La Vida Hotel Taichung

I'm going to write about my favorite hotel in Taichung area and it is located within Fengjia Night Market.

For people who know me, I love to stay in really clean and cozy hotel when I travel and I don't really care about the price as long as it is affordable. :) I dislike rooms that are made of wood, example wooden furnitures, wooden flooring etc.

When I travelled to Taiwan with the mister in 2016, I chanced upon this hotel and this was my stay here in 2017. There's even a television in the bathroom so that you can soak in a bath or use the toilet with entertainment, haha! 

This is a family room with 2 double beds, fit up to 4 adults.

You can view the write-up of previous stay here .

Breakfast is included too, but I still do not really fancy the breakfast here. 

I always recommend people to stay here when they are going to Taichung. 

2nd Anniversary at Cocobolo Poolside Bar + Grill

Times flies ~~~ We have known each other for 3 years but together 2 years only - our daily lives are like old couple, no gifts on occasions and spending time with each other once or twice a week only. :(

I have been feeling so tired because my house have been going through a revamp - changed the sofa, shoes cabinet, whole set of air-conditioners and now bed-frames and mattresses! The mister insisted to meet for dinner on Tuesday (actual day of anniversary), so I am quite important to him. :p 

I'm so surprised that he got a Kate Spade bag for me because he will never want to buy stuff that are too expensive (maybe only stingy to himself). I have eyed on this bag since a month ago and he knows it. :) Thank you Baby <3

We had our dinner on a Friday (23rd Dec) because he has won a dinner voucher previously by taking part in a radio station contest. Dinner was at Park Hotel, Clarke Quay area. I'm sorry that my following post may sound angry/offensive because I had encountered bad services and people cutting my queue at Taxi Stand.

I'm glad that we don't have to pay for this dinner because I will not want to spend the price on such ambience/food. :) 

The poolside are was small, there were ants on the tables and the ambience made me felt itchy all over. We told the staff about the voucher and he said it's alright and showed us to our seat. It was all BBQ stuff, salad bar and some dessert counter. I only had a steak, some sotongs, 2 prawns and that's it! I told the mister I will not go again even if it was for free. 

Halfway through the meal, the staff came and told us we cannot use the voucher because it is festive season. The voucher can only used on Fri, Sat & Sun and is valid till 29-Dec-2016 so 23rd Dec is the last day we can use the voucher since 24th is eve and 25th is public holiday. I told the staff that we are not using on the eve and they never state that 23rd is festive season. The mister was getting angry (he is a quiet person and very nice always but when he know that fault is not with him, he will argue the reason)! He demanded to see the manager - the staff went to check with another colleague and they allow us to utilise the voucher (we not gian png type, we can pay if we want). After that, NOBODY came to clear our plates or refill our water when there were not many customers! I was so angry that I wanted to leave but it was raining heavily so we had to wait till the rain stopped! Argh~~~~  I don't think I will want to go back there again!

I had a black face while walking to Clarke Quay where we wanted to have drinks - encounter another super rude service at Wings bar. I walked to the table with 3 seats but the waitress said I can only take the seat for 2. Ok Fine! Then 2 groups of 2 people came and they took those tables with 3 seats -.-" what is this?!

It really spoilt my night and luckily we managed to get a table at Shuffle Bistro Bar where I can listen to some nice songs performed by liveband. 

After some time there, the mister suggested HaiDiLao for Supper and oh ya, it was my 2nd HDL within a day because I had HDL with colleagues for lunch. :p This made me cheer up a little yet feel sleepy already :D

We finished at around 2.15am and while queuing at the taxi stand, there were many people who were drunk and they were still in the queue. While it was my turn, I saw this lady dressed in sleeveless top and denim jeans who were pretending to text suddenly appeared in front of me and the next thing I knew is, she walked to the taxi and got in. I immediately shouted "Oei! Cut queue, you don't know how to queue up is it!". The taxi coordinator knew what was happening but he was stunned too. The guilty lady dare not look at me - I just wanted to make her malu of her own actions. I should have just got in the passenger seat and demand her to get off the cab (my mood was super bad that day!).

