We have reach Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA

After 24 hrs, 21000km aka abt 1200 miles on the plane, 8 pieces of luggages, both Mr Ong and myself have arrived safely at our destination: Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.

Mr Ong is starting his semester on 8th Sep 09 in the University of Michigan (UM)... and if nothing goes wrong we shld be back to Sunny SG by Xmas next yr :)

Our apartment is located in the North Campus where most of Mr Ong's classes will be held at.. and its located away fr the Central Campus which is great as it cld get really rowdy once the term starts with the undergraduates.... especially on Football Saturdays.. UM had a bad yr last yr but they are still pretty much one of the top team in colleage football.. and hopefully they will do well.. if there are still tickets left, we might catch them live in action in their 100,000 seats stadium...

Most of the household items, appliances. drinks, groceries are all being bought.. well i guess u can say we are all set to go.. muahahah

Spoke to mummy and daddy once since we reached.. heheh most likely to call them during the wkends ba... heheheh


So far loving it here...Ann Arbor is a Colleage town.. because of UM, the town is alive.. ppl here are able to work and earn money because of UM... and because is a colleage town, everything here is pretty laid-back.. ppl here are damn friendly and helpful... pace is slower compared to SG, where everyone is rushing and always complaining 24hrs is never enough.. ppl here are more relaxed, open-minded, friendly, helpful, competitive in a good way... and u dont see 'kiasu' ppl here... muahahhahaa...

even the homeless ppl here are properly dresses and they dont look any different fr us... they will politely asked if you have any spare change for them, and if u say no, they still thank you and wish u a gd day!! they do not pester you at all.. not too sure why they do that but its diff in Asian countries..where they will bug you and pester you till u almost give in.. if u dont they stare and sometimes curse as if you owe them a living....

So far the weather has been great.. and im loving it here...

Farewell (Last week in SG)

After our Taiwan holiday, we realise that we do not have much time left for farewell gatherings with our beloved families and frens.... and also not much time to complete the to-do list and to-eat list in SG...

but never-the-less, we still had a bunch of gatherings, which 99.9% are food-related.. my last 10 days in SG was so full that i was fed like big meals for lunch and dinner almost everyday... its was damn full but at the same time sad, as i'll not have the same
food for quite a while....

We had a fare-well bbq at my parents place and sweet Betsy and Ruifan made a photoframe, consisting of the most unglam and cutest pictures of our 12 yr frenship.. its now sitting on the table of our living room here in MI... not forgetting the warmers and the thermal pack as well a the full box of masks.. we are touched and will nv forget....

 

also tks to hazel-mom-to-be for shopping for the beautiful and warmth gifts on behalf and also the scraping photos.. love it to the max!!!!

Also would like to thank all the well wishes fr all... ur wishes to us will be with us throughout our stay and to keep us fr home sick...

to our families, lucky for the Skype technology that we cld call bk as often as we could... we miss you already....

Taiwan Holiday - Day 9 (4th Aug 09)

Day 9:

Last day is Taiwan.
Last Taiwanese style breakfast.

Last round of photo taking of the beautiful country style resort...

Last day of holiday and back to SG...

No more yummy & cheap street hawker food...
No more exciting rollor coaster rides..
No more beautiful sun rise & sun set...
No more breathe-taking sceneries...



We board the bus back to Tai Zhong where we took another bus to the Tao Yuan Airport for our evening flight back to SG..


We spend every penny of our NTs on Mr Ong's tea-time noodles + my fav green tea latte + Mr Ong's ice blended chocolate + mango cheesecake fr Starbucks at the airport before take off....

