anyway, monky just showed me a screenshot of how my blog looks like in firefox. RAHHHHHH!!! so ugly!!! but heck, i think few people use firefox. =D
okkk. start!!!
lacking sleep because i only had a 30minutes nap before leaving house. all ready in my jacket and luggage at changi airport waiting for the rest to arrive so we could check in.
after checking in, we did a brief survey in Gucci. i spotted this really nice brown leather travel bag. RAHHHH. okkk. must spend within limits, teojielin!!! -waves tearful bye bye to gucci bag-
travelling makes my mood super duper good!!! (((: and i love morning flights regardless of what others say. somehow heightens the anticipation and excitement. =D
fatbear looks happy too! =D
posing with the mickey mouse xmas decorations in the airport. fatbear likes to copy my pose!!!
and because we were all starving from lack of sleep and hence no time for breakfast, we popped to BK for some munch. pity though, because the breakfast sucked like shit. trust me, don't eat breakfast at BK. makes macbreakfast taste like something sent from heaven.
my 80 year old bond bestie. loveloveloveeee. (((:
the deceiving spread which is...not so yummy as it looks.
then it was flying offfff!!! and we survived the flight by napping, watching random videos on board, listening to songs etc.
arrived, luggages intact, waiting for the in-charge to pick at up.
15degrees out! the weather was fine, minus the wind!!! it was so bloody windy my teeth were chattering by the time i stepped out into the open air. everyone was shivering mans. HAHA.
finally my head gets in, but the shot had to be blurry. boooo.
outside waiting for the mini bus to pick the 4 of us up, plus a singaporean couple who were both very nice and friendly.
they helped us take this picture, infact. (: don't be fooled by how calm we looked. we were all damn cold!!!
on the mini bus. to our hotel to check-in and dump our luggages before heading out for shopping and dinner and the COUNTDOWN!!!
our first and last hotel was qi lin da fan dian, which honestly was like shit because of the cramped space and the lousy toilets with very insensitve heater. HAHA. still, it was livable lah.
see lazy fatbear sleeping! preparing to head out...
at hotel lobby.
hello! fatbear is wearing one of the polo tees i bought for him for xmas! nice hor!!! =D but i look ghastly white wtf.
we walked to ximending, which was near our hotel. went by this nice looking place, which was a movie ticketing booth. woahhh.
stumbled across more food, and started our devouring. yummy yummyyyy.
i guess when you're in a foreign country, the main motto is to try as many different kinds of food as you can. because it's gonna be a once in a lifetime experience, right? so...yea, i tried things i thought i wouldn't place into my mouth. =X
like duck's tongue. and oyster mee sua. and i don't know what else lah. some were not very nice. but at least i can say that i've tried them! =D
walked past this and i had to take a picture for mz HAHAHA.
reached ximending!!! roarrrr!!! SHOPPING TIMEEEEEE.
the buildings in tw are definitely not as structured or neatly aligned as that in singapore, but they are seemingly infrastructured in such a way that navigating through them brings simple pleasure and excitement. because you never know what the next corner brings!
also, billboards, posters, advertisements and colors are splattered everywhere. very different from what we experience in singapore, i think.
and the important thing was also that the weather was so cool, squeezing with thousands of people in a street doesn't make you shed a single bead of sweat. whereas if you were to squeeze with people in bugis or orchard, i think you would have become pigs in summer. humidity definitely dampens your mood to shop or even enjoy anything.
it was early evening by then, so we shopped till late evening before taking a train down to city hall taipei nearby 101 for the countdown 08-09!
how could i miss out bubble tea? =DDD the pearls there are...awesome!!!! definitely VERY tasty and Q and unlike singapore's lousy ones. =(((
we HAD to eat mee sua from the famous ah chung mee sua stall at ximending!!! the weather complemented the steaming bowl of delicacy!
it was so good the queue was so long and people came back for more after 1 bowl!
