Day 4 - Road Trip from Taitung to Kaohsiung

Travelling date: 12th December 2018 The road distance from Taitung to Kaohsiung is around 163km and it took about 3 and a half hour if without any stop. We departed from a housing area where we stayed close to 11.30am after filling up our stomach with heavy breakfast that I created from whatever food stock that we brought.

Knowing the difficulties in finding a halal restaurant, we planned ahead to stop for lunch at the 7-Eleven. The 7-E outlet that we cose to stopped was in Fanglio Township which has a clean toilets nearing Kaohsiung. I would really recommended 7-Eleven to those who is not really particular on the food. You can find mostly basic foods such as rice, pasta, bread, fruits, dessert,drinks etc which is good for breakfast, lunch or dinner. And usually it seated next to Petrol station which is so convenience to traveler.

The first destination that we are targeted to visit was the Kaohsiung Mosque. Kaohsiung Mosque is the largest mosque in Kaohsiung and the main gathering site of Muslims within the city. It is situated in Lingya District, the second mosque being built in Taiwan after Taipei Grand Mosque in Taipei. The mosque was constructed in 1990 and open to public in 1992. The 1st floor is dedicated for the male and female dormitories, female prayer room and female activity center. The 2nd floor is the main prayer hall, study center for Arabic language and Islamic culture display room. The 3rd floor is the guest room, youth activity center, office and kitchen. The mosque also features the imam office, administration office, library and ablution area. The Imam and the mosque caretaker were very helpful to us. They showed us the ablution and toilet area. We stayed a bit longer for Asar praying with him. Not many people came for Asar maybe because a lot of people were still working at that time. We met an Indonesian girl who studied in Kaohsiung who is a regular to the mosque as she came for a halal meal. There are a Halal restaurants owned byMuslim people beside the mosque.

After prayer, we quickly adjourned to the largest shopping mall in Kaohsiung, EDA Mall as the priority was to change the currency as we run out of Taiwan Dollar. EDA Mall is actually a resort city and being decorated with Christmas decorations all over as we were there during Christmas time. We chose to have Subway for dinner. Thereafter we looked for money changer and had a brief tour, rather a window shopping. We left the mall shortly after to look for our Air BNB accommodation in Sinsing District. The apartment caretaker was quite nice to show my husband where to park the car. Apparently, the apartment is seated just next to Liuhe Tourist Night Market. Liuhe and Ruifeng night markets are the most famous in Kaohsiung. Syahirah and Nasrul were exploring the night market just the 2 of them as the parent were too tired and ready for bed. That’s pretty much all of what we were doing in Kaohsiung.

For information, Kaohsiung is a massive port city in southern Taiwan. It is a home to many skyscrapers, such as the 248m tall Tuntex Sky Tower that were light up almost every night just like our KL Twin Tower and KL Tower. Beside the skyscrapers the city is known for its diversity of parks, i.e. Love River that was upgraded with walking paths and cafes along its banks, and cruise boats navigating for the tourist. For those who travels to shop, may choose the higher end products from the high end mall just like EDA Mall or medium class shops and a night markets. Since we were on tight budget and the purpose of travel is to record our presence in Taiwan without a need to repeat a trip, a road trip circling the island was more than enough.

Day 3 - Road trip from Hualien - Taitung - Keting National Park - Taitung

Travelling date: 11th December 2018

From the map (see below), we will be spending more than 6 hours on the road. Therefore, we left Hualien before 9.30am on a bright sunny day. Not a drop of rain throughout the journey. How I wished it was sunny yesterday as a stroll in Jiufen old town is something not to be missed. Ops, before I forget, I made such a blunder for not booking an accommodation in Keting, but in Taitung instead. We wasted about 3 hours, to and from Keting turning back to Taitung. However, our accommodation in a private room at Taitung Residential area was worth the trip. Our room with 2 master bed and attached bathroom was so comfortable that we had nothing to complaint about.