 

Taiwan Holiday - Day 8 (3rd Aug 09)

Day 8:

We checked out of the hotel on day 8 to head to "Re Yue Tan" aka "Sun Moon Lake" for a overnight stay at one the Crystal Resort... the name of the place comes abt as the shape of the lake is divided into 2 parts which one part is shaped like the round sun and the other part like the crescent moon...

its was pretty rainy while we were touring ard the lake... we went to countless temple which house Yue Fei, Tang Sheng, Kong Zi and alot more others... We also pray for home safety for both our families..

we also went to this old street that sells many yummy street food such as the mushroom bao.. very big and value for money.. there was also these hand-made pottery shop which sells many beautiful hand-made pottery... and they claim they hand-made all the tea cups. pots, bowls, plates etc for Presidential usage...hehehe but its was pretty pricy and cuz it breakable, we did not buy back... if not it will be very beautiful for our new nest... ehehehe

Rest of the night was spent at the resort resting. and watching the Taiwan variety shows.. my fav show during the whole entire trip was the Mahjong show lor... the show host is Xiu Nai Ling, where invited celebrities and home viewers play on tv and the winer will ultimately challenge Xiu Nai Ling and the female host known as the Queens for more cash prize..

Dinner and breakfast was provided by the resort.. the resort has very nice facilites and the surroundings are surreal and scenic....
 

 

Taiwan Holiday - Day 7 (2nd Aug 09)

Day 7:

We took a bus to the "Yeu Mei" Theme park.. its has both land and water attraction.
We started off with the water theme park... we saw all the ppl wearing swimming caps and thot it looked really silly... but before we went onto our first water ride, we were stopped by the lifeguard saying that its a must to wear swimming caps for all the water rides... hai got no choice lor.. so have to go buy... and we looked really silly with the swimming caps on... muahahaa... all the rides are damn exciting ar...

For example under the water attractions, there was this ride which the slide is U-Shaped, then u take a 8-figure float and slide down... the starting point is abt 6-story high lar... and u can actually feel ur heart in ur throat when u fall.. and when it reaches fr one end to the other. u feel as if u are going to fly out of the slide but gravity will then pull u down and u slowly slide to a stop.. we went 2 rounds as well...

another ride is individual ride... u first climb up to abt 10-12 storey high... then u slide down a tube slide down on ur back.. the excitement comes when u free fall for abt 1-2 seconds... its damn shiok lar.. we went 2 rounds... muahahhaa

we then took a break and went over to the land rides... the first we took was the free fall roller coaster ride... like the normal roller coaster.. it will ride up slowly... when it reaches the very top, the whole carriage will be tipped 180 degree.. by then u will be looking down... u will be in theis position for abt 5-8 seconds.. where u will then free fall abt 2-3 seconds... then the normal up-side down turns for 2 turns... muahahah damn shiok lar.. we went for 2 rides as well... hehehe...

we also had bumper car ride, man-made white water rafting, some topsy curvy rides.. which Mr Ong could not take it.. mauahaha.. he cld not take those with turning .. muahaha

Then we went bk for more of the water team park rides.. we end the day with the famous man-made wave.. the highest wave went as high as abt 3m or more.. quite nice too... lidat we spent the whole day at the theme park...

we didnt take alot of pics as most of the time we are in water or on rides which makes it difficult to hold on to the camera...


dinner was simple, we had KFC... whenever u are overseas and u dont know what to eat... u could always count on familar food such as McDonald's, KFC, BK etc... it will nv go wrong...

Taiwan Holiday - Day 6 (1st Aug 09)

Day 6:

After a night of gd rest, we woke up at abt 415am to get ready for the hike up to "Chu Shan" to catch the sun rise...

the hike took us abt 1hr uphill but it was all worth it... the sun rise was breath-taking...

and of cuz, its romantic watching the sun rise with Mr Ong... while waiting for the sun to climb up, we have hot soya bean milk and some cakes and rice mochi...we spent abt 1 hr up there...

after the sun is high up in the mid day sky.. we went downhill and send a wooden post card fr the local 7-11 back to SG... we try as much as to send bk a postcard fr each place that we go to.. then it was back for check out then take the bus to our next destination: "Tai Zhong"

By the time we reach the bus station, it was lunch, hence we had lunch at the local McDonald's... muahaha its way cheaper then in SG.. and we bought some Hello Kitty toys for my sista.. she's a huge fan of the mouthless cat.. and as it was the cartoon's 36th Anniversary, there were 36 designs, each for a year.. so it was pretty cool...

