Taiwan Trip!

Breakdown of my latest trip to Taiwan!

Day 1 -
Departed from Changi Airport on Saturday, 14 June 08, 1pm Singapore Time. After a 4 1/2hrs flight, we arrived at Taipei International Airport(is it tao yuan airport? i don't exactly remember the chinese name..haha)! Took a maxi-cab to our hotel, which is conveniently located between Taipei Main Station and Xi Men Ding! After we checked in, we rushed down to Xi Men Ding to hunt for food, as our last consumed meal was at 11am! Ahh..what a cultural shock! No offence to the ladies here, but in singapore, most of the girls/ladies we see either have their hair tied up in a ponytail, or rebonded and clipped. However in Taipei, the hair fashion is..totally AMAZING! Everyone's hairdo was uniquely different..you have to travel there to see it for yourself! Ok back to topic..the first shop that we passed by, was the Animate branch in Taipei! Oh my..but..i had to fuel my stomach first..so we hunted around and visited one of the more popular stalls - Ah Chung Mian Xian. It was very cheap..around SGD1.50 could get you a bowl of tasty mee sua! After that we hunted for the famed bubble tea..and indeed..it tasted very different..perhaps 'cos a cute girl served us =D

With the stomach full, i headed into Animate. There were 2 levels, the lower level consisted of magazines/mangas/CDs, while the upper level carried anime merchandises and some figurines. I went to the merchandise section, and i was so thrilled by the selection of merchandise they have! There were SO MANY stuff that you could not get in Singapore, either 'cos they are not for export, or are already sold out. I purchased some nice files, pencil boards and HP swings that i was unable to get in SG. After that, we did a little more walking around XMD area. Apparently as there were some laws against the pushcart foodstalls, all of the stall owners were VERY wary of their surroundings. When they were preparing the food, you could see them looking around, over their shoulders, to spot any sign of authorities approaching! I found it weird though, it is like the pushcart foodstalls is a selling point of the XMD district, yet they are clamping it down.. As it was already quite late, and most of the shops are already closed, we headed back to the hotel for a good night's rest.

Day 2 -
After breakfast at the hotel, we headed to Taipei 101 for some sight seeing. On the way there, we stumbled upon this huge bookstore, Eslite Bookstore. We went in to browse around, and i purchased a few mangas, namely Fate/Stay Night, Sola and Lucky Star, as it was MUCH cheaper than in Singapore. We then continued on to walk to Taipei 101, and the shopping centres around it were pretty much like the Ngee Ann City of SG. When we reached Taipei 101, there were many tour groups there, and it cost about SGD40 to go up to the observatory for sightseeing, so we decided not to go and instead use the money to shop around.

We next head to Wu Fen Pu..a wholesale market in Taipei. It was like Bugis Street, whereby there were many alleys with shops selling clothes, bags, accessories..all targetted at teenagers. I only got a t-shirt from there though..as most of the designs were not really my type.

After that we went back hotel to put everything down, as some of my friends bought 4 or 5 shirts at Wu Fen Pu (one of them brought only 1 extra shirt in his luggage -.-), and then we headed out to this Dinosaur-themed restaurant. It was very interesting there, as there was a Live band performance, and everything is linked to dinosaurs - the tables and chairs were fashioned like trunks and stumps, the tap in the washroom was actually the mouth of a dinosaur..etc etc. There was a very..happening group beside our table also..as they were celebrating the birthday of one of their friends..and playing truth or dare games

After dinner my friends wanted to go clubbing, and we took a rapid transit to Luxy (very famous club in taipei, you can google it for more info), only to find that it's open from Wednesday to Saturday ONLY. So they went to scout around for another club, and we ended up at Lava, whereby an entrance fee of around SGD25 could get you free flow drinks. The crowd there was very young - majority of them around 18-20 years old. As i am not exactly a clubbing type of person..i just chatted around with my friends inside..never exactly mingled around with any locals.. some of my friends were enjoying the free flow and spamming tequila shots like no tomorrow..and when they reached their limit we took a cab back to hotel. As requested by my friend in the tagboard..he wanted me to help him inform everyone that he noticed a girl in the club..whom he labelled as "Taipei No. 1"..hahaha

