Better late than neva-Taiwan Trip

Hmm its been a long time since I last blog..

heres some flashback moments of our Taiwan Honeymoon trip-beta late than neva yeah :)

Its basically shop n eat till you drop kinda short trip..In a span of 4-5days we went to Xi Men Ding, Shihlin Night Market, Taipei 101 and other shopping malls.It rained heavily the day we reached Taipei..in fact we were told its been so for past few days.Despite the rain,we visited Shihlin Night Market which springs to life in the evening with carnival games and wide selection of shops/street vendors selling clothing,tourist gifts, pets and much more.We had to wrestle thru crowds and avoid being poked by umbrellas.wat a 1st night.Thank God it stopped raining e next day..in fact weather was cool n breezy-very nice :)

Taiwanese are reali creative when it comes to food..Theres all sorts of street food:deep-fried and mixed in the most unusual combinations.You name it, they have it. There's also alot of stalls selling the same food. Go for the stall with queue & one cant be too wrong. We tried the famous Shihlin deep fried chicken cutlet (Calvin's all-time fav..think we had it almost everyday haha), lotsa ice milk assorted desserts,milk tea, deepfried onion n egg prata wraps(its sinfully good) and even smelly Toufu-oh my it smells like drain and it has an awful lasting aftertaste!!

The shops are pretty repetitive in the things they sell. Its almost impossible2revisit the few unique shops as they are very well hidden among the many other similar ones. Blink and you might very well miss it! Shops decorated with loud colorful neon signages and street vendors selling all sorts of local delights are scattered all over the streets-unique street scenery.We often lost track of the streets we've covered and find ourselves circling the same spot at times.

In Xi Men Ding,we found this interesting candy shop where candy n chocolates come in unique packaging..like cigars, syringes, medicine bottles, plasters and even sanitary pads!! I bought most of my presents fr there.Chocolates in e form of..ahem shit( yes pink and dark brown ones), coca-cola bottles and other unmentionable shapes(Im sure some of u know wat Im referring2 lol)

Oh we also stumbled upon the Rainbow Hotel which Calvin stayed during his Taiwan army trip some 10 years or so ago..think its hasnt change abit! Theres also many cartoon themed cafes with interesting window-displays that sell delicious western fares like spaghetti and baked rice -Bagus!unlike the noodles sold in the restaurants which are largely tasteless.Btw the 24hr night stores (oh they have 7-11 stores in Taipei 2) only seem to carry braised beef noodles,no Tomyam or seafood flavored ones..unbelievable!

Next,we spent less than half a day in Taipei 101-I'm amazed by the towering structure and it definitely has a magnificent view of the entire Taipei City. A great place for relaxing meal and window shop..which is all you can do cos theres mostly high-end retail stores and little else. Oh guess wat I found at the basement : a cafe named Karen Teppanyaki Cafe-how Cool :)

We had little luck looking for our Suzuki SX4 miniature car model in ToyLand..However Calvin manage2 add on2 his Spongebox Square Pants collection and a pair of Adidas Dunk. As for me I got myself Nike AirMax 360 and Adidas jacket! Shoes are a steal in Taipei...a must buy!

Heres another discovery.. Taiwanese actually line up in a very orderly manner eg a straight line while waiting for arrival of trains/buses and even so on escalators!!-hmm dats impressive..