Taipei Trip Day 5

Today's weather was perfectly awesome, so perfectly awesome that it made us so regretful. Why? Because...

The weather forecast showed that it would rain today, and it had been raining for the past few days as well. And because of that, our THEME PARK TRIP WAS CANCELLED. CANCELLED I TELL YOU, SIGH SO MUCH SIGH. And along with a change in the itinerary. HOWEVER, we had longer time to sleep in, having morning call at 8.30 am instead of the usual 6.30 am. 

So we got up at 8.30 am, had breakfast at Ferrary Restaurant, okay no it's just the hotel's restaurant on the second floor. We had the same breakfast as yesterday.

Breakfast for the day

Moving on, we left the hotel at about 10.30 am, and off we went to 御品轩 (Yu Pin Xuan) Bakery. The Sun Biscuits there, are delicious and many people purchased it. It's a must buy local delicacy when you come to Taiwan. You will not regret and it is definitely worth the buy. 

Sun biscuit on the right

We had something new and different for lunch today as compared to the past few days as we went to a Halal restaurant named Yunus Halal Restaurant. It was yet another feast, serving up to 11 dishes which contained with dishes such as seafood, veggies, meat and soup along with a dessert, Bubur Hitam.

Mr Chris Quah after a filling lunch

A picture of team 5 with the friendly manager

 After that, we set for Tamsui and it is a peaceful part of Taiwan, where the breathtaking scenery is accompanied by squally wind, along with a little sunshine, such a perfect place for couples to go to. We heard that it's even more romantic at night due the the lights on the bridge in the darkness. Crossing the bridge together as a couple, and taking pictures at the huge "love sign" at the start of the Tamsui's bridge.

Lover's bridge scenary

After which, we went to Tamsui's village. At Tamsui's village, there are 2 local delicacies that are a must try there, one black and one white. the back one is called iron egg where chicken/quail eggs are being cooked for a very long time till it shrinks and all the taste had been absorbed and kept in. It is very chewy and special, nothing like in Singapore. The white one would be fish balls as Tamsui is a fishing port, hence their captures are fresh to make a good fish ball. There are also many other stuff to buy there, such as the Jumbo Ice-Cream and the Tornado Potato on a stick.

Jumbo ice-cream stall

As for dinner, we went to another Halal restaurant that's just 2 shops down from the place that we had lunch at for this afternoon, called Bismilla Restaurant. Serving up to 11 dishes along with LOBSTERSSSSSSSS!!! Mmmmm... Delicious! What a meal to end with to start for our 2nd trip to Shilin Night Market, this time we had 2 hours to shop! 

Lastly, we headed back to the hotel and had a good rest. However, before we rest, we still have to pack all our hauls into our luggage (hopefully everybody is able to fit their buys nicely into their luggage). It's time to check out tomorrow and soon enough, we'll be heading back to Singapore around noon of the next day!

Taipei Trip Day 4

We woke up to a rainy morning, reluctant to leave bed. The weather was cool and that probably cause some students to oversleep. By the way, if you haven't been following the blog, we checked into Taipei's Ferrary Hotel the night before and the hotel is 7 minutes drive to Xi Men Ting (known for the wide variety of fashion apparels).

Breakfast was great at the hotel. Taiwanese food at its best with the tender minced meat, poached eggs, succulent noodles, toasted bread and many more delicious food.

A sneak peak of the breakfast I had, and this was only the first round!

Next on the itinerary was to Jinwen University of Science and Technology. We were welcomed by an opening speech and exciting tour around their hospitality faculty. 

Just look at one of their facilities there! A simulation of a plane on board. There were many other facilities as well such as the different accommodations and suites which are used to train their hospitality students. A vision for SOH to consider.

A group photo with all the professors, facilitators and students. An inquisitive trip indeed!

We set for lunch with a hour of bus ride and HELLO to Hello Kitty Theme Cafe.

 

  

Presentation of food: Excellent (Unique)
Food Quality: Excellent (Served warmed with fulfilling taste)
Ambiance: Excellent (Design, backdrop & culinary all suited to Hello Kitty Theme)

Overall Grade: A

It was satisfying and great experience!

