So I went on a merry jaunt to Taiwan with sis and Fernie after some superlastminuteplanningoftheitinerary. My two travel mates were more relaxed about this trip than I was; when I was doing up the itinerary, sister merely went “mee sua! ferris wheel!” and Fernie said ”just include bubble tea and hot spring and I’ll be happy.”. Minimal input indeed!

I like the spiral effect. We were stoning in the Ladies while waiting for our flight. ZzzzZzzzZzz…

Getting to our hotel [Hotel Rainbow at Ximending area] was surprisingly easy. No crazy-run-all-over-the-place like how we did in Japan. After checking into the hotel, we went to search for the famous Ah Zhong Mee Sua, getting distracted by an old-skool-looking Starbucks outlet, Mister Donut and bubble milk tea on the way. Ahh, food food everywhere!

Stepping out into the cold, awesome air.

Sis happily marched into Starbucks, mee sua temporarily forgotten.

While waiting for sis, Fernie and I camwhored only to have sis run up quietly behind us, ever-ready for a smile. Haha!

Mister Donut’s cute displays.

Distractions, distractions.

We took awhile to find the meesua shop as we walked in the opposite direction from where it was. -_-”

Here it is! TWD 40 for a small bowl, TWD 50 for a big bowl. Slurp slurp! Sis was in mee sua heaven.

Sis and I kept thinking Taiwan stuff to be cheaper than they actually are because we kept miscalculating TWD as Japanese Yen. For instance, 40 / 77yen = SGD0.52 for a small bowl of mee sua. Oh cheap cheap!! Oh wait… 40 / 20yuan = SGD2 actually.

Oh.

It didn’t help that Japanese kanji was everywhere and the natives spoke in Japanese and Ximending felt a little like Harajuku in Tokyo. Talk about disorientation. *fumble around* Ahoka!

Bullying Fernie. We couldn’t finish our milk tea and Fernie was thirsty so we made her hold and drink up all three cups. Woops.

Next stop for the day - Miramar Shopping Mall with the famed ferris wheel.

On the way to Miramar, we spotted this outside Jian Tan station.

How do they get the bicycles up on the second rack??

I tried following the instructions but couldn’t get past the first step. I couldn’t push the metal bit down at all. FAIL.

Upon reaching Miramar, I went oh! This was where they filmed the popular drama Why Why Love starring Rainie Yang, Kingone Wang and Mike He! Sis and I got all excited and started bombarding Fernie with bits and pieces of the drama serial, this was where Jia Di and Xiao Nan ran away, this was where Jia Di and Huo Yan met up after the announcement went on air, there was where Huo Yan flung money at Jia Di when he thought she was after his money… [Now, the last bit was funny because sis and I caught the NGs where Kingone (Huo Yan) had problems throwing the notes in a dramatic flair and he had to repeat takes over and over... just to throw money!] I think Fernie was impressed with us for remembering so much.

Ionic Miramar.

Then it was my turn with sis.

The stuff sold at Miramar was urm.. well, atas, so we bypassed all the shops and headed for the ferris wheel. The babes decided they want the all-glass cubicle which proved to be too much for me.

No, seriously.

The ferris wheel looked so gentle, harmless and innocuous, but it is NOT FOR PEOPLE WITH ACROPHOBIA dammit.

Look at how lego-tiny the cars are, dammit!

I was alright initially, then when we got to a certain height and the ferris wheel halted for a bit and the wind was blowing into the cubicle and the cubicle was swinging and there was nothing but glass separating us from a free fall down thud splat splatter and there was nowhere to go or run except up and I was cold and miserable and sick [I fell dreadfully sick two days before the trip] and I started to panic dammit.

For those who know how panic/anxiety attacks feel like, yeah, it was that. I shall spare you fantastically fugly pictures of me, pale and perspiring, beside big strong Fernie or happy chirpy sis, dammit.

Took this on shaky hands on the way down.

Freezing cold Fernie.

That didn’t help.

Night arrived and the three of us headed to Shilin Night Market. By then, I was feeling really horrible because runny nose + bad throat [the kind where even swallowing your saliva hurts] + chilly night air is a lousy combination. Sis didn’t like the place either and we only walked 1 / 203872 of the market before hiding from the cold in a milk tea restaurant.

Why are they so red?

What?! They were selling pets like that?!?

Cute dogs. Taken before someone shouted at me to stop taking photographs. -_-”

One of the streets selling nice food.