Thinking of it, I still feel 不甘心 to let someone cut my queue while waiting for taxis. 

The BIG "3" Birthday Vacation in Bangkok Part One - 2016

This year's birthday is a little special because I get to spend it overseas with my love! This was an impromptu decision because we only bought our tickets in August. :)

Jetstar for 2 (including taxes, 30kg from SG and 50kg coming back from BKK): S$230
3 nights accomodation (including taxes): S$369 [original price was S$500 plus ] 

**Accomodation was at Centara Grand at CentralWorld (which is above S.E.A largest mall)

If you need some "tricks" on how to get more discounts on booking accomodation, please feel free to drop me a message, I can help. I managed to apply 2 types of discount which explains why the accomodation is so much cheaper.

28-Sep-2016 (Wednesday)

Our flight was at 10.45am, I did not want an early flight so that it will not be so rushed for us. I wanted a more relax trip! We reached the airport at 8.30am though, there's ample time before the flight!

How can I forget an ootd at the airport? :p

I always grumbled at the mister for lousy photoshoot. :x I need to train him more. :p 

We managed to sleep a while on the flight and landed in Bangkok around 12.20 BKK time. By the time we reached the hotel by taxi (410 Bhat), it was nearly 2pm. The room was not ready so we had to go for lunch as my tummy was growling.

The hotel lobby was located on 23rd level and we had to take the lift down to 7th level, walked a few steps via the multi-storey carpark which is connected to the foodhall/supermarket of Central World. There were so many restaurants on the 7th level of the mall and I saw some of the cafes/eateries which I'm interested in! 

We proceeded to the 6th level where I wanted to bring the mister to Yum Saap - my all-time favourite local Thai restaurant which was pocket-friendly. (But then, I realised Bangkok is no longer as affordable/cheap like before. Maybe it is still cheaper than SG but not like before!)

This cost around S$20 - the pandan leaves chicken was really yummilicious!

Yum Saap

Central World, 999/9 ถนน พระราม 1 Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand

10am-10pm daily

After we finished the meal, I told the mister I wanted to eat the ice cream in the form of a rose. The cafe is located on the 7th level. I chose the extra dark & chocolate mint flavour. Price: 159 bhat (S$6.26)

He always patterns many many - wanted me take photos of him giving me eat the ice-cream and presenting me the "flower". This was the first "flower" he bought for me - more practical. While eating halfway, I saw a small cockroach near the seat of the cafe so I decided to make a move. :(

Frozen Bride 

Central World 7th Level

10.30am-9.30pm daily

Our room was ready by then! We gotten a room on the 41st level - 4123. 

Although the exterior of the hotel looks grand, the interior was a little old already. There was a huge bathtub too! The view was overlooking Siam Paragon too which was just a short walking distance away via the skybridge connecting to Central World. 

We rested a while before making our way to Siam area because I want to check out Melissa Shoes for the kids. Melissa shoes are much cheaper in Bangkok but there was no sale during the time I went. Though it is still cheaper than SG but I understand that it can get as cheap as S$30 - S$60 when there are SALES! 

I chose Greyhound Cafe at Siam Center for dinner - this is my favourite place for their crabmeat pasta and mini chicken wings! I'm so disappointed in this place now - service was really bad and the food standard has dropped! They will be opening a branch in Singapore (Paragon), I hope they maintained the good standard and service for it. 

This meal cost around S$35.00 . I left with disappointed tummy. :( 

GreyHound Cafe

Siam Discovery 989 อาคาร สยามเซ็นเตอร์ ชั้น 3 ถนน พระราม 1 Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand

11am-10pm

We walked for quite a while around Siam Square street night markets (fyi, the street markets are no longer available) before heading to Chang Massage which is highly recommended in most blogs. I have always go to Chang Massage in the past - it cost 300 bhat (S$11.80) per hour for body/foot massage. You can easily find any massage parlours anywhere in bangkok from 150 bhat to 400 bhat per hour.