Day 3 -

We planned to go to Jiu Fen today..so we boarded the snail-slow train down to Rui Fang in the morning. We were supposed to change to a bus to get to jiu fen..but we could not find the bus stop..ended up asking this girl about the bus stop..and she didn't know anything either -.- After asking around a while more we boarded the bus and headed towards jiu fen. It was a more..cultural and traditional street market, as compared to xi men ding or wu fen pu. I managed to buy some souvenirs from there..but my other friends..i think they spent A LOT of souvenirs there..

we took a direct bus back to taipei city after that..and the nice cold weather made me concuss the moment i boarded the bus. we visited shihlin night market upon arriving at taipei city for dinner. It was different from what i had expected. During the 1st night..when we were shopping through xi men ding..all the foodstuffs that were being sold were either finger food, snacks or light meals that allowed us to carry around and consume at the same time. But in shihlin, it actually felt like a hawker centre in sg..which i did not really expect.

we went to walk around the actual night market after that..but to my disappointment, most of the stalls were closed by 10pm..i guess monday isn't a very good day to shop around in the market.. i ended up not buying anything from there..

Day 4 -

We headed to Dan Shui immediately after breakfast as it was a LONG journey down by the mrt. as usual we ended up just sleeping on the train until we arrived at our destination. The first place of interest that we wanted to visit is this stall that sells noodles-in-tofu, called Ah Ji. but our good tourguide zx apparently was a bit lost initially..hahaha..but nvm we still ended up in the stall..but i was quite put off as the stall was AT THE TOP OF A SLOPE..zzz.. initially i was quite reluctant to try the food..but yea..after much consideration i decided to giv it a go..but i scooped out the egg-ie part and gave it to jarrich..hahaha..turns out that the food was =D~

on our return trip to the mrt station..mr ho went to buy this erh..i duno how many cm tall ice cream..i guess it's still his msn pic at the time of this post (25 Aug 08 4:48AM). we then headed to bei tou to enjoy some hot springs bath..but it actually turned out to be a health and wellness spa..zzz..

We returned to hotel after that..then left to yong kang st for dinner. In many guides/guidebooks it was stated that the Din Tai Fung there was special and worth trying..but we decided to try something else..after some exploration we stumbled upon this noodle stall..the food there is CHEAP and DELICIOUS (ok at least for me the cheap part was true..i not sure about the rest). The restaurant's name is called Mian Guan..pls go try it should u visit taiwan next time! We loitered around the area after dinner..and some of them bought donuts for the next day's breakfast..

before heading back to the hotel, we decided to just walk around the taipei main station area to see if there was anything interesting. Surprisingly there was a HUGE crowd at that time (around 10pm), and we were curious what was going on. turned out that tuition classes just ended, that's why many school boys/girls/kids/etc were in the streets. as we walked past 1 tuition centre..omg..the sight was scary..the scores of ALL the students were being pasted on the walls like graffitti..man..

we headed into mcdonalds..and they wanted to buy a pork burger..hahaha..i forgot who it was..i think jarrich..he went to queue..and asked of there were any pork burgers..when they said no jarrich just walked away..hahaha! i remembered i couldn't stop laughing..then zx was there very enticed by this girl working there..as she had the name Xiao Ke Ai or sth like that (i am posting this 2months after my trip..i don't exactly remember a lot of things..)

Day 5 -

We visited this shopping mall in the morning..it was spherical in shape! but however..i guess everyone is just as lazy..none of the shops are actually opened..we had to kill about 1-2 hrs by loitering aimlessly before the shops get opened..jarrich managed to get a bag over there, which he planned to use for sch when term starts. then we saw this ufo catcher machine..i think zx and i were there trying to catch some stupid toy..lol..but in the end both of us didnt catch anything..zzz..

after that we left to this mala steamboat shop..that was advertised to have free flow haagen dazs ice cream! but when we arrived..they said that they are closed that day for renovation..and will only reopen the next day..ARGH!! my ice cream!! =( we ended up travelling to xi men ding..and had a mala steamboat there..it was ok..i had a lot of dough fritters and soft drinks there..haha

after that we begun to shop around..we split up into groups to shop..i managed to buy some cheap and rare figurines that could not be found in singapore..if only i had a larger budget and luggage, i would've gotten more over there! sigh..

all of us decided to skip dinner..as we were still quite full from the lunch steamboat..we just ate light snacks along the way while shopping. i went to visit the bubble tea stall again..but damn..only the owners were there selling..nevertheless i bought my last cup of taiwanese bubble tea then..

