SEA Aquarium

Before entering the S.E.A. Aquarium, we had to walk through the Maritime Experiential Museum. Although there's probably many interesting artifacts to see at the museum, we were too eager to the fishes and quickly walked through it.


The tunnel in the first part of the S.E.A. Aquarium reminds me of Underwater World, which I visited when I was still a kid.




It is really a difficult task trying to catch a sharp image of the moving marine creatures.

Bright orange starfish clinging on the glass

Cylindrical fish tank

There's endless little fishes and colourful corals to see in various display tanks.

Sea animal hiding in their shells


My best photo of the small jelly fishes that keeps bouncing around in dim lights.

Bigger jellyfishes dancing around in water

This super big "fish tank" is near the end of the S.E.A. aquarium.

A manta ray swimming across the "ocean"

Another manta ray surrounded by many small fishes

On the way to the exit, walking back in the direction towards the entrance, there are more marine life to see.


The path leads us back the cylindrical tank, but now we can have a closer look at the colourful fishes swimming at the top of the tank.

Danshui (淡水) & Fisherman Wharf (漁人碼頭)

From Taipei City, we took the metro to Danshui station (淡水站), which is also the terminal station. Leading to the jetty, is a long stretch of street selling typical Taiwan snacks and other stuff. To get to Fisherman Wharf (漁人碼頭), we have took a boat at the jetty. The boat wasn't a big one and was quite crowded. Fortunately, we found ourselves a spot that was not too much at the side of the boat, because water was splashing in as the boat travels out into the sea!

The crowded food street at Danshui.

The boat is leaving the jetty and we are on our way to Fisherman Wharf.

View of the city on the boat

Arriving at Fisherman Wharf jetty and greeted by the pale pinkish Lover's Bridge (情人橋) in the background.

Lover's Bridge (情人橋)

View from the Lover's Bridge

It's a pity it was a cold and rainy day when we made our visit. So, we spend most of the time hiding in a cafe: WaterBay (海岸景觀餐廳).

Wide selection of tea and coffee in the menu

My pot of tea that came with a warmer, syrup and some nuts.

Enjoying live music while we sip our tea.

Taipei Night Markets

We stayed in Home Hotel and the nearest night market is Raohe Night Market (饒河街觀光夜市). There isn't a metro station nearby, so we had to take a cab. It's really crowded there! As we're walking and looking, we're also buying and eating... and this is how we settled our dinner on Day Two of our Taiwan trip.

Entrance at one end of the night market

One of the many bubble tea (泡泡茶) stores

The crowd in Raohe Night Market (饒河街觀光夜市)

Some egg stuff

Store selling grilled corn on the cob

On Day Ten, we visited Shilin Night Market (士林夜市). The nearest metro station is Jiantan (劍潭). This is probably the most famous Taiwan night market that every tourist would come to. Some may suggest that it's more worth it visiting the less popular market, which the local frequent, rather than going to a touristy one like Shilin. However, this being my first trip to Taiwan, I just had to see Shilin... else, it might kind of feel like I haven't been to Taiwan. At the end of the day, I didn't feel that I've wasted my time in Shilin.



The most unforgettable is the yummy dinner at a herbal pork rib store (海友十全排骨):

Long queue outside the store

The super busy chef at the store

The eatery was full of customers.

Our yummy herbal pork rib (十全排骨)

Art of the Brick

Lego bricks were very much part of my childhood, but unlike Nathan Sawaya, my "art-pieces" were just simply child's play.


A "painting" made out of Lego.


Open Heart (left) & Peaces (right) were built from thousands of donated and recycled old bricks.


This dinosaur is probably the largest art-piece in the exhibition. See how huge it is in contrast with the benches in the background.


The artist even built something special for his exhibition in Singapore -  a model of the ArtScience Museum building where his exhibition is held at.

Meihua Lake (梅花湖)

KB and I took a train and traveled a long 3-hour journey from Taipei City to Luodong station (罗东站). Along the way, there's nice countryside scenery to enjoy, but I still wish that the train could move faster.

View of the field from the train

Colourful chairs at Luodong train station

A train departing Luodong station

We pre-booked our accommodation in this area at My Dream Castle (芯園 我的夢中城堡). The owner had instructed us, via email, to call her when we arrive at the train station. We did as told and she drove over to the train station to pick us up.

After checking in to our "castle", the owner mentioned that there a lake nearby. She then called for a taxi to bring us there. As this is a rural area, there isn't any other alternate transport. But I must mention that the taxi fare seems more expensive than taking a taxi in Taipei city!



The taxi driver dropped us off at the far end of this row of shop-houses and we walked across the street to Meihua Lake (梅花湖).

There's a grand temple high up in the mountain.

Sunset at the lake


A bridge in the middle of the lake

We walked along the perimeter of the lake

A small temple near the lake

Before heading back to our "castle", we stopped by Bear Cafe 小熊書房 and we had coffee and ice-cream waffles.