Day 1 is here. Day 2 is here. Day 3 is here.
For Day 4, we were spending it visiting the Taipei 101 area, and do some shopping.
Then it was back to Dongmen area for dinner.
Next day, Day 5, we woke up early to catch a flight back to Singapore. Will definitely be back to Taipei again, a nice place for a short break. And for the food.
For the third day, we visited Jiufen.
We decided to take the bus to Jiufen instead of taking the train/bus. It was not easy to find the bus stop to take the bus. A few taxi drivers trying to get customers at the bus stop confirmed it was the right place to take the bus.
After watching in awe how the bus driver managed to drive up the long, narrow and windy road to Jiufen, we arrived to a small place filled with tourists. And it was hot! We decided to hit the old market street first, where there is a wide variety of food.
As it was too hot, we decided to take a taxi down to the train station, and then take a train back to Taipei.
We headed to our next stop, Fisherman’s Wharf to catch a glimpse of their famous sunset.
Back to Taipei for a late dinner.
Thus end a very tiring Day 3!
So after a good night’s rest, we embarked on a long day of food and places.
We first explored the Dongmen area around our hotel, and came across this dessert place that sells wonderful and tasty mango shaved ice dessert. So we tried it. For breakfast. We love it so much we had it again the next day!
We then proceed to work up an appetite for lunch by exploring the Dongmen neighbourhood. Lots of food, hipster cafes and interesting shops.
Entered this hipster café on a whim, well it was also partly because the poor guy was standing in the hot sun trying to get customers to patronise his café. The café was pretty cool, serving coffee from around the world. They even put a bit of the corner in this small cup, for you to sniff at the coffee fragrance, something that is being done for Chinese tea, which we found out later.
After working up an appetite, we went to the supposedly famous place that sells delicious beef noodles. We were not disappointed. Besides the beef noodles, the pork ribs rice was just as delicious.
After filling up our stomach, it was time to make our way up Maokong, which is famous for the tieguanyin tea that is grown there. We took the train to the train station, before walking ten minutes to the Gondola station, which took us to the top of Maokong.
After walking for around thirty minutes, we found the tea house that was recommended. It was serenity. Bliss.
Then it was time to enjoy the sunset.
Then it was time to take the Gondola down and stopped by Ximending. It feels like Shibuya crossing in Tokyo!
Then it was supper!
Thus end Day 2!
Decided to take advantage of the long weekend to go to Taipei. This was my first time to Taipei, though I was in Taiwan many years ago, courtesy of my country. I have read and heard about how wonderful Taipei is, especially the food, so decided to see, or taste, for myself.
I was not disappointed.
After landing in Taipei, took a bus to the main train station, before taking the train to the station near the hotel. It was surprising Taipei does not have a train station linking the airport to the city, especially since they have a really nice and efficient train system.
The first food stop was to the famous Din Tai Fung, well known for its delicious meat dumplings. The original outlet, the one that was awarded one Michelin star, was a short ten minutes walk from the hotel. Even though it was still too early for dinner, there was a crowd waiting for their seats.
The Taipei 101 building was clearly visible outside the place.
It was a relatively short wait of twenty minutes before a table was allocated on the second floor.
The food came pretty quickly. Somehow I feel the dumplings here taste better than the ones from the same outlets in Singapore.
The next destination was to the famous Shilin Night Market, for even more food!
Perhaps it was due to the long day, perhaps it was due to the hot weather, or perhaps it was due to how big the market is, it was really tiring, and we left without really exploring the entire place. But the food, I will just go back again, just for the food.
Took advantage of the long weekend to sneak in a short gateway to Bali. Stayed at the Ayana Resort, and watched the famous sunset at the Rock Bar. It was overall a relaxing short holiday, though the extremely humid weather means it was mostly indoors.
Will definitely go back again!
This was my third trip to Melbourne, though it was my first working trip to Melbourne. I had assumed I had seen everything that Melbourne has to offer, but I was still surprised to discover new sights, especially after stumbling upon Melbourne’s laneways and arcades. I also managed to put in two runs, getting lost during my first run and ending up in South Yarra. I did my second run around the Botanic Gardens, or Tan for short.
Melbourne is also one of the few cities in the world where you can walk into any café and get good coffee, unlike the pretentious hipster cafes we have in Singapore. Daily trips to Cafenatics to get their coffee after lunch became a ritual. All in all, I was feeling a bit sad when I left.
