Hey Everyone!
Some Housekeeping before I begin-I'm actually back in Canada now. While the adventure is officially over, I do have some posts left that I didn't get the chance to make (I hope to get these done quickly), and then I'll write a final post to cap it all off.
Anyway, Taiwan.
After having spent our first day walking around Taipei (literally, all over it, more or less), on our second day we headed into the mountains. We took the metro to a suburban area in southern Taipei, from which we then grabbed a bus to a place in the mountains called Wulai (乌来）. Wulai was a beautiful place-tucked right into the mountains and along a river. It also held some special attractions. For one, there was a lot of Taiwanese aboriginal heritage there (which was marketed as much as possible); there were also hot springs. We started by taking an old log cart to a little touristy area, from which there was a gondola up to a small park. We went the wrong way looking for the gondola, and wound up at first in a museum about the log carts, where we met an interesting old man who told us his stories about working the log carts and about world war II (it reminded me alot of listening to my own grandfathers talk about the good old days). We eventually finally found our way up the gondola, which took us to an amusement park next to a waterfall. Being in the middle of the week, and in the middle of April, the park was mostly empty. It had some great views, a few nice lakes, and a bizare obstacle course attraction (the kind of thing that would have required safety equipment and wavers in Canada, but didn't even have staff working it there). We spent a while in the park before heading back down to Wulai.
After grabbing some fresh pineapple from a cart, we headed to the hotsprings. There were limitless expensive hotsprings, but we opted for the free outdoor ones, where all of the elderly people hung out. The hot springs were extremely hot, and then the river we swam in was equally cold. This was another one of the moments when I just had to sit back and think "Holy crap, I'm swimming in a river in the mountains in Taiwan." It sure beat spending my pre-exam study week in the library!
After doing a little shopping on the main street (including buying some aboriginal rice wine which I actually just drank tonight-for the record, it was much sweater than I remembered), we grabbed some food from the shops (both street food, and a little restaurant where you select individual vegetables and meats to be cooked).After that, we headed back to Taipei, where we grabbed some snacks before heading in.
The next day, we headed out to Taipei zoo station, where we took a Gondola to an area called Maokong. Maokong is a tea-growing area. Rather than exactly following the tourist attractions, we decided to wander down some roads, and then hike up and down mountains. It wasn't the best planned thing I've ever done, but we did see lots of tea plantations, with the tea being picked, so it was pretty awesome. Back down the gondola, we grabbed lunch before heading in to the city.
Next we headed to the palace museum, which was full of artifacts that the KMT took from the mainland when they fled to Taiwan (I won't get into explaining the politics of it here, but I do encourage you to read the wiki articles). It was interesting, but we soon left and headed out to a restaurant we had read about-Din Tian Fung, a Xiao Long Bao restaurant we had read about. It had been rated one of the world's best restaurants by the New York Times, and it certainly didn't disappoint. The food was great, and the service made me laugh-while we were looking in the menus, they slipped a little card about how to eat Xiao Long Bao under my menu (I was both the only person in the restaurant to receive this treatment, which made me laugh! ) The food definitely lived up to what I expected ( I'd love to go back there right now!), and it came in at about 10 Canadian dollars each-much cheaper than any fancy restaurants here!
To finish things, we returned to Shilin night market, for some souvenirs and food.
I loved Taiwan. It seemed like a more slow-paced place than anywhere else I went in Asia. At first, I didn't know how we were going to spend so long in Taipei, since we seemed to get all of the attractions done pretty quickly. But then I realized that Taiwan tourism is more about eating the food, sipping the tea, and enjoying the views, all of which are fantastic. It was a lot greener, slower paced, and smaller scale than most other places too, and it's definitely a contender for a place I'd like to live as an adult.Also, I think it had some of the best food I've ever had!
Sunday, 29 May 2011
Thursday, 12 May 2011
Indonesia!
So, like I said, I visited Batam Centre, Indonesia, for an afternoon whilst in Singapore. Although Batam Centre consists of a shopping mall, ferry terminal, and little else, it was an interesting experience and deserves a short post of its own.
