My travel Journal - part 1
I know.. I know… I haven’t been updating my blog for the longest time. Am really stressed up and tired these days, having started on my new posting. Haiz… what to do … am hanging the best that I can over here. It’s almost like I wake up to do the same thing all over and over again…
Missed those days in TWN (S$1 = NT20). If only I have a sugar daddy then I can go on an all-expenses paid trip. Hahaha…
Day 1 (Saturday, 16th Sep):
- Touched down at Taiwan’s CKS airport. Took Jetstar and my verdict? Jetstar = cramped seatings + lousy food stock-up and management + pure discomfort (except for smooth touch down) = extreme budget airline.
- Got my backpack only to found that my shampoo had leaked and soiled my backpack. Damn suay. Best part is I don’t even know why it leaked. The bottle was intact and etc.
- Spent 20mins in the ladies’ at the airport to empty my bag, wash the affected areas and rush out to catch the long-distance bus to Kaoshiung (NT450). Watched the TWN stations live telecast on anti-bian situation. Raining….
- Good Samaritan guided us on where to change the bus. Had a 10min dinner break at one of the make-shift bus terminals before changing to another bus. On route, we only have about 5 mins toilet break every few hours. Took us 5hrs to get to kaoshiung.
- By the time we reach the city, it was way past 2am. Checked into a budget hotel (NT980 for 3 days 2 nights) and went downstairs to buy some snacks.
Day 2 (Sunday, 17th Sep):- No MRT in kaoshiung. So either you have to go by foot (which we did), bus or taxi. Walked a long way away from my hotel and went to a lot of shopping malls and streets.
- Huge crowd gathered at one of the shopping malls. Kay-poh me went to see what happened. Jay Chou was coming. Waited for 1 hr before he appeared on stage. Took lots of photo. Learnt something new: my stamina not as good as last time…. can no longer fight with those meimei for a better location. Jay Chou can sing live. Understand how people can get heat stroke. If you feel giddy and hot but you’re not sweating? Congratulations! You’ve just got yourself a heat stroke.
- Managed to take a few photos and squeezed my way out to another shopping mall. Finally found my Le-Sportsac toki-doki bag!
- Went to those street markets and chanced upon a popular pastry shop. Desserts look damn good. Maybe I had my expectations set too high upon looking at them. They tasted ok only.
- Quite disappointed with the variety of food at the night markets
- Ai-he (Love River – one of the tourist spots) was a complete waste of time for me. Nothing to see except boats, people and a variety of dogs (people took them out for a night stroll). Think Clarke Quay but take away all those outdoor tables and minus half the crowd.
Day 3 (Monday, 18th Sep):- Perhaps I was out all night… too tired. Woke up only when it’s close to lunch time. Pack our stuff (one big haversack and a bag of shopping ‘trophies’ each) and took a cab to the Kaoshiung Tourist information center and asked for directions to Kending.
- Took a long distance bus from kaoshiung bus terminal to Kending (Approx. 2-3 hrs at NT300). Along the way, we went by shabby towns, fields and districts. Very 80’s. But when we were nearing Kending, you could see the very beautiful coastline and the sun that shines through the clouds. It just takes away all the pressure from you and you just feel so relaxed and romantic. Think Full House – house by the sea.
- Stopped at the wrong bus stops. In front of us were two very comfortable and grand hotels. And yeah! They don’t come cheap. Minimum NT3780 (approx S$200) per night!!!!
- Walked a long way back to the town area with our barang barang. Almost every shop owners beckon us to stay with them (shop-house type of rooms available for rental). Although they can’t be classified anywhere close to beach-resort types, they seem more comfortable and classier than your usual cheapskate one-night stand motels. And the best part? You get the room for as low as NT400 a night.
- Chanced upon a hotel in one of the secluded road corners. Damn nice deco and extremely comfortable bed. What’s more? You get a big LCD screen + DVD player and radio!!! Well.. like I mentioned earlier. The place just makes you feel so relaxed. So we decided to spend a bit more for hotel this time round. It’s those kind of hotels that have only about 8 room max. But it’s so homely and comfortable!!!! Spent about NT4000 (price after 45% discount as it was off-peak season) for 3 days 2 nights. Cash payment only.
- Went down in the evening to get some food. Had wild boar meat and sausages, weird dessert drinks and most of all, I’d discovered Fried fresh milk. Basically it’s milk-made cubes that got deep-fried. Damn nice and cheap. But nothing to shop coz it’s a small street and the things there are what you can find in SG and Thailand. Very beach-related kind of stuff.
- Sat at out hotel room balcony to enjoy the breeze. But there was a lot of cheering and loud music. Sounded like that was a concert near by. By the way, kending is a hot spot for summer concerts. Hurried down with our cameras to see who was it. We searched high and low for the source. Finally! Basket. It was a huge group of youngsters having their own medley of songs in front of their fellow classmates. Because the speakers are muffled and the cheering was damn loud and fun, we had expected something huge.
- Took a turn. Damn!!!! There’s a row of very nice hotels right in front of us. Cheaper some more!!!! Each hotel has like about 5 rooms max? They have different themes like designer suite hotel, zen hotel and etc.Haiz.
- Things I’ve learnt? Asked to view the hotel room first before you move in. They usually allow you to do so or even invite you to do so. During off-peak seasons when the occupancy rate is low, you can take your time to check out the hotel rates. They will actually hang something like “today’s rate” outside their sign board. How it works? They lower their price with each growing hour to entice you to stay with them.The rates vary with season as well. But here’s the catch. If you keep on waiting and waiting, the rooms might be taken up by others instead.
- One more thing. Can hardly find any rubbish bins in Kending.
