Taiwan Discoveries

Hi there,

While preparing for our family vacation to Taiwan, I trawled the web for information and came across many useful tips on various blogs. So in 'paying it forward', I have put together some little useful observations/tips I have gathered.

1) If you are planning a visit to Taroko Gorge, it would be a good move to stay a night or two in Hualien. From Huailen, do hire a cab and driver to take you to the Gorge. Depart early in the morning to avoid the busloads of tourists.

We had a great stay at the Hotel Bayview in Hualien. It is a small hotel located by the beautiful Chi Hsing Tan beach and definitely lives up to the great reviews it has garnered. Do make time to cycle along the beach. The hotel provides bicycles free of charge.



Cycling Paths by the beach

2) When visiting Taroko Gorge, it would be handy to have torches and ponchos.
Our 2 teens thoroughly enjoyed the trek along the "BaiYang Waterfall Trail". It is a 2.5-3h round trip which takes you through 8 tunnels, some of which are so dark you can't see your hand in front of you! (hence the need for torches).

The last of the 8 tunnels along the Baiyang Trail is actually a cave -- Water Curtain Cave. Remove your footwear, don your poncho and enjoy the feel of your feet splashing through icy cold water, walking through 'water curtains'....while the sound of the gushing waterfall envelopes you....It was the highlight for all of us....and a great bonding experience for the family.
We wouldn't have been able to enjoy this had we followed a tour bus....so do remember to ask the taxi driver to bring you to this "Bai Yang Bu Dao" (chinese pronunciation) trail.

3) Another favourite part of the trip was the ride on the Pingxi Branch Railway Line. If you have a day to spare while in Taipei, this is a great day trip. There is a wealth of information about the quaint old towns along that you can visit along this line, but if you are venturing on your own, please note the following to save some hassle:

• You CANNOT use the 'Easycard' on the Pingxi Line. However, you can use the Easycard to take the train to Ruifang Station.
• Instead of buying the Pingxi Line ticket at Ruifang where there's a long queue...you can also buy the ticket at Counter 12 at the Taipei Main Station.
• Remember that you have to 'tap out' with the Easycard at the 'tap terminal' located on the Ruifang Station Platform itself, just before you hop onto the train heading on the Pingxi Line. (From then on, you will be using the Pingxi ticket.) There is no need to exit the station.
  If you do not 'tap out', you might find yourself being unable to 'tap out' at the station where you started your journey from (eg. Taipei Main Station).
  You would also have to 'tap in' on the Ruifang platform on your return journey.
• Do catch the early train which departs Ruifang before 9am to avoid the tourist crowds which descend later in the day.
• The trains on the Pingxi line do not run very frequently. If you don't want to end up just 'waiting for the train', do check the train timetable at each stop for the timing of your departing train before you eagerly run off to explore the town.

 

 

Most visitors come to these quaint little towns to 'release lanterns'. 'Everyone else' seems to do it at Shifen...but if you would like to avoid the crowds, do it at QingTong (the very last stop on the Pingxi Line)...it costs the same but without the 'maddening crowd'.

Put insect repellant! During our visit this June, there were mosquitoes!

Pingxi Old Street

This railway track running in between the rows of shophouses must have been photographed a million times!

Shifen waterfall -- a mini Niagara of sorts (It's a 30 min walk from the station!)



 Hope the above information is useful for you when you are planning your free and easy trip to Taiwan!

Serena

An Abundant Life

A colleague will be leaving us soon to pursue her studies overseas. Even though we've hardly spent time together or had conversations that extended into our personal lives, I've always felt an affinity towards her, especially since we both graduated from the same discipline. There was a sense of understanding, perhaps a connection that could have grown into friendship.

But the days at work are always passing in a whirlwind of activity, movement and often, urgency. Since we never had to work together on any projects, there was no chance to meet over coffee nor little conversational interludes when we might have just talked about ourselves. Perhaps my tendency to compartmentalise work and personal life just so that I could be efficient and objective has cost me precious opportunities to bond or build relationships with others...?

