So, it's time for me to update this blog. :)
On the third day I arrived at Taipei, we went to 公館 and 淡水.
公館 is a shopping district, and Taiwan's best university, National Taiwan University (NTU, same as our NTU, haha), is located just nearby.
If I'm not wrong, 公館 is the shopping area nearest to NCCU. It's accessible by two bus services 236 and 530 from the bus stop outside NCCU.
I took this photo at the 公館 bus stop we alighted at:
Most of the signboards here are in traditional Chinese, except for some Western brands (like Addidas). By the way, girls, Kotex is translated into 靠得住. Interesting right :)
I see a lot of idol dramas/ movies' advertisements on buses: CJ7, 《原來我不帥》 and 《這裡發現愛》.
Saw this whole row of 扭蛋 machines outside a Sanrio shop (the one that sells a lot of Hello Kitty stuff).
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It's 1.45am Wednesday now, and I'm going to continue this blog about 淡水. :)
張清芳's song "Men's Talk" mentioned about 淡水 (你說你有個朋友 住在淡水河邊), but how exactly does 淡水 look like? Obviously, this place is really beside a sea. It's easily accessible by MRT. Take the metro to 淡水站, the last stop of the line.
Besides a park that has been set aside for people to stroll, watch the sea or engage in leisure pursuits, a huge portion of the area has been developed into streets bustling with commercial activities.
It was a cloudy day when we reached there.
There were many many game stalls along the streets, including shops that run businesses solely with 夾娃娃機 (toy-pickup machines).
Very old school game but the kid is having fun.
投籃機 are very popular too.
The huge bottles were very cute!!
The soft toys inside the 夾娃娃機. If you've paid NT100 but can't manage to pick the toy up successfully, the shopkeeper will open the machine and take one out for you, haha. Credits to Shuhui for taking photos of these cute lil' things!
Snoopy's Nightmare! Players will have to shoot a certain number of the Snoopy figurines within a limited amount of bullets I think. Black humour, but creative :)Cos 淡水 is also regarded as a tourist attraction, there were several shops that sell souvenirs. The girls decided to buy wooden postcards and send them back home, I followed suit, to give my family a surprise.
As I penned down my thoughts, imagines Daddy, Mummy and Sista's astonished expressions when they received the card came floating in my mind.
I wasn't 100% confident that the postcard will really reach home, but I just tried, for the thrill and experience. Actually, I'm not the only one who's dubious about it:
Wahhaaha but my worry was unnecessary, cos they've received the postcard three to four days later! I guess I was the one who was surprised when Dad swung the postcard in front of him when we were webcamming. :)
In the same shop where I bought the postcard from, I saw these embarrassing-looking "toys": 咪咪球.
And it really feels like the genuine ones, haha! I bet people who buy these have weird indulgences. :S
Oh yeah, another characteristic of 淡水 is that there are many artists around, offering their drawing skills. Still life, caricatures.. just pop by and tell them you want a self-portrait.
Lastly, do try the famous snack here: 阿給. Google online if you want to find out how this snack got its name, cos I dunno either, haha.
Anyways, it's 豆乾 with 冬粉 inside, dipped in some sauce that gives it a sweet and salty taste. Yum yum! (Though our Taiwanese friend told us the stall that sells the best 阿給 is located further up.)
As the night fell we went to the other side of the metro station, where many shops were located too. Came across a bookstore and saw Ashin's poster for his new book.
Postcard + Mailing Fee = NT110
As I penned down my thoughts, imagines Daddy, Mummy and Sista's astonished expressions when they received the card came floating in my mind.
I wasn't 100% confident that the postcard will really reach home, but I just tried, for the thrill and experience. Actually, I'm not the only one who's dubious about it:
Wahhaaha but my worry was unnecessary, cos they've received the postcard three to four days later! I guess I was the one who was surprised when Dad swung the postcard in front of him when we were webcamming. :)
In the same shop where I bought the postcard from, I saw these embarrassing-looking "toys": 咪咪球.
And it really feels like the genuine ones, haha! I bet people who buy these have weird indulgences. :S
Oh yeah, another characteristic of 淡水 is that there are many artists around, offering their drawing skills. Still life, caricatures.. just pop by and tell them you want a self-portrait.
Lastly, do try the famous snack here: 阿給. Google online if you want to find out how this snack got its name, cos I dunno either, haha.
Anyways, it's 豆乾 with 冬粉 inside, dipped in some sauce that gives it a sweet and salty taste. Yum yum! (Though our Taiwanese friend told us the stall that sells the best 阿給 is located further up.)
As the night fell we went to the other side of the metro station, where many shops were located too. Came across a bookstore and saw Ashin's poster for his new book.
