How to enjoy Taiwan my way...

I recently went to Taiwan for a short visit and I enjoyed it soo much but I do wonder how I could further enhance this experience so I summarized the following points. 

(1) Pray for a cow's stomach~!

Because Taiwan is also called the Asian food paradise~! There is bound to be food around every corner. With my current tummy, could not cram and taste every single food in taiwan within a week and live to tell it. From the fruit stalls to their night markets, from their cafes, food courts to their restaurant, there is bound to be something that I have yet to taste!! 

Lychee

I have always looked for low sugar content tea, but I wasn't fully prepared for zero sugar... :P

Fried mushroom~! So yummy... so many different types, do you like the normal mushroom, oyster mushroom or enoki mushroom?

Chao Tao fu... Stinky tofu... yet not so smelly but oo... so yummy!! 

Would you like big cock wafer, tart or popsicle?

Although fatty, I love their sausages~! 

How about the super juicy chicken steak... ?? Super nice... 

They say I must taste the Taiwan beer, the best wa... basically very light tasting so the ladies probably won't have much trouble downing that. But other than that, beer tastes like beer... : P

Pan fried bun

Oyster pancake

The oyster pancake has a sticky batter like glutinous rice flour mix which holds the different element together, served with a scoop of light black pepper sauce.  The upside is that you can keep the oyster fresh and sweet while the flour batter cooks but the downside is that I can't down too much of it without feeling the weight of it in my digestive track. 

Onion pancake

Food court food also so nice? Damn... 

Din Tai fung, international restaurant renown for their xiao long bao... 

Spicy duck blood soup. It looks disgusting, right? but then it isn't so hard to stomach. Pork intestine, duck blood, and stinky tofu are considered delicacy here but perhaps it would be for those with acquired taste.  

A major heartache for me is that I do not have enough space in my tummy for their dessert, because by the time I finish mains at the food stalls/restaurants/cafes I am seriously full!! And the dessert can be very tempting too... I am not much of a dessert person but who can resist the charm of a baked cheesecake? Like this one below... Uncle Tetsu's Cheese cake. I can judge from the queue that the cake must be very good but then they only sell one whole cheesecake and no slices!! How can we, just the two of us finish one whole block of cheesecake?? 

Uncle Tetsu's cheesecake at Taipei main station

Long Q in front of Uncle Tetsu's cheesecake shop

Whenever someone offer me food in Taiwan, it is a common phrase to hear me say 'Jiak be lok' (meaning: I am full, I can't stuff more in). It is now a regret for me that I have yet to taste every single food in Taiwan... sigh... if only I have a cow's stomach!!

P/s: If you insist (like me) to NOT waste food, then don't forget ENO. It is great against indigestion.

(2) Try things the smart way~!

Food sampling is everywhere~! This is one of the thing I enjoyed most because I could not squeeze in dessert after main course yet I could not buy these desserts back home (it will spoil) so what better way than to have those food sampling counters?? They cut the food to bite size and I can taste more that way~! Wonderful~! One of the place I really love is Taipei's main bus station~! Lots and lots of food sampling stalls... 

(3) No need to invest in DSLR la, get a good phone camera~! 
When we were travelling, the best reminder is to travel light because it gets heavier as we travel. Walk walk walk, buy, walk walk walk, add water, walk walk walk, buy some more, walk walk walk, eat... so it gets heavier as we progress. Initially we had a DSLR with us as we travel and the DSLR can capture like super nice pics. But when we are travelling, I do not have enough time to stop and take multi-shots of a single inanimate object to get the best freaking shot. Especially in my case, because it was pouring rain every single day. So have some mercy for those who is holding the umbrella or waiting behind you in the queue, make it simple and just use an easy camera that you can easily get out of the bag and easily snap a pic with, okie? if there is a tiny flaw with your pic, can you just wait till you get home and photoshop it away? It is very sad when you waste other people's time just to snap the perfect shot... correct a not?

Chiang Kai Shyek's memorial hall (It was actually raining very heavily but cannot see, right?) 

Our home stay near sun Moon Lake, nice shot, what?

#Taipei101 , the second tallest building captured with #Iphone, not bad, what? lol... 

(4) Not good enough? Then get Instagram la~! 

Original pic of Cultural village's restaurant

After cropping and applying filter... nice what?

(5) If you are travelling in June-July, don't ever forget your umbrella!!
When we went there, it was the worst rainy season ever. And I am not exaggerating, check the news~! There was flooding going on, erosions and cases of stranded villages and there I was 'hee hee haha' and the 'ladida' going all gaga over their food and shopping. If there was any comfort to myself, it might be that I helped with their economy a bit? And I DID NOT waste food lo!! (Future me is gonna hate me for it when she weights herself... hahaha...)

