CKS Memorial Hall

One of the famous attractions in Taipei, Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall is a national monument erected for the President Chiang Kai Shek who ruled Taiwan for 25 yrs (1950 – 1975). The monument, a white and blue structure, is surrounded by a beautiful park and is framed on the North and South by the National Theater and National Concert Hall.

As soon as we got into the place, I regretted that I skipped this part in my itinerary in my previous visit. The place is utterly beautiful. Other details of the place which I only found out as I do this post (haha!): the roof is blue and octagonal (eight being a lucky number for the Chinese) and the number of steps up the main hall is 89 to represent his age at the time of death. 

The view from above the stairs is simply breathtaking.

The ground level is where you find the library and museum documenting CKS' life and the main hall is where you'll find a large statue of him. We didn't have much time exploring the place for reason below, haha!

Because I traveled with yogini friends, we realized that CKS Memorial Hall is a perfect backdrop for yoga poses. Hahaha!!! P.S. This is my greatest achievement in Taipei, to be able to do the headstand. Hahahaha!!!

Obviously, we didn't have time exploring the main hall because of the photoshoots but we were lucky enough to catch the changing of the guards during our visit - where I realize that aside from finding cute pet dogs in the park, this is also where you find all the good-looking men in Taipei. Lol!

A video posted by @cassey_cakes on Feb 1, 2015 at 1:09am PST

Taipei Day3: Din Tai Fung and Guang Hua

#traveltuesday

This was the last day for Plok and Wen so the plan was not to go somewhere far but instead enjoy a good lunch at Din Tai Fung. Here's a Ped Xing action with the girls otw to the train station, lol!

We were quite early so we didn't have to wait long thankfully for this eternally-hungry-bunch. Lol! I think the branch we went to was the one in Zhongzhan Road. 

Honestly, it's my first time to try that restaurant because I'm not much a fan of beef noodles. But I enjoyed the meal nonetheless specially my favorite sides hakaw. ;)

After that, we had to say goodbye to the SG girls and off we went to Guanghua electronics district to check out their gadgets. Not sure if he's a permanent fixture there but this Golden retriever is just so adorable staying obediently at this spot and welcoming the shop's visitors. You just couldn't resist taking a photo with him.

Look at him in action, haha!

Bong was able to buy something I believe, a power pack, something that I am in DIRE need of and yet stubbornly insisted to refuse to buy. He has an extra anyway, lol! Anyway, cutting the post short here to focus on the next place we went to on the succeeding travel post - the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall. Soon, hopefully. *cross fingers* =))

Subic with Retropop Family

#traveltuesday

Taking a break from my Taipei travelogue to give way to this teambuilding activity held last weekend at Subic with the Retropop instructors of Fitness First. Hope you enjoy the MTV we produced below. :P

Tamsui (Danshui)

#traveltuesday

I could tell that this place is a really good getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city as soon as we stepped out of the train. Let's take in the scenery: there's Danshui river (the third largest in Taiwan per checking) and a view of the mountain (Mt Guanyin).

According to an article, the sunset here is one of the must-sees but unfortunately it was already dark when we arrived. It took us about 40 mins MRT ride from the city after all. Also, taking in everything here would take exactly a day so I guess we didn't see much of everything when we visited. Oh well...

It's not a night market but again what greets you upon arriving are rows of seafood snacks! Yes, food again! This made me question why we don't sell calamares in the streetsas snacks back in PH! That would be so fun! Lol!

One of the notorious snacks I tried here is the so-called Stinky Tofu. I swear the strong odor just simply turns you off. I'm not eating that. It's Randolph's favorite though. Haha!

We spent a considerable amount of time walking and seeing what this place has got to offer. There are free performances, coffee and souvenir shops and you can just tell that it's a really good place for a relaxing weekend stroll. You can notice old buildings too since the Danshui Old Street is a significant place in Taipei history. 

From here, you can a ferry tour to Fisherman's Wharf (where sunset viewing is best), to the Bali Left Bank and Guandu Pier. We opted for Bali Left Bank which is around 10 mins sailing time.

The place is located at the foot of Mt. Guanyin and known for biking. It is actually the most recommended way to explore the waterfront. Again, unfortunately, most establishments are already closing by the time we arrived. The beach would have been fun too.

