Year 2007/6 USA Trip

At last the long awaiting trip to America, a world by itself. Comparing with Taiwanese, Singaporean has a easy access to US soil with 90days VISA free tourist VISA. Jenny has to goes for Interview at theTaipei US trade with supporting document beside VISA fees.

For the trip, we are armed with a newly invested PANSONIA camera and a seond-hand SONY video camera. Its an experience filming everbody on camera, however, it missed the fun of enjoying the scenery and company. Anyway, photos shot reaches a thousand pieces, recording every scenes coming into my viewfinder.
Jenny has her share of buying her "Branded" bag and me, learning the great land of a powerful nation.

TRIP ITINERY - Eastern USA , 10days tour
Day 1 - June 1,2007 Tapei - L.A.
Flight : CI004 (22:50 - 19:00)
Hotel: Hilton Garden Inn (Tel: 650-872-1515)
Travelling time to first destination,Buffalo city @ Nigara Falls

Day 2 - June 2,2007 L.A. - Chicago - Toronto
Flight: AA1284 (06:10 - 12:20)
Flight: AA460 (13:00 - 15:45)
Hotel: The Oaks Hotel (Tel: 905-356-4514)
Reached Nigara Falls, Dinner @ Skylon

Day 3 - June 3,2007 Travel by BUS
Nigara Falls @ Buffalo City
Hotel: Holiday Inn Buf Apt (Tel: 716-634-6969)
Featuring: The missty Ferry Trip to the falls.
Day 4 - June 4, 2007 Buffalo City - Boston City
Flight: US3994 (07:00 - 08:20)
Hotel: Sheraton Mileford (Tel: 508-478-7010)

Featuring: Havard,MIT,QuincyMarket
Day 5 - June 5, 2007 Boston - Newport - New York
Hotel: Crown Plaza Englewood Hotel (Tel: 201-871-2020)
Day 6 - June 6,2007 New York City Tour
Hotel: Crown Plaza Englewood Hotel (Tell: 201-871-2020)
Featuring: The Big Apple, where Bull-Run and Freedom has its meaning.

Day 7 - June 7, 2007 New York - Princeton - Washington
Hote: Country by Marriot Fairfax (Tel: 703-573-9555)

Day 8 - June 8, 2007 Washington - New York - Taipei
Flight: CI011 (23:45 - 06:05 +2days)

Featuring: Capital Hill, Washington Memorials,Museums

View Photographs**********************************

Fu Shou Mountain April 2007

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Fu Shou Mountain is physically located in the County of TaiChung, Taiwan. However, it is more convenient to access the Resort Farm from the Eastern part of Taiwan, ie. Ilan county. People from Taipei travelled through the XueShan Tunnel 13plus km entirely under the Central mountain range of Taiwan. Fascinating from Engineering prospective, a Major Civil engineering piece of work. That's me and Jenny taken by the "Swan lake", there's a story behind the given name. Story that can only recite onsite. Who wants to goes FuShan, please made a date with us ... free Singaporean Taiwan-based tour guide.

Anyway, one too many so-called Farm Resort is created for the purposes of relocating the Demobilised troops from the KMT era. When the civil war ended between Taiwan and the other side. Troops were demobilised and reassigned to contruction works, which include building of mountain roads and poineering mountain farming communities. FuShou Farm resort is one of them and very much properly maintained with proper housing and farmland.

Highest point within the resort farm, known as the "Haven-Lake" where all magnetic field congregated. You can see people mediating and "chancing", according to the staff, praying is now prohabited but you still can see jotstick sticking around. It's always missy throughout the year and prehaps a clear view only during the late morning period.
The little hut is built for CKS (if you knew who he is), which has a circular couch-seats meeting room with full-height clear glass wall on the second level. A coffee house (tea or coffee only) with seat is located on the ground floor, very friendly staff though.

That' s when the story starts, meeting the .sg lady while sharing the BBQ squib titbit from Second Auntie (she landing on April 12,2007,Taipei). It smelled according to our Taiwanese friend......its bring Singaporean together, just open up the smelly stuff from .sg ..... ha ha ha.

Well, there are plans to develop family tour with a recently added flower garden. You need a guided tour to fully appreciated the effort done and understand the difficulty in gathering the various type of trees, plants and flowers. There is even a single apple tree "attached" with 39 types of apple Gene. Presonally, I like the missy surrounding...its worth the long travel up the mountain.Chan Su See....an .sg working at FuShou mountain....can't image meeting a Singaporean at such ULU places of Taiwan.... Anyway that's her eighth days at work.......unforunately I didn't bring my "LIM CHEE GUAN" Bakua (thanks to my dear friend Douglas, The Singapore is still hanging on my wall) with me... next best stuff I had is the BangwaSolo peanut cookies...that bring us together. It always felt very at home when we talked Singlish lah....

Another resort house built for the same guy CKS. Every great men has his story but I do felt the resort house this gentlemen has is somehow one too many. Just one day after this photo was taken, another of his resort house in YangMing mountain was burnt done, reason unknown. I still preferred to be just a simple man living a simple life. Its too much of an controvecy for CKS.

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New Zealand - November 2006

New Zealand, a country far south of the equator and taking a day's flight time reach. From the Formosa island, transiting at Hong Kong. New Zealand takes me to the Northern Island at Auckland and down south to ChristChurch. Its an experience to learnt how a domestic Airport operates and taking BUSES for domestic flight to location. It take time and daring to ask to get around the country...