It's back to hotel for the night's rest as I was feeling quite tired although it was only 10pm. 



29-Sep-2016 (Thursday)

I was thinking to go shopping on my own in the morning so that I can let the mister sleep more. I was surprised that he woke up and asked if I wanted to go swimming. He wanted to swim while I just want to wear bikini and soak in the water. (No bikini photos because my mum and mister will kill me if I uploaded any :p). 

The mister was craving for the Soi 19 Wanton mee though this was not in my itinerary. So we ended up having wanton mee & pig trotter for brunch. The price has increased to 100 bhat (S$3.94)! It was twice the price as before! There was a reason why it cost 100 bhat now - there was real crabmeat in the wanton mee now, but portion still very small.

There's no branch in SG at all so don't compare the noodles between SG and BKK. The pig trotter was so good that I keep eating non-stop! I think our meal cost around S$16 - quite expensive. 


It was shopping at platinum mall after brunch and I only shopped for few items this time round. Things were really not cheap like before! We shopped till around 4pm and we had our tea break at the foodcourt. We had fish maw soup and pad thai  -- the pad thai was not nice!

Coconut taste the best when in Thailand!

We dabao the Mango sticky rice which was really good!

I saw that the 6th level had undergone through some major changes and there's a beauty buffet shop now where I can get really nice handcream! I fell in love with the handcream which Jia bought for me before. :) There's a provision shop there which sell certain items cheaper than Big C hypermarket - I bought the Nestea (thai milktea) at 90 bhat (S$3.54). 

We headed back to the hotel after the shopping and I went alone to the Jelly Dreams store and bought 3 pairs of Melissa Kids shoes. We were supposed to go to the night market but decided to postpone to the next day because we decided to shop 5000 bhat (S$196.85) at Central World so that we can get the Ralph Lauren bag. We had no idea what else to buy - the mister pulled me into Michael Kors, Kate Spade & Coach and insisted to get a bag/wallet for me. I keep rejecting because I wanted us to save the money and I still have my Prada wallet in good condition and my mum has gotten me a new bag lately too. 

I decided to get a Cath Kidston x Winnie the Pooh pouch because Cath Kidston launched this new disney collection on 27-Sep-2016. There's also a 5% discount for tourists. :) Thanks the mister for paying it. 

We decided to dabao the street stall grilled fish back to the hotel for dinner because the mister wanted to go to the rooftop bar. There's an event outside Central World which sell creative drinks & food so I got the flavoured honey lemon drink and octopus balls too. 

 

By the time we finished dinner, it was around 10.30pm. The dresscode was smart casual so we changed and took the lift to the 54th level. Service was so-so at the bar *shake-head*. 

The mister suddenly kissed me and said "Happy Birthday Baby" , I checked the timing, it was 12 midnight SG time (11pm BKK time). The mister is always so cheeky yet romantic when he feels like it.  

We moved up 1 more level to 55th level where the rooftop bar was located at. It has very nice and romantic view!

  

All of a sudden, I can feel raindrops! It started from slight drizzling to heavier raindrops so we moved to other seats but still seeing the beautiful view. A cake was suddenly placed on our table - the mister had arranged this surprise during our shopping at Central World - I feel so loved by him as always! Thanks for everything you have done for me! :)

 
I think this is such a long post, will update in 2 different posts! :) 

Day 1 of Taiwan 2016 - Taipei

I have neglected my blog for the past 6 months - it has been a busy and fulfilling for the first half of year 2016. I'm here to blog about my Taiwan trip in April this year as many people has been asking about my itinerary. I planned my trip very detailed and make sure I won't leave out fun places/eating places during my holidays. 

This is our 2nd trip together - the mister's family sent us to the airport late at night as our flight was at 1am. I'm super thankful for that!