The food that caught my interest here is this oyster omelette in one of the restaurants. I ordered one for brekky the next day. Haha!

The part we enjoyed the most was tasting the different fruits Taipei has got to offer. They have sweet mangoes and makopa (wax apple) - something I hadn't eaten in a loooooooooong time! 

It was a night of endless walking with barely seeing anything, lol. Plus the travel time all the way to the North coast took its toll on us. We were all really knackered by the time we reach home but still made time for some wacky shots while waiting for each other's turn on the foot massager/ eating the fruits we bought at the living room. Lol!

Tomorrow offers another itinerary-less day for us. Lol! Next!

Taipei Day1b

#traveltuesday

After devouring that sinful strawberry ice cream waffle at Lugo Cafe in Taipei 101, off we go to our next point of interest - Maokong Gondola station. By this time, it has started to drizzle which will hamper the almost sunset view but it did not dampen everyone's spirit. Naks! Haha! But mainly this is also because the main agenda is what lies at the end of the gondola - the tea shop!

This is the part when I realized that we are really getting old, lol! I mean, yes we are pressed for time since the SG girls (Plok and Wen) have a rather shorter stay than ours but foregoing the view just to get to a tea shop is something uhmm adults with a purpose do. Right? Lol. Anyway, it'd not like we haven't ridden a cable car all our lives. Toinks! Haha!

The distance between the two attractions is quite long since the gondolas are located in the suburbs. The travel time took almost an hour. And because I was bored on the way... (lol!)

It had started to rain when we reached the Maokong station. In here, you can also find the Taipei zoo, something we didn't have time for. The gondolas used the theme Hello Kitty (around Dec 2013) to boost its operations as a result I guess of a closure for 16 months due to a safety concern. Of course this is something I only found out as I write this post today which also explains why we're so happy that the gondola ride which covers a total of 4 stations is very cheap. The news article I read also cited that it is losing money. How sad. But anyway, to some happy pics,

We wanted the transparent cable car but it can only accommodate 5 people, so...

A video posted by @cassey_cakes on Feb 3, 2015 at 3:44am 

Maokong station, the last of the four, is popular for tea culture and for viewing the night scenery of Taipei city. This is also the go-to place for hiking and climbing. Honestly, they were just there to buy the teas. But the saleslady is keen to give us a lecture on tea ceremony so we all sat down and observed. Afterwards, it's time to practice...

A video posted by @cassey_cakes on Jan 30, 2015 at 3:10am PST

And then there were more adult conversations on our way back, talking about our life, our statuses while munching on some green tea nougat...Gaaaah! 

or ourF last stop on Day 1, what better way than to cap it off with a night market visit? I figured some of my friends weren't prepared for the weather (haha!) so it's wise to spend them clothes here. Also, finally I got to try all the xiao chi (small eats) they had to offer since I didn't explore much of it on my first visit.

It turns out you don't need a proper sitting down dinner when you go to night markets in Taipei. These attractions have got a lot to offer. There were so many delicacies to try - from the Hot Star deep fried chicken, the calamaris (gosh I wish you can just buy it from the sidewalks here too), the free taste of ginger teas..to uhm weird looking popsicles (below)...EVERYTHING! They will leave you full right after. In short, my diet was ruined. Lol! It is truly an experience not to be missed!

We were divided into two groups because of different shopping needs and we took time buying stuffs - something that the men weren't happy about. Haha! Anyway, it was a really long day with lots of walking so back in our apartment we were all just grateful for this little machine - we took turns using it. =D

This ends my Day 1 post. More to come =)

Three Looks in Seoul

#threewaythursday

Anyong Haseo! =) Presenting my OOTDs in Seoul for 3 days! Check my other blog for a detailed blab. It's here.

Seoul 2015

#traveltuesday

CNY at Tagaytay

#traveltuesday

Spent the Chinese New Year holiday at Tagaytay with my co-workers. We traveled Wednesday night, drank and KTV'd 'til 4 (well mine was coffee, lol!), slept in the car and lastly went to Sky Ranch the next day. =) Story of my #ootd post here. :P

A video posted by @cassey_cakes on Feb 18, 2015 at 10:36pm PST

Taipei 2015

#traveltuesday

The best food adventure with the best foodie friends, haha! :D More stories soon. :)

Al Bastakiya

#traveltuesday

If there is one reason for me to come back to Dubai, it would be to explore further the Al Bastakiya quarter.