Lately our lives have been revolving around the airport for work. I did not mind a bit when I had to travel to Melbourne.
23rd Dec
We checked out, and had another breakfast at Margaret River Bakery, before proceeding the long drive to Denmark, stopping along the way for lunch at the Lavender and Berry Farm, and for honey and mead at Bartholemews Meadery. We finally reached our accommodation late afternoon, where we stayed for the next 4 nights. And what a view our accommodation has! We ended the night with an excellent bottle of wine from Margaret River.
24th Dec
The next day, we drove to the Valley of the Giants for their famous treetop walk.
And then it was to the famous Green’s Pool. The waters looked so inviting, but we did not bring our swimming gear, so we just had to make do with walking on the beach.
25th Dec
It’s Christmas! We spent the day driving to Albany, exploring The Gap, the Natural Bridge and the Blowhole.
26th Dec
We went back to Green’s Pool today with our swim gear for a swim. The water was cold at first, but after a while, we were used to it. The water was crystal clear, wonderful, and the weather was perfect for a swim. I even managed to spot fishes swimming around me. What a day!
We spent the afternoon napping, before waking up for our last sunset at Denmark. Denmark definitely saved the best sunset on our last night here.
27th Dec
The next day we checked out after breakfast, before beginning the long drive up north, back to Perth. We finally reached Fremantle mid afternoon, where we stayed for the next 3 nights. We had the famous fish and chips for dinner before catching another sunset in Fremantle.
28th Dec
The next day we went to the Fremantle Market and walked around the area. We also drove to Perth to do a bit of shopping before having the wonderful BBQ Seafood Platter at the same place where we had our dinner the day before.
29th Dec
We went over to South Beach, as recommended by our Bed & Breakfast host. We were pleasantly surprised to find that it was also a dog beach. Obviously I was very happy.
30th Dec
Today was the day we flew back to Singapore. After checking out, we did some shopping before stopping over at the Cottesloe Beach on our way to the airport.
And thus, we concluded our 11 days road trip filled with good memories. To paraphrase what we heard, there is no need for us to show others the place, the place shows itself.
I had to clear leave at the end of the year, and decided to plan for a road trip in Western Australia between 20th Dec to 30th Dec. It was excellent. Sunny weather, excellent wine, food and coffee, endless trees, serenity, beautiful sunsets, crystal clear sea, golden beaches, what more can we ask?
20th Dec
Took the red eye flight from Singapore to Perth. Upon clearing customs, the first thing we did was to purchase a prepaid data SIM card. Then it was coffee, some snacks, and proceed to collect our rental car from Hertz.
I had indicated that I wanted to rent a Toyota Yaris, a hatchback, instead Hertz decided to provide some early Christmas cheer by giving me a Volkswagen Golf. In the days that followed, I fell in love with this car. Superb handling, control. excellent pickup, fuel efficiency, the car just feels right. What a car!
We drove south, stopping at Bunbury for a while. The flies were early this year, and it was really irritating, something that bothered us throughout the whole trip.
We then continued south to Busselton, for some sightseeing and lunch. Busselton has one of the longest jetty in the world, and this time I was determined to take the train along the jetty, and visit the underwater viewing at the end of the jetty, something that I could not do during my last 2 visits. The flies were especially bad here.
We finally reached Margaret River in the late afternoon where we will be staying for the next 3 nights.
21st Dec
The next day we had breakfast at the Margaret River Bakery, just opposite our accommodation. The breakfast and coffee were excellent, just as the reviews online for it said. We then proceed to do some caves exploring, going to the Lake Cave, Mammoth Cave and Jewel Cave. Our favourite was definitely the Jewel Cave. We bought the ticket to all the 3 caves, at AUD$55 each, with guided tours provided for both Lake Cave and Jewel Cave.
Then it was off to have a look at the Augusta Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse. It was really windy, and as it was almost closing time, we did not pay for the lighthouse tour.
22nd Dec
We spent the next day exploring the beaches and chilling out. We had a breakfast at the White Elephant Café at the Gnarabup Beach, but due to the huge number of flies, it was not that pleasant. The views, though, were excellent.
We had our lunch at the Xanadu winery, where the food and wine were excellent. We bought a few bottles of wine from them for the subsequent days.
We went back to our place for a nap before heading out to Surfer’s Point for the sunset. There were quite a few people there, all waiting for the golden hour. It was windy and cold, but the sunset display was worth it.
