Reflections of Taiwan

Hey ppl (guess I always start like that), just came back a few days back from Taiwan. It‘s a pretty good place to spend your holidays if you are the type of person who likes to see sceneries in other countries.

Well, the first time I stepped out of Taiwan International Airport, the temperature there felt like a air-condition room. The temperature that was about 20-21 Degree Celsius, which was pretty alright for me since it is not much of a different compared to China and Australia, after all it is still autumn right?

Well, my trip was mainly just to explore Taiwan from the north to the south and back to the north again. Which include places like Hua Lian and Ah Li Shan, Kaoshiung, Taipei and Tai Zhong etc. Our tour traveled mainly by bus to visit these places. The only time we traveled by train was when we were heading to Hua Lian, since the mountain roads there were pretty difficult to travel, and also the cruise on Sun Moon Lake (since bus cannot travel on water rite?).

Well, in the roads of Taiwan, you would see lots of motorbikes. These are used because they are convenient and able to travel through alleys and small streets easily when delivering goods like gas. Hence, like some parts of china, you would see lanes for motorcycles and bicycles. However, do be careful especially in crowded places like night markets because the arrival of motorcycles can be hard to predict.

Sometimes, you may also see beggars lying on the streets in the night market. Don’t be trick by them, they may look sympathetic but they are actually not beggars, they are people who work for a certain gang to earn money by acting as a beggar on the street. If you observe them for a while, you would realize that when they grow tired, they will hide in a corner to smoke (cigarettes there are not cheap at all)…

There were many places that I have been in Taiwan; one of them was hua lian which I previously mentioned was by train. The three mountains there, known as Swallow Caves, Nine Turn Grotto and Tien Hsiang, are pretty majestic and refreshing. It can help to relieve stress and sometimes remind people of their hometown too (since they came from places where there are lots of mountains). From there, we learn about the lines formed on the rock and also learn to tell the different types of rocks form its colour. However, you will have to be careful of rock falls for there had been many landslides damaging the mountain roads and bridges. In fact, we also saw a huge rock which was predicted to fall anytime pretty soon, it is just a matter of time…Well, I’m glad the rock did not choose to fall during our trip or otherwise, we will be trapped.

Hua Lian’s people are pretty relaxed they don’t really rush most of the time. Everyday, they would wake up at 3am in the morning (that’s seriously early for me) and go fishing…then at about dawn, they would start going to work and continue working till evening, then get home and sleep at about 8-9pm (as they will have to wake up early again). This is their type of lifestyle which, I myself cannot adapt to it, since I am always sleeping at 1am and waking up at 11am. However, the only problem we faced in hua lian was the roads being too narrow, although they are starting to widen some of the roads there. Overall, hua lian would be one of my favourite places to stay if I don’t have to wake up at 3am…lol.

There was another mountain which I went which was much colder than hua lian’s. That was Ah Li Shan, that place had a temperature of about 8 degrees Celsius. Quite a normal temperature for a tall mountain but because we were too used to the weather in the cities, we felt pretty cold such that even my hands almost went numb. However, despite the cold weather, we enjoy walking through the forest of Ah Li Shan, where get to enjoy fresh oxygen from the trees and examine trees of age 800-2000 years old. It might sound absurd but it’s scientifically proven to be so. We also learn about the generation of trees and how we can tell how many generation has the tree grown.

Well, mountains were not only the places I visited in Taiwan, there are also places in the city which I visited like Kaoshiung, which was a different places as compared to Hua Lian, the people there are pretty much like Singaporeans, busy and anxious…though they are much more developed than Hua Lian. If you would ever go there, you would feel uncomfortable when crossing the roads as the drivers there takes the traffic lights as a reference. They dun really bother whether you are crossing the road at the right time, once there is a chance for them to pass through the crowd, they will do so. Hence, it would be best to follow the crowd when crossing the roads there (so at least you have some ‘protection’).

Still, they were places we visited in Kaoshiung. For example, the Fokuangshang, also known as the “Light of the Buddha” Mountain where we saw a 120 meter tall statue of a Buddha together with 480 standing Buddha statues around it.

The Pearl Culture Centre where we learn how pearl is made and it’s location in Taiwan. We also went to a place known as the Spring and Autumn Pavilions where there are two dragon and tiger statues which you can go into (it somehow reminds me of a bomb shelter). Well, definitely there will be a place to shop which will be the Liuho Night Market where the smell of chow tofu is quite strong (yuck!).

