Becky attempts to hide it behind the presents and soy sauce bottle. Daffy checks the angle.
As Chien approaches, Becky reminds Daffy of the cake box.
Daffy clumsily hides it behind her back.
Chien suspects that Daffy has something up her sleeves.
Chien focuses on Daffy and conveniently loses track of the more important issue - what that thing is.
Chien turns around and spots the cake. SURPRISE!!! =)
Plan B: SUCCESSFUL! *grin*
Debrief on reasons why things happened the way they did:
1) Meow and her flowers and aircon.
2) Daffy's "punctuality"
3) Chien's hyperactivity
4) Becky's reasoning on how we didn't sychronize our watches.
Chien resorts to drawing watches on all of us. Her drawing skills have yet to improve. She made a hockey stick look like a boot last time. Now, she makes "10:10" look like a digital screen instead. After drawing, we realized we have yet to learn from the past. We all had different timings on our watches. Mine was 9, Meow's 10:10 (supposedly), Becky's 11, and Chien's "ABCD" cos she can't read numbers. Haha!
Chien tried to kill us all by offering strawberries coated with chocolate. She inserted a pin into the plastic bag. Woe to the person who ate it! I almost did, suspecting it was some sour berry. Heh. What a close shave we all had! I placed the pin onto the red cherry on the cake and offered it to Chien instead. It looked totally natural. Haha! She was the last to know again. Heh.
She didn't die. How could we bear to?? The cake sucked though. Shops should allow customers to try their cakes before purchase. Anyway, it turned out all fine. ABCD. *Happy*
Meow's birthday BBQ
Lots of preparation went into dear Meow meow's birthday, which was held at YX's place. The house is so big!! And apparently he's being egged on to buy the house beside his, cos of the TV.
Here's a summary of the HUGE feast.
1) satay
2) beef
3) chicken wings
4) cheese sausages
5) hotdogs
6) taiwanese sausage
7) bacon and asparagus which was yummy, but gave WX the runs cos he was too greedy! Hee.
8) stingray (which turned out yummy too!)
9) Korean sotong (which I walloped)
10) garlic bread (after experimenting with YX's cool oven)
11) marshmallows which were toasted till they looked like fishballs! (Becky so deserves the Perseverance award! Master Toaster award to Emay jiejie. And consolation prizes to Meow and Kel.)
12) A whole tub of Ribena which kept me happy
13) BBQed bananas (*drool*)
Anyway, a surprise was being planned for Meow. Decorations of the attic (how come birthday surprises are always held in the attics? Is there an unspoken rule?? Haha! No balloons this time round though! Hee.) were put up by YX and Merf. My gosh... they are quite talented leh. Very neat, very pretty. But of cos, the drawings, especially of the kitties, were by the expert herself - Emay jiejie.
So, all of us went up to the attic to wait for the "kill", while YX called Emay jiejie and pretended to be her boss calling her from the office. Emay jiejie then sent the "prey" (Meowmeow) up to the attic on a pretext of looking for her bag. In he meantime, Merf came up with the brilliant idea of hiding behind the couch. (Hello! Note: It was NOT MY IDEA! Heh.) I took the cake and hid behind the door instead, with the candle lit, while the others all hid behind the couch with Kel in charge of the camera.
When Meow approached the attic, the lights were all off and the atmosphere was dark and eerie... quiet. She opened the door and YX closed it cos we were not ready. She went "Oops, sorry!" But we followed the flow of things... switched on the lights and resorted to a lame version of shouting "SURPRISE" and blowing those silly horns. Heh. But her version of the story was hilarious! As she approached the attic, she spotted Kel crouching behing the couch, through the opague glass tiles and didn't really register his face. When the door slammed shut upon her, it clicked. She thought he was up to no good in the attic, cos everyone was supposed to be downstairs! Her only thought was, "whatever it is, I don't want to know." Hahaha! (See what impression she has of her good friend here??!) Shucks!
Anyway, it was worse than what she imagined. Kel was not alone! There was even Merf (who feels a "tingling feeling for Kel"), Becky and Elaine behind the couch with him!! Hahaha!
Yeah, so that was her surprise. Behind the couch. =)
Here's a summary of the HUGE feast.
1) satay
2) beef
3) chicken wings
4) cheese sausages
5) hotdogs
6) taiwanese sausage
7) bacon and asparagus which was yummy, but gave WX the runs cos he was too greedy! Hee.
8) stingray (which turned out yummy too!)
