Taiwan2014之梅雨的季节-Ximenting/ Long Shan Temple/ Huaxi Street Market (西门町/龙山寺/华西街夜市）

Last day in Taipei and we sleep in a bit  late, coming down for breakfast only at 9am, this is a first in our trips since usually I wan wake hubs up latest by 7am. Haha.

Didn't have much plan today except for going to Long Shan Temple to pray. Am still a bit scared to travel there since the senseless killing happens here only 2 days ago.

We checked out at 11am and went to XMD for the famous Ah Zhong Mee Sua that Mr Love is craving so much for. Also arranged to meet Good friend there since her boyfriend and her are going back home today but on an earlier flight.

New Japanese food outlet

 We didn't eat too much of the mee sua cause I wanna go eat at my favourite finger food stall but to our dismay the shop is closed and another Japanese finger food stall had taken over. Though disappointed but we still order from them since am still hungry.

Fried chicken outlet

But the food at this new store is very disappointing. The yaki udon is especially tasteless and not cheap as compare to other street food. There isn't much ingredients in it also.

Fried chicken bites are not nice either, overall it's an disappointing experience.

Yaki Udon

We then walked around XMD aimlessly, but I managed to buy earrings here again with the left over monies though it is a bit on the expensive side.

Came across a hand phone shop and Mr Love got excited and we spent quite some time inside for Mr Love to explore the phones available in Taiwan. It makes him a happy man.

Playing with the various phones

The plan is to visit Long Shan Temple today but I am still a bit scared since the senseless killing happen when the train start leaving this station, not sure whether there would be  any copy cat killers around.

Long Shan Temple

Still, we decide to make our way here and pray. Didn't stay long though.

While walking back to the train station, we saw a street with some food vendors and decide to venture into the street and see what's that to offer.

Guess what, we came across Huaxi Street Night Market. We have not been here though its our 4th time in Taipei. Mostly because I read somewhere that its a night market famous with snake delicacy which is not exactly our idea of food and therefore I usually skipped this night market.

Huaxi Street Nigh market

Since it was really early (2-3pm) there wasn't much activity going on in this night market when we took a walk through it. Huaxi Street Night market is actually made up of 2 long sections separated by a traffic junction. We walked through the whole night market, occasionally stopping to check out shops that display their snakes.

There isn't any food here to buy from too. I spotted quite a few shops offering pedicure and manicure services at reasonable prices but I don't think Mr Love would be happy to wait for me to get my nails done.

We went back to the start of the street where we came from but didn't buy any food here too. Actually I made an observation here, it seems that there are women plying on the flesh trade here along the shops adjacent to Huaxi Street Night market. You can see scanty dressed women standing at the entrance of stairways which I supposed leads to their workplace upstairs.

They are careful not to disturb men with groups or in our case partners. I did see 1 of them approaching a single man walking along the passage way.

There was nothing here to see and we decided to explore the night market near our hotel before going to airport.

Maiden Batam Trip-Harris Hotel Batam Center

 The Hotel we booked for this trip is Harris Hotel Batam Center. Apparently there is another Harris hotel in Batam but this is the one besides the ferry terminal, opposite a shopping center.

There isn't any non smoking double room left during check in so we settled for a non smoking twin room and pushed the beds together.

Was allocated to the 5th level overlooking a big field and the words "Welcome To Batam". Haha I would actually prefer the other side of the corridoor where the rooms will get "sea view" since it is overlooking the jetty.

The beds

 Room is pretty clean when we walked in and it reminds me of the non frills hotel we stayed in Taiwan. Nothing fancy but comfortable enough for a night's stay.

TV & Writing table

 There's a long writing table along the wall with a couch at the end of it. Didn't make use of the couch but it was good enough for us to place our back packs and clothing on it.

Couch

 Toiletries were provided along with towels and also hair dryer which is essential for people with long hair like me.

Shower area

Sink area

Toilet bowl hehe

Toiletries

 There's a partition which serves as wardrobe besides the door. We didn't use it though since is staying for one night only. Rooms here allows inter connection. All you have to do is to open the door beside the wardrobe.

