Taiwan Visit Day 1

Landed in Taipei Taoyuan Airport just slightly after 12 pm...despite news of typhoon over the last few days, the sun was shining very brightly when i landed. I landed at the old terminal, and it really felt very 70s' in the terminal...

Just after that, i arrived at 淡水漁人碼頭 ( Danshui Fisherman's Wharf) where many Taiwanese stars hold their mini concerts here. This is Lovers' Bridge, one of the attrations at this wharf. I crossed the bridge and also spent some time walking along the shops along the wharf, with free running dogs (it's so dog friendly here, i love it~) and fisherman boats parked along the coast.

I had dinner at 淡水老街 ( Danshui Old Street). This was the first of MANY night markets i would be going to. Anyway, more on food in later posts... this place was brimming with people and it was cold and breezy, really pleasant for a walk.

It got dark after i walked for a while. It turned dark at approximately 5.30 pm.... after all, it's coming into autumn season now, and the days are getting shorter. This glorious mountain is the backdrop of the Danshui Waterfront.

We headed to the hotel for an early night. The hotel we stayed in was small, but it was nice. It had wooden floorings, but the most curious part was that the bathroom was of equal size with the bedroom. That's cos it's a 'Rejuvenating' hotel, and it came with chinese herbs for us to soak in.

Here we go, the bath room came with a jacuzzi where i had to throw my Chinese herbal bags into it, and soaked myself in it. The whole bathroom ended up smelling like a Chinese apothecary...haha... Just beside it is a sauna cum shower. The sauna lasted 3 minutes, and i could sit inside up to 15 minutes.

QQ - Post Boarding

Remember that QQ was away for lock-up for several days? QQ spent alot of time thinking about what to do when he gets home. Here's the list :

MUST get alot of tender loving care from mummy.... stay as close to her as possible, 'manja' to the max!

MUST make sure i get alot of treats and food to make up for the hellish time spent in jail. Yummy.... eating and chewing are my favourite activities...besides playing, that is.


MUST replenish my shut eye. The other dogs at the boarding place were too noisy for me to have proper sleep.

MUST glare menacingly at those who attempt to disturb my peaceful sleep.

MUST take a good shower/bath to cleanse myself of the dirt and grime from that awful cage.

MUST gain revenge by chewing on my owners' favourite items, preferably to shreds! Muahahahaha..... (Ann : Hey, that's my sweater idiot!)

Boh Tea Plantations

One of my stops in Cameron Highlands was their tea plantations which belong to 'Boh'. I just found out recently that BOH stands for 'Best Of Highland'... Anyway, this tea centre i visited in Sungei Palas is a relatively new one, so everything was still spick and span.



They have a guided tour once every 30 minutes, which relays to tourists how the tea leaves are harvested and processed, followed by their segregation to different classes of tea.

There is a very modern feel to the design of this place. It has a open concept, which is nice because the air there was really fresh. We travelled through winding roads, weaving across the tea plantations just to come here, but the journey along the way was scenic, with endless tea bushes stretching miles and miles away.

This a teahouse just beside the factory, perched precariously on the cliff overlooking the rolling hills. They sell, you guessed it, BOH tea to go with scones and cakes.

And these 2 photos were taken at the end of the teahouse. It may scare those who are afraid of heights, but it is very calming to see things so green.

Top 10 Formula One Crashes

In conjunction with the first night race, Singapore Grand Prix 2008, i present you this video. Don't worry, no one died in these accidents.

Food Experience in Cameron Highlands

This is T-Cafe... prior to visiting, i've done a certain amount of research on where to eat while in Cameron Highlands. T-Cafe comes out top of the list by people in various forums. I decided to give it a try while i was there. Their most famous dish, the Strawberry Fruity Scone was pretty good. I love scones, i always have... i was so excited to see the scone that i forgot to take a picture for my blog... gahhh.... so here's just a photo of the restaurant, which has a colonial feel to it.

Cameron Highlands is renowned for its steamboats. After all, in the cool weather, having a bowl of hot steamboat soup is absolutely heaven.

Here are the meat and vegetable that went along with our steamboat... they had jellyfish and cuttlefish... pretty unconventional for a steamboat session, in my opinion.

Balls and tofus! haha... oh i've forgotten to mention that this restaurant is called 'Highland Restaurant', the leading steamboat restaurant in Cameron Highlands. While we were having dinner there, a huge crowd went in after us, and according to my mom, they were the contestants from Project Superstar Malaysia... i don't watch much Malaysian TV, so i'll have her word for it...haha...

Noodles ! Thank god Agent LL was not around, or he would've wiped out he whole plate in an instant.... sob...

Here's a pic of the steamboat. It is actually a Charcoal Steamboat, hence the towering furnace on top, which releases the smoke. There's no fire at the bottom of the pot, it relies on the heat from the burning charcoal in the furnace. It was surprising for me to see the soup boiling sideways, instead of bottom-up, as is the norm.