9) Korean sotong (which I walloped)
10) garlic bread (after experimenting with YX's cool oven)
11) marshmallows which were toasted till they looked like fishballs! (Becky so deserves the Perseverance award! Master Toaster award to Emay jiejie. And consolation prizes to Meow and Kel.)
12) A whole tub of Ribena which kept me happy
13) BBQed bananas (*drool*)
Anyway, a surprise was being planned for Meow. Decorations of the attic (how come birthday surprises are always held in the attics? Is there an unspoken rule?? Haha! No balloons this time round though! Hee.) were put up by YX and Merf. My gosh... they are quite talented leh. Very neat, very pretty. But of cos, the drawings, especially of the kitties, were by the expert herself - Emay jiejie.
So, all of us went up to the attic to wait for the "kill", while YX called Emay jiejie and pretended to be her boss calling her from the office. Emay jiejie then sent the "prey" (Meowmeow) up to the attic on a pretext of looking for her bag. In he meantime, Merf came up with the brilliant idea of hiding behind the couch. (Hello! Note: It was NOT MY IDEA! Heh.) I took the cake and hid behind the door instead, with the candle lit, while the others all hid behind the couch with Kel in charge of the camera.
When Meow approached the attic, the lights were all off and the atmosphere was dark and eerie... quiet. She opened the door and YX closed it cos we were not ready. She went "Oops, sorry!" But we followed the flow of things... switched on the lights and resorted to a lame version of shouting "SURPRISE" and blowing those silly horns. Heh. But her version of the story was hilarious! As she approached the attic, she spotted Kel crouching behing the couch, through the opague glass tiles and didn't really register his face. When the door slammed shut upon her, it clicked. She thought he was up to no good in the attic, cos everyone was supposed to be downstairs! Her only thought was, "whatever it is, I don't want to know." Hahaha! (See what impression she has of her good friend here??!) Shucks!
Anyway, it was worse than what she imagined. Kel was not alone! There was even Merf (who feels a "tingling feeling for Kel"), Becky and Elaine behind the couch with him!! Hahaha!
Yeah, so that was her surprise. Behind the couch. =)
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Is the grass greener on the other side?
I think I'm paranoid.
I'm wondering if I fit into a Secondary School better. After several months in a higher-level institute, I still feel lost.
Lost amongst the whole sea of colleagues (I have no friends!!)...
Lost in the syllabus and cheem-ness of Atmosphere (though I do like the sense of achievement when I am finally qualified to teach and give consultations thanks to mugging)...
Lost in the Arts department (cos Econs is freaking big, though I wouldn't categorize them under Arts anyway!)...
Lost in the whole scheme of things.
I can honestly say I'm not enjoying myself as much as I had envisioned myself to be. Of course there are great points about the school I'm in now, supportive colleagues and all. I'm not taking them for granted, but you know, the joy is just not there? Like I wouldn't want to spend more time here if possible? And this isn't healthy...
I am more than willing to work hard and give it all (If I enjoy my work.). I kinda attribute it to where my passion lies. I always wanted to teach in a Sec school, but was posted to a JC instead. I want to play with innocent young minds, (haha! sounds wrong... not "torture" in that sense!) not mature kids!(although they are also fun to play with... but not my kind.) I know the workload will be tonnes heavier, but if that's where my passion lies... it should be ok right? I was told that I couldn't make it in a Sec (it kinda angered me actually), cos I think I have it in me.
But I still thank God for His plan. I know there must be a reason why I'm here. I just don't know what it is yet. But maybe, it would be easier for a JC teacher to go to a Sec school rather than vice-versa?
K enough. Smile. Tomorrow might be worse.
I'm wondering if I fit into a Secondary School better. After several months in a higher-level institute, I still feel lost.
Lost amongst the whole sea of colleagues (I have no friends!!)...
Lost in the syllabus and cheem-ness of Atmosphere (though I do like the sense of achievement when I am finally qualified to teach and give consultations thanks to mugging)...
Lost in the Arts department (cos Econs is freaking big, though I wouldn't categorize them under Arts anyway!)...
Lost in the whole scheme of things.
I can honestly say I'm not enjoying myself as much as I had envisioned myself to be. Of course there are great points about the school I'm in now, supportive colleagues and all. I'm not taking them for granted, but you know, the joy is just not there? Like I wouldn't want to spend more time here if possible? And this isn't healthy...
I am more than willing to work hard and give it all (If I enjoy my work.). I kinda attribute it to where my passion lies. I always wanted to teach in a Sec school, but was posted to a JC instead. I want to play with innocent young minds, (haha! sounds wrong... not "torture" in that sense!) not mature kids!(although they are also fun to play with... but not my kind.) I know the workload will be tonnes heavier, but if that's where my passion lies... it should be ok right? I was told that I couldn't make it in a Sec (it kinda angered me actually), cos I think I have it in me.