I went right out of the ferry terminal and into the mall for lunch. Looking for just a quick fix before exploring on foot, I grabbed some A and W (Mango Chicken wrap, in a combo that included ice cream=best AW food ever!). I instantly noticed that inflation was pretty high-lunch cost 22 000 Rupiah (about 2 dollars). My plan was now to head into the town, and so I left the mall. As soon as I left, people began to approach me asking if I wanted a taxi. I've gotten used to this in Asia, and kept walking. I had no need for a taxi since I was going nowhere in particular (and had no clue, at the time, what the exchange rate on the money was, so I didn't know if I'd have enough to get anywhere). I headed down a wide street, where the sidewalk was occasionally replaced by mud, and where, to my surprise, almost every motorist honked and tried to offer a ride. Not only taxis, but also motorcycles and people in private cars. Eventually, I realized, after walking in a square, that I wasn't going to find a town, and went back in to the mall.
I made an effort to learn as much about the local culture as one can in a standard shopping mall, in the middle of a week day. Indonesia, for those who don't know, is the world's largest Muslim majority country; this meant that there were mannequins wearing Hijabs, Halal restaurants (which Singapore also had alot of), and Arabic on some signs. I went into a Muslim shop, hoping there'd be something for learning Arabic (my minor in University, for those who don't know), but there was only a poster with the Alphabet. I then headed back out in another direction, where I grabbed lunch at a little restaurant. The lunch was good, but I felt like one of those obnoxious tourists when I couldn't speak the language to understand how much I owed. Eventually, I headed back on the ferry.
Now, the only real issue I had in Indonesia came when I tried to take the ferry back-it was only there that I was informed about the 51 000 Rupiah departure tax. The problem? I'd been shopping, and only had about 30 000. The ATM only operated in Indonesian, even when I pushed the English button, but I eventually made my way out, more than a little upset that they hadn't informed me of something so important.
Indonesia was an interesting experience. It was interesting to see the reaction to a lone, white, male traveler with a backpack. It was also interesting to observe the large compounds of resorts which people go to, while there was no actual cultural center in the town-presumably, most tourists go for the cheap escape from Singapore, and don't have the interest in Indonesian culture that I have for all cultures, and that caused me to make a short trip there. Regardless, it was fascinating, and the visa is probably the coolest thing in my passport!
I went right out of the ferry terminal and into the mall for lunch. Looking for just a quick fix before exploring on foot, I grabbed some A and W (Mango Chicken wrap, in a combo that included ice cream=best AW food ever!). I instantly noticed that inflation was pretty high-lunch cost 22 000 Rupiah (about 2 dollars). My plan was now to head into the town, and so I left the mall. As soon as I left, people began to approach me asking if I wanted a taxi. I've gotten used to this in Asia, and kept walking. I had no need for a taxi since I was going nowhere in particular (and had no clue, at the time, what the exchange rate on the money was, so I didn't know if I'd have enough to get anywhere). I headed down a wide street, where the sidewalk was occasionally replaced by mud, and where, to my surprise, almost every motorist honked and tried to offer a ride. Not only taxis, but also motorcycles and people in private cars. Eventually, I realized, after walking in a square, that I wasn't going to find a town, and went back in to the mall.
I made an effort to learn as much about the local culture as one can in a standard shopping mall, in the middle of a week day. Indonesia, for those who don't know, is the world's largest Muslim majority country; this meant that there were mannequins wearing Hijabs, Halal restaurants (which Singapore also had alot of), and Arabic on some signs. I went into a Muslim shop, hoping there'd be something for learning Arabic (my minor in University, for those who don't know), but there was only a poster with the Alphabet. I then headed back out in another direction, where I grabbed lunch at a little restaurant. The lunch was good, but I felt like one of those obnoxious tourists when I couldn't speak the language to understand how much I owed. Eventually, I headed back on the ferry.
Now, the only real issue I had in Indonesia came when I tried to take the ferry back-it was only there that I was informed about the 51 000 Rupiah departure tax. The problem? I'd been shopping, and only had about 30 000. The ATM only operated in Indonesian, even when I pushed the English button, but I eventually made my way out, more than a little upset that they hadn't informed me of something so important.
Indonesia was an interesting experience. It was interesting to see the reaction to a lone, white, male traveler with a backpack. It was also interesting to observe the large compounds of resorts which people go to, while there was no actual cultural center in the town-presumably, most tourists go for the cheap escape from Singapore, and don't have the interest in Indonesian culture that I have for all cultures, and that caused me to make a short trip there. Regardless, it was fascinating, and the visa is probably the coolest thing in my passport!
Singapore!
Hey all!
Before I start, some housekeeping-1)I'm writing about Singapore and Indonesia before having actually finished writing about Taiwan. Once I'm finished exams, I'll get around to finishing about Taiwan, and maybe include some more information about Hong Kong. 2) I'll be gone from HK soon enough, so if anyone has any questions about life here for me, please write some comments or send a message.
