Taiwan Day 4

Today was our last day in Taipei before we depart for Hualien tomorrow, and today was also the most siong day in our travel itinerary. It was a long excursion to the northern parts of Taipei but luckily, we hired a very good and friendly cabby, Mr. Meeky Yang, to take us around for the whole day. No, not the one from Disneyland hor.

First stop was at Jiufen; a quaint little town that has lots of old traditional shops selling many different types of Taiwanese local snacks. Also, since it is seated atop of a hill, the scenery there is truly breathtaking as well.

Well... since it's on a hill, the wind there is pretty chilling too. Heng I was super duper prepared!

Think Daddy & kor-kor were in high spirits too.

Much like this funny looking person.

But the sausages he was bbq-ing were really yummy! Or was it because I was hungry already? Hee hee...

Anyway, there were so many shops selling various Taiwaneese snacks and produce that we were stopping at many them just to sample sample... hahaha... like that Daddy & Mummy can save on lunch liao. :P

Soon, we reached near the top of the town and soaked in the view.

It sure was very windy up there. Now, if only we had bubbles to blow as well... that would be perfect!

Oh, what do you know... kor-kor & I had bubbles with us! Hahaha... No wonder he was holding onto his bubbles bottle so tightly, while waiting for Daddy to finish with his photo-taking. Heh.

Bubbles time! Kor-kor blow, I burst. Hee hee...

But kor-kor was also very helpful; he helped me dipped the stick into the solution and held it up for me to blow.

And I did manage to blow ONE bubble! kekekekeke...

Well, it was time to eat lunch after that. So we settled into this nice little teahouse to refuel.

As if it wasn't already cold enough, Daddy & Mummy chose to sit outside to have our meal since the view was magnificent. But think kor-kor enjoyed it too lah... erm, possibly 'cos the wind helped cooled his food faster? Hahaha...

It was back to some more walking after lunch... and both of us each had a malt candy for dessert. :P

Next, we went to Jinguashi, an area which was a goldmine last time.

We had lots of space to run there, so obviously kor-kor & I loved it there too.

Next stop was at Danshui where it was an old port but is now a popular location for sunset viewing. We stopped by at the Fisherman's Wharf first to take a walk over the Lover's Bridge.

Although it was in the late afternoon, the sun was still shining brightly. Perfect excuse to whip out our sunglasses.

I look cool or not? Heh.

Both of us then started to pose like models in front of the bridge.

Not bad huh?

We slowly made our way up the bridge via the many flights of steps, with Daddy happily snapping away...

We were fortunate enough to catch some firecrackers going off near the bridge due to some ceremony that was going on. It was so loud lor... kor-kor & I had to cup our ears but not that we are complaining.

After crossing the bridge, we walked along the seacoast boardwalk and stopped along the way to have a pinic of bread and milk. :P

Then we made our way to the Danshui Old Street where they had many restuarants, arcades and shops selling handicrafts and snacks.

You know those machines in arcades where you can catch a soft toy using a metal claw? I tell you, those in Singapore must be bluff people wan... 'cos Daddy, who has absolutely zero experience in playing these machines, managed to pick up THREE soft toys in 6 tries. Not bad lah... Hahaha. Daddy said it seemed easier to to pick up the toys in those machines. And Danshui really has loads of these kind of arcade shops.

Kor-kor also tried his hand at some ball-rolling game to score points... and he won something!

We played, ate, walked, bought... and soon we were all tired by dinner time liao.

So Uncle Meeky sent us back to our hotel; must pack all our barang barang to check out tomorrow!

On the way back!

We're on our way back today after 11 days of fun in Taiwan! :)

Hopefully Daddy will still find the energy to put up the remaining photos of our adventures soon! Hee...

Taiwan Day 3

Third day in Taipei and we awoke to pouring rain!

Luckily, our first stop of the day was pretty near our hotel - Longshan Temple. So armed with umbrellas & raincoat (only for me lah), we made our way down after our yummy breakfast.

Actually I was quite thrilled to be walking in the rain... 'cos I loved wearing my Thomas the Train raincoat AND carrying the umbrella while sitting in my stroller. Yah, I kiasu can. Haha...

Then soon after we reached the temple and toured the surroundings, it stopped raining!

Wah, di-di & me were so happy... 'cos this meant there were lots and lots and lots of puddles for us to jump into. :P

So since we were in such a happy mood, Daddy & Mummy let us roam for a while outside the temple grounds.

And hor, di-di was in fine form lor... perfect for photos. Heh.

Then after, we made our way to a bigbigbig departmental store known as Eslite. This one houses 4 whole floors of books! But di-di & me were not interested in the first three floors lah... We were eyeing on the 4th one instead, 'cos that is the one ALL for kids!

There were loads of children books, educational toys, learning tools, clothes... you name it, they have it. All on sale there. BUT that too was not the stuff that we were beo-ing. It was this...

It's the Children's Musuem of Taipei. This place very cool you know; it has different zones and all the exhibits feature five themes: science, art, nature, culture, and toddlers' explore. All also can touch, all also can play. So it's very interactive; expecially for di-di 'cos he's now in his itchy fingers stage lah. :P

First up, the construction zone... where I had the chance to sit on a real excavator!

There were also various other construction-related stuff to play with, but di-di's fave has got to be the the different ramps with varying gradients 'cos we get to roll so many balls down the ramps. Hahaha...

And MY fave was this supermarket set-up!

It comes complete with a mini-supermarket layout, with different items for you to put into your shopping basket. Then you bring it to the cashier counter where, ME your friendly cashier, will scan your items and check you out.

Then, once I've totalled your final bill, you can make your payment.

And it comes complete with cashier and receipt sounds. Yup, it's THAT real. I love it!

Then it was time to move on to the dress-up area, where I wanted to be a fireman! Can spray water mah... whoosh!

Di-di on the other hand wandered to hone his dancing skills at the Light zone.

After trying out a motorcycle...

We met up at the mini-playground area, where having a go at the slide is a no brainer.

Next, we proceeded to the cheekiemonkies' corner cafe!

Hahaha... it's yet another different set-up, where we can pretend to own a cafe and serve customers.

So I made Daddy order a muffin and a coffee. Hee hee...

Bubble time was next, and we had lots of fun creating gigantic bubbles and getting all soapy. :P

But it was nothing compared to getting all colourful (and dirty) when we came to this giant glass wall for painting!

Lucky got the aprons for us to wear whole we paint... if not, we would have to go back to our hotel naked. Heh.

There is also a dentist chair for all dentist wannabes, but I chose to learn the correct way to brush my teeth. Hahaha...

While di-di was still in his drawing phase...

I tried my hand at news broadcasting.

Can make it or not? Haha.. Di-di then joined in too.

Followed by Mummy.

Then Daddy too!

There is also a stage there; with lots of costumes and wigs backstage to play and dress up with...

So of course we tried lah! :P

Think we must have spent the whole afternoon there, 'cos it was just sooo fun! We didn't even want to leave but too bad both of us felt too sleepy. Drats.

So headed back to the hotel for some rest we did. And we were raring to go again in the night - this time to Ximending for some shopping. For Mummy's benefit of course.

Although I had a yummy big sausage too. :P

Di-di fell asleep while shopping though, so we also headed back to our beds to prepare for the next day's long excursion!