Looking back~~

Chanced upon my old ipod nano.. The long long one with the small screen AND its only 2gb!! ( Must be considered an antique as compared to the devices now ) This is a birthday pressie from the guys I know in SIM.. those we used to go to almost every lecture together, helping one another with the notes in the lecture, going to eat, shop, play (esp mahjong), ktv-ing together.... And its still going strong after so many years....

It has accompanied me through my full day study session in the WDL library, the journey to & fro school, to genting & alot alot more... Now, looking at it once again reminds me of those times.. The time which I thought was by far the best in my life till now.. Studying hard & playing hard at the same time.. With the thinking of not letting myself having any regrets in life thus doing ALOT of things without thinking of the consequences.. The utmost & most impt thing at that point of time is to have fun, do things that I enjoy, happy & not having any regrets...

Looking back now at the time & how much I miss my life then.. I think what I did was right... Though some of them is totally wrong to do...

Ever since I started work, I have lost my 'kinda spirit' slowly.. It's the sad thing of being an adult & growing up.. Some might say that its up to individual, whether they wanna forsake that 'do-whatever-you-want, as-long-as-you-are-happy' attitude... I dun have to but I cant help it...

I am not the Wei Ting that I used to be.. If unhappy at anything, I will just show it out.. Sometimes even voice it out.. Only hang out with the people that you are comfortable with, thus making u happy most of the time also.. I have a lot more reserves that are holding me back now.. I just cannot do things that I like or will make me happy without thinking of the consequences first... I will to think alot more.. If after that, I can still go ahead with the initial plan or leads to the initial outcome that I want it's still ok... BUT alot of times, THIS~~~ doesnt occur..

At times, I hate myself for doing what I am doing now & wish to go back to the Uni days where I can do whatever I think is right (not necessary right in the eye of the others though).. Right now, I still have to think about what other think, what consequences it will have etc etc... So tiring... I got think about this qns before and wondering isit because of this that I am behaving the way I am now..

In Uni, I know exactly what I want.. Maybe that's why I was doing what I did then.. But right now, if you ask me that........ I will tell you, I don't know.........

A break will be good

Seems like I am at a bottleneck again.. It happened quite frequently these days.. Met with problems which I can't do much about.. Felt really helpless at times n wonder am I on the right track...

In need of a break but the times I need a break nowadays seems to be on the rise.. Will a break help me to recharge? If yes when do I need a break so often? Does it mean I am not full recharge during those break I had?

I need to find a hobby, something I love doing so that I will feel fulfilled.. It would be better If I can make some extra income out of those hobbies.. ;p

Yes my love... I do..

I am engaged!! 

Words cant described how blissful & happy I am now.. Not forgetting, surprised.. I never expected n never suspected anything at all.. He did such a good job at covering and hiding his intention and nervous feelings.. 

He gave me the kinda proposal which I had never ever imagined he would.. But I love it.. I am totally surprised and blown off my feet.. Felt really touched when I saw the video he made for me, a snapshot and summary of what we had gone through the past years... I believe there will be more additions to it and I know I will be in good hands from now on.. 

Welcome to Taiwan!!

After 4 months of endless waiting for my super duper long holiday, its finally here.. In fact, its over already.. Feeling super sian, (but i guess its normal after a long break) cause need to go back to reality in less than 18 hours..

It's a 8d7n trip, had been planning the itinerary ever since we booked the ticket in december.. Covered almost everything in Taipei.. Went to the 2 hotspring area, had a 1 day tour along the northeast coast, went back to Danshui, bought alot of lashes (considered the tu-chan in taiwan these days), went around looking for good food etc etc...

Wont be able to cover everything in 1 post, will break it up into a few just like the pics I posted on FB..

Day 1: Changi Airport, Ximending, Wufenpu & Raohe NM

Our flight is @ 705am, the earliest flight I had ever taken.. This also means I will need to wake up at 4am in the morning.. Slp for 2 hours & had to rush to the airport.. As usual, we had BK for brekkie before entering the boarding gate.. The flight was quite empty..

After 4.5 hours of sitting in the cabin, we finally arrived in Taoyuan International Airport.. Feeling really excited but abit sian cause the weather isnt as cooling as I thought it would be..

We took Freego (bought the return ticket) to Chengdu hotel, which is where the homestay owner asked us to alight at.. 

After we alighted outside the hotel, we were abit lost.. Had to walk and asked quite a few shop attendant before we were able to find our homestay.. All along I thought the place is in Taipei Main Station, never had I thought its so near Ximending..

When we found the place, we had to call the owner cause we did not know which floor to go to.. Manage to find the place but the room was not ready yet, left our luggage and we went out to look for food..