Thanks to Ms Irene Low, Mr Lee Wei, Mr Chris Quah and Ms Karen Wong for the dessert! If not for them, you wouldn't see that pink Hello Kitty on our plate! 

Coincidentally, it's teachers' day in Taiwan and some students did cards for the facilitators.

Headed to Chuifen Village after lunch.

Similar to our Chinatown but even more things to offer. Taiwanese food, cakes, ornaments and apparels. Unfortunately, in the midst of exploring, we were overwhelmed by a mini typhoon. Strong winds and drizzles were blowing our skin and hair off as though we were jumping from a 100th floor building. Of course, we frantically met up and headed back to the bus.

Finally, our last stop before heading back for a night rest, Shi Lin Night Market (known for the famous deep fried juicy chicken breast, smelly tofu, pearl milk tea and many affordable up to date fashion apparels). Sadly to say, we couldn't capture the moments because the beating rain deterred many to bring our their cameras. No one came back empty handed and were seeking opportunities to further explore the market. Who knows, there might be another trip back tomorrow night?

Till then, stay tuned for more updates!

Tight schedule day.

Day 3:
Morning breakfast at 730am at Minsu before checking out from the Inn. The food was well prepared before we arrived at the multi-purpose hall. The food was delicious and healthy for us.

Porridge of the day.

The dishes of our breakfast.

The drinks: Coffee and Soy Milk

Facilitator enjoying the food.

Enjoying the breakfast..

After checking out from the Inn, we proceed for our next stop which is the National centre for Traditional Art. We tour around the National centre and saw a few hand-made accessories and some snacks that are popular in Taiwan. We went to see the golden ants made of pure gold and it was really amazing. After which we attened DIY workshop which teaches us how to make handphone accessories, candles, braclets, necklaces etc. It was fun and memorable experience for us. There was show put up by the staff that attract a lot of tourists there and it was funny and nice that caught our attention after the DIY workshop.

Students enjoying the DIY workshop.

 Taipei 101 is the tallest building in Asia. A tour in Taipei 101 gives us the outside view of Taipei at floor 89.

The dinner that we had at one of the restraunt in Xin Men Ding. After dinner, we had our shopping time and which we check in at the hotel. The end of the day, It was enjoyable but also a tiring day.

Blog by: Team 3

Day 2: Relax and Enjoy life

Schedule for the day
- Morning call at 6.30am
- Breakfast at 730am
- Nature walk from 830am to 11plus am.
- Back to room to pack up
- Lunch
- DIY session
- Leaving Tou-cheng Farm Resort and head to Beautiful Inn

The friendly but tired dog named Huang-Jin @ Tou-Cheng Farm Resort

Getting ready to learn about the Nature walk

The guide introucing the Nature Park to us

The boots that are offered to us to prevent us from slipping

Rare green snail that can only be found in Taiwan

The interesting flower that if we were to touch the center of the part, it would move

Water buffalo and we can feed it!

The goats that we are can feed them using the leaves provided

The chinese-speakiing local guide showing us the different types of butterflies

The rice padding

The kiln that the local guide demonstrated how to build it

Lunch!

Getting ready for the DIY session

The local guide explaining how to do the DIY

The beautiful inn

One of the bathtub installed in one of the rooms

The cake and tea that the owner prepared to welcome us as she speaks

The scenery at the Min-su

Supper that was prepared for us by the owner of the min-su

In generally, we had a great time and we were really happy when we saw reached the Beautiful Inn. The farm resort didn't had beds and we had to sleep on the floor with 11 persons in a room. But it is for groups. I would strongly recommend people who love nature and wish to learn more about the nature to go to the farm resort. This is because I had a great time learning about the nature and seeing things that we wouldnt see in Singapore.

The beautiful inn that we are in now, i would strongly recommend people who wish to enjoy the spring to come. The service here is also very great. When we first reached, the owner even came out to receive us. The owner is very nice too. She would make sure that everyone of us is taken care of. The people here are very friendly too.

If I am being asked if I would like to return to Beautiful Inn and Farm Resort, I would probably say yes.