We stopped for fuel and toilet at Yuli Township, a rural area but all in a nice view after one and half hour journey. While taking photos with Nasrul, I saw a train passed by in a hilly mountain. You can actually tour a whole island of Taiwan by train. The train that I saw must be from Taipei to Hualien & Taitung that is called an Eastern main line. Taiwan Rail Administration provides generally hourly express trains on the scenic eastern line.  From late 2007 new 'Taroko express' high-speed (130km/h) electric tilting trains were introduced, providing an hourly service between Taipei and Hualien, with several services continuing along the scenic valley to Taitung. Those train traveler should try this Taroko express. I was a train traveler before I quit to travel with my family which are not used to inconveniences of being a backpacker.

Yuli Township mountainous view as a photo backdrop

Do not forget to bring wet wipes

We arrived in Taitung town by lunch time and quickly searched for a halal restaurant, HCC, Halal City Company but it was closed. We ended having lunch at 7-Eleven, whatever pork free meal that we can grab. 7-Eleven is quite a reliable place to stop for a tourist like us. In time of emergency you can fill your stomach with quite a wide selection of food and not to mention their good aroma coffee that we enjoyed so much. In addition to that a drive along a coastal road with panoramic view is another valuable experience.

How our lunch looks like in 7-Eleven

The coastal road

As we arrived a bit too early, we decided to tour Keting instead of day 4, thinking that we can actually spent more times in Kaohsiung, a second major city in Taiwan. It took us 3 hours to reach Keting National Park but at 5.30pm the area is getting dark and not possible to explore and/or hike as the park was closed. Another disappointed journey. We stopped by the roadside watching Pacific Ocean while taking some photos.

A little bit of information on Taitung City which is situated on the southeast coast of Taiwan. The place is well known for Peinan Cultural Park, the site of a number of buried Neolithic slate coffins first excavated in the 1980s. Examples of relics recovered from the site, including pottery and jade stones, are displayed at the National Museum of Prehistory. Beside its beautiful pebble beaches, in their wooded Taitung Forest Park are birds and butterflies, and footpaths wind past several lakes that hikers wold love to explore. If I were with my hiking cum tajwid group, I’m sure the 4 of us wold enjoy the trip better.

Seafood in Taiwan is a must

While on the other hand, Kenting National Park occupies the Hengchun Peninsula at the southern tip of the island of Taiwan (see the map above). Keting is famously known for its white-sand beaches, caves, coral reefs and northern mountains. The park’s main resort, Kenting Town, is home to restaurants, street-food stalls, bars and nightlife. The Frog Rock outcrop and the jagged, 318m Dajianshan peak overlook the resort. We arrived just nice for dinner and found the seafood restaurant “ALI SEAFOOD” in the google map and thought it was a Muslim, halal place but it wasn't. Since we were there already and hungry, we thought to spend a bit on the meal. But it wasn’t cheap and they do not accept credit card.

Beautiful isnt it? I mean, the room

We headed back to Taitung where our accommodation was at around 7pm and arrived back in the city slightly before 10pm, all exhausted. Husband decided to rest a little bit more at a nice house and we shall started late for 4th day trip to Kaohsiung. 

Day 2 - Road trip from Taipei - Keelung - Jioufen - Hualien

Travelling date: 10th December 2018

I'm so much behind schedule in recording my trip to Taiwan in this blog. In a blink of eye, it's more than 2 years since we last visited Taiwan. Okay, we woke-up quite early in the morning on 10th December to get our rented car from the car rental company, Hotai situated in one of their branch in Taipei downtown Daan. The car, a white Toyota Vios was ready for pick-up and we took it back to the Airbnb apartment to collect our belonging. It was raining all the way from Taipei to Keelung where we targeted to stop for lunch. The drive on Taiwan's Freeway only took an hour to reach Keelung from Taipei.

Infront of our homestay in Da-an District

Keelung City is a port city near Taipei, in northern Taiwan. Surrounded by mountains, it is known for its sheltered harbor. Near the waterfront, there are street-food stalls at Miaokou Night Market that offers Taiwanese traditional snacks and seafood. There are several forts around the area including a hilltop Ershawan Fort where it has cannons and a Chinese-style gate, Gongzi Liao Fort and Dawulun Fort that offers view over the harbor and ocean which makes it worth to visit. However, the rain didn't stop when we reached the city. To make atter worst, we couldn't find any halal meal restaurant in the city. As a result, we had to leave the city with heavy heart with no food and no photographic record at the fort city apart from a photo below that I snapped where I stood deciding whether to wait for the rain to stop or proceed to the next destination.