Well at least for C, I will write her some heartfelt well-wishes before she goes on her way: that wherever she goes, she may enjoy a life of abundance, one filled with friendship, laughter, warmth, peace and love.

And that's my hope for all of you as well.

Sheon

Crafting Adventures in Taiwan

Hi there,

We've just returned from a lovely family vacation to Taiwan. It was an added bonus to find some craft insipiration such as these:

These lovely crochet items were being sold in a shop which stocked a wide range of gifts -- the sign says they are all 'handmade'. Lots of inspiration here!



This lovely shop uses beautiful silk brocade fabric in all the items sold -- such a wide range and of course, ideas abound!

(For those of you interested: the quality is good and the shopkeeper is very friendly -- location: between exits Y16 and Y18 at the mammoth underground mall beneath Taipei Main Station)

Most of you would know that one of the reasons I love crochet as a craft is how 'mobile' it can be. As usual, I brought along a new project and you can see its really 'humble' beginnings.

Love how this stitch makes it look like it's knitted!

Guess where I was crocheting? It's a first for me....crocheting here...in a cable car!

At slightly more than S$2 per way, this 4 km long Mao Kong cable car ride is a nice change from the hustle and bustle of busy cosmopolitan Taipei. It is also great that they have crystal cabins which you do not need to pay extra to ride in. Do queue for one if you're not afraid of heights!

 

station at the top of Mao Kong -- a tea-growing region

the hillside is dotted with quaint teahouses which serve good food and fragrant tea

That's all for now. Look out for more travel photos in my next post.

Meanwhile, have a great weekend!

Serena

 

On The Road 2

Hi everyone,
Tomorrow marks the start of a busy time in school and at work for our family.
But we are so glad for the opportnuity to recharge and spend time together the last couple of weeks. Our driving trip to Malaysia was truly a delightful one and far exceeded our expectations in many ways! Though the journey was long and the pleasures simple, we bonded as a family as we trekked through muddy forests, ate strawberries or huddled up under blankets to watch TV together in our cosy apartment up in the highlands. The experience reminded me that a family holiday should be an opportunity for slowing down and creating shared experiences rather than simply jetsetting off to expensive or exotic destinations only to feel rushed or overwhelmed by a packed itinerary. Less is indeed more!

sheon  

On The Road

Our family of five will be heading up north tomorrow, on a driving trip to the cooler climes of Cameron Highlands followed by some retail therapy in Kuala Lumpur. When the boys were younger, driving trips to neighbouring Malaysia were our preferred holiday style - you can carry everything (including all the peripherals needed for 2 small children) easily in the trunk, play any music you like, take rest and food stops whenver the fancy strikes and spend lots of time in close proximity bonding (and often fighting!) with your sibling, surrounded by your favourite cuddlies and blankies!

Nobody really minded where we ended up... in fact, some of the places we stayed in were simple, rustic and not necessarily filled with spectacular scenery or exciting activities. It was simply the process of journeying together and making the experience up as we went along that we enjoyed so much. Tomorrow's going to be the first road trip for our youngest - we hope it'll be a great start to a new journey together as a family... share with you the highlights soon!

Sheon

On The Road Scrapbook

Hi everyone!
As promised a couple of weeks ago, here's a look at some pages of the scrapbook documenting my recent trip to Macau and Hong Kong.
It was really fun putting the bits of memorabilia together, inserting photos and writing up highlights. I hadn't really thought about a theme or colour scheme this time, being my first attempt, so I guess everything looks sort of mish-mash and random but definitely precious...maybe a little like Macau, where all the unexpected and different come together, though not always in perfect balance...
In fact, this scrapbook is still a work in progress, may slot in additional photos courtesy of my travel companions and write up more thoughts as I go along... the journey remains fresh in my mind!