Kervin and I originally planned to go to the Gold Souq on a Thursday afternoon but figuring out that we wouldn't make it in time because of the rush hour, decided to stop by Al Fahidi street to check this out and find something to fill in my itinerary.

But to steal a line from an author, Bastakiya is a picturesque step into Dubai's past. I knew it the moment I stepped into its narrow lanes and saw those strange structures that are wind towers. It's a glimpse of the  old Dubai - a respite from everything man-made I saw in the last days.

So guess who were the earliest residents of this place? It was actually established in early 19th century by merchants from Bastak, Iran. Iranians. Hmmmm, interesting. Lol. The wind towers are actually an architectural feature of buildings in South Iran. Original residents also earned money from pearl diving from the saltwater creek here known as Dubai Creek.

This is the beautiful courtyard of Sheikh Saeed Al-Maktoum House. Al Maktoum is the name of the dynasty of the original tribes of settlers here. This is a building for cultural understanding and Nat Geo recommends to start with the breakfast tour which if obviously something I missed already. Boo hoo. =,(

Again to quote Lonely Planet, this place is magical to explore. It's just so sad, there were still a lot of things to check out like the art galleries, the old city wall, the mosque, the dive center and the restaurants at night. It would've been lovely indeed to try some Arabian tea or coffee here. Sigh.

But as it is, Kervin and I were only able to explore the cultural house with its coin and stamps collections. I mean, even Kervin who's been working there for years now was mesmerized with the place. Obviously, it was his first time to visit. Haha!

It was almost time for the sun to set when we got out of Al Bastakiya. Less than five minutes of driving and we had to stop again to take in the beauty of this metro station close to the quarter - Al Ghubaiba. 

Seriously? How pretty is this park? Why don't we have it here? Lol!

I really wish to come back here soon. =)

Burj Khalifa

#traveltuesday

The tallest of towers are often used as transmitters for broadcasting or communication purposes. So as an electronics/ communcations engineer, I can't help but develop a liking for visiting them. Besides, the view is always spectacular at the top! ;) 

So Burj Khalifa is officially the 3rd tower that I have visited after seeing Malaysia's Petronas and previous tallest tower record holder Taipei 101 (2004 to 2010). At 2,722 ft, this skyscraper which was previously known as Burj Dubai is now the tallest man-made structure in the world.

Because the tower holds a lot of other records and world-firsts, it deserves the local phrase of "Ikaw na". Haha! The purpose behind the construction is to diversify the oil-based economy into something tourism-related which I can say is realized especially after Dubai won the right to host the World Expo in 2020 just a month before my visit (Nov 2013).

The  observation deck is at the 124th floor and you will be whisked away by the record-holder (again!!!) elevator there in just a matter of 60-seconds! Best viewing time is during the sunset or sunrise I suppose but I didn't get that chance (it is always fully booked in advance) so I highly recommend to purchase your tickets online VERY early here.

The observation deck is 36 floors away from the topmost (160 stories in total) so I am really curious how it feels up there. Haha! Most of the pics from the deck would feature this prominent building below - this is The Address hotel by the Dubai mall - a 5-star hotel that is "always in vogue" according to their website. Haha!

It is said that on a clear day the tip of the spire can be seen by a person 95 km (60 miles) away. A person in the Observation Deck can see as far away as 80 km (50 miles).

Here's an instavideo I took during my visit,

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They recommend a good one hour of lingering by the deck to take in the sight and learn more about other points of interests from the telescope. Or in my case, since I was traveling alone, to spot someone good enough to hold your camera and take a nice picture of you. Hahaha! The lady here was kind enough to take more than two or three shots. ;)

Even with my booked schedule of around 3 in the afternoon, I believe they are not strict enough that it is possible to stay 'til sunset (not really sure though). But my problem was how to kill time up there. So in the end I just decided to catch the number one attraction in Dubai (according to Tripadvisor) - the fountain show at Dubai mall which is located just below this tower. Lol. I will blog about it on the next. Meanwhile, here's a pic of me and the tower. =)