But I still thank God for His plan. I know there must be a reason why I'm here. I just don't know what it is yet. But maybe, it would be easier for a JC teacher to go to a Sec school rather than vice-versa?
K enough. Smile. Tomorrow might be worse.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Solidarity (or rather, SABO...)
Since I made a fool of myself, I should pull someone else down the longkang too. =)
You know, in Taiwan, Kel was the one who always had money exchanging in his hands. I was the safe deposit. So there was once when we went to have breakfast. After stuffing ourselves, I expected him to walk to the counter to pay for our consumption. However, he just innocently (oh man, I'm using "innocent" on him!) walked in the other direction. I stared on in amazement, until the lady shouted after him. "Ni3 hai2 mei2 fu4 zhang4!!!" (You haven't paid up!!) Hahaha! It was so embarassing!! So he sheepishly fished out his wallet and gave her the due amount.
But that was not all! At Ximending, when we went shopping, we spotted a radiant red sports car parked in front of a shop, on the pedestrianized pavement. The first thought that came to our minds was that it was an advertisement... you know those promotions, contest, or launch of new car models? So Kel nonchantly went to open the passenger door and peered inside, going “Wow… very nice” and all. But what happened right after made my jaw drop and had me almost rolling on the floor laughing my heart out!
There was this guy who had this look of disbelief all written over his face when he approached the car. He got into the driver's seat with this sense of ownership… while a lady came over to the passenger seat. Guess what was happening?!! Kel was peering into someone else's car without knowing!!! Hahahaha! And the sporty red car sped off. Away from this curious maniac! It totally amused me and gave me an excellent tummy workout! *grin*
Booboos make the world a happier place.
You know, in Taiwan, Kel was the one who always had money exchanging in his hands. I was the safe deposit. So there was once when we went to have breakfast. After stuffing ourselves, I expected him to walk to the counter to pay for our consumption. However, he just innocently (oh man, I'm using "innocent" on him!) walked in the other direction. I stared on in amazement, until the lady shouted after him. "Ni3 hai2 mei2 fu4 zhang4!!!" (You haven't paid up!!) Hahaha! It was so embarassing!! So he sheepishly fished out his wallet and gave her the due amount.
But that was not all! At Ximending, when we went shopping, we spotted a radiant red sports car parked in front of a shop, on the pedestrianized pavement. The first thought that came to our minds was that it was an advertisement... you know those promotions, contest, or launch of new car models? So Kel nonchantly went to open the passenger door and peered inside, going “Wow… very nice” and all. But what happened right after made my jaw drop and had me almost rolling on the floor laughing my heart out!
There was this guy who had this look of disbelief all written over his face when he approached the car. He got into the driver's seat with this sense of ownership… while a lady came over to the passenger seat. Guess what was happening?!! Kel was peering into someone else's car without knowing!!! Hahahaha! And the sporty red car sped off. Away from this curious maniac! It totally amused me and gave me an excellent tummy workout! *grin*
Booboos make the world a happier place.
Monday, September 18, 2006
A big booboo
14/9/06 (Thursday)
A big booboo.
I had a 2 ½ hrs break today, before I return to school to conduct remedial lessons. So I decided to go swimming at Bishan. That was the only highlight of the day, other than buying groceries to season for tomorrow’s BBQ. Therefore I was excited and looking forward to it the entire day!
When the time was up, I swiftly changed into my shorts and t-shirt and got ready to leave. I happily walked out of school, in high spirits, happy at the fact that I could do something out of the ordinary. I boarded the bus and arrived at Bishan. I got greedy, so I bought a variety of mini buns and of course, my favourite bubble tea for $1! I think it’s my favourite just cos it’s $1! Hahah! It was yummy though… mango milk tea with pearls. (Yeah, someone would claim credit for this somehow!)
I was set to go when I felt a drop. Another drop. And another drop. I looked up, and it was drizzling!! Argh! Disappointed I was. *frown*
I thought, since I was rather lethargic, why not return home to catch a wink? And so I did! Happy at the fact that I could laze on my bed in the afternoon. But when I arrived at my doorstep, I realized I that I didn't bring my key!! Therefore pathetic me settled down outside my doorstep on the doormat and nibbled on the mini buns. And all of a sudden, it began to pour like never before and I was drenched!! Argh!!
Tak boleh tahan. I went downstairs and flagged a cab. Wasted my time and money. Sigh.
