good morning from Grand Hi-Lai Hotel :)
preparing to check out of the hotel.
a pic with hello kitty before going off.
this is the front desk.
an area specifically for only our luggages.
while waiting for the wawa to settle the check-out procedures for us, some of us sat in the bar at the lobby.
some sat on the steps.
some took pics with the xmas tree.
and some took pics with the grand piano at the bar.
soon, it was time to leave!
this round-about thingy is ever so fun. haha.
but sometimes, the hotel staff will press on the stop button and the kids get stuck inside for awhile. lol.
funny to see their reaction. hahaha.
coach bus is too big to drive into the front of the hotel, so we had to walk down to the bigger road outside.
but the bellboys were really nice.
they helped us to push our 2 big trolleys of luggages down the slope and transferred them to the coach bus!
so nice :D
little cayden :)
so, we took off and the coach drove us to the train station for us to take the Gao Tie(aka bullet train) back to Taipei.
the train station.
the top-up machines.
the estimated time of arrival for the trains.
still early, so we decided to explore the place alittle before tapping in.
oh yes, spot this!
they attach the baby-car-seat to their luggage and drag tgt.
like wow, never thought that can be done!
otw to the shopping mall nearby!
the things they sell there.
like a flea market.
the soft toy dog tt meimei says resembles her friend's real dog really much.
wanna save money?
get this coin bank!
haha, so interesting.
Tom, welcoming us :D
and of course, at malls, they have christmas tree and santa too!
ticket for bullet train!
was it tap or slot-in kind?
ahh, forgot.
time of arrival and departure time for the train!
hurrying down!
cant b late!
the train waits for no-one!
bullet train at the other side of the platform.
yup, this is ours!
to TAIPEI!
the interior of the train!
it's christmas season!
so this was on the headrest of the seat.
hardworking daddy starts his video recording.
settling down.
all smiles! :))))))
still had some time, so we went out of the train to snap window-shots for them.
sadly, my cam couldnt capture nice images.
all pics turned out to have reflections!
:O
grandparents and their baobei.
a short while later, they start to signal for me to get in coz the train was about to leave!
i hurriedly hope on the train before the doors shut on me.
so, it's pics in the train now!
scenery outside.
hmm... mainly just greenery, lakes and factory-like places.
a shot tt i requested of reymus.
he complied, before he burst out into laughter! haha, coz he felt it was too fake! lol.
he took my cam over and says it's his turn to snap!
and this is what he took :o
shortly, these people came!
she came to sell food and drinks.
i dont know who he is.
must be some train staff, based on his dressing.
but to me, he looked like some villain in shows who hops on the train and disguise into a staff and walk around stealthily :O
suspicious.
reymus, of course, wants to eat again.
most of us were quite full aft the breakfast buffet, but he could still eat!
really 2 thumbs up for him. (Y)(Y)
oh, and he insisted on a pic of his food. haha.
raphael shared one box of rice too.
independently using chopsticks to eat :)
something stuck? lol.
ok, cleared. haha!
his actions are too cute!
about jut 3 stops and we arrived at Taipei. tt's just so so fast!
if we were to follow the coach bus, it'll take us abt 4 hrs!
squeezed our way out of the train and walked to take the mrt.
it was really so so packed!
gathered at an area while waiting for uncle cw to get the tokens for us to take the mrt.
ooo, they have free wifi at the train station.
so cool.
yes, these are the tokens i was talking abt.
toilet break before taking the mrt.
this was outside the female's toilet.
so cool!
it tells us which are occupied and which are not!
there was one outside the male toilet too, but i didnt get the chance to snap a pic of it.
we transit by taking the mrt to Xi Men station to shop at Xi Men Ding!
now, you understand what i meant by 'packed'.
it was so so crowded!
and of course, no seats in the train, so we stood.
very soon, we reached Xi Men station.
going to the exit via escalator.
locals there keep to their RIGHT!
we were the only goondos who kept to our LEFT until we realized and hence, followed. haha.
squeezed our way out of the station and whuuut!?
it rained!
umbrellas of people were just squeezing in and out of the station!
was really so so crowded!
