Graduation Trip - Taiwan May 2013 Part 1

Taiwan- one of my dream travel destination. As I am a fans of taiwanese drama eg, Meteor Garden  in my secondary school time, so I am so wanted to travel to this place, sightseeing and enjoy all the foods in night market. Finally, I  been to Taiwan!!! Stil excited.
Some of my english -educated friends complained  me that it was so hard to plan a trip to taiwan bcoz most of the blogs or information are written in chinese. So, by reading my blog, u stil have some idea b4 going 2 taiwan even u don't know chinese.

Taiwan- Planning, Planning & Planning.
             It took me quite a long time 2 plan, to make me trip as perfect as possible.
*better go vt frenz who can speak or read mandarin bcoz everthing is in mandarin!

Travel around Taiwan island is not impossible, but have to consider about time, money & energy. So, most traveller will choose where they want to visit and fr these, decided thee duration of the trip. Besides, the places of interest depends on the seasons of the year.

Top attractions: 1. Taipei - Taipei 101, Museum, Yang ming san,....

                           2.  Nantou - Sun Moon lake 日月潭, 清境农场，Alisan,...

                           3. Taichung - Feng jia night market

                           4. Tainan - historical city

                           5. Kaoshiung

                           6. Hualien - Taroko national park

                           7. Kenting - beach

Transportations among cities/ districts   :

Plane   vs    Train ( taiwan railway & high speed rail)   vs  bus  vs   rental taxi

- Plane - fr taoyuan airport to kaoshiung , Price $$$

- Taiwan railway - is like KTM, cheaper & take  longer time

                         - 3 types vt different speed & price

                               1. Tze-chiang limited express - fastest, more expensive, stop  major city.

                               2. Chu Kuang express - moderate speed & price

                               3. Fu Hsing semi express - cheapest, takes longest duration to reach destination, stop almost every station.

http://www.railway.gov.tw/en/

- High speed rail or bullet train - vt speed abt 360km/hr, vr comfortable but take pricy

      * it only in west coast of taiwan ( taipei, taichung, tainan, kaoshiung)

- Rental taxi- suitable for a group of 6-7 or going vt parents or old ppl

  

Preparation b4 going:

- No VISA needed is stay less than 30 days

- Change more TW$ b4 going, it is so hard to change malaysia ringgit in taiwan. Only 2 banks will accept RM, money changer will not accept RM. Or u can prepare some USD just in case.

- if buy something more expensive, pls use credit card, exchange rate is cheaper.

I went Taiwan on May which is near summer, it is d raining season,  thus umbrella/ rain coat is a must there. 

So, i didn't go to Alisan national park , yang ming san during this trip as d flower blossom season is over. 

I choose 2 visit Taichung, sun moon lake, Tainan besides Taipei in this trip. 10 days 9 nights so it wont b too pack, can walk around vr relax.             

Stay Tuned!

Going to write my previous experience in travelling to taiwan, hong kong, china in these few days.

Melaka Trip- April 2011 & June 2013

Melaka is the historical city and city full of tasty food. 

Hotels: near or walking distance fr Jonker Street more convenient as it is vr difficult to have parking near jonker street.

            I m staying in Hallmark Inn hotel, not bad, RM120 per night, 5 min walk 2 Jonker street, newly renovated, clean , free car park, everything is perfect except the breakfast.

Transportation:  of course by car most convenient ( same as travel around M'sia)

To Do in Melaka;

1. Sightseeing in historical places eg.  Portuguese Square, St. John's Fort, A'Famosa, Stadthuys.....

2. Go one of the museums  

    - just get to know some history of Melaka & entrance fee is cheap, rm2-3

 3. River cruise at night

     - 45min for RM10

     - is so romantic if going vt ur loved one.

4. Hunting for food

5. Evening walk in Jonker street

    - only open on Fri, Sat & Sun { best to go Melaka during weekends}

6. Tower Taming Sari - view the city fr sky

Food Must Eat:

1. Chicken Rice ball *****

    - few shops along Jonker street

    - 中华茶室Chung Wah  vs 和记Hoe Kee  vs 古城鸡饭粒 Famosa

     - Chung Wah is the best!!!  Handmade chicken rice ball & smooth chicken. Always long queue.

        Hoe Kee's asam fish quite nice but the chicken rice ball seem like machine made 

        Famosa chicken rice ball definitely machine made, more pricy but better eating environment.    

 2. Satay celup****
     - Capitol vs Ban Lee Siang vs others shop
     - Capitol : always long.....long.... queue, must reach there b4 d shop open, if not hav 2 queue 1-2 hr during weekends. Due to long queue or waited for too long or having high expectation, i think it is overrated although it is nice. Beside, it is most expensive among satay celup shops, rm0.80 per stick.
        Ban Lee Siang : not bad, not tat long queue.

