Taiwan Part Three
Date: 27th June 2013
It's our third day in Taiwan and it's time for us to head towards Hua Lien 花莲. Before that, I forgotten to share that both Josh and Kate enjoy each other's company here! I'm really very glad to see this sight.
Infamous rice balls with red bean. They are Josh and my fav. Delicious and Josh is so happy to know there is this and his eyes quickly brighten up!
Picture of them before they sleep. All wanted to sit with me and I'm very thankful that the seats are very comfortable and my children are cooperative throughout this 2 hour train ride.
Look at what they are eating? Lollipop. Thank God that the receptionist gave them something which I do not like. But this time, it helped us because the ride was bumpy. And the lollipop kept the children sane and they have something to do there.
Dolphin alert! After about 25 minutes out in the sea, we spotted these beautiful animals.
In fact, I took over 100 random pictures in the sea, kept using iPhone to snap them. And only captured 4-5 nice pictures. Luckily can capture some. So happy.
Josh asked me what does dolphin eat. So I answered him that dolphin eats prawns, small fishes and seaweed. And he continued for me saying 'And salmon'. So funny right?
There are a school of them and according to the tour guide, it's their mating season now. There are only 2 female and the rest are males. Some kind of competition or group mating? I'm not sure. But what I know is that they are so carefree! They are mating hence they didn't really bother our existence. So task orientated.
Group picture of us at the front part of the boat.
Josh pointing to Kate the dolphins location. And Kate later kept pointing 'Fish is there. Fish is there.'
They are so comfortable and Kate pretended to sleep as she lie down on the platform. Josh followed. I find they adapt to places so easily and it's up to us to make the whole journey a learning experience for them.
I taught Josh that this is a lighthouse and he loves it so much. After we are reaching back, he kept pointing and looking back. Saying that the lighthouse is still there. After awhile, it's gone. Thereafter he kept asking where is it.
Apparently, if we are lucky, we can see sperm whale, killer whale, humpback whale... So interesting right? We will definitely come back and see more too.
There is a balcony and a plant. It makes us feel as if it's a home for us. Look at the grills. Kate pops her head out of it, and it was stuck. She panicked of course, then we managed to remove her from the grill. It's through this lesson that hopefully she learns not to always put her head out from the grill.
These toiletries have their own branding. Too beautiful to use. Maybe it's their tactic. Lol. I really like their razor though. Very good quality.
After bathing, I saw them watching the television and I asked them to hug. After using the manual camera, Josh say take another picture again. And it's such a lovely picture to end the day trip.
It's our third day in Taiwan and it's time for us to head towards Hua Lien 花莲. Before that, I forgotten to share that both Josh and Kate enjoy each other's company here! I'm really very glad to see this sight.
We bought fresh grape juice and they shared drinking together. So sweet right?
Later I asked Josh to squat down so that Kate can drink better. Then Kate also followed her brother. She loves her brother and will follow what he does. Even wearing of socks. She is humble and treats Josh as a role model. Amazing. This drink is priceless.
Picture of us at Ambience Hotel toilet. Love their lightings used. Both my children also like to take pictures. Lol.
Taipei Train Station
Goodbye Taipei as we head towards Hua Lien. And there are so many railways in Taipei. Hence you must know which berth to take and the train and carriage number.
We bought some food up and this vegetarian stall is really amazing. You choose the amount of food and they will weigh and you just pay the amount you buy. They don't over charge! It's very good.
Kate has an icon? So cute, both of the girls..
We love vegetables and they are really very tasty. They are all fresh and yum! Singapore should have them.
The funny thing is that on the train, he ate all the pink rice balls, only left the white ones.
I would like to mention that I want to thank God for being there with us. The reason being that by the time we bought the food, it's already 1250pm! And our train reach at 1pm. The whole train station was so big, I do not know where is platform berth 4! Suddenly, I have the urge to turn my back and there is a lift. And it shows the number 4. A man was there and I asked if it goes to the berth 4, to Hua Lien. He said correct and he even helped us to press the lift down. The funny thing is that he didn't enter the lift. He pressed B2, and he closed the door for us. It's strange because he has been waiting for the lift for awhile. We reached the berth at 1252pm and the train arrived at 1255pm. It's certainly God's provision because I could be taking steps down, not knowing where is berth 4. And it happens that the lift also stops at the carriage that we are taking. Isn't it amazing? We are totally speechless and we may even unable to board the train if we go wrong platform.
Soon after, they slept soundly for an hour. Really find it god send for me to have them and taking care of them is my joy.
We rested and we finally reached Hua Lien. Don't ask me why their 'Lien' is spelt this way. Ha.
Whale watching (赏鲸）
We reached the hotel and we asked the receptionist what can we do here in Hua Lien. She told us that we can do whale watching. We bought the tickets and they brought us to the pier 花莲港.
I felt a little sea sick and decided to take a breather outside. Luckily it helps a lot.
It's much more enjoyable here. And the sea and the wind is wonderful. Josh and Kate saw the dolphins and they are so happy pointing them!
The whole trip cost us NT$2500 ($110) for two adults and two children. I would say it's worth it as we get to see close upfront dolphins! It's luck that we can see these.
Beauty Stay Hotel
This hotel is nice in general, only have two storeys, hence no lift.
The space in the room is huge, good for children to run around. This is an important factor to consider because we have booked small rooms before and the children are unable to roam around the room safely.
The whole washing face basin area is so beautiful and zen.
No bath tub and only shower head. It's good enough though.
One thing about Taiwan is that if there is a dustbin placed beside the toilet bowl, it means that one CANNOT place toilet paper inside the bowl, otherwise it will choke. We should throw the toilet paper in the dustbin. Isn't it quite shocking? Because we choke the toilet bowl and the lady used chopsticks to dig out the toilet paper. Ha. So we learnt this lesson here.
We had a long chat with Eve in Singapore. She showed them the toys that they have at home and they literally laughed when their toy dog sang the usual song! And Eve played the piano for them to listen!
It's really amazing that when overseas, you appreciate what you have in Singapore. And when you return back to Singapore, you miss the Taiwan porridge. Now I'm quite 'there' with Taiwan porridge, having to eat them in breakfast and dinner. Lol. Humans are hard to please animals.
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