November 2006 Archives

This has been a hard travel day so far.

Of course, this day will involve close to 20 hours of flying/flying related time and involves time travel (arriving earlier than I left on the same day!), that makes it even more difficult.

So here is how the first leg of this latest "Longest Day" began:

First off, I had to cross the street to catch the "express basi" that goes to Taipei Taoyuan Airport (the airport formerly known as CKS). Dun sound too bad, right? Wrong! Signage is scarce, but after 20 minutes of stress and searching, I find the exit from the Taipei Railway Station MRT that brings me to the basi terminal (it's exit 9 out of the mall, in case any of you were wondering). Take the lift to the surface before you hit exit 9 because it's all stairs.

And then I promptly pass out on the basi, waking up in time when we arrive at Terminal 1. Check in, passport control and duty free shopping pass as usual. Then I walk onto the plane and take my seat. Routine flight, right?

WRONG AGAIN. Our departure time comes and goes while we have the flight crew AND the ground staff running up and down the aisles with clickers, noting seats and clicking away. It seems that we have a missing passenger who checked bags.

You may now begin paranoid thoughts about bad guys and explosions.

The CX crew does a head count again. One missing. They identify the missing passenger and pull its bags off the plane. Sure enough the moment they finish that, the cow shows up, claiming that she got "lost" on her way to the gate.

Now a clarification on my use of the word "cow" in the last sentence. Imagine a taai-taai gone bad. Very bad. In both taste and in weight. Well, that's how our errant passenger looked like. And as she hustled on the plane, escorted by three CX staff, the amount of dirty looks she got from the now-delayed passengers who were staring daggers would have seriously wounded her. I think the CX staff were there to protect her; if she strolled in by herself, she would have been beaten up by most of the plane.

We finally go wheels up enroute to HKG 1.5 hours late. In other words, we leave TPE when we were supposed to be landing in HKG. I've got stuff to do on my layover and losing close to two hours ain't gonna help!

Christine and I, after our adventures in the country (which ended with me drinking a lot of moonshine, passing out and snoring loudly) made it back safely to Taipei straight to the open doors of Din Tai Fung #1. This is THE original shop which, due to a very busy November with lots of guests, Christine has been to FIVE times this month.

"This is the fifth time I've been here this month"

Because of the late lunch (or early dinner because of the quantity of food), we had supper as I tried to snap out of my moonshine induced blurness. We found out that we could order half servings which fit us perfectly.

Gotta have xiaolongbao! And I even remembered how to eat it correctly!

What else can I say? This is a Din Tai Fung, the soup inside was at just the right temperature, the skins were not too thick and had the prerequisite number of folds on them. In short, heaven!

Christine ordered dumplings with greens inside. Healthy...

These are itty bitty red bean dessert-type dumplings.

Unlike the Din Tai Fung branches I've run into in Singapore, which are more fancy and swish, Din Tai Fung #1 feels more like a modern yum cha place. Seems appropriate considering the cuisine served which is unpretentious and down to earth.

This is where the good xiaolongbaos are!

Of course, after eating various dumplings and downing at least a liter's worth of tea, it was now time for dessert. Down the street from Din Tai Fung is a neat little place called Ice Monster.

This is the original shop...

They have a silly website (watch with the sound on) but the mango was very fresh and the desserts were hella refreshing. It was a perfect end to a busy day, sitting with dessert while watching the people walk/drive/ride scooters by. After this, it was time to head home. One of us had to work at 0800 the next day and the other had to leave for TPE for a long flight back to SFO via HKG. You figure out who had to do what the next day...

Mmmmm...dessert!

Din Tai Fung
194 Xinyi Road Sec. 2
Da-an District
Taipei City, Taiwan
(02) 2321-8928

Ice Monster
15 Yongkang Street
Da-an District
Taipei City, Taiwan
(02) 2394-8279

On my last day in Taipei, my friend and Taipei native Christine invited me for a drive outside of the city for lunch at a "bed and breakfast near the beach". I thought, sure why not? It would be nice to see how the countryside looks since Taiwan is supposed to be pretty scenic. And from what "scenery" I saw in Taipei, I thought that outside should be just as amazing.