Now on to Singapore.
The first thing I realized when I arrived was that Singapore greets you with a hug-a big, warm, sweaty, humid hug. Even at midnight, it still feels like about 35 degrees; in the heat of the day, closer to 45. I also discovered quickly that MRT stations aren't air-conditioned. This makes sense in the outdoor ones, I suppose, but underground? The MRT is a good example of Singaporean society, however; the four official languages (English, Malay, Chinese and Tamil) are randomly thrown around (only some at different times, but there's always English).
I arrived at the hostel, checked in, and grabbed some Indian food nearby. The next day, I headed straight out to the city. After walking around along the waterfront, seeing the Merlion, the city centre, where Sir Stamford Raffles landed etc.,I sat down completely outdone by the weather-after an hour (although I was eventually adapted to it.) I headed straight for a museum to spend the middle of the day in (luckily, I arrived on free day-Singapore, as I discovered, is expensive, and full of unexpected costs).The museum was a good introduction to Singapore (and had a whole section on food, most of which I eventually tried). I then headed up to Little Indian, and Kamplong Glam/the Arab district, looking at the beautiful mosques and Hindu temples. Unfortunately, it was at this point that my camera decided that any picture it took it wouldn't save. But, I continued on to the expensive Raffles hotel for a look before grabbing dinner, attempting (but failing) to make it to the night safari, and then checking out Orchard Road-Imagine the Las Vegas Strip of Shopping malls.
The next day consisted of Chinatown, visiting some temples and mosques, Sentosa (A beach resort island consisting of casinos, hotels, beaches, and Universal Studios, none of which I actually visited), and the night safari. Claiming to be the only night safari in the world, it was definitely worth going to, a definite must-see! I must admit, I was a little intimidated by how much it resembled Jurassic Park (you take a tram through, and then walk on trails, with many animals separated by moats rather than cages. At one point, there was a section of doors you had to walk through, each of which had to be closed before the next would open, that really reminded me of the movie). I really can't describe this place enough, so I'll just say that if you're in S'pore, you should check it out.
I spent my last full day in Indonesia (which deserves a blog post), and then grabbed some food at a hawker centre and checked out Orchard road again. My last day, I spent the morning waiting for the hostel to give back my deposit so I could buy breakfast and skedaddle back to the airport.
So, impressions? It's not like most other Asian cities-the layout is more American. It's very orderly, and there's lots of English (although Singlish, the local dialect, is like a combination of Chinese and Indian accents, and a bit hard to understand. It is, however, my favourite English accent ever). The food is fantastic-combinations of Indian, Chinese, and Malay foods, all of which I love. The Roti Prata (Indian bread served with a sauce), Nasi Lemak (A Malay breakfast consisting of coconut rice-which is served with many dishes-meat, peanuts and sauce), Ice Kacang (A shaved Ice dessert), Satay (Meat on skewers with a sweet chili sauce-despite my hating spicy foods, the sauce was so good I was piling it on), and Kaya toast (toast with coconut spread), just to name the ones I remember, were fantastic. The cultural combination is also amazing-on one street, I saw, Chinese and Hindu temples, and a Mosque, all of which were open to visitors. Morevoer, people were friendly, and I did have the occaisonal chat. It was also easy to get around as a loan traveller.
On the other side, I found it expensive and hot. Neither of which, I suppose, can be avoided.
Well, that's Singapore! If I remember anything else good (it's hard without pictures as a memory aid), I'll update this post.
Before I start, some housekeeping-1)I'm writing about Singapore and Indonesia before having actually finished writing about Taiwan. Once I'm finished exams, I'll get around to finishing about Taiwan, and maybe include some more information about Hong Kong. 2) I'll be gone from HK soon enough, so if anyone has any questions about life here for me, please write some comments or send a message.
Now on to Singapore.
The first thing I realized when I arrived was that Singapore greets you with a hug-a big, warm, sweaty, humid hug. Even at midnight, it still feels like about 35 degrees; in the heat of the day, closer to 45. I also discovered quickly that MRT stations aren't air-conditioned. This makes sense in the outdoor ones, I suppose, but underground? The MRT is a good example of Singaporean society, however; the four official languages (English, Malay, Chinese and Tamil) are randomly thrown around (only some at different times, but there's always English).
