Hello Christmas!

This time, I find myself in Kuala Lumpur, on the eve of Christmas and wondering for the umpteenth time why I booked that Tiger Flight... (this would probably make for a good story another time).
Clearing immigration at LCCT - I'm glad I have been here before. Things did not look as messy or as scary as I feared it might be. To my amazement, I was even able to hold my ground and demand to buy a 'direct to hotel' bus-ride (and I only read this on Trip Adviser). I was to find out later that the man behind the counter was trying to push his agenda on me, getting me to buy tickets from his bus company instead, which would have brought me to KL Sentral. Not the place I wanted to be.
Some how, I managed to get on the Star Shuttle. It's not very good looking, a bit old and a bit run-down. And boy, did my heart sink looking at her. I wasn't too sure if this bus was something like a scam on unsuspecting tourists. Then I thought - it must be a really elaborate scheme if they had to hire five to six thugs, get walkie-talkies and create these folders of time-table to con a few tourists. Well, they WERE inside the immigration area, unless the government has a hand in this too... I was reminded of my Jakarta customs experience and...
I had to calm myself.
An Aussie, I was to know his name later when we shared a shuttle service - Phil, short for Philip I guess, also boarded. He was very clearly new to KL and was also just like I was, a little overwhelmed, like a fish out of water, in the crazy bustle of KL.
I sat by myself and closed my eyes, feeling a little comforted at a kindred soul. Five minutes to our departure, three Chinese ladies boarded. From their conversation, I guessed they too were from Singapore. I felt safe.
I drifted in and out of sleep and when I woke, the three ladies were having an animated conversation about their return trip. They were thinking of hiring this bus again... or not.
I joined the conversation.
Oh how strange fate works. I mean, isn't this simply amazing? I was a little bit unsettled taking this dodgy looking bus. And by some strange, cosmic force, these three women showed up and we managed to hit it off. Better still, I realised they were staying at the Ritz Carlton... Oooo... my favourite hotel. They invited me to join them for lunch.
And even more amazing, the lovely ladies invited me up to their room and we had SUCH a long chat. We realised we had similar interests in eating, but then again, who DOESN'T!!! We exchanged contact and a promise to meet up, back in Singapore for some Japanese munchies. How amazing is that?
I recommended lunching at the Chinese Restaurant - Li Yen for dim sum. What fun it was. The food as usual was delicious. I have never been let down by the three times I ate there. What a consistent restaurant!
This time round, I was most impressed with the Deep fried chee cheong fun with dried shrimps as well as their yam in spinach sauce - what a clever combination and the flavours complemented each other very well.
(I shall load the pictures another time. Took it with my new iPhone, but I seem to have problems transferring the pictures)
Perhaps it was the holiday season. It made people friendly and more giving? I don't know. But somehow, they decided to give me a treat. What a warm gesture.
For someone who was looking at Christmas alone, I ended up making new friends and having a wonderful meal!
Merry Christmas everyone.
I hope something wonderful happened to make this Christmas as special as it was for me.

Queen of Last Minutes

I seem to have developed a really lousy habit. Maybe it is a nervous reaction to always having to plan at work that I just throw caution to the wind and do.

I booked myself on a flight to KL - last night, for today. Think I'm crazy? I'm in agreement.

I then found myself in the unpleasant task of sorting out accommodations. And on the eve of Christmas, no less. At 7pm, I was frantic. I still could not find a place that wasn't dodgy, or too expensive.

I'm glad it is all sorted and I think I'm packed (thank you @dilzy). The flight is WAY early and well, I'm not thinking of going to the airport too early either. So, I'm writing this and seeing myself rush in a couple of hours to get to the airport on time to check-in.

To my friends who are reading this, you'd probably see a pattern in here. It's because this is the real me. I'm not coordinated. I'm all over the place. I think I like that.

Surprise!
Or not at all.

Merry Christmas everyone.
And to Redox, congratulations!

Disassociated

I find myself stepping out of the station today at Raffles Place and thinking - how slow everyone is proceeding. My pace was distinctly out of sync with the other commuters, and I find myself consciously pacing down and shortening my stride.
Strange.
Had I walked too quickly? Or had people slowed down?
At that moment, you know an out of body experience? I kind of felt like I was looking at myself walking and also at the others around me. We have all slowed. There was no rush to the escalator up, no one was pushing that last few steps towards the gantry, no one was adding that extra step to prevent their queues from being cut.
Wait, didn't I just see another lady with the same dress - deja vu? Inwardly, I was glad I didn't get it from Yen three, or was it four, months ago.
Have we somehow become self-less? Have we somehow mindlessly trudged to work day in and out?
Worse, was I, am I, one of them?
 
