December Holidays
During the December holidays, me n my family went overseas. We went to Hong Kong, Macau and lastly Taiwan for a 14 day trip.
Hong Kong
When we reached Hong Kong, it was already at night thus, the only transport was to take bus to the rental apartment. I remember that my dinner for that night was a delicious bowl of steaming hot fish ball noodles. After that, we returned to the apartment. The apartment was pretty small but was still liveable. At least it had a television and also free Wi-Fi!
The next day, we went to a theme park, Ocean Park. However, as it was a weekend, there were a lot of people and all the rides were crowded. But, the theme park was not only meant for rides. There were animal shows and also and aquarium. In the aquarium, we saw a huge stingray, almost the length of a shark. Next, we went to see the sea animal show. At the animal show, dolphins were doing fabulous tricks, diving in and out of the water with synchronisation. The seals were waving at us with their tails and flippers, they were so adorable. After the show, we had to take the cable car back to the entrance and the queue was longer than you can imagine. The wait was about 30 minutes I guess?
That was not the end, when we took the bus to the MRT station, it was the peek period. Traffic was heavy and it was another hour before we were able to alight at the bus-stop.
The following day, we decided to go to Mongkok, one of the tourist attraction. There were many items sold there ranging from USB thumb drive to belts. It was our last night in Hong Kong so we decided to have a 'higher-class' dinner. We found a dim sum shop and ordered to our fill, it was really delicious! The buns were decorated like a pig and it was a very cute!
Macau
Goodbye Hong Kong! And Hello Macau! We set off for Macau on a boat ride that was estimated to arrive at Macau in an hour time. When we have settled down, we decided to go a nearby 'market' to have dinner. We explored the place and discovered a bubble tea shop, the green tea latte was really good! In addition, we found a food that is only found there, curry Yong Tau Foo. Due to the travel time, we called it a day was we were all exhausted and returned to our hotel room.
The next day, we went back to the place and decided to try the Portuguese egg tarts as Macau was famous for it. It was so delicious, the is a sensation of crisp when you put it into your mouth and it feels as if it is melting in your mouth. After that, we walked to the tourist attraction, Senator Ruins. The attraction is a front view of a castle that is suppose to have been preserved for a few 100 years. After taking many photos with it, we decided to proceed to have our dinner. In a small alley, we found a shop named "House of Tomato". To me it wasn't really what I expected but what can I say...
2 days past in Macau and it was time to travel to another country, Taiwan! The following day, we had to catch a boat to go to Hong Kong airport and then transit on the plane to Taiwan. However, the transit time was approximately 3 hours. Thankfully we were applicable to a lounge and had a comfortable place to eat and relax.
Taiwan
Upon reaching Taiwan, the sky had darken, we had to buy tickets for a bus transport that brings us to a city. The bus ride is about 1 hour. In the end, when we reached there we had to take a cab to the hotel as it is not within walking distance. We had to take in separate cabs as one cab was unable to fit my family of 5. After settling down, we decided to go the night market to have our dinner. The fried mushrooms were really nice! I even bought a shoe for school!
Rise and shine, we had to wake up early as we had hired a chauffeur that will fetch us to a place called Alishan and bring us around the place. Even though the vehicle was not what we had expected, the ride was still comfortable. As we had stopped along the way, by the time we started ascending the mountain it was almost dark. To make the situation worse, there is no streetlights on the roads. Isn't it dangerous? Alishan is on a mountain and it is very cold there, fortunately, for the 民俗, there are heated blankets that are able to keep us warm.
Having a wonderful sleep, I woke up all fully energised and was prepared to have a full day ahead. The same driver picked us up and brought us to a higher point where there are many tourists bus there. Its was like a garden just a bigger one such that there are huge trees planted. Something like Bukit Timah Reserve. It was very crowded. Our driver says that in the time when the flowers blooms, the number of people over there will be 5 times more than during the winter season. After the tiring walk, the driver recommended a shop to us, it is a hotpot shop and the ingredients served there were really big!. After the meal, we went down the mountain and proceeded to Chiayi. By the time we reached Chiayi, it was already dark and our driver will be leaving us.
Waking up early in the morning again, we had to catch an early train. The train ride was about 5h long to Guan Shan. However, we had to transit. During the 5h train ride, I was looking at my brother's phone as he was playing a game. After awhile, I began to feel dizzy and did not really feel well. Fortunately, I recovered over a period of time and we had arrived at the hotel. The hotel provided bicycles and we could use them to cycle on the bicycle path. Guan Shan is a place meant for cyclist to cycle. The path was up slope and it was quite a tedious one. After the ride, I was so exhausted that I could barely walk. Later on that night, I began to feel feverish. This was when the nightmare began.
The following day, we had to catch another train to Tai Tung. Finally we could wake up later as the train was bound to leave at 12.30pm, thus, there was no need for rushing. Arriving at Tai Tung, we had to wait for an hour for the driver to pick us up as they forgot the appointment. Yet, the driver was still friendly with us and showed us some of the famous food stalls that we should try. The bungalow looked very grand and luxurious. We went to a nearby park and walked for awhile. That was when I started to feel dizzy. I was running a fever. We went back to the hotel and I was told to rest while my family go to the Night Market to buy some food back.
After several train rides, it was time to move in a car! We had hired a cabby that was also a tour guide. The driver brought us to many places. One of the special places is the place where the river flows upwards instead of downwards. Amazing isn't it? However, during the ride, I was feeling more and more dizzy. I could not really remember much about the trip as I was in the car for most of the time. When I woke up, it was already 5-6 pm. Taiwan gets dark earlier than Singapore. The driver recommended some food to us and my father and mother went down to buy the pack food. Upon arriving at the hotel, we were greeted by the owner. The owner showed us our room and we realised that the room is so huge. There was even a coffee table where we ate our food there. As I was sick, I did not really have the appetite to eat so I could only drink some of the beef soup and eat some noodles. Then, I took a shower and prepared to have a night's rest. The following day, I was feeling energetic. I was not sick anymore and even decided to go down to the breakfast area to eat with my family. However, my brother was the one who is sick. Looks like I had transferred my virus to him.
The place we stayed was near the pebble bay. In fact, it was right beside it. However, it looked different from the previous time when I went there. which was probably 4-5 years ago. We were given free rental bicycle coupons that came with the hotel room and rented bicycles to cycle the path provided. It was really refreshing as the wind would be blowing in your face when we cycle. In the end, as the area was quite remote, there wasn't any restaurant or night market, hence, all we could do is to go to the nearest convenient store and buy the pre-made noodles. I enjoyed it as I liked eating maggi mee!
Our days at Hua Lian had ended and the owner kindly called a cab to pick us up. Upon arriving at the train station, we had to take another train ride that was about 3 hours. Arriving at Taipei, there were many exits and we were unsure which was the right one. Fortunately, there was a kind lady who offered to show us the way to the hotel. During the 3 days spent in Taipei, we had shopped for countless hours and visit many shops. It is the last day of the trip and I was glad yet disappointed that we had to go back home.
This concludes my overseas trip and I hope that I will return to these countries soon! :D
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