Prelude of 6D5N Taipei Free & Easy Trip

This has been our long awaited overseas trip for 2008. In this entry, we will be sharing the chronics of the trip and as well as some photographs.

 

Deciding & Booking..

Since 2006, we have been toying with the idea of visiting Taipei. After studying various options thoroughly, we finally settled on departing for Taipei during Christmas eve and spending 5 nights at there.

 

As usual, we managed all the flight bookings and hotel reservations and trip planning ourselves. It was our first time travelling on a budget airline – JetStar !  Since the trip was more of an eat-shop-look-see trip, we decided on a comfortable 3 star – See You Hotel (Used to be One-Star Hotel – Chong Qing Branch)  which is conveniently located just opposite the Taipei Main Station and can be easily accessed by Taipei Main Station Underground Mall Exit Z10. The hotel had been refurbished in 2006. We booked the executive rooms and the rooms were very well-maintained and comfortable.Thumbs up for this hotel and we will recommend to anyone who is looking for a comfortable & conveniently located hotel in Taipei.

Some Photographs with more Updates to come…

See You Hotel

Scenic View of Wulai

  

   

Keelung Night Market

 

DanShui – Gong Ming St. Night Market

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

九份

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Taipei 101

Maleka – The Historical State

 

Christ Church was constructed in 1753, the structure reflects original Dutch architecture.

  

 

 

 

Dutch Windmill

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fort A Famosa constructed by the Portuguese in 1511

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jonker Street @ Night (Jalan Hang Jebat)

 

Singapore Flyer & River

View of Singapore Flyer from Marina South

 

Point & Shoot Camera

 In 2002, we started off with a 2Meg Nikon Cool Pix 2000. The major problem was the battery life span and the extremely slow refresh rate.

 After 3 years, we have decided to opt for the 6Meg Canon IXUS 60. IXUS 60 carries on the IXUS tradition. Its compact, slim & contemporary design. Till now, IXUS 60 is still one of our sure-must-bring camara.

 

 Semi Pro Consumer Camera

 In 2006, we are a little more adventurous. This time round, we opted for the PowerShot S3 IS. This improved feature-riched monster zoom compact camara caters for beginner as well as for advance users. The advanced user will enjoy the S3′s Program AE, Shutter-Speed priority AE, Aperture-priority AE, Stitch-assist, and Manual exposure modes. The most prominent feature of the S3 IS is its 12x Canon zoom lens, with a focal length coverage of 36-432mm in 35mm equivalence.

 The main weaknesses for S3 was that any photographs taken with over ISO 200 was just too noisy to use. Only if there was a hot shoe, then we did probably still be using S3 now.

Why DSLR ?

 Just 8 months down the road after buying the Canon S3 IS, we felt that we are now ready to upgrade to a digital SLR. But till now, harold still love this camara. Its the best value & feature packed camara or for those who want to get into photography. This is definitely a good start !

 

  Our First DSLR ..

 

Mount Hotham Recount

Mount Hotham is located approximately 357 kilometres north east of Melbourne. The summit rises to an altitude of 1,861 metres above sea level, while Mount Hotham village stands tall at a height of 1,750 metres. Currently Mt Hotham holds the record for the highest annual snowfall of any Victorian resort.

 

We travelled along Hume Highway till to Wangaratta which is situated about 200km north of Melbourne City. The Great Alpine Road starts from Wangaratta and leads all the way to the summit via the township of Smoko, Bright and Harrietville. The winding road clinging to the mountain side up to Mount Hotham can be seen from Bright which is situated in the valley just below Mount Hotham. After the township of Bright is Harrietville.

 

During winter, the road conditions starting from Harrietville to Mount Hotham were very challenging. This secion of the road can get seriously icy and windy during winter. We parked our rented vehicle and hopped onto a 4WD taxi service at Hoys Ski Rentals at Harrietville. The road gradients are often very steep and there are numerous hairpin bends. It ride up was like a roller coaster ride and was an experience for all. Nevertheless, the ascend from Harrietville to Hotham provides one of the most splendid views of the victorian alps.

  

The Township of Bright

 

4WD Transfer from Harrietville to Mt Hotham

 

 Ascend To Mount Hotham

 

 Scenic view along the way to Mount Hotham

  

 Big D is a popular beginners area.

 Sky Lifts at Big D

 

 Cedar Maisonette (Sun Apartment 5) in the heart of Mt Hotham’s Davenport Village. Suns Apartment is right in the snow and is one of the Snow Guarantee accomodation providers. Its is about 200 meters away from the Great Alpine Road.

 

 

 

  

Its the start of the blizzard. Lachen Apartments is just opposite of Suns Apartment.