Still, nothing beats Taipei in shopping areas, amusement park and museums. In my opinion, Taipei would be the most developed city in Taiwan (de...it’s the capital city rite?). Well, we went to a place called Martyrs Shrine to observe/ partake the guard’s procession ceremony (that’s what they call it) to pay respect to heroes who died in World War II. We also visited the National Palace Museum where we see many ancient Chinese treasures (though we were not allowed to take pictures). W went to Yeliu Stone Park to examine wonderful formations of rock crafted by nature. We were actually the lucky ones to be able to touch the stones as it would be banned by next year for they do not want sweat to damage the rock formations.

Well, like Kaoshiung there will definitely be a place in Taipei to shop, which is Xi Men Ting...that’s where we bought our Jaw Chow CDs and also eat their KFC chicken popcorn…not forgetting about their popular guo zi, although I didn’t eat that. We also went to Tamshui Old Street to see its well-known iron-eggs (sound weird). We also went to Fisherman’s Wharf, pretty nice place to hang out, but be careful of slippery grounds if it rains…lol. Last of all, we went to visit TAPEI 101!!! Okay, because of bad weather, we couldn’t go up. After all, there are still lots to shop there right?

Taiwan, still have many places which I have yet to talk about…but the best part of the trip was celebrating my birthday and my brother’s too…we had in a restaurant just after lunch as we gathered everyone to participate in this joyful event. It was very nice of our tour guide to buy us a cake to celebrate our birthday with us and I guess that was the most wonderful and special birthday ever for me and probably my bro too..

I guess even though Taiwan may seem to be boring place for those who have not been there but I guess without such a great tour guide to make it entertaining for us, it would have been a really boring trip there…

Bass Addiction Blogskin

Okay, if you are still wondering what this blogskin is...it is actually my new skin for this blog: "Bass Addiction". Yeah...it sounds funny I know but at least it is unique.

yup, believe it or not, i made this pretty simple blogskin...though the credits dun really goes to me...i got the source code from someone(for you to find out) and did much editing to this skin...therefore, the layouts were about the same....

However, due to copyright issues, I changed the font of the different headings and the blog content and of course the picture too(which i had made for this blog). though it was hard for me as a first timer, it went thorough pretty well with some guides from the web with HTML codes and layouts.

Basically, this blogskin was designed for very unique people who are addicted to bass (though it is weird but they do exist). These people I guess, will like bass in every music they listen to...as for the bass guitar, i guess it symbolizes the common way of how bass is produced or played thorough music these days, therefore it is used here... How the picture came about? Well, i kinda took a shot of a bass guitar and used GIMP to edit it a little with colouring, smudging and some lighting effects. So this is my copyright ☺

So, i will try to make another blogskin, maybe one with brighter colour since it it is rather dull for this blog if you find it and probably try out another blog layout for the next one...worse come to worse, just improve on this blog skin..

.

Taiwan Trip

Hey ppl, it been a log time since I posted that even Ivan thinks this blog is dead...well, i'm glad to revive it again...well, at least for a few more weeks...because after this, I will be away from Singapore for my holiday trip to Taiwan!!! Yay!!!

Okay, for some of you...it may seem boring i know because you been there b4 or heard that it is a boring place...you'll nvr know whether it is boring till you visit that place yourself I guess so erm... it is still best to be open minded.. ☺ [since blogger has no emoticons]

Random quiz

heh...got this quiz from my friends blog...thought it would be good to know more about me in this way lol...

1.Ever been given an engagement ring?

erm....not yet

2.Last gift you received?

hmm...mercy

3.Ever dropped a cellphone?

well, i did...on my bed :P

4.One favourite song?

none

5.Things you spend a lot of money on?

lunch

6.Last food you ate?

macdonals

7.First thing you notice about the opposite sex?

speech, character and other features

8.Primary school you attended?

Catholic High primary/ Ai Tong Primary

9.Secondary school you attended?Any regrets?

Catholic High Secondary. Well, it's too late to regret now I guess.

10.Cell phone service provider?

Singtel

11.Favourite place to shop?

AMK Hub

12.Longest job you had?

projects

13.Do you own a pair of dice?

yes. in my board games.

14.Do you prank call people?

not that I remember doing so...