I arrived at the hostel, checked in, and grabbed some Indian food nearby. The next day, I headed straight out to the city. After walking around along the waterfront, seeing the Merlion, the city centre, where Sir Stamford Raffles landed etc.,I sat down completely outdone by the weather-after an hour (although I was eventually adapted to it.) I headed straight for a museum to spend the middle of the day in (luckily, I arrived on free day-Singapore, as I discovered, is expensive, and full of unexpected costs).The museum was a good introduction to Singapore (and had a whole section on food, most of which I eventually tried). I then headed up to Little Indian, and Kamplong Glam/the Arab district, looking at the beautiful mosques and Hindu temples. Unfortunately, it was at this point that my camera decided that any picture it took it wouldn't save. But, I continued on to the expensive Raffles hotel for a look before grabbing dinner, attempting (but failing) to make it to the night safari, and then checking out Orchard Road-Imagine the Las Vegas Strip of Shopping malls.
The next day consisted of Chinatown, visiting some temples and mosques, Sentosa (A beach resort island consisting of casinos, hotels, beaches, and Universal Studios, none of which I actually visited), and the night safari. Claiming to be the only night safari in the world, it was definitely worth going to, a definite must-see! I must admit, I was a little intimidated by how much it resembled Jurassic Park (you take a tram through, and then walk on trails, with many animals separated by moats rather than cages. At one point, there was a section of doors you had to walk through, each of which had to be closed before the next would open, that really reminded me of the movie). I really can't describe this place enough, so I'll just say that if you're in S'pore, you should check it out.
I spent my last full day in Indonesia (which deserves a blog post), and then grabbed some food at a hawker centre and checked out Orchard road again. My last day, I spent the morning waiting for the hostel to give back my deposit so I could buy breakfast and skedaddle back to the airport.
So, impressions? It's not like most other Asian cities-the layout is more American. It's very orderly, and there's lots of English (although Singlish, the local dialect, is like a combination of Chinese and Indian accents, and a bit hard to understand. It is, however, my favourite English accent ever). The food is fantastic-combinations of Indian, Chinese, and Malay foods, all of which I love. The Roti Prata (Indian bread served with a sauce), Nasi Lemak (A Malay breakfast consisting of coconut rice-which is served with many dishes-meat, peanuts and sauce), Ice Kacang (A shaved Ice dessert), Satay (Meat on skewers with a sweet chili sauce-despite my hating spicy foods, the sauce was so good I was piling it on), and Kaya toast (toast with coconut spread), just to name the ones I remember, were fantastic. The cultural combination is also amazing-on one street, I saw, Chinese and Hindu temples, and a Mosque, all of which were open to visitors. Morevoer, people were friendly, and I did have the occaisonal chat. It was also easy to get around as a loan traveller.
On the other side, I found it expensive and hot. Neither of which, I suppose, can be avoided.
Well, that's Singapore! If I remember anything else good (it's hard without pictures as a memory aid), I'll update this post.
Wednesday, 4 May 2011
Taiwan-Part 1
Howdy all!
So, rather than spending the study week doing the obvious and cliche thing-studying-a friend and I chose to go to Taiwan for a few days instead. And, I've come to two conclusions: 1) Taiwan is definitely my cup of tea, and 2) Metaphors about tea are appropriate for describing Taiwan.
The first day we arrived at the airport at 1 AM. This meant we pretty much just went right into the hostel and went to sleep. Luckily, the cab driver coming into the city (Taipei), gave us lots of good tips on what to see/do/eat. The next day we headed straight out to the nightmarket near by, where we grabbed some noodles for breakfast. We headed straight off to the MRT towards some of the city's monuments. The MRT is above-ground in Taipei. We noticed there that everything moved at a slower pace in Taipei, especially some of the escalators in the MRT!
The first monument we arrived at was the Sun Yat Sen memorial hall. Sun Yat Sen was a leader in the overthrow of the Qing dynasty in the early 1900's (he actually studied at HKU). His memorial was large, but most of the museum was only in Chinese, so I had trouble reading it.There was, however, a giant statue of him, with guards on either side. The crazy thing about these guards was that they were so still, not even blinking, that we thought they were statues. Eventually, a changing of the guard was done; this was a lengthy drill which took probably 20 minutes, was full of show-offy actions that served no real purpose, and wreaked havoc on the floor tiles (they banged their guns on the ground alot).
