Posted in Rants & Raves

More tales from Taiwan

Hello again! I’m now in Paradise Hotel in Taipei. Other than the fact that it is about 5 minutes walk from the very young and trendy Xi Men Ding, and there’s free wifi in the lobby, this is no Paradise. The room we’ve got is tiny and quite weird. It is an architectural nightmare. There are strange structures all over the place and it appears to have been patched together by very bad interior designers. Luckily we weren’t planning on hanging out inside.

Our flight tomorrow leaves at 9.05pm. A new ruling here requires us to be at the airport 3hours before. That still leaves me time to do stuff. I’m hoping to see some Taiwanese friends today and tomorrow. Packing it in, yo!

Here’s another set of pictures to sum up my trip

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Posted in Rants & Raves

Hello Taiwan!!

Hello I’m in Taiwan! I’ve been to Taoyuan, Kaoshiung, Taichung, Hualien and now heading to Taipei! It’s been hardcore travelling on the tour bus all over this “potato shaped” island. Home is a few days away and I’ll be back on Christmas!

Lots of eating but luckily I came with 3 other friends (Patsy, Stewart and Robin). What we’ve been doing is eating a bit of everything so I haven’t been overeating. Haha! I measure this by the belt hole I’m using and I haven’t had to move up a notch yet *phew*

Cold cold cold! 17deg Celsius today. And I’m tapping on free wifi outside a confectionary shop called Vigor Kobo.

Isn’t mobile blogging and wireless technology so amazing? I’m doing this post on the stealth in minutes!

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Posted in Rants & Raves

As they say… “Welcome to Taiwan”

I’m going on another holiday! From 17 – 24 December 2011, I’ll be in Taiwan! Have you seen the WELCOME TO TAIWAN ads?

For someone who hates travelling, three trips to three different countries in 1 year is a big thing to achieve! I guess it evens out since I did not travel for work this year. I was in England for the first two weeks of January and enjoyed a nice English winter (the tail end of it) and I jetted off to Bandung, Indonesia for a quick 5-day jaunt to reconnect with friends. Now, I’m heading to Taiwan!

Patsy booked us on a packaged-tour holiday (with 2 others) and I’m just riding the wave! Firstly, I don’t speak very good Mandarin (for some strange reason most people find my accent grating). Secondly, I’ve never been to Taiwan. Thirdly, I can’t read traditional Chinese script (we learn Simplified Chinese in Singapore). Fourthly, I’m not sure if I’m up with the programme. We’re travelling with a bus load of other strangers and there’s a fixed itinerary to follow. BUT YES! I’m excited and I’m making the most of it!

I’m excited because I have friends in Taiwan! And we’re going to meet up finally in their homeground, not mine. My friend Sky even said she’ll take me around Taipei on her motorcycle! WOOHOO!! And I’ve never travelled with Patsy (we were ex-colleagues)!

Anyway, I have started packing. I know I’m about 1 month away… but I do get terribly busy just before the trip and I’ll be working up to the day I leave. This gives me time to reorganise if necessary. All I’m bringing is a half-filled cabin-sized suitcase and a spare backpack. What do you think? 7-8 days away, this should be enough stuff right? I’ve got 4 tees, 4 dresses, 1 cardigan, 1 lightly padded trench coat, 1 pair of jeans, 3 pairs of opaque tights, 2 pairs of socks, a bag of accessories, a set of sleeping shorts/tee, a pair of ballet flats and sneakers. Of course, toiletries, make-up and underwear (half of which are icky disposables).

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