Simple wardrobe

 A small counter where complimentary drinks and the kettle are is right in front of the simple wardrobe. There is also a mini fridge below which we used to store the drinks we brought to cool it for tomorrow's drink. Hehe

There is a small safe in the middle compartment though I didn't dare to leave my things inside while we are out. 

The thing I love most about this room is the bed which is soft and comfortable. Its like hugging you while you lay sleeping on it. Comforter is also thick to keep warm during the night. Don't know whether is because I am too tired or the bed is really that comfortable but we had a undisturbed 8hours sleep straight.

Group photo after check out

We paid around SGD 65 bucks for each room without breakfast and it comes with free wifi which works quite well to my surprise. To us, the price is really a steal since we only need a room for sleeping and it's cleanliness is up to my expectation too.

Staff were polite and helpful when we make enquiries at the counter. There is also a shutter service in which the the hotel staff will send you to the ferry terminal an hour before boarding.

While we were here, they helped us to book our return ferry tickets and collected them and therefore giving us more time to shop before boarding. We just need to be there half an hour before departure time to check in as compare to an hour before departure if our tickets are not collected.

All in all, I am happy with the short stay here and would stay here again should we come back to Batam :)

Youth Over Flowers/花样青春/꽃보다 청춘

Another spin-off from Grandpa over flowers- Youth Over flowers debut with 3 singers-songwriters in their 40s touring Peru. I wasn't that interested in watching the show initially since :

1). I didn't know who the 3 guys featured
2). 40s isn't exactly youth to me
3). I am not interested in seeing Peru.

Ok, so I didn't plan to watch this show until  I stumbled across an article that says the 3 guys starring in Reply Me 1994 are cast in the 2nd part of Youth Over Flowers.

Woo..Really Woo. Now it got me really interested.

Hehe I admit I am superficial. Gonna watch the show only when these guys got cast. Hehe.

So, I started watching only after episode 7 when these guys started their Laos tour. Seriously, I never knew Laos was so pretty till I saw episode 8 of the show. Blue Lagoon was really captivating though I think this will never be my holiday destination any time soon. Hehe.

I really admire NA PD's wit after learning how he tricked the 3 guys on going on the trip. They basically got tricked together and started the tour without any luggage and minimal allowances. But since they were much younger, they are more open to challenges. Kudos to their good nature in accepting and overcoming whatever came in their way.

I think I would never start a trip without any planning especially when language is a barrier. Even with my annual trips to Taiwan, I make sure I know my way well around the places we are visiting and I ALWAYS over pack.

Anyways, I love the show already after 2 episodes. Never knew Chilbongie is so motherly, Haitai is a bit sua ku and Binggeure is such a cutie pie.

Their friendship from Reply Me 1994 is pretty evident in this show too. But it would nicer if Sseureki & Samcheonpo are joining, that would really be an interesting tour.

Of course it would not hurt to have eye candies on the show with the guys going topless in some scene. I am definitely sticking to this show till it ends.

Cast of Reply me 1994 / Youth Over Flowers

Excuse me while I go drool over Chilbongie's good body. Haha

Maiden Batam Trip-Part 3

Dinner was at a ulu part of Batam near the seaside. The setting is somehow like a mini kelong where the owners rear all sorts of seafood and you can get to choose the live fish for your meals.

Few of them took charge and went to order dinner for all of us. The good thing is quite a few of them speaks Bahasa Melayu which is similar to Bahasa Indonesia which makes things easier during ordering/ haggling. And the best is, they know every well which food to order to avoid incurring too high charges. Yay..

Crabs

We just followed them around the kelong while the owner was showing the different fishes available.

Restaurant by the sea

After selecting my dinner menu, Mr Love went around the Kelong to see the various ponds that they rear the various marine lives. Mr Love was especially  happy to go around seeing the different ponds.

It turned dark pretty fast

The group who decide tonight's dinner

Little did we know this is 1 of the worst meal we are about to had.

There are like dozens of flies buzzing around us even before the food arrives. We were all busy trying to chase the flies away but to no avail. We requested for the waiters to bring us candles which we believed will keep the flies away but again it doesn't work.

