Taipei Day 1 - 23/4/2009 Thursday

Taipei here we went...

Reached Taoyuan airport at 6.30pm and we were both hungry to try Taiwan food. Brought a sandwich and 2 bottles of drink (210NT).

Brought GuoKuang bus tickets @ 230NT/pax (return trip) and took the bus at 7pm. The journey was abt 40mins to reach the interchange near Taipei Main Station (TMS).

We took abt 20mins to find Cityinn hotel and the room they gave us was super small! This is a picture of the room i took, standing at the door way.

We headed down to TMS underground after we had found a place to put our luggages in the tiny room. At TMS undergound, there are a few shoe shops selling 1pair of shoes at 200NT and 2pairs at 300NT. Bag shops selling 1bag at 280NT and 2bags at 500NT. Didn't buy anything there on the 1st day. Just looked around. Tried frog layegg drink (30NT) and Ai Yu(35NT). Didn't like either of them.

Luckily we went to buy Hualien tickets on the 1st day. If not maybe cannot get any tickets liao. Actually wanted to buy Taroko Express tickets, but sold out. Hence no choice, brought Tze Chiang tickets @ 801NT/pax (return trip).

We zipped down to Shilin night market after we brought the easycards at the counter in TMS MRT station (500NT/pax).

TMS is REAl big and it is like a maze. We had got lost in there a few times throughout the 7days.

This is Shilin night maket( 士林夜市).

Tried 冬瓜奶茶(20NT), fried sweetpotato balls (30NT), 盐酥鸡(50NT) - All quit NICE!

We walked,ate, shopped, and saw this cute dog...

It was already 12.20am and we only managed to finish half of the night market. We quickly made our way back to Jiantan mrt station to take the last train (12:26am).

While waiting for the train, we spotted another night market which we did not explore on the 1st night. It is known as 公有士林观光市场 which has more food and we shall be back.

By the time we reached TMS, all the underground shops were closed.

As the night was still young, we spent sometimes to figure out the shortest route to the hotel. If you were traveling by MRT/TRA/HSR in Taipei and will be staying at CityInn, you can exit Z6 from TMS undergound. Pls note that the gates of the exits of the stations will be shuttled down after operating hour.

I wish you enough

Another meaningful email...
Recently I overheard a mother and daughter in their last moments together at the airport. They had announced the departure.
Standing near the security gate, they hugged and the mother said, "I love you and I wish you enough". The daughter replied, "Mom, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Mom".They kissed and the daughter left. The mother walked over to the window where I was seated. Standing there I could see she wanted and needed to cry.. I tried not to intrude on her privacy but she welcomed me in by asking, "Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?".Yes, I have," I replied. "Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?". "I am old and she lives so far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is - the next trip back will be for my funeral," she said."When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, 'I wish you enough'. May I ask what that means?". She began to smile. "That's a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone". She paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail and she smiled even more. "When we said , 'I wish you enough', we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them". Then turning toward me, she shared the following as if she were reciting it from memory...
I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.
I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.
She then began to cry and walked away.They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them but then an entire life to forget them.
To all my friends and loved ones, I WISH YOU ENOUGH!

MARRIED OR UNMARRIED

A meaningful email from a friend...
QUOTE " DO NOT LOOK BACK AND ASK WHY, LOOK FORWARD AND ASK WHY NOT"

