Yes, it was my second time flying to Taiwan this year! Initially, I had plans to fly to Japan for my graduation trip but it was cancelled due to various reasons. Therefore, I decided to fly to my favourite destination again even though I had travelled there in January. The trip was filled with happiness and disappointments. Happiness because I finally met my idol again after three years and I also did a lot of shopping as many stores were having annual sales. Disappointments because I encountered more unpleasant and unfriendly people at some stalls and the food was not as delicious as last time oh well...
One week before the trip, I was feeling so uneasy until I was not excited to fly. It was the first time that I felt this way before a trip. Never did I know I would encounter these. First, on my second day in Taichung, I met a cab driver who drove recklessly though there were many cars and traffic lights on the road. He was even speeding when the traffic light turned red at the cross junction. I was so glad that everything was fine and he made me to ensure that I put on my seat belt for all my rides afterwards even when I was at the back seat (by law I should do it too lol). Secondly, my initial plan was to spend a night in Yilan for my third day but I ended up changing it to a day trip on my fourth day. Then the accident occurred... I might had boarded it if I proceed with my initial plan and looking at my HSR train timing... So I cancelled my day trip and decided to stay within Taipei. On my fifth day, two earthquakes happened within the day. It was my first time experiencing it as I did not feel anything during my previous trip though many people felt it. I also did not feel anything during the first earthquake on that day and it was only until the second earthquake. I was lying on the bed watching shows. Suddenly, I heard a loud noise and the toilet door started to shake. I was still thinking whether the guests outside or beside my room were having a party. Then, I realised everything was shaking until I had motion sickness lol. Luckily, the magnitude level was not high. I am really thankful to be back home safely and thanks to those who messaged me to check that I was safe there after knowing the news, I really appreciate it.
I chose to fly Singapore Airlines this time due to an ongoing promotion so the ticket fare was similar to EVA Air and China Airlines. The departure and arrival timing were good and they offered 30kg baggage allowance. They also provided hot towels during the flight but their seats were so hard that it was difficult for me to sleep throughout the journey, especially when my screen hanged in the middle of my return flight and a girl was whining so badly throughout the entire flight. Their in-flight meals were also average to me, my friend described it as "can eat one" hahaha. The only thing that amazed me was the Haagen Dazs ice cream during my return flight because it was sooooo good. I think that EVA Air has the best in-flight meals so far and all the meals during my departure as well as return flights for two trips were very yummy, even their buns were very fragrant and tasty. However, their timing and baggage allowance were not so good as compared to SIA.
THSR from Taoyuan to Taichung.
While waiting for the train, I had some small bites from the convenience store. I am not a fan of 關東煮 (oden) so this was soso to me plus I did not choose the ingredients this time.
This was my first time trying this brand but I still prefer 純萃。喝 mandheling as the caffeine taste was less strong.
Accommodation at Taichung
To be honest, I have a phobia of staying at overseas hotels that I have not tried before ever since my horrible stay at Taichung in the past. Therefore, I did a lot of research on each hotel located near Feng Chia Night Market before I made the decision to book the stay. I ended up choosing this hotel and I am so glad that I made the right choice. There were two sides, one existed for some time while the other was newly built and I booked a room at the new side. Other than being new, the room was also clean and this is very important to me because I cannot forget the amount of dust on the menu (usually placed on the room desk) that I had seen at that particular hotel last time. Besides the room, the service was good too. The staff at the reception was very friendly and helpful. In addition, there were facilities such as spa, gym and bar but I did not really explore it as I was quite tired after being out for the entire day. For the breakfast buffet, the food was not bad and I like their pork floss which tasted a bit like salted egg. The hotel is located approximately six to ten minutes walk away from Feng Chia Night Market but it was still safe to walk at night as there were many cars and people passing by.
方舟音樂藝文展演空間 TADA Ark
Address: 台中市南區復興路三段362號
Initially, I had planned my Taichung itinerary and booked a driver to bring me around to various tourist attractions. After the autograph session details was released, I cancelled everything lol. Some people may think that it was wasted but I feel that I can visit those tourist attractions anytime in the future and I had not seen him for three years plus he had no plans to visit Singapore at the time being so yes...