back at hotel..i spent a good deal of time trying to pack my stuff into my luggage..figurine boxes are just so bulky! if i remembered correctly, there was some good show on tv..and end up jarrich and i slept at around 4+ am

Day 6 -

After breakfast..we checked out from our hotel rooms and left our luggage at the lobby. As we had some time to kill..we decided to split up again to do our own things..zw zx and i went towards taipei main station as they wanted to buy stuff, whereas the rest went towards xi men ding to shop around. We accompanied zx to buy some CDs, after that accompanied zw to get figurines for his friend. we then took a cab back to xi men ding to try out the maid cafe. omg..seriously speaking..the food sucked..service..was so-so..i expected better for the price we were paying..

after that lunch..i had exactly 140NT left..which was for the bus to the airport..so i had to deal with zx in SGD..lol.. we got a cab back to hotel and met up with the rest of them..then headed to the airport. We were just..so sian at the airport..totally didn't want to come back..

ok i shall finish off this post with something funny that happened on the flight. as our good friend zx was like a trigger-happy cameraman, upon arrival at Changi Airport..he actually took out his camera..turned it on..and was about to take photos of the airport during night time..ALL OF THIS WHILE THE PLANE WAS STILL MOVING! the best part..the chief stewardess..who was just sitting directly opposite us (we sat at the first row), started to make the usual announcement.. "All passengers are to remain seated with your seat belts fastened until we come to a complete stop. Please do not turn on any electronic devices, such as mobile phones, laptops or camera until you have alighted from the plane" at the last line of the announcement..she looked at us, we looked at her..den she was there trying not to laugh out..cos zx was already prepared to shoot..hahahha..classic!

Massively Delayed Update

Been too busy the past few weeks..clearing my ns stuffs..preparing my taiwan trip..settling my uni admin matters..finally all's over and I have some extra time here!

Let me start off with the new stuff I had gotten my hands on! Currently there are no pictures, i will place them here once i upload the photos. Due to the long time lapse from purchase till updating here, i shall try my best to put them in chronological order..

First there's the Zero no Tsukaima's 1/8 Louise, from Kotobukiya, as well as a set of Navel trading figurines. The trading figurines were an ORD gift from my chief clerk, so thank you very much chief!

Next would be a set of trading keychains of characters from Unison Shift. I don't exactly recognise all of them, but yea they look cute, and Nanatsuiro Drops' Sumomo was inside..so why not?

If i remember correctly, the next piece was a Nendoroid Hatsune Miku, from Vocaloid. I did not exactly plan to get this as i had alrady pre-ordered a 1/8 ver of Hatsune Miku, but seeing that Kagamine Rin and Kagamine Ren would be released later this year, i figured perhaps putting the 3 of them together would be nice!

The next set is Da Capo II's girls from Happinet. Its actually just Yume, Minatsu, Nanake and Akane, in either their school uniform and casual wear. There is a slight problem with this set though..as their heads are slightly heavy, they tend to be unable to balance themselves even though i've affixed them to the base plate. I remember coming back from taiwan and finding all of them lying on the glass panel -.- Now i've placed them leaning against the back of the shelf..hopefully it solves the issue. I wonder if there will be a second set released with the remaining cast..hmm..

After this would be the steals from taiwan! I had found Mahou Sensei Negima's Figumate series (vol 1), with Asuna, Konoka, Evangeline, Setsuna and Nodoka in their uniform. I also managed to get the Figure Meister Shana+Nanatsuiro Drops, BOTH vol. 1 and vol. 2! What a steal! And on the last day, i managed to get a display set of the disgaea figurines i've been hunting for so long. Although they are not in mint condition, but hey it's a complete set (minus Plenair..seems to be missing 1 variation of her..)! Now if i can only bring myself to fix them up..they had all been dismembered during the plane ride back to singapore..

And today, in SG Toy and Comic Convention, there's a free piece of Special Edition Mahou Sensei Negima Figumate being given away. It was totally random, and sadly, each person was only entitled to one piece (unless there were people who held multiple convention passports..then it's a different story). But nevertheless, i got a Makie, which was something that my current collection did not have!

After the convention, i went to collect my pre-ordered stuff that arrived - Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru's Takako (Alter) and Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS' Figma Nanoha!