But the condition was pretty alright in Taipei, basically all we needed was the umbrella. Actually I was thankful for the rain because it gets unbearably sauna-like humid hotness in summer here without the rain. Which brings me to another point, (6) Water-proof makeup!! Time to put those makeup to the test and see just how waterproof they can get~!

(7) If you are staying at their homestay or going trekking, don't ever... EVER forget your insect repellent, long sleeve and long pants!!
WARNING: You are about to view some disturbing pictures~!

Yikes!! Horrible horrible mozzie bites!! I have calculated about 20 bites on one side of my leg, and that does not include the back side of my leg, my other leg and both of my arm. It was so terrible that it triggered allergy reaction towards it resulting in itch + itch == crazy insane me. The scary bit is these horrible horrible mozzie (so horrible they deserve two horrible)  bites does not hurt at first bite, they itch and swell on the second to third day leaving me to fill in the pieces.

With calming soothing lotion and an anti-histamine medication... 

(8) Not bargaining is for sissies, bargaining is for kiasu


During my shopping spree, one thing I was (ok, still la) terrible at was bargaining. It is a common practice to haggle the price of the merchandise with the hawker, right? But for a lazy tourist like me, I rather save that time haggling to oggle at more food and merchandise so I tend not to haggle. But then when I turn another corner and noticed that the price of the same merchandise is so cheap at the other stall, I got very angry with myself!! So I kiasu and I bargain with every hawker I see (except for food la, k? I don't want later they spit in my food).

If they are intelligent, they will realize that I am bargaining for fun one. Ke ke give me discount NT10-20, I will feel damn syok one. lol... Those that did not let me win the haggle, walk off la. There are plenty more stalls along the way. I seldom do that la, cause ppl there are so nice.... MOST k, most~! But that is good enough.

 (9) Don't forget to get more luggage space!! 

When I took a closer look at my travel itinery for our return flight home, I took a double take and was aghast that we only purchased 15kg for two person. TWO PERSON!! Where got enough?? Of course I can squeeze my 'little' purchase into 15kg worth of weight. And luckily my hubby travels extremely light but that means I had to restrained myself from buying other interesting things that I see along the way. (That actually includes a LOT of things!!) I had to stop myself from purchasing more magazines, more books, more food and basically more cosmetic products... (clothing are light, I can wear extra, it is winter in OZ anyway...) #FFUU

(10) Get good quality runner shoes for walking
Luckily my friend gave me a friendly reminder before our trip but then apparently my choice of sneakers isn't good enough, I do yearn for a good runner's shoes for the walk. Beauty comes at a price, I do wonder how ppl can stand wear high heels or even ballet flats and walk around so much?

If I was given the opportunity, I won't mind another trip to Taiwan again. Different season do bring along different flowers, moods and er... shopping products... :D *wink* But hopefully after my wedding la... I seriously looking forward to slimming down and shaping up for my important event~! 

Taiwan pre-wedding photoshoot experience

Every girl wants to look their best in their pre-wedding photoshoot, because hopefully that would be THE one for us. The pre-wedding shoots have been haunting me since last year as we plan and fret about where, when and which bridal studio to go to. We've scanned through websites upon websites of bridal studio, packages, and pics to determine which bridal studio would suit us and our love story. I've mailed photographers for availability dates, bridal studio for packages and friends for suggestions countless times. There are soo many choices out there, I believe my eyes have gone crossed during the search. But after a while, the pics look quite repetitive and I knew we had to make a decision soon. 

 Some of the criteria that we looked for was credibility, style, cost and mannerism of the establishment. Credibility in terms of delivery of service, if they say they can deliver by one month then by all means they should deliver by 1 month, give or take a week. And if we have specified that we would not like our pictures to be used for their advertisement purposes, they better respect our decisions because we paid for the shoots. (This is so important! A lot of studio let us sign a paper on whether they can use our pics for their personal and public use and we specified no, and they still do. We just had to be more thick skin and request them to take it down immediately. But that taints their credibility.) Second of all, style. Every self-proclaimed artists have their preferred style because that is how they perceive the world. And it will be so much more easier if both of you connect at certain wavelength, I don't think you will regret. Third of all, mannerism. Marriage should be one of the most happiest and important day of a bride and groom's life. And it is important that the photographer and/or makeup artist do not pull you down. So what if you have extra pimples, freckles, fat or you wanted a different style of shoots, they should be professional to recognize these needs and address you with respect and a smile. I have heard horror stories of a friend who had a beautiful album but was so frustrated with the delivery time and that establishment's attitude. And last but not least, cost la~! It would be pointless to talk about anything without knowing the price tag, k? lol... 