Keelung Port city, a photo that I shared from the web

Using a google map, we found the only halal meal nearby at the At-Taqwa Musolla and Restaurant located in Rueifang  district. It was half an hour drive from Keelung. We straightaway adjourned to fill our stomach and stopped for prayer. The place is run by the Indonesian, a bit cramp and small. Thinking that it's gonna be hard to find a halal meal in Hualien, we get the chef to cook a fried rice to pack for our dinner. After all, we were the only customer presence at that time. I discovered later that mining was an important industry in Rueifang in the early 20th century whereby gold was mined in Kyufun and Kinkaseki while coal was mined in Kau-tong. I'm sharing below one of the photo download from the web and the few we took while standing in the rain not far from where we parked the car.

Rueifang town

Posing in the rain in Rueifang town

Thereafter, we adjourned to Jiufen which is a mountain town in northeastern Taiwan, east of Taipei. It's known for the narrow alleyways of its old town, packed with teahouses, street-food shacks and souvenir shops. Near central Old Street is the Shengping Theater, established in the 1900s and since restored. There is also the Gold Mine Museum close-by that traces the town's history as a mining hub during the Japanese-era gold rush. I've seen how beautiful Jiufen is from the tourist shared photos in the internet. However, we couldn't take even a single photo outside the car as it was a heavy downpour when we are about to park. It was a bitter moment when hubby asked me whether to proceed or to wait. I had to give-up, snapped below photo and deeply crying when our car turn toward Hualien city. What a day to remember.

What I captured

What I expected to capture... photo shared from the web

On our way to Hualien, we stopped for toilet cum coffee break at a huge supermarket in Su-ao Township. We bought a lot of foods including Ipoh Old Town Coffee (amazing right to find the product from your own country) for breakfast and snacks in times of emergency. The journey to Hualien through the coastal road was amazingly beautiful although it was raining throughout. We passed so many tunnels, a single and dual carriageway which reminded me of my time in SMART tunnel from 2002 till 2007. My Gamuda colleague were visiting Taiwan tunnels before we began our tunnel construction too.

It makes me a proud Malaysian seeing these on the rack

I couldn't share the video footage but I hope this single carriageway tunnel shot is suffice for now

Hualien City is situated on the east coast of Taiwan. The town has a few other attraction such as the Central Pine Garden, a cultural center set inside a former Japanese military office. There are also the Hualien County Stone Sculpture Museum that showcases contemporary and traditional stone carvings and the Tzu Chi Cultural Park, a tranquil green space decorated with statues and a meditation hall. The town is facing the Pacific Ocean coast, where you may find a Nanbin Park that features a popular night market. On the other hand, the apartment that Syahirah booked was very nice even though it was located on the 3^rd floor without a lift. We arrived quite late in the evening and did not take much luggage to the apartment, instead an important items and a clothes to change into the next day.

Us, 2

We had dinner and headed out to explore the Hualien city views at night which was beautifully light up. Hualien city is a famous place for shopping, especially sports related item. My husband has enjoyed his time here so much. Let see how happy he was, able to shop in this city.

In my opinion, Hualien is a really good place to stop and stay a night as you may explore it’s nearby beaches and a must visit destination, Taroko Gorge National Park which we didn’t manage to include in our touring list due to time constraint. You may also admire how the sea and sky merges at Qingshui Cliff located around the southern part of the Suhua Highway. Qingshui Cliff is a collection of coastal cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. There is a scenic viewing area along the Suhua Highway where most tourists will make a stop at on the way to Taroko National Park where one can easily spend close to half an hour at.

I'm sharing the last 2 photos above that we we took at the homestay we stayed in Hualien. Last but least, among the tourist attractions in Hualien is its Dongdamen Night Market, a small Al-Falah Mosque seated in a shoplot area (you may find halal meal and a place to pray here), County Stone Sculptural Museum, Cultural and Creative Industries Park, Martyrs' Shrine, Railway Culture Park, Pine Garden, North Beach Park (Beibin Park), South Beach Park and Night Market (Nanbin Park), Meilun Mountain Park and a few others. You may explored than should you are in Hualien town. 

Do I have 100 friends?