Had a hard time trying to find Ximending, my direction sense was really bad.. :P Havent felt so lost in my life before.. haha.. 

Got to the main area of Ximending and asked around for the famous Ice shop.. It's just next to the exit of the station.. Queue was really long.. Totally had no idea of what I am ordering..

Starfruit Ice

Personally, I prefer the pineapple flavour Vs the Starfruit one.. The starfruit one is too salty.. After that, we walk along the main road of Wu Chang Street towards Taipei Main Station, trying to look for the 清真黄牛肉面.. Din manage to find that but I chanced about the 东东牛肉面 I used to go with Billy and Cheng when we went to Taipei 3 years back.. What a pleasant encounter.. hehe..

卤肉饭

After lunch, we walk around the area before walking back to the hotel.. There are alot of shops with very cool stuffs around there.. Was trying to look for the 7-11 where I sent my order of 牛尔 from payeasy to but I could not find it.. In the end, we got lost in Ximending.. haha.. Had a hard time trying to find our way back to Taipeiyork..

Our room was ready by then and I was really happy cause the room looks exactly like how it looks like in the picture over the internet.. My frenz keeps telling me not to have high expectation of the homestay or hotel in taipei cause they usually dun tally with the pictures you saw on the net.. 


Our Greece-inspired theme room.. 

Looks great, isnt it??

We rested and washed up before moving off to Wufenpu and Raohe NM for the day.. Walked to Ximending area to experience the vibrancy of Taipei.. (Well, at that point of time, its the only way I know how to get to the station from our hotel.. haha )

Took us about 20 min before reaching Hou Shan Pi station where Wufenpu is..

On the train.. 


Weather was getting cooler.. Had a short shopping spree at Wufenpu.. The clothes there are getting more and more expensive.. Totally unlike the experience I had when I was here 3 years back with Lishan.. The effect of higher cost of living.. Damn sadded.. Rested at the food street of Wufenpu to enjoy the cool weather before moving off to Raohe NM.. 

We totally din know where Raohe is.. Just know that we had to cross over to the other side of the train station nearby.. But the train station has moved.. Luckily, a auntie showed us the way.. It's about 5-10 min walk away from Wufenpu.. 

Look at the crowd behind us!!


We joined in the fun to queue for the famous Hu Jiao Bing.. Need to queue at least 10 min if you go at the peak hour.. 

Finally we are the first in queue.. Was looking forward to how it taste cause it is recommended in almost all the travel guide & blog.. But i think its a personal taste thingy, I dun deny that the meat is really succulent and the fillings is huge, but I dun like the skin.. Dun really think its worth the queue.. (personal opinion)


We had difficulty walking through the night market cause its super crowded.. We were looking for the next must eat at Raohe, herbal Bak Kut soup...

Herbal Lamb 

Herbal Bak Kut 

The stall where we had it.. Benny likes it alot but I find it abit bland as compared to the Bak Kut we usually eat.. 

Continued walking along the night market, looking for interesting things and food.. Dear got abit tired..He wasnt feeling too well too, probably due to the lack of slp.. 

We were walking when we chanced upon this.. 

 Yes, 1 plate for NT 100.. 

This is so so good.. 


We were glad that we sat down and had this.. It's the best oyster I had ever had and make us coming back for it the 2nd time during our week in Taipei.. hehe.. The oysters were really fresh and it wasnt overcooked.. I must mentioned the wasabi sauce provided by the stall.. OMG, its heavenly.. Yes, its a wasabi sauce,  not those solid ones we usually had.. 


We thought we were done for the night but.......... Dear manage to find this 100 yr shop selling Orh Ah Mee Sua... It's called Dongfa.. Another must eat at Raohe, I was trying to look for it earlier on but gave up.. It's right beside a small temple, if you din look close enough you will miss it.. 

It's not those gluey type of Mee Sua like Ah Zhong, but its comparable.. The soup is really refreshing and tasty.. And the chilli sauce, pls do not be deceived by it.. OMG, its super spicy but shiok.. hehe..


Lastly, time for some desserts.. 

Can taste the soya bean and the syrup is not too sweet, in fact with the shaved ice, it felt really refreshing.. Best to top with both peanuts and Fen Yuan.. 


Was close to 11pm when we finished covering the whole Raohe NM.. The weather is superb, 23C.. We decided walked all the way from Raohe back to Houshanpi station to take the mrt back to Taipeiyork.. 

Day 3: Free & Easy Day

We did not plan an itinerary for this BKK trip.. We will just relax & do whatever we wanna do.. ( I admit, for me most of it is shopping... )

We woke up around 10am BKK time.. This is rather late compared to our other trips when I will wake up super early in the morning so that we can cover more places.. 

