Taiwan trip 2014 day 3 28 feb 2014 (Hehuan shan, cingjing, taichung)

March 13, 2014

Taiwan trip 2014 day 3 28 feb 2014 (Hehuan shan, cingjing, taichung)

Without any winter clothings or more clothing for layering ( we left our luggage at fengjia guesthouse) I have to resort to wearing my pyjamas since that's the only pants I have...

So this was going to be my attire for the morning... hope no one would notice what I was wearing
we were told that there will be jackets on the bus if we do not have enuff clothings

The driver picked us up at exactly 430am .. While walking up to the main building at 428, the ple started calling my hp...zzzz. We depart exactly at 430am... On the way the driver made a few stops for us to do some star grazing.. Our tour guide also the driver wasn't so gd at presentation n I learnt nothing from him (the tour was booked by starry night) mr Cheong and I managed to mingle among the other tour group n learnt a lot Abt star grazing and even got to know that there is an amazing app around... Available for android phones only though... We managed to borrow the galaxy tab from the other tour group's guide lol n played with that app for quite a while...

After a few "star grazing" stops, we reached Taroko National Park area

We were nearing our sunrise area

My pyjamas being exposed here... :x

It was 0.3 degree... N guess wat coz our guide drove a small bus that day there wasn't any jackets on board though by right they should be providing (according to the lady boss of starry house). I saw all other bigger coaches providing a jacket for each of their members though they themselves are wearing such thick jackets already ... With so many layers they were still complaining that it was freezing n tried to hide here n there. Our grp mates another 2 Singaporean couples were in winter wear but they were so cold that they dun really want to go for the star grazing stops with 1 girl refusing to alight at all till we reach our destination

Hehuan shan (合欢山）

Though the sun rise wasnt that really spectacular but I would say that the trip was worth it due to the beautiful scenery

After sunrise, the driver send us back to hotel for breakfast. This sunrise tour cost 400nt each...

Our breakfast set served by Starry House. It was just enough for me.. I think I have a great appetite! We checked out immediately after breakfast and took our last photo at Starry House before they give us a ride to Green Green Grass Land. Our last spot at Cingjing.

(we really travelled light isnt it? These are everything we had with us.. including some loots)

清境農場 Green Green Grassland

The moment we reached the farm we were told that the show wil start soon and we need to walk to the stage soon. It was a 200-300m walk.. Upon arrival at the show area, we were greeted by many "meh meh"

The show is gd. Gd for especially ple like us who stays in the city.. After the show, they actually let the sheep mingle with the ple. The sheep are left to wander about in e farm...

There is a market place in the junction between 2 sections of the farm ... We had a quick lunch there ...

Next we took the cherry blossoms walking trail

N the 499 ++++++ steps trail... My legs became wobbly after that

Finally time for us to go back to Taichung....

We went back to the new guest house for a bath n quick rest before going to fengjia market for food n shopping again...not exactly new but it was going to be a different room and not the one we stayed in the other day

So food here we come,

To our surprise, Fengjia night market was as crowded as it could be. It was so crowded that it was actually difficult to walk. We just flowed with the crowd.

Our first stop was this shop at a corner. Even though it didnt have a good location but there were still many hungry customers waiting for their food like us.

The shells were pretty fresh. we were at the outskirts of Fengjia night market and noticed a super long queue. Andy idea what's these people are queuing up for? I would let you know if you follow my Taiwan 2014 travelogue :)

We chanced upon the stall in the below pic. It was found just outside a small restaurant.We were thinking what was this 豆乳鸡 but it was actually just something like pop corn chicken. Mr Cheong didnt quite like this as it was cold and not even warm :(

was very tempted to get 地瓜球. I remembered that I have ate this before during my previous trip but I just cant remember how it taste.

bought a packet to try and I was totally regretful. First, the packet was really small.

I think the packet only contained at most 10 balls. which means that each balls cost about S$0.10

2nd, the balls were hollow.. So it didnt worth a single cent at all.

Mr Cheong suddenly had craving for 卤肉饭, so we went around searching for 1. It was actually quite difficult to find a stall selling 卤肉饭 at Fengjia night market. We managed to find 老客户之家. They were quiet crowded and we almost could not get the 卤肉饭 which Mr Cheong craved for. We got the last bowl.

Besides 卤肉饭, we also ordered the meatball soup (贡丸汤). The 卤肉饭 was pretty disappointing. The amount of 卤肉 given was too little. The taste wasnt that good either. I wasnt sure if the little amount of 卤肉 was due to it being the last bowl or no. Still in search for food, we by passed a cake shop. Cant remember the name of this cake shop only remember it as "royal XXX" I was attracted by the sight of the pastel coloured macarons. Besides the beautiful colours, the macarons on sale were slightly larger than the usual ones found in Singapore. We decided to go into the shop to take a look. Mr Cheong wanted me to get some sweets from this shop as a reward for accompanying him on a foodhunt in Taiwan again :)

Upon entering the shop, we were greeted by not only the sweet voices of the sales assistants but the aesthetically pleasing colours. I always wonder why even when we have higher labour costs, our confectioneries were unable to produce this kind of standard.

Didnt know what I should get. So decided on a raspberry macaron which is both pleasing to the eyes and my taste buds

Next, comes the strawberries with condensed milk. I didnt realise, Mr Cheong cant stand condensed milk though he is ok with condensed milk in his tea and coffee and I though we had eaten this before during our previous trip to Taiwan.

Also to add, I think this is a very unique way of eating strawberries, I have not seen any other country consuming strawberries this way. And since, Mr Cheong didnt really like the condensed milk, I finished up the strawberries myself :P

Along the way, we saw a store selling dumplings and it wasnt too crowded, so we took a seat and enjoyed the dumplings. The dumpling itself taste ok but instead of the usual vinegar and ginger, the store served soya sauce and garlic as condiments.... weird taste!

Back to within Fengjia night market, Mr Cheong decided to get 猪宝盒. though there was a queue. We were given a number tag and once the food is ready, the staff would shout out the number for us to collect our food. However, the number calling stopped at 32.. Apparently, what the staff was trying to do was to 'self create' a queue. We saw that there was a box which could have been served to us but instead of doing so, he continued to call out to attract new customers and taking in orders.

While waiting for 猪宝盒, i went to the stall just beside it to get a 胡椒饼. It was steaming hot and very peppery which I didnt really like.

Finally, our 猪宝盒 was being given to us. It is considered as quite high end in terms of pricing in Taiwan's night market standard. EAch box costs NT80 but we felt that it was worth it. It was filling and quite yummy

Lastly, to end off our foodhunting for the day, we bought the animals-shaped 鸡蛋糕. They came in various shapes and rooster was just one of them.

Also to add, besides just foodhunting, eating and eating, I have also bought 4 tops and 2 bottoms at NT100 each. Very good bargain isnt it?

After all the walking we went for a massage at 弘安按摩.

Everyone is blind there... Didn't really like my Masseuse I thought she had fallen asleep during the process.... as she touches my legs. Yes! literally touching my legs. I would have thought she was molesting me if she was a male...0

After a long day... Time to sleep..

For more photos of Day 3 : Day 3 Photos

My Taiwan 2014 travelogue