재.

Hi, it's been a week since I returned to SG, & it's amazing; I thought I would procrastinate months to type this :)

So the 5D4N passed really fast and also I got tanner >_< oh well olive skin + rainbow hair. All the planning kinda didn't save me from being bad at directions, but at least we could speak mandarin. Many times we also sought help from the friendly Taiwanese or they approached us just to help. Honestly, I can't imagine Singaporeans to be this kind, too grateful for all the hospitality they show us.

Day 1: we went to the Taipei Zoo and it was scorching like we could probably fry french toast (not eggs) by sunlight. It was an uphill walk too and such a huge waste of energy on no sleep at all :(
#badplanning
The search for Alpaca was fruitless too. they didn't even have any maps in english and the panda house was way too crowded to take any pics.
So after a sweaty morning, we headed to Yongkang Street. The birthplace of Din Tai Fung. And it was a sunday so obviously DTF wasn't a possible option. Settled for Kao Chi, the cheaper alternative instead. Still Dimsums for $8/pax INCLUDING SERVICE % can't be found anywhere in SG. Honestly the street is just full of restaurants/cafes and expensive boutiques.
By then i was already disappointed by the supposed amazing shopping streets of Taiwan.

Was even more disappointed by Wufenpu Wholesale Market. Such a huge place to get lost in but frankly, nothing was my style nor was it that affordable either. A year of taobao-ing (and cheap+good shopping in Korea/Bangkok) made me kinda cheap in the sense since i know they got their goods from TB/ + wayyyy overpriced. PLUS THEY MANUFACTURE THEIR CLOTHES WITH LONG ASS CROTCH LENGTHS. I don't believe asians have 40cm crotches?!? Pretty stupid ugh.

I ONLY BOUGHT ONE PAIR OF PANTS THE WHOLE TRIP. WHICH NOW I DON'T EVEN LIKE. Is taiwan a shopping havan or just a common misconception ugh. I'm not even that picky.

It's a food heaven though. Raohe Market had some nice food yes.

Day 2: Fabric Shopping @ Yongle Fabric Market @ Beimen(GREEN LINE)
This was the best part of my trip. Splurged money on fabric bcos i didn't spend on any clothes. A floor(2nd) of fabric heaven; the 3rd floor was mostly seamstresses @ work and tailoring shops but we found a gem and i bought like 12metres of beautiful fabric from this auntie for less than S$25. This uncle's shop too. It may be deceiving on the outside with the flashy getai fabric. But peer closer and you'll find high quality pvc leather, velvet, textured fabric, plastic pvc and even more interesting textiles. and they were all like $2-$6 per yard. Widths were around 120-160cm which basically makes them all a steal.
I turned my head and bought from each shop and it felt good to be fabric rich.
Well it was hellish to carry that 8kg back to the hotel OTL (in the heat).

Then we met up with my cousins to visit the famous Shilin Market and yes that place has pretty nice food too and lots of way to spend your money except nothing was my style yet again -_-

DAY 3: We got out early/but still over schedule lolol. Walked some distance to get to the famous Yong He Dou Jiang to get their breakfast. The traditional chinese was kinda hard to understand so we just ordered whatever without vegetables bcos who wants to eat veg for breakfast tbh.
I hate eating food when i have no idea what exactly is in it so when it came in a wrapped omelet style i wasn't thrilled :/
And Dou Jiang is like soy bean and frankly it tasted sugarless and bland and basically not worth the hype and our long morning walk. The omelet was average. i expected so much more, but what can you expect when you have no idea what you are ordering?

Took public transport to this amazing amusement park called Leofoo Village. Best place this trip. There were absolutely no queues! Then again it was a Tuesday, but the staff welcomed and operated the ride whenever you want to ride it. It felt like we rented out the park.