Pluck-Your-Own-Strawberry

My first destination upon reaching Cameron Highlands ( after having tea and sandwiches, that is) was a strawberry farm. When i last visited Cameron Highlands 16 years ago, and my parents several decades ago, strawberries were not really the main draw there. Now, it can be found at every corner in Cameron Highlands.

The strawberry farm we went to ( which was right at our hotel's doorstep) was the 'Pluck-Your-Own' type. Look at my parents go.... it's like treasure hunting....haha....

At the end of the day, we managed to get two plate loads of red, juicy strawberries. We didn't really know how to pick the best ones, so it was roughly based on instincts. No matter what, it still beats the feeling of buying pre-packed ones from the supermarket!

Oh yeahhhh! They looked so red they were almost fake! We did this just for the experience. On the day that we left, my mother bought more which were sold in the markets...

QQ's Pet Hotel

Ehhh, what's mummy doing? She's gently coming my hair and making sure i look tidy. She normally doesn't do it at this time of the day. What's going on? I smell something fishy going...

Hey! My food, my toy and my hanky! She's packed my luggage? Are we going on a vacation? Or is she bringing me to stay over somewhere?


Arrrghhhh, she put me in this cursed car again! Everytime i come in here means i'm going to see the vets. I hate them cos they always put me on this ice cold table, and poke me with needles. Plus the place smells bad too! I must fight back with all i've got.....

Hehe...i'm here! Hey, this place doesn't look half bad... It has a large running area and lots of food stocked up...

What is this? I thought i was going to stay in that room just now? Not this tiny little cell!!! *sob*..... lemme out! Lemme out!

Cool Malaysia

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 =(

Hehe...it's not the end of the year yet, but i've clearly seen the best of movies and dramas to last till the end of the year. Here are the honour rolls :

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BEST MOVIE

1) Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

2) The Dark Knight

3) Kung Fu Panda

4) Get Smart

5) The X-files : I Want To Believe

Puffyrazzi's note : Indy pips The Dark Knight due to nostalgic reasons alone. The Dark Knight is one of the best movies i've watched in years. Fantastic! Brilliant!

DISAPPOINTING MOVIES

1) Shutter ( US Version)

2) The Mummy III

3) Forbidden Kingdom

Puffyrazzi's Note : These movies had one similarity. It resulted in me saying "WTF?" at the end of the movie. Even Jet Li and Jackie Chan couldn't save Forbidden Kingdom from the disaster it was.

BEST DVD

1) The Prestige

2) The Bucket List

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Puffyrazzi's Note : I watched The Prestige without any pre-conceived comments from anyone. Great acting from Christian Bale... too bad he was overshadowed by Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight... So many twists and shocks in this movie.

BEST IDOL DRAMA

籃球火 ( Hot Shot)

Puffyrazzi's Note : Only two words are needed for it to be the best for me. Two words "小豬"

BEST TVB DRAMA

法證先鋒II (Forensic Heroes II)

Puffyrazzi's Notes : Watched so many TVB dramas this year... without a doubt this is head and shoulder above the rest. Waiting for Forensic Heroes III...can't wait. Crispy watched this and was outraged by some of the erronous testing practises... LOL

Singapore Flyer

Not long ago, i visited the Singapore Flyer. It has been opened for about 6 months and i finally decided i should pay this new attraction a visit. Wanted to go earlier with my sisters, but my dAjie is afraid of heights, so we decided to spare her the agony.

Here i am posing with the flyer. I couldn't get a complete pic of the ferris wheel, as i would need to capture it from far far away, so decided that the photo of a miniature version in the gift shop should suffice...haha...

Ahhh...on my way up, this is what i saw! The Formula 1 pit-garages still under construction. It was really sunny that day, so everything was crystal clear from our capsule. I was lucky to be there early, so the attendants didn't pack us like sardines into the capsules. There were only four of us inside this one, so there were lots of photo-taking opportunities.

Hey, did i just see a 70% bargain sale in MNG over at Suntec City?? Get me out of here!! Haha... anyway, look how majestic the Benjamin Sheares Bridge seem from this height.

And, here i am posing in another direction. Just near the tip of my head is the twin peaks that we call 'Esplanade'. And just nearer, blocked by the capsule wall, is the floating platform for the National Day Parade '08. I was at the flyer just a day after the Singapore National Day, so i could see workers dismantling the stage as we circled by.

Oohh .... this photo is taken right at the peak of the ride. In this direction, the flyer is moving towards the Central Business District area, and just beside me is the messy array of the currently constructing Integrated Resort @ Marina Bay. Look how empty the capsule beside mine was. On my way down, after the 30 minute ride, the attendants were already packing 10-15 people per capsule.

There it is...money come money come... after a consultation with a feng shui master, the Singapore Flyer changed its rotation direction such that it moves towards the Central Business District, where all the money-making business are.