The bus took a couple of hrs before we reach Tai Zhong.. we stayed 2days and we randomly walked into one for the hotels and paid for 2 nights... as it was abt dinner time.. we took one of the public bus behid our hotel and headed to the famous "Feng Jia Night Market".. this night market is even bigger then "Shi Lin Night Market" and its has lot more shopping and also food and drinks of cuz...

we had the must have drink.. there is this stall where by its onli NT$30 and u get close to 1000ml of either bubble tea, red tea or any sort of what they offer... damn worth it lar... we also had pineapple salad, stir fry wild boar meat, fried katsu chop, the famous sweet potato fries with plum powder...

there was alot of shopping too.. but was not really my type of stuff..muahaha
we heaed back for a night of god rest as we would be going to "Yeu Mei Theme Park" the next day for a full day of great land and water fun!!

Taiwan Holiday - Day 5 (31st Jul 09)

Day 5:

Most of the day is spent on train and bus to the trip up to Taiwan's famous "Alishan"...

We check out fr the hotel in "Xi Men Ding" and took the train to "Jia Yi", where we had a simple taiwanese lunch then board a bus up to "Alishan"...

We did not book in advance for the hotel in "Alishan", hence we just pick a motel.. the motel we picked was a newly renovated one so its pretty nice..

Day time weather in "Alishan" is about 17-20 degree.. feels like in airco room but its with the green nature...

Bu the time we checked in, it was late afternoon and as there was still some time left before dinner, we did a little bit of hiking ard the parks.. took some pictures and saw some amazing plants and trees.. example there was this tree that was named the "Elephant Tree" as the shape of the tree is like a Elephant and you cld even see its trunk!!

had dinner at one of the roadside stall... with the hot soup noodle and some stir fry pork, it feels warm even though the weather dipped to abt 14 degree...

last stop for the day before we head bk to the hotel to rest was the Tea Shop.
we had several rounds of different flavor tea with the boss if the shop. Learnt some precious tips abt Tea fr the boss... of cuz we bought some tea leaves back to SG.

Lights out to rest for the hike to catch the sun rise tmrw...

Taiwan Holiday - Day 4 (30th Jul 09)

Day 4:

A day of nostalgia- back to the 60s day...
we went to this old street at "Jiu Fen". This street is literally know as "Lao Jie"... it has alot of yummy home-cook style dishes, drinks, local products and hand-crafted gifts...

The scenery ard "Lao Jie" is very country side... feels very peaceful and the ppl here are damn passionate and friendly...

We had the must try "Ah Po Yu Gen".., its basically fish soup but the soup is damn seafood-sweetness kind of yummy.. after drinking u do not feel thirsty not like is SG the soups are taste of MSG...

Then we went to this shop that sells local products such as pineapply tarts, yam pastry, and all kinds of flavors of pastry.. my fave is the Yam Pastry.. Mr Ong's fave is the pineapple tarts...and yes we left with 10 boxes of the pineapple tarts to bring bk to SG.. the lady boss was so nice that she gave us an extra box so we had 11 boxes and a free Yam pastry..yeapi!!

After shopping its makan time again... we stop by this shop that is renovated like old japanese times.. all the tables are short tables and all of us are seated in short stools...
we had their "Lu Rou Fan" with some fish/meat ball soup... also damn nice lar...

Next stop is a 50-60s theme museum... it has the settings of a house back in the old says... they have old style bed, furniture, cupboards, kitchen, steamboat settings, study room and stuff... they even still produce sweets, toys and gifts that we eat in the 80s... so it was fun posing and taking pictures with the props..

we end the "Lao Jie" trip to this japanese dessert shop that sells mochi made fr rice as skin... its stuffing is damn yummy too.. its has strawberry yogurt, chocolate, green tea, honey dew, rock melon, mango etc... as it needs t be kept cold, we only bought a boz back for us to eat as light snacks...


