Saturday 8 November 2014

Taipei Day 5



Sherman : Today, we went to the Dun Hua Taekwondo Club. I was surprised when Miss Tan chose me to spar with one of the students there. After the match, I gasped for air. I was impressed by my sparring partner's stamina. It was indeed a good fight in Taipei. 

Cheng Han : Today, we went to the Dun Hua Taekwondo Club. I had a wonderful experience there as I spared with one of the students there. It was a good sparring match as both my sparring partner and me managed to give a good fight especially my partner although he was tired. It was a good fight in Taiwan.

Then, we went to Yangmingshan National Park. Yangmingshan is a dormant volcano. We saw sulfur on the slopes. The sulfur smells like rotten egg. After all the group photos and selfies we took, we took a bus ride to mid mountain and trekked down to the foot.

We drew on eggs while taking a short break and we took several pictures in different stances with the scenery as the background. Next, we took a long, tiring, 50 minutes walk back to the parking lot. The walk was tiring but we showed our preserverance and completed the journey. During the walk in the forests, there were many obstacles that we had to go through. For example, there were trees that blocked our ways, so we had to overcome them by bending our bodies and trying to pass. It was a tiring walk but we would not give up. Some of us tried the pig blood cake. It didn't taste as scary as it seem

We went to Raohe night market ,as it was a Saturday  it was very crowded, there were many different food stalls from fried squid to herbal soup, we stopped to buy the fried squid which took us at least 5 mins, after that we went to a lots of clothing stores and also there were many dogs too ,which made some of us feel a little uncomfortable . When we were engrossed by the sights and sounds of the market, and we forgotten about the time and thus we were late by 22 mins and in future we hope that we can manage our time properly. 

Photos to follow shortly.



Friday 7 November 2014

Taipei Day 4






First,we went to Jiufen to shop and experience their food culture.Jiufen was situated on the top of the mountain at Rui Fang. We had to walk up many flights of stairs until we finally reached the streets of Jiufen.We walked along the streets and got to see many different types of Taiwan's delicacies and local products. One of the delicicious food was the deep sea squid and one of the interesting food that we had tried was the snail. We thought that it would taste weird at first sight, but in the end it tasted really nice. One thing that really struck us was the words spoken by one of the ocarina shop seller. He told us that we should never stop learning and learn new things wherever we go. We felt really inspired by him. Although he was just a ocarina seller, he had a great set of values and we think we can learn from him by being persistent and learn new things wherever we go and make the most of everything that we do.

Jiufen was named after the nine families that lived on the top of the mountain. Whenever they needed food, one person would go down the steep mountain and get nine sets of food for the rest of the villagers. We learnt that we should be caring towards others, display servant leadership and not complain when we need to serve others. We can express those values by helping one another when they are in need, serving dishes to the rest and putting others before ourselves and thinking of their needs before ours.








We went to Longshan High School for Taekwondo exchange programme. I feel very welcomed by their warm applause at the entrance. As we arrived at the training room, I noticed that the students took down their shoes from the shoe rack for us to put ours on the rack. I was touched by their gracious act as they put others before themselves. During training it was not as easy as it seemed. Their standard was way beyond ours. I actually felt embarrassed as we were not as good as them. Despite so, all of us gave our best so as to improve ourselves and be better. We have to put our discomfort away and stay focus. As for me, I was slightly pressured and felt that i could do better. To improve, I have to believe in  myself more and be confident.

I was impressed by their great discipline. They were on task and had no hesitation. Even as they were being called upon, they did not moan or have a single complaint. In fact, they were more than willing to step forward to present what they are good at. For those who did not get chosen, they were disappointed. We should adopt their attitude like those of the Taekwondo members and be honoured to showcase our talents. We should also not take things for granted. For example their training ground was small while ours was big. Despite that, they train well and have fun but also clean the place to have a conducive training environment. The greatest impression i have on them is that they have great respect towards their coach. During training, they obey instructions however after training, they interacted with their coach well. Overall, I learnt to have self-control and know the right time to joke or to be serious.



Upon reaching Shilin Night Market, we were given NT$150 each for our dinner at the night market. Besides using the money for our own dinner, my group decided to share the amount for our dinner by sharing the cost together as a group without minding that we won't be able to get our actual amount. Because of this, we decided to share the cost, we were able to enjoy a variety of food and fill our stomach instead of just eating one thing for our dinner. Unlike the trips we had before where we do not share our food , we get to share our food together as a group, bonding as one. As a result, our bond as a group grows through this trips.

We were also able to bond more when we were sharing the food together as we get to know more about each other as we eat. We tried fried oyster, bacon wrapped with spring onion,and fruits in B1 food court. There after, we tried the Mee Suan, beef, and a bowl of sweet soup and a  bowl of salty soup. After eating all of the sumptuous food, we went shopping along the streets. Through our visit to Shilin Night Market, we feel that this trip is different from the ones that we had before.




















