Our first stop after breakfast was a visit to the Martyy's Shrine (忠烈祠). There was to be a changing of the guard's ceremony but in the end, due to the rainy weather, it was cancelled. So we only got to look at the guards who were standing by the main doors. These guards were to stand still for an hour, totally like a statue. We also had a chance to roam around the compound and take some nice shots.
After the visit to the Shrine, off we went to visit the Tienlu Handicraft Centre (天禄艺术中心). Here, we got a chance to rub on the Tienlu to bring back prosperity for the adults and good results for the children. After the talk on the lucky numbers of 13 and 4 and the unlucky numbers of anything with zeroes or 16, they showed us the Tienlu that we could purchase to bring good fortune. Too bad, the price wasn't really in our range.... cost NT8888. In the end, we declined and decided to go out of the centre to walk around the streets.
As it was still drizzling, we didn't walk very far, but it was a stroke of luck that we found this quaint store that sold tidbits like Chong You Bing and Dou Jiang. We stepped in and ordered one set. It turns out that the owners (a couple) just opened this store about 3 months and they specialise in Spring Onion Cookie. We started chatting with the couple and they were quite taken with Baby G. He also loved their food and gave it 2 thumbs-up to the uncle who was the cook. He even got one set for himself, courtesy from the auntie.
The next stop is the famous Chui-Fen where the place still retains it's simple charm of an earlier time. If only it wasn't raining, we could have enjoyed the scenary even more. As it is, the skies were dark and misty, so can't really see much. In the end, we walked along the streets and enjoyed their taro balls, fishballs and popiah ice cream.
After filling our tummies with the street food of Chui-fen, off we went to visit the Yehliu Geopark (野柳). These stone structures are all naturally formed and one can even see some really distinctive formations, like the Fairy shoe, an elephant and even a Queen's head.
After a long day in the rain and visiting so many places, it's time for some relaxation, in the form of soaking in the hot springs of YangMingShan (阳明山温泉). The idea is to soak oneself into the hot and then into the cold so as to open up the pores of the skin and be able to absorb the minerals and nutrients. It was truly relaxing except when it was my turn to look after Baby G who was playing with his 2 friends. The kids treated it like a indoor swimming pool. I think it was pretty fun for them.
After the relaxing dip, off for our Xiao Long Bao dinner. The experience is like Ding Tai Fung. They served quite a few types of Xiao Long Bao and unlimited fried rice, plus their soup and vegetables.
Our 6th and last night at a hotel stay was at the international 5-star Grand Formosa Regent. Even the location of the hotel was nestled within all the high-end shopping belt of LVs, Guccis, etc. But again, my most favourite part was the spacious rooms they had to offer. We had like 1.5 rooms space that held 2 queen-sized beds and 1 sofa bed for Baby G. Truly comfy....
Our holiday is coming to an end, 6 days has just gone by in a twinkling of an eye. Tomorrow is the last day in Taiwan, it is also the last day for us to do any last minute shopping.
San
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