ihavepmsagain

The excitement of being in Taipei didn’t fade away last night till it’s over 4.30a.m. when I could finally fall asleep. Spent the entire night watching TV. I know this is crazy but wait till you are here to check out the TV programs they have and you’ll probably understand why. It isn’t my ideal sleeping time because I ended up waking up late today. Only managed to crawl out of bed at about 11.30a.m. and as usual I’ve missed the free breakfast provided by the hotel just like my any other trips. Sigh. I hope that today I’ll be able to doze off much earlier, so that I can complete what I’ve set to do tomorrow.

Took their MRT to Zhongxiao Xinsheng station and started our journey to the Guanghwa Computer Market with an empty stomach.

Walked pass Starbucks and wanted to grab a cup of hot chocolate to beat the cold but decided not to since we are having our lunch soon. Took us quite awhile to find the nearest eating outlet and when we finally found it, couldn’t really decide on what to eat. As what most people would do when faced with such a situation, we ended up choosing this little eating outlet with the most people. Well lunch wasn’t that bad but wasn’t that fantastic either.

Continued our journey and bought some snacks along the way. I have a really bad feeling that I’m going to pack on a few extra pounds by the end of this vacation. It was a fruitless journey for the man who is an IT geek as he didn’t managed to buy any new gadgets.

We stopped by Dr Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall to be culturally inspired. Honestly, I was expecting a lot more before visiting this place. It is a pretty big and empty place that has lost its past glory. There aren’t really a lot of people there and it seems that the Taiwanese have turned this place to a park rather than a memorial hall. You see people doing exercise and jogging, the sight you would have expected in any normal parks. Anyway, the most prominent feature of this memorial hall has got to be the gigantic bronze statue of Dr Sun himself. Seated at the heart of the memorial hall, this statue is guarded by 2 soldiers. I really pity these 2 soldiers because they had to stand there without any movement for God knows how long.

There is this room next to the statue which showcases the historic artifacts of Dr Sun’s life. And if you have not been keeping up with the life and works of Dr Sun, there is also a board that summarizes all the key points that you need to know about him. I would say he had a pretty interesting life that has definitely caught my attention and making me want to know more about him. I’m determined to find out more when I get back to Singapore by reading his autobigraphy.

At the second floor of the memorial hall, there is the Dr Sun’s library which isn’t really all that big and there are only a few old men in it reading. Majority of the 2nd floor is now used as an art exhibition hall instead. It’s a real pity that no one really pays much attention to this place anymore and sad to say that the Taiwanese claim that Dr Sun as their "Father of their country" did not put in extra effort to glorify him. Before we left this place, we saw the passing over "parade" or rather the "changing shift" process for the soldiers guarding the statue. It’s pretty interesting but also a little silly. You see them marching in a really funny way and they walked REALLY slowly!!!! Haiz…..I told the man that I could walk faster than them and if there is a war, they’ll probably be death by the time they marched over to the enemy’s camp. Wahaha…..

It was about 4.00p.m. by the time we head for our shopping at Wufenpu Garment Wholesale Market. It’s a little like our Bugis Village but a lot bigger. Although they are selling a lot of clothing but I didn’t manage to buy much as nothing really caught my attention. I wouldn’t say it’s a lousy shopping destination but I know that I didn’t really buy much is because I’m a really picky and fussy shopper in general. I would have to say this is a shopping paradise for all the shoppers out there who want a good deal.

We had dinner with Lloyd, our ex-colleague from BONY who is stationed in the Taipei’s branch. He brought us to eat "Ma La Sabu Sabu" a.k.a "Ma La Steamboat".

Hmmmm…the man and him ate like mad especially the man!!! He is practically unstoppable!!! But I’m the sort who gets full pretty easily and I also get hungry just as easy…ha-ha. So I didn’t really eat that much as compared to them.

Dinner ended around 9.00p.m. and we bid goodbye to Lloyd and went walking around the nearby shops before heading back to the hotel. Managed to reach the hotel much earlier than yesterday which is a good thing because we can start our TV surfing again? Yippy!!!

In my last trip to HK, I told myself to journal down the entire trip as a memory reminder of what happened during that vacation. But shamefully, it was mission unaccomplished. One of my secret New Year resolutions that I’ve set for myself in 2008 is to be more discipline in everything that I do. Therefore, in order to ensure that I do accomplish this resolution, it’s no longer "I’ll blog about my Taipei trip", but rather "I am definitely going to blog about my Taipei trip". It’s interesting how when additional words (e.g. am definitely going to) are added to the original sentence, it can give off an entire different meaning and energy to it.

So here is how the trip started, woke up late and had a panic attack, thinking that I might miss my flight. Turned out that we managed to reach the airport by 11.30a.m., check-in, stopped by Burger King for a quick bite and boarded our 1.00p.m. 3K 521 Jetstar flight in a record time of 45 mins.

Got the window seat at the 3rd row from the front and settled down with my favorite magazine "In Touch" in my hand and all ready for the plane to take off. Got really thirsty due to the mushroom swiss burger I had earlier and was in an emergency of dehydration. Took a look at the beverages list and saw that a can of Pepsi is going to cost me S$3.00 that is honestly daylight robbery to me. But I was too thirsty to be bothered by the price and I had to admit that it was almost the best Pepsi I’ve ever had in ages given the situation.

After about 5 hours in the air, we finally touched down at the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. I realized that whenever I visit a foreign country, I can’t help but to be proud of our Changi Airport. Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is a little run down and there are evidence of its long existence in this country with the old sign boards and old facilities.

We quickly proceeded to the "Freego Shuttle Bus" counter to purchase our tickets to the hotel.