The mister also changed a lot of Taiwan Dollars and he said its for me to shop! How sweet is him - he always do little things for me and yet sometimes I still complained. He made me feel guilty at times - I promised to treat him better. :p 

The mister slept the moment we are on the flight -.-" (He was really tired from a day of work!)

We took Jetstar since there was a promotion and we paid SGD $520 for 2 pax. 

We touched down Taoyuan airport at 6am and I was feeling super hungry by then - we went to the convenience store and bought a bottle of milk and tea leaves egg  [the mister loves to drink the milk]. 

We also purchased the bus tickets at NT250 for for 2 to go to Taipei Main Station where we can take the MRT to Ximen.  The journey was pretty fast, about 40 minutes. 

We reach cityinn ximending around 8.30am - this hotel is my choice everytime I go to Taipei. It is near exit 3 of Ximen station and across the road is 西门町商圈. 

 

There's a Alice is Coming cafe near the hotel which I do not have time to go to.

We took a 4 hours room - NTD 1200 (if I'm not wrong) because we are dead tired from the night flight. We really slept deeply and woke up an hour earlier to wash up before checking out (our official room check-in was at 3pm). After checking out, we headed to Ah Chung Mian Xian for our 1st meal of the day. But, the mister saw a japanese store just before Ah Chung Mian Xian and he ordered the fried chicken!

The fried chicken NT60 was indeed delicious and made us craving for more!

It was as usual long queue for Ah Chung Mian Xian but it moves pretty fast and we got a large bowl to share.There was slight drizzle and across the stall was a long queue (including old grandpas and grandmas) queuing for limited edition sport shoes (think related to Kobe's retirement). I know Taiwanese love sports shoes collection so much!

We walked around Ximending before heading to PS hair salon to look for Kino, my trusted hair stylist in Taipei! There were many branches there and his branch (largest one) is situated above T.G.I.F at 西宁南路. 

The mister also looking forward to haircut and hairdye. I just want to do treatment and cut my fringe like those taiwanese girls. But in the end, I still do a hair perm + treatment which cost less than SGD $150. My perm received much compliments from friends too (but just that my fringe looks weird due to the perm :p). 

The hair doesn't make me feel like me. :p

But I'm happy that Kino can always make my hair looks so pretty! :D

We went back to the hotel to check-in after we finished our haircut by 8pm - that was pretty long! The mister has to wait for me for a few hours. :( 

After checking in, we had to rush out to Gongguang night market and Shida night market. There was nothing much at Gongguang except for the famous 蓝家割包 and 青蛙撞奶 (basically just pearls with milk). 

So we finally tried the  割包, it is like kung ba bao except that they added 梅菜 and peanuts crumb and (sour plum powder, i think?). We can choose if we want fat or lean meat but I chose half of each. The 割包 cost NT50. The mister is happy that we finally tried this which we saw from youtube video. 

Next, there was a long queue for 陈三鼎撞奶，it reached my turn very soon! I tried it and it was yummy! The mister is not a fan of bubble tea but when he tried the 青蛙撞奶, he liked it and finished it for me. :) We shopped around Gongguang night market (don't waste too much time there) for a while and proceeded to Shida Night Market which was a station away. 

Shida Night market has decreased in size over the years but there was one stretch which was still pretty active and they had yummy food. We saw a 盐水鸡 store that had super long queue and the mister thought that it must be good and he queued 45 minutes for it! [We taobao it for supper and it turned out to be NOT NICE! NOT NICE! NOT NICE!]  It is purely boiled chicken cut into pieces and mixed with vegetables of your choice, bland and no taste. 

After queuing for the chicken, we proceed to walk around a bit more before heading back to Ximending. We passed by a 许记生煎包 (5 for NT20) and it was delicious though I'm not a fan of 生煎包, 

Upon reaching Ximending, we went to the 7 (that's what Taiwanese pronounced 7-11) to get some drinks for supper too. As there's lots of these "toys" machine in Taiwan, the mister tried his luck at catching this owl lock which I liked. It took him 5 tries (NT50) and he's happy with the catch. LOL! :)