Taiwan 2011!!!!!! (DAY 1 - 22/01/2011) (disclaimer: you are warned this can get quite long)
So...... I have finally decided to create a momento for this epic trip in the form of a livejournal entry. It has been like 1 yr plus or 2 years since I last sat down and blogged a proper entry?!?! I mean the entries below this do NOT count since they dont include photos and possibly long detailed descriptions of what I've done.
BUT I HAVE DECIDED TO CREATE AN ENTRY ESPECIALLY FOR THIS TRIP. Because oh what can I say?!! We're talking about a 6 days 5 nights trip to a foreign land named Taiwan, conquered by 2 girls namely Weidi and I INDEPENDENTLY! Whenever people ask me who I'm going with to TW, I'll just say Weidi and they'll be all "OMG JUST U TWO?!" and at times I really wondered if it's rlly that dangerous because it's really just us two,.....but wow... we really like COMPLETED this trip ourselves. It can get quite unbelievable and at the same time I'm really proud of us. I mean, a matured 19 yr old(obviously this is me) and a reckless 18 yr old!! WE DID IT DIDI~~~~~~
So prior to this trip I was getting really stressed up because we've not decently planned anything till like literally 5 hours before flight takeoff and I like really wanted this trip to be worthwhile and fun instead of us looking like lost sheeps. So quite a bit of stress going on b4 the trip but anyhooos, we planned everything out and headed to the airport T1 at around 5am?? Weidi's WHOLE FAMILY WAS THERE FULL FORCE lol but her granny's really cute ^^ so after an awkward breakfast with our families at Polar, we IMMEDIATELY CHECKED IN. We were srsly so goddamn excited and all I mean it was quite unbelievable wasnt it??! Then we headed to our trusty DUTY FREE SHOPS!!! and spent like ages trying out the lip colours and looking at all these duty free makeup. HAHAHAH. so after our purchase we wanted to head to the alcohol shop but LO AND BEHOLD WEIDI SAW THE TIME AND IT WAS LIKEEEE 6.50am or smthg and we were LATE.
you can imagine the hysteria when weidi went 'SHIT WE R LATE IT IS 6.50AM' and i was all like 'but the plane takes off at 7.10am!" and shes all like 'BUT THE PERSON SAYS CHECK IN AT 6.45AM!!! SHITTTTTTTTTTTT!!" and we both started DASHING to the gate and I swear I have never ran THAT FAST ever I mean IT WAS THAT BAD I was like 'WEIDI WAITTT!!!!!!" and she just ran even faster it was quite a scene I mean people were staring at us and all but WE MADE IT. we were like the last 2 passengers to board the plane and the stewardess was lilke 'y'all ran here right?" cuz I was breathless like I just completed a full force 90 min match. but I was RELIEVEDDDD!!!! and what a GREAT start to the trip YAH?????? lololollolollol!
Before takeoff!! took an instax and photos and all... we were already the noisiest everyone was like sooo quiet!!
so we didnt get the emergency seats and you canNOT imagine how cramped and squeezy the seats were.... I reacted fast and pushed weidi so I can get the window seat ^^ but the window's like small and half the time the shutters were down. I really love that moment when the plane takes off and then u look out of the window and see yourself leaving the land and then the plane goes sideways and u get a clear view of the land u were once ON!! it's really GREAT and I was tryna take it all in before we enter the clouds! and as usual weidi was letting me listen to all her new jaychou (pronunced CHOW pls) songs and her oldies... So the thing about budget aircrafts is that the turbulance is AMAZING. we tried to sleep it off but we were srsly too excited to get any rest!! even if we each had a whole row of seats to ourselves
Didnt realise that there was a rainbow in this photo!!!! wow!11
STILL planning the trip, reading guides/directions IN THE PLANE. HAHAHAAAA
Me: "WEIDI THIS IS TUMBLER WORTHY!!!!"
(OK FROM THIS POINT ON I AM REALLY FED UP BECAUSE I TOTALLY TYPED LIKE ONE WHOLE CHUNK AND I REALLY MEAN ONE WHOLE CHUNK OF WORDS INCLUDING THE WHOLE AIRPORT THING AND LIVEJOURNAL DID. NOT. FREAKING. SAVE. IT.)