All that excitement for nothing.
Don’t laugh.
A big booboo.
I had a 2 ½ hrs break today, before I return to school to conduct remedial lessons. So I decided to go swimming at Bishan. That was the only highlight of the day, other than buying groceries to season for tomorrow’s BBQ. Therefore I was excited and looking forward to it the entire day!
When the time was up, I swiftly changed into my shorts and t-shirt and got ready to leave. I happily walked out of school, in high spirits, happy at the fact that I could do something out of the ordinary. I boarded the bus and arrived at Bishan. I got greedy, so I bought a variety of mini buns and of course, my favourite bubble tea for $1! I think it’s my favourite just cos it’s $1! Hahah! It was yummy though… mango milk tea with pearls. (Yeah, someone would claim credit for this somehow!)
I was set to go when I felt a drop. Another drop. And another drop. I looked up, and it was drizzling!! Argh! Disappointed I was. *frown*
I thought, since I was rather lethargic, why not return home to catch a wink? And so I did! Happy at the fact that I could laze on my bed in the afternoon. But when I arrived at my doorstep, I realized I that I didn't bring my key!! Therefore pathetic me settled down outside my doorstep on the doormat and nibbled on the mini buns. And all of a sudden, it began to pour like never before and I was drenched!! Argh!!
Tak boleh tahan. I went downstairs and flagged a cab. Wasted my time and money. Sigh.
All that excitement for nothing.
Don’t laugh.
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Taiwan (Last day)
9/9/06
Last day in Taiwan. Going home liao...
Last minute things to do?
Eat guotie!!! Thrilled I was. Haha! Easily satisfied leh... Lucky him.
Drink bubble tea!!
Play basketball at the arcade! We hada record of 221 points the previous night at Ximending. Today we gained 300+ points by playing with an easier machine. It's quite addictive leh... Dunno why it's not as popular here in Singapore. Maybe it's the price.
Anyway, after darting here and there tying up loose ends, we finally made it to the airport. We were so early that we could actually walk from one terminal to another just to shop!
This is me on the trolley before we came home. I testify that the Changi Airport trolleys are more comfortable.
I strongly recommend a trip to Taiwan. There are alot more things to see and do and play and EAT there! It was truly a memorable time. A good move to just take off to Taipei, not Thailand, you people! I really enjoyed myself through and through... especially the food, nature, the hot spring, night markets, and of course, the company. Heh.
Last day in Taiwan. Going home liao...
Last minute things to do?
Eat guotie!!! Thrilled I was. Haha! Easily satisfied leh... Lucky him.
Drink bubble tea!!
Play basketball at the arcade! We hada record of 221 points the previous night at Ximending. Today we gained 300+ points by playing with an easier machine. It's quite addictive leh... Dunno why it's not as popular here in Singapore. Maybe it's the price.
Anyway, after darting here and there tying up loose ends, we finally made it to the airport. We were so early that we could actually walk from one terminal to another just to shop!
This is me on the trolley before we came home. I testify that the Changi Airport trolleys are more comfortable.
I strongly recommend a trip to Taiwan. There are alot more things to see and do and play and EAT there! It was truly a memorable time. A good move to just take off to Taipei, not Thailand, you people! I really enjoyed myself through and through... especially the food, nature, the hot spring, night markets, and of course, the company. Heh.
Taiwan (5th day)
8/9/06
This was one of the most memorable days. Why? Cos we attempted new stuff and I got fed a whole lot of yummilicious food! Who said food can only work its ways to a guy's tummy? My tummy too!!! =)
Anyway, we first headed to yangmingshan nature park. Was supposed to indulge in more nature, not that Kel was looking forward to it. But you know, Yangmingshan iis quite popular in Wuxia tv serials... and I seriously wouldn't have minded a trek. But when we finally arrived there, it was ulu-ated and it was pouring meow and woof! So we ended up taking shelter in Starbucks. Yeah, there's a Starbucks at Yangmingshan! Next time those wuxia heroes can date their shi-mei at Starbucks.
This is Kel enjoying his daily tea intake at Starbucks.
Since the rain wouldn't stop, we deliberated over going straight to the hotspring. We decided that going to Beitou, which is known as the most popular hot springs area, was more convenient if we were to head down to Danshui. So off we went in a bus. I insisted on orienteering to the specific hot spring hotel stated in the guidebook. Kel obligated. So off we went stomping into puddles, getting all drenched in that heavy downpour, as we orienteered through the winding roads to Asia-Pacific Hotel. It was a good choice, as compared to the other places we checked out along the way, which only offered a bathtub filled with hot spring water. (Didn't know they could make such baths sleazy. The reception always asked if we wanted a bed. Hello! I just wanna dip into the hot spring which is beautifully designed just for the kick of it!)
