Taiwan

Hello, my dear readers! Plenty apologies for starting the new year with an extremely sad post. Things are, more or less, settled down. Now, let me tell you about this beautiful country I went to during Christmas last year. I spent a week there with my family and had a fabulous time. Yup, you got it right. I went to Taiwan! To be precise, I visited Taipei and Taichung. Both places are really awesome and unique in their own way. An ancient Chinese proverb said: "One picture is worth ten thousand words". So, I am going to show you pictures of the places I visited with simple captions. The pictures are going to worth more than ten thousand words. =)

Taipei

The 2 pictures above was in a little town called Rui Fang. Our main destination wasn't here, though. This was just a stop. But the dessert they sell in that shop was awesome.

This is Shi Fen, a small little town tucked in the outskirts of Taipei. This was our main destination. Yes, that is an actual train track. Yes, trains are still using that track. No, nobody died. When the train is coming, an officer will blow the whistle and the people will go to the side.

One of the famous night markets in Taipei.

Of course, the famous 101 Tower. We had to go there and take pictures of this tower. Otherwise, who would believe we went to Taipei? Going to Taipei without going to 101 Tower is equivalent to not having been to Taipei before. (So everyone says...) 

The National Music Theatre. Very ancient and Chinese looking.

Ahh.. C.K.S Memorial Hall. A whole big building dedicated to the man who founded Taiwan.

The Palace Museum. There were a lot of people there that day. So, we didn't go and see the exhibition. But we did enter a garden shown on the second picture. Very beautiful, quiet and peaceful.

We only spend 3 days in Taipei. 2 and a half days to be exact, because when we arrived it was late afternoon already. There were so many places we didn't get to visit in Taipei. We also couldn't stay long at each destination because we were trying to go to as many places as we can. Taipei's public transportation is very convenient. We took the MRT, high-speed train and bus to go to all these places. The MRT practically linked everywhere together. 

Taichung

This is the Rainbow Village. All the drawings you see are done by one man. Yes, you read right. ONE man. The short version of the story: A bunch of old houses were going to be demolished. A guy came and started drawing. Government decided not to demolished the place anymore. Instead, transformed it into a tourist area. Awesome, right?

The Strawberry Farm. The strawberries are really sweet, you know. Unlike those in Cameron Highlands. xD

Is the first picture a real living sheep? Yes, it is! The Sheep Farm up in a mountain a little away from the city centre. Beautiful scenery and of course, many sheep around for you to touch and feed.

The Swiss Garden. Again, it's very.... green. Very nature. Flowers, tress and grass everywhere.

The Carton King! Everything you see here is made of cardboard. Very artistic, right? If I didn't remember wrong, it's also a guy's work. Very unique.

The Lavender Farm. Too bad we couldn't stay here for long. It's a very beautiful place. Very "nature" too. Very beautifully structured. It's the work of 2 young ladies. They are very successful now, considering the number of tourist they attracted.

No, I didn't suddenly end up in some Western country. I was still in Taichung. This is Xin She castle. Very antique, don't you think? The scenery is tops here too. So peaceful and quiet. I would love to live at a place like this.

Again, I was still in Taichung. This is The Old England. The buildings here are English style. Beautiful scenery too. 

We spent 3 days there. A full 3 days. Also, we hired a driver to drive us around. So, we get to see more things. Taichung's public transportation is not as convenient as Taipei, though. Taichung, like Taipei, is city-like but there are more nature places. 

We went to famous night markets in both Taipei and Taichung. Food there was awesome. You want to eat authentic beef noodles? Go Taipei. You want to get delicious pastries that cannot be found here in Malaysia? Go Taichung. The finger food (or rubbish food, as my parents like to say) in the night markets are fantastic too. Just a note here. If you ever pass the smelly toufu stalls there, don't wrinkle your nose or pinch your nose or show a disgusted face or say it's smelly. It's an insult to them. Their smelly toufu is one of their signature finger food.

So, this is my adventure in Taiwan. Would I go back again? Definitely. There are still many places I have not visited. You should consider going to Taiwan too. I would say it's worth it. =)