From the title, i don't mean that Malaysia is getting 'hip'. At least not with all the hanky-panky going on in Malaysian politics. I wonder when Hollywood will be getting the rights to make the saga into a blockbuster. Actually, what i meant from the word 'cool' is really the literal meaning... it was really cool during my visit back to Malaysia...well except for the 2nd day i was home. It was burning hot like a furnace, but later i realised it was because a storm was brewing...the rain reigned for a full day the following day.
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Hmmm...this photo was taken while i was travelling along the East Coast Highway, from the direction of Kuantan towards Kuala Lumpur. If your first instinct tells you this is the haze from forest fires, then you're wrong. It was actually a very misty day... really nice. I hardly get to see this anywhere in Malaysia, let alone a highway.
Wow... Sunrise Heaven? Nah, this was actually the view from my hotel bedroom in Cameron Highlands ( more of CH stories to come next time). It felt like we were actually staying above the clouds.
Hmm...perhaps i was right. We were 5,300 feet above sea level... and look at the temperature gauge that says '17.7 deg C'.... fantastic... it was pretty chilly but a good change from Singapore weather, nevertheless.
And this is Genting Highlands, drenched from heavy rain. Look at the heavy downpour coming down.
Even First World Hotel with its array of colours didn't stand out amidst all the fog. I think the weather was around 20-ish degrees... it was warm indoors, but whenever i walked towards any exit i could feel the cold winds seeping in.
26.1 Deg C it says here...but this was the temperature inside our hotel in Awana which is situated mid-hill near the Cable Car station. It was the perfect mix...not too cold and not too warm for me. Right now, it's back to hot old Singapore weather for me =(
2nd day must be my favourite of the lot. We had a lot of scenic excursions, starting with our bus trip along the northeast coast of Taiwan. Taiwan is an island with mountain regions in its center, hence most of the roads are built close to the coast, providing majestic sights.
My first stop was at Yehliu Geopark (野柳). Natural erosions by the wind and water left many fascinating rock formations along this beach. Here i am posing with the 'mushroom-shaped' ones. My biggest regret of the day was not taking snapshots of the 'candle-wax' ones cos i wasn't able to locate them, but they sure look good from the brochure!
These are the ginger-shaped ones. They really look like real gigantic ginger, even the colour and texture are alike! The red line was drawn to prevent overly eager tourists from falling over the cliff. The waves from the beach was pretty.... it was slamming on the rocks just below, creating jets up along the cliff.
And the most symbolic rock in Yehliu....the Mother of all rocks here...haha....the Queen's head (女王頭). It was predicted that the neck will no longer hold and sometime in the future, the Queen will lose her head. It is still being debated whether they would want to eternally preserve it by artificial means or let nature take its course.
Look! I found my missing slipper along the shore ! Nah, it's another rock formation called the Fairy's Shoes ( 仙女鞋). Looks eeriely like mine huh?
A huge hippo ?
This is Jiufen Township (九份), my favourite town in Taiwan. It was originally a gold mining town. After all the gold had been dug up, the people left and it became a ghost town until several years ago, director Hou Hsiao Hsien made a touching movie with the town as its backdrop. The locals and tourists returned, making the town prosper again. The town of Jiufen is high up on a hill, and the sleepy and lazy town has a unique charm to it.
There were only several small streets up there, with this one being the busiest one. The streets were small and cosy, and it's a slow uphill climb but you don't feel the slope because you're just too busy soaking in the atmosphere.
The quieter area of Jiufen.
After having lunch, we took a public bus to the nearest train station ( down from the hill). We took a scenic coastal train ride all the way to Hualien. We crossed endless rivers and went through countless tunnels with a matching seaview...nice! Pity it was insanely cold in the train...
Another pity i visited the Taroko Gorge (太魯閣國家公園) right after a typhoon. The originally blue river had turned all muddy....really really disappointed because the Taroko Gorge is the MAIN natural attraction in Taiwan...the number 1 on the must-see list when going to nature attractions in this country. The weather in Hualien was cloudy, so the photos just turned out depressing.
This is a stall selling A-Gei . Even though i was at numerous food streets in Taiwan, the special thing was that all different areas in Taiwan specialises in different kind of snacks...so it wasn't that bad combing one after another...in Danshui Old Street, the 2 specialties were A-Gei 阿給and Grandma's Tiedan 阿婆鐵蛋. In A-Gei's case, i don't see it anywhere else but here. As for tiedan, i hated it when friends brought it back previously so i didn't attempt to try at all.