15.Last wedding you attended?

a very long time ago...

16.First friend you called if you won the lottery?

No one...I keep it in my savings

17.Favourite fast food restaurant?

Macdonals

18.Biggest lie you ever heard?

I'm perfect and you're not.

19.Where’s your favourite place to eat with friends?

well, probably a coffee shop, rather cheap larz

20.Can you cook?

yes...

21.Best kisser?

hmm...nvr thought about that..

22.Last time you cried?

probably the last time i was depress

23.Most disliked food?

cucumber...dun feed me with that

24.About yourself?

I am sill trying to find out

25.Thing you dislike most about yourself?

the man in the mirror is the man you hate most...nuff said

26.Longest shift you worked in your life?

well, did not calculate

27.Favourite movie?

i enjoy all movies so dun ask me...

28.Can you sing?

well, sure...whether good or bad is another thing

29.One thing you never leave your house without?

simply myself

30.Last concert you attended?

Ruan Recital?

31.Last movie you rented?

Spiderman 2?

32.Favourite vacation spot?

Australia...well, have not been to many places

33.Laptop or desktop computer?

both...

34.Do you like your hair?

I dun really bother about the looks

35.Do you smoke?

Dream on

36.Sleep with or without clothes?

Erm...with

37.Who shares room with you?

my mom

38.Do long distance relationships work?

well, not at the moment

39.Pancakes or doughnuts?

none...to much cholesterol

40.Do you like hot chocolate?

well, a little

41.How do you like your eggs?

half boiled

42.Do you believe in astrology?

well, sometimes

43.Last person you talked to on the phone?

My mother

44.Last person on your missed call list?

my mother

45.What was the last text message you received?

"r u home oeri?"

47.What are you wearing right now?

smart casual clothes

48.Pick a lyric:

Yesterday you asked me something I thought you knew

49.What kind of jelly would you like on your PB & J?

any type will do..

50.Are you normally a happy person?

yes..surprisingly

51.Name of your first pet?

Henry.

52.Favourite ice cream?

Chocolate.

53.Do you like maps?

erm...yes in geography

54.Tell me a random fact about yourself

I like to sleep...random enough?

55.Ever attended a birthday party?

of course

56.What is your favourite season?

Winter...I will be waiting for a blizzard

57.Last time you laughed at something stupid?

8 hours ago

58.What time did you wake up this morning?

10:00

59.Best thing about winter?

guess it is snowball fights

60.Last time a cop gave you a ticket?

when I had my first fine... lol

Ah yes!!! holidays!!! they have finally come!!! Now i can start to relax more although still nid to go CCA like always...but then also muz keep track of the number of days we have for the holidays.. tell you lah, if you have lots of events and activities during the holidays, it will seem to go by very fast, but then if you just do nth during the holidays, most probably will seem to drag on forever one....so best to have holiday plans but not too much so enjoy the holidays while you can...before school reopens..MUAHAHAHA!!!!!!

Alternate Tricks

To some of you guys, the term "Alternate Tricks" may be familiar to you...if not check this out:

• alt.+ 1 = ☺
• alt.+ 2 = ☻
• alt.+ 3 = ♥
• alt.+ 4 = ♦
• alt.+ 5 = ♣
• alt.+ 6 = ♠
• alt.+ 7 = •
• alt.+ 8 = ◘
• alt.+ 9 = ○
• alt.+ 10 = ◙
• alt.+ 11 = ♂
• alt.+ 12 = ♀
• alt.+ 13 = ♪
• alt.+ 14 = ♫
• alt.+ 15 = ☼
• alt.+ 16 = ►
• alt.+ 17 =◄
• alt.+ 18 = ↕
• alt.+ 19 = ‼
• alt.+ 20 = ¶
• alt.+ 21 = §
• alt.+ 22 = ▬
• alt.+ 23 = ↨
• alt.+ 24 = ↑
• alt.+ 25 = ↓
• alt.+ 26 = →
• alt.+ 27 = ←
• alt.+ 28 = ∟
• alt.+ 29 = ↔
• alt.+ 30 = ▲
• alt.+ 31 = ▼
• alt.+ 32 =
• alt.+ 33 = !
• alt.+ 34 = "
• alt.+ 35 = #
• alt.+ 36 = $
• alt.+ 37 = %
• alt.+ 38 = &
• alt.+ 39 = '
• alt.+ 40 = (
• alt.+ 41 = )
• alt.+ 42 = *
• alt.+ 43 = +
• alt.+ 44 = ,
• alt.+ 45 = -
• alt.+ 46 = .
• alt.+ 47 = /
• alt.+ 48 = 0
• alt.+ 49 = 1
• alt.+ 50 = 2
• alt.+ 51 = 3
• alt.+ 52 = 4
• alt.+ 53 = 5
• alt.+ 54 = 6
• alt.+ 55 = 7
• alt.+ 56 = 8
• alt.+ 57 = 9
• alt.+ 58 = :
• alt.+ 59 = ;
• alt.+ 60 = <
• alt.= 61 = =
• alt.+62 = >
• alt.+ 63 = ?
• alt.+ 64 = @
• alt.+ 65 = A
• alt.+ 66 = B
• alt.+ 67 = C
• alt.+ 68 = D
• alt.+ 69 = E
• alt.+ 70 = F
• alt.+ 71 = G
• alt.+ 72 = H
• alt.+ 73 = I
• alt.+ 74 = J
• alt.+ 75 = K
• alt.+ 76 = L
• alt.+ 77 = M
• alt.+ 78 = N
• alt.+ 79 = O
• alt.+ 80 = P
• alt.+ 81 = Q
• alt.+ 82 = R
• alt.+ 83 = S
• alt.+ 84 = T
• alt.+ 85 = U
• alt.+ 86 = V
• alt.+ 87 = W
• alt.+ 88 = X
• alt.+ 89 = Y
• alt.+ 90 = Z
• alt.+ 91 = [
• alt.+ 92 = \
• alt.+ 93 = ]
• alt.+ 94 = ^
• alt.+ 95 = _
• alt.+ 96 = `
• alt.+ 97 = a
• alt.+ 98 = b
• alt.+ 99 = c
• alt.+ 100 = d
• alt.+ 101 = e
• alt.+ 102 = f
• alt.+ 103 = g
• alt.+ 104 = h
• alt.+ 105 = i
• alt.+ 106 = j
• alt.+ 107 = k
• alt.+ 108 = l
• alt.+ 109 = m
• alt.+ 110 = n
• alt.+ 111 = o
• alt.+ 112 = p
• alt.+ 113 = q
• alt.+ 114 = r
• alt.+ 115 = s
• alt.+ 116 = t
• alt.+ 117 = u
• alt.+ 118 = v
• alt.+ 119 = w
• alt.+ 120 = x
• alt.+ 121 = y
• alt.+ 122 = z
• alt.+ 123 = {
• alt.+ 124 = |
• alt.+ 125 = }
• alt.+ 126 = ~
• alt.+ 127 = ⌂
• alt.+ 128 = Ç
• alt.+ 129 = ü
• alt.+ 130 = é
• alt.+ 131 = â
• alt.+ 132 = ä
• alt.+ 133 = à
• alt.+ 134 = å
• alt.+ 135 = ç
• alt.+ 136 = ê
• alt.+ 137 = ë
• alt.+ 138 = è
• alt.+ 139 = ï
• alt.+ 140 = î
• alt.+ 141 = ì
• alt.+ 142 = Ä
• alt.+ 143 = Å
• alt.+ 144 = É
• alt.+ 145 = æ
• alt.+ 146 = Æ
• alt.+ 147 = ô
• alt.+ 148 = ö
• alt.+ 149 = ò
• alt.+ 150 = û
• alt.+ 151 = ù
• alt.+ 152 = ÿ
• alt.+ 153 = Ö
• alt.+ 154 = Ü
• alt.+ 155 = ¢
• alt.+ 156 = £
• alt.+ 157 = ¥
• alt.+ 158 = ₧
• alt.+ 159 = ƒ
• alt.+ 160 = á
• alt.+ 161 = í
• alt.+ 162 = ó
• alt.+ 163 = ú
• alt.+ 164 = ñ
• alt.+ 165 = Ñ
• alt.+ 166 = ª
• alt.+ 167 = º
• alt.+ 168 = ¿
• alt.+ 169 = ⌐
• alt.+ 170 = ¬
• alt.+ 171 = ½
• alt.+ 172 = ¼
• alt.+ 173 = ¡
• alt.+ 174 = «
• alt.+ 175 = »
• alt.+ 176 = ░
• alt.+ 177 = ▒
• alt.+ 178 = ▓
• alt.+ 179 = │
• alt.+ 180 = ┤
• alt.+ 181 = ╡
• alt.+ 182 = ╢
• alt.+ 183 = ╖
• alt.+ 184 = ╕
• alt.+ 185 = ╣
• alt.+ 186 = ║
• alt.+ 187 = ╗
• alt.+ 188 = ╝
• alt.+ 189 = ╜
• alt.+ 190 = ╛
• alt.+ 191 = ┐
• alt.+ 192 = └
• alt.+ 193 = ┴
• alt.+ 194 = ┬
• alt.+ 195 = ├
• alt.+ 196 = ─
• alt.+ 197 = ┼
• alt.+ 198 = ╞
• alt.+ 199 = ╟
• alt.+ 200 = ╚
• alt.+ 201 = ╔
• alt.+ 202 = ╩
• alt.+ 203 = ╦
• alt.+ 204 = ╠
• alt.+ 205 = ═
• alt.+ 206 = ╬
• alt.+ 207 = ╧
• alt.+ 208 = ╨
• alt.+ 209 = ╤
• alt.+ 210 = ╥
• alt.+ 211 = ╙
• alt.+ 212 = ╘
• alt.+ 213 = ╒
• alt.+ 214 = ╓
• alt.+ 215 = ╫
• alt.+ 216 = ╪
• alt.+ 217 = ☼
• alt.+ 218 = ┌
• alt.+ 219 = █
• alt.+ 220 = ▄
• alt.+ 221 = ▌
• alt.+ 222 = ▐
• alt.+ 223 = ▀
• alt.+ 224 = α
• alt.+ 225 = ß
• alt.+ 226 = Γ
• alt.+ 227 = π
• alt.+ 228 = Σ
• alt.+ 229 = σ
• alt.+ 230 = µ
• alt.+ 231 = τ
• alt.+ 232 = Φ
• alt.+ 233 = Θ
• alt.+ 234 = Ω
• alt.+ 235 = δ
• alt.+ 236 = ∞
• alt.+ 237 = φ
• alt.+ 238 = ε
• alt.+ 239 = ∩
• alt.+ 240 = ≡
• alt.+ 241 = ±
• alt.+ 242 = ≥
• alt.+ 243 = ≤
• alt.+ 244 = ⌠
• alt.+ 245 = ⌡
• alt.+ 246 = ÷
• alt.+ 247 = ≈
• alt.+ 248 = °
• alt.+ 249 = ∙
• alt.+ 250 = ·
• alt.+ 251 = √
• alt.+ 252 = ⁿ
• alt.+ 253 = ²
• alt.+ 254 = ■