the queue is longer than what you see in this picture. and people just lingered around in groups or pairs to savour the mee sua.
can you see my uber satisfied face? taiwan is like a place to eat and grow fat without worries HAHA.
after eating, you dispose of the bowls into these buckets. very orderly indeed.
i just thought the starbucks building looked very good in quaintly red bricks as though it was teleported over from england. miss england now. =((( all that quaintness.
anddd, their 7-11 there is really a STORE AND MORE. HAHAHA. super convenient it's like EVERYHWERE, stocked with EVERYTHING possible.
these shops with dozens of machines can be spotted in almost all the night markets (ye shi).
started drizzling so we had to buy an umbrella wtf. didn't want to fall sick!
walked past this smelly tofu stall. HAD to take a picture HAHAHA. made fatbear pose. no, i did not try it. i don't think i'll appreciate the aftertaste throughout the entire night wtf.
these were like the craze too! HAHA. basketball is fun.
saw very pretty icecreams. the kind shopkeeper allowed me to take picture of their icecreams even though i was not intending to buy from them. it was wayyy too cold to add onto our shivering bodies.
motorbikes in taiwan has got to be the most convenient, dominant and cheap transport. they are like kings, weaving through every passage way, every little lane down the street, zooming past on the roads etc. females driving scooters are super common. nothing surprising. and they are very daring, skillful drivers too!
taking the MRT to city hall station.
happy couple ah.
i was sitting in the priority seat wtf. HAHAHA. tired lahhh. eyes damn dry from the winds.
the MRT map.
we reached our stop and walked to 101.
saw many vans parked along the roadsides preparing for live telecast around the country.
was still drizzling. crowds still going strong! was around 7plus already.
can you see 101 vaugely??! ((: my dream has come true finally!!!
we bought lightsticks to immerse in the countdown excitement.
my face damn distorted in this picture i don't know why. so sad. boooo.
we got some locals to help us take a picture in exchange for helping them take a picture too HAHA. apparently the photographer got his thumb/finger into the picture. but nevermind lahhh.
a light dinner first at the shopping centre opposite 101. machiam another paragon mans.
then we went out to brave the winds and cold night to squeeze for space at the countdown area!
the guy who helped us take this picture damn lousy lah. took two shots, both also shaky. this is the less shaky of the two. nevermind. i'll kop from monz's and ed's cam when they pass us their pictures.
near the countdown stage already!!
and guess who we saw singing??! S.H.E!!! wahhh, not bad sia.
squeezed more and more and moreee until we were QUITE close to the stage ok!!! about like 8-10 metres away only. damn crowded.
can see selina and ella. hebe was changing clothes.
can you see the heads of peopleee.
performing S.H.E.
ellaaa!!!!! my favorite out of the 3.
gawd. look at the crowd. rahhhhh. this was just the FRONT. the back...i cannot even see the roads.
still got time for camwhoring.
next up was da zui ba (big mouth). this shaky pink figure is ai sha, the only female in the group.
personally, i thought the vocals were shit and the only thing that was good was the beat and rythmn. only suitable for clubbing music i think.
started raining and these two used their scarves as erm...head-brella wtf. AHHAHA. looked hilarious. had to take a picture. and yes, it's like a couple scarf thingy. same pattern just different color. HAHA.
we used our hoodies instead. until the rain got bigger and we had to whip out our umbrellas along with the rest of the crowd.
definitely spoiler. thankfully the rain went away soon enough before the countdown. (:
apparently taiwan is hosting the deaf-olympics. this is the mascot for the event.
can you recognise who is this?
yups. it's the guy who sang that "dui ya dui ya" breakfast song. lu guang zhong. did i write his name right? =X
his stage presence is geeky and slightly amusing. awkward, but in a rather cute way.
great vocals though.