We had our brekkie at a noodle place near the hotel.. After brekkie we went to check out the Pratunam market across the road.. I never thought that inside those small alley is such a big space.. It is a market built inside a warehouse.. (at least to me, it looks like it..) Like normal market, the stuffs sold is catered more to the mature crowd.. But one special thing is, there are quite a no. of shops selling stage wear.. 

These are what we had for brekkie & lunch.. 

We went to Platinum later.. Did some last min shopping cause our flight is at 130pm the next day, we will not have time to do any shopping.. Went back to the hotel to put my loots after a few hours of shopping cause we need to go to Sukumvit Soi 3 for Benny's fitting.. 

That is the thing that makes my blood boil.. We went there & found out that the tailor did not manage to make the clothes on time.. If he is honest to tell me frankly that, I will not be that angry.. Instead he told us that, OH..... you no need to come for fitting at all ah.. I thought I mentioned that to you before? We will use your previous measurements, should be fine... 

WTF, it was him who told us to come back for fitting @ 4pm sharp today when we came 2 days back... Now he is telling me a total different story.. In addition, we already told him dun use last years' measurement cause its not really fitting.. Now he tells me he is using that!! We insisted on doing the fitting but he said the shirts are not with him... Really suck thumb!! We swear we wont be going back to the same tailor anymore...  (For those who want to avoid going to the same tailor as us, just ask me before you go BKK)

Another sucky thing is, it is the peak hour & we could not get any cab back.. Every cab we hailed  want to charge us a fixed amount to go back to the hotel & it is like 3x more than metered... When we finally got onto a cab which charge us by meter, he purposely use the most congested road & when we paid him upon reaching, he claims he din have change & want us to treat the shortfall as tips.. OMG.. What a bad experience... It is all these stupid drivers that ruin the effort of those really nice ones we met before...

But it is because of this stupid driver, I manage to get my transformer luggage bag.. It almost 50% cheaper than the one I saw @ Nana.. (Still, I will not forgive the taxi driver despite that!!) At least, I got a reason to be happy.. :P 

I went back to Platinum to change my top before heading for our massage.. The one we went today is so much painful than the previous one.. But its so~~~~~ shiok!!


We decide to stick to our plan & head down to Chinatown for dinner.. Took a cab & realise you must tell the driver you wanna go to 'Yauwarat', most of them duno what is Chinatown.. The driver told us that cause its the CNY period so the night market wont be open & asked us wanna go SomBoon or not... Luckily, we did not believe him.....


He let us alight along a road which is quite quiet.. We decide to explore around since we are already there.. Worse come to worse, we will just sit at any store that is open.. :P As we walked along a small alley, it becomes more & more lively.. 

Along the small road.. 

Checking out the menu...

My turn... Pardon me for my messy hair.. :P


We walk further down the small road & there it is~~ the roadside store that I am looking for.. It's OPEN & full of people.. ( I rem it the place from 美食大三通) Super duper happy.. The price of the food there makes me even happy.. hehehehe.. 

Remember this place.. There are 2 roadside store side by side.. (I will try the other one & let you know the review)

We are sitting right next to the road.. 

I think the coconut must be really sweet.. 

Our spread for the night!!


Dinner was superb.. Especially the grilled King Prawn, it is so fresh & yummy.. Next time when I come BKK, I will come here every night for dinner..... hehe.. 

Chanced upon this mobile snack stall.. They seems to be really popular... But we were too full for the doughy thing they are selling.. Looks like mini you tiao with condensed milk & other toppings.. 


We took a walk along the main road & there are quite a no. of food stalls around.. 

As it is Valentines' Day, we saw alot of couples around the place too.. 


Tonight is a feasting night for us cause before we know, we are sitting @ another store waiting for our food to be served.. :P

We head back to our hotel around 12 midnight.. Feeling super bloated & satisfied.. hehe...  But the sad thing is, we need to pack our things for tml.. :( Time passes really fast, there goes our 4d3n BKK trip.. But the happy thing is we bought alot of things... (Well, i admit is I bought alot of things..) We did the usual things..................

Dear's loots.....


And
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
MINE!! 

Whoohoo.. it is taking up almost the whole bed!!


I must say a word in fairness, I bought lesser things as compared to last year lo.. :P 

Day 2: Shopping, Eating & Clubbing ~

Weekend is for what? Weekend is for Chatuchak!!! 

We woke up really early in the morning cause we know we wont be able to withstand the BKK sun for a very long time.. But little did we expect it to start raining.. The first time I experienced rain in BKK.. Was quite worried the rain would spoil our shopping session...  