3. Nyonya food
   - worth for a try!
   -eg,Restaurant Nyonya Makko - near Pahlawan square, quite nice but not cheap
4. Nyonya cendol & laksa
   - Donald & Lily- cheap & tasty
   - Jonker 88 - long queue for laksa but cendol not nice
   - Sam suk Gong - durian cendol not bad but expensive

5.  Nadeje layer cake****

6. Rojak & 'siham' in d alley
   -Jalan Bunga Raya Lane, Melaka. (Alley beside Madam King’s Department) 
    - From 7.30pm 

7.  Melaka kuih-muih
8. fried oyster pancake ' o jian' - ok only, penang's is d best!
9, Others: coconut milk shake, pork satay, dumpling.......
.

Hat Yai 3days 2 nights Trip - July 2013

I think most Malaysian are very familiar with Hatyai, which is a city in southern Thailand near Malaysia border. This is my 2nd times to Hat Yai but it can consider the 1st time bcoz the last time i been there during my primary school time.

Language: Thai & Hokkien. ( must go vt some1 who speak hokkien)
Hotels:  It is more convenient to stay in Central area, which is near Lee Garden Plaza. Eg, Tune hotel, Lee garden hotel......can find in Agoda.com .
            However, i stay in Hi Season Hotel which is quite far from Central area, but it is cheap, big room and there is always tut tut in front of hotel.

Transportation fr KL: driving vs bus  vs   train  vs  plane
Bus - took 8-9 hrs to reach
       - price :RM 45-55
       -eg, Sri Maju, KKKL
KTM- took 14hrs
         - price RM65 for sleeping coach
Plane - 45 min, price ???
I took bus this time & it is killing me. I cannot sleep well as d bus keep stopping , & so noisy. If there is next time, i will definitely take plane.
Tut-tut: 20 baht around city area, if rent whole day, 2000 baht but negotiatable.
*must ask price b4 sit
Food: 
1. 好运肉骨茶( chok dee bak kut teh)******
- must eat, dim sum shop but aso sell bkt
- super cheap, 16 baht per dim sum

2. Khlong Hae Floating market****
- open on fri- sun, 3-9pm {dun go so early,4pm thai time)
6km fr town, take 15-20min
- rent tut tut for trou & flow, standart price 500baht, but can get discount
- Cheap local food 20-30baht:
otak-otak, pork meat stick, mango stick rice, mini sushi, mini pineapple, coconut ice-cream, drinks in a mug..............

3. 猪脚饭 -Odean food court
4. McD samurai pork burger , chicken ham pie
- okok only, can giv a try
5. KFC- egg tart, banana choc egg tart
- quite nice
6. bird nest/ shark fin
- around 100-200baht
7. chicken rice
8. kuay chap
9. Sky buffet
- at Lee garden plaza hotel, higest building in hat yai, can see night view
- 169baht
10. Kam eng restaurant + 糖水
11. Swensen's Ice-cream at lee garden plaza
- 40-50% cheaper than in M'sia
12. beef noodle, fried chicken
13. 7-11***
- 饭团，sausage, sandwich, green tea, alcoholic drink( SPY, beer...)
- cheap but not so man variety compared 2 others coutry like taiwan but a
lot more better tha m'sia
14. Pee Lek 59 restaurant
* road side food is tasty & cheap but not so hygienic
* bring some medication just in case
* any pork product should b nice

Shopping:  **** must bargain & bargain
1. Shopping mall- Lee garden ( for young ppl) , Odean ( more low class) , Central ( high class, branded stall)
2. ASEAN night market
- wed-sun (5-10pm)
- cheap shoes- around 120baht
- guys pants vt good quality, shirt, food....
* lad shirt quite low quality
3. traditional market: Santisuk market, kim yong, yong dee, Pasar( Hatyai plaza)*
4. Tesco lotus, Big C...- shop for junk food( Lays, Pocky, seaweed, instant noodle..... product of thai, 50% cheaper than in m'sia
5. watson, Boots - shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrush vr cheap

Massage - thai massage 240-300baht 2 hr
Sightseeing- Municipar park, sleeping buddha
Show - Agua show ( 600baht), Tiger show (450baht)- quite disgusting, using sexual organs 2 do magic, having sexual intrcourse............

Hi !

Hi, everyone. I m new here.
Like most people, i love travel around, sightseeing, eating, shopping besides getting know their culture and their norm in the places that we are not staying in. Of course, before travelling to a new place, I will go online, looking for relevant blogs and get information from other ppl experiences, so, I can plan a trip perfectly or at least 80% to perfect. So, one of the reasons that i open a blog is that i hope i can give a rough idea to those ppl who wanted to go travel around.
My dream - travel as much places as possible in my life time with my loved one.