Category: Going Places

My travelogue.

A Day in Yorkshire Dales

Posted on By sweet surrender No Comments on A Day in Yorkshire Dales

Some of you might have noticed that I was away for 3 weeks in July. I went to England for a long deserved break. My first time there was during summer 5 years ago. This time, I also went in summer. We went to North Yorkshire. One of the places that you can pay a visit there is the cheese factory.


The Wensleydale Creamery(Gayle Lane, Hawes, Wensleydale, North Yorkshire DL8 3RN) is based at Hawes in Wensleydale in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. This is the home of the famous Yorkshire Wensleydale cheese and a popular Visitor Centre.


The creamery is a great place for family. You can find a mini museum showcasing old equipments and items used in the olden days of cheesemaking.


You can see people working in the factory making cheese at the cheesemaking gallery. Didn’t take photo of it because no one working on Sunday hahaha!! However, you can find cheese and butter making demonstration just next to the museum. Again… No photos because it’s not allowed.



Cross a small road, you’ll be in another building where you will get to interact with some exhibits and do activities with your children. The viewing gallery is in this building.


Before you end your visit, do drop by the cheese and gift shop. You can try the cheese till your heart’s content lol…

Admission Charges:
Adult £3.95
Child £2.45
Family Ticket (2 adults & 2 children) £9.95

You can check out their website for more details https://www.wensleydale.co.uk/

After visiting the creamery, we went to the town to look for lunch.

We came across Laburnum House Tea Room(The Holme, Hawes, North Yorkshire DL8 3QR) and had our lunch here. It’s a traditional, family run tearoom, serving light lunches, home baked cakes and scones, Yorkshire Afternoon Tea and the Yorkshire Clotted Cream Tea. You can also enjoy a slice of Rich Fruit Cake with Wensleydale Cheese, both made in the village. Aside from having meal here, it is also a bed and breakfast.

Here’s what we ordered…

Jacket potato served with side salad, £5.80 each. We ordered Baked Beans with Cheese(left) and Coronation Chicken & Mango Chutney(right). Potato is very filling, don’t underestimate the portion.


Left: Lasagna, can’t remember the price.
Right: Soup of the day with home baked baguette. If not mistaken, we had broccoli and cabbage soup (£4).

All the food is freshly prepared when you order hence it will take a bit of time at peak hour. Be patient and wait. The food is quite nice and very filling. Can be shared with another person if you’re small or average eater, one jacket potato or lasagna will be able to fill you two up.



After lunch, we just walked around the town enjoying the scenery.


After Yorkshire Dales, we headed to Liverpool. Along the way, we saw this structure, very big and many people stopped to take photos of it. Frankly, I have no idea what it was. In order to write about this structure, I tried my luck with Google. So… It’s after 2 months back from the trip, then I know what is this structure all about. It’s a viaduct!! Anyway, I’ll just copy the details to share with you from yorkshiredales.org.uk:

Ribblehead viaduct is probably the most famous of the many feats of Victorian engineering along the stunning Settle to Carlisle railway line. Its iconic location in the middle of the Three Peaks makes it a popular photo stop. There are a number of laybys, a tea wagon and the popular Station Inn. Of course the easiest way of getting there is on the train as there is a station at Ribblehead itself. On Sundays during the summer there are connecting bus services to and from Ingleton and Hawes and further afield.

The viaduct was built between 1870 and 1874 with up to 1000 navvies working on the construction site. The viaduct is 400m (440 yards) long with 24 arches spanning across Batty Moss. During construction the navvies were housed in camps close to the viaduct – Sebastopol, Belgravia and Batty Wife Hole – some of which had schools, libraries and pubs. It was dangerous work and disease was also a threat. The building of the viaduct was the inspiration behind the recent TV drama Jericho.

Next stop, to Liverpool we go…

Driving All the Way - England, Food Porn, Going Places

Rainbow Hotel, Ximending, Taipei

Posted on By sweet surrender No Comments on Rainbow Hotel, Ximending, Taipei

Rainbow Hotel (No.36, Han Chung St., Ximending, Taipei, Taiwan, 10842) is the third hotel we stayed in Taiwan. We spent 2 nights in Taipei. I booked a room for 5 pax. It’s located in a very strategic and convenient place, nn the middle of Ximending and the nearest MRT is only 280m.


The room is just nice for 4 pax, 5 pax would be quite packed as they will add an extra bed. All the amenities are provided in the room. The room, Family Deluxe, wasn’t cheap without promotion(I booked it at about RM560/night, this rate is from Agoda) but considering the area and the convenience, it’s actually not that bad especially if you share the room with three or four others. WiFi is inclusive. I booked the room with breakfast. The breakfast they have is very simple, not much choices.