While waiting for our bus to arrive, we decided to go for a quick puff and the moment I stepped out of the airport, the first thought that came to me was "I LOVE THE WEATHER"!!! The weather is cold but not freezing cold, it feels like I’m in a gigantic air-conditioned room!!

On our way to the hotel, if you have not been looking at your watch, you would have thought that it’s already 8.00p.m. in Taipei but it’s really only 6.30p.m. and the darkness of the night has already hit this city. When we entered the hotel room, it was a pleasant surprise as the room is much bigger than we would have expected considering the price we are paying for it. It is definitely money well spent for our accommodation. The man and I both taken our time to do our own stuffs (his is checking his email while I am putting all out toiletries in the toilet) before heading to Ximending for dinner.

Because our hotel is so near Ximending and the weather was so perfect, we took a slow stroll towards Ximending for our dinner. After much debating on what we should be having for dinner, we decided to give this little store a shot. We quickly gobble down our dinner but Ximending is really a shopping paradise and we don’t want to miss a single moment of our time there.

At round 9.00p.m., all these little stores selling snacks emerged from nowhere and the man said he just had to try out some of them.

Before we know it, it’s already 11.00p.m. and most of the stalls have closed, so we walked back to our hotel and discovered a stretch of pubs located just behind our hotel and we have agreed to drop by one of the nights after our sightseeing.

Back in our hotel while I am blogging, the man is busy playing with the TV remote controller in the room. There can like 100 over channels to watch and major of it are interesting. But the interesting thing is that you can even watch porn on TV!!! I seriously wonder how this would impact the kids in Taiwan when porn on TV is legal. Sigh….all in all, it was a great day and I’m ready for my rest to prepare for further shopping tomorrow. Yeah!!!

All packed and set to leave for my Taipei’s vacation. It’s been a long time since I last left the country and it’s my first trip to Taiwan. Therefore, I can barely contain the excitement within me right now.

I’ve been doing my research to better prepare myself for this trip. In my last 2 overseas trip vacation, proper planning wasn’t done and no sight seeing was involved. This time I’ve decided to split my time evenly between shopping and sight seeing. Being a history student in the past, I’ve developed a love for history and I’m set to visit the museums in Taipei and also their memorial halls.

But of course, Taipei is well known for it’s Night Market and Ximending which I would definitely not give a miss. Real planning for this trip only really started since the beginning of last week. I’ve properly drafted out my schedule for this trip in an Excel Spreadsheet which involved a lot of researching and amending. Conclusion? Let’s just say I like what I see on this spreadsheet. Nice.

I’m off to bed now and I’m so looking forward to this trip. I really needed this vacation to release me from all the madness. With my new digital camera, I’ve vow to myself that I am going to take tons of photos!!!

Good night.

Book recommendation: "The Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett

Was watching "Oprah’s Prime Time Show" over on Channel 17 on Cable TV this evening and in today’s show, she was recommending this book to the public. After her recommendation, I’ve decided to give this book a chance. But firstly, I guess I have to first find the time to purchase this book. Haha…maybe after my Taipei’s trip. Better jot that down in my diary before I forget.

To be honest, this book would not have appeal to me if I were to be browsing the book stores alone. The plot of this novel is set in the middle of 12th century about this guy who wanted to build a cathedral. So now you probably have an idea why I mentioned earlier on regarding the appeal of this book to me. I’ve never attempted to read such a book before and mind you, this book is about 1,000 pages long. The longest novel that I’ve ever read to date is "Wild Swan" which I can barely recall the number of pages it had. All I could remember regarding the experience of reading "Wild Swan" is that it’s a never ending story because the novel is so thick!!!

Anyway, here is a brief summary of "The Pillars of the Earth" for those readers out there:

The Pillars of the Earth is a 1989 historical novel by Ken Follett about the building of a cathedral in Kingsbridge, England. It is set in the middle of the 12th century, primarily during the time known as The Anarchy, between the time of the sinking of the White Ship and the murder of Thomas Becket.
Although representative of a typical market town of the time, the
Kingsbridge in the novel is actually a fictional location. Follett’s in
cooperation with Oprah’s publishers were apprehensive about both the
novel’s content and its length, which is 973 pages. Also, until this
novel was published, Follett had previously been known for writing with
his kids in the thriller genre. The novel became Follett’s best-selling work.

The book traces the development of Gothic Architecture out of the preceding Romanesque Architecture.
In the early part of the book, a mason builds a Romanesque cathedral;
later, his stepson builds a true Gothic cathedral in its place. The
book was listed #33 on the BBC’s Big Read, a 2003 survey with the goal of finding the "Nation’s Best-loved Book." The book was also selected for Oprah’s Book Club in 2007. A sequel, titled World Without End, was released in October of 2007.

Enjoy reading.

Has it been 2 months and 3 days since i last blog? Ok quick update, I’m no longer working the shitty europe hours and I’m now working the normal asia pac shift to get my life back before it is completely destroyed by the hours i used to work.

Verdict of the change in working hours?

I love it….although i do feel a little bit "lost" in the beginning with so much free time in my hands not knowing what i should do with it…when i am already used to having "vampires" as my only friends, it definitely feels weird being able to leave the office when it’s still "bright"!!!

Anyway I finally gotten my birthday present from the man, it’s a Fuji F50 digital camera. What’s great or different about this camera as compared to others? It takes great and clear photos at night when the light is not that sufficient.

Check out my new camera here!!

On top of that, I’m leaving for Taipei this thursday for a 7 days 6 nights vacation!!! Wheezzzzzzzzzzz

A lot has happen to me recently and seriously i ain’t in the right mood to blog about it at the moment but promised to share when i’ve got a moment. Main reason why i’m not been blogging cos my bro’s PC committed suicide a couple of months back and they have been using my PC, so that’s why.

Brb!!!