Friday, 20th May 2011 From Kaohsiung, we travelled 100km south towards the city of Kenting where our homestay, url=http://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/ShowUserReviews-g297909-d1215848-r109474062-Farm_Guest_House-Pingtung.htmlFarm Guest House was located. Rightfully, Kenting was on our last stop for our tour in Taiwan even though we would still be heading back to the city of Taichung for our finale, back to where we first started 8 days ago. "回到最初的起点, 有始有终. 回台湾走走2011, 让大家重新认识台湾. 对于新朋友，我希望他的回忆是美好的!" After more than 2 hours on the road, It was slightly after 1pm today when we finally reached our guest house. From there, it was a short 5 minutes walk to the Kenting Main Street where we had our meals while waiting for our room to be ready. As usual, the rains that accompanied us over the past few days continued on. We never failed to carry our brollies (loane... read more

Thursday, 19th May 2011 We got off to an early morning start at the Taiwan Sugar Museum (MRT: Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station). Located at the northern suburbs of Kaohsiung, this was a disused sugar refinery which operated during the Japanese Occupation. The factory buildings were now restored and the surrounding compounds converted into a large open space. The public was welcomed to roam around the premises for free. The major highlights of our visit was a chance to pose pictures (plenty of them) with the outdoor train cars and locomotives displays next to the main gate. Train buffs would certainly appreciate their visits to this quiet museum and come weekends, visitors could even enjoy an electric train ride experience for a small fee. No visits to the Sugar Museum would be complete without a serving of ... read more

Wednesday, 18th May 2011 After lunch today, we were off to Xiziwan (西子湾) MRT Station (on the tail of the orange metro line) for our onward journey to Cijin (旗津) Island. On our way to the ferry terminal, it was hard to miss the Mother of all ice shops, 海之冰. For this shop was regularly featured on many Taiwanese shows and highly recommended by our Taichung cabbie, Mr Zhou. As usual, like most places we visited in Kaohsiung, crowds were thin at 海之冰 and it was easy for us to locate a table. And as usual, with our "kiasu" mentally, we ordered a multi-flavoured (综合水果冰) fruit ice. For NT 180, the generous serving was large enough for our party of 4. My only gripe was that it would be perfect if the ice shavings were as ... read more

Some of the most commonly used local lingo the visitor might encounter in beautiful Taiwan. Start practising for your next trip =) 1) 不好意思 – “Excuse Me”. It is very common to start a conversation with “Excuse Me” in Taiwan even when requesting for a service or asking for directions. This is similar to “Sumimasen” used by the Japanese. 2) 捷运 – Literally to mean “Fast Moving”. Refers to the MRT system in Taipei & Kaohsiung. We call it 地铁 in Singapore. 3) 优游卡 – Or “Easy Card”. Is similar to our EZ Link card valid for use on all public transportation rides and at convenience stores. There is an added 20% discount when using the Easy Card to pay for the MRT rides. 4) 公车 / 客运 – “Public Buses” as they are more commonly ... read more