Ok so we FINALLY arrived at Taoyuan International Airport!!!!! And we took the opportunity to what else, shop duty free!! We srsly spent so much time there and weidi got her clinique set that was OOS in singapore!! yayy!!!! ohh and while getting thru the customs there was like a random spot check or something and there were policemen and a dog. AS USUAL I immediately squeezed my way infront of weidi so she was last in the line and kena'd the butt licking/sniffing by the dog AWWWWWWW!!! but srsly I was kinda scared I mean the dog's nose was like all over us HAHAHA well another great start to our taiwan journey!!!!!!!!!!!!
So when we got to the baggage area our luggages were the last (AGAIN) and I was all like we took so long! we are gonna be late!! and then from the corner of my eyes I saw like 5 tall dudes in really cute and cosy winter wear and around them there were aunties like GAWKING at them!! so i jokingly told weidi "OMG they must be korean idols!!!!" and weidi was all "OMG REALLY!!!" and i was all like NAYYYSS KIDDING!! so we got into the queue to get out of the gate and as we edge closer to the gate... LO AND BEHOLD (again, i know!!) we saw like.....GAZILLIONS OF FANS OUTSIDE SCREAMING AND WAVING SIGNBOARDS AND ALL. so immediately being the good friend I am I DITCHED weidi and ran to the front of the queue like to the koreans and as I walk out of the gate it was such an unbelievable sight..I mean if you think the singapore fans at Changi airport is hxc wait till u see THIS. also I distinctively heard weidi shouting "BITCH!!! BITCH COME BACK BITCH!!!!" behind me but I just strolled along and stared at the fangirls who must all be wondering 'i wonder how it feels like to walk out with the idols!". I mean now I know how it's like to walk out of the gates with idols and such. So I asked one of the tw fangirls who are the superstars and they were like 'MBLAQQQQ!!!!!!!!11 AHHHHH!!!!!11111122" and by this time, weidi was out and we just followed the whole korean crew to the exit at the right side cuz it was really chaotic and all. but alas the guards didnt wanna let us out and we couldnt U-turn cuz it was a 1-way path and we were both like "WHERE IS THE FREEGO BUS?!?!?!!! WE R NOT FANS WE JUST WANT TO GET TO THE FREEGO BUS!!!!!!!" and the guard's like "NONONONONO GO BACK GO BACK!!!!!" and we COULDNT go back cuz more passengers were coming our way so u can imagine the scene then. suddenly this tw girl-in-charge like asked us to join the fangirls at the side and she used her arms as a barrier to like keep us in so we wouldnt get pushed/block the way. and so unknowingly we became PART of the tw mei meis fangirls with our trolley of luggages with us and the whole chaotic scene. and weidi kept leaning against the wall and the lights kept switching off and everyone kept screaming and shouting u can imagine the hysteria really.
and we were really close because next came Beast and weidi just kept shouting sarangheyo SARANGHEYO even when there was nobody there even when there were only guards infront of her even when there were only old uncles exiting.................. right......so ANYWAY, I shouted DUJOON!!!! and joy to the world he turned and ACKNOWLEDGED ME! but then he SMILED AT WEIDI..................................................... right. so yes weidi was hyping over it for the next few days but ANYWAYS THE POINT IS HE ACKNOWLEDGED ME WEIDI. !!
Yes this was how drastic it was!
And then apparently another korean group was arriving so we asked the tw mei meis who they were and they were like SUPER JUNIOR!!!! so a few minutes later they arrived but we couldnt even see ANYTHING because the cameramen, reporters, HXC FANS, guards, etcetc were BOMBARDING them and a second later they were GONE. okay lah we saw their heads or something HAHAHAA but srsly it was just CHAOS.
so weidi and i finally beat the 1-way crowd and made our way to the exit on the left!!! on the way we saw like fangirls all over the floor crying and freaking out and stuff......it was quite a sight really!! and we FINALLY reached the freego counter and there was some communication difficulties apparently I OVERestimated weidi's language abilities but anyhoos we safely got onto the freego bus and were well on our way to .. TAIPEI!!!!!! ^^
so during the bus ride weidi and I were like thinking and talking about everything that has happened so far I mean it's only about 2pm and we've barely started on our first day and SO MUCH has happened already!! Seeeeriously we were quite amazed but really excited for the days to come!!
we had to alight to wait for another bus to Xi Men Ding! I really think we need to work on our fitness because we couldnt barely handle our luggages!! and weidi's luggage was GINORMOUS so kudos to her!!!!!
it was FREAKING cold!!!! and i only had my mom's cardigan!!
while weidi's all cuddled up in her leather jacket and scarf!! well she was all covered up even BEFORE we unboard the plane!