I looked at the clock I was early. Maybe things are slower at this time. But it was really weird.
It's a peculiarly cold Christmas.

Seafood vs Streetfood

So at the last league of our little outing, the rain finally caught up with us.
At Keelung, our hotel overlooks the BiSha harbour and how beautiful it was! The blue sea, the fluffy clouds (slightly ominous in their colour but it was holding for a while) and the colourful kites that dotted the sky.
You could see birds with long streamers, the traditional diamond-shaped kites and lo-and-behold, the Bat-Sign!
It was all very entertaining to see the locals playing, having picnic at the harbour park.
Before the clouds gave way, we managed to go through the seafood area where the stall owners hawk their culinary expertise and their fresh seafood. But, well, we were at the seafront, I'd expect nothing but the freshest seafood regardless!
Think of going though the Boat Quay food stretch. You will be jumped at every stall, so, I'd suggest bringing along a good dose of patience. They are trying to make a living!

The thing to note is that the food there is really expensive. We ended up eating at a nearby restaurant that was recommended by the hotel staff. Since it was seafood, we had sashimi (the salmon was palatable, but the tuna was tasteless), steamed eel （鳗鱼）　(we didn't know what it was at that point in time), fried 'ikan bilis', la-la soup (it's the Malay term for this type of clams), and seafood beehoon. My conclusion - eat at MiaoKou Night market instead.
Really.

Although it can get really crowded and people are thronging around and stuff, the variety, the sheer smells, sights and sounds somehow made eating there more intense!

I confess to eating too much in Taiwan, and yes, after dinner at the restaurant (no offense but it was somewhat forgettable), I could not resist buying the street foods and jumping into some of the stalls to order even more food!
I ended up getting some noodles, barbecued crab-claws, sausages and a very yummy and delicious chinchow milk tea with pearls. MMMM!

Onsen or Food??

I never thought that Taiwan would be good for onsen. Strangely, I've never had that association in my head. So when I saw the posters (especially in Chinatown station) on trying the different onsen, I felt I just had to put that in my itinerary.
Amazingly, Taiwan has a few onsen spots. Most people would go to Yang Ming San or Beitou (for a more 'sulfuric' experience) for the hotsprings. Me, I chose to go JiaoSi.
According to the tourism site, JiaoSi is described as a 'peaceful, backwater county that has a noticeably slower and more traditional way of life'. That appealed to me immensely.
Being the glutton that I am, the best way to feel that tradition and culture, is through their cuisine. And what an eye opener that was for me!
JiaoSi is really a town in the Yilan County. Their cuisine reflects the Yilan resident's penchant for the natural taste of their seasonal vegetables.

We put up at the Shindori Hotel (山多利大饭店），and had three meals at their Four Seasons Restaurant. I would say that we had probably tasted everything (or at least very close to) on their menu. 　
The most UNFORGETTABLE would have to be their pumpkin fried rice.
Do not be deceived by this unremarkable name. I'd hasten to say, this is the most flavourful and healthy (!) fried rice that I've ever tasted!



Two things - the rice grains are different from what we are familiar with. Locally, we take long grains, they are more coarse and if not properly prepared, it could be dry or worse, soaked with oil. With the Taiwanese rice, it's similar to sushi rice, only that it is less sticky and boy, does it have a sweet aftertaste. Second, the pumpkin, finely shredded, was stir-fried into the rice. Add a dash of black pepper and finely diced coriander and you have fried rice that is fragrant and robust - it's the 'wok-hei' (镬气).

There is also the stir-fried seasonal vegetables - asparagus, abalone mushrooms and carrots. It's lightly stewed, with only salt to season. The veges are so fresh and sweet, there is a decidedly firm crunch to the asparagus and carrots. The gravy, full of the essence of mushrooms and carrots created a wonderful balance of sweet and woodiness. Drizzle it over plan rice and I'd bet it's good enough as a meal on its own!