We head back to the hotel to unload the 11 boxes of pineapple tarts, before having another bowl of "Ah Zhong Mian Xian" then head to a 2nd night of "Si Lin Night Market" for our dinner... hehehe

We start of with the famous hotplate beef, then with oyster omulette and some other smaller dishes... and we met the SG Tchoukball Men's team... they did SG proud at the recent World Games held in "Gao Xiong" by beating some of the European teams and emerge 3rd.. they brought bk to SG a bronze medal and lots of valuable experience...

We end the night then we another round of the hotplate but with chicken instead...

We also bought this wonderful gel pads which uses crystalization to warm up the pad to keep me warm thru the bitter winter.. muahahah

Taiwan Holiday - Day 3 ( 29th Jul 09)

Day 3:
After breakfast, we headed out to our 1st stop destination: "Long Shan Si".. this temple is quite big with total of 13 statues of Buddhas and Deities. Quite a modern temple as at front has those moving sign boards the gives out info to the tourist as well as a website for donations and info...hahaha




2nd stop, Yang Ming Shan aka 阳明山国家公园. One of the seven national parks in Taiwan. Yang Ming Shan is the summer residence of Chiang Kai-Shek.
The park is famous for its cherry blossoms, hot springs, sulfur deposits, fumaroles, venomous snakes and hiking trails, including Taiwan's tallest and one over the extinct volcano Seven-Star Mountain aka 七星山, 1,120 m.

Yang Ming Shan is huge and there are several mountains.. we took this bus which will bring you to the various tourist attractions.. there was this particular stop when we alighted, we thot we were in another world, because its high up in the mountains, there were clouds and fogs all around us and we cant see another one ard plus its was very quite with an errie sound of some insect/ animal sound in the background...muahaha never-the-less, we still walked on... and eventually we found a very nice place... its a big patch of green field, but at one section there were huge pool of cow dungs... aahaa, being the playful Mr and Mrs Ong, we decided to pose with the cow dung as if we were poop-ing.. mahaha..

Afterwards, we found a clean spot without any cow dung and lay down to see the cloudly sky and rest.. alot of couples and families also sat down for a mini-picnic.. heehhhee

3rd stop, we went down hill to find a hot spring place to try out since Yang Ming Shan is also famous for its hot springs.. we found the boutique, which is call Pacific Wellness Spa & Club.. they provide a high-tea set before ur 1.5 hrs of soaking...its a private hot spring rooms with a shower place.. nice nice.. i like but cannot really take the high heat...ehehe the soak washed away the tiredness fr the walking and eating...heheh

4th stop, we headed back to Dan Shui to get the Yu Shu to bring home to SG as gifts before heading bk to the 5th stop: the famous Shi Lin Night Market!!

Have heard of Shi Lin fr Mr Ong the longest time and every time he describe the food that is like a heaven lar...so our dinner starts fr eating his fav "Guan Cai Ban" aka thick toast bread with fillings, we order crab meat flavor and it was super delicious lar.. simple yet nutrious!!

Next was the famous "Da Zhong Yi Niu Pai" its hot-plate beef steak set... and true enough as advertise by Mr Ong, it beats Jack's Place hands down anytime... it comes in a set with bread, soup and ice tea...

We also had the next famous and ever-long queue "Hao Da Da Ji Pai" the chicken chop is very different fr SG version and its so much bigger and cheaper lar... The whole chicken chop can cover my big face lar...they dont chopped it to small pieces like in SG.. Mr Ong totally loves it...muhahaha

Must have balance diet of meat and vege..hehe so we had assorted mushrooms tempura.... i like the golden mushrooms best...hehehe

Too much food with no exercise also not good, so we played some of the night market games... we played riffle shooting... needs to hit all the 10 floating ping pong bongs then you will win something... i only managed to hit 4..

