SATURDAY, JANUARY 9, 2016
Tracy’s Birthday Weekend! This was the weekend before Tracy’s birthday and when we asked her what she wanted to do, she said she wanted to pick strawberries in Dahu, Miaoli. Tracy and Tory came from Hsinchu and I met them at Miaoli High Speed Rail Station. We took the free shuttle bus (available til Jan. 31st) and got off at Sheipa National Park.
While we waited for Rebecca, we took some jumping pictures and Tracy opened her gift from Tory. I have to give props to Tory. Her gift was amazing! She truly put a lot of time and thought into it and I was touched to see how much Tory cared for Tracy. Weirdly, it made me happy to see that. Anyways, Tory went out and bought a blank set of Jenga blocks. She then wrote on every single block. Each block either had a question or dare. It’s a great game to play to get to know a person. We read through some of them as we waited for Rebecca.
When Rebecca joined us, we walked up a set of stairs on the right and went strawberry picking in the exact same plot as I did last time. The strawberries were better this time around though. I think I went to early in the season. It was so much fun and Tracy ate half her strawberries while picking them. 🙂 The weather was beautiful! It was just an awesome day as banal as that sounds.
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| Baskets and boots provided. Surprisingly, the ground was kind of muddy. |
Afterwards, our stomachs were hungry and we found a restaurant at the end of the street. The fried rice was pretty good and vegetables are not really popular among us. The roasted chicken they served looked like a chicken with feet and head all attached. Ugh. There’s something about seeing a chicken’s head connected to my food that makes me lose a bit of appetite. The girls like to tease me about it endlessly.
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| Lunch is served. |
Afterwards, we hopped on the free shuttle bus and headed to the hot springs area. We ended up going to Tangyue Hot Spring Resort. It is next to King’s Spa Resort. Admission was 480 NT for unlimited time. It was nice to go to a different one. I truly enjoyed the trip because it was relaxing and a good time all around. We caught the last shuttle back and went to the same “chocolate” restaurant. This time they were opened and we ordered some burgers and dessert. After eating, we hopped on the high speed rail shuttle bus and went home.
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| Pretty mountain views right outside the hot springs. |
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| Outside the hot springs |
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| Dessert at Shokalake – I spent a total of 460 NT for both the pancakes above and my sandwich. |
SUNDAY, JANUARY 10, 2016
I met up with Tracy in Hsinchu and we just hung out and walked around. Tracy showed me some sights in Hsinchu and we went to a Nike store, looking at sneakers. Unfortunately, I didn’t find any pairs that I liked, but it was a nice day to hang out.
Surprisingly, I didn’t take any pictures that day, so I’m don’t remember what else we did. 🙁
TUESDAY, JANUARY 12, 2016
Birthday celebrations continue!! 🙂 On Tuesday, a bunch of us got together in Hsinchu for Tracy’s birthday. We went to Din Tai Fung and shared a bunch of food. If you come to Taiwan, I highly recommend going to any of their branches in Taiwan. RJ had been in Taiwan for 5 years and had never gone! I was astonished! It’s a must eat in Taiwan. The food is delicious and classic representation of Taiwan’s food.
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| Din Tai Fung – you can watch them make all sorts of buns and dumplings. |
Afterwards, we went next door to Haagen Dazs. They were having a special, buy two scoops get one scoop free. Score!!! So, we all got ice cream for dessert. Can it be Tracy’s birthday everyday?
1. Happy birthday to me!!!2. I wouldn't object to a birthday everyday! 😉 (or even just the 11th of every month haha)