Going Taiwan the Free & Easy Way!

Finally - All hail my Taiwan trip! 

Well, it wasn't my first time going Taiwan (my first trip was through tour); but I realized that I did not benefit much in terms of experience joining a group tour.

Imagine getting up so early in the morning, touring around everywhere with limited time constraint, being brought to places that you have no intention of going but YET have to according to the fixed itinerary, etc.

So this time, my family decided to go FREE & EASY (F&E)!

We snagged a good deal on the Scoot website (Damn, I woke up early specially to book the air tickets as they have special promotion from 7am to 9am). It cost us only less than $300 for two-way tickets! Cheap or what?!

Of course, going the Free & Easy way has its pros and cons as well. There will be no tour guide looking after you, and you'll have to do your own research to find out ways of navigating around the country. In short, you have to create an itinerary for yourself and find out places that interest you.

I did intensive research and read tons of blogs for places that others went to; so somehow I came up with my own version which I'll share on my blog here (Come on, I am not selfish! I share because I care! Haha)

I hope that my blog post will be beneficial to anyone who will be traveling to Taiwan!

However, please do note that some of the photos are not of top notch quality as they were taken using my mobile phone (It was RAINING almost everyday and I could not take out my precious DSLR to capture the moments! :( )

So here was my Day 1 - Nan Ya Night Market (南雅夜市)

My first day of Taipei was quite "wasted" as I reached there around evening time, definitely not enough to tour around much except for the night market that is situated near my apartment!

(I called it an apartment because I did NOT really stay in a hotel. In Taiwan, they called it "Min Su". It's much more cheaper; but has its pros and cons as well. Do read on to find out more!)

In preparation for this Taiwan trip, I did quite a number of advanced bookings online; including car transportation to and fro from airport to my apartment.

I feel that it is essential to book in advance as it is freaking expensive to hail for a cab from Taoyuan airport to Taipei. A single trip can easily cost up to NT 1000 to NT 1,200 via cab.

With advanced booking of a car, each single trip only cost me NT 750 - which is considered VERY CHEAP. In fact, its the cheapest fare that I found after so much intensive research.

Of course, if you are one that really want to save the money, take the bus. (BUT IT IS GOING TO BE QUITE A HASSLE AND TIME CONSUMING. IT MAY TAKE UP TO around 2 HOURS TO REACH TAIPEI)

Here is the contact; for anyone who would like to book a car like I did:

趙先生 (Mr Zhao) 0936-994-558

The driver who picks you up may or may not be Mr Zhao; but be rest assured that your transport will be well taken care of after making arrangements through him! I can vouch for his professionalism. The driver that was arranged for us is VERY punctual. 

Oh yes, did I mention that it is essential to get a SIM card at the airport, too? There are different stations catering to such mobile services situated within the airport (you will be able to spot them easily; but in case you don't - just ask around and the staff members around the area will be able to point you to the right direction! Don't worry, Taiwanese people are extremely friendly) I am advising everyone to get their local SIM card (it comes with different packages and you can choose which suit you best. I chose the 7-day package and it cost me around SGD 20) as data roaming may kill you! From what I know, Singtel charges $25 per MB if you decide to use your own's.

By purchasing their local SIM card, you can just pay a flat rate of $20 and enjoy UNLIMITED data usage throughout the journey!

So the unfortunate happened while we were on our way to Taipei. It was raining :(

Took this quick snap with my mobile phone while in the car.

Artistic, huh?

It took us around 40 minutes to reach Fu Zhong (near Ban Qiao) area where my apartment was. 

Here's the name of my apartment which I booked through Asiarooms

Oversleep Taipei (台北睡過頭小窩)

LOL, sounds funny, I know. But trust me - They offer one of the cheapest rates here with around SGD 70+ per night! Honestly, most hotels in Taipei are not cheap and easily cost up to SGD 80 & above.

So what is the difference between staying in an apartment and a hotel, you ask?

Well, basically you do your own chores. There is no room service, no daily bedsheet changing or whatsoever. It's like renting a room and you have it all to yourself. However, the apartment is designed exclusively like a hotel! Basic necessities such as washing machine, mineral water, towels, slippers, etc are provided. If you happen to run out of anything or require certain services, there is still someone to contact and he will see to it.

So I called the in-charge upon reaching the venue. He came down to fetch us with an umbrella and boy, was he friendly!

From carrying my dad's luggage to guiding us around the area, I felt at ease. 

After explaining and showing us around the apartment which we would be staying for the next 6 days, we were handed the keys and voila!! We could finally unpack our luggage and begin our Free & Easy journey in Taipei!

Here's a peek of our apartment - Don't you just love the bed sheets?

