As outlined, we have booked a half day transport by car intro by Eehon from his last visit to Taipei. Half day tour to 2 attractions for 4 of us will be $116. Arranging transport will be very beneficial for first-time visit to Taipei as it is very time-saving. I preferred taking the train to 九份 that will takes about 2.5 hr in total, because it's a total brand new feeling that you cannot find in Singapore.

We kick-started our day with 滷肉飯 for breakfast near our apartment. I have so much love for this whole bowl, I love the egg, love the braised meat and taiwan rice!
Morning selfie while waiting for my food.
小姐 came to fetch us and before we went up the hill to 九份, we by-pass 黄金瀑布 (waterfall) and decided to alight the car to take some photos. It was raining ponderously at that period. The boys showed their sorrow on their faces reason being they said raining day was such a hassle to travel. Not for me, I love rainy days.
 Next, we by-pass this tremendous waterfall too. Still prefer those waterfall in China, they looked much more formidable.
It is my second time bypassing  阴阳海 in the car. The one and only google picture here because I have too much feels watching the Yingyang Sea at that moment that I didn't have the time to take a shot, it was so spectacular.
小姐 alighted us at the bus stop near 九份 and we made a 2 min walk there. Xing bought strawberries along the way and he said it was sweet. The boss offered one for me to try.
 He added condensed milk too. Large portion at $7 per cup.
We saw 李仪饼店 before we entered the streets. I've done my homework before flying and found out that Le Cake or Li Yi Cake Shop (李儀餅店) is a well-known bakery with two outlets both in Taipei. They are popular for their sun cakes (太陽鉼) and pineapple pastries (鳳梨酥).
Needless to mention, we placed our orders and they will deliver to our apartment before we fly back to Singapore so that we will have the freshest pastries. You will need to have a minimum order before they provide the free delivery service. Beside the stall is for Candy Crush lovers!
Asked my bibi to take a picture so that I'll remember this candy shop 🍬🍭🍬🍭
At the entrance of 九份, let me share a story. We were told that in the past, there were only 9 houses staying up in the hill of 九份, the rest were cemeteries built high up in the hilltop. So when these villagers went out to get food, they will routinely get 9 shares for all the people in the 9 houses as they do not have an easy access to the market etc hence, this 九份 or you can express as 9 shares came about. I personally find it quite amusing, certainly one of the oldest attractions till today.
 The top scenery, a little disappointed due to the rainy weather, the setting appeared cloudy and hazy. No idea why the boys are still so happy.


The crowded street,

We had fried prawn ball, it's $4.60 for 3. I supposed this is a new stall there.
 Peanut Ice Cream Roll, a must to try. I heard Singapore are having it too? $1.80 per roll.
 
Curry/ Original/ Spicy fish balls at $4.60 for 3 sticks. I do not eat fish ball in Singapore however I am okay with eating them in Taiwan or Hong Kong. Hmmm
 Deep-sea squid with seaweed, err I forgot the price.
This 黑猪肉 sausage tasted better than the normal pork sausage.
We did not had a lot of food or enter any food stalls because these grumpy boys are "sick and tired" of the raining weather and we are trying to avoid the crowd so we went down until we reached the lowest walking path available.

Little did we know, we took the wrong path and need to climb a hell lots of stairs before we are able to get out of the place. Feeling lost yet so jubilant. They're weird boys.

We travelled by car to 十分老街, it was our first time 放天燈 and we were pretty enthusiastic. There are a lot of tourists from China, Korea and Japan too. Walking towards the railway track we saw ..... many sky lanterns!
Various color of the lantern represent different yearning and hopes. We got the most common one with 4 different colors.

Red – Red is the colour of love, prosperity and joy.  It symbolizes action,   confidence, courage, excitement, energy, strength and passion.
OrangeOrange is the colour of joy, enthusiasm, creativity and sunshine.  It represents fascination, happiness, determination, success, encouragement and stimulation.
PinkPink is the colour of love, beauty and friendship.  It symbolizes caring, tenderness and acceptance.   It is also a colour of good health and life.
WhiteWhite is the colour of purity, cleanliness and innocence.  It symbolizes wholeness and completion and can represent a successful beginning.
Yellow Yellow is the colour of joy, intellect, freshness and sunshine.  It is associated with wisdom, energy, gold, joy and happiness.
GreenGreen is the colour of nature.  It symbolizes life, fertility, well being, good luck and harmony.
BlueBlue is the colour of the sky and sea.  It symbolizes youth, peace, loyalty, wisdom, confidence and intelligence.  It is often associated with health, healing and stability.
PurplePurple is the colour of royalty and romance.  It symbolizes power, wealth, wisdom and luxury.  It is often associated with mystery, magic, wealth and extravagance.
Our sky lantern are being clipped on the metal pole for us to write our wishes.
 
 I had no idea my bibi could write so well ..... I was in a daze haha huat ah!
 
Actively writing my wishes asap and to take photos of them explained my fingers is in a mess with stained ink.


We are completed and are anticipating to release our sky lantern. We were instructed to pose a few shots by the shop assistant. Here's one with our 小心 :)
Peace
Love love xoxo
 Up up away~
The ancient railway tracks was such a enchanting berth. I have some feel for this place.
 
