Taiwan Itinery (Actual)

Day 1 (7July)


720am - depart Sg

1145am – touch down Taoyuan airport ( buy Taiwan Da Ge Da local sim card )

12pm – Take 20 mins of U-Bus (NT30each) to Taoyuan High Speed Rail station and take HSR for 45mins (NT540each) to Taichung HSR station to link up with our driver Liu da ge ( he charge us NT1500 to drive us up cingJing Shangri La Hanging Garden Resort)

3pm – check into resort and wash up. Thereafter, explore the area around the area.

7pm – have dinner at Carton King ( Very nice concept restaurant with good food like personal steamboat or western food at affordable prices , must TRY! ) after dinner we continue to walk around and bought some postcards to write back home

11pm – ZZZZZ



Day 2 (8 July)

7am - Woke up early to have breakfast at Resort

8am - Take a shuttle bus up ( abt 7mins ) Green Green Grassland. There you can feed sheeps, watch sheep/horse show (during weekends) and bask in the warm sunshine on a vast hill. Nice place to take pics.

11am – take a bus down and have lunch

12 pm – go back resort to wash up rest as it is very hot

4pm – have high tea at the resort ( comes with our resort package )

5pm – Went to small Swiss Garden

8pm – Ate dinner at Steakhouse , then walk around and listen to music performance

11pm – rest



Day 3 (9 July)

7am – woke up to have our breakfast

1130am – check out and another driver Mr. Xue ( NT 3000 ) fetch us to 2 locations 1) Tian Mu farm to watch “Cao Ni Ma” cute camel face sheep with long neck and 2) Lavender Cottage at Sin She. These 2 places are pretty inaccessible so you definitely need a driver to take you there if you are interested.

6pm – Check into “In One City Hotel” at Taichung, just minutes walk away from the popular Feng Jia Night Market. Wash up quickly and then went to night market

12am – zzzzzzz



Day 4 (10 July)

8am - Woke up later to have breakfast as the hotel

12pm – checked out and walk to bus stop where there is a free shuttle bus (abt 20 mins ride) to take us to Taichung HSR Station where we can take HSR to Taipei (700NT each) about 1 hr

230 pm – HSR Reach Taipei Main Station ( their most important hub where all the transport can link. Like our City hall ) and from there we transferred to MRT to Ximen station where out hotel is just above. ( can buy You-You Card for taking MRT and use it for purchase at the MRT stations shops any amt unused can be refunded end of the trip )

3pm – check into City Inn Plus at Ximenting .

4pm – had a KFC lunch and Explore Ximenting

7pm – had dinner at one of the stall selling ( fried oyster, fried rice etc ) after dinner continue to walk ard XMT ( at night the peddlers will all come out when the shop closes selling cardigans, food, t-shirts caricature drawing etc )

9pm – did foot massage ( about 1 hour NT400 )

12am – zzzzzzzzz



Day 5 ( 11 July )

9am – woke up later and take MRT to Taipei Main station and have brunch ( sushi and fried chicken ), explore the area than take MRT to ZhongXiao East Road to walk around . there are some small indie shops selling interesting artistic stuffs there but maybe we went too early too hot to walk too much

4pm – had early dinner at Ding Tai Fung and after that shop ard the area for awhile more

6pm – Located Hello Kitty Cafe down the road and had desserts ( min spend must be NT300 per pax and can stay for 1.5 hrs inside )

8pm – Went back to XMT walk awhile and went back to rest



Day 6 ( 12 July )

7am – woke up early to take MRT to Taipei Main Station, after which catch old school TRA train to Ruifang Station.

11am - From Ruifang station we take a train to Shifen Old Street and explore the area ( this is an old coal mining town ) there is a huge waterfall at the top of the town but need a transport to bring you up. This is also the place where people release the Tian Deng ( sky Lanterns )

3pm – took TRA back to Ruifang and take a bus from across the street to go up JiuFen (old gold mining town)

5pm – Reach Jiufen and walk around the area ( try the famous taro balls) .

7pm – Took a bus down to Ruifang station and take TRA back to Taipei Main station. Had some snacks at Taipei Main Station and took train back to XMT. Bought instant noodles and sushi back to hotel to eat.



Day 7 ( 13 July )

9am – woke up later to eat famous Ya Rou Bian ( duck meat vermicelli ) located just down the road from our hotel for breakfast. After which we went to sweet shops to get some gifts and ate Mango Ice

3pm – went back hotel to rest awhile and wash up.

5pm – Took MRT to Jiantan station and to Shilin Night Market . Eat and shop there till late .

11pm – Go back and refund our You-You Card

Day 8 (14 July)

10am – woke up late and bought breakfast ( coffee and sandwiches ) across the road back to eat at hotel. Wash up and final packing

12pm – check out but left our barangs at hotel lobby. Went to XMT to do final shopping ( bought some local products from “Gang Ji” like Sun biscuits and Green Bean cake ) Bought sushi back to lobby lounge to eat and relax while we wait for our driver to take us to airport ( NT 1100 )

420pm - Driver arrive to pick us

530pm – Reach Taoyuan airport and check in for our flight back at 720pm

1145pm – Reach SG ;o)

Revisiting Taiwan...

Our trip to Taiwan 7-14 July 2012, has created a loadful of beautiful memories that I will keep till my old age.

Places like Cing Jing (Shangri La Hanging Garden Resort), Shifen and Jiufen may be places that we may not be visiting again but I will always remember their old world charm and reminiscence with an undeniable warmth of gladness in my heart that I have strolled along their streets, holding the gentle hands of my beloved wifey.

Thank you Jesus, for making this trip a possibility.

A dream Fulfilled

One day last month.... wifey said to me wistfully: “ My birthday wish is that i can run around in a big green grassland and feed the sheeps.....” Who am i to deny her this simple dream...

I love to see my wife happy and laughing, she has a most beautiful smile .

Micaiah Foo

This is my second nephew Micaiah Foo. He is such a fun boy to be with, always game for some roughing and tumbling. Although many times he displayed a nonchalant attitude, deep within him, I see a steely determination and a spirit of excellence. I believe in him and I just know that he is going to be someone great in the kingdom of God. I absolutely love this boy!

Left hand

A couple of weeks ago, during my 5th keyboard lesson, we were being taught to use our left hand to play the different chords. It was very difficult because my left hand is very inflexible; it was unnatural because my left hand feels clumsy. In fact the music that my left hand plays sounds rather boring. However, just before the lesson ended, perhaps to motivate us, the teacher demonstrated to us how the left hand chords complemented the right hand melody and played a very nice sounding simple song “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” That is when I realized the importance of getting the left hand techniques right so that I can play a beautiful tune, together with the right hand next time. This simple principle also reminded me how, as we live our life in step with the Holy Spirit, we can live a life that is pleasing to Jesus. Many times in our life, we are ignoring the Holy Spirit, treating Him like the awkward left hand. As a result we are unable to live the kind of life that Jesus destined for us to live. Therefore, I have to learn to be intentional in relying on the Holy Spirit at every moment. It may seem unnatural at times like using our left hand but as we do it over time, we can be assured that our life will be a sweet sweet song, rising up the throne of heaven…

Learn in Faith, Serve with Love

Last night, I began my very FIRST keyboard lesson at Faith Music Centre.

It is something I always wanted to do but somehow got delayed by one reason or another. (Time schedule clashes, miscomm etc...) so I am glad to have finally gotten started.
First lesson was pretty basic; we spent the whole hour learning fingering techniques. Right hand scale up, left hand scale up and both hands scale up than its followed by right hand scale down, left hand scale down and both hand scale down…
It really requires a fair bit of coordination and lots of practice

Why do I learn the keyboard?
1. It is something I really like. I am always very impressed by those that can play nice music on the piano, keyboard and I love listening to music ( Kevin Kern, Richard Clayderman etc )
2. At $230 for 10 lessons, it is fairly affordable
3. It is near to my house
4. Wifey’s encouragement.
5. I want to learn a new way to worship and help others to worship in a group setting subsequently.
6. A good leader should be a lifelong learner.
7. No one will laugh at me… ;o)

Haha I included the last point because I am pretty sure that the environment is quite a relaxed one with people of all ages and no music background coming together to learn, which is a major plus point for people who may feel shy about learning music at an older age.

I hope I can learn well for the subsequent lessons to grasp a solid foundation of the keyboard.
* Thanks wifey for accompanying me for the first lesson!

Good Friday/ Easter Sunday Long Weekend

Last Thursday, I finally moved into my new office at 3 Toh Tuck Link (3TTL) everything is very new so everyone seems rather excited. Initially I thought I have to go back on Saturday to unpack but thank God the unpacking was finished on the same day so I get to enjoy the long weekend peacefully.

my new workstation
After I knock off, me and wifey went over to look for Abel and Alex’s home to have dinner together and watch a little bit of the “Gospel of John”

Friday morning, got up bright and early at 6am to bring wifey’s dad and mom for a walk at the newly opened Labrador Nature and Coastal Park. We took a bus there but we met a bus driver who is not very friendly, plus I think we alighted at the wrong stop too. Rather dangerous to walk along the highway while pushing my father in law’s wheelchair but we managed to reach Labrador MRT safely as we linked up with J&S.

We started walking about 9am and the weather was still good, the place was also very wheelchair friendly so it was easy for dad who looks to be enjoying the walk and greeting passerby along the way.

Personally I like the walk as I get to enjoy the beautiful sights of reflections@ Keppel and the sea view towards the end.

We finished the walk near 11 am and decided to head towards Vivo City before the storm which was already brewing.

(Really thank God for holding the weather!ONLY GOD...)
We had our lunch at Putien which sells Xinghua cuisine. We had their famous fried bee hoon, deep fried pig trotters, pork mantou, vege and beancurd. While we are eating the rain outside continues ever so heavily. After lunch we headed home after sending folks back in a cab. We rested a while, caught the comedy Dodgeball on TV before heading back to vivo for barcelos…. ( we have been craving for that for quite some time ). Both myself and wifey had the ¼ Chicken meal. After dinner, we shopped for awhile more at Uniqlo before heading back home. Nearly bought a Bermudas and pants which were on sale but decided against it.

On Saturday morning I played a bit of Football with Matt and Micky. Had lunch with folks at Bukit Merah and did some grocery shopping. Wifey and I prepared seafood aglio oglio for dinner. It was a commendable first time effort although it was a bit soggy and very spicy. Oh we also opened a can of tomato stew to go with it.