and how can you miss out...the awesome ballad king...XIAO JING TENG!!! wah lau, same age as me, but earning big bucks, fulfilling his dream and...definitely a star in his own right. =S
super stage presence. very different what what he was like when he stepped into showbiz. i think taiwan moulds celebrities and singers very well. no wonder they can make a living out of this.
then we have chen qi zhen. very sweet voice. (((:
hours passed. we stood there from 8 plus to 1am!!! plus the travelling back (no taxis and didn't want to take MRT), we only reached our hotel at 3plus am. zzzzzzz. and we had help from a very nice volunteer traffic police who sent us home! ((:
anyway, the transport should be very convenient if you choose to take MRT. the service is opened 24 hours just for the countdown event.
there's fish leong.
with very kbox songs everyone could singalong to. (: old school.
she had flu though and her voice was very dry, but she still gave a very wonderful performance.
brave, i'll say. because the winds were ridiculously strong. the crowds helped us keep warm because we were squeezed shoulder to shoulder, face to hair. however, the winds on stage were visibly whipping singers and the hosts hair and clothes about.
in between had a couple more performances from other singers and bands and dance groups etc. pity though, because my xiaogui was in tai zhong hosting, so i couldn't see him. boooo. and the younger, more popular singers were all down at tai zhong too. SIGH.
still...countdown at 101 has always been my dream. so...it's been realized! ((:
gahhh fat face! HAHA. =(
ahhhh. a*mei!
she delivered a mind-blowing, electrified song after song, making the crowd dance to the beat, sing out loud, scream and yell. a*mei really knows how to work the crowd like a natural. kudos to her.
i've never been a huge fan of her, although i admit her vocals are...powerful beyond description--she makes singing look like speaking wtf. and her songs are very thoughtful, meaningful and full of emotions.
this time, the countdown performance at 101 really changed my perception of her. now i know why people pay to buy tickets to go to her concerts. she really makes your time and buckeroos worthwhile.
seee!! we were that close to the stage!!! can see the face ok!!! but...hai, still not close enough. booo.
4 minutes 11 seconds to countdown!!!
after that...all i have are videoclips of the counting down, the fireworks and so on. pictures were taken using my handphone, by fatbear. i'm too lazy to upload, so i'll see when my mood is good ok! HAHAHA.
tadaaaa HAPPY NEW YEARRR!!! 2009 is hereee. the first faces i saw were monz's, ed's and fatbear's!!! made a few new year wishes and resolutions. (((:
all four faces of 101 had colored hearts on them.
first few 2009 pictures. HAHAHA. the year can only get better, with hard work and luck. (:
mayday cameeee. to bring the atmosphere to a new high!
ashin!!!! -drools.
videos can be watched below, the 4 songs i've recorded partially from mayday. they are embeded from facebook, and i think you have to be my friend to watch them. nonetheless, try and see if you can watch!
the quality is not very good, abit shaky and images are rather grainy. still, it's just for entertainment. skip it if you don't wish to watch.
hungry after the crowd dispersed. crashed a nearby coffee house for toilet break and some comfort food which could not be finished. cheese cake and chocolate cake plus hot drinks to warm our bodies.
headed home after this. like i mentioned earlier, took us hours to get home. LOL. but thankfully the volunteer traffic police came to our rescue. happiness.
i daresay this is the best countdown "party" i've been to. something out of the ordinary, different, special and indeed memorable. the company, the atmosphere, the people, the country, the weather. every element contributed to make this 08-09 crossover something i'll remember for life--until i get lao ren chi dai zheng or something wtf.
i used to think that touring taiwan is just fun fun fun eat eat eat shop shop shop. on the other hand, this trip has made me open my eyes to the culture and history of taiwan, reminding me that touring is just not about mindless entertainment, but learning as well.
i'll get done with day2 soon. i'll try.
starting work tomorrow. and school on monday. booos. must plan short getaway soon. meanwhile, save money, make some plans, materialize them and pray that good luck remains by my side for life! (((:
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