Taipei! 我来也!!

The year-end holiday trip will always be one big affair for Mr. Gecko and me. Though we have not gone for any rugged backpacking - our very one location centric (we try to explore one location / state to its death) and very public-free & easy traveling mode is also not any weakling's cup of tea! Mr. Gecko will say I am the weakling. We, or rather me; *it's always my job since he coughed up the cash* actually do intensive research and draw up the itinerary two - three months prior to the actual travel period.

It was especially stressful to plan the itinerary for this Taipei trip coz' for the first time, Mr. Patriarch & Mrs. Matriarch Gecko came along with us. I had to make sure the trip will not be too tough for the fogeys. Well, credits to the fogeys for being so game and all but we are definitely booking a tour package for them the next time. Not for anything other than their comfort.

Frankly, I was a tad disappointed with Taipei city. Blame it all on Chinese MTVs which heighten my expectations of Taipei. The city is not as architecturally modernised as I had expected. I wasn't impressed with Taipei's city landscape at all. The Taipei 101 tower is kinda expected though it definitely is a dandy piece of structure but whole point being, that's just it! There ain't any Central (Hong Kong) or George Street (Sydney) kinda city / shopping experiences.

Mr. Gecko and me sneaked out to Ximenting (西門町) almost every night *after the parents retired to bed* for own intensive exploration but we didn't managed to buy anything. We didn't have anything to buy lah. Both Ximenting and Wufenpu (五分埔) - a wholesale garment district like Bangkok's Chatuchak; are catered for the Far East Plaza *teenagers* market. Taipei's most famous Shilin's night market (士林夜市) is real streetside shopping haven and has all kinds of accessories and food imaginable though I still didn't buy anything. I felt quite paiseh if the parents had to wait for me while I inspected the numerous stalls. Kinda regretted the quick walk through Shilin's night market. It's a must go on a weekend night!

*Eeeks* Taiwanese certainly have weird taste in food. They love to eat all kinds of animals' innards. Even the bulls' testes and pig's blood cake (猪血糕) are local treats and you can buy it anywhere from most of the streetside hawkers. Mr. Gecko met up with one of his Taiwanese associate for one casual dinner, guess what Taiwanese food he ordered as recommendation for Mr. Gecko? Chicken testicles [Taiwanese hawker lingo]!!! *hahahahaha* Mr. Gecko hardly touched his dinner that night.

Just to pique my curiousity, do chickens have testes? I thought chickens are of female sex and only cocks have cocks right?? Anyone knows?

Besides the main Taipei city, we also journeyed further to Chuifen (追分) and beyond to Hualien's Taroko Gorge (花蓮 - 太魯閣). Both places are nice get-aways for us city dwellers and we took the railway train to get there. Argh... the whole Taipei railway experience was so mind boggling! Every instructions is displayed in traditional Mandarin, there were so many train routes and rude-unhelpful-confused-themselves Taiwanese was certainly no help! But I really like to go up the trecherous mountainous road by public bus and explore the small, old Chuifen town. The village is built on the side of the mountain and there are quite a few old Chinese teahouses with a nice view of the ocean.

We also had a great day out and night stay in peaceful Hualien. We booked a cab for one whole day and the driver double acted as our local tour guide and brought us around Taroko Gorge's and Hualien's famous haunts.

Eight thumbs up (from 4 persons) for our hotel accomodation in Taipei & to Taipei's weather the whole period we were there. The Taipei weather was much, much better and comfortable than I expected. In fact, the mild weather was the best thing that happened for my Taipei holiday! The temperature was comfort cool and I only had to don a light sweater with nary any sweat though I walked almost the whole day and in constipated night markets! And the rain stayed away! Yeah!

Mr. Gecko and I also highly recommend TS Hotel (大順大飯店) should you holiday in Taipei. A night's stay in a standard double room with breakfast costs less than SGD90! And the room's ornate decor, comfort and facilities rivals that of any 5 star hotel for its price! I can surf more than 80 over TV channels in the room and there's even two free porn channels! Goodness! *giggles giggles~~* No wonder Taiwanese men are known to be more "humsup" *Cantonese: lecherous*.

Ah yes!! Mr. Gecko! You still owe me a session at Taipei's Partyworld!! The Partyworld KTV is HUGE in Taipei. There's this tall building owe by Partyworld at Ximenting and you can find another of their luxurious KTV just opposite the building. Mr. Gecko loh! Depriving me of a karaoke session in the world of Mandapop! Despite his promise... *Idiot!*

Hmm~~, that about sums it all. Overall holiday ratings for Taipei? A miserly 2.5 stars out of 5 rating. Blame it all on Chinese-Taiwanese MTVs and Jacky Wu's TV roadshows. They paint too good a picture and I didn't spot Jay Chou...

p/s: A small gallery of pics on my trip to Taipei. Couldn't direct some nicer shots with my toys as per my usual travel shots as the parents were around. What would they think?? Geez... that contributes to my low rating for Taipei too.

At the Jian Guo Flower Market( 建國假日花市) which is held under an entire car expressway! A very big weekend floral market with really nice blooms due to Taiwan's weather I guess - from seeds to vases to fountains to flowers to 6 feet trees in a bucket!

On our way to Chuifen (追分) - Going up to the mountain town in a public bus

Bird eye's view of Chuifen's town from a hillside cafe

Father & son sharing quality moments at Taipei's Danshui Old Street (淡水)

Looking down *no pun intended* at Taipei from 101 Observatory Tower which allows panoramic view of Taipei City

Hualien (Taroko Gorge) - The aboriginal lodge we stayed in for one night. Brrr... it's very cold over there at night

Hee... well said!

Hualien (Taroko Gorge) - I like this pic. Very new yorky-autumny feel... though I wish the leaves were reddish & brownish

Hualien (Taroko Gorge) - Mrs. Matriarch Gecko doing a jiggly dance. We were very impressed with the crisp clean mountain air and scenery

Hualien (Taroko Gorge) - This bill was pasted everywhere in Taroko Gorge. Apparently the couple on the fugitive run was wanted for murdering their 5 kids. As told by our cabby, forensic evidence showed that this couple murdered their kids daily and subsequently for 5 days - 1 kid a day! The poor innocent kids! This poster gives me the creeps...

You won't believe it, Taipei is quite deprive of ang-moh tourists - big time! You don't see ANY European / Indian tourists around the city (at least for the 6 days we were there) and it's strange given that ang moh tourists can be found anywhere esp. in an Asian city. So when we see this big group of ang mohs eating at the 101 Tower food court - We thought it quite spectacular in fact; and so snapped it!

Shopping at Wufenpu (五分埔) - I bought only ONE bag!! There's a lot of shoes stores but I was too thin-skinned for the parents to wait for me while trying on shoes. I can only go shoes-bags shopping mad here. Your younger teenage sis will go more frenzy-shopping-madness here though. Wide variety with wholesale prices

The Taipei public transport mode. There were so so so many yellow cabs everywhere in Taipei

Mecha trying to win a vintage 70s looking Hello Kitty figurine at a game stall at Snake Alley night market

The parents are pious Buddhists so we were on vegetarian mode for the whole Taipei trip. Mr. Patriarch Gecko is a big fan of oyster omelette prior to his current entrenched Buddhist faith... so we had 2 plates of oyster omelettes at Ximenting on our last night in Taipei - without the oysters please!