Taiwan Trip Day 2 - Keelung & Danshui

The bridal shop arranged for us to stay at K Hotel which is just a 5 minutes walk from the bridal shop. We did not have too much expectations since it is just a 3-4 star hotel, and we are glad that the hotel is clean and the bed is firm.

Since we do not have much things to do before our gown fitting at 5pm, I wanted to go to Danshui to top up my supply of ginger tea. After our breakfast at the hotel, we walked to Keelung Railway station.

According to the Guide to Taipei website, there is a North Coast Shuttle Bus that set off from Keelung Railway station every half and hour to Danshui on weekends. However, after checking with the staffs from the Visitor Information Center, we were told that the bus will only go to Yehliu, and we've to take a public bus from Yehliu to Danshui. On top of that, the next bus will set off only 1.5 hours later. The staff recommended us to either take the train to Taipei Main Station, then take MRT to Danshui, or take public bus 862 directly to Danshui, but this will take us at least 2.5 hours. We decided to take bus 862 since we have some time to kill and to see the scenic Northern Coast Line along the way. After a 3.5 hours bus ride, we finally reach Danshui. Unless you really have a lot of time to kill, this route is not recommended.

We had our lunch at Dark Palace Taiwanese Gourmet (黑殿饭店) which is famous among locals for its pork ribs rice (猪排饭).

After lunch, we roam around Danshui Old Street to look around, and more importantly, to buy ginger tea (黑金传奇姜母茶). I'll always make it a point to visit Danshui whenever I travel to Taiwan to buy this brand of ginger tea, which was recommended by a colleague years ago. You just need to pour hot water to dissolve the solid and drink the mixture. Drinking ginger tea has various health benefits, and I drink it to prevent cold and relieve menstruation cramps.

Danshui is also famous for its A-Gei (阿給 - fried toufu stuffed with glass noodles and mushrooms), Ah Po iron egg (阿婆铁蛋 - small egg which has been repeatedly stewed), Xu Yi Yu Shu (许義鱼酥 - fish cracker), and not forgetting the famous Lover's Bridge at Fisherman Wharf (渔人码头情人桥). 

This time, we did not go to Fisherman Wharf since my aim is to buy the ginger tea, so I attached an old photo I took to show you this famous bridge. 

We took a cab back to Keelung, and went for our gown fitting. After the gown fitting, we wanted to have our dinner at Miaokou Night Market, but there was an over-whelming crowd at the night market. In the end, we took away the glutinous oil rice (油饭) from Store 10, corn from a random store, Yan Su Ji  (盐酥鸡 - Fried Chicken seasoned in salt and pepper) from Store 35 and MacDonald's pork burger and had our dinner in our hotel room to stay away from the crowds.

Up Next: Taiwan Trip Day 3 - PWS with Cannes Wedding Studio
Previously: Taiwan Trip Day 1 - Keelung

Taiwan Trip Day 1 - Keelung

We reach Taipei at about 5.45pm. This is the 4th time I'm visiting Taiwan, and I never got tired of coming to this country that offers different experiences in its different season and cities. The first thing that we did after picking up our luggage is to buy the 10 days Chunghwa Telecom prepaid card in order to have Internet connection throughout our holiday. There are counters selling such pre-paid cards before you pass through the immigration counters, but we bought ours at the counters after we came out from the arrival halls.

Our driver arranged by Cannes Wedding Studio (台灣坎城婚紗攝影) picked us up promptly at the airport, and drop us off at the bridal shop which is situated in Keelung. The ride took about 45 minutes, and throughout the journey, we were chatting with the driver regarding the weather, Keelung and anything under the sun. Taiwanese are well known to be warm and friendly, and this was also well evident from the way we were welcomed by the staffs of the bridal shop. After some introductions, Nydia, our coordinator, gave us a map to show us the way to Miaokou Night Market from our hotel, and recommended some must try food from the market.

We made our way to this famous night market in Keelung after depositing our luggage at K Hotel (柯达大饭店) which is a 5 minutes walk from the bridal shop.

