Day 1 - All around Taipei

Date: 13th September 2019

The important rule that we learned over previous family holiday trips is  a meeting of mind. Holiday is supposedly to be in a happy environment where everyone are smiling joyfully even when at times, encountered difficulties along the trip. Since it is not a guided tour, arranged within 2 weeks time before departure, it's fairly expected of the hick-ups along the way. Yes we took an oath that we will not be distress with each other, quarreling over small issue, showing long faces, being selfish etc etc. Patience is a key word here and God bless we truly had an enjoyable trip. As a result,  the 4 of us are now looking forward to our next adventures.

Mini Temple at 288 Peace Park, Taipei

The Eldest and the Youngest - my happiness

The apartment that Syahirah chose is neither bad nor good. It is a small apartment with 2 bedrooms, a toilet/shower, a balcony and a pantry with no cooking facilities. Suffice for us to make coffee and a cup of noodles. The Seven Eleven is just at the ground floor of the building and the morning market seated along the road behind. Very convenience to those who wishes to prepare their own meal. But what I like most is it's too conveniences to get a public transport. No problems in getting around the city in 1 day at all. After a light breakfast we took a cab heading to Zhongzheng Distric for halal meal. It's a local Taiwanese food which in our opinion is healthy, less salt added with lots of herbs to nourish your health. The place was full with crowds considering its lunch time. For the record, the holiday was free from cooking our own meal. We did not even bring a maggie mee like we usually did in all of our holidays abroad.

The taxi driver earlier on had advised us to walk through the district to see the nearby attraction as its not too hard to find your way by foot. We walked slowly using the google map to discover that Zhongzheng district is seated so closely with the old street district and indeed it's true, zhongzeng is best explored by foot. We found Futai Street Mansion without difficulties and at a huge intersection we saw one of Taipei’s historic landmarks, Beimen or the North Gate. This beautiful gate was built in the 19th century during the Qing dynasty rule and is today one of the few buildings still standing from that era. The 2 interesting buildings from the Japanese times; the old Beimen Post Office and the Futai Street Mansion are excellent examples of early 20th century architecture that was heavily influenced by European classical styles. 

Futai Street Mansion

Beimen - North Gate & Post Office Building next to it

There was a line of camera shops on the left and right of the Beimen Photographic Supply street. We opted to take that route as Nasrul started pestering me to buy him the phone stabilizer for him to record his video shoot. After walking ahead and with google map as a guide, we were able to reach the 228 Peace Memorial Park without difficulties. Before reaching the park, we bump into so many attractive places, shops and temples but we did not spent much time lingering inside as we had many other places waiting ahead of us. You may see of what I'm referring to in below 2 photos.

Floor arts that I wish I had at an entrance hall of our house

The 228 Peace Memorial Park is a historic site and municipal park located at 3 Ketagalan Boulevard, Zhongzheng District. The park contains memorials to victims of the February 28 Incident of 1947, including the Taipei 228 Memorial that stands at the center of the park and the Taipei 228 Memorial Museum. The National Taiwan Museum stands at the park's north entrance, in a neoclassical palace. While 228 Peace Park is one of the oldest and most famous parks in Taipei city. After much persuasion, my family agreed to enter the museum that shows Taiwan’s achievements in botany and zoology, as well as in education, anthropology and earth sciences. But firstly and highly recommended that is to take a walk in the park and rest in one of the beautiful Chinese pavilions with the friendly animals as an entertainer.

Nasrul and Syahirah were capturing the videos when we encountered and chit-chat with an elderly couple like us in below photo. They hardly speak any English but agreed when I suggested a photo with my husband. We spent nearly 1 hour shooting videos and taking photos at park before entering the National Taiwan Museum. Time spent in a museum is almost 1 hour. If times permitted I will write a separate entry of the 228 Peace Memorial Park and the National Taiwan Museum. In the meantime I'm sharing the video shot that Nasrul had uploaded into his YouTube Channel.

Visitor must pay an entrance fee at the right corner of the museum. If I'm not mistaken it's 30 yuan per person. Rest assured, it's worth the fee. I'm sharing few more photos of the museum to justify my statement. The Monument is inscribed with an exhortation for peace and unity and it said “Mistrust between Taiwanese and mainlanders, and the argument on whether Taiwan should declare independence or be united with China, have become hot issues with potentially worrisome implications. [...] the task of healing a serious trauma in a society must depend on the whole-hearted collaborative effort by all its people. [...] It is also hoped that these words will serve as a warning and a lesson to all Taiwanese compatriots. Henceforward, we must be one, no matter which communal group we belong; we must help each other with compassion and treat each other with sincerity; we must dissolve hatred and resentment, and bring about long lasting peace. May Heaven bless Taiwan and keep it evergreen”. By the Trustees of the 228 Memorial Foundation, Translation of the Inscription on the 228 Massacre Monument. 

A visit to Taipei city is incomplete without visiting it's famous tower, Taipei 101 which used to be the tallest in the world from 2004 till 2009, preceded from Petronas Towers (1998 till 2004) and surpassed by Burj Khalifa. Taipei 101 is owned by Taipei Financial Center Corporation. The skyscraper opened on 31 December 2004. The tower houses offices and restaurants as well as both indoor and outdoor observatories. The tower is adjoined by a multi-level shopping mall that claims the world's largest ruyi symbol as an exterior feature. It features an Asian traditions in a modern structure architecture employing industrial materials. Its design incorporates a number of features that enable the structure to withstand the Pacific Rim's earthquakes and the region's tropical storms.

