Pacific Ocean to Love River

Next on the list, it was a long drive along the coastal highway to Kaoxiong. The coast, Pacific Ocean was strong and mighty with an aura of grandness. Thousands miles across the ocean, it could reach USA or Japan. How vast was it. Remarkable. I watched in awe along the road trip. I had music rocking in my ears, such as Whatcha Say, Love Story, Numb.. I was just relaxing.


But then, we went to a Buddhist temple. Nice. Commercialize, I thought. With ancient-design temples and statues, students study and research Buddhist here. I was told a great master from here, is now traveling around the world to promote Buddhist. 


Afterwards, we reached Kaoxiong. Nice city with neon lights aglow everywhere. It had a river, Love River cutting the city into two parts. We had a boat ride on the Love River. Why it was called the Love River? I'm not so sure about it. It must have something to do with the word 'love'. I just enjoyed the ride and nice views. Bridges of different heights was rigid regardless of the salty river water's splash. Love River, I was told that someone jumped into the river once before, just to show his love to his girlfriend. He made news and happiness. What a buzz! Hah!


We also went to the Kaoxiong harbour. We climbed up to the fort at the hill. With surprising Dutchmen fort and clear harbour's view, we took photos and noticed a lighthouse too. Couples sat around the fort, overlooking the harbour, so romantic. It went better when there was a club singer sang near the fort. Hah! Just a singer. By the seaside, by the barricade, couples sat and cuddled happily. Just another sight to behold. Whole row of couples. Nice.


By JM

Natural Vista

On my trip down the coastline, the bus cruised onto the mountain highway for awhile. We had to take this route to embrace the wonderful Taroko sceneries. Taroko was fabulous, with lush green trees and fast flowing streams between the stiff cliffs. The natural setting was fantastic indeed. We walked along the roadside while embracing every bit of it as much as we could.

Later on, we left and stopped at a coffee shop for some coffee and cakes. Overlooking the distant temple and waterfall, the view was spectacular. I even took a photo with some foreign tourists, Korean and Bulgarian. Hah! Then, we continued our journey to the Seven Stars Beach ( I think). The beach was long, sandy, and shone when rocks reflected the sunlight. Enchanting as it was, the strong waves made it better. The clear sea water washed its way up. The wind was strong there, with plenty of tourists. This place was once a military base before it became a tourist sites. Hah! We had lunch with style - cracking bamboo sticks for rice.

After that, we visited a barnyard which did not have much cows or horses at all. Nothing much. We went for a hot spring bath too. Hot, steamy, and relaxing to be in it. Lets try it again next time. We checked-in to our recreation so-called hotel. That night, there was a party which we danced and let off 'Sky Lanterns', even fireworks. It was magical and fun.

Natural vista.

You see?

Look! The waves were coming!

By JM

From City to Rocks

The bus took us down the east towards the southern part of Taiwan. Along the road, we stopped at some places for sight-seeing. The air was simply fresh and windy. 


By taking the High Speed Railway (HSR), we reached Taipei from Taoyuan within 45 minutes. We had a city tour around Taipei before that. Just some memorial halls with grand statue of important people. Later, there was a daily marching in one of the halls. The soldiers marched patriotically in front of the hall and the public. They wore neat, formal uniform with badges reflecting off the sunlight. With grace and still movements, they marched through the wide hall corridor or passage. There were two soldiers stood still at the both side of the gate. Unmoved by any disturbances. The soldiers continued their march until the front gate. We watched till then, and took off again.


After that, we visited the Yeliu Park too. The park was a place with remarkable geometrical scenery such as stones and pillars with various shapes after centuries of wind and rain. The scenery was magnificent with all kinds of pillars and stones of imagination. There was one particular rock looked like a Queen head. Majestic with a thin neck. Hah! The park was beside the open sea. The air was refreshing. The park was filled with enchanting rocks and some weird ones too.


Then, we reached this place called Jiufen. Long time ago, this place was inhabited by only nine (Jiu) families. But now, there were multiplies of that, in counting. What so special about this place? The one and only old street of Jiufen. We strolled along the street and had lunch. They sold all kinds of stuffs and food. Looked delicious. We had a decent view of the ocean from the top. Old street, Taiwan had too many of these. Hah!


Later, before the train arrived, I was still rocking the music with smile. Hah! When the train came, I stood for a few stations because there were not enough seats. Hah! The train was one of the earliest models, with rows of seats by the side and handrails for me to grab hold of. 


Sleep tight then. 

Jiangjiesi statue

The soldiers march

Do they looked like mushrooms?

By JM

Christmas Eve

It was Christmas Eve. Now is Christmas day. Time passed too fast. I can't catch up.


It was just another plain day. I woke up with the same face. Santa, where are you?


Christmas here, I just can't seem to get the festive feel. 


Merry Christmas, everybody! and a Happy New Year too!


Late. Gonna make this short. 


By JM

Hike

I woke up, feeling refreshed and alive. The morning light pierced through the sky earlier here. The curtains were drawn, blocking sunlights from the outside. Another day, gotta have fun...


I ate my simple and satisfying breakfast down at the hotel's cafe. They served ham, eggs American style with coffee or tea and a glass of juice. Nice. I took a bus to Taipei's Yangming Shan. It was a mountain with some attraction sites.


