Ex Taipei Walker II Day 03 --- YangMingShan

Ex Taipei Walker II Day 03 -- YangMingShan + WuFenPu


Sorry to everyone ( those who scolded me to update my blog ) ... Sorry for delaying Day 03 ... been busy with tests , Shooting and packing my Pig-sty in prep for CNY ... So been delayed ...


Anyway ... DAY 03 !!

After Day 02 's 17 hour Madness , we had a good night's rest ..to recharge for Day 03 !

Woke up @ 9am ++ to enjoy our 1st OneStar Breakfast of the trip ....

Things have changed ... OneStar now has a pantry .. and a buffet-style breakfast !!!

They used to "ta bao" breakfast to our room ... but now they have western breakfast and Chinese-styled porridge for us to choose @ the pantry ..

There is also a computer terminal for hotel guests who do not have a Laptop to surf in their rooms ... ( but we did ! we brought our own laptops ... and enjoyed surfing every night !! )

Our dear "Zu Ren" Hotel Manager was planning to take the day oFF ... to drive us on his own free time around Taipei .. but he couldnt ...

So he used OFFICIAL TIME to drive us ( out of his boundary ) ... he drove us all the way out to YangMingShan .. and drove us to the Hotspring to enjoy an early morning Hotspring bath !

Along the way , we saw hardworking people eagerly pulling votes for the Taipei Mayor Elections ...Damn passionate people ...

Zu Ren drove us up to Liu-Gu ( 6th grade ) HotSpring bathhouse ... Got 1st - 7th grade bath houses ... 1st grade is the lousiest grade ... @ the bottom of the hills ... They have nice nice views .. but the hotspring water is actually filtered hotspring water from the top of the hills , from other bath houses ( 6th & 7th grade ) ... They just add sulphur powder to enhance the smell of the sulphur to make it more authentic ... Now We know ..

The indoor hotspring bath was really cheap @ NT$300 ( S$15 per room ) and you could soak as long as you like ... Compared to the other low-grade hotsprings using recycled water charging @ NT$3000 ++ for a nice view + recycled water ... this was really the common Taiwanese Hotspring Bathhouse ...


You can see two partitions in this picture ... the one I am soaking in ... is HOT spring water ...stinks of pungent sulphur .. and the water is really milky ... milky from the sulphur ... while the other pool is for bathing ..and the water is DAMN COLD !!


I gek kiang ... soak in hot water .. immediately switch to icy chilly mountain water .... Wah ... I felt giddy and light-headed ... buay tahan ... could really feel the blood running anyhow in the vessels .. half hot half cold ... cannot make it ...



After a good bath .... we decided to Go YangMingShan .... And we ACTUALLY DIDNT REALISE that we were already @ YangMingShan ... near the YangMingShan National park !

Enroute to YangMingShan National Park... we climb climb climb .. based on instinct ... with no map for reference ... But a kind-hearted motorist kindly showed us the way up ...

We stumbled upon "Generalissimo" Chiang Kai Shek 's hill-top Office .. a series of nice cottages for him and his bodyguards ...

The cottages have been converted into an art museum and some art studios for the local artists .. I guess we were really quite lucky to stumble upon this quiet arty place ..that holds historical value ...

After some much climbing up a slope ... we managed to find the entrance to YangMingShan National Park !!! It was a sunny but windy day ... ( Note the HOT Sunny weather now ! )

We walked around and explored the uber big National Park !! OH MY GOD !! Big Big mountain ridges !!

To our pleasant surprise , we found a statue of " Uncle YangMing " ... Mr Wang Yang Ming ... YangMingShan was simply fresh Air All around ...

We saw a little squirrel , we saw a little stream with really cooling water flowing down ...( so cooling I was tempted to slurp it ) ...a garden full of falling leaves in anticipation of the coming winter ...

The bright sunny yet windy weather was really enjoyable ! and the girls enjoyed the unique tapioca , peanut, lime ice-cream ... Really Yummy !!

The Ice-cream auntie told us abt the YMS waterfall ... and so We went in search of the waterfall !!

After the waterfall , we managed to grab a bus up to the peak of YangMingShan ... That was the REAL ADVENTURE !!!!

The Busfare was NT$15 per person ... and it sent us right up to the peak !

The Journey up was really REALLY REALLY SCARY !!! As the bus drove up the winding roads of YMS ... the fog started to blur up the road ahead !! There were only 4 of us + the bus driver ... and we started to get worried !!

BUT THE UNCLE DIDNT SLOW DOWN !! Instead ... he accelerated !! and the girls started to chatter and yak yak yak nervously !!

The Fog was getting so bad that we couldnt see the vehicle DIRECTLY in FRONT OF US except for its tail-lights .. but the driver STILL DIDNT SLOW DOWN !! We then realised he followed the road markings blindly on the road ... to guide the bus up ...

We finally reached the peak of YMS , @ a place called XiaoYouKeng ... It was really really cold and misty ... vast difference from the bottom of YMS ... and I finally had the chance to use my windbreaker .... 811 metres above SeaLevel ... Foggy , Cold , Misty and EXCITING !!! ( Fotos are original and unedited ) ... Zu Ren even told us that if we were lucky ... It would actually Snow on YMS !!

After some much enjoyment up @ XiaoYouKeng ... it was time to go DH downhill ... as it was getting dark @ 1600H ++ ( early dusk during winter ) ..

We GOT CAUGHT IN A BLOODY JAM FOR 1.5 hours ... that really got us all shagged ... and we took naps on the bus .

We were SO HUNGRY we decided to alight @ Shih Lin Night Market again !! hoHoHo !! It is really our favourite NightMarket in Taipei !! With the best food , best entertainment Taipei has to oFfer !!

ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS HOTPLATE Beef steak , Pork Chop Spaghetti , that comes with a soup and drink @ only NT$120 Only !! S$6 ... and it is yummy !!!

Took their MRT .... really really impressed ... We saw a PHENOMENON that would put us Singaporeans to shame !! OH MY GOD !!

The Taiwanese actually queue up in orderly manners to board the train !! BOARDING THE train during Peak hour was a breeze ( 1830 Hours PEAK hour ) ... They waited for the passengers to alight before they boarded the train ! Everyone juz stood within the demarcated zones !!

And there was this life-saving gantry that our Dear SMRT time and time refused to install , that clearly prevented people from falling / climbing over .... Oh man .. with such order and civic-minded in Taiwan .. who would wanna jump traintracks ??

Anyway ... we went to WuFenPu ... the Most Scariest Place that I hate everytime we go Taipei .... The 1st Taipei tripin July 2006 , we went to WufenPu and Got stuck there in the Typhoon weather for nearly 4 hours ??



This time round Dec 2006 was slightly better because it was winter season ... The gals had lesser choices to choose from ... So they spent about 2.5 hours there ... and Poor Marcus juz stone there everytime ...



The girls' Heaven became Marcus's Hell ... Lots of women's clothes @ Uber cheap prices ( 1 whole set of clothes @ S$5.00 only ) ... and very FASHIONABLE !! Just like what you would See in Bugis !


Total Hours Clocked for Day 03 >> 14 hours


** XiaoMaGe wishes Everyone a Very Happy and Prosperous NEW YEAR !! **

HUAT AH !!!!!!!