Laughter Prescription

According to her pediatrician, baby J is friendly but wary of strangers. That is, if she doesn't know you well (or at all), she'll show it by clenching her fists tightly and looking scared. Sometimes, she might even display her classic "who the heck are you and why are you touching me, stop touching me!" glare, complete with wary side eyes. She gets that from her dad ok =)

But every once in a while when she's in a super good mood, she might give you a smile. A smile that instantly casts a spell on the beholder, causing them to fall head over heels in love with her. To make you fall deeper into her trap, she might even giggle at your supposedly 'funny' faces.

Nevertheless, on those days when you just can't get even a little happy from her, all you really need is actually the following:

1) Mummy's milk

Taken right after a feed

From as young as 2 weeks old, baby J will always smile after a feed. No matter what =)

2) Mirror, mirror, on the wall...

Looking into a full length mirror

There's something about mirrors that gets their attention. Babies are always fascinated with other babies. I guess because they didn't realise someone else exactly like them exists. Whether or not baby J realises the image is actually her, she always smiles when looking into a mirror.

3) Giraffe Toy
I have a group of friends that each have a favourite animal that defines them. PH likes sheep, DH likes cows and DO likes tortoise. When asked what my favourite animal is, I answered, "giraffe". So they like to get me giraffe stuff, like the giraffe toy DH recently got us.

She never fails to grin at this one from Giant

Turns out my baby like giraffes too =)

4) Toys that have music & moves

Like this Go Baby Go!™ Bat & Wobble Penguin from Fisher-Price™ given to her by her 阿姨 (Chinese for maternal aunt).

Woo hoo hoooo!

How can you not laugh at this comical penguin whose music is, "woo hoo, hahaha". No matter how she hits it, it never falls and never stops smiling. Perfect.

5) Playing with her favourite people

A video displays a thousand words.

If you too have trouble smiling on those days when supposed friends take credit for your work and stab you in the back, take a page from baby J's book. Eat your favourite food, stare into a mirror, play with a favourite toy and spend time with the people you love.

Excellent laughter prescription from Dr B. J.

LOL (Laugh out loud)

1st Wedding of 2011

We attended the wedding of our friend KC last Saturday.

Display picture at the entrance

It was held at Suntec Singapore, level 3. I was very happy for him because from the time since I have known him, he had been searching and praying for the one and I'm happy that he has found her.

Family Shot

Of course baby J liked staring at the bride. I think all babies love to look at brides. Especially girl babies. It's like in our DNA or something.

Baby J also liked the giraffe soft toy that my friend DH got for her.

Got tired and slept with giraffe number 3

Even slept with it. Isn't she cute?

Congrats KC on your big big day! I think I have never seen you smile so much. Looking forward to more good news (especially in the baby department, if ya know what I mean) *smiles*

Johor Bahru: Baby's 1st Passport Chop

The hubby decided to take us to Johor Bahru (JB) the day after we got back from Taipei as CNY is approaching and all of us needed haircuts and new clothes. Whenever we are in JB, we usually go to Johor Bahru City Square shopping centre where the carpark is the safest in the area. Security personnels patrol the premises regularly so we can be assured that our car is less likely to get stolen. We go there very often when we were preparing for our wedding as the bridal packages cost half of those in Singapore so we knew the place pretty well.

As my in-laws will be going along as well, we brought baby J along with us on this trip. This was therefore the first time that baby J is going overseas, albeit just across the causeway. Her passport was ready for use as I had initially gotten her passport ready for our Taiwan trip (which did not materialise).

1st chop on her passport

Baby J was really excited. She was in a good mood throughout the whole trip and kept looking out the window. She stared intently at the immigration guy as he stamped on our passports. He caught her staring at him and smiled at her.

After clearing customs the first order of business is always to pump petrol at the Shell station located along the road to City Square. And Vpower, no less, since it's infinitely cheaper than Singapore.

The next thing we always do after reaching the mall is lunch. After trying many different restaurants, my personal favourite is the Hong Kong Kim Gary Restaurant located at basement 1.

Having lunch at Kim Gary Restaurant

The variety of foods here is enormous, with 4 different menus to choose from. I especially love their cheese mushroom. Yum! Baby J was also so tired from all the excitement, she fell sound asleep on her stroller, leaving us to enjoy a peaceful meal, which happens very rarely so we really enjoyed ourselves. 

Baby J after awaking from her nap

The next order of business was the hair salon. The hubby, his youngest brother and I needed a haircut for the new year so we proceeded to my favourite hair salon, Protrim, located at level 4.

The first time that I was customer there was in 2009 when I wanted to give my hair a makeover before my wedding day. It was also the first time I have had any chemical treatment done to my 'virgin' hair. Curling, treatment and highlighting of my hair took the longest 6 hours I have ever spent in a hair salon. Their excellent service and reasonable price made me their loyal customer ever since. You won't believe it, but I don't cut my hair in Singapore anymore as I only do it at this hair salon. The highlights they did in my hair in 2009 can still be seen till now. That's how good their coloring is. They have seen me about to get married, married, pregnant and now with my baby.