You get a 2-hour dip, with a nice dressing room for you to change, with hair-dryer, sterilizer for the hairbrushes, nice towels, kimono, etc. This was the hot spring. A private one, with your own toilet bowl, shower and all. I don't see myself going to a private one where people just strip in front of you! Pretty huh? Natural rocks, for perches inside to sit on.
Refreshed after the 2-hour dip, to enjoy the ambience of the hotel's exterior. Quite Japanese-like. Taiwanese are quite into Japanese and Korean culture, I realised.
We headed to Danshui afterward. We made it all in good time, thanks be to God. There was free shuttle bus to the train station, or else we would have to make our way down the hill, through those long winding roads....
This was at the train station, when Kel told me to pose properly and not give those ridiculous poses. Bleah.
We arrived in time for the sunset. Tourist area, but I don't mind... since it's so pretty! Good food and I get to take the boat too! We tried all kinds of transport! Air, rail, road and sea! =)
This was taken to capture the sun's rays. The atmosphere scatters the short wavelength blue rays first before leaving the longwavelength red and orange rays, hence giving us a pretty sunset. (Trying to sound intellectual here.)
Becoming perfect at taking our own shots...
Trying to capture both us and the Fisherman's Wharf's bridge in the background. Reminded me of the bridge at Kallang...
Now on to the food! The best part of it all!
Guotie. Long skinny ones. The chives one just make me crave for more!! Moderation!! And cheap they are! Only 5 cents each!
My big big lighted ice-cream! I just had to hug it! =)
Pink guava! How many of you have eaten pink guava?? Seldom found back home. What a waste. It's sweet and juicy, unlike the white ones we have....
Oh... my cuttlefish! To die for! It was grilled to such perfection that it was still soft and tender!! -Slurp-
This was the best of the best. Deep fried variety of mushrooms. Shitake, golden mushrooms... -licks fingers- YUM!
Yep, a satisfying, eventful day. Loved it.
This was one of the most memorable days. Why? Cos we attempted new stuff and I got fed a whole lot of yummilicious food! Who said food can only work its ways to a guy's tummy? My tummy too!!! =)
Anyway, we first headed to yangmingshan nature park. Was supposed to indulge in more nature, not that Kel was looking forward to it. But you know, Yangmingshan iis quite popular in Wuxia tv serials... and I seriously wouldn't have minded a trek. But when we finally arrived there, it was ulu-ated and it was pouring meow and woof! So we ended up taking shelter in Starbucks. Yeah, there's a Starbucks at Yangmingshan! Next time those wuxia heroes can date their shi-mei at Starbucks.
This is Kel enjoying his daily tea intake at Starbucks.
Since the rain wouldn't stop, we deliberated over going straight to the hotspring. We decided that going to Beitou, which is known as the most popular hot springs area, was more convenient if we were to head down to Danshui. So off we went in a bus. I insisted on orienteering to the specific hot spring hotel stated in the guidebook. Kel obligated. So off we went stomping into puddles, getting all drenched in that heavy downpour, as we orienteered through the winding roads to Asia-Pacific Hotel. It was a good choice, as compared to the other places we checked out along the way, which only offered a bathtub filled with hot spring water. (Didn't know they could make such baths sleazy. The reception always asked if we wanted a bed. Hello! I just wanna dip into the hot spring which is beautifully designed just for the kick of it!)
You get a 2-hour dip, with a nice dressing room for you to change, with hair-dryer, sterilizer for the hairbrushes, nice towels, kimono, etc. This was the hot spring. A private one, with your own toilet bowl, shower and all. I don't see myself going to a private one where people just strip in front of you! Pretty huh? Natural rocks, for perches inside to sit on.
Refreshed after the 2-hour dip, to enjoy the ambience of the hotel's exterior. Quite Japanese-like. Taiwanese are quite into Japanese and Korean culture, I realised.
We headed to Danshui afterward. We made it all in good time, thanks be to God. There was free shuttle bus to the train station, or else we would have to make our way down the hill, through those long winding roads....
This was at the train station, when Kel told me to pose properly and not give those ridiculous poses. Bleah.
We arrived in time for the sunset. Tourist area, but I don't mind... since it's so pretty! Good food and I get to take the boat too! We tried all kinds of transport! Air, rail, road and sea! =)
This was taken to capture the sun's rays. The atmosphere scatters the short wavelength blue rays first before leaving the longwavelength red and orange rays, hence giving us a pretty sunset. (Trying to sound intellectual here.)