Date: 29th March 2020

The question pop-up last year when we were deciding of how many cards that we needed to print for Syahirah's wedding. It was at a family meeting. I said I need to reserve 100 card for my friends, alone. Do you really have 100 friends to invite mama? Asked Syahirah with her expressionless smile that I do not really like. In my opinion, we both are similar. She doesn't socialized as much as I do. We both stopped socializing due to the fact that we are not able to spend lavishly like we used to when we had our expatriate life. That's a fact of life. A sacrifice is necessary when we want to gain something that we currently are enjoying. Right! She thought she had more friends than me. Sigh!

With Fong Suo Mein

Well, due to that I kind of asked Fadhilah my current BFF as we are working associate, to come. Fadhilah and I occasionally meet up for lunch and we honestly do gossiping a lot about our personal life and some office matters. She is currently the one that I'd be seeing almost every day at work. Therefore, she attended all events, Syahirah's engagement, solemnisation and reception. So I would named her as 1 out of the 100. My 22 neighbours are of course friends that are really close to me like sisters. Just like Fadilah, they were also attended all 3 events sharing my happy moments in welcoming a new family member. Them altogether is already 23.

With 5 out of my 22 neighbors on solemnization day

Some of my classmate in technical School, friends since 1983-1984

Among my classmates who attended the wedding receptions are Zaharah, Mariam and Hazudin from University Malaya. Only Shahmoon, my best girl friend during my study time in UITM came apart from a bunch of guys that I really close, i.e. Zamri, Nasir Norizam, Zali, Zainudin, Megat, Shahrom, Roslan, Suhairy and Aturk. There were 13 good friends from SMTT (Teknik Terengganu) who came, Sureini, Ruzida, Lena, Nora, Nortie, Salwani, Hanim, Siti Habidah, Wan Aslah, Roslina, Wan Rafiah, Che Maznah and Shaiful. My hajj team that were with me in 2017 also attended. There are Robiah, Kak Hapsah, Laila, Intan, Zaleha, Zie, Kak Sal and Siti. This group makes another 35.

These boys were my classmate when I was doing my Diploma and Degree. At that time only 9 girls out of 89 in the Diploma class and I was the only ladies while I was pursuing my Degree in Construction Management.

Roommate during Hajj 2017

But the first who came was my best friend who I met when attending an International Course on Valuation at Inspen where she was working at that time. She was an organizer for the said course.Her name is Fong Suo Mein, she was in the first photo. I was working at Central Bank of Malaysia attached in General Services Department and my former boss sent me to enhance my knowledge in valuation. It was fun as I was the one in-charge on evaluating staff's housing loan application. Miss Fong & I clicked and hooked up since 1994. We have been a best friend for the last 16 years. While in Central Bank, I also get very closed with Hayanim who is still attached in Bank Examination Department until now. And she is a cousin to my cousin's husband. We rented an apartment in Kg Baru when we were single.

Hayanim

Nora, whom I met in 1985 was my roommate and best friend. We were studying in UITM, but at a different school. We were best friend since the last 32 years. After school, we happened to meet our spouse together. Her husband is my husband's good friend and we introduced the 2 of them till they get married and still together like we are. I hope our friendship last till very long time, till we are both old and kinky.

With Nora

Besides, there were so many Malaysians that my family and I get to be so close with when I was working in Karachi. Julia, Shery, Shaiful, Hidia and Rizal came with all of their families. I'm still feeling very grateful and thankful for their presence that day as they were more important to Syahirah. Syahirah is very close with them and their childrens went to the same school with her. On most weekend we would hang out at each other's places for food and lots of parties. That was a precious friendship that we had with all of them.

Our huge families when we were in Karachi

There are colleagues from former work place and current work place. Few ladies and guys came from MMC, i.e. Iza, Jamilah, Ina, Sam, Alias and of course my best friend Adibah. Former colleague from IJM who were present that day are Idris, Hj Razin, Ridhwan, Amin and 2 of my best friends, Ila and Ili. 11 from MMC and IJM. I would say the whole village from my present colleagues at all 3 project sites, HQ and subcontractors who came over to make up more than the 100 list of friends that I have.

The Gamuda young QS came with lots of present. Cheng, Tek & Hui Ping

Iza, Jamilah and Alias from MMC

Finishing this entry made me realised of how lucky I am to have so many good people that I able to call them "FRIENDS". I'm so grateful for the blessing that I currently possessed. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for having me as your friend. I value you as much as you value me. Hugs!

