Formosa Adventures Page 4 - Ximending

At Taipei now!

Servbot was here! (Nah servbot doesn't look like this lol, this is just a tin man)

The traditional choo-choo train.

There is nothing much to do in Taipei during the day so we took a leisure ride in their LRT-like train.

Maid cafe targeted for guys. Was lucky to have caught the 'maid' in action.

There is a corresponding cafe for the girls. Handsome butlers will serve you here.

西门町, a fashion/shopping district where youngsters gather.

Some 宇宙超人 promotion event. Looks otaku-targeted haha.

Digimon? I feel like pulling its tail. (what a curious kid over there lol)

牛肉面 from some fast food outlet. Not the best I've eaten though.

The most famous meesua in Taiwan! Have to give it a try.

This is really different from those I eat from 士林 snack stalls in SG. It feels like eating porridge (that's why only spoon is provided). A small bowl is enough to make you full too.

麻辣火锅! A must try in Taiwan especially if you're a fan of buffet meals. It costs about 25 SGD nett per pax during weekends, which is rather cheap considering the good quality and wide variety of food available.

The heavy 麻辣 broth to the right, and the lighter 香菇 broth to the left. The 麻辣 can really numb your taste buds. And it's so spicy that after one helping I'll give up and switch completely to the other soup base haha. Anyway they added too many pieces of 鸭血 into the 麻辣 broth. >_<

Is this a supermarket? No! Take whatever you like! They have a lot of weird stuff like intestines, stomach, liver, and many other animal internals.

Is this a drinks stall? No! Take whatever you want!

Is this a cake shop? No! Take whatever you want! *screams*

Is this a ice-cream parlour? No! Take whatever you like! 8 flavours of Haagen Dazs and 4 flavours of Movenpick. If these aren't to your liking, they even have packet stick ones and popsicles too! All these are sufficient for just an ice-cream buffet!

My own creation - two scoops of macadamia nut flavoured ice-cream topped with my favourite cream puff. =)

Ximending main plaza, which comes to life and hustle at night. Resembles Shibuya shopping district in Tokyo.

One good thing about staying at Ximending is that we get to watch different street performances every night when returning to the hotel. By the way 继光香香鸡 (stall behind with the red signboard) sells really good 炸香菇. I'm craving for it as I'm typing haha.

Better buy your umbrellas before it starts raining...

Toilet-themed restaurant haha. Enjoy your meal while pooping. Interesting concept but won't you lose your appetite easily? Google more if interested.

Mango snow ice! Dessert fans will definitely love this.

The previous one wasn't kaboom enough so we called for a bigger combination. There is a even larger one (but it's shaved ice, not snow ice).

Doesn't the packaging of this drink look like some shampoo/cosmetic? I've collected two bottles so far...3 more colours to go. =p

Why is Ximending shrouded in mist? And why is the main plaza so empty?? What happened????

Formosa Adventures Page 3 - Alishan (II)

Oh ya here's a video I took while waiting for the sunrise at Zhushan peak. The guide spoke in a really amusing tone. Good for keeping the sleepyheads awake early in the morning.

Train awaits those who just finished the sunrise viewing, to send them back to their hotels further downhill for breakfast.

Didn't take the train however. Prefer a nice morning stroll down.

Spotted the train passing through. *waves to driver*

Came across 受镇宫, a large temple decorated with lots of intricate and colourful carvings.

Entered the forest trail, one of the highlights that Alishan can offer.

Lost in wilderness.

The elder sister of the 姐妹谭.

细水长流

The tree roots are so large that they can act as a shelter/dwelling.

Cut down due to poor health? Fallen by typhoons?

This old bridge has so many rules and restrictions haha. It cannot handle too many people (6 persons is not a lot actually). Cannot jump too. Must walk quickly across also (to reduce the probability of the bridge falling while one is crossing it?).

Plucked up my courage, closed my eyes and crossed the flimsy bridge with caution haha...

...And took some photos of the river below while I'm on it. Ok I shall stay a little longer on the bridge to admire the scenery. The bridge is falling down, my fair lady.

I just love looking at rivers in a forest.

A deserted train station? Not really...it's just not used at this time of the day.

Strolled along the Giant Trees Boardwalk and saw these 2 huge trees (reference it with the platform below).

Wah these trees are soooooo old. Anyway I wonder why they used 胸围 to describe the trunk circumference (the clumsy translation says diameter??).

Giant tree trunks can be seen sprouting out from everywhere. These trees are said to be sacred (神木).

Artistic or not?

Trees take priority here.

Wah this one even older. Possibly lived before Jesus Christ was born haha.

A nice place to relax and breathe in fresh oxygen. Though ascending and descending the numerous steps can be pretty exhausting.

Do not offend the tree spirit!!

Hmm here comes the ultimate sacred tree, as seen from the crowd of visitors.

The tallest and the oldest tree in Alishan I think.

Left the forest trail and went to view the mountains. Can see small settlements scattered around the mountain face.

I don't know whether to envy or pity people who live on top of mountains. It's beautiful but inconvenient.

日出: check. 云海: not really. 森林: check. 铁路: check (with reluctance). 樱花: nope.

Took the high speed rail all the way up to Taipei.

As expected, the interior is exactly the same as Japan's bullet train.