So we drove up with a bunch of Christine's friends, one of who was a magazine writer and our contact with the establishment that we were driving up to. We were the third car in a three car convoy that wound up driving out of Taipei and (eventually) up a mountain. The people in front were using the Force to navigate instead of one of those handy dandy GPS units, which would had been more appropriate, I think.

Eventually we found the place. It wasn't really a bed and breakfast, but rather an organic farm/restaurant in the countryside. Of course, Christine came dressed for a "bed and breakfast" meal and I came in sandals appropriate for the beach.

Stylish but not really weather wise

Of course, all this was moot, since it was RAINING! Clouds all around. Wind whipped storm. And the like. And lunch wasn't ready. So the owner of the restaurant suggested that we check out the nearby peak where you could get a view of the ocean. Keep in mind that it's raining and a storm front was going through quickly. So we drove up single lane roads. Scary drops and no guardrails. Before we reached the end of the road and hiked up a hill, umbrellas in tow to the top.

The clouds broke just enough for us to catch a glimpse of the ocean

It almost looks like a painting. It was hella windy and wet, I tell ya!

This is how it looks like when you remove the rain and clouds

Eventually it was time to go back because lunch was ready. So how to go back? Naturally, you go back the way you came. On one lane roads.

Right click here for 13 MB video because it won't upload right to YouTube (not ready yet)

Imagine 25 minutes of this. And this was coming DOWN the mountain. In the rain. In some spots, the rain cleared up enough so that some of the local wildlife came out. We drove past this big fellas' friend so we slowed down, rolled down the window and took his picture.

Bloody tourists...

Eventually, we made it back to the compound where, at 1545 or so, we sat down to a full Chinese banquet, although we didn't know it at the time. We thought it would just be "lunch". The meal began with toasts and drinking of wine coolers, beer and some homemade witches' brew that was allegedly "good for you".

Last time I heard an explanation like that, my grandmother was trying to get me to drink some mystery soup that was black like an oil spill and had mysterious bits in it.

Christine theorized that it was a liquor (yup) with a rice base, like sake. However, what gave it its amber color? What else was in it? No one was telling. I can tell you that we went through (in no particular order): two veggie dishes, a very fresh chicken, little crispy shrimp, fish cakes and a fresh fish. Also more beer and moonshine. A lot more. When the part of the meal came for KTV, Christine and I beat retreat by pointing to the sky (it was dark now) and telling our hosts that we had to head back to the city.

Now I do remember climbing into Christine's truck and her lowering the seat back for me. I don't remember the next 90 minutes as we drove back to Taipei. She said I was out like a light, snoring all the way back. I don't recall that...but I do remember waking up about 6 minutes out from Din Tai Fung. Wah, what timing!

Generally, I dislike advertising, unless it's done right, like in Taipei. Like this!

Now what are they selling? Some hair product, I think.

UPDATE: Here's a site featuring Moe, the model in the advert! Just click on the kana in the middle of the page! And here's her official website! Waaaaah...

Back in August, I visited the Petronas Towers which was the tallest building in the world prior to the completion of Taipei 101 in 2004.

It doesn't look tall but it really is!

Unlike Petronas, which only takes you up to the skybridge midway up, Taipei 101 takes you up to the 89th floor which is closer to the top. 89 stories is hella high! From that height, everything looks like small landscape models.

People live down there...

There's also a recently opened outdoor observation deck on the 91st floor. When I went up there, it was hella windy and there was a storm moving in. But it was neat to be up that high and outside.

Floors 92-101 are for VIP events. Not VI yet so couldn't go up...

I thought Singapore had all the rules!

Taipei 101 also has the world's fastest elevators which are pressurized because they get you to the top in under 40 seconds going 37.5 MPH. If they weren't pressurized, your ears would really pop. And you'd probably get sick too...

Everything you've ever wanted to know about fast elevators

Like Petronas, Taipei 101 has about six floors of mall at the base filled with high end stores, so you can spend a lot of time (and money) here. The food court here is very good and the prices are decent. One difference between these two landmarks is that going up to the Petronas skybridge is free and there's no outdoor deck. Taipei 101 charges NT$350 to the main observation deck and another NT$100 to go up to the outdoor deck. But it was worth it! From the observation deck, you get a commanding view of the entire city. Cool!