  

 

 

 After the blizzard

Tiamo Carlton Restaurant

Lygon St after Faraday St

As we passed the buzzling Lygon St, we finally located Tiamo. This crowded buzzy trat had been around for almost 40years and was recommended by coco for its pasta. It was already packed with customers when we reached at 530pm and we were the last 2 patrons who managed to secure seats in the warmth.

 

We ordered fettuccine served with marinara (Marinara is full of seafood bits) and fettuccine with matricina (Tomato Suace with chilli and bacon). Each serving cost us $12.95 each. When our orders arrvied, only did we realised that the 2 main servings of fettucine can fill 4. The pasta was soft yet nicely done up.

 

 

 

 

Tiamo Restaurant @ Carlton

 

    

 

 

Fettucine with Marinara Sauce
Fettucine with Matricina Sauce

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Café Notturno, Lygon St

Our second dinner was again at Lygon St. This time round,we met up with coco at café notturno. The chicken bbq pizza was great. It was one of the best I have eaten. We attempted Chicken Parmigiana too. The cheese on the chicken parmigiana was too cheesy for me. We were captivated by the yummy pizza and went back to café notturno to eat again on our last night before we left for home.

 

 

 

 

BBQ Chicken Pizza

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Chicken Parmigiana (Served with Cheese, napoli sauce and served with thick chips and salad) A$15.70.

 

 

 

  

Lambs
Intersection of Lygon & Queensberry St

Lambs is a Greek restaurant specialising in take-away souvlaki. Lambs’ souvlaki was considered one of the best around in Melbourne. Lambs’ Souvlaki is a grilled wrap with lotssa of salad with succulent chunks of chicken and heaps of garlic sauce. Before we tried Lambs’ souvlaki, we found Stalacties souvlaki awsome. But now we are in for Lambs souvlaki.

 

Daylesford Recount

 

Daylesford is located at about 120km northwest of Melbourne and is the heart of the Victoria’s spa country. Together with the broader town of Hepburn Springs just 5 mins away from Daylesford, these area are renowned for its natural spring spas and its’ luxurious accomodation.

There are always plenty to see and do at the spa country. Well known for its central springs reserve and scenic spot, areas around Lake Daylesford, (a short distance south from the town centre on Vincent St) provide several walking tracks and old-fashioned water pumps from which the visitors can drink the water of the mineral springs.

During first visit in 2002, we sampled the rejuvenating minerals spa at the Hepburn Springs Spa Centre. It was an experience as the group sank to the bottom of the spa baths with a blend of relaxing essential oils (lavender, camomile with milk bath). We also ventured on horse riding on the local trails at Daylesford.

We stayed in Lake Orchard Villa and Boat Shed Villa during our last two visits. Lake Orchard Villa is situated very close to Lake Daylesford and its within walking distance of town next door to Lake House. While the Boat Shed Villa is right at the banks of Lake Daylesford. Staying at these villas truly allow us to relax in luxury and unwind in style.

 

Indeed, the visit to these rural towns had proofed to be truly memorable getaway which one would never ever experience in the tropical island city of Singapore.

 

 

La Porchetta

Fitzroy St, St Kilda

It was La Porchetta which changed my impression of pizza. Before then, pizza wasn’t really my cup of tea. The ones served back home were mediocre. The crust was thick with a sub-standard tomato base. Very often, they were covered with cheese with little ingredients on them. I would be happy to readily pass this Italian food.

 

Our first encounter with La Porchetta was 8 years ago while staying in Queensland. There was a La Porchetta branch at Clayfield village and all my neighbourhood uni mates were equally impressed by the quality of the food at value for money prices. We introduced this chain to our relatives when they visited us in Australia. Even my mom who doesn’t like western food likes something from this store. Every return trip to Australia, La Porchetta is a definite place to dine. After each visit, the gang would leave the restaurant thinking when would we be returning again.

 

8 years had passed and this feeling is still intact. We re-visited the La Porch branch at St. Kilda’s. Knowing that we will be really full, we insisted of ordering an entree size pasta for each of us in addition to the medium BBQ Chicken pizza. We left with our plates emptied.

  
After attempting many pizzas, pizzas from Dominos, La Porchetta & Café Notturno are in the not to be missed list. Their pizzas are just simply AWESOME.

 

As for pasta, so far La Porch is still on the top list.

  

  BBQ Chicken Pizza

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Penne with Marinara Sauce

 

 

 

 

 

Penne with Chicken, Avocado & Mushrooms

Dendy St Beach, Brighton

 

The most famous spot on Brighton’s coastline is the Dendy St Beach. The colourful bathing boxes which line this stretch of coast are a well-known Melbourne bayside icon and reflect a bygone era where swimmers and visitors to the beach had private changing and storage facilities. It is approximately 13km south of City of Melbourne.