You do not have to worry about paying for the the items of the minibar. It’s included in the room price. All these snacks you see are for you to eat. We brought them along with us when we went out. Pretty useful when you just want to have something to munch along the way.

I’m quite satisfied with the hotel. For breakfast, I’ll just forego. I might consider go back there to stay depending if I am able to get cheaper price hehe…

If you are interested, you can check out Traveloka the best rate possible, not just for this property of course, others too, maybe you can find better ones there.


Klook.com

Going Places, Review It!, The Heart of Asia - Taiwan

Hotels in Yuchi (Nantou) and Sanyi (Miaoli) Township, Taiwan

Posted on By sweet surrender No Comments on Hotels in Yuchi (Nantou) and Sanyi (Miaoli) Township, Taiwan

Gonna share with you the hotel I stayed when I was in Nantou and Miaoli, Taiwan. I did not book these hotels, it’s booked by my tour guide cum driver as it’s part of the package. You can check the hotel price online. Once we landed at Taoyuan International Airport, we were greeted at the airport and started our road trip to Nantou.

We stayed a night in Classic Hotel Shvatan (No.8, Fuxing Ln, Yuchi Township, Nantou, Taiwan).

They have room for triple sharing. It’s clean enough. Bathroom is spacious. All the basic necessities are provided, WiFi is available in the room without extra charge. Staffs were friendly. Breakfast was included in our stay. Simple breakfast was served. You have to clean up after yourself after breakfast.


To get to this hotel, it is not as convenient as when you are in Taipei. You will have to hire taxi if you landed at Taichung Airport which is 52.5 km or 70.7km from Hualien Airport. If you are in Taipei, you will definitely need to drive, hiring a taxi from Taoyuan can be insane, I don’t think anyone will want to drive you there. It takes hours to reach Nantou.

The next day, we left Nantou and headed to Mioali. We stayed at Sanyi Sakura Resort (Miaoli Sanyi Township Guangsheng Village Road in front of eight shares eight Lane 1-18, Sanyi Township, Miaoli, Taiwan)

We got practically a “house” for three of us. There’s two bedrooms and one bathroom. One bedroom is a room and the other bedroom is at the living area. There’s stove for cooking as well. Maybe they converted the living room by placing a bed there since there were three of us. WiFi is inclusive. The staffs are very friendly and acted fast to help us solve some problems we encountered in the room. All the basic amenities are provided.

Lots of mosquitoes around due to the location surrounded by bushes. Our room came with breakfast and the breakfast place is at the end of another block. Also, you need to clean up after yourself after eating. Very simple breakfast was served with limited items to choose from.

This property is 23.5km from Taichung Airport and 88.4km from Taoyuan International Airport.

There you go… These are two hotels that you can stay if you happen to look for place to stay in Nantou or Miaoli. I can only share these with you as these are the only hotels I stayed when I was there and arranged by my guide hahaha… There might be better ones out there, just check them out on major OTAs.


Klook.com

Going Places, Review It!, The Heart of Asia - Taiwan

Jiufen, Shifen and Keelung Miaokow Night Market Shuttle Bus from Ximen

Posted on By sweet surrender No Comments on Jiufen, Shifen and Keelung Miaokow Night Market Shuttle Bus from Ximen

On our second last day in Taipei, we went to Shifen Waterfall, Shifen Old Street, Jiufen Old Street and Keelung Miaokow Night Market. Did quite a fair bit of research on where and how to go to somewhere in and around Taipei, not really keen to take a taxi because there were 5 of us. Decided to save all the troubles of arranging and we did not have the luxury of time to get lost too. So we purchased Jiufen, Shifen and Keelung Miaokow Night Market Shuttle Bus from Ximen from Klook.

Here’s the itinerary:
9:50am meet up at GaKuDen Bakery (near exit 4 of Ximen Station)
10:00am depart for Shifen Waterfall
It happened that we stayed in Ximending and it’s only 5 minutes walk to Ximen Station Exit 4 from our hotel. It is not a guided tour, you are free to roam around the attractions. Just be sure to get back to the bus on the said time.

11:00am Shifen Waterfall (60 minutes)

It was such a hot day, hotter than in Kuching. By the way, be sure to have insect repellent with you, you don’t want to be mozzie’s feast.

Walked across the bridge to the other side…

You’ll be greeted with food and souvenirs.

Be sure to have comfortable shoes with you. It’s a bit of a walk if you want to go further up for a different kind of view. Don’t worry, the road is paved, average slope, and some staircase. Don’t worry about tracking any rugged paths. This is the view that you will see. We had only 60 minutes, so can’t stay too long there. However, it’s enough for us, it is just too hot. The main thing to see is this waterfall.