So there I was in Taipei last night, waiting for a cross-town basi to get me back to the hostel since the MRT shuts down at midnight.

Waiting 35 minutes in the rain.

Then the 203 Basi comes into view...

and ROARS by at full speed, right past me and the basi stop. Frakkin' basi!!!
Wound up taking a taxi back, NT$220 I could have spent on drinks and food!!

I dun like basi...!

Taipei in its current incarnation is a young city; most of it was built since the end of WWII. There are famous landmarks here that look really old, but were constructed bewteen the 50s and the 80s in the Tang Dynasty style and layout. I visited the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Park that has the CKS Memorial Hall, the National Concert Hall, Theater and two gates that remind me of the layout of Tiananmen Square and its related buildings in Beijing.

The Concert Hall near the MRT

The National Theatre on the other side of the square

So here I am at the newly rechristened Taiyuan Int'l Airport in Taipei sucking in diesel, waiting for another late basi...

They're supposedly building an extension to their MRT that will be done in about four years. A bit late for this trip...or maybe i'm here a bit early.

Actually, if I was looking forward to riding the new High Speed Rail here, I'm allegedly over a week early. Hope it gets finished soon!

Have I ever mentioned how much I dislike riding the basi (bus in Chinese)? I'll say "dislike" as opposed to "hate" for now because in many parts of the world, the basi is the primary mode of transport. But i'm in Hong Kong, a first world colony with a third world master with great infrastructure and at least on paper, good transport options even if you were to choose to ride the basi to HKG compared to the swish Airport Express (mostly due to price and time considerations).

First off, basi have a unfortunate tendency to never be on time. Ever. And when you are waiting at the basi stop, waiting for "your basi", every other basi goes roaring past spewing diesel and dirt onto your freshly showered self. Meanwhile, the basi that is supposed to run "every 15 minutes" is, of course, LATE!!

And that gets me to the topic of basi stops. They're poorly marked and leaves you exposed to the elements whether it be sun or smog. By contrast, rail transport is clearly marked, the stations themselves being landmarks in their neighborhood. People know where the MTR station is but not necessarily where the A11 stop is. There's also a cool factor at work. "Meet me at Mong Kok MTR" is definitely better than "meet me at the Delaware and Glouchester basi stop. And don't forget your hazmat suit and particle mask. And provisions when we are stranded there cuz the basi kanna run on schedule."

Rail generally runs on schedule here. I've never seen or heard of a late MTR train. But i've heard of late A11 basi to HKG. In fact, i'm finally on one. Only waited 25 minutes for a basi that was supposed to arrive in 12. So I'm cutting it close yet again. Figures.

After two consecutive nights that ended in the morning, I'm up early. That means instead of going to bed at 0600, I'm awake at 0600...

Heading off to Taipei today. Part of the "I've never been there" travel series. But it's still early here!

Yawn... *stretches* Yay!

Like all lost evenings, it began with the most innocent of occasions. Well, first it was Friday night, the official start of the weekend. And second, my fren Wallace, who was visiting HKG with our other fren Coy, was flying back to the land of tax (AKA USA) on Saturday. So there were two excuses to debauch!

We began the evening at Alcove, a restaurant located in the upper part of Central. It's a very very small place that serves Beijing style fusion food. The dishes didn't necessarily match like a typical Chinese banquet but it was very good and the decor was funky in a mainland sorta way.

The front door!

Our table was the entire depth of the restaurant! That's how small lah!

I broke one of the rules of food blogging...I put the camera down and enjoyed the meal and the company. If you want to check the place out, call first! It's one of those places that great for a party or great for a date...

Alcove
55 Peel Street
Central, Hong Kong
+852 29759788

We then adjourned for several hours of debauching. Actually, it was from 2300 to 0330. Hong Kong is one of those progressive places where there is NO last call and the owners of the drinking establishments determine when to close. What a concept! Since I was inebriated (that means "drunk") for much of the evening, I don't remember specifics. We went to three different places as a group and I took silly pictures (and drank a lot).

Here's an outtake

Here's the real picture!

This is what happens when you collect for the bill for ten people...and you're smashed!

Wal and Helen. Helen's the one who prepped the hairy crabs...thank you!

Helen and Kevin. They live in HKG. She's from SFO. He's not.