The first food that we tried was the Lu Rou Fan (Braised Pork Rice) from Tian Yi Xiang (天一香卤肉饭 - store 31), situated right in the middle of the night market.

Not sure if it was because we were very hungry, but we gobbled down this heavenly Lu Rou Fan in less than 2 minutes. Next, we move on to fill our stomach with Yan Su Ji  (盐酥鸡 - Fried Chicken seasoned in salt and pepper) from Store 35, pork sausage (一口吃香肠) from store 43, oyster omelette (蚵仔煎) from store 36, and drowning all these with the Taiwan milk tea.

With a satisfied stomach, we went back to our hotel and call it a day.

Up Next: Taiwan Trip Day 2 - Keelung & Danshui

Keelung, Yilan, Taipei - Itinerary for Taiwan trip

I just completed my pre wedding photo shot (PWS) in Taiwan. As much as I do not want to jump into the bangwagon of taking my PWS overseas, I was unable to resist the package that was offered to us, and the thoughts of going to Taiwan for a vacation.

Here is the itinerary, and I'll further elaborate the activities in my subsequest posts, including the experience of taking the new Taipei Airport Express Train and Eva Air's Hello Kitty Plane.

	Saturday	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Breakfast		Hotel Breakfast	Hotel Breakfast	Hotel Breakfast	Hotel Breakfast (MOS Burger) + Scallion Pancake (礁溪柯氏葱油饼)	Hotel Breakfast (MOS Burger) + Xiao Long Bao (正常鮮肉小籠包)	永和豆浆	永和豆浆
Morning		Bus to Danshui	Wedding Photo shoot	Cab to Jiufen	Train to Yilan	Bus to Taipei, Check in City Inn Hotel Ximending	ChiaTe Bakery Shop	Bus to Shen Keng (via Muzha)
Lunch		Pork Ribs Rics @ 黑殿饭店 (Dark Palace)	Wedding Photo shoot	Local snacks @ Jiufen Old Street	Duck Mee Sua @ 蒜味鸭赏面线	Braised Pork Rice @ 金峰魯肉飯 (Jin Feng Ru Rou Fan)	Braised Pork Rice @ 天天利 (Tian Tian Li)	古早厝 (Gu Zao Cuo) @ Shen Keng
Early Afternoon		Danshui Old Street	Wedding Photo shoot	Jiufen Old Street	Jimmy's Park	Ximending	Taipei 101	Shen Keng Old Street
Late Afternoon	Reach Taipei, pick up by drive, check in K Hotel, KeeLung	Gown Choosing & Fitting @ Cannes Wedding Bridal Shop (台湾坎城婚纱摄影）	Wedding Photo shoot	Photo Choosing @ Cannes Wedding Bridal Shop (台湾坎城婚纱摄影）	Factory Visiting at CP Cheese Factory, Agrioz, R.Den Dessert Factory, Village Churrasco	Taipei Main Station, Wufenpu	Shuang Lian	Shifen Old Street
Night	Miaokou Night Market	Miaokou Night Market	Wedding Photo shoot	Train to Jiaoxi, check in 58˚ Hotspring Hotel (58度溫泉湯苑會館)	Luodong Night Market	Rouhe Night Market & Ximending	Shilin Night Market	Ningxia Night Market, Shida Night Market, Ximending
Dinner	Dinner @ Miaokou Night Market	Dinner @ Miaokou Night Market	Steam boat dinner at 義美石头火锅	Snacks from 7-11	Local food @ Luodong Night Market, Noodles @ 有面者	Local food @ Rouhe Night Market & Ximending	Local food @ Shilin Night Market	Local food @ Ningxia Night Market, Shida Night Market, Ximending