The situation got worse when the food arrived, it's like a whole army of flies just decided they want our dinner. Strangely, the other table diners didn't suffer the same fate as us.

It was then decided that we cannot eat normally and we passed the dishes around to each take a spoonful of the dish and we will all eat from our plate like mixed vegetable rice. While doing this, others will help to keep the flies away from the dishes. It was a horrible dining experience and we finished eating in record time and got out of the. The food was cheap though, SGD50 bucks.

Then, it is shopping time again. We had previously passed by a shopping mall on our way to the bridge and they requested our driver to drop us there on our way back. It was 7.30pm when we got there and we have got an hour and half for shopping.

Since we did not have good dinner, Mr Love and I decided the most important thing now is to fill our stomachs again, not shopping. Haha. Since we keep coming across a fried chicken fast food restaurant called BFC(not KFC) we decided to give it a try.

Funnily, we always assume it is Batam Fried Chicken but we realized it is Best Fried Chicken after going in. Haha Ordered a 2 pc chicken meal with my limited Bahasa Melayu and it works! Mr Love always leave the ordering to me when we are in Malaysia since he totally cannot understand Melayu.

A train past by us

BFC

 The fried chicken was so-so only, a set costing SGD 4.30 each and the restaurant was pretty empty when we got there. After eating, we then went around the mall. There is pretty much nothing here to buy here at least for us. Hurhur

We were told that things here are cheap at Carrefour and many of them brought daily necessities. Again, we brought nothing much except for 2 bottles of mineral water and 2 cup noodles. Haha It's all about food for us.

The cigarettes are really dirt cheap, costing SGD1.70 for a pack of 20s. Really shocked at the prices but it doesn't really concern us since we are non smokers. Just an observation that's all.

Brought 4 Jco donuts here which  I intend to take it for breakie tomorrow early in the morning because I need take medications. Costs SGD.70 each which is more than half the price back home. 1 of the colleagues told me that the donuts here tastes wayyyyy better than Singapore version but I didn't find it so, perhaps is because I seldom eat here.

Donuts for breakie before official breakie at 10am

With that we sat around in the Jco cafe to chat while waiting the others to come back from their shopping. I think we really shop the littlest in the whole group since all we brought is food up to now. Mr Love colleagues were pretty impress by our appetite. Muhaha.

It's back to the hotel after this stop and we had a good night rest.

Maiden Batam trip-Part 2

What do you expect to do when you go on a trip with all women? Shopping of course!

With 2 hours left to the returning ferry for those not staying over, we make a rush stop at a local provision store for shopping.

Mr Love is somehow used to seeing how madly his ex-colleagues shop but not me. Haha This is the first time I seen them in action.

Frankly speaking, I am not a good shopper overseas since I do not like to lug the heavy items back home. The funny thing is I am now at the stage of not wanting my home to be piling up with useless things we buy on impulse. That being said, I might sometimes lost control. This is the reason why we changed a minimal sum to avoid over buying. Haha.

Local provision store

I did not know why this store was chosen, think is because 1 of them came here on their previous trips. Anyways, they sell all sorts of keropok here and some very nice chilli sauce that can be used for cooking.

But it was the shop on the opposite street that caught their attention. It's a shop selling all sorts of Hello Kitty and many other cartoon characters items. Water bottles, soft toys, bags, stationaries and tons of other thing you can think of but mostly it's kiddos' stuff. Most importantly the prices here are cheap. I mean real cheap.

I didn't go into the shop since there isn't much time left and we went back to the car and chit chat with Mr Love's ex boss. Furthermore, I knew I will lost control and start buying all sorts of cutie stuff available in the shop.

The other ladies got excited when the 2 who went in came back and share their loots. End up, everyone else got down the van again and went in for a quick shopping despite having a ferry to catch in less than an hour. We stayed in the van still to chat. Haha Mr Love was impressed by my self control today.

We finally set off to the ferry terminal 10mins later with most of the ladies having a big bag of loots from the rushed shopping. Haha. Our hotel is right beside the terminal and we proceed to check in before moving out to the next destination -Barelang Bridge.