We went on like this, gradually losing people on the way, until we called the evening at 0330. Then Wal, Coy and I got the munchies and wound up in Causeway Bay at some late night place. It was fine for me because I was 5 minutes walking distance from my place. It wasn't so fine for Wal and Coy because they were staying in Kowloon Tong, it's a HK$300+ cabride back & the MTR dun open until 0550. So what do you do to kill time?

You haggle for porn!

and take pretty pictures...

Which way?

To Causeway Bay, of cors!

Back in Hong Kong for 32 hours. And so far I've experienced:

A torrential downpour for 5 hours yesterday afternoon. Home cooked food (thanks Helen!). Old HK movies on cable (God of Gamblers 2). Dessert (mango with sago). Won ton Mein and Daan Taats (they ALWAYS go together). Flaky people (if you can't make it, let people know!). Kopi. Yum cha. High ticket window shopping (LV, Dunhill, Dupont). Star Ferry to HK side (the seksi-est commute in da world!) and the HK Tram. 7.8 kilos of laundry.

And the day's not done yet! Wahahahah.

"The flight is full, so you're being moved to Business Class"...

I heard these words about 20 minutes ago as I checked in for my return flight to Hong Kong.

Amazing!

This is a small part of a themed food court at the new VivoCity mall. Definitely not Panda Express and Sbarro lah! The food here is diverse, cheap and good!

I finally figured out the difference between a food court and a hawker centre. One is quiet and the other has the owners "hawking" their specialities.

So that's the answer to THAT question...

Just some quick observations...

UA still sucks rocks. Horrible experience going HKG-SIN compared to my SQ flight from SFO-HKG. No video on demand. Cabin drier than Las Vegas in summer. Bleagh.

And speaking of the flight over on SQ *swoon*, why is it on EVERY flight I've taken to Hong Kong, regardless of carrier (UA, CX, SQ), there are ALWAYS screaming rugrats in Economy? And why do I always get seated within screaming range of at least three of them?

The sunrise as we were about an hour out of HKG

Not that I have anything against rugrats...they're nice, as long as they're not mine!! WHAHAHAH!

After several stays at The Inn Crowd, I'm staying here this time. Some observations.

Great facilities. Rooms feel like rooms and not a big dormitory. On top of a mountain!

Kick-ass view from the rooftop deck!

Here's the rooftop deck!

Free Nescafe coffee! Got real restaurant next door! Bathrooms MUCH cleaner and nicer. Comfortable beds (not bunk) and decent air con.

Real beds! And a place to keep your stuff, sorta...

Now the bad. DSL slower than dialup. NO WI-FI! Location is a bit removed (meaning a taxi ride or a 20 minute walk to go down the hill). Brekkie for S$7.00 for toast, hash brown cakes, breakfast weenies, apple juice, cereal and diner coffee is just a bit too much.

I did just get here so I will reserve judgement...

It's been a busy week for me, as the week before a trip always is. I think I'm getting better at packing and prepping though.

I'm continuing to follow my "go places I've not been" resolution by visiting Taipei and Guangzhou on this trip in addition to a visit to Singapore. I'll be flying into Hong Kong on SQ, to Singapore on UA (I need da miles!) and to Taipei via CX, which will be the first time I've flown them in over four years!

It feels good to be back on the road.

Speaking of "da road", I was sent a last minute (4 days!) invitation to a party in Los Angeles last week. Flying down for a day plus car would have cost over US$350.00! Even I'm not that desperate for 1000 EQMs!

So I drove. And strangely enough, it wasn't too bad. I spent 12 hours and around US$50 for gas. Stayed at a fren's house and had yum cha the next day in Rosemead.

Always working, always on da phone!

The staple of all yum cha, a dish of good siu mai!

You gonna eat that?

Oh yeah, the party the night before was at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills.

Confetti drop! Lots of green and orange flakes!

And the guest of honor (by a frakkin' landslide!)

I vin again!

Yes, that is Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and this was his Victory Party. This was the best pic I could take with my lil' Ixus using maximum zoom. It's a bit grainy but what can ya do?

Afterwards, it was out poolside in the balmy Southern California night, smoking cigars and enjoying the palm trees (and copious amounts of alcohol).

Yes, this was an inebriated photo again!