life marathon; when you let go of what you are, you become what you might be: Taiwan Trip 2 20th March 13 to 26th March 13; Day 3: Hualien - Shitiping, Taipei

So ta-da.

Energized the next morning again.

Got this female cab driver who agreed to charge us NT2000 for trips around Hualien from 730am to about 230pm where we will catch our HSR back to Taipei. Found her rate to be lower than the one I have found on the net at NT2800. But she kinda cheated us! She drove really slowly at 50km/h even when there was no cars. In the end for such a long period of time, we only went to 3 places. - the breakfast place near our minsu, Shitinping introduced by Will and some peaceful lake that offers some scenery, introduced by herself.

We had some porkball noodles for breakfast. She had pig blood noodles instead.

Shitinping (石梯坪）

Scenery there is really nice! Indeed a good spot for photography lovers! One has to pay entrance fees though for foreigners. I think has to pay like NT50. And you get to offset that when you purchase something from the cafe inside.

I don't know why they are so keen in displaying all this haha.

Then we went to some lake and it was back to Taipei.

Went to try the bomb (炸彈）that was featured on TV as recommended by Will.

The egg yolk just oozes out like the bomb.

One of the above is the better one. I forgot which is which already haha.

So that's all for Hualien!

Taipei
Back to Taipei!

When we reached the place, it was around 6pm. We only had around 30 minutes to buy a pair of nice evening heels for Lin. Searched frantically with our luggage.

Then we took the train to Dongmen. It was newly built. We needed to reach Banana Hostel fast. Walked the wrong lane and ended up lost. Eventually found our way but it was already very late. So I called to push my reservation at a later timing. Yeah I got the dinner for 2 as a part of my first prize in Tung Lok contest (http://sgxy-lifemarathon.blogspot.sg/2013/09/taiwan-trip-2-day-0-changi-airport.html).

Banana Hostel

Our hostel looks something like that. Pretty right? Didn't take photo of the room though. Or maybe not yet. You shall see it in future posts. Rooms were pretty cramped. But what I like about this hostel is that it's pretty modern? A living room outside boosts interaction between yourself and other guests. Met a group of Singaporeans, Taiwanese and South Africans. Haha. But only exchanged contacts with the Taiwanese. Hehe. I like meeting new people through such exchange :)

There are also free bananas available every day and banana cake on weekends. Overall, enjoyed our stay there :)

Taipei 101 Shinyeh VIP Dinner

We quickly got ready in our rooms and we were super late. The hostel owner, Wilber saw us dressed up after we locked ourselves so long in the room and let out a chuckle. Haha. So, we took a cab down to the venue.

Yeah the restaurant manager and the division manager came out and greeted us personally. The division manager said HQ in Singapore told them to make us feel at home. That we are really important guests. WAHHAHAHAHA. SHIOK DAO! Then she gave me a box of tea leaf - 陈年好茶 as a souvenir. The food was fantastic. First time eating abalone out from the shell. Haha I know I'm quite sua ku. The managers kept coming to us if the food was to our liking. The waiters were attentive as well. Always looking to see if we needed anything else.

The meal didn't include free drinks. We bought a pot of tea. Haha.