  

Work is moving along at a rather intense pace and will pick up even more in the next couple of months but I'm already anticipating my next trip - a family driving holiday in June :) Must get the boys involved in collecting stuff for the scrapbook I'm going to make!

Sheon

On the Road snapshots

Hello everyone!
Today I would like to share with you some photo highlights of my 10 day work trip cum mini-break in Macau and HongKong. It was really a rejuvenating time because I had opportunities to learn from professionals in my field, bond with like-minded colleagues and to soak in the way of life at the places I visited. I'm currently working on my scrapbook - trying to incoprorate the bits and pieces I collected during the journey - you'll get to see pictures of that in a later post.

The first part of my trip was spent in Macau, visiting institutions, learning from their best practices and understanding local culture. My i-phone conveniently doubled up as the lenses for capturing views or images that spoke to me most...

 

When the work trip concluded, I was able to meet up with hubby in Hongkong for a few days of couple time! Because we've been here so many times, we decided to go off the beaten track again - we did that last year too when we visited Lamma Island. 
This trip, we explored the quaint island of Cheung Chau, just 45min by ferry from mainland HongKong. With only 20,000 residents and devoid of cars (only bicycles, mini versions of the ambulance and fire-truck are allowed on the narrow streets!), it is really an oasis of laid-back charm.

Wanting to try something a little more vigorous, we also hiked for some 3 hours up the popular Dragon's Back, voted the 'Best Urban Hiking Trail in Asia' by Time in 2004. Reaching the peak at 284 metres, we were rewarded by breathtaking views and awesome winds! Whew!

All in all a wonderful journey, walking alongside (sometimes straggling behind... but he never left me alone for too long :) my life's companion.

I'll be back soon with pictures of my scrapbook-on-the-road. Meantime, leaving you with this beautiful find in Lady's Market - wish I could make one of these someday!

Sheon

On The Road

Hello there

March is a month of busy activity for me! Even as you're reading this, I'm travelling for work in a nearby Asian country - guess where? (p.s this is a scheduled post - I've been away a couple of days now). While I was excited by the opportunity to go on this study trip with a group of like-minded (and fun-loving!) colleagues, it was also difficult leaving my family, especially the littlest one, behind. The upside though, is that my dear hubby will be joining me for a few days of R&R after my work is done :)

I really want to make the most of this journey, given that I'm rarely away from home without my children for so long. Not only in terms of what I'll learn professionally, but also by taking in fully the sights, sounds and people that I'll come into contact with. As the inspiring Ali Edwards says in her online class, travelling is really about sensitising oneself to the experience and perhaps, learning some things about myself along the way... 

So I made this in a bit of a dash (hence the hasty photos) - a scrapbook-to-go, a little receptacle for journalling and collecting bits of memorabilia as I go through each day. 

 

Hope to share with you the completed version sometime soon! 

If you're heading off for a little break yourself, why not put together a book and see where it takes you?

Sheon

Yarn and Garn

Hi there!

It's been busy busy at the office with some staff changes...which meant no crafting time for me...I didn't realise that I would miss it THAT much....sigh

All my fellow crafters out there...what is your response when you stumble upon a little shop stocked FULL of your crafting supplies? I wonder if you put your hands to your face and went 'ahhhhh'.....
Well, that's what I did on our family vacation to Denmark, when, on a day-trip to Aarhus, I stumbled upon this shop while we were walking around in the city... The teen and pre-teen went "oh no" while the photographer/husband  kindly took shots of the shop while I was busy admiring everything in the shop.

I definitely did not plan on buying any yarn (or GARN) on a family vacation, but....who could resist? Especially when such stores are virtually non-existent back home....

More yarn-related stuff from my trip -- this little display of early home-made yarn and even a pattern book was on display at the open-air musuem -- Funen Village in Odense. The musuem features old Danish buildings from the 18th & 19th century, with details about the way of life then. It was a pleasant surprise to see that knitting/crocheting was already around then.

Hope you have a great weekend ahead....

Wishing for crafting time...
Serena