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.

Formosa Adventures Page 2 - Alishan

Alishan is located in the county of Chiayi. We have to get to Chiayi train station first to begin the ascend.

A poem for a train station haha.

Halfway up Alishan. It started to fog out and rained really heavily. Our driver was skilful enough to manoeuvre along the steep winding roads in face of the splattering rain, poor visibility and slippery slopes.

Same place as the previous picture. The fog cleared as fast as it came.

Ate the 関東煮 available at almost every convenience store in Taiwan. Good for cold weather. Their stores have tables and seats for customers to sit down and enjoy their food too.

The packs are bloated like pillows haha! Must be due to the low ambient pressure.

Alishan is quite a touristy area, with lots of restaurants and souvenir shops. This is the main plaza, a central area for the surrounding hotels. The temperature was 14 degC...brrrr.

Alishan train station, with its retro architecture.

This station is pretty empty in the afternoon but is really crowded before dawn.

There used to be scenic train services plying from Chiayi station to Alishan recreational area, but it is closed ever since the typhoon destroyed the tracks some years ago. The authorities probably find no economic sense to restore it because of the frequent destructive typhoons.

Calligraphy. I can only make out the characters 阿里山 in the foremost piece. The rest is not very legible...

At the upper floor.

Murals at the entrance of Alishan Recreational Park.

Eerie!

Post office or temple?

Alishan is famous for steamboat. The hotpot veggies were so-so but the main dishes were good. May be a little too much for 2 persons.

One of the highlights of Alishan. Sunrise viewing. Crowds start to form at the train station at around 4am, for the 20-min train ride up to 祝山 peak.

It was very cloudy when we just reached the peak. Chance to view the sunrise was low. Anyway that tree has a special significance, that's why it is not chopped down despite blocking the view.

Sky was turning bright but still no sun. Fortunately the wind was strong and managed to blow away most clouds. But it was really really cold up there. The ridge contours are worth admiring though.

Everyone gasped when a glimpse of the sun emerged through the gap in the clouds.

The sun rises above the clouds. This must be the prettiest moment of the sunrise.

Now the sun is too bright to watch. Can only see the sun though photos taken by my camera. Everyone started to leave the peak.

It wasn't the perfect sunrise but the guide said that it was the best among the previous days. There wasn't a blanket of clouds beneath the mountain peaks too. At least it fulfilled my desire of watching mountains from a high place.

P.S. Cross reference to my blog background image. Any similarities? Haha...

Formosa Adventures Page 1 - Taichung

Sorry to keep my blog readers waiting. Without further ado, I shall release the first coverage of my series of travels during the past 2 months.

Taiwan is generally a popular travel destination among Singaporeans. Every vacation period I will have friends here and there travelling to Taiwan. The things are cheaper there, the food is delicious and scenery is beautiful. Above that there is no language barrier and the people are generally nice and helpful. Their service standards and civic-mindedness is undeniably a notch above Singaporeans. There is definitely much more to explore there as compared to our tiny red dot.

Toilet in the coach bus. The sign written in faint ink says: 禁止大号 Lol.

Fengjia shopping district. The 'Ximending of Taichung'.

My accommodation for the night. Cosy and reasonably priced. Close proximity to Fengjia night market.

Looks like a school dormitory hor? I believe some students from the nearby Fengjia University stay here too.

To the left is Fengjia University and to the right is Fengjia Night Market. Most night markets in Taiwan are located next to a university (to earn students' money?). Apparently many students eat at the night market after school. Not a very healthy lifestyle but seems that most students won't get fat from all the oily stuff...

My very first experience in a Taiwan night market. Fascinated by the variety of cheap and tasty-looking food available.

The stalls usually have eye-catching names. And what's 官财板?? Sound like 棺材板...

It says 'boneless' but they still gave me so much bones in the chicken =(

Fengjia Night Market is said to be famous for 大肠包小肠, as seen from the perpetual long queues. The curious me have to go try it out...

The 大肠 is actually just glutinous rice, but it gets a little too sticky and hard to bite together with the normal 小肠.

Eating the tall ice-cream! Ideal for hot weather but taste-wise so-so only because it's quite diluted. 吃爽而已

Originated from Japan. I love bread and fried noodles so this is 两全其美. =)

Have to try this in the 奶茶 paradise. Drinking half a cup is enough to make you feel bloated.

