Taiwan/HK trip day 1 - off to taipei!

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 

we are finally back!

we are finally back in SG from the longest family trip for us ever - 12D11N no less!
it has been an ambitious trip (at least to us) but im glad that it turned out well despite some minor hiccups.

our itinerary for the past 1.5 week:
SG-> taipei (1N) -> luodong (1N) -> hualien (2N) -> cingjing (1N) -> taipei (4N) -> HK (2N) -> SG!
there was a fair bit of hotel changing during the first half of the trip but the boys adapted really well.
and of cos many thanks to my efficient luggage packing skills!

once back, there were like tons of stuff to do.
even though we touched down in the early evening, we were up till 1am + yesternight doing up the laundry and unpacking all the stuff. @_@
and today it was mad clearing of backlog of work for both hubbi and myself at work.... :(
i have not even downloaded the photos.. guess that has to wait until the weekend..
hopefully, i can churned out the travel posts while the memories are still fresh in my mind!

for now, back to catching up on housework chores and the winks!
its absurd how we always ended up more tired post travel....

matchbox twenty - i didnt see this day coming

i first fall in love with matchbox twenty's first hit song -"push" from their debut album: "yourself or someone like you".

and as i listen carefully to the other songs in the same album, i realised ive discovered a gem. :)

rob thomas's voice is the best. good, strong, soulful and so distinctly his.

and i like their songs fast and slow.

recommendations from first album: push, kody, back to good

that was back in 1996.

fast forward 4 years, finally they were back with their second album: "mad season".

getting better with string arrangement.

lyrics were more mature - you go, rob!

recommendations from second album: mad season, rest stop, you wont be mine

i love the slow songs from this album more.

"peak" of their career?

3rd album: more than you think you are is out in 2002.

so many good songs from this album that i lose count.

personal fav: hand me down, unwell, could i be you

a member left and the 4th album:exile on mainstream was released only after a 5 years gap in 2007.

how far we've come is so good sung live!

and then when you are about to forget who is matchbox twenty, they released their 5th and latest album last year!

North.

LOL. to be honest, i have not listen much to the last album and im not sure how long it'll take before i get to there.

but again, i think i have the next 3-4 years at least to do that before their next release... :P

so ive been their biggest fan for the last 17 years thinking that i will never have the chance to see them perform live.

but i did tonight.

and it was AWESOME.

rob thomas's voice is totally good live.

i think my tears welled up in my eyes a few times during the performance, no joke.

i may start to understand those hysterical crying girls in concerts.

if ever 1 day i get to see U2 live in SG, i think i will sob the concert away. ha!

and i really must have heart matchbox twenty TONS for i went to catch the concert alone!

beat that!

ending the post with my fav. song of the band: hand me down.

pls ignore the crazy expression below and just listen.

the lyrics and his voice are what make this song so good. like real good.



dont you just love korean food?

oh yes, im so lucky to be in a team which (most of them anyway) adores korean food as much as i do.
so we went for good old korean food at e!ght @ central on thursday.

verdict: some delights though pricey
the menu is surprisingly sparse compared to most korean restaurants.
mainly on different varieties of beef and pork (yes, no chicken!).
so you thought the meat has to be good, ya?
yes and no.
we ordered the beef tenderloin which was so good, juicy and tender we ordered a second round of it.
we ordered the eight flavour (which is pork marinated in 8 flavours basically - miso, curry, wine etc) which was pretty interesting and itself a novelty.
but at $98, it was really not worth the price i feel....though it was not too bad.
the kimchi stew was alright though not spicy enough.
same for the seafood pancake but somehow lack the extra punch...

and tonight, tried yet another korean restaurant with the family - bornga.
and it was.........bleh.
we ordered 2 types of beef + 1 pork belly. the meat was bland, totally disappointing.
the kimchi stew and seafood pancake were so-so too.
when we asked the elder son which is the nicest of all, he answered:"白饭."
i can hear my husband's heart bleeding for the money spent for such comments.. LOL.

i so want to try big mama and red pig soon!
and i need to shout here: the best "house" rice wine is at wang dae bak! :D

random updates

this week is not so enjoyable.

the younger boy has fallen sick and is still nursing a fever now as i typed...

i hope he can recover soon and we can bring him out for merry-making soon!

and he always choose my closing period to fall sick....

yesterday was my closing day 1 and being the first closing after the new system release, issues were expected.. zzzz.

we didnt stay back too late, left around 10pm.

we have to head back to work coming monday and get off in lieu instead. :(

oh well, i have already booked my leave day for the off in lieu anyway.. :P

2 more weeks before our long-awaited year-end family trip is here.

cant wait!

and we received YZ's graduation photos!

im so proud of my boy! :)

ready for P1!

oh yah, went for my annual check up 2 weeks back and is glad to receive the clean bill of health last week. :)

my cholesterol level is still way "down" in the healthy range, uric acid in the good range for the 3rd year running liao (keep it going!) and the only not-so-good indicator last year (for arthritis i think) is well in the acceptable range this year! 

but i see my body fat% and glucose % going up compared to last year though still within normal range.

time to cut down on 2x milo & 1x pokka green tea on a DAILY basis! :(

some outfits for the week:

left: top & shorts from seoul (can you spot my new sketchers shoes? super comfy!)

right: top from gg5, shorts from forever new