Becoming perfect at taking our own shots...
Trying to capture both us and the Fisherman's Wharf's bridge in the background. Reminded me of the bridge at Kallang...
Now on to the food! The best part of it all!
Guotie. Long skinny ones. The chives one just make me crave for more!! Moderation!! And cheap they are! Only 5 cents each!
My big big lighted ice-cream! I just had to hug it! =)
Pink guava! How many of you have eaten pink guava?? Seldom found back home. What a waste. It's sweet and juicy, unlike the white ones we have....
Oh... my cuttlefish! To die for! It was grilled to such perfection that it was still soft and tender!! -Slurp-
This was the best of the best. Deep fried variety of mushrooms. Shitake, golden mushrooms... -licks fingers- YUM!
Yep, a satisfying, eventful day. Loved it.
Monday, September 11, 2006
Taiwan (4th day)
7/9/06
We headed to Kee Lung (pronounced as Ji1 Long2), to catch a bus to Yeliu. We missed our stop and hence had to ask for directions to Yeliu. We enquired at a 7-11 and told to take a cab from up front. We were also asked to take from a driver surnamed Lee. When we went there, we had this feeling that ALL the taxi drivers had surname Lee! Hahaha!
Anyway, we finally arrived at Yeliu. And I was so excited! I was like in Geography heaven! All the rock formations were so exquisite! First-hand experience with the horizontal bedding planes, vertical joints, wave erosion, wind erosion, plate tectonics, weathering.... which gave rise to all kinds of formations, like the Queen's head rock, Fairies' Shoe, the mushroom-like landforms, potholes, etc. My gosh! I so enjoyed myself! Trigger-happy I was too! I was so happy I could have gone gila!
Queens' Head. Formed by aeolian (wind) weathering.
Fairies' Shoe. Isn't it amazing what erosion can do?!
Released into the wild, back onto the rock.
Onto the potholed landform.
Horizontal bedding planes.
Typical text book photo of weathering.
Cape out to sea, with pretty horizontal bedding planes of varying heights.
We started picking up baby seashells on the seashore. And guess what? i found a hermit crab! We played with it till it left its shell, in search of an undisturbed one. But we continued terrorizing it. Haha! Kel was so fascinated cos he had never seen one! In the end, we found 3 hermit crabs and we made them a happy family. Haha!
First toy. Hermit crab which migrated from one shell to another. Not shy.
Non-hermit crab. Found in a flooded pothole.
We ventured further, and entered the coastal area. We found caves, admired the strength of he wave erosion on the joints, admired the beauty of the sea, the many potholes which looked like tortoises, the water-filled potholes which threatened to swallow us in, etc.
Hmm, a theory is that the tortoise got buried in the depression for many thousands of years. God is so amazing... look at what corrasion can do to produce such pretty potholed-like tortoise! =)
Fun. Even the long walk out to the main road was fun! Haha! I guess sometimes the company does play a part...
An attempt at an artistic shot. It's the model that counts at time. =)
Ossim should get its inspiration from nature!
Oh Crystal Ball, pray tell art thou... why am I forced to take such shots??
Wow! Huge ice-cream scoop!! All my!! Wahahah!
I told you I can fit in here! -smug-
After spending like 5-6 hours in that little Geoglogical park, we headed for Ximending. This time, we were there to visit the Asian Food Court. My my... was the ambience enticing! It felt like we were in some posh restaurant! I ordered Kimchi Seafood Soup and it was served in a big metal bowl perched on a wooden tray.
Kel ordered grilled chicken with rice and soup. Sounds normal, but it was really yummy! Even the yakult was nice! *grin*
We had a walk around Ximending. It's really a shopping district ya... with its pedestrainized area and all. Lots of ah-lian stuff though. Heh. We ended up having douhua, which wasn't too yummy. Yet to find yummy douhua in Taiwan. Oh well.
This is the douhua and pearls.
Lou Wei. You choose the stuff like you do with yong tau fu, and they cook in herbal dark sauce for you.
We played basketball at the arcade, to see how many goals we could get. It's a hot thing in Taiwan, and the trained ones are really fantastic! No need for aiming and they are already guaranteed a 99% goal! We fumbled with our coordination... and were losers. Haha!
We went home after that, and did our usual dash to the exit from the underground shopping mall. Just a slight attempt to shed off some of the calories we took in. Heh.
We headed to Kee Lung (pronounced as Ji1 Long2), to catch a bus to Yeliu. We missed our stop and hence had to ask for directions to Yeliu. We enquired at a 7-11 and told to take a cab from up front. We were also asked to take from a driver surnamed Lee. When we went there, we had this feeling that ALL the taxi drivers had surname Lee! Hahaha!
Anyway, we finally arrived at Yeliu. And I was so excited! I was like in Geography heaven! All the rock formations were so exquisite! First-hand experience with the horizontal bedding planes, vertical joints, wave erosion, wind erosion, plate tectonics, weathering.... which gave rise to all kinds of formations, like the Queen's head rock, Fairies' Shoe, the mushroom-like landforms, potholes, etc. My gosh! I so enjoyed myself! Trigger-happy I was too! I was so happy I could have gone gila!
Queens' Head. Formed by aeolian (wind) weathering.
Fairies' Shoe. Isn't it amazing what erosion can do?!
Released into the wild, back onto the rock.
Onto the potholed landform.
Horizontal bedding planes.
Typical text book photo of weathering.
Cape out to sea, with pretty horizontal bedding planes of varying heights.
We started picking up baby seashells on the seashore. And guess what? i found a hermit crab! We played with it till it left its shell, in search of an undisturbed one. But we continued terrorizing it. Haha! Kel was so fascinated cos he had never seen one! In the end, we found 3 hermit crabs and we made them a happy family. Haha!
First toy. Hermit crab which migrated from one shell to another. Not shy.
Non-hermit crab. Found in a flooded pothole.
We ventured further, and entered the coastal area. We found caves, admired the strength of he wave erosion on the joints, admired the beauty of the sea, the many potholes which looked like tortoises, the water-filled potholes which threatened to swallow us in, etc.
Hmm, a theory is that the tortoise got buried in the depression for many thousands of years. God is so amazing... look at what corrasion can do to produce such pretty potholed-like tortoise! =)
Fun. Even the long walk out to the main road was fun! Haha! I guess sometimes the company does play a part...
An attempt at an artistic shot. It's the model that counts at time. =)
Ossim should get its inspiration from nature!
Oh Crystal Ball, pray tell art thou... why am I forced to take such shots??
Wow! Huge ice-cream scoop!! All my!! Wahahah!
I told you I can fit in here! -smug-
After spending like 5-6 hours in that little Geoglogical park, we headed for Ximending. This time, we were there to visit the Asian Food Court. My my... was the ambience enticing! It felt like we were in some posh restaurant! I ordered Kimchi Seafood Soup and it was served in a big metal bowl perched on a wooden tray.
Kel ordered grilled chicken with rice and soup. Sounds normal, but it was really yummy! Even the yakult was nice! *grin*
We had a walk around Ximending. It's really a shopping district ya... with its pedestrainized area and all. Lots of ah-lian stuff though. Heh. We ended up having douhua, which wasn't too yummy. Yet to find yummy douhua in Taiwan. Oh well.
This is the douhua and pearls.
Lou Wei. You choose the stuff like you do with yong tau fu, and they cook in herbal dark sauce for you.
We played basketball at the arcade, to see how many goals we could get. It's a hot thing in Taiwan, and the trained ones are really fantastic! No need for aiming and they are already guaranteed a 99% goal! We fumbled with our coordination... and were losers. Haha!
We went home after that, and did our usual dash to the exit from the underground shopping mall. Just a slight attempt to shed off some of the calories we took in. Heh.
To Taiwan and back (part 3)
6/9/06
This time round I made a point to get up early s as not to waste my trip there! Although the piggy would have much rather just nua-ed the day away! =)
We had yummy breakfast. It made us happy.
Carrot Cake with Egg.
Steamed dumplings.
Jian bing with pork floss. Effectively, fried egg pancake/crepe with pork floss.
And that's the duckie posing. Haha!
Took the train to Ruifang. I'm always happy to take trains! =)
Had a nice journey there. Transferred to a bus to get to Jiufen. This was up in the mountain, so it was more cooling and there were nice views from the top. Made me even happier. Although if there was cable car, I'll be elated. Haha!
Jiufen was full of food. Touristy area, but I guess to indulge in mass tourism is quite fun at times too. Lots of food. Again. Haha! My cold strawberry muachi was just heavenly!
Followed by layered bean muachi...
And my mini smelly tofu (I kinda enjoyed this actually, till the smell gets to me. Heh.)
This is the 'normal' chou tofu. I can already smell it from here! Hmm...
We just took in the beauty of Jiufen's teahouses and its peak. Nice.
This is Kel's expression when I am naughty. He was intriqued with this "Swatter hand".