(Ah, I'm missing this place already!)

By the time we were done with our unpacking for the night, we felt really exhausted and hungry. Fortunately for us, our apartment is located at a VERY convenient location. Stores such as 7-11, Family Marts and even night market are all within walking distance.

(Did I mention that it is only a 3-min walk to the MRT station, too?!)

However, we were really tired and ended up "anyhow" entering random food places that we came across.

We settled for a restaurant-like place known as "No Name" (LOL) and ordered random vegetables with rice.

Guess what I ordered:

YES, its 臭豆腐 (Stinky Tofu)! :)

Something that is rare in Singapore but common in Taiwan - I am so digging this!

Of course, not everyone finds the smell or taste acceptable (my mum almost vomited). Personally, I LOVE it so much and don't find it smelly at all.

There are 2 kinds of Stinky Tofus that you'll be able to spot in Taiwan - Wet and dry ones. I'm fine with both!

Looking through the window, I spot something familiar.

Is that... Partyworld?!?!

One of the activities that I planned for my Taiwan tour was to visit their karaoke lounges. I have heard of how Taiwanese people love singing; and I was so eager to try out their karaoke systems!

Unfortunately, I did not try out the services at their Partyworld as the rates are VERY expensive. I tried another karaoke lounge during my 6th day (Do stay tuned to my blog if you are interested to hear about it!)

So I basically ended my Day 1 at Taipei just like that. 

During Day 2, I got my parents to purchase the Easycard - 悠遊卡(it's like our local Ez-link card) with NT 500. Trust me, it's an essential thing to do if you are intending to travel free & easy around Taipei. By getting an Easycard, you are actually saving alot on transportation cost if you are depending on the MRT, bus, railway trains to travel around the city. 

The Easycard can be purchased at all MRT control stations and even 7-11 stores as well! I'll say its worth it because any unused amount can be refunded with only 20 NT processing fee deducted.

Alternatively, you may choose to keep it and not having it refunded if you are planning to re-visit Taiwan again. If I am not wrong, the card does not have expiry! :)

Wu Fen Pu is one of the well-known places in Taipei that sell cheaper stuff. They are wholesalers and have sales racks - If you are lucky, you can snag a beautiful dress at only NT 100 (which is around SGD 4.20 only!) I managed to get a few really nice apparels at a price that is impossible in Singapore.

To get to Wu Fen Pu, you will have to take the MRT to Hou Shan Pi MRT station:

(I find that their trains are actually quite similar to Singapore's, but more comfy and spacious!)

Before visiting Wu Fen Pu, I took my parents to settle our lunch at Hu Xu Zhang Ru Rou Fan (鬍鬚張魯肉飯), one of the famous braised pork rice stores in Taipei. My colleagues introduced this place and highly recommended it; so I was kinda' thrilled as my dad is a huge fan of braised pork rice!

Seee.. It was raining again - The floor was all wet!

The rice comes in two sizes - Small and Big.  (Only around $1 and $2 ?!?!)

I don't think the small bowl is enough if you are a huge eater or one with enormous appetite; so just go ahead with the big size!

I'm going to post some seriously appetite-inducing pictures, so beware - I am not responsible for any saliva dripping from your mouth! LOL.

Here's the interior of the place:

Their service was really fast and efficient!

Close-up pic of the Ru Rou rice: 

My family ordered these:

Another close-up to tickle your taste buds:

*being evil here*

The soup tasted delicious, too! :)

An extra addition to our meal:

Veggies. I didn't really touch this. My dad did.

Go Google it, I think its called Formosa Chang in english. :) You'll discover that there are positive reviews about this gem almost everywhere! Highly popular place, I would say.

We headed to Wu Fen Pu next, and unfortunately... I couldn't capture many nice photographs on that one as it was raining darn heavily. Seriously, it was a total mood-spoiler. 

I still managed to shop (in an uncomfortable way, though). Got two beautiful dresses at only around $4.20 each which was a damn good steal!

My parents found a little "cafe" near a temple there - and we sat down to have our tea while waiting for the rain to stop.

Nice leaf design...

Evidence of the rain!

I bought a cute apparel for my famous teddy from Wu Fen Pu.

(He is supposed to be a guy, but well... just take it as cross-dressing *rolls eyes*)

I got another piece that is really fluffy and cute!! Unfortunately, it is too big for him :(

I had to sell it away to a friend.

I guess that marks the end of my Day 1 and 2 at Taipei... Stay tuned for more updates on my Taiwan trip! Next up is my hair perming experience at Xi Men Ding! :)

Video: Dirty Secrets About Hotel Drinking Glasses

OK, this is sick. 

S-I-C-K. 