And that was one of the main reason why we chose to do our pre-wedding shoot in Taiwan, not our hometown and not Perth. Perth has its beautiful sceneries nonetheless but the price is really over the top. We experimented with a indoor shoot last year and it was so expensive for such average work, I really do not wish to reveal the price. The worst thing was that it is like ordering a'la carte... so ... expensive... and does not include make up and dress hire. So I'd imagine it is pretty lucrative business here. Whereas Miri ar? Let's be honest, the polluted beach doesn't really appeal to me. Then haters go comment about forgetting my roots and rubbish things like that, I would think, 'elo... photo album nia ma, I can take whatever pics I want, ok? no need to make it like I sell my soul or my country. wth?' Haters would always be haters. #haters So Taiwan was like a pretty match up between the two, beautiful sceneries at affordable price plus we can travel and play at the same time! 

Had my manicure done before the flight

I was so excited and nervous before the trip. I had my manicure done just because~! :P It was actually a lame way of trying to make myself more presentable after I neglected good exercise and my diet for the better of 2 months. Luckily I lost my appetite one week before the photoshoot. 

After 10 hours of flight and 2 hours of transit in Singapore, we finally touched down with aching buttocks~!

We had the arranged photoshoot in the beautiful natural scene of Sun Moon Lake, so they arranged accommodation for us in the beautiful town of Puli which is a 2 hours drive from the main Taipei airport. By then, I have mastered the shameless method of sleeping with my mouth open. Shameless, indeed. 

I can't start to describe the kind of feeling you get when you drive through fields of vegetation. You know... apart from sleepy that is. It is so peaceful and beautiful, it really reminded me of the song Jay chow once sang. 

One thing Taiwan is renown for should be their home-stay (民宿). I call them bed and breakfast. The place is very homey and full of character, like the one that we had the chance to stay. The owners practically designed and constructed most of the furniture and the building itself. So amazing~! You probably won't find swimming pools, spa, Jacuzzi or an open bar but you will be surrounded by the calming effects of the crickets, priceless view of the greenery and large spacious room space at affordable price~! 

Our room looks out to the restaurant and a priceless view of the hills (at night)

The hand made furniture in the room

Our room for the next few days... not sure why there are 2 beds?

 

The frontal view from our room (in the morning)

When I walked out of my room, I get the feeling of home. I was instantly surrounded by the owner's cat and dog. No different than mine at home. 

The view of their villa 

This is happy me before I regret the short attire, the mozzie bites appear to haunt me like chicken pox all over my body...

Okie, one reminder to those who are going to those places though, don't ever ever forget your insect repellant, long sleeve and long pants!! Having lived so happily in Oz, I regret to say I forgot the pain of mozzie bites. So I suffered tremendously from the mozzie bites. Well, in my defense, it is supposed to be summer in Taiwan~! Summer --> heat --> hot --> short... 

 

Pretty wildlife

But I forgot to double check the weather forecast like days before the travel, which is like what a SMART traveler would do!! The horror when I was in the airport and I heard over the news that Taiwan is hit by torrential rain resulting in floods, erosion, schools being shut down and all the horrors... T.T And that is one of the danger of doing overseas photoshoot, you can't predict natural disasters. And it pretty much rained the whole first day we were there while I tried on wedding gowns. Btw, because we need the wedding gowns the very next day, they didn't have time to tailor the dresses to my size so they had to use an ugly safety pin to hold it up from the back. (Hey, I don't need to lose weight after all~!) Definitely need to photoshop those out~! But the next day, it miraculously stopped raining just enough till 3pm for us to go out and have our outdoor photoshoot!!

Xi~!

Prepping and dressing up... 

I was so shy during dressing up, I was so grateful that the makeup artist and the stylist were so considerate and nice to me. I practically cringed when they told me to change into the other dresses in the van while other cars zoom passed. Okie la, they didn't see a thing, ok? Got technique de! lol... And they made me wear a tiara~! So adorable~! 

Catching some shut eye as we progress through the day... 

And the taiwanese we bumped into along the way was so friendly~! A man actually offered his cute poodle for the photoshoot, and we got a nice bicycle from a passerby for the photoshoot... that was like so random!! We even got a chance to take pics on a yatch~! The boss was like convinced that marrying couple would bring luck to him so he was so enthusiastic to have us on board. 

Then we were able to collect the pictures in softcopy format from them the very next day. It was a great experience overall. Most couples who choose to do their wedding photoshoot in Taiwan choose to do it Taipei, which has beautiful manicured parks and handsome architectures. But we decided on more natural scenery like sun moon lake because more #hipster ma~! lol... : P Actually the more hipster method is not to do it since everyone is doing it, so I dare you to... lol...