Next game is the tic-tac-to but need to hit all 9 square with base balls... hahaa we didnt really play that well as the balls are too small...hahahah

we lastly end the night with something cold and sweet... Strawberry Ice Snow Shavings aka Taiwan Ice-kachiang but 100x more delicious lor..haha.. once u eat le u will not like the ice-kachiang in SG liao lor...

there was also this stall that sells all kinds of sweet stuff like peanut candy, almond candy, pumkin candy, black seseme candy etc.. and all the candies are hand-made on the spot.. it was so nice that we bought 10 packs back for our families and frens lar...eheh

Taiwan Holiday - Day 2 ( 28th Jul 09)

Day 2:
We start our 2nd day of Taiwan with a hearty Taiwanese Breakfast.. it consisted of porridge (my fav) with pan-fried ham, scrambled eggs, plum prickles, stir-fry white cabbages and pork floss...

Mode of transportaion ard Taiwan are main buses and MRT.. hence we got the you-you card.. its like SG's ez-link card.. u can take bus, mrts and even ferry rides with it... very convenient...

1st stop of the day, to Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall aka 国立中正纪念堂. The famous monument is erected in memory of the late Chiang Kai-Shek, former President of the Republic of China. The area is surrounded by a park, with the National Theater and National Concert Hall. you can see groups of ppl doing hip hop dance rehearsals or the senior citizen doing salsa classes along the walk ways of the halls...

The Hall where the huge bronze statue of Chiang Kai-Shek is erected, was guarded by 2 live guards. i salute them cuz i tot they were fake guards lar... they did not move a single inch, and they dont seem to even blink!

2nd Stop, was to the Taipei Confucius Temple aka 孔廟. A temple devoted to the memory of him and the sages and philosophers of Confuciansim. The dragons cavings were very beautiful and colorful. We also prayed for Marcus and Kah Bee's studies to be smooth and fruitful...

3rd Stop, was to Zhong Lei Ci. Its a memeorial hall in honor of the lives of soliders lost during the civil war. Interestingly, the guards are made of soliders fr the Taiwan Navy, Air Force and Army. Each time they stand guard, its for a period of 2 hrs. and they do not move at all.. steady wor... The highlight for this tourist spot is the change of guard ceremony, which takes place every hr and last abt 20 mins... even the ceremony is very impressive...

Next we had lunch @ Xin Guan Shan Yue Shopping mall. something like SG's Taka but much much bigger....

4th Stop, to "Yu Ren Ma Tou" @ Dan Shui, to catch the lovely sunset and to eat like crazy with Mr Ong!!

Suppose to take ferry fr "Da Dao Cheng Wharf", but no ferry in service... muahah so we had to take train to Dan Shui MRT then take a short ferry to "Yu Ren Ma Tou"... and the ferry trip was paid using the you-you card aka the ezy-link card!!

The highlight of "Yu Ren Ma Tou" is the "Qin Ren Qiao" aka Lovers Bridge.
Very romantic with the sunset as the backdrop of ur photo... when the sun goes into hiding and the neon lightings comes on with the live singing of the nearby cafe..totally increases the romantic-ness of the place... hence u can see alot of couples on the bridge.

While posing at the bridge, there was this couple behind me.. the guy was very mushy lor.. he said in chinese to the girl who was with him: "even if there is a camera to capture this romantic moment, nothing beats being here with you in person..." i tink the girl also feel tat its quite mushy lar cuz she just smile very awkwardly at him..hahahha

Last stop of the day while returning to main land is the famous night market at Dan Shui itself.. the must try dishes include this dish name 'Ah Geh', its basically a big piece of 'dao guan' with stuffing of QQ glass noodles and the gravy is sweet sweet one so its very very nice.. we also had the hand-made fish balls, its not your regular round shape ones, its abit over-irsh in shape with some minced meat... the soup is very tasty too...

also had "Ah Po De Suan Mei Tuan"... very cooling and re-freshing in the hot night..

we shopped along the street & cont to eat along the way...

we stopped at this beancurd stall that sells "Zhen Zhong Hei Duo Hua" aka authentic Black Beancurd.. Both Mr Ong and myself was so excited and thot that the beancurd wld be in black color lar so we ordered 1 bowl... but when the staff served our order, to our disappointment the beancurd was in white. we looked ard at other table's beancurd and came to a conclusion: the shop uses black soy beans for their beancurd, but when they grind the beans to get the milk, its white in color, hence the "Hei Dou Hua" is white lar... muahahahah

Next we had "Hei Shan Zhu Rou Xiang Chang". its so delicious and juicy that I will nv eat the normal Taiwan Xiang Chang already...