Hello 2020, Goodbye 2019

Date:23rd March 2020

Almost a week since the Malaysia's lock-down life activities begun. The keyboard warrior in the social media keep on cursing those who disrespect the Government's order to stay home. It is so unpleasant to read, so I stayed away from reading all those negativity. In addition, I change the way I see thing after my aggressive Facebook post on how an UMNO treasurer make tonnes of money and insulting most Malaysian saying that "RM2 million is only his spending money" received harsh racial comment by my dear close friend. I should be more careful in posting anything on my social media moving forward. For now I need to concentrate on other important things that lingers in my mind for months already. Let us see what had happened in 2019 before welcoming that important lingering thing in 2020.

January 2019 -  There was a 10 year challenge being viral on the Instagram. So, I have to participated following Naim's challenge. Below photo was how I looked like when I was 42 and last year January when I was 52. Oh boy, I do age gracefully, I guessed. One thing obvious is that I now covered more and not too overly exposed or properly covered as a Muslim women, being a Hajjah.

Instagram post on 16th January 2019

February 2019 - Our youngest son, the apple of our eyes has finally graduated. He obtained a Diploma in Graphic Design from the same university that Naim graduated, Management & Science University (MSU), 2 years ago. I was so so proud of Nasrul despite of him not giving me a driving license yet after I gifted him a Polo car. I guessed I spoiled him unnecessarily and we both do not care much of that fact, after all. People may say whatever they wish to say but Nasrul do not even brag nor proud that I hopelessly loves him the whole milky way. He is a really cool.

24th February 2019, Nasrul's conocation in MSU

March 2019 - After 4 years of waiting, Dato' finally allowed me to participate in tendering. I was over the moon preparing and presenting him the 5 years Business Plan. Ismail and I flew to Kuching, Sarawak to do the market study. It was such a long time ago when I was last traveled to Sarawak. We rented a small car at the airport, headed toward the Pan Borneo road alignment till I felt satisfied. We had a late lunch but very heavy and I couldn't ate anything for dinner. Later that night we walked along the Kuching Riverside Majestic hotel to enjoy the night city life. The city has drastically change though it's still in-comparatively quiter than KL. Anyhow, I had my fun taking so many pictures that night with Ismail. 

Kuching Darul Hana Bridge on 18th March 2019

April 2019 - One of my husband cousin had his wedding ceremony in Singapore. We decided to enter Singapore on a day trip, riding Nasrul's Polo. Nasrul came along. We let him drove although we know that he doesn't have a license yet. Hoping that he will rush-up with his driving class and test. As I'm writing this post there's no evidence that he will get it any time sooner. Anyway, the wedding ceremony was very well celebrated. Nasrul took a couple of nicest photo of me and hubby. See below. The weather was extremely humid and I had to take shower and changed my Kurung into comfortable clothing at the R&R later that afternoon, on our way back.

21st April 2019, "can you feel the love?"

May 2019 - I forced hubby and Nasrul to accompany me for a tender visit cum briefing in Kerteh. It was a productive trip as I was able to prepare a good tender briefing and proposals with Nasrul's help. The project is somewhere within Tasik Kenyir area. It was my first time arriving in Kertih and physically presence to see how huge is the Kenyir Lake. The PWD officer handling the project suggested that we stayed longer to enjoy the boat ride, to see more of Kenyir Lake beauty. I honestly feel very ashamed of myself. As a Malaysian, I never had actually properly visited all attractions in Malaysia. I have been and crossed the Ton Le Sap lake by large boat from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh but I didn't event take an effort to explore Kenyir Lake. It's a new wish-list added now.

In Tasik Kenyir on 9th May 2019

June 2019 - Time flies very fast. It was already eid celebration and by June last year, I almost done with arranging for our family trip to UK for Nazhif's graduation. With positive mood, I cooked really a lot, all by myself and little assistance from Syahirah for the eid meal. I invited all my relatives in KL and neighbors to come over and share my home cook meal. I am so glad that I had a talent in cooking as everyone seems to be enjoying the meal, so much. Let's pretend that everyone is honest with what they told me... hehe!