That's all for now. Need to go rest so that I can have some energy for work tomorrow.. at Tuas :'(
Missed those days in TWN (S$1 = NT20). If only I have a sugar daddy then I can go on an all-expenses paid trip. Hahaha…
Day 1 (Saturday, 16th Sep):
- Touched down at Taiwan’s CKS airport. Took Jetstar and my verdict? Jetstar = cramped seatings + lousy food stock-up and management + pure discomfort (except for smooth touch down) = extreme budget airline.
- Got my backpack only to found that my shampoo had leaked and soiled my backpack. Damn suay. Best part is I don’t even know why it leaked. The bottle was intact and etc.
- Spent 20mins in the ladies’ at the airport to empty my bag, wash the affected areas and rush out to catch the long-distance bus to Kaoshiung (NT450). Watched the TWN stations live telecast on anti-bian situation. Raining….
- Good Samaritan guided us on where to change the bus. Had a 10min dinner break at one of the make-shift bus terminals before changing to another bus. On route, we only have about 5 mins toilet break every few hours. Took us 5hrs to get to kaoshiung.
- By the time we reach the city, it was way past 2am. Checked into a budget hotel (NT980 for 3 days 2 nights) and went downstairs to buy some snacks.
Day 2 (Sunday, 17th Sep):- No MRT in kaoshiung. So either you have to go by foot (which we did), bus or taxi. Walked a long way away from my hotel and went to a lot of shopping malls and streets.
- Huge crowd gathered at one of the shopping malls. Kay-poh me went to see what happened. Jay Chou was coming. Waited for 1 hr before he appeared on stage. Took lots of photo. Learnt something new: my stamina not as good as last time…. can no longer fight with those meimei for a better location. Jay Chou can sing live. Understand how people can get heat stroke. If you feel giddy and hot but you’re not sweating? Congratulations! You’ve just got yourself a heat stroke.
- Managed to take a few photos and squeezed my way out to another shopping mall. Finally found my Le-Sportsac toki-doki bag!
- Went to those street markets and chanced upon a popular pastry shop. Desserts look damn good. Maybe I had my expectations set too high upon looking at them. They tasted ok only.
- Quite disappointed with the variety of food at the night markets
- Ai-he (Love River – one of the tourist spots) was a complete waste of time for me. Nothing to see except boats, people and a variety of dogs (people took them out for a night stroll). Think Clarke Quay but take away all those outdoor tables and minus half the crowd.
Day 3 (Monday, 18th Sep):- Perhaps I was out all night… too tired. Woke up only when it’s close to lunch time. Pack our stuff (one big haversack and a bag of shopping ‘trophies’ each) and took a cab to the Kaoshiung Tourist information center and asked for directions to Kending.
- Took a long distance bus from kaoshiung bus terminal to Kending (Approx. 2-3 hrs at NT300). Along the way, we went by shabby towns, fields and districts. Very 80’s. But when we were nearing Kending, you could see the very beautiful coastline and the sun that shines through the clouds. It just takes away all the pressure from you and you just feel so relaxed and romantic. Think Full House – house by the sea.
- Stopped at the wrong bus stops. In front of us were two very comfortable and grand hotels. And yeah! They don’t come cheap. Minimum NT3780 (approx S$200) per night!!!!
- Walked a long way back to the town area with our barang barang. Almost every shop owners beckon us to stay with them (shop-house type of rooms available for rental). Although they can’t be classified anywhere close to beach-resort types, they seem more comfortable and classier than your usual cheapskate one-night stand motels. And the best part? You get the room for as low as NT400 a night.
- Chanced upon a hotel in one of the secluded road corners. Damn nice deco and extremely comfortable bed. What’s more? You get a big LCD screen + DVD player and radio!!! Well.. like I mentioned earlier. The place just makes you feel so relaxed. So we decided to spend a bit more for hotel this time round. It’s those kind of hotels that have only about 8 room max. But it’s so homely and comfortable!!!! Spent about NT4000 (price after 45% discount as it was off-peak season) for 3 days 2 nights. Cash payment only.
- Went down in the evening to get some food. Had wild boar meat and sausages, weird dessert drinks and most of all, I’d discovered Fried fresh milk. Basically it’s milk-made cubes that got deep-fried. Damn nice and cheap. But nothing to shop coz it’s a small street and the things there are what you can find in SG and Thailand. Very beach-related kind of stuff.
- Sat at out hotel room balcony to enjoy the breeze. But there was a lot of cheering and loud music. Sounded like that was a concert near by. By the way, kending is a hot spot for summer concerts. Hurried down with our cameras to see who was it. We searched high and low for the source. Finally! Basket. It was a huge group of youngsters having their own medley of songs in front of their fellow classmates. Because the speakers are muffled and the cheering was damn loud and fun, we had expected something huge.
- Took a turn. Damn!!!! There’s a row of very nice hotels right in front of us. Cheaper some more!!!! Each hotel has like about 5 rooms max? They have different themes like designer suite hotel, zen hotel and etc.Haiz.
- Things I’ve learnt? Asked to view the hotel room first before you move in. They usually allow you to do so or even invite you to do so. During off-peak seasons when the occupancy rate is low, you can take your time to check out the hotel rates. They will actually hang something like “today’s rate” outside their sign board. How it works? They lower their price with each growing hour to entice you to stay with them.The rates vary with season as well. But here’s the catch. If you keep on waiting and waiting, the rooms might be taken up by others instead.
- One more thing. Can hardly find any rubbish bins in Kending.
That's all for now. Need to go rest so that I can have some energy for work tomorrow.. at Tuas :'(
Labels: Taiwan 台湾
posted by ikan bilis at 10:30 PM
Comment (0)