A very valuable lesson to learn....
Interesting quote from the movie "Why did I get married?"
In most cases, especially in relationships, you will only get 80% of
what you NEED and you will hardly get the other 20% that you WANT in your relationship. There is always another person (man or women)
that you will meet and that will offer you the other 20% which is
lacking in your relationship that you WANT. And believe me, 20%
looks really good when you are not getting it at all in your current
relationship.
But the problem is that you will always be tempted to leave that
good 80% that you know you have, thinking that you will get
something better with the other 20% that you WANT. But as reality
has proven, in most cases, you will always end up with having the
20% that you WANT and loosing the 80% that you really NEED and that
you already had.
Be careful in deciding between what you WANT and NEED in your life.
Adultery happens when you start looking for what you don't have.
"Wow, this girl in my office is a real looker. But it's not her
Wynona Rider features that got me. I'm crazy about her because she's
also understanding, intelligent, tender - so many things that my
spouse is not"
Somewhere along the way, you'll find a woman or a man who will be
more charming or sensitive. More alluring. More thoughtful. Richer.
Have greater sex appeal.. And you will find a woman or man who will
need you and pursue you and go loco over you more than your spouse
ever did.
Because no wife or husband is perfect. Because a spouse will only
have 80% of what you're looking for. So adultery takes place when a
husband or wife looks for the missing 20%. Let's say your wife is
melancholic by nature.
You may find yourself drawn to the pretty clerk who has a cherry
laugh no matter what she says: "I broke my arm yesterday,
Hahahaha . . .."
Or because your wife is a homebody in slippers and pajamas, smelling of garlic and fish oil, you may fall for a fresh-smelling young sales representative that visits your office in a sharp black blazer, high heels, and a red pencil-cut skirt Or because your husband is the quiet type, your heart may skip a beat when you meet an old college flame who has the makings of a talk show host.
But wait! That's only 20% of what you don't have.
Don't throw away the 80% that you already have!
That's not all. Add to your spouse's 80% the 100% that represents all the years that you have been with each other. The storms you have weathered together. The unforgettable moments of sadness and joy as a couple. The many adjustments you have made to love the other. The wealth of memories that you've accumulated as lovers.
Adultery happens when you start looking for what you don't have.
But faithfulness happens when you start thanking God for what you
already have.
But I'm not just talking about marriage.. I'm talking about life!
About your jobs.
About your friends.
About your children.
About your lifestyles.
Are you like the econo my airline passenger that perennially peeks through the door of the first class cabin, obsessed with what he's missing? "They have got more leg room! Oh my , their food is served in porcelain! Wow, their seats recline at an 80% angle and they've
got personal videos!"
I guarantee you'll be miserable for the entire trip! Don't live your life like that. Forget about what the world says is first class. Do you know that there are many first class passengers who are miserable in first class -- because they are not riding in a private Lear Jet?
The main message???
If you start appreciating what you have right now, wherever you are,
you are first class!

Didi eating biscuit photo shots!

Heihei... Didi showing off his two teeth

I have always love...

the sky

We have gone to the Zoo Zoo Zoo...

Have brought the kids to the Zoo on Sunday at ard 11.30am. It was drizzling when we reached, thus we waited for a while at KFC near the entrance. The drizzle stopped 10mins later and we happily made our way in to the ZOO.
And there we saw...
The monkeys...

Otters...

Babirusa... (a type of wildpig)

Emu...

Baby kangaroo...

Blue headed big bird(forgot it's name liao)... Only manage to take a photo with it's ass as it walked away too fast.

Don't know what it is.. a type of Squirrel??

Squirrels...

Giant turtles...

Kodomo dragon...

A huge lizard...

We walked and walked...

And we saw the snakes! Different type of snakes, but i only took three type. Haha...



A small long tailed monkey...

By the time we reached the rainforest kidzworld, we were all hungry. Hence we went to the nearby KFC...

Kaeden waiting for his whipped potato...

After we have finished our meals, we continued our journey... and we saw

the pony...

Huge rabbits

Aiya, Kaeser and I were too busy feeding the goats and i totally forgot to take a photo of "Kaeser and the goats". Hazi...

Near to the Kidzworld, there is this Kumpong house...

We went in and i took photos of

the dressing table...

Kaeser pretending to cook at the kitchen...

Kaeser sitting beside the "old lady"...

and the white mice.

On the way back, we saw the female lions. Where are the males?

Giraffes...

Ostrich...

Zebras...

And flamingo...

Forgot to take photos of the elephants, white tigers, sun bears, goats, penguins etc. Dissapointed that we didn manage to see the polar bear...

On the way home, i then remembered that we also didn see the cows, pink pigs and sheeps... Maybe next time go again... And hubby give me that " If you want to go, go yourself" look. Haha... The kids were exhausted after the zoo and they slept all the way home.