The queue management was better than the one in Taipei and I got to go to other places to hide under the shade or etc after getting the ticket and stamp. When it was time to queue for entry, I stood under the hot scotching sun for some time, most probably this was the first time that I heard him rehearsing for several times hahaha.
I still could not believe it when I was on my flight to Taiwan. It had been some time such that I felt that everything was so surreal?! 真的好久不見了... He sang five songs in total, three from the latest EP and two from his past EPs. There was a part where he dressed in a magician outfit and he threw his hat to the audience. I had a feeling that he would throw it towards my direction and yes, he did. Omg I was so scared that the hat and other people's hands would hit me LOL. Then, the girl right in front of me caught it phew. After the performance, it was time for autograph session. When it was my turn... :') I really think that he was so handsome in that hairstyle in reality as compared to other times when I saw him heheh.
春水堂 Chun Shui Tang
Address: 台中市西屯區台灣大道111號 (新光三越 10F)
The restaurant was located at another level in the shopping mall when I went there previously and it now moved to level 10.
There was a 10% discount for the siewmais that day so yes hahaha.
One of the best carrot cakes that I had in Taiwan! It was still as good as the first time that I tried it. I guess that not every outlet has fried carrot cake as the outlet that I visited in Kaohsiung only had steamed carrot cake but it was quite meh.
Nothing can beat this! It is my must-drink milk tea whenever I am in Taiwan now.
逢甲夜市 Feng Chia Night Market
Address: 台中市西屯區文華路
The famous 大腸包小腸 (sausage wrapped with glutinous rice) had disappointed me. I remember that it was so good such that I had another one during my last night before heading to Taipei previously. However, it was so meh and oily this time until I almost did not want to finish eating it.
I thought that this was the same stall that I had previously as it was at the same spot so I bought one packet to eat. I only realised that it was a different stall when I saw there was a mixture of sweet potato balls and yam balls in the packet and the balls were not as fluffy as what I had that time plus there was no difference in the taste between both types of balls to me though.
This was another stall that I had previously and their 金桔紅茶 (kumquat red tea) was still the same price, NTD45 ($1.95) in the fat cup.
This was one of the most reviewed drink stalls when I did my research and it is currently located in many night markets. It has something unique as compared to other shops. Aside from the fresh milk produced from certain farms and etc, it allows the customers to self service the drinks. I ordered 黑糖冬瓜茶 (brown sugar melon tea) and the staff put the milk in the cup before giving it to me to do the filling of drinks. There were four types of tea and each tea's sweetness was standardised. However, I could choose whether I wanted to mix my melon tea with other types of tea to adjust the sweetness level. Afterwards, I also had the chance to use the machine to do the sealing of the cup. The drink tasted like normal melon tea that I could get anywhere but I guess that it is worth to have a try for the experience.
Tiger Sugar is the current hype in Singapore. I have yet to try the outlet in Singapore so I do not know whether it tastes the same as the one in Taiwan. It was originally from Taichung and with the brown sugar craze, it has expanded to several outlets lately in Taiwan and different countries. I had tried brown sugar milk tea from a few shops during this trip and 珍煮丹 is still my favourite among all. The one from Tiger Sugar was too sweet to me, the sweetness was standardised unlike other shops. After finishing more than half of it, I needed to drink teas or plain water to balance my taste buds.
This is my most expensive buy in Taiwan for this trip because my luggage was spoilt on my first day of the trip. Actually, there were signs of the handles getting spoil one week before I flew but I thought that it might be due to storage issue so I decided to use it instead of buying a new one in Singapore. Halfway when the cab driver helped me to carry the luggage to the cab at THSR station, the handle that he was holding onto broke and I think that he was a little shocked hahaha. After I checked in, I decided to take a look at the other handle. What I did was to hold it upwards without much force and "piak" LOL. As it was difficult for me to bring the luggage around while travelling by trains and who knows whether other parts will become spoilt too, I ended up buying one luggage from the shopping mall in Taichung the next day as I did not want to take the risk of getting one from a random shop at night market and I realised that wgl was there the night before. I should have went to get it right after knowing that my luggage was spoilt hahaha. The luggages at the shopping malls in Taiwan were more expensive as compared to Singapore and this was one of the cheapest options that I found (at least this design was not bad).
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