 When releasing the sky lanterns, you will have to look out for coming train. The speed of the train was quite speedy and near. The kind shop tenants will give you a heads up in reality.
So someone decided to go the opposite direction from us to ....... (fill in the blanks)
Xing's new friend from Philippines. She's having her solo trip.
There's a bridge beside the railway tracks. A skillful passer-by took this photo for us.
 Leaving 十分老街 to 饒河夜市 (Raohe Night Market). It's one of the oldest night markets in Taipei, the Raohe Night Market is a must visit destination! The epitome of a traditional Taiwanese night market, is packed with fun and interesting night foods and snacks, quaint shops and stalls, and carnival games with prizes.
 At the entrance, you will see people queuing for the favored 胡椒餅 black pepper bun stuffed with lots of ingredients!
 That day was a raining day too hence we sat down for some lamp soup upon reaching, it was tasty because of their tender meat. Highly recommended by us!
 Starting our catching for Day 2. We spent on toys/ plushies every single day.
Neng's grey doggie, this is not an easy catch because of the weight.
Xing's first catch for that day is this brown rhino, followed by the birdie that he got all the colors in the machine in the next few days too. Hmmm birdie with red cheeks.
The long french fries that became soggy because the boys went to play the mahjong game leaving the fries with me.

This mahjong game was so addictive! We didn't expect to be heading back to the same place for the next few days. Is it because we met a new friend there? Hahaha read on.
 Remember this guy's face. You will see him in the next few posts too. Our new friend, 小林. So our Xing instantly became LOL
 There will only be one person stopping for ice-cream.

 
Mochi stall that my bibi loves. This is also our new friend, 丸子. She added us in Facebook and we had our own group chat too. She kept looking at me when she is barbeque-ing the mochi ermmm.
Such a cutie pie, you will see her again in my next posts.

The next time to see rooster lanterns will be when I am 36 years old.
饒河夜市 is such a entertaining and lively place. We went there thrice during our trip and every time we had different ambience and fun.
These are our baby toy loots for that day. Look at Xing's babies beside his bed ......
Sneak-preview for the next day! Day 3 is a carnival day at 淡水老街 and 士林夜市!


Time to take on bigger responsibilities in life.

Never opened myself this way

Life is ours, we live it our way

All these words I don't just say

And nothing else matters 

今年的我一直不断生病😷,我病到好累了。这场大病过后,应该要雨过天晴了吧 ……

I'm here to record our Taipei 7D6N voyage during 09 March- 15 March 2017! Firstly, I'm satisfied with my photos and after reading all my posts, you will absolutely want to explore Taipei 😎
Foot massage needed before we fly, it was really pleasing.
This is not my first time flying with Singapore Airlines, however I did not forecast to experience a delayed of 1.5 hr in the plane before taking off. Thankfully there's entertainment for us if not I supposed there will be impatient Singaporeans starting to make a commotion 😪
 I was famished even before the food was served, and it's my first time eating the bun. I MUST BE HUNGERED.
Our dessert after the main course. Haven't had ice-cream 🍦 for the longest time yet sea salt caramel made really good combination I felt.
Look at the tiny shadow of the plane forming on the clouds ✈️
It was quite a torment for me as I can experience motion sickness any time when I fly. I couldn't even wrap-up a show completely, been switching entertainment restlessly, hoping to reach TPE asap.
Landed in Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport after 6 hrs. While bi's family en route to their coach travelling to another part of Taiwan, bi and I made our way to the new train transport from Taoyuan Airport directly to Taipei Main Station.
The whole journey was less than an hr. The climate was nothing else but, cold. Below freezing should be a better word because it was raining plus windy plus not enough clothes on. Xing and Neng came to pick us up from the train station with umbrellas.
  
To be honest, the proportion of the apartment was smaller compared to the photos we saw when booking it. Nevertheless, we are still pleased with our stay as majority of the time we are out on the streets. Below is the stairs that lead to Xing's bed.
At the back of the sofa is Neng's queen sized bed. This stairs bulge to our bed.
The glimpse from the top. You will need to slant your body when in the upper storey as the ceiling and the bed was just less than 1.5m away.
We headed down to the nearest hot pot restaurant to have dinner as the weather was really freezing!
Prince noodles can be found everywhere in Taipei and I love it. Our dinner cost $10 per pax, favorable choice as we need food that was on fire 🔥
Down the street, we had some pan cakes and bi wanted to try milk tea on the first day NO MATTER WHAT, because it was getting late so there's only green tea latte left. Bi always ordered drinks with 50% sugar level and below, his fav was literally 25%. You guys wouldn't believe this was the first time I've tried green tea latte, and I like it.
Strolled to 西門町 and everywhere is 街头篮球's advertisement. The boys played it almost every single night before bed and in the long train rides.
We joined in the queue for 1973 chicken after the rain. I don't like it when their chicken cubes have bones.
This scallion pancake tasted like 小笼包, it cost $1.80 for 5 mini ones.
Such a good brother wanting to get black socks for his only sister. It's like the first thing in his shopping list! ✌
My bibi's desired shop was the taiwanese claw machines 抓物機! Claw games are hugely popular in Taiwan, to the extent that there are places dedicated to them dotted around the cities. This was not an easy catch however it looked so attractive!
Bi caught two that night and we are unable to find that claw shop in the next few days ....
I'm thrilled with all the street food and hipster scenery viewing in 西門町. This place never failed me even though it's my third time visiting. Can’t express how I love that night, a cooling stroll in the flashy streets. The people well, most are nice, courteous and considerate. Lastly, thank you bi for helping us to book our apartment and to pay for my accommodation fees. I was a sleepyhead that night.

Featuring Taipei Day 2 post as it will be really captivating. Continue reading me 谢谢 :)