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Thursday, December 27, 2012

Adventure Cove Waterpark @ Resorts World

26.12.2012...

As school holidays is coming to an end, decided to bring kids for a last outing before the coming of manic days ahead! :)

It has been raining for the past duno how many days, we kept out fingers crossed. Woke up to a cloudy day but kids were in such high spirits and anticipation that I have no heart to disappoint them. Worse come to worse, waste some money and then make another trip next time lor.

Being super kiasu, we packed lunch, food, water etc into our goody bag and set off at 9.30am.  We reached the car park at Resorts World at about 9.55am..and boy oh boy.. so many cars there already ! Hahaa..all super early gamblers have already started work huh..

We took an escalator up to the level where Univeral Studio is.  Look out for the light blue big big heading sign that says "Maritime....".  The water theme park is located just right behind.

As we went on a weekday, the crowd was not too intimidating.  Entrance fees: Adult : SGD29/-.  Kids : SGD20/-.

Walk-Way towards the Adventure Cove Waterpark

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Taipei Day 10 (1/12/2012)

We will be returning home today.  Mixed feeling :) On one hand we did not want the holiday to end, but on the other hand, we kind of miss our home and for me, the nightmare of having to rocket through one whole chunk of massive emails makes me want to return home faster to sort these out.

Our intention for the day is to reach the airport much earlier, check-in and have something to eat there before boarding our flight.  As Mr Lai is still not free to send us to the airport, he sent Mr Wang.  Although the journey to the airport takes only about one hour, we were not too comfortable with Mr Wang.  Thank god he was not our guide for our outings! 

Taipei Day 9 (30/11/2012)

Final day to do any last minute shopping!  In my original itinerary, I have kept this day as F&E, in case there are last minute places that we have missed visiting / would like to visit again.

When Mr Lee brought us to Dihua Street on our Day 5 guided tour, old Dad fell in love with the ginger sweets that we bought. Also, when we reached Dihua Street the other day, it was close to evening time and we did not really get a good look around.  So this morning, we decided to revisit this place again.

As usual, work up to the sound of rain hitting against the window panes.  Another wet day. Well since it is our last day in Taipei, must not waste anytime.  Armed with our usual gear of umbrellas, raincoat..we set off.

Saturday, December 15, 2012

Taipei Day 8 (29/11/2012)

Woke up to a beautiful and cooling day!  We took a more leisurely approach today.  Washed up and after a short discussion on today's itinerary, we set off to look for breakfast nearby.  As we have yet had the chance to walk around our minsu during the day, we did just that this morning.  

Came out of Minsu's lift lobby, took a left turn, pass by 三妈臭臭锅, walked all the way straight down.  Nothing much interesting things to see.  We saw this place that serves breakfast and we stopped by to eat..

The food store looks oldish, but clean.  Similar breakfast items to those that we had at Fu Hang Dou Jiang :)

Taipei Day 7 (28/11/2012)

This morning, first thing I did when I woke up was to peep out of the window.  Yay! Sky is clear and there is a little ray of sunlight!  As we will be visiting Beitou and Tamsui today, having good weather is important. 

Jumped right out of bed, woke everybody up, rushed all the lazy bones to wash up and get ready for a full day of outing.

I am keeping my fingers crossed for good weather, though the weather forecast site that I swear by says that it will rain.  :))

Took a train to Beitou and...

Friday, December 14, 2012

Taipei Day 6 (27/11/2012)

Yesterday was the last of our booked guided tour.  From today, Day 6 onwards, we will be going around Taipei on our own.

This morning, it was drizzling again..but just lightly.  Had a quick breakfast in our room and we were on our way to experience the MaoKong Gondola (or cable cars)!  Since the time we stepped onto the street till we reached the gondola towers, kids kept talking and reminding us that we must take the crystal glass bottom cable car.  Ok..ok...noted.. 

Taipei Day 5 (26/11/2012)

As Mr Lai has to attend to his grandma's funeral, he assigned another guide to drive us around.  I kind of look forward to this day as I have always wanted to visit QingTong, JiuFen and Shifen as well as to enjoy the much heard about scenery along the way.

As usual, the guide picked us up at 8am.  He introduced himself as Mr Lee, who appeared to be in his early 50's.  He seemed more down to earth, introduce places of interests quite like a pro, unlike Mr Lai's style, which is more chatty and jovial.  Mr Lee is definitely a much more organized person.  When we reached Jiufen before he let us alight, he even stopped by the roadside, drew us a map, showing us how we should navigate, where to locate those goodies stall etc..I like this guide!

Well for today, not many words are needed to describe our adventure.  Sit back, relax and scroll through the pics, which speaks a thousand words!

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Taipei Day 4 (25/11/2012)

Time flies! It's already our 4th day in Taipei!

We all woke up at 7.30am, ate a very light breakfast and set off to find the famous Fu Hang Dou Jiang阜杭豆漿 @ Huashan Market. Getting there is simple.  You will find directions guide at the end of this post.

Today, the sun was shining brightly and weather feelt kinda warm and cozy.  This is a good sign of a fantastic day ahead.  Kept fingers crossed that the weather will remain same throughout the day.  I think it should, I have been totally dependent on the Weather Forecast Bureau ( I mentioned the link in my earlier posts).  It has proven to be a very dependable source, to the extent of indicating the % chance that rain will fall.

When we arrived at Fu Hang Dou Jiang,

Taipei Day 3 (24/11/2012)

This will be another day with guided tour.  We will be going to a Persimmon Farm, ShengXing Railway Station and Flying Cow Ranch..

Woke up at 6.30am, and yes, it was raining.  By this 3rd day, we have gotten use to the wet weather and everyone of us will automatically check and make sure we have our umbrellas, raincoat, scarfs etc in our bags.

Mr Lai was already waiting for us when we went down from the minsu.  Ever cheerful with a ready sunny smile, he greeted us, sheltered us to the car and we set off for another wonderful day of fun! Heck the rain !

As the journey to the Persimmon Farm will take almost 2 hours, we chat, joke and take little naps in the car.  Mr Lai has never been to this farm that I have chosen, but he has done his homework by calling them and asking them about opening hours, entrance fees etc. This farm has done advert on a few Taiwan tourist websites and I thought it will be a good experience to harvest permissons and other fruits as well.

Well, when we reached there,

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Taipei Day 2 (23/11/2012)

Today at 8am, Mr Lai will be bringing us out to Wulai, Strawberry farm and some old streets for sightseeing.

Woke up at 6.30am, heard pitter patter on the window....oh no....RAIN !!!! Well, since we are already here in Taipei, shall let nothing dampen our mood.

After a quick breakfast, we were soon ready to set off, armed with umbrellas and scarfs.  Our guide, Mr Lai was already waiting for us.  How shall I describe him...hmmm...when he first get out of his 7 seater Toyota Wish, I stared.  Haahahaa! He has golden mixed with slight white hair, wore a white shirt and a light purple tie.  For one moment I thought..  Taiwan Da Ge Da Mafia! Wahaahaa! But he turned out to be the nicest person, chatty and ever so considerate in looking after his clients! My initial wild imagination over, packed my family into the car.  In high spirits, we enjoyed the car ride as well as the scenery along the way, listening to Mr Lai introducing Taipei to us.  Looks like it will be a long-life rain...

The first thing Mt Lai told us : something very unique about Taipei -

I booked my hotel using