6.4 magnitude quake hits southern Taiwan.
Click here to find out more.

It hit on the 3rd day of our trip.
It was early in the morning and we were still sleeping.
I could feel it, I swear.

But I didn’t wake up.
God blessed.

Nicole tried to wake me up and I could hear her.
Gosh, everything was so surreal.
Like a dream.

This is my 2nd encounter with earthquake.
The first was in the UK.
It was in the night when I was going to bed.

Huge beds for 2 girls.
Thanks to New Continental Hotel, Taipei for the arrangements.

This hotel is merely 1 year old.
Everything is pretty much brand new.

We love the good size room and new interiors but the location is not convenient. It takes approximately 15-20 mins to walk to the nearest train station.

We arrived just past noon.
We are already exhausted from the early flight.
And we are hungry.

Picked up some bubble tea and crispy chicken from stores near our hotel.

Explored the area around and had a very early night.

The next day was our full-day city and Hotspring tour.

Visited some tourist attraction, the museums, Jiufen, Beitou Hotspring and Shilin Night Market.

The weather was great.
Not cold and it is not hot either.

We love the sun and the sun loves us.

That’s Nicole, my good friend since 5.

It’s Spring.

I left my shades at the hotel and the sun is just blinding.

The first thing we saw was FOOD at Jiufen 九份.
I was lucky to have Nicole travelling with me as I can’t read much Chinese, she did all the translation.

Sotong balls and sausages.
They smell so delicious and they are.

We had an hour to explore this old town.
Weather was good up the hill, it normally rains – according to the tour guide.

It gets foggy higher up the hill.

Jiufen Old Street.

We were there too early, some of the shops don’t open until 11am.

Make sure you try the yam desert at Jiufen.
I love it.

Feel free to mix and match the “contents” to your liking.
We had red beans and peanuts.

Some random retirement notice.

At a memorial park, waiting for the change of guards.

Finally, it’s time for Hotspring.

Well, don’t expect much.
It is only a small room with a sunken tub.

It is definitely not those with scenery or overlooking the mountains.
Maybe there is but have to pay more
and it is not included in our tour.

Our full day tour ended at Shilin Night Market.

We were starving at the end of this hectic and tiring day.
We need FOOD.

This is what we had.

Must Q up for the original Shilin Crispy Chicken 炸雞排.
It is worth the wait.

The next day, we visited Danshui 淡水.

Had sausages again.
These are bigger and better.

The black one is Squid Ink Sausage and the other is Wasabi Sausage.

Had Tao Hua too.

If you visit Taipei, you must visit Ximending 西門町.
And if you visit Ximending, you must visit Three Siblings 三兄妹 for deserts.

I have not tasted Ice Kachang so nice before.
The ice is soft like snow.

Happy times fly.
This is the last day of our trip.

We left hotel slightly later.
Had branch at Rose House near our hotel.

The food and drinks were good.

Interior ambient was cosy and the decorations pretty much reflected the taste of an ancient Western home.

After all that food, we had to “walk” it out.
Headed straight to Shin-Kong Mitsukoshi Departmental Store, also known as Xin Guang San Yue 新光三越.

This is where we spent most of our money.

I went crazy at the Beauty Hall.
Shopped for a miu miu bag, a Prada bag and a Prada wallet.

Spent almost 5 hours shopping.
I love shopping in Taiwan, the services are so good.
Makes me feel good spending.

We had our last dinner in Taiwan at Din Tai Fung 鼎泰豐.

We waited for almost half an hour for a table.
It is worth the wait too.
The FOOD is so good, including this plate of peanuts.

These steam peanuts are crunchy for some reason.
It’s magical.

If a plate of peanuts can taste magical, what makes their famous Xiao Long Bao 小籠包?

The skin of these buns are so soft and thin.
Wrapped in it is a special brew of mouth-watering soup and meat.

It’s heaven.

We tried their Tom Yam Soup.

Their Pork Chop Fried Rice.

And their Chilli Prawn Wantan.
We were both more than satisfied.

Last but not least, we head back after dinner to pack.

This is the part which scares me most.

I can’t believe what I got myself into!! My bags can’t fit all my shopping.
I even brought an extra bag BUT it still can’t fit everything.

We ended up paying S$260 for our excess baggage.

Click here to see what I bought.

This is crazy, I have never experienced so many odd and beautiful things within a short couple of days.

Amazing.