Taiwan Trip Day 1: Keelung
Taiwan Trip Day 2: Keelung & Danshui
Taiwan Trip Day 3 - PWS with Cannes Wedding Studio
Taiwan Trip Day 4 - Jiufen & Jiaoxi
Taiwan Trip Day 5 Part 1 - Yilan & Factories Tour
Taiwan Trip Day 5 Part 2 - Luodong Night Market & Jiaoxi
Taiwan Trip Day 6 & 7 - Back to Taipei & Review of City Inn Hotel Ximending
Taiwan Trip Day 8 - Travelling to Shen Keng & Shifen by bus
Taiwan Trip Day 9 - Express train to the airport & Hello Kitty Plane

See also: 8 food you cannot miss in Ximending

1 Day Island Hopping Trip - St John's Island & Kusu Island

There are 60 over islands in Singapore, and sad to say, as a Singaporean, I've been to less than a quarter of them. Hence, I was looking very forward to this team bonding event, where we embark on an island hopping trip St John's Island & Kusu Island.

We bought our tickets for the 2pm ferry from a bright orange counter of the Singapore Island Cruise and Ferry Services at Marina South Pier, which is accessible by MRT (Marina South Pier MRT station). 

The ferry (on the right)

Bye bye sky scrappers

The ferry ride to St John's Island took 30mins, and as this is the last ferry of the day, we only have 15mins to explore the island. We went around taking quick snap shots of this tranquil island surrounded by clear green sea. Before the island is open for the public to visit in the 1970s, St John's Island was previously a quarantine station, then a drug rehabilitation centre.

If you intend to stay longer to explore the island or visit Lazarus Island, which is connected to St John's Island by a bridge, you can plan your trip based on the ferry's schedule. 

We literally hop back to the ferry to hop to the next stop, Kusu Island, which is a 10mins ferry ride away. "Kusu" means tortoise, and legend says that this island was transform from a magical tortoise which did so to save 2 shipwrecked sailors. 

Again, the clear green sea welcome us, and this time, we had 1 hour to spend on the island. We spent the first 30mins playing old-school team bonding games like dodge ball and 7-up, before visiting the nearby Da Bong Gong temple to pray for good health, fortune and luck.

It's time to bade farewell to the island. We board the ferry to go back to the main island, and I look forward to another trip to the southern islands soon, this time, with more time allocated so as to fully explore the beauty of the islands.

Finland & Norway Trip Day 11 & 12 - Bye bye Norway, Hello & Bye Bye Finland

We spend the morning walking around Bossekopveien, taking more pictures of the Alta fjord and buying caviar cream, bacon cream, canned sardines and some food stuffs to bring back home in the neighbourhood supermarket.

Soon, it was time to bid farewell to Alta. The receptionist at the hotel helped us to call for a cab to bring us to the Alta airport, where we took the SAS plane to Oslo for transit back to Helsinki. 

We headed straight to Rantasipi Airport Hotel upon reaching Helsinki airport. Since we'll stay in Helsinki for just 1 night before flying back home, we did not want to create too much hassle of carrying our luggage around. Rantasipi Airport Hotel is just about 4km away from Helsinki airport, and is 1 of the hotels that provides free shuttle bus to and from the airport. The rooms are reasonably clean and comfortable for a 1 night stay, and a gigantic shopping mall, Jumbo, is just a 10 mins walk away.

We spent the next morning shopping at Jumbo, then took a bus to the city centre. Our lunch was settled at the stall selling Vietnamese food in Market Square, and it was really nice drinking the chicken broth of the pho after missing Asian food for over 10 days. We re-visited the Senate Square, and also went to the Old Market Hall, before heading back to Jumbo to grab some chocolates and more food stuffs.

Jumbo Shopping Centre

Vietnamese food at Market Square

Vietnamese food at Market Square

Senate Square

Senate Square

Senate Square

Interior of Senate Square

Old Market Hall

Time usually pass faster during holidays, and it was time for us to head back to Singapore. With luggage stuffed to the brim and memories packed with wonderful experiences, we bid farewell to the Scandinavian countries to return to the tropics, waiting for the next holiday to start.

Previously: Finland & Norway Trip Day 10 - Alta museum and a spectacular aurora show