Recess Week.
February 22nd - 29th Six weeks have passed since I've been attending NUS! During the second week of my study abroad my friends and I planned a trip to Taiwan during our recess week and the time has finally come! On Saturday morning we went to Changi Airport and went to the only Shake Shack in Singapore for lunch before our flight at one PM. We flow on Scoot Airlines to Taiwan on a 4-5 hour flight. Once we got out of the plane the first thing that we all noticed was the nice cool breeze in Taipei! We were all excited to finally be in Taiwan and to experience something new. Once we got to our Airbnb and settled down we left to go to the Shilin Night Market. It had such a lively and fun atmosphere! We were surrounded by tons of small stores and food stands, that’s when I immediately fell in love with the city. We tried tons of (affordable) food like candied tomatoes, Korean hot dogs, deep-fried milk and Oreos, dim sum, boba, and a traditional Taiwanese street food dish, oyster noodles! Day two, we went out to an outdoor shopping mall called the Ximending Walking District where we explored and bought all sorts of things from the small local business and watched different street performances. For lunch, a few of our friends surprised us and brought us to the Modern Toilet Restaurant Taipei, which is a toilet-themed restaurant. The decor from the seats, walls, restrooms and even their plates are toilet inspired. At first, I was pretty off-put by the idea of it but it turned it to be a really fun experience. after dinner, we all split up and Clay and I went around and saw that Taiwan had a lot of claw machine places and we decided to indulge and check out as many claw machine arcades as we could before meeting up for dinner. At night, we gathered and went to another night market for dinner. It wasn't as big as the first night but we still found good food that satisfied our cravings. As we were wandering around the night market we stumbled upon another arcade (Probably Clay's and I's 20th one of the day). We stayed there for a good bit challenging each other at Dance Dance Revolution haha. When we got back to our Airbnb we watched a Taiwanese film called Our Time and played card games. Day three in Taipei was our friend Cel's last day in Taipei before she left to Tainan to spend time with her family before we would travel there for our last few days. So we had to make the most out of it and went to the first-ever Din Tai Fung establishment. Once we finished breakfast we went to Taipei 101 the tallest building in Taiwan. Usually, we would go up the building but none of us really wanted to spend the money on it and instead, we decided to just take pictures outside of the building. Next, we went to a Buddhist temple where we saw many locals coming to do their prayers and offerings. At this point, we sent off Cel and went our separate ways. To end off the night we went to my second favorite night market (Not too sure what the name of it was). We split up and tried tons of new food like Taiwanese sausage, souffle pancakes, coffin sandwiches, and cranberry lemonade. We got back to our Airbnb watched a bunch of K-Pop bands and played card games till 3 AM. Day four, we went to try out a famous local restaurant at Ximending Walking District that specialized in beef noodles. It wasn't my favorite dish just because I didn't really favor the thick noodles that came with the dish. Afterward, most of us went to check out the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall as a part for us to experience more of Taiwan's history and culture. We took tons of photos and had a lot of fun while we were at it. Then since it was getting closer to dinner time my friends and I decided to go back to the Shilin Night Market since we all loved it so much and tried different dishes than the first time. When we got back to our Airbnb we all packed most of our things and played card games till we had to go to bed. Unfortunately, we didn't get to sleep too early. Right as we were going to bed one of our friends realized the toilet wasn't flushing and that it was clogged. We tried all sorts of solutions we could find on the internet, we even went to 7-Eleven to buy a pipe solution that would supposedly fix our problem. Of course, the boys had to do all the nasty, dirty work (scoop out toilet water and try to unclog the toilet.) It was already late and the idea came to us to unclog the toilet using a towel to create pressure and it worked! Everyone else went to bed but I decided to clean since I was already awake. I ended up only getting 3 hours of sleep that night and woke up the next day super cranky haha. Day five, we woke up cleaned and packed whatever was left (luckily the toilet was still working by the time we checked out) and checked out of our Airbnb. We lugged our luggage all the way to the train station where we had to take a 4-hour train ride to Tainan another big city in Taiwan. Before we got onto the train we had lunch and picked up a few gifts for Cel's family for letting us stay over. On the train ride we all caught up on sleep as much as we could and before we knew it we arrived in Tainan. My first impression of the city was that it reminded me of Hacjioji Japan. More country and slower than the big city and everything was much more uniform than Taipei. Cel and her mom picked us up at the station and brought us back to their home where we met her grandparents and her cute doggo Daboh. Then Cel's mom ordered us taxi's to a popular night market in Tainan and got to try roast duck buns, ice cream, fried sweet potato balls, and more Taiwanese sausage. We also got to play a basketball game which none of us won haha. Afterward, we explored Tainan and went on a stroll to find a cool alley with small shops and great photo opp walls. We got back to the apartment, and sang some karaoke and played with Daboh. Day six, Cel's mom treated up to tickets to the Chimei Museum which featured a ton of exhibits. The museum had featured exhibits like Nature and fossil, Fine Arts, Arms and Armory, and Musical Instruments. I was trying to soak it all in especially since it was a gift from Cel's mom because she wanted us to enjoy our time in her home. After, Cel told us we were going to have lunch with her family and told me to take a taxi to a specific address just to find out she tricked us! She actually took us to a moped rental shop where we could rent a moped for the whole day since Taiwan doesn't require a license for moped drivers. I was really nervous but wanted to learn how to drive a moped. Unfortunately, since I didn't know how to ride a bike in the first had, I had a hard time getting used to the moped. So instead I hopped behind Cel where she took us to a touristy restaurant where we tried the beef soup and other dishes. Then we went to Anping Old Street which is the oldest street in Taiwan and is filled with vibrant stalls and got to try new snacks and tried new desserts. Next, we drove to another street market but more hipster attracted as sang and listened to Tokyo Drift theme song, Justin Bieber throwbacks, and 2000's throwbacks. At the end of the night, we picked up dinner (Chicken hearts, dim sum stinky tofu, fruits and winter-melon agar cubes) and at the apartment and learned how to play Majong and played till 3 AM. Day seven, our last day in Taiwan :( we got a full night's rest and some of us stayed to have breakfast made by Cel's grandma and play Majong while the other went to a hair salon to get their hair done. Then those who stayed back decided to get full-body massages. I was really excited to get one because I have a really stiff body haha. It was so good I ended up falling asleep in the middle of the massage. We went back to the apartment ate snacks and packed up for the flight back to Singapore. We said goodbye to the grandparents and Cel's mom saw us off at the speed rail station. It took about an hour and a half and we got to the airport had dinner checked in and we were off back to good old' Singapore. This trip to Taiwan was so amazing! I have to say it is one of my favorite countries yet. Beautiful sceneries, delicious food and drinks, amazing people and such a fun nightlife. I also have to thank Cel and her family for being so welcoming and loving to each one of us. Staying with them truly felt like I was back home with my family, always making sure I was okay and that I’ve had enough to eat haha. I will never forget the amazing memories I have made with them and my friends abroad! |