The only attraction here is the bridge and there is a line of street vendors nearby. There was quite a crowd here taking pictures on the bridge and we joined in the fun.

Start of many group shot on the bridge

 The bridge is around an hour ride away from our hotel, giving me some time to catch a wink since I slept only 4 hours the previous day.

 Seriously, there is nothing here except for the bridge. Perhaps the bridge is one of the nicer and modern building in Batam and therefore became an attraction. You see a lot of couples here dating, sitting on the bridge chatting.

We tried a selfie here

With the only kiddo of the group who is obsessed with him

 We spend quite a while here taking photos before going back to the van to go eat dinner. 1 of the street vendor caught our attention and every one began ordering grilled corn from her. I was hesitant to eat from the street for fear of diarrhea but Mr Love decided to  buy 1 and share too.

The helpful driver who took this photo for us

Grilling corns

The corn were tasty and even  sweet. We choose the non-spicy version as Mr love could not handle spicy food well. Some kind soul of the group let me have a taste of the spicy one and it tastes better. Still for the sake of Mr Love, I struck to the non spicy one.

A pic before I savour the corn

A short stopover here and we proceed to our dinner place. It is said to be a kelong inside a kampong. We are so looking forward to another tasty and cheap sea food dinner tonight.

Maiden Batam trip-Part 1

Batam, an island of Indonesia is around an hour away from us by ferry. Both Mr Love and I had not been there before and when his ex-colleagues asked us, we took the chance to go along.

For once I need not have to plan for our trip, can sit back and enjoy while going with the flow. I do like this kind of arrangement the only downside that we don't get to make any decisions. But we are both ok with it anyways.

Took the 8am ferry and reached Batam at 9am and true to the news report, no one dare to make a single sound while waiting to clear the immigration. I think if a pin were to drop there, the sound would be deafening.

Luckily we managed to clear the customs with ease and proceed to look for our pick up service from the spa.

It was no joke trying to get 15women (&3guys) to assemble and board the van since everyone is talking at once and doing their own thing. It was a bit messy initially but the organizer managed to settle us down.

We had previously choose the packages we want via email though we are allowed to make last minute changes here before payment. Payment can be made with Singapore dollars here with rates in our favour i.e SGD  1: IDR10,000 while exchange rate for that day is SGD 1 : IDR 9,200.

We paid for a 3hr Bali Massage which set us back by SGD114 which 5% discount. The massage itself was nothing to rave about. But the I find the masseuse having a hard time to massage us for 3 hrs straight. For us, the masseuse used some kind of body lotion to massage us all over and it was not the best experience for me since it took 3 washes before I think I am free of the oil.

Group shot at the SPA

After the massage, we were all hungry since most of us didn't take breakfast due to rush. Our  drive took us to the famous seafood restaurant that all tourists will visit- The Golden Prawn Restaurant. The restaurant itself have a super big seating area and I think can accommodate 100 tables at any 1 time.

Left the ordering to the organizers as we sat there chatting. Since it is seafood restaurant, I am sure the food here will be to my liking (i.e. not much veggies) hehe.

Food here was actually great as compared to the reviews we heard. But then again, it maybe due to us being hungry and have not been to other restaurants yet. Haha The most important thing is everyone had a great and fulfilling lunch before setting off for the next destination.

Chilli clams- Love this dish the best

Sambal Pentai

Super crispy deep fried small prawn

Calamari

Claypot veggie

"Chuchu"

There are 2 more dishes that we did not take any photos since everyone is busy eating. Total bill is SGD200 for 2 tables of full of food. My colleagues told me that we are being ripped off. But I still think it is cheap since there are 18 of us there.

Group shot again after lunch

We then went to exchange for the local currency since most of us did not bring any and we are due to go shopping. Muhuaha. Rate is 1 SGD to 9,200 IDR. Since all of our food, accommodation, transport are taken care of, we decided to change 50SGD worth of local currency so as not to overspend or to have too much left over at the end of the trip.

The funnie Mr Love was so happy to be holding near to 500,000 worth of money and decided to take photo.

The happy Man and OUR money

Ok, we are off to shopping now.