12:10pm Shifen Old Street (80 minutes)

Our next stop is to hunt for lunch. This is where you can decorate and set off a sky lantern along the historic railway tracks in Shifen. The street made up of two rows of shops and the railway track dividing them. The track is still used, you will have to clear the track when the train is coming.

We did not set off any sky lantern nor written anything on the bamboo. Just strolled the old street. Many shops selling sky lanterns, souvenirs(edible and inedible), and street food.

We had our lunch at Shi Fen Qie Zai Mian at the far end of the row of shops at the railway track area. All the pork dish you can get. Seating is limited, so be sure to act fast. Don’t bother about queuing, just sit when you see one.


Can’t quote remember what was ordered, there’s some parts of pork, dumpling, and noodle. Food price range from NT$30 to NT$300. By the way, no English in the menu.

Next stop, we hop on the bus to Jiufen Old Street.

2:10pm Jiufen Old Street (120 minutes)

It’s an uphill walk when we reached Jiufen. On weekdays, you do not need to worry about needing to fork out extra for get another shuttle to get in, the bus will be parked nearby and you can just walk. It will be tricky on weekend as certain road will be closed and you need to get on a shuttle to get into the old street which is not included in the package.

It was such a hot day. We had to climb up so many staircase… Oh man… Torturing. There’s crowd but not as bad. Weekend would be sardine packed!

We had not much mood at all, we just walked around and went to the meeting point half hour before the departure time. Ate nothing there too even though our bus driver told us that there’s more food here than Shifen.

Hearing so many people said Jiufen is a must-go and so on. Well… This one time is good enough for me. Not really my kind of place. Too touristy, things aren’t really cheap. Same goes to Shifen. Oh well… What do you expect? These are tourist attractions hahaha…

4:40pm Keelung Miaokow Night Market (90 minutes)

Time to hunt for dinner! So much to eat and didn’t know where to start.

All you need to do is walk around, buy and eat or takeaway. We had combination of both.




Be sure to head back to the pick-up and drop-off area to get back to XiMenDing.

7:10pm arrive and disembark at Ximen

Overall, this is suitable for those who don’t want to worry about planning and wasting time getting lost. Very convenient.

You can book it from here if you would like to go for this tour or just to have look at the details:


Klook.com

Food Porn, Going Places, Review It!, The Heart of Asia - Taiwan

Mushroom Paradise in Taichung, Taiwan

Posted on By sweet surrender No Comments on Mushroom Paradise in Taichung, Taiwan

After we visited Zhongshe Tourism Flower Market, we went to A-Liang Mushroom Farm aka Ah Liang’s Mushroom Garden 阿亮香菇園(131, Xiezhong St., Xinshe Dist., Taichung City 426, Taiwan (R.O.C.) ) to see and learn a bit about mushroom. Of course, bought some mushroom products too. If you love mushroom, you should visit this area.


You’ll get to see and touch different types of mushroom. They will explain and have a simple tour around the farm. The place is not big but compact enough. The climax is of course the shopping. Mushroom chips, dried mushrooms, and all other mushroom products can be purchase there. Spending one hour here should be good enough. You can also have your lunch here if you want. We did not have our lunch here.


We headed to Master of Mushroom 菇神(287, Xiezhong Street, Xinshe District, Taiwan 426) for hotpot lunch. Really love mushroom! The bowl of soup here isn’t the hot pot yet, it’s just a bowl of chicken mushroom soup which came as part of the set.


This is the specially concocted meat sauce which went well with plain rice. There you go… You get Taiwan Ru Rou Fan 滷肉飯. This is also part of the set.



Don’t underestimate the portion, it’s huge. We ordered for 4 pax even though there were 6 of us which is priced at NT$1880 per set. We had problem finishing it. It was summer, it was hot, luckily the place is air-conditioned. If the weather is cold, having hot pot will be heavenly.

Big bowls of fresh mushrooms and vegetables, a plate of assorted mushroom balls, and a plate of pork slice. Hahaha! Don’t get too excited with the pork, underneath is cabbage!! We finished everything except the cabbage. Too full…


Our hot pot with mushroom stock. We waited for at least 15-30 minutes for the hot pot base to come as it’s freshly prepared. It can be bland but it was just nice for me. With the goodness from boiling the mushrooms and vegetables that we put into the hot pot, it tasted better, not overwhelming, it can still be bland for some people.

I do recommend coming here if you are around Taichung. Again, don’t be silly to do a day trip from Taipei.


Klook.com

Food Porn, Going Places, The Heart of Asia - Taiwan