Our next destination was the 2nd largest tower in the world-Taipei 101! Before heading up the tower, we headed into the foodcourt in its basement for a famous Taiwanese product-bubble tea! That's right, bubble tea (which, if you haven't had it, is this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubble_tea) originated in Taipei, and the stuff we had there did not dissapoint (it's about as common in Taipei as Tim Hortons in Canada or Starbucks in the US and Vancouver, and we had atleast one per day). Then, we went up to the top of the tower. As my friend pointed out, it was a typical East-Asian city, and the smog filled the air. It's also interesting to note that, although Taipei 101 is the second tallest building in the world, it's pretty much the only tall building in the city. They've also made a cute cartoon character out of the wind damper, which was drawn everywhere. The top of the place also had a frighteningly expensive coral shop (as in, they could have used scientific notation for their prices).
We followed Taipei 101 up with a trip to Longshan temple. First, we grabbed some noodles (wonton noodles), and then headed to the temple. The square infront of the temple seemed to be where all of the senior citizens in Taipei spend their time. The temple itself was also packed with people (for the record, the temples in Taipei were the first I'd ever seen with digital displays in front).
Next we headed to the memorial for Chiang Kai Shek. A nice building, it was similar to the other memorial in that it had the soldiers (we found out that these were actual soldiers-Taiwan has mandatory military service for males for one year).
After visiting another temple, we headed to one of the best parts of Taiwan-the Shilin night market. Taipei seems dead during the day, but it comes alive at night, with food, shops (which blast pop music to create a cool atmosphere), and people, and it's alot of fun. After dining on a variety of things, we headed back for the night
So, rather than spending the study week doing the obvious and cliche thing-studying-a friend and I chose to go to Taiwan for a few days instead. And, I've come to two conclusions: 1) Taiwan is definitely my cup of tea, and 2) Metaphors about tea are appropriate for describing Taiwan.
The first day we arrived at the airport at 1 AM. This meant we pretty much just went right into the hostel and went to sleep. Luckily, the cab driver coming into the city (Taipei), gave us lots of good tips on what to see/do/eat. The next day we headed straight out to the nightmarket near by, where we grabbed some noodles for breakfast. We headed straight off to the MRT towards some of the city's monuments. The MRT is above-ground in Taipei. We noticed there that everything moved at a slower pace in Taipei, especially some of the escalators in the MRT!
The first monument we arrived at was the Sun Yat Sen memorial hall. Sun Yat Sen was a leader in the overthrow of the Qing dynasty in the early 1900's (he actually studied at HKU). His memorial was large, but most of the museum was only in Chinese, so I had trouble reading it.There was, however, a giant statue of him, with guards on either side. The crazy thing about these guards was that they were so still, not even blinking, that we thought they were statues. Eventually, a changing of the guard was done; this was a lengthy drill which took probably 20 minutes, was full of show-offy actions that served no real purpose, and wreaked havoc on the floor tiles (they banged their guns on the ground alot).
Our next destination was the 2nd largest tower in the world-Taipei 101! Before heading up the tower, we headed into the foodcourt in its basement for a famous Taiwanese product-bubble tea! That's right, bubble tea (which, if you haven't had it, is this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubble_tea) originated in Taipei, and the stuff we had there did not dissapoint (it's about as common in Taipei as Tim Hortons in Canada or Starbucks in the US and Vancouver, and we had atleast one per day). Then, we went up to the top of the tower. As my friend pointed out, it was a typical East-Asian city, and the smog filled the air. It's also interesting to note that, although Taipei 101 is the second tallest building in the world, it's pretty much the only tall building in the city. They've also made a cute cartoon character out of the wind damper, which was drawn everywhere. The top of the place also had a frighteningly expensive coral shop (as in, they could have used scientific notation for their prices).
We followed Taipei 101 up with a trip to Longshan temple. First, we grabbed some noodles (wonton noodles), and then headed to the temple. The square infront of the temple seemed to be where all of the senior citizens in Taipei spend their time. The temple itself was also packed with people (for the record, the temples in Taipei were the first I'd ever seen with digital displays in front).
Next we headed to the memorial for Chiang Kai Shek. A nice building, it was similar to the other memorial in that it had the soldiers (we found out that these were actual soldiers-Taiwan has mandatory military service for males for one year).
After visiting another temple, we headed to one of the best parts of Taiwan-the Shilin night market. Taipei seems dead during the day, but it comes alive at night, with food, shops (which blast pop music to create a cool atmosphere), and people, and it's alot of fun. After dining on a variety of things, we headed back for the night
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)