Some more things which came to mind about the place.
POP
The songs which are blasting from the shops over there are mainly from Lee Sheng Jie, Jolin Tsai, Rainie Yang...and of course the ubiquitous Jay Chou.
The more obiang stalls, found mostly in night markets or the more ulu streets...were blasting Hokkien songs..which well...I can't identify with at the moment...
Haha but some of them are really nice though.. haha
Rainie Yang & Jolin are seen over all sorts of adverts..from milk to some funny electronic gadget..
MRT
I mentioned in an earlier post that their train system is fantastic.
Even the underground malls are huge...every nook and cranny is not wasted...from food stalls to fashion outlets...to book stores & trinket shops.
I thought out Dhoby Ghaut MRT station was quite huge...with it being an interchange station.
Kaozzzz....it pales in comparision to their main interchange station.
I think our Dhoby Ghaut is just 1/3 or even 1.4 the size of the Taipei main station.
It felt like a maze...trying to change from one direction line to another...
SIGNAGES
Haha..I have to say this. I'm glad I can still read a little bit of Chinese.
Thought it takes me quite long to figure out the words.
This was a hindrance at food outlets with menus plastered on the walls...cos I took kinda long to figure out what I wanted to eat.
Some signages have English translations...especially those in hotels or public signages.
My hotel room had a sign which said "Keep Out of the Children Can't Be Reached!"
Another sign said "Please Throw The Dust in the Dust Bag!"
Tickled my funny bone...=)
CHIANG KAI SHEK
The Taiwanese really respect him. There's a whole huge area dedicated to him as a memorial site.
We gauged it at about more than 10 football fields.
With 3 separate buildings erected as a tribute to him.
OF HILLS & VALLEYS - OF WALKS & CLIMBS
We went to 3 places out of Taipei. One was Hua Lien, one was Jiu Fen, another was Wu Lai.
Views were all amazing. All mountainous and from the top of Jiu Fen, you can see far far away...till the sea.
Kaozz...imagine if you're staying there...you wake up every morn to the sun's rays fresh fromt he sky..and the dew fresh from the clouds...and to a magnificent sea/mountain view...
And of course, the downside to visiting these places was that...climbing upslope was inevitable...stairs, stairs and more stairs...
Think I climbed more than I would have over a year in SG. Bleah...
Think we walked an average of 5km a day too? and yeah, we walked more when we were in hua Lien. We might have hit 7-8km that day...
EXcluding some steep stairs which we had to conquer...
TEMPLES
Hmm..lemme see, think we visited about 2-3 temples whilst there.
One was called the Dragon Mountain Temple. Quite big. Lotsa altars, with each being the abode to a different deity.
Seem to recall that there were like one main altar, and about 7-8 smaller ones..
Did lotsa praying and well...was kinda overwhelmed by the fumes from the joss sticks too...
Another one we visited was in Hua Lien. This was really picturesque.
What can I say. After climbing up lotsa flights of stairs...Huffing and panting away...
Then you suddenly reach a plateau.
And there stands in front of you a huge gold statue of Buddha. Perhaps 3-4 storeys high?
My reaction was "Fwah".....
And behind the Buddha statue...was just mountains and more mountains..rolling on and on.
Faint wisps of clouds and mist were hanging in the air...
And the air was so crisp and fresh...
Serenity was the word man.
No sounds except for the breeze blowing and the
Walked further on and there was another big statue, this time of Guanyin...Goddess of Mercy.
Same reaction. "Fwah"...
Prayed somemore at this temple called the Prosperity andMoral Temple....well um..if my translation is correct haha...
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