Taipei 101 elevators, capable of 60.6 km/h used to transport passengers from the 5th to 89th floor in 37 seconds

A lady that we met while waiting for the bus advised us to take Metro Red Line, i.e. Xiangshan train to Taipei 101 station from the 228 Peace Memorial Park. Alternatively, you may take the Blue Line to Taipei City Hall Station, located beneath HanKyu Department Store and walk south to enter the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi complex (known as the Xinyi Shopping District) towards 101. When we embarked from the Taipei 101 station, Nasrul saw the Adidas shop at the ground floor and managed to get a pair of new Adidas there. After a short shopping tour inside the mall, we headed outside to explore some of the surrounding art attractions while taking more photos of the Tower's night view.

An evening view

Night View

Our next stop was to find a halal meal near the Taipei Grand Mosque. While departing the Metro Station to Daan Park Station, we managed to have a nice night walks through the Daan Park, which was lovely. The Taipei Grand Mosque is the largest and most famous mosque in Taiwan with a total area of 2,747 square meters. It is Taiwan's most important Islamic structure and was registered as a historic landmark on 29 June 1999 by the Taipei City Government. The cost of the construction was covered by the Chinese Muslim Association with funding of $150,000 from the Shah of Iran and King of Jordan, $100,000 loaned by the Kuomintang government and loan from the Bank of Taiwan. The congregation had already repaid half of the bank loan by that time when the ROC government decided to exempt them from having to repay the remaining.

Some of the best attractions that one should not missed apart from what I mentioned above are Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, National Palace Museum, Elephant Mountain and the 2 nights market in Shilin and Raohe. To those who are more adventurous can hike up the Elephant Mountain, which is also an excellent place to catch sunsets and night views. Foodies should definitely head to popular night markets like Shilin Night Market and Raohe Street Night Market for a taste of some of the best street food in Taiwan. As our time is short, we did not manage to cover these places. Till next entry... ciao!

Flowers in Zhongshe Flower Market

Date: 4th June 2019

I had a little bit of time to write this morning while waiting for Haziq to submit an ad-hoc tender that we were told to submit at a very last minute. God willing, within less than a week, our team managed to successfully submitted both technical and commercial proposal in time. And I had an urge to share in this blog the top 10 most beautiful cities in the world out of which, I have been to 6 i.e. Venice, Budapest, Rome, Florence, Paris and Amsterdam. I'll be visiting the 7th listed city next month, Edinburgh. Kyoto will be visited should hubby change his mind and agrees to my proposed destination of next year's family vacation touring Japan. Another 2 in the list was Praque and Rio de Janeiro. Some day perhaps.

In the meantime, I would love to share some of the flowers photo that I snapped on 14th December 2018, using my old Nikkon DSLR while we were in Zhong She Guan Guang Flower Market in Houli, Taichung, Taiwan. The farm had the flower fields of 6 hectares large which featured a myriad of blooms throughout all seasons. Entering this flower market made me feel more like attending a flower carnival where almost all corners are picture perfect. We came to know about this place from a Malaysian colleague that we met at Nantou county.

Only Nasrul and I entered the flower park and the entrance fee was 120NTD/person. The fee is slightly higher from January to March due to Tulip’s festival. Among the flowers that were available from April to December are anemone, carnation, gerbera, lupin, rose, and many other types of flowers which paint the fields like a rainbow. However the main attraction of Zhong She Guan Guang Flower Market is the tulip field. This market is the only flower market in central Taiwan that succeeded in growing tulips in low altitude areas. Approximately 150,000 tulip bulbs with differing varieties are planted and in full bloom from January to March each year. Unfortunately, we missed out on the tulips as we were there in December.

Whether you’re a travel photographer, a wedding photographer or a mere traveler like me, Zhong She Guan Guang Flower Market is indeed a wonderful sight to capture. They even created a Wedding Photo Backdrop Zone which features backdrops of European Fairytale Cottage, Pavilion of Happiness, Wedding Gown Arch, and the White Piano, just to name a few. More photos of the flowers from the farm that I captured below using my I-Phone 8 Plus. I let you decide should you wish to visit this place after watching them.

Finally, I wish to share the direction to reach this place should you interested to explore. If you are driving like we did you may from the South on National Highway No. 1 take Houli interchange, then travel along Houke Road Sec. 3, make a left turn at Sanfung Road and continue for approximately 2km. And if you are coming from the North on National Highway No. 1, take Sanyi interchange, then travel towards Houli for approximately 7km. If you are heading to the flower market by train, take the West line trains to Houli Station, then take a taxi. You can also take the West line trains to Tai’an Station, and walk around 20 minutes. Visitors from Taipei can take Fengyuan Bus and get off at Zhong She Tourist Flower Market. Their address is No. 333, Sec. 5, Sanfeng Road, Houli Dist, Taichung City 421, Taiwan. Opening Hours is from 9am to 6pm daily, contact number is 04-2557-6926 and the website: http://www.flowerjs.com.tw.