Taiwan Trip Day 5

Itinerary

Lugang old town followed by shopping at Ximending!

Reflections

Brian- First up, we went to Lugang Old town and I was intrigued by the design of the buildings there. The shophouses were big but had a small front but the houses were longer. In the olden days, tax was imposed on the residents by judging the size of the door front instead of their earnings. However, the residents were very rich but wanted to reduce the amount they were taxed, so they bipuilt longer houses that had small fronts.

Next , we took our tour bus to the high-speed train station, afterwards we took the train to Taipei and at Taipei, we took the MRT to 西門 station. This journey is smoother than the first day's journey as the class decided to cooperate. Upon reach ximending, we were given time to do some personal shopping. The personal shopping experience was very good as we were given ample time to shop. The ont downside to this was that it was raining so it made traveling between streets hard. Following this, we walked to a restaurant and then finally reached the hotel on foot. We then collected out luggage which the kind bus driver had unloaded for us and went up to the hotel room. 

Charmaine- Have you ever experienced an earthquake? Well I certainly have not since there aren't any natural disasters in Singapore apart from the minor flooding in Orchard Rd (ain't really counted since it was caused by man yeah). As such, I have never known what it would be like and how to react when an earthquake happens. At the 921 Earthquake museum, we learnt how earthquakes were formed, how they travel from a certain place to another and measures to ensure our safety. It was interesting like geography lessons. Sites of where the earthquake hit the school badly was cordoned off to educate the people on how to escape when there is an earthquake. The school building has collapsed to the extent that the 3 floors are flattened into a pancake, the tables a chairs were squashed to the extent that they no longer can be seen and the stairs were in an awkward manner. It was just simply shocking to be able to stand right in front. It was really saddening too T.T I could even see the toilet bowls in the washrooms LOL Thankfully, it happened during midnight or more lives would have been lost. Although it was saddening, it was C O O L at the same time (not being sadistic) What I enjoyed during my trip there was the 3D movie and the earthquake stimulation. 

3D movie: I was just in time to catch two movies. The first was about earthquakes while the second was totally irrelevant to earthquakes haha. I preferred the first one as it was more interesting and unlike ordinary animated films. I learnt that when an earthquake happens, it is mandatory to turn off the gases etc to prevent gas from leaking, creating a bigger explosion during the earthquake. However, most of the people panic too much that they have forgotten this important step. This short film was fun yet educational. 

Earthquake stimulation: I was excited for the earthquake stimulation but was rather disappointed as I feel that there is room for improvement. Firstly, the vibration could be more vigorous and could have lasted longer while we enjoyed a clip in the holding room. Instead of allowing us to just sit there (to me it was rather boring. I mean, nobody would sit down calmly when an earthquake really happens), we could have pretended that we were trying to escape and everything was in chaos. I believe that will make the stimulation more realistic and enjoyable.  

After which, we went to Lugang old town which is pretty much similar to Singapore's China town. It consists of many rows of shop houses with occasional small alleys. Everything there was maintained just like it was long ago. I noticed that there were calligraphy scrolls above and beside the doors. It was written from left to right in traditional Chinese. While everyone baked in the hot sun from taking pictures, I was having a whale of a time myself trying to figure out what was written on the calligraphy scrolls. Everything just seems Greek as the tour guide touched a bit on the history of Lugang town. Also, we can see Taiwanese selling food and small accessories in their shops. There was this shop which sold malt candy in the form of lollipops or the shape of a cartoon character. I think it was creative of them to think of such ideas to attract customers to buy their malt candy. Although I didn't buy any, my friend Douglas offered me half of his malt candy. I have no idea why but my malt candy was solid whereas my friend's candy was in the form of liquid. Since I have never tasted malt candy before, I didn't know what to expect :p I think it just tastes really sweet so if you have a sweet tooth, I recommend you to try it :D

Malt candy 麦芽糖 (Extracted this pic from google because I didn't take any photos that day)

Afterawards, we went to Ximending to shop yay! I wasn't that excited though. I have never been a fan of shopping. I was just pretty neutral about it. Ximending is just like any other shopping district in Singapore. Most Of the things there are more expensive. They sell items such as key chains, magnets, clothes, stuff toys etc etc. While shopping in Ximending, i walked past two shops which sold ice cream. Since I have not eaten ice cream for long time, I was really tempted to buy it. Thankfully, I didn't buy it from the first store as they only served a small scoop of ice cream which costs SGD $3.50 (cheat my feelings) whereas the ice cream from the second small was only SGD $1 and it was so worth it that I could not even finish it despite the fact that I ate hours ago. This just proves that good things come to those who wait ;D Nearing the time that we had to meet up with the rest, my friends and I came across this bookshop which was located at the basement. We walked down (ofc) to take a look. I noticed that the bookshop sold lots of items we cannot find in Singapore such as designed sticky tape, vanguard sheet cut out into different shapes and sizes and all kinds of decorative materials. Again, I was tempted 😅 I didn't buy it though since I felt that they wouldn't be much of a use to me. However, I did buy some notebooks which only cost me SGD $1 per one piece and all the designs were really cute!! I had a hard time choosing and even had the urge to just buy every design available (crazy ain't i) 😂 Since I have space constrains, I know I shouldn't. In the end, I chose five designs I liked best. My friends and I were literally fan-girling over their cute notebooks ahhhh.

                 Aren't these notebooks cute?

The day ended off well with dinner again :) I was glad I had the opportunity to experience an earthquake and shop in Taiwan's shopping district. 

Tiffany-The 921 earthquake was devastating. It was a school that crumbled. Looking at the now-destroyed buildings, i has to remind myself constantly that there were no students there lest i would be overwhelmed with sadness. There was this particular part of the school where the third floor, second floor and first floor were stacked on each other. Imagine a student being squashed under the weight of all that concrete. I finally realise what it actually means when people say we are lucky to live in Singapore 'cause of the absence of natural disasters. I have read about it in newspapers and online but seeing it with my own eyes was a whole new experience for me. It has left a deep impact on me. However, i didn't cry like it thought i would, thankfully. But i felt very sorry for the students whose school just collapsed overnight.

The earthquake stimulation was kinda creepy. It wasn't a full on coaster ride that made you head spin. But because you're in a house and the books fall, the tv shakes. It gets kinda creepy. At least we knew that it would come to an end sooner or later. When these happen in real life, no one knows how long it's going to last or if it will happen again. I think that is where the fear starts and also if you don't know if your loves one are well and safe. Once again, i felt thankful to be living in Singapore. 

The Lugang old street. One word: hot. But the experience was nice. the layout of the place was like a maze. It was so unique. the paths were narrow and the buildings were literally kissing each other. It was so vintage-like and tumblr-like. 

Ximending reminded me of jurong east. The number of stores there were uncountable and we has fun looking around. And, who can forget, fangirling over Kim Soo Hyun. AHHHHHHH. (: