6D5N Kaohsiung and Taipei part 2

Day 4 

It proved to be super hard to sleep cos (1) the room next door consisted of a bunch of girls who were chatting and laughing till wee hours I had to call front desk to help get them to keep their volume down (2) the husband has a strange blocked nose [which persisted for ALL THREE NIGHTS] and made strange snoring noises (3) queen sized bed really cmi. Even after taking my muscle relaxant, I still had problems sleeping. It was THAT BAD. The sound proofing of Ark really sucked. It's a real pity cos everything else was quite excellent. 

Mos breakfast was either ham and egg, tomato and egg, or bacon and egg, with a beverage. The good thing is they will pick it up for you if you pass them your breakfast voucher but when I pick up the breakfast in the morning, the buns are usually lukewarm. Oh well, can't complain too much. 

It was crazy cold in Taipei, unlike in Kaohsiung where the weather was milder. We took the 24 hour pass (360Twd for 2 pax) and made good use of it. First stop was to Gu Ting gym cos we had pigged out too much. After a good workout, we went back to Dong Men to have Qi Fan Shi Tang. Saw a long queue last night but thank goodness no queues during lunch. Ended up ordering super lot for two persons. And even added on more dishes subsequently, much to the embarrassment of me cos the male boss was amused that we (or maybe just me) were eating so much. Total damage: 1300Twd. Recommended dishes: pork liver (x2), Su zha xiao juan (x2). Qi Xiang dou fu, Zhao pai ji tui,   Lu sun with scallops, Yu Juan and Lu rou fan was just okay. Their signature rice was actually zhu you ban fan but obviously we did not get that. Those interested can try. 

Drew more Twd in the morning so we picked up another 2 boxes of Naruko. Super convenient this service. I will definitely make full use of it in future. Saw many other orders for books and blogshop items as well. After dumping the stuff in the room, we headed out again to Zhong xiao fu xing to pick up some Cai Tou Su from Lao tai yang tang shop. Ordered from Gomaji cos Groupon no longer accepts our credit card for payment (sad). 

Then it was to Shi Zheng Fu for the Panda exhibition. En route we caught a glimpse of a rally/demonstration for Taipei independence. The Tobs was obviously not too impressed with the pandas but I thought they were quite cute and for a worthy cause! It wasn't long before we headed for Wu Fen Pu. 

It was almost like Bangkok platinum mall, just outdoors. The style of the clothing didn't really suit me. I was pretty sure their sizes would not be very suitable as well. Tobs bought a jacket for 200Twd. Later I also got a white shrug and top for 700Twd. Shopping at Wu Fen Pu is confusing and tiring. Plus, people smoke all the time so it was kinda irritating. 

When we headed for Rao He Night Market, it was already dark. And really cold. The night market was flooded with tourists and seemed really congested. We did have some good eats like Xin Jiang Yang Rou Chuan, Yu Zhong Yu (bao Jiang Yu yuan), Hong you chao shou, bao Jiang ji tui juan, run bing, and this Korean egg in egg with cheese snack. Ended off with bao xin fen yuan which was quite interesting (pearl with bean center). Overall, Rao He is not too bad for its variety but the crowd is really massive cos it's a huge hit with tourists. 

Got back to hotel quite late and hit the bed soon after but still did not get a super good night's rest. Sigh. 

Day 5

Today is Xi Men day. We went to our regular massage place for th 1350Twd 2 hours package. Was served by No. 5(T) and 35(G). It was good but I woke up today to discover a huge bruise on my right shin -___-". Went straight to Ma La after massage but found a queue and had to come back again at 2.30pm. So we shopped around and picked up contact lenses at pegavision and also grabbed papaya milk from Bei Hui. Own note: pegavision does not accept credit card. Spent 2000 (G) and 1000 (T) on pegavision. 

When we were admitted, we weren't ravenous (thanks to Bei Hui) but Tobs did manage to eat a lot. For some reason (ageing?!?) my appetite has shrunk substantially and I cannot force myself to expand my capacity like I could in the past. So I had to be super selective. As usual Ma La was good and because of the cold weather, it was excellent. Just that I cannot have my fill of the ice cream cos it was just insane to have ice cream after the hot pot and offset any warming effect the Ma la pot has. So it was food coma and we had to go back to Dong Men. Headed to Cosmed to sweep up more stuff before dumping everything back in the room. 

Headed out in the evening cos I still need some stuff to fill my tummy for dinner. Settled on the Tianjin Cong Zhua Bing (still awfully long queue) and got the zong hui without jiu ceng ta. We also went to si mo ji 2nd floor which required a minimum spending of 100Twd per person. We wouldn't have gone if it weren't for the insanely cold weather. Retired to the room quite early and spent a lot of time watching variety programmes, including one comparing the different beverages and how deceivingly unhealthy they can be. It was quite a shocker. Other programmes also address postural issues of office workers and a special feature on the 3-11 Japan earthquake. Time really just flies when you have so many programmes to watch.  

Day 6

The Tobs refused to wake up after two consecutive nights of working till 3+am. I could stone around for 2 hours but I figured time is better spent in the gym. Headed down to Gu ting and did cardio while browsing the Cosmed catalogue. When I finished, we arranged to meet at Dong Men for lunch. It was Yong Kang Niu Rou Mian this time cos Lao Zhang is closed every Tuesday. Had large bowl of half beef half tendon, beef soup, 2 hong you chao shou and fen Zheng pai Gu. It was crazy lot especially considering we also had the Cong Zhua bing earlier. But last ditch at Taiwanese food man. 

Back in the hotel, it was a challenge to pack to meet our weight limit - 25kg and 15kg but we did. Was really handy to have the portable weighing scale around as well. With our bursting luggages and handful of bags, our driver, Mr Shen, picked us up and brought us to the airport. And that was the end of our trip. If the weather was better, we would have done a lot more, including climbing Xiang Shan but oh well, next trip!!

6D5N Kaohsiung and Taipei part 1

Flights: $224.71 for 15kg FlyBag to Taipei and 25kg FlyBag back to Singapore. $180.71 for Fly. Thank you Scoot for excellent promos on Tuesday Morning Glory!

Hotel: Royal Hotel Kaohsiung and Ark Hotel Taipei

Day 1 

Flight reached half an hour early. We took a bus down to Taoyuan High Speed Rail station and took the train down to Kaohsiung Zuo Ying. Then it was an MRT ride down to Zhong Yang Gong Yuan. We bumped into a couple who tried to share with us in mandarin but when they realized we could speak English, they switched. They were a couple from California who were in Kaohsiung for 3 months to learn mandarin. They shared some tracks with us and then when we flipped to the back, it said "JW". Yes they were Jehovah Witnesses. There were some interesting exchanges but we quickly got on our way to the hotel.

Explored the area around the hotel a bit. We chanced upon Zheng Zong Pai Gu Fan and also Butter Lee bakery with an excellent Daifuku with yam and strawberry. Walked around a lot more and I tried to shop at a Mayuki event space but it proved to be too confusing and tiring. Came back to check in and rested for a bit before going out to Rui Feng Night Market.

Somehow, the food tasted a lot better in my memory. The Wan Guo steak is still good but not as orgasmic as I had imagined it. The Shao Shi Fu xiao longs got a bit gross and made me ill after a while cos it was a tad bit too fatty and oily. The Pork Knuckle was ok, the Fried Octopus was also nowhere near Feng Jia's. Xinjiang mutton skewers were a tad too fat for our likings.

Day 2

Breakfast was just ok. We made it down in time before they cleared the food -__-". Took the Hamasen Cultural Tour Bus from Xiziwan. Dropped off at Dai Tian Gong for food and walked to the next stop at the Fish Market before getting on the bus again to Pier 2. Would highly recommend the bus tour. 50Twd for a day's pass unlimited hop on and off! Comes with a tour guide on bus as well. Ate: Yu Wan Da Wang, Hai Zhi Bing. Should go later for more stalls to be open. Most open 2pm onwards. 

At Pier 2, we viewed some free exhibitions. Including one where leaves were displayed with trails of worms on them. Chanced upon an Italian restaurant Pasedena, near Pier 2 and they have great cone ice cream for 35Twd. Tried A Lo Ha Lu Wei but decided that marinated meat isn't for us. Tried Mi Gao Cheng as well - rice with pork fats, pork floss and cucumber. 

Insisted on stopping by Formosa station to take the picture of the stained glass. It was really beautiful. Prettiest train station in whole of Taiwan.

Then it was off to the new night markets - Jin Zuan and Kai Xuan Night Market. Had more luck there with good food. Had really got xiao long bao that isn't too oily and jia lat. Tobs had a really good smelly tofu as well - the best he has ever had he claims. I tried a bit too and found it quite tasty and acceptable, unlike the others we have had. Discovered tofu cubes that was quite yummy (got the ham and cheese, and mushroom one). Tried 2 Xing Bao Gu but the one at Kai Xuan (called Gu Qie Yi Shi) is better. Also had grass jelly that was crazy cheap (40Twd) only. Had to take away their green tea jelly as well cos it was just too good to miss. 

Day 3

Took the Old City Bus Tour 50Twd for unlimited hop on and off as well. Took one complete round before going to Juan Cun Wen Hua Guan to learn more about Zuo Ying history. Viewed the exhibition and had a very entertaining guide give explanation. Then we had super cheap beef noodles at San Niu. The entire meal costs 260Twd only - one bowl beef noodle, one bowl beef soup, and hong you chao shou. 

Walked a distance for Fen Yang Hun Tun but it wasn't worth it. We had it the last time we were in Zuo Ying as well but didn't remember cos it was unmemorable. Jing Hua Su Bing wasn't open. We popped by Mi Ge Pao Fu for their cream puffs as well. Had it the last time and it was still cheap and good (15Twd) available in flavours yam,chocolate and milk. Wanted to buy strawberries from the Hello Market but waited a little too long and the market was closed alr. 4 boxes for 100Twd is super cheap pls!

Then it was High Speed Rail back to Taipei. 1630Twd per pax (ouch!) but the cheap food and accommodation in Kaohsiung sure made up for it. It was rainy in Taipei. We checked in them popped out to have Lao Zhang (observed to be a lot more expensive than San Niu) and it was quite shiok having spicy beef noodle in cold weather. Wanted the Cong Zua Bing but the queue was crazy long. :( picked up 2 Naruko boxes from 7-11. Picked up goodies from Yi Zhi Xuan as well before grabbing drinks from the supermarket. 

Am cooped up in the tiny room watching variety programmes now. It's excellent, the location of the tv in relation to the Sealy bed. But I guess if I had to choose again, I would pick Westgate. The sound proofing is not too good here and I think the space is really a squeeze!