CITY RIVER - river cutting across the Christchurch city with beauty Banks and Duck roaming around freeing. That something the future river bank in Singapore should looks like. The river cut across Neighbour and linking smaller garden park and the Botanic Garden. One can actually cycle round the city ... by the river bank.


Road construction very similar to Singapore....POSTBOX at New Zealand. My partner commented that one hardly meet anyone on the road in this land of more sheep than human. 7-11 is hard to comes by. Method of roadside parking includes, 1hr, 2hr, 3hr and 4hr parking. Small little pillar-like Automatic machine nearby for self-payment.

SELF-Driver - My first RENTAL drivingexperience while on oversea. Something about the rental experience. First I didn't rent from Int'l Rental like HERTZ or AVIS but from the recommended list in the tourist brochure. I think its safer when and if I runned into problem. In fact, the owner(one-man-kick) is very kind to explain the detail, it also provide PICK-UP and Airport send-off service. His inventory of car are NEW second-hand car imported from Japan (in my case MAZDA, righ-hand drive). Well, the experience tells me you need a assistance to read the map when driving and very important a common thought about enjoyments. Don't forget the Insurance bit for the rental experience.

WEEKEND MARKET or DayTime PasarMalam - It only happens during the weekend well located in a OLD converted school building. You can find store owner from different country, which I met one when asking for direction to the Museum(free entry and quite informative).

Last but not the lease - The typical Botanic Garden, a era left by the British. I always felt very at-home when inside the Garden, its beautiful and after a flash of quick rain dropping. ChristChurch,NZ
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Year 2007 Chinese New Year Plan

2/16 - Friday TPE-SIN, Landed 10.55pm at Changi Airport. Hwei and my dearest Xi Yin waiting at the door. It always feel warm (beside the weather) to be back with someone waiting for you.
2/17 - Saturday Chinese New Year Eve ... Reunion hosted by the three Lady...a double steamboat this year ++ abolone ++

2/18 - Sunday - 1st day , Planning and discussion required. Picture taken @ Grandmother's place, probably the second last year at Gillimard estate. En-BlocED.
2/19 - Monday - 2nd day, the foods prepared by Ta-Shao is up at the top picture. Outing with CBK and Bee Bin at NTU, Bouna Vista

2/20 - Tuesday, visited Bie Sun. Blk 824, Sims Avenue #08-944 Tel: 6742 5181 (home), 9669 3434 (My mobile) biesun.tjong@hp.Com (65) 6727 3143 opp Eunos MRT station. Masionette two storey and very comfortable with twin son.
2/24 - Saturday - Family Gathering @ Lay Hoon house, Ah Hoon prepared the foods shown below. Great effort for a warm family gathering.

2/25 - Sunday -Tea House Gang Gathering, Tea House, China Square, 3-5pm Nellie Teo Tel: (0065) 6423 7139 Fax: (0065) 6224 5217 email: nellie-tl.teo@db.com . A very good session updating what the friend is doing this days. Yoke Kah is happily "hooked".


2/26 - SIN-TPE leaving. Mother & Father accompanied us to the Airport. Flight aws delayed for full three hours, a chance to really see our Int'l airport...lot of things to past time @ Airport.

Mini-Oranges Representing a Golden and fruitful year for ALL ***

<< AH KUN breakfast >>

A link between home and a foreign land in Taipei...Air travel has been make life more simple.

A typical Ah-Kun type breadfast in Singapore. This is a close family photographs. Dick and Family on the photo's left and Hwei's family photo on the right. That's me on the photo's right side first person.
Bread is toasted slightly but not burnt, slice further into two half horizontally and paste with Singaporea-made KAYA, goes slightly salty with a piece of refrigerated butter. The combination tastes is perfect. Not forgetting the cup of local coffee-shop hot cup of coffee or tea. Personally, preference being a cup of TEA-XI.

Wuling National Park - Camping Trip

第一天 , 星期六 - 7/22

5.30am - 從家裡出發 - 7點前過雪山水道
7.30am - 到宜蘭 - 當地的特色早餐

太平山民宿參觀之行 http://www.villa-home.com.tw/villa-a1-map.htm
12noon - 到武陵農場

http://www.wuling-farm.com.tw/chinese/program.htm

12.30pm - Lunch at 賓館
6pm - 晚餐

8pm - 星星 月亮 沒太陽

第二天 , 星期日 - 7/23

6am - 早餐

7am - 瀑布之行

12noon - 午餐 & Pack-Up

1pm - Home sweet home

Equipments

1)換洗衣物 2)晚上涼, 保暖衣物 3)帳棚 4)睡覺用的被子及墊子 5)運動鞋(健行用)及拖鞋 6)開水 7)晚上要泡茶 or coffee or ME, 請自行準備喜歡吃的零食等 8)早餐.......紅豆麵包及麥片 ? 請自行準備.

Ideas
我會準備一餐, 煮泡麵+ 高麗菜+ 雞蛋+ 玉米罐........open for suggestion ? 其它餐可去餐廳吃. or you want to eat in restuarant or buffer.

Coming Year 2006 Singapore Latern Festival

10/5, Flight on Thursday - TPE-SIN
10/6, Friday - Lantern Festival
10/7, SATURDAY , BBQ to-be-confirm
10/8, SUNDAY , BBQ to-be-confirm
10/10, Flight on Tuesday - SIN-TPE , Taiwan National Day
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