1st day of Eid, 5th June 2020

July 2019 - 4 years ago, in September 2015 when Nazhif were about to fly to Glasgow I promised my brother that I will take him to UK for Nazhif's graduation. On many occasion I felt like cancelling the trip until the beginning of the year. I wanted hubby to fly alone for the graduation. Hubby disagreed as I was the one the support system for Nazhif. Judging on many facts and a way to become wiser in life, I let go of the unhappy feeling built over the 4 years and just go ahead with my original plan. So, here we were in University of Portsmouth celebrating Nazhif graduation while touring UK (Wales, Scotland and England), Ireland and Paris. It seems that I took the whole village to attend Nazhif's graduation whereby only Hubby and I attended Nasrul's convocation in MSU in February.

Nazhif's convocation day on 15th July 2019

August 2019 - It was my actual 53rd birthday and Naim 24th. After so many years cutting the expenses at fine dining restaurant, shopping in high end shopping mall, I told my family that let's finally lifted the ban and just enjoyed the day. So we spent the whole afternoon in Pavillion, eating and shopping. I bought a Gucci purse as birthday present to Naim and he gave me a skincare products from Sephora in return. After all, Naim is earning quite good in Air Asia as a flight steward. I guessed, it's time that I am slowly getting back at my old former life before I sent Nazhif to UK.

Combine birthday celebration for Naim and I on 17th August 2019

September 2019 - Nazhif is back for good on 15th as he couldn't secured a job in UK. He received an offer from 1 of the top company in Malaysia, Top Glove. I'm glad he did not get so stubborn to continue staying there and return home to his root. He started working on 1st October 2019. As for Syahirah, her boyfriend has been sending message since the 2nd quarter of the year to me that his family is coming to meet us. As I was so busy with tendering and UK/Ireland trip, I asked them to come in September. Syafik and his family are a God sent. My family knew how much I wanted to see Syahirah getting married. The time is nearer and she is gifted with a good man and a good family.

Nazhif is back for good and I was with them on late soccer night in Putrajaya

October 2019 - Syafik's mother letting me do whatever I planned for the 2 of them. Therefore, the engagement date was set on 26th October 2019. We invited only relatives and neighbors for the event, about 200 pax. I let Syahirah use the french lace material that I bought for myself in Karachi for her engagement dress. She got it tailored in Merah Jambu boutique. I also allowed her to arrange her own dais. Hubby and I were not really happy with her choice so, we make sure that she will have no say on the solemnization and the wedding reception day. I becoming her wedding planner and it's not a joke. The first thing I did was spending unnecessarily for the textile at Jakel. To say I regret those expenses, I did have a little feeling of regret. But when the big day is over all of that feeling is gone in split second. She is after all my one and only daughter. I love her endlessly.

Alhamdulillah Syahirah was engaged on 26th October 2019

November 2019 - I forgot another important event happened in September. Nasrul finally make-up his mind and chose KDU to further his Degree in Digital Media. It was his dream (latest and final one, I hope) to become a film director like James Wan. James Wan is a Malaysian born Australian that directed a movie Aquaman. Nasrul talks nothing but James Wan after we watched the Aquaman movie in the cinema. He even searched the university where James Wan was graduating at. He is so determine that after he finished his degree, he will enrol to the same university that James Wan attended, a Royal Melbourne Institute. Yeah... it's going to be another pricey journey for his mother. But I think when you love someone you will do anything for them, right? 

Nasrul and his dream to become a Film Director, now continuing a Degree in Digital Media in KDU since September

December 2019 - To be honest, hubby and I were financially constraint after the trip to UK/Ireland/Paris but we had no choice but to prepare for Syahirah's wedding. We knew that Allah will somehow eases our financial burden. It is proven as I'm writing this post very late in March, the wedding was just over last month. And we managed to pay everything except my sister's credit card that I'm still owing. Not that much and not that little but within my means.  

Everyone, especially me started busied ourselves with wedding preparation. This invitation card was a huge challenge to begin with.

What I wish to conclude is that, 2019 was  a year of challenge for my family. Alhamdullilah, at Allah's will, my family manage to surpassed all the challenge in life without burdening ourselves and other people. I am truly bless for a good support family that I had. I am blessed for everything Allah has given me, for all the love and protection that He showered me. I am more than indebted to Him, the Almighty.