Before we head back to the hotel.. we bought the Dan Shui must buy local product- the Yu Shu aka fish crackers. its very different fr SG version, its like small fish sticks and they are oven baked instead of deep fry so its healthy and less junky....heheh

Taiwan Holiday - Day 1 ( 27th Jul 09)

We finally went for the long awaited trip to taiwan... have been talking abt this trip with Mr Ong for the longest time... because of Jetstar offer for cheap tix, we book the tickets on impluse and went for it... and we love it!!!

Day 1:
we arrived at Taoyuan Airport in the evening of 27th Jul.
1st item we bought is a bottle of Coke fr the vending machine.. it cost only 25NT.

As our hotel is in situated right smack in the middle of Ximen Ding, we then took a coach by Guo Guang Ke Yun to Taipei Bus/ Railway Station. Fr there, we made our way to Ximen Ding. Our Hotel is Rainbow Hotel.

Once the luggages are in the room. We went right down to the the street below to have our dinner!! We walk and eat at the same time.. its just like pasar malam in SG but Taiwan's street hawker is the BEST... besides food, there is lots of shopping.. and its madnessly cheap!!!

We tried the Chou Dou Fu aka Smelly Bean Curd, but just after 1 piece, we threw it all away.. cuz the after taste is like long gang water lar... horrible.. Mr Ong say its not nicely done...

We also tried Chong Zhua Bing aka Spring Onion Prata.. its so much more nicer then those Indian prata we have in SG...yummy

Next was the mini jumbo ice cream cone!! only abt 70cents lar... Mr Ong digs it too...

I had my fav sweet potato mini balls.. they are damn QQ lar... love it to the max...

also tried tried Turkey Kebat the taiwan style.. not too bad..

of cuz we did not miss the Famous Ah Zhong Mian Sian... its super nice lar... so so so much better then SG's version.. and its cheap too... its deserves 5 stars!!

Liverpool vs SG (26th Jul 09)

another late post...




caught the Liverpool vs SG when they came down at the National Stadium... i thot they have closed it down for renovation since like forever since they announced? haha nvm them...







the trip was with Betsy and Andrew as well.. difference is that there are 3 Liverpool fans!!! hahah


My fav player FERNANDO TORRES was super!!

he scored the 4th goal magnificantly... i'm glad he signed another 4 yr contract... and kudos to DIRK KUYT, who made a gd team with Torres...


The final score was 5-0..



hmmm if my memory did not fail me.. someone once said that SG football is working hard and will go to World Cup in 2010 right?? hahaha i hope that fella eats his words.. muahaha... in fact half of the SG team is foreign talent??? muahahah....

Man U vs Malaysia (18th Jul 09)

another post dated post..

went to our neighbour to see them compete with Man U... along with Betsy and Andrew.. Betsy is the only Man U fan on this trip.. muahahaha

The Malaysia Team put up a pretty good fight...final score was 3-2 to Man-U....

the atmosphere of all the fans were great!! close to 100,000 fan (inclusive the Malaysia Team)

It was also priceless to see Van De Sar let in the goal and he cld not do anything to stop it...muahaha

Highlight was went the recently bought- ex liverpool player Michael Owen came into the game and scored the winning goal for Man-U...hahahaa

Malaysia BOLEH...!!!

the Dim Sum breakfast @ Genting was great too...yum yum...

NDP 2009

(Some back dated post)

Went to the NDP 2009 Rehearsal on 25th July 09.

The theme was. NDP is held at the floating platform at Marina Bay.
My 2nd time watching the rehearsal @ the same veune and its FANTASTIC!!
Show was colorful and meaningful... sound system was fabulous too... love it...

Something interesting is that they incoporated pole dancing as a small segment.. and the Presidential Gun Salutes are done on a floating engineering device... which makes it closer to the audiences..hahaha love it...

Went with Mr Ong this time.. :)