Streets of Taichung outside main train station. The station is pretty far from Fengjia, and there was a not-so-pleasant experience along our way here...haiz. If only Taichung is served by intra-city metro lines, rather than only public buses...

Automated library corner. Good for people who want to pass their time on the train by reading. On the contrary, I doubt this idea can work in Singapore too.

Onboard towards Chiayi!

EXACTLY THE SAME as Japan trains haha.

Loading...Please Wait

I've played enough for the past 2 months...time to get down to work!

Please be patient while I upload and sort out pictures of my trips. Still in a very unsettled state. >_<

For the time being, I shall give a preview.

Enjoy the mesmerizing sunset. =)
  

This fascinating place will be introduced in a few entries' time. Stay tuned!

End of University Awards

When I graduated from junior college, I did an award presentation entry, giving credit (and discredit) to subjects and teachers I like (and dislike). (Refer to Dec 2005 entries) So I guess I shall do the same for my university graduation too. Only module titles will be mentioned haha. 

Most Big Family:
MA1505 - Mathematics I

A fundamental module common to all Year 1 engineering students. So basically the entire engin cohort is taking this module at the same semester, with a whopping class size of 1500+ students.

Most Small Family:
JS3208 – Approaches to Japanese Linguistics

A really tiny enrolment size of 10 students conducted in seminar-style class. What's the probability of meeting another fellow chemical engineering student taking this same module? I broke the odds haha. 

Most Improvement:
LSM1401 - Fundamentals of Biochemistry

At the beginning I was totally lost because of the lack of biology background. (My bio knowledge stopped at lower secondary) Eventually I gained interest in the subject after intensive reading of the textbook. Felt that I coped with the assignments and exams pretty well.

Most Lonely:
SC1101E - Making Sense of Society

I took this module by myself during Semester 1 and did not make any friends nor acquaintances in lectures and tutorials. The project is individual-based too, so I'm practically a lone warrior in this module. 

Most Enthusiastic:
JS3208 – Approaches to Japanese Linguistics

Hmm, partly due to the small class size and more importantly my genuine interest in the subject.

Best Lecture Notes:
IT1005 – Introduction to MATLAB

Well organized, clearly presented and full of humour. Not to mention the superbly drawn illustrations.

  

Worst Final Exam:
CN4203R – Polymer Engineering

The worst thing to do in setting exam papers is to let students set their own questions. It's even worse when the lecturer doesn't edit/QC the questions.

Best Final Exam:
MA1505 - Mathematics I

After the exam I felt like I could score full marks. Never had such confidence before.

Most Expensive: 

CN4118R – Final Year Project

Spent a bomb on printing and binding my final report and poster. Fortunately my $$$ paid off, though I felt it didn't turn out as good-looking as I thought. 

Most Surprised Grade:
SSA2215 – Biophysical Environment of Singapore

Had a shock when I checked my grades. The performance of my group assignments was only so-so. Didn't have much confidence for my final exams too. I wasn't really paying attention during lectures too. Somehow the results turned out much better than expected. Thanks to the bell curve I guess.

Best Grades (Core):

MA1505 - Mathematics I

MA1506 – Mathematics II

CN3124 – Particle Technology

CN3132 – Separation Processes  

CN4211R – Petrochemicals and Processing Technology

Have to thank the bell curve for these. Some are just tyco-ly surprising.

Worst Grades (Core):

CN2108 – Chemical Engineering Process Laboratory I

CN3109 – Chemical Engineering Laboratory III 

EG2401 – Engineering Professionalism

CN4203R – Polymer Engineering 

CN4215R – Food Technology and Engineering 

CN4201R – Petroleum Refining 

The word 'worst' is just used in a comparative sense. The grades aren't bad at all haha.

Best Grades (Elective):

SSA2215 – Biophysical Environment of Singapore

LAJ3202 – Japanese 6

JS1101E/GEK1002 – Introduction to Japanese Studies 

LAJ4203 – Newspaper Reading

JS3208 – Approaches to Japanese Linguistics  

I should have majored in Japanese Studies hor? Lol.

Worst Grades (Elective + All):

GEM2901 - Reporting Statistics in the Media

No tie for this award. This module is obviously my worst-performing all time in NUS. Luckily this module is S/U-able. Shall forgive this module since it's so slack haha.