I am sure many of my close friends would know by now that I am a CLEANLINESS FREAK when it comes to drinking glasses. In fact, I have been this way for YEARS.

I used to express my concerns to my parents whenever we attended hotel-related events, BUT they will NEVER fully understand how I feel.

Look, I am not weird. Watch this video yourself and tell me what you think!

Of course, I have SEEN for myself how dirty those drinking glasses are. Despite the fact that a particular glass cup you are drinking from looks clean - IT is NEVER clean.

Yes, I am speaking from personal experience. I have seen hair, wool, lipstick stain and you-name-it substances on hotel drinking glasses.
The next time you drink from hotel glasses, keep a close observation yourself. Unless you do not mind having these micro substances in your body, then you shall dismiss the cleanliness factor.

I remembered blogging about such issues before.

*searches my own archives*

Ah, found it!

Here you go. Click to read it, I know you haven't!:
http://sgcomplainqueen.blogspot.sg/2012/08/beware-of-using-utensils-from-hotels-or.html

My Bangkok Trip - Part 2 ; SHOPPING!

Thanks to those who enjoyed reading my previous post: My Bangkok Trip- Part 1!

As promised, here is Part 2... And you'll be expecting more pictures of the famous Terminal 21 and my BKK shopping loots here!

So.. What's Terminal 21?

Initially, I thought it is one of the terminals at an airport. (LOL!) But you can't blame me... It's just a shopping mall that's named that way!
BUT it is indeed an airport themed mall in which the environment is inspired from real airport terminals. Not to mention that you will find yourself "in different countries" as you go up to each respective level at the mall.

However, I have to admit that the things you see in the mall are NOT cheap. (When I mentioned "NOT cheap", I don't mean it's the unaffordable kind. BUT just that it's not one of the cheapest in BKK..) I would say that this place is more for photo opportunities, rather than shopping! Hahaha. 

Please pardon me if the photo resolution is bad here, as these are direct uploads from Facebook!

Here's an unclear shot of Terminal 21 when we arrived.

Level G - Welcome to Rome!
(Every level is country-themed. Technically speaking, you will be traveling around the world within 1 day! Haha, kidding)

Exiting the level will bring you to another country as you head up the escalator.
Now we will be departing...

Here are some random pictures I took while touring around the mall - not in exact sequence.
I am totally in love with its architecture and interior design!

We found a Taokaenoi Land at the bottom level... and we bought many tidbits from the store!!

There were several flavors that are not commonly found in Singapore, and we just had to get them.

If only I can go to the real London one fine day... ...

The classic style- telephone booth!

Saw this really interesting door gate of a random shop:

I really like it!

There are MANY kinds of food in different country styles as well there; be it Western, Chinese, Japanese etc.. You name it!

We settled for MK Steamboat (My colleagues and friends have highly recommended this, so it was a "die die must try" place for me.).
I've heard that they are famous for their roasted duck; which is said to taste heavenly.
And how excited I was to finally taste them myself!
We got ourselves the Vegetable steamboat set from the menu (which was also one of the cheaper set meals) to be shared amongst us 4 people.

While heating:

Here's a happy (but hungry) Ah Miao posting with the veggies:

A closer look at the veggie set ; and this photo is not clear because it was clouded with smoke when I took it! Haha.. Yes, the soup was boiling!

Here it is - the legendary roasted duck (Yes, it really lived up to its name because I loved it ; and I am not one that isn't usually very fond of eating roasted duck):

A close-up view:

To be dipped in this sauce:

We chose what they call an "emperor-style" rice instead of ordinary plain white rice as we wanted to taste something special.

AND BOY, WAS IT DELICIOUS!

*thumbs up*

Didn't take a clear-enough version as I was simply too hungry and started to eat immediately after taking these photos!

P/S: I heard there is a MK Steamboat in Singapore too, located at 313 Somerset. I would definitely want to check it out someday!

We headed to proceed with our photo-spamming trip afterwards - and arrived at San Francisco. LOL

Free Wi-Fi registration. Haha, too bad it is only for the locals.

Hmm. Artistic

Spotted a KFC!

There's even this Dynasty-looking warrior being spotted outside restaurant! Look closely- Do you see anything strange?

Yes! He's actually doing a Peace sign! HAHA. Speaking of humor.

We went on to explore the other parts of the mall.. 

AND...

One of the more fascinating scenes- We were at HOLLYWOOD, baby!!
Oscar, anyone??

There's actually a majestic-looking cinema, IT store, etc.

Their Combo set.

There are even arcade machines located outside the cinema!

Tao Kae Noi vending machine:
How convenient.

I think Tao Kae Noi's snacks are very famous in Thailand as I came across them a couple of times!

Say Hello to Woody!
(Gosh, I totally look like a wacko woman. I DON'T LIKE THIS PICTURE OF MYSELF AT ALL!!! *screams* But I just wanted to post it here to prove that I have been there!)

Transformers??!

We spent abit of time loitering around the Hollywood level and left soon after.
Here is a random photo of their BTS card that we had to purchase for our train ride back to the hotel. (It's just like our local MRT card. Ah, memories!)
Too bad that we were not able to take these cards back; hence there is only this photo to keep as a momento!

I did not get anything from Terminal 21 eventually (Duh, nothing caught my eye and the prices are too steep for my retail therapy liking) However, it sure was an awesome experience exploring the area and just purely enjoying the atmosphere.

Here we were ; in the train on our way back:

One of the MUST-DO things when you go to Thailand is their MASSAGE. The prices are so friggin' low that you'll definitely afford to do it on a daily basis. (I went for simple foot massage almost everyday during my trip.)
The cheapest I have tried had prices ranging from 99 Baht (That's like, less than SGD4?!!) for 45 minutes.

Trust me, you'll never find this kind of price in Singapore. (Most of the prices in Singapore for 45 minutes would be around SGD20 and above!)

However, massaging seems to be a very common thing in Thailand.. So common that many of them had to FIGHT with one another for business.

Here was my massage moment (I secretly took this while the masseur was working on my feet. HAHAHA)

Now let's move on to my favorite part - MY SHOPPING LOOTS IN BKK!

Well... I don't usually spend so much money.. and when I do, it's BECAUSE I WAS AT BKK, baby~!

I went on a crazy spree to purchase LINE character items. Heck, there were alot of such merchandise in BKK; and I got them at Sampeng Market (near Yaowarat, Chinatown)
AND THEY ARE SO OMG #(*$&# CHEAP.

One small plush toy that may cost you nearly $10 in Singapore is actually $4 in Thailand. See the notable difference?

It's now or never.

(You will never believe that two of them were only $0.40 each!)

Got these lovely bears (I made them into a couple bear) for my momo boyfriend. I was afraid he wouldn't like it, but I am glad he did. :) 

Some miscellaneous keychains that I got at a wholesale price:

(I think I have a fetish for shitty items.. If you know what I mean after looking at this picture.. Haha.)

And I got myself a transparent aqua bag!! I have been looking for this particular kind for quite some time, and one seller in Bugis actually quoted me $16.

And guess what? I only got this baby at $4!!
(It was the last piece when I saw it... OF COURSE I had to get it!)
The real color  is much more vibrant.

We did manicure as well.. And it only cost less than $4 to get these nail art done by a professional!

We even managed to get our name customized on necklaces by a humble Thai man who knows how to speak Mandarin fluently. He gave us quite a bit of discount as we purchased many of them back to be given as souvenirs.

Some random food that I would like to feature here as these are exclusives and can't be found in Singapore, sadly and unfortunately! (So it will be a wise choice to try them out if you have the chance to be there!)

The Chicken and Ham pie (something like apple pie, except that it has a different filling) - only exclusively sold at Thai Mcdonald's.
I believe it was still newly launched, and I was glad I got a taste of it!
YES, it tasted good...The combination of chicken and ham with a crispy touch simply screamed WOW. Come on.. Singapore Mcdonald's.. You can do better! PLEASE HAVE THEM IN SINGAPORE!!!

And after Mcdonald's.. comes KFC... ...
No, I am not featuring this for nothing. BUT I really love this menu item that I doubt Singapore's KFC will ever have.

YES, it's the GREEN CURRY chicken rice set!
(See that little potato-looking tub? That's their green curry, in which you can mix it with the chicken and rice)
*Sigh*

Before our flight back to Singapore, we had coconut ice-cream at the airport. Remember the coconut ice-cream that I featured in my earlier post? Well, just don't forget to try out the coconut ice-cream when you travel to Thailand! You won't regret it, especially if you are a coconut lover! :)

Okay.. I guess that's about it for my Bangkok trip.
Seriously, there are SO MANY things to see and shop at BKK that 1 week is not enough. Many of their shops close early, and you won't be able to finish your shopping tour within one day.
Probably I shall plan another trip again, though it wouldn't be that soon.

To me, my recent BKK trip ended on a really happy note:
Here's a picture of my momo boyfriend while he was waiting to fetch me back from the airport:

I was really touched beyond words as I did not expect he would go the extra mile just to surprise me (in fact, nobody in my life has ever done that!) with a sweet hand-written note...
Thank you, my dearest boyfriend.
You have simply went through so much for me.... So much that it is beyond anyone's imagination....*Hugs* My one and original momo.