finally, our long awaited year-end family trip is here!
to make the trip more worthwhile, i've sneakily suggested to the husband to take cathay instead so that we can do a short stayover at HK. *hiaks*
we were lucky to get connecting flight with the shortest possible transit time - just 40mins....
so on last last saturday, we woke up cheery and made our way to Changi airport for our 9am flight.
spongbob is in town!
as you can see, the boys were made to carry their own "barang barang" for this trip.
no more hoisting their jackets & water bottles for them! :D
we reached taipei taoyuan airport at around 2+pm and decided to just take a cab.
for the uninformed, i always find transport from airport to taipei city a hassle.
the most common way is by bus and its really not the most comfy way to do for an hour journey.
and it may not stop anywhere near your choice hotel.
if you opted for high speed rail, you still have to take a bus for 20mins before reaching the HSR station...
and after rolling into city, you still have to switch to local metro to your choice hotel.. @_@
we reached our accom for the night in slightly under an hour...but that was after we experienced a speed demon ride!
it was highway for most of the journey and the cabbie was just speeding away.
at 1 point, the speedometer actually hit 180km/hr! *gasp*
thats like the fastest for a car ride for either hubbi or me!!
thank god we reached safely...
and for the night, we were staying @ nihaotaipei hostel which is just 3mins walk from the taipei train station!
as we were due to move south to central taiwan the next day onwards, i thought the accomodation for the first night in taipei can be simple since we were only reaching mid afternoon and checking out early the next day to catch the train.
so i wanted something cheap and location wise - fantastic.
BUT.......the room was really awfully small.
after the luggage was opened and pram parked at a corner, there was practically very little space to move around. @_@
the boys were ordered to stay in bed at all times so as not to "hinder operations"... lol.
AND.... it was shared bathroom!
though for the night, we were only sharing with another room (mother and daughter)...but the inconvenience really stems from having to bring all the barang barang out for the brushing of teeth, washing of face etc... zzzzzzzz
oh well.
luckily both the husband and me are pretty adaptable when it comes to tricky scenarios during travelling.
and the kids know no better obviously. ha.
still, the room is very clean and the boys were most delighted with the loft bed obviously.
the boys and me slept on the top bunk which is queen size while the lucky husband slept below in peace sans flopping and kicking from the boys!
for our first day in taipei, we didnt have anything special planned except to make a trip to raohe night market.
i've never been there and given its proximity to our accom, its a natural itinerary choice.
we were lucky(?) as there was some celebration for the deities at the temple next to the night market the night we were there.
there were dragon dance and some procession with elaborated costumes etc which were pretty eye-opening for the boys.
and we get to see fireworks!
under normal circumstances, we would be more than happy... but the fireworks were set off so close to us that some fire sparks actually rained down on us... @_@
and the younger boy was stressed out by the sound and he was acting all distressed rather than enjoying the spectacular view above. lol.
anyway, back to raohe night market - the food was pretty decent.
we had taiwan sausage, 肠粉，japanese pancake, honey bittergourd drink etc. *yum*
top: we took the train to songshan station (1 stop away) as raohe is just next to the station
below: the husband still craving for desserts after the night market so we settled it in a cafe near our hostel
we called it an early night and were in bed snuggling by 10+pm. hehe.
flying is always tiring and we needed to be up by 7.30am the next day so best to get the ample rest.
anyway with age creeping up and kids in tow, my trips are getting more and more relaxed...
some photos with the boys:
left: on flight to taipei
right: desserts time
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