On the cab to shopping heaven Chatuchak.. 

It took us only 15 mins max to reach & cost 65 baht.. The rain has subsided when we reached Chatuchak but the floor is really wet.. Had to brave through puddles & puddles of water while looking for a place for our brekkie.. We decide to settle @ this small shop near the train station selling pork bee hoon & cai peng.. 

Total cost for 2 bowls & 2 iced tea = 100 baht!! ( The portion is just nice for me.. )

Whoohoo.. By the time, we finished our food.. The sun is out.. I quite like the weather cause it was really windy.. What a superb condition to shop @ Chatuchuk.. (If the floor is dry, it will be PERFECT!!)

On the way to get a map.. Can see quite a no of ppl around even though its only 10am BKK time.. 

One of the few entrance where you can get the map of the Chatuchak.. 

One of the small alleyway inside the huge shopping heaven.. 

We chanced upon this small eatery among all the shops selling clothes.. It seems a little out of place but who cares cause the Thai-style wanton mee looks really good.. We head inside without thinking twice.. It is one of the best decision we make that day... 

Dont be bluff & intimidated by the exterior of this shop.. 

We tried both the dry & soup version.. Both taste differently but equally good.. 


We move on to shop again but stop in front of another small shop selling dessert... Can you guess what we did? YES~~ we went in & started ordering.. haha.. 

Thai-style Chendol.. With only the green jelly & super sweet ( I told em to put less sugar already.)

Excited with his black jelly aka grass jelly ice with brown sugar.. 

Continued our shopping after this but I dun we wont be staying for long cause it's getting warmer & warmer.. 

Still feeling energetic after those shopping but.... someone is feeling otherwise....

Ok dear, another half an hour & we shall go back k??


I fulfilled my promise & left Chatuchuk after getting my last pair of shoes for my mum.. By the time, it is around 230pm BKK time.. We took a cab &  I got a chance to experience the BKK jam.. But this is all BECAUSE~~~~~

We were a little worried the moment we saw this.. But luckily nothing happened... 


Had a short rest @ our hotel before heading to the famous Erawan Temple.. On our way there, we saw alot of roadside store opening for business &  we were looking at the food others are eating.. hee.. We saw something interesting & just sat down..

The store that causes us to stop.. 

This is the reason why we sat down & order the food.. Or Jian that looks like Cai Tow Kuay.. 


We went to Platinum to exchange my dress & bought my contact lens.. Den we take a short evening walk along Central World to Erawan Temple.. Along the way, we saw alot of interesting things.. 

One of the Zi Char store along the way.. Looks yummy isnt it?

The section of Central World that got burnt during the protest last year.. 

The famous Erawan Temple..

It looks even nicer @ night.. 


It was my first time to give thanks to the god.. I totally do not know what to do except I want to employ dancers to dance for the god.. Luckily I met this really helpful Singaporean who was there to give thanks too.. He asked me to follow him & told me what should I do... 

We took a tuk-tuk back to our hotel.. Wanted to experience how it was like.. But i think its still cheaper to get a cab & easier too.. Cause u no need to haggle & such, more clear cut.. 

Our driver that claims the distance is really far & wanted to charge us more.. :P


We went for a massage in one of the parlour along the street towards our hotel.. Felt more refreshed after that.. Am glad we went for one cause we still have a long night ahead.. 

Well-prepared for the night out.. 


We took a cab to the Somboon seafood restaurant in Patpong.. Pls specify the place of the seafood restaurant cause normally the cab-driver will drive you to another Somboon (Somboon Dee) restaurant where the food is more expensive & according to my frenz, they receive comm from the restaurant when they bring ppl there to dine.. Our cab driver also took us to the wrong one..  

The food we had @ Somboon seafood.. Famous curry crab.. Apart from the curry crab, the other dishes were not as good as before.. 


We went to RCA after the meal.. I was abit skeptical cause it is a Sunday night.. I wonder will there be alot of ppl there.. But it turned out to be pretty good.. The crowd, the music & even the drks... I really enjoyed myself, esp after the super bad experience yesterday night.. :P

The party is starting..

Super cool photo.. 

Where is mine?? :(

Yeah!!

Finally, we stopped playing with the light.. :P

@ the outdoor area.. 

taking a break.. 


We went back around 130am.. Felt totally cheated by the cab driver yesterday cause he told us RCA closes at 1am.. What a lie.. Cause the place is super alive even on a Sunday night after 1am.. No signs of it closing at all!! Next time I will stay with my usual plan & not be swayed by cab driver anymore..