So we boarded the next bus to XMD and during the ride we counted the number of cosmeds/watsons!! and the bus just HAD to drop us in the middle of XMD so we had to lug our luggages to TS Hotel and not to mention it was FREAKING cold!!!!!
Our room in TS Hotel!!
So we just dropped our luggages and weidi was nice enough to lend me her jacket and we went out to explore Xi Men Ding!! which would become second to home (home being TS Hotel~~) in the next few nights to come!!
It was really nice being back in XMD I mean it's my favoritest place in TW no doubt!! So we hung around and I got my red scarf (IT IS REALLY GORGE AINT IT) and fur jacket (from a lousy shop where we got KP'd by the sales people) and NOW WE'RE TALKING 'GETTING DRESSED FOR WINTER'!!!
Oh and b4 hopping to XMD we got ourselves 50 Lan!!!!! or Koi. SERIOUSLY MAN. MUCH NICER AND CHEAPER THERE. But once again communication difficulties with our orders hahahaha but it became easier the next few days cuz we knew their way of ordering. And then I spilled my milk tea in some shop like the sweaters all kena'd and then we immd like ran out of the shop hahahaha soz
Oh and we pop by Etude house for our FIRSt cosmetic buy!! HAHAHA nice. srsly so exciting that place XMD is bustling with energy!!! we went to Mirada and aw its nice that we can keep our stuff at the counter so we can shop without any bags or anything!! AHH so happy Mirada has so much stuff!!
Back to hotel to dump our STUFFS before heading out again!!!!! ^^
the corridor outside our room!!
We went to Shi Da Night Market next!!!!!!! ^^ Had to purchase the Easy Card or YOYO card for their metro!! Which we forgot to return for our deposit back on our last day!! nvm momento!! And weidi kept forgetting to stand on the right side on the escalator!! hahaha! and I had to get used to saying Bu4 Hao3 Yi4 Si4 instead of Sorry!!!
Shida night market was really....... CROWDED!!!!!! got kinda pissed off for awhile because it was so squeezy!! but squeezing with fur and comfy winterwear is better than squeezing with skin and sweat thats for sure!!! but nevertheless shida was really fun!! had dinner at a random place just because we realise we have not eaten anything since Polar in the morning!! and the plane food was just absurd anyway.
weidi's dinner!! LOOKS YUMMMM!!! it is anyways!!
mine!! looks YUMMM!!!! the soup's good!
weidi wearing my scarf just because it is really nice!!
that place was really dim and the tables were really CLOSE man.... but anyways after dinner we ate YOFROYO!!!! which proved itself to be the best i mean nobody can beat the quality and price man!!! we had it almost everyday there!! :)
THE BEST.
Weidi really loves it I mean braving the cold and having herself some fro yo is what I call DEDICATION!!!!
We couldnt find the crepe place!! :( :( But nvm we were really full anyway! and we bought these 50c sticks and the auntie will toss them in the tw seasoning and THEY WERE NICEEEEE even if they were just sausages or sotong balls!!! ^^ Shida was so big we were lost a couple of times. Alleys and crossroads and DECISIONS!!
Metro back to XMD our heartland paradise!! Why can't Serangoon be like XMD?!!?!??!!?!? Walked around and stuff as usual and pop by the 24 hrs watsons in XMD which we MUST enter at least once every night there even if we have nothing to buy and even if we have already seen every possible product inside. But the nothing to buy part is not applicable.
Oh oh there's this street stall in XMD (they are always on the run and every night we have to search for them because they;re all concentrated in different lanes everynight!!) that sells these DELICIOUS pratas i mean it's prata the taiwan way. they put chilli and your choice of filling and wrap them with the prata IT IS PERFECTION i want some nowwww!!!! :(
had them for supper together with Weidi's Specialty (right). Her bland of baileys with coke which was heavenly!!!!!!! ^^ And must I mention that we HAVE to pop by Quan2 Jia1 or 7-11 EVERY night JUST because. and we'll walk around as if it is a supermarket because every single thing amazes us and i'll always go "omg weidi come!!! look at this!!!" hahaha i must say the chips are damn GOOD!!!!!!
Ok sorry for the self shot I took WAY many during the trip I think I;'ve mastered the art of self shots HAHAHA. ok Day 2 in the next entry!!
And must I mention Weidi's sleeping ways are beyond weird... but as a good friend I must be accepting.........................................