I'd also recommend their garlic ribs. MMMmmm! What can I say. I love the pungent taste of garlic, and I love pork even more. When the two combines... I'd say I'm in gastronomic heaven! There is nothing to say about this simple dish. The pork was succulent, the garlic, a simple condiment to the dish. The combination simply satisfies.
I'd add a caveat here that people who are used to Singapore's strong flavours and (I recently realised) liberal use of oyster sauce, soy sauce, or any of those MSG-laden seasoning would probably find the Yilan cuisine too light (I would rather say too refined!) for their taste.

Enough on food.
The main purpose of choosing this hotel was because of their hotspring bath. Brace yourself - it's au naturel. Not very common in Taiwan I think, for most allow you to go in with a bathing suit. However, having experienced the therapeutic dips in Japan, I cannot think how else one goes to an Onsen.
The two times I entered, it was empty. The lady manning the desk seemed decidedly bored and visibly brightened when we walked in. She was very helpful in explaining what we should do and how we should drink something cold before going in, etc, etc.
The place was well kept, clean, and definitely worth a visit. The hotel has decent facilities, but I would bring an umbrella next time. For some strange reason, they do not have shelter to the lobby.... I'd also minus points for the staff on duty for not having the presence of mind to bring umbrellas to fetch their guests in, even after the driver honked for their attention.

Sun, Mountains & Dog

If you think Taiwan is a boring place for the aged, it's time for a 'paradigm shift'.
This is my second trip to Taiwan, and maybe, I was better prepared, the journey, was simply, amazing.
In terms of experience, my stay two-day stop at a minsu in CingJing (清境）was really good for the body and soul. The crisp mountain air - ok, you can smell sheep feces too, but who cares (!), and the soaring mountains that seemed to go on endlessly!
We were really quite blessed that the weather was good - sky was clear and the sun was always shining.
Our host, the affable 李老板 (Mr Li) was helpful, knowledgeable and well, incredibly entertaining! If you do not ask him to show you the night sky, you would have missed his amazing 'laser' show.
At his 观星园 (Starry Minsu), it is famed as a location in 清境 for star gazing. We met two Singaporean couples there and started pointing into the sky, trying to show each other the locations of the constellations. Then along came Mr Li, who said matter-of-factly, "Ah, you mean this one?"
Utterly flabbergasted, this green laser beam shot out right into the night sky, seemingly to hit the stars itself. This was better than Omni-max ANYTIME!



Mr Li is a man of discerning taste. The food he served, his hot pot, his coffee, even their humble home-cooking was a gourmet experience.
Winter is a time where they mainly serve their prized cabbages. It has a much sweeter aftertaste than what we are familiar with in Singapore. And it was so for the onions, capsicum and even ginger!

On the second night, we had the hotpot. His 招牌菜 - salted vegetable soup was unexpected! He revealed that he had prepared the stock by slow-boiling it for about 6 hours. The results was a robust, flavourful soup base that had a hint of sour and saltiness. By adding the other ingredients, like corn, mushrooms, toufu, etc, the soup becomes progressively sweeter. It was great fun to eat on a cold night.
Mr Li is incredibly generous with his food and more often than not, we find ourselves stuffed to our noses and still have food left. He has however, a very 'green' way of not wasting food. It comes in the form of a Siberian Husky called - DuBi (read - DooBee).


I fell in love with her at first sight.
She greeted us - well, anyone for that matter, with a slight woof and a howl. It was really cute and well, she really eats anything. You can get her to do tricks by baiting her with food. But I think as guests, we should also feed her responsibly. I think she doesn't move much and because she is sooooooo cute, guests can't help but feed her (of course, you can't say no when her eyes are on you so hopefully).
Mr and Mrs Li were very kind in letting me play with DuBi. I also managed to take her out for a walk.. more like she took me along for her run. She is a really pretty and affectionate dog. Makes me want to have one like her....
I'm sure to go once more, to enjoy the morning sunrise, the quiet peacefulness of the mountain-side, the amber beauty of the retreating sun and the night jewels in the sky!

Orbiting .. Orbiting... Orbiting

Sometimes, life events that are so profound can hit you. In that snap and split second, how you react and if you can react, is possibly a test of how human you are.

Maybe, it's good to remember some of the things that have you have gone through and use that as a template. I'll call that, the template of life.

How oxymoronic...