The 260 bus took us there, bumping and racing through traffic even though it was just early in the morning. The bus was full with passengers already when we aboarded it, consisting of old folks, young students and other civilians. I stood, grabbing the holding strap tightly and swayed with the bus. hah. Then, some left and some came up. I sat down beside a student. She was just sleeping all the journey. hah. Quite nice. University students don't get enough sleep, I thought. Or perhaps the nightlife?


We alighted at the last stop after the bus was almost empty. We waited for another bus to reach our destinations. In the bus, we met some good people who helped us with some tips. Fortunately, one of them - Mr.Lee and his family guided us throughout our visit in Yangming Shan. He took us round the mountains with his experience and kind warmness It was so generous of him to help.


In Yangming Shan, we visited Erzi Ping. It was in a valley between Xiaotun Shan and another one. hah. We hiked along picturesque trails, between enchanting trees along the way. The air was clean and fresh without pollution. We watched the sceneries of Xiaoyou Keng and Milk Lake. Both were views formed by natural phenomena - volcanic cracks. In Xiaoyou Keng, the sulphur caused yellow gases billowed out of the fume holes. The air was exceptionally stale, smelled of rotten eggs. Sulphur. Milk Lake was about the same with its water white like milk, or rather white chocolate. hah.


Later, we went back to the nearest railway station to board the metro. The less than 1 hour ride to Danshui was rather fast. After awhile, I found myself near the sea, breathing in the salty air. We reached the Lovers' Bridge after sunset. Lights from the bridge itself lighted up the dark sky with green lights. Or was it white? I strolled across the bridge briskly. It was kinda short but elegant. I caught sights of happy couples cuddling by the side as the cool air blew. Lovely, sweet and happy. I enjoyed the cool air with the happiness of others filled the space. Empty yet satisfied. We took the metro back. The night was just as bright as the day, I thought.

By JM

Taiwan's Trip - Prologue

At this year-end holiday break, I took a trip a Asia entertainment country - Taiwan. 


I had been in KL before boarding MAS to Taiwan. The flight was quite pleasant except for one problem - there was only one lavatory available. yikes. The four hour flight brought us down to Taiwan's ground. The weather was windy and just nice. It was sunny with the sun shining up high. The city looked almost like KL, with its expressways, freeways, and turns. The traffic was congested as in KL too. Terrific.


By night, we strolled the streets for food and fun. We savoured the famous 'Ah Zhong Noodles ' there. I stood by the side, eating away every bit of its content. It was simply mouth-watering. The place was different, I reckoned. I could see pretty girls around much more often here. Nice and sweet. Schoolgirls. LoL. I ate, walked, enjoyed the night walk. It was a great way to end the day. Besides, food in Taiwan were delicious.


To be short, I will end here. Photos taken will be uploaded later. Stay tune. 


p.s. : this post will be updated later coz time's short. lol.


By JM

Two days ago, we rocked Si Mun's birthday celebration. 


On Friday, we went back to school for lots of fun. I played basketball for hours non-stop with my fellow friends. I just shot, shot, shot... can't do the moves yet. Damn, those guys were pro. We had a game between ourselves. Hah! The game almost exhausted me, but not yet. The fun and thrills kept me on playing and shooting. All the hell of fun went down like heaven's stars. I glanced towards my friends which were always supportive. I'm glad to have them by my side. Always. That day was meant to be till night. Wait and see. LoL. I was really thrilled.


We walked to the 'Tong Sui Street' to have our nice dinner. Alongside my friends, I walked along the road. The night was near. Wind blew at my face softly, just gently enough. I loved the wind and everything else. Just nice. Oh yea. We had a pretty good meal with chats all the way. Then, we walked back as rain seemed to be approaching. It seemed to. Hah...


Back in the library. LoL. They spoke ghost stories again. Cool. I explored the room under the stairs with Chin Seng. Creepy and cool. Oh yea. Then, the celebration started. Birthday songs sang at various languages. Si Mun and Sin Cyin even sang in korean. Wow. The birthday cake was creamy with chocolate. Nice. The gift was a wonderful board handmade, full of wishes. LoL. Everything was so right. It went well, and ended well. So, off I went. 


Maybe I could use a new name. How about 'midnight blogger'? give me some opinions on this. 


By JM

After days of non-stop hard work, the Class Reader was almost done. What's left is just the computing files. Yeah. 


It was yesterday. The last day and happy holiday. Hah! Sincerely, I thanked all the help from the librarians involved. Although they were active, loud in conversations, naughty at times, you all were the best. Thanks. I thanked the whole gang, everybody who helped. 


Yesterday, I went to library again, for the third time in this week. The usual stuffy books greeted me. Well, I had to help choosing old books too. Wow, library books were really ancient. I saw the year 1955 written in some books. Books were covered with layers of dirty dust. Dust, made my nose itched. Their covers were brownish yellow after years of 'aging'. Out of all those old books, most of them were masterpieces by Charles Dickens, Enid Blyton... However, students barely read them.


For my lunch, it was the Ipoh Parade's food court again. LoL. Yon Sheng came along this time. We dropped by the place where the RFAs worked. LoL. We ate noodles which were the cheapest around, I guessed. Then, we strolled back down. Yon Sheng spotted his friend there, working as a promoter. I heard from him that they were friends back in primary school. Oh, then we chatted with Si Mun and Sin Cyin for awhile. 


Back to work...


Anyway, it's Si Mun's birthday today. So...

Happy Birthday!

By JM