melody

sorry my i-phone pic is OOF =P This is easy to make and i love eating the huai shan ^^ ingredients: chicken (half, cut into pieces, skinned, scalded in hot water to remove blood and bad smell) lotus root (one section, sliced thickly) fresh huai shan (about 15 cm, peeled and cut into chunks) - i don't know what this is called in English neh... in japanese it's called yama imo which means mountain yam. it looks like this before peeling dried octopus (1, rinsed) you can buy this from the dried food section of supermarkets, usually with ikan bilis, white fungus and stuff groundnuts (2 handfuls, rinsed) water (3-4 cups, enough to cover ingredients) place all ingredients into a pot and bring to boil, then simmer for 2.5 hours. add salt to taste (the octopus will make it salty so just a bit of salt will do. you can skip the salt if you don't want to add) CAUTION: when you handle huai shan, do wear gloves. if you touch the flesh, you'd ITCH >. serve immeidately ^^

Although not as beautiful as Japan, I like Taiwan and will definitely go back. It's an affordable alternative to expensive Japan if you want to visit a Sino-Japanese country. Taiwan has many Japanese influences because of their history and many Taiwanese speak Japanese too. The architecture and scenery is Oriental but the people have the grace of the Japanese. Weather Taipei's weather is very erratic. It can be super hot one day and the next, freezing cold so for tourists, packing is a pain. I suggest packing a jacket for cold weather and just wear something normal inside. Layering is a good way to avoid baking to death in hot weather because you can remove the outer layers. For some funny reason, Taiwanese girls all like to wear long-sleeves even in hot weather so I was the odd one out in short sleeves. even if they wear short sleeves, they'd wear a long sleeved top inside and the short sleeved top over it... They also don't really wear shorts without stockings. Accord...

We were at tanxiang in taroko gorge and parked the car at the car park in front of silks place hotel to check out the surroundings but on our way back from lunch, we saw a policemen near our car so chris went to kay poh. It turned out that a local guy (about our age) reversed into our car in our absence so the front left side was a little warped. An honest guy, he made a police report and insisted on paying for the damages with his insurance. The funny thing is he was with his Singaporean friend and the friend told us “people usually just chao off but my friend says he cannot do that." So we went to the tianxiang police station to take down our statement, sign our name and even put thumbprint. The policeman gave us a slip of paper to pass to the car rental company to prove that it's not our fault. The guy offered to speak with the car rental company to explain that it's not our fault. Initially, the rental company wanted us to pay first then reimburse us when they get the ...

Budget travellers will stay at family-run accomodations called Min Su 民宿 in Hualien or Sincheng (which will be quite inconvenient cos if you intend to explore 2 days you have to drive in and out of the gorge) while most tour group-type tourists will stay at the only 5-star hotel called SILKS PLACE at tianxiang but Grace recommended this unique hotel in Taroko Gorge because she stayed here when she visited and liked it very much. Located in Buluowan 布落湾, about 10 mins from the entrance of the gorge, this hotel is nestled among mountains and clouds =) very very scenic and lovely view =) the air is so fresh and everyday you can hear birds chirping... Hotel entrance. There is an area in front of the entrance where you can lie down and see stars (provided not too cloudy) Each hut has two rooms and the interior is semi-Japanese, with a platform and mattresses. Amenities are basic (no conditioner!! my hair was so rough after two nights of no conditioner >. Amenities: toothbrush and toothpa...

Chris stayed at Fullerton Taipei 41 the last time he was there for business trip which is in a better location. It was fully booked so he booked this one instead. This hotel is not near the main activity area in the city centre but neighbouring sights are equally accessible from here by taxi. Taxi in Taiwan is quite cheap, like Singapore prices without the 35% surcharge, so we kinda took taxi most of the time =P Mostly Causasians, Japanese and some Koreans. Just a short walk from here is a food street so meals is not a problem. There's a bank just right next door so getting extra cash is also very convenient. Breakfast is buffet style with an egg station (sunny-side up, omelette, scrambled). Typical of small boutique hotels, the range is just adequate. The restaurant is cosy and quiet, no noisy tourists like some large-scale hotels. Complimentary coffee (percolated) and tea with biscuits at the lobby every afternoon. The room is nice and cosy with all necessary amenities and even f...

Snippets of our Taiwan trip with the 7D... sorry some parts were v crappy... I couldn't figure out how to focus =P cos i'm still getting used to the video function =P

On our last day, we had the morning to walk around so we visited the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall （中正纪念堂）which was holding 2 exhibitions: Dinosaurs and Da Vinci, the genius. I liked the Da Vinci exhibition a lot. He was really a genius =) and i learnt something new... i never noticed that Mona Lisa had no eyebrows and eyelashes!! it is probably due to aging of the colours. And for the last supper, did you know that all lines in the room converge towards Jesus? coolz... =) This is the gate you go through to enter the memorial hall and i like the architecture of the building =) When i showed Priscilla the pictures, she said she was there a week ago to take wedding pictures! haha... it's become so common for wedding couples to go overseas to take pictures and Taiwan is a popular place because of the nice sights, flowers, architecture and most importantly, affordability. Chris and i are also considering taking photos overseas for our 10th anniversary which is in 2 years ^^ Pris is ver...