XMD.
meimei and i walked on our own coz it was too squeezy to walk in a big group and stop and wait for one another.
we just arranged to meet back at a certain time.
teehee, so we went for some street food :D
this had a long long q, so we just q-ed and tried one.
no idea what was it.
tasted like mua chee on stick drizzled with sweet milky creamy sauce.
nice, but i dont think it's worth the q.
this was recommended on taiwan food show. so, must-try!
Prince Cheese Potatoes.
warm cheese drizzled on the potato with lots of toppings!
satisfied with our buy.
gonna share w the rest!
so sad tt it rained! otherwise, it'd be more enjoyable to walk and shop around!
after shopping, we took the mrt again and headed to Taipei 101.
this time, we managed to get some seats!
reached the station.
now, we need to figure out how to get there.
well well, gonggong saw that there was a shuttle bus, but i have no idea why we decided to walk instead.
spotted Taipei 101!
on the poster :|
cheeky boy decided to pull his teeshirt till it covers up half of his head.
then tapped me and chuckled. haha.
yea, he was pointing to his little square on the sleeve of his teeshirt --- a monkey!
lol, like a monkey!
aiyo, so cute! hahaha!
midway, we regretted walking because weather was even more cold with the rain.
and on top of that, we got lost!
asked for directions, braved the rain and finally, we saw a glimpse of hope when we spotted this!
these are the clearer pics i have alr.
it was raining, hence the spots on the pic.
those were raindrops!
i had to sacrifice my digi cam for this shot!
and finally, we reached the Taipei 101 Shopping Mall.
there, you can see how drenched we were!
so appropriate to have a big full length mirror when we enter.
all of us took turns to dry ourselves and made sure we still look fine aft braving the rain!
meimei and benben had hoodies, so they dont look as drenched.
reymus, on the other hand, had no hoodie, and so, he got all drenched!
esp his hair!
grandpa, who used his handkerchief to protect his head from the rain.
haha quite funny but innovative!
ryan, photo-bombed us TWICE.
first.
second.
reymus looked like this aft putting on the beanie.
why so sickly!? :O
all because of the rain, we did not go up the observatory deck.
just shopped at the mall.
interactive big screen directory, just like the ones we see at MBS Shoppe.
we didnt get to go to the observatory deck, but we cant miss out taking pics with the mascot!
so here it is :D
at some Sony shop.
the kids trying out their products.
reymus obviously was enjoying himself. lol.
so comfortable.
then it was dinner at Din Tai Fung!
DTF there was very popular too.
so so packed!
we had so many of us, so just had to wait for our tables.
their open kitchen :D
adults table.
childrens table.
yes, i sat with the children.
some of our food!
dumplings!
yumz!
fried rice with prawns!
yumz!
add-on order.
2 rou bao.
and it really came just 2 in one big long.
juicy.
yumz.
the staff then cleared the table and brought nicololo's cake in!
surprise surprise!
4yi planned all these for her.
sadly, she wasnt feeling too well.
hence, was alittle restless.
but hopefully, she still enjoyed her bday surprise and celebration with all of us at Taipei 101! :)
Happy Birthday Nicololo! :)
very concentrated in cutting up her cake. haha.
'yes we wanna eat! yes we wanna eat! yes we wanna eat!'
their family pic, with grandpa :)
while we were taking pics, these 2 boys have really lots to talk abt eh.
seeing how happy they were. hahaha.
not to forget, group pic before leaving!
yay! :v
after dinner, it's time to snap pics with the DTF mascot!
so ke ai!
some last min shopping before we go back to the hotel!
3yi bought us this!
more eye masks and facial care products!
yay ^.^
when we were done, uncle cw made a call to wawa and the coach came to pick us up and send us to the next hotel, Orchard Park Hotel.
but it was such a disappointing experience.
bad bad bad.
more abt it tmr!
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