The enormous Mala Whopper Burger at Kee Lung. How many Daffies would this feed?!
Decided to check out the cave near Kee Lung, so off we went on our little adventure. We arrived at the place, but could see no cave. We saw a long flight of stairs leading up to a temple, so we climbed. Still no cave. After asking around, it proved that my theory of the cave within the temple was right. So we descended and entered the temple. But disappointed I was! The cave was so small! And it was transformed into a temple! But luckily there were small grooves for us to wiggle in and out of. Kel was too wide (note: not fat, he claims...) so he had difficulty squeezing in. Heh. Cheap thrill it was... but definitely not worth the travel there. Vietnam has nicer caves. Heh.
Tired we were... but we eventually ended up at Ximending. We headed for the hotpot place, cos I had mentioned that I wanted to eat mala hot pot. We had the yin yang hot pot and it was rather good. Buffet style steamboat. But I think what was best was the fre flow of fruits! They even had kiwi and passion fruits! (Which acidified my molars. Ouch!)
We were so stuffed afterward that I couldn't walk nor talk! And Kel came up with the theory that if you eat too much, your voice changes. Cos there would be a smaller air vent cos of all the food being piled up in your tummy and up your throat. And it was hilarious cos I did sound funny... laughing was even worse! Hahaha! You can test the theory the next time you stuff yourself silly! =)
God was good. Although we had planned to walk around Ximending to digest our food somewhat, I was trigger-happy and was preparing for a nice photo shoot, so we missed the opportunity to cross the road. However, after I had taken my photo, it started to pour heavily. So we took shelter in the MRT entrance, and decided to head home instead. If we had crossed the road, we would have been drenched and stuck in the rain at Ximending! Thank you Lord!
This time round I made a point to get up early s as not to waste my trip there! Although the piggy would have much rather just nua-ed the day away! =)
We had yummy breakfast. It made us happy.
Carrot Cake with Egg.
Steamed dumplings.
Jian bing with pork floss. Effectively, fried egg pancake/crepe with pork floss.
And that's the duckie posing. Haha!
Took the train to Ruifang. I'm always happy to take trains! =)
Had a nice journey there. Transferred to a bus to get to Jiufen. This was up in the mountain, so it was more cooling and there were nice views from the top. Made me even happier. Although if there was cable car, I'll be elated. Haha!
Jiufen was full of food. Touristy area, but I guess to indulge in mass tourism is quite fun at times too. Lots of food. Again. Haha! My cold strawberry muachi was just heavenly!
Followed by layered bean muachi...
And my mini smelly tofu (I kinda enjoyed this actually, till the smell gets to me. Heh.)
This is the 'normal' chou tofu. I can already smell it from here! Hmm...
We just took in the beauty of Jiufen's teahouses and its peak. Nice.
This is Kel's expression when I am naughty. He was intriqued with this "Swatter hand".
The enormous Mala Whopper Burger at Kee Lung. How many Daffies would this feed?!
Decided to check out the cave near Kee Lung, so off we went on our little adventure. We arrived at the place, but could see no cave. We saw a long flight of stairs leading up to a temple, so we climbed. Still no cave. After asking around, it proved that my theory of the cave within the temple was right. So we descended and entered the temple. But disappointed I was! The cave was so small! And it was transformed into a temple! But luckily there were small grooves for us to wiggle in and out of. Kel was too wide (note: not fat, he claims...) so he had difficulty squeezing in. Heh. Cheap thrill it was... but definitely not worth the travel there. Vietnam has nicer caves. Heh.
Tired we were... but we eventually ended up at Ximending. We headed for the hotpot place, cos I had mentioned that I wanted to eat mala hot pot. We had the yin yang hot pot and it was rather good. Buffet style steamboat. But I think what was best was the fre flow of fruits! They even had kiwi and passion fruits! (Which acidified my molars. Ouch!)
We were so stuffed afterward that I couldn't walk nor talk! And Kel came up with the theory that if you eat too much, your voice changes. Cos there would be a smaller air vent cos of all the food being piled up in your tummy and up your throat. And it was hilarious cos I did sound funny... laughing was even worse! Hahaha! You can test the theory the next time you stuff yourself silly! =)
God was good. Although we had planned to walk around Ximending to digest our food somewhat, I was trigger-happy and was preparing for a nice photo shoot, so we missed the opportunity to cross the road. However, after I had taken my photo, it started to pour heavily. So we took shelter in the MRT entrance, and decided to head home instead. If we had crossed the road, we would have been drenched and stuck in the rain at Ximending! Thank you Lord!