Create yours at BlingyBlob.com!
School holidays coming liao, must endure for another few more days of schooling...

Haiz, can die sia...but muz consider myself lucky but unlucky. Cuz it is only a few more days to school holidays and I got punish for late coming...so lucky cuz I dun hav to report at 7 am in school for the whole term, but unlucky cuz I could have avioded it lor..

What to do, now all lessons stop becuz everthin has been taught, except for science lar becuz we all agreed to try out sec3 work....hard sia, but at least still can watch movie larz. eg, Spiderman, scary movie and so on...lol.

Sianz, now schooling is like a waste of time sia...maybe still got CCA but then most of the time in english lesson would be like reading. okay, I should get this straight..."reading is good for you, it improves your vocabulary". Wa lao and what do we read...Archey Comics? Marvel comics? ponorgraphy magazines? Well, for those better students readers digest(not that bad la, but a little boring to me), which was probably recommended by teachers. Still, what to do, our english results sucks...sigh still must admit I got 57...so, have to improve english sia...if not sec3 can go eat grass liao

Aiyah, I think I cannot wait anymore the holidays liao, wish they had holidays earlier. Well, to some of you, holidays at the end of October would sem to be rather early. I guess for me, I am too used to having earlier holidays. Guess have to learn to be more patient to these types of things lah. So, hopefully every readers(students) here will have a wonderful school holiday, enjoy....

you might wonder what am I up to right? Well, I am simply keeping a watch on how many more days left before new year in the english and lunar calendar. Apparently, next year's chinese new year should fall on 06/02/2008(DD/MM/YY) :P well, if you are interested to know when the Chinese new year is held, I hope this would help you out a little. :-)