Thursday 6 November 2014

Taipei Day 3





Early in the morning at 9.00am, we set off for an hour and half journey to Shan Sian Le Yuan, a preserved national park located at the ends of the busy Taipei city. We took the cable car to the mountains, during the trip in the cable car, we were impressed by the beautiful scenery and the cool breeze. We also observed a waterfall during the cable car ride, amazed by the wonders of Mother Nature.



At the end of the ride, we wandered around the the place and enjoyed the view before starting to hike up the mountain. On our way up, we learnt about the history of the place. We also tried on the traditional costumes and drew the traditional marks on our faces and took pictures. Afterwards, we were taught the traditional dance by the tour guide and tried it out together. Although some of us could not dance very well, we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.

We continued going up the mountains and we also learnt about the different rare species of plants that they have in the mountains and tried their water, sweet and clean. We also explored the mountains and their rides, such as the pirate's swing. We climbed up the fixed ship and sat at the swing fixed across the pond, and we swung over to the other end. It was a very fun and meaningful trip.





After our lunch, we went to Ren Ai High School to continue our taekwondo training with the local students. We changed on the bus so we started our training immediately when we reached the school. The training was quite tough for us as most of us had muscle aches from the previous training.

We had another taekwondo coach teaching us the basics of kicking and punching. When we were doing our stretching, they had many unique stretching methods, which left many of us confused as we had never see them before. We were quite impressed with the taekwondo’s skills of the Taiwan students and their discipline. By the end of the training, we have made many new friends and learnt new skills and values. We all enjoyed the training greatly and hope to train with them again.





The last stop of the day , we went Taipei 101 . It is the tallest building in this country standing at 508m . It is one of the main tourist attractions in Taipei and the building has many shops and offices . The elevator is the fastest elevator in the world travelling at the speed of 60km/hr . We took a total of 37sec to reach the 89th storey . When we reach the 89th storey, a scene of taipei's beauty appeared before us . We took the audio guide which helped us to understand the building and the surrounding. 

I feel that it takes a lot of hard work in building the tower , after seeing the architectural design of the building  and understanding that this building takes a lot of effort and time to be built successfully. One example is the damper which looks like a golden ball . It ensures that the building won't collapse should there be an earthquake as it can counter the movement of the geographic plates. I really enjoyed having this opportunity to learn more about one of the highest towers in this world . 


Wednesday 5 November 2014

Taipei Day 2


This morning, we went to Beitou Hot Springs Museum. It was really interesting as the museum was an old building which had Roman and Japanese influence in the design of the building. We got to see antiques which were actually used by real people. We learnt how the hot springs worked and even got to see preserved tubs that were used long ago by the locals. 
 



There were many interesting facts in the Zhong Zheng Memorial Hall that was worth having a look at. Chiang Kai Shek was the third President of Taiwan and we learnt more about the history and the development of the country. Even though the tour guide spoke softly, I managed to get the gist of what she was saying by referring to the artefacts on the wall. 

When we reached the founding father, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall, i noticed that the design of the building was different and unique. the memorial hall was built to commemorate Dr Sun Yat Sen's 100th birthday. It includes a garden, decorative historical walls and exhibition and performance areas. The in-house tour guide brought us to see the artefacts and i was impressed by the visual effects there. 




Afternoon, we went to Ren Ai High School for our school exchange. The buildings in the school are as tall as our school and the taekwondo training with the school team was interesting. I was amazed by how we displayed the can-do spirit despite the tough training we received. We have learnt to "never give up" and gave our best!

The taiwan students we met at Ren Ai High School are very helpful. When we were looking for the toilet, a girl from the TKD team of that school, named Sunny, led us to the toilet. She chatted with us and asked us for our names and ages. During the training, she corrected us when we were not performing the correct moves. I felt comfortable training with them and have learnt new things from them. Looking forward to the next training. :)



We have a sumptuous dinner and we think that it is going to get even better!

Tuesday 4 November 2014

Taipei Day 1



On the 4th of November, at 9am, we gathered at Terminal 3 Row 7. 30 mins later, we were given a short debrief before we check in. We were feeling very excited as it is the first trip as a CCA. We were given a great send-off by our loved ones and took a group photo.



We were excited after the check-in. We were allowed to window shop around for an hour. Next, we sat down and chatted for some time. Shops in the transit area were quite quiet. We were looking forward to the trip as some of us have not been to Taiwan. We were guessing how the weather will be in Taipei.


On the airplane, we listened to music, watched movies and played games on the inflight entertainment system. They served us chicken and other cuisines. Feeling elated about the adventures that await us in Taiwan. The whole flight was 4 hours and everyone was tired. But morale was high!!!!


Upon arrival at Taiwan,we were greeted warmly by our Tour guide, Ms Apple. She looked like she was 16 although her actual age was 26. We then proceeded for dinner at nearby restaurant . Everyone was hungry and we were chatting about the food we ate. We were told the fish is a special Taiwan breed!


After we gathered at at 9pm, we went out of the building to wait for our bus. While waiting we took some pictures with the Taipei 101 which is opposite the Eslite Bookstore Building. We were excited while taking pictures because we were eager to go the Taipei 101 tower on the 6th of November.