Trip to Taiwan with Esther
6 - 11 March 2010
DAY 3

Hot Spring at Xin Bei Tou (新北投)

Took the MRT down to Bei Tou station (北投) where we had to transfer to another train to take us one stop up to Xin Bei Tou station (新北投). The scenery changed from the city to the suburbs during the journey. There were more rivers and mountains towards Bei Tou. Nice view. (:





I like the red leaves on this tree. I like the name of the shop too. It sells smelly tofu and the stall name can be directly translates as 'Smelly Mother, Smelly Tofu' or 'Smelly Mother's Smelly Tofu'.




More and more mountains as we head north.



Got to transfer over to this train at Bei Tou station to get to Xin Bei Tou station. The train's colorful and decorated with cartoons of hot spring stuff.






Hot spring, indeed.


Once you get out of the station, walk all the way north and up the sloping route. Alternatively, you can follow the smell of sulphur. Lol.







There's a long stretch of hot springs with different packages to offer. The one we went to offered NT$540 (S$24.50) for an hour of indoor hot spring. We got room 311, which is funny 'cos our hotel room is 511.


It's a small room with a bathroom, complete with a TV and cushy seats and a table. Toiletries are fully provided. Even though we'd brought our own swimsuits, we decided to use their bath towels so that we do not have to carry a soaked swimsuit and towel around for the rest of the day.





One hour isn't enough since we wasted time filling the bath tub with the spring water and having to adjust it to the right temperature. Had to extend the booking by another half an hour but it didn't cost much.



Wanted to try out Wen Quan La Mian but they are closed today. We decided to head straight for our next stop, Dan Shui and eat there instead.


Yup, this one is hot spring water too. It's open to public, I think. Just don't go stripping. All people do here is soak their feets.







Hahaha I looked up from below a tree and saw this furry caterpillar wriggling around on a leaf. (:

Dan Shui Old Street (淡水老街)

We took the train back to Bei Tou and traveled all the way to the end of the line to Dan Shui.



We had to walk two streets before we found this eatery along 177 中正路. The 'Jay Chou's set meal' is named as such because he would eat here when he was schooling. We ordered something else, though. The shop area is narrow but has a total of 3 floors. Mmm, I like the wontons. (:

Shihlin Night Market (士林夜市)

Zomg I don't think anyone can say they have been to Taiwan until they've been to one of their night markets, especially Shihlin Night Market! It's super easy to get there. Alight at Jian Tan Station. You only have to cross a intersection to get there. The night market is split into two areas, one for food only and the other for everything else. All for the sake of hygiene.



A huge cup of warm milk tea with loads of pearls. All for NT$30 (S$1.30).

Stalls selling drinks with aiyu (愛玉) jelly is common in Taiwan. Can't find it much in Singapore. BBQ food is another common stall. The delicious smells wafting from the foods being BBQ is always tempting. Rawrrrr.


The usual food and games. There were many stalls selling nice clothes and shoes. We chanced upon an area where there were many stalls selling kittens and puppies. The animals are cute but I found the whole thing disgusting. The way they are being sold, those furry critters have been reduced to 'objects', not 'pets'.


This is the food section of the Shihlin night market. It is directly opposite the station.


One of the foods Shihlin night market is famous for: deep fried chicken fillet (豪大大雞排).



With plenty of food in hand, we went back to our hotel room. We passed by this cafe called 85 degrees Celcius along our usual route to New World Hotel. All the yummy looking cakes. The most unbelievable thing was the price. Each slice didn't cost more than S$2. *howls in protest at the expensive cakes in Singapore*


I think Esther and I have been watching Spongebob Squarepants almost on a daily basis during this trip. And yea, she's being Mrs Squidward again. :D Look at the way Squidy is looking at her in the first picture. Hahaha!






Got this top from the night market. I have a thing for such designs. Cecil McBee and Liz Lisa designs clothes like this. I only realise this shirt was a Cecil McBee imitation after I went back to the hotel. -_-

鐵蛋 that I'd bought in Danshui.

CHARMAINE CHEONG.

I’m a somebody and a nobody. I’m rational and emotional. I’m critical but I’m non-judgemental.

I like my things categorized by types and chronologically. I like taking photos to preserve the moments of my life. I like dystopian literature. I like reading Wikipedia articles at random. I like travelling to foreign lands and seeing the world. I like long conversations over good food. I like pop and classical music. I like guitars. I like cats. I like writing random, mushy letters and notes to the people important to me. I have a whole long list of things that I like, but you’ve got to get to know me better to know them all.