This time, I got a haircut, treatment and red highlights, which cost about RM250 (roughly S$100). Everytime I'm in there, I walk out a happy gal. This time was no exception =)

Everyone bought tons of stuff especially the brother-in-law. The only bad thing is probably the lack of a nursing room as I didn't see one anywhere. Had to feed baby J using my nursing cover in a corner in McDonalds.

We'll be back again soon when my hair starts to become messy. Till next time =)

Taipei Day 5: Back To The Future

We going home today! I know I hardly sound so happy to go back to Singapore but I really missed my baby!

As we only needed to leave at 12.45pm, we did some very last minute shopping at the nearby Shin Kong Mitsukoshi. Then it was off to the airport where my mother finally found a nice Gucci sling bag that she liked. My dad had wanted to get one for her at Tapei 101 mall but she didn't like any of the ones we saw. Anyway, it's tax-free at the airport so I supposed it's cheaper too.

A very happy mum with her first Gucci!

We were happy to go home to our nice bed but we'll definitely miss the  awesome weather!

At the waiting area, just before boarding the plane back to reality

FYI, here are other places I'm intending to visit with Baby J in future:

1) Window on China Theme Park 小人国 (i.e. Doraemon Land)

- Ticket Cost = NT650 (Note: Water rides for July to Sep only)

- Ways to get there:

   i) Take MRT to Gongguan 公馆站 Station, then take the E-Go bus

      (Tel: +886-3-480-3885; +886-2-2796-5665) from there directly to Window on China

      (Bus timing: 8:30, 9:20, 10:15, 11:00; 11:50 & 12:40)

   ii) Take the Taiwan High Speed Rail 台湾高速 from the Taipei Station 台北火车站

      (if you live nearby) to Zhongli Station 中坜火车站 (Western Mainline Line),  then transfer to

      the Hsinchu Bus (across the road from the station) directly to Window on China

   iii) Take a cab directly to the Window on China

Note: I had initially wanted to go to the Window on China themepark on this trip but my parents and sister were not interested so we took it out of our itinerary. It's better to visit themeparks during the summer anyway.

2) Leofoo Village Theme Park 六福村主题游乐园 (see here too)
- Ticket cost = NT890

3) Femosa Fun Coast 八仙海岸 (see here too)

- Ticket cost = NT620

- As it is a water themepark, it is only open between June & September

Till our next trip! *grin*

<< Back to Taipei Day 4: Danshui & Beitou Hot Springs

P.S: Visit my travel page for more of our travel itineraries! =)

Taipei Day 4: Danshui & Beitou Hot Springs

We set off for the scenic Danshui 淡水 as recommended by my friend SY. To get there, take the MRT from Taipei Main Station to Danshui Station 淡水站 on the Danshui line.

Danshui Station

Once there, you can choose to travel to the famous Fisherman’s Wharf 鱼人码头 via the Taipei County red bus 26 (NT20) or the ferry (NT50) from the Danshui Wharf 淡水码头. We decided to take the ferry, which was faster and more direct. On our way to the Danshui Wharf, we passed by the Danshui Old Street 淡水老街, which was famous for its freshly made Taiwanese snacks.

Danshui Old Street

Taiwanese Tidbits Stall

Apparently, Ti Hu Master was very famous in Taiwan so we ended up buying a lot of their produce home for our friends and family. We then proceeded to the board the ferry at the wharf. The ride was smooth overall until it got shaky at the end.

Word of advice: sit at the front of a plane but sit at the back of a boat!

As the boat approached the dock, we could see the iconic Lover’s Bridge 情人桥 in full view.

Lover's Bridge of Danshui

I must say, I was a little disappointed that the bridge was so small. It looked so much bigger and nicer in the pictures. My dad was like, "we took a ferry all the way here to see this?"

Great views from the bridge

It was still very romantic and beautiful nevertheless.

Finding nothing else to do around the bridge, we decided to take the ferry back to where we came from and have our lunch at a seafood restaurant on the way to Danshui Station.

Apparently Jacky Wu was a customer too..

Their food was actually pretty cheap and very good! It only cost us about NT1800 for a large fish, clams, osyters, 2 plates of bamboo shellfish and 2 plates of vegetables. The hubby was ecstatic!

After a sumptuous lunch, we took the train from Danshui Station to Beitou Station 北投站 where we transferred to another train bound for Xin Beitou Station 新北投站.

Specially decorated train at the Beitou Station

As it was already late, we skipped the Hot Spring Museum located across the road from the Xin Beitou Station (we'll visit the next time) and headed straight for the hot springs at Spa Spring Resort 水都温泉会馆 (public = NT360/pax, private = NT880-980)

There are other hotels with hot springs and you can assess them by taking their free shuttle services just outside the Xin Beitou Station, although you may have to wait since they only arrive once every hour. My dad was impatient as usual so we ended up taking a cab to the resort instead.

I chose the Spa Spring Resort as it was the closest to the MRT, value for money and most importantly, their hot spring pool was located on the roof of the resort so we were able to enjoy the best views of Beitou.

Hot Springs at Spa Spring Resort

The pool was fantastic! I think it was the highlight of our entire trip! The hot waters and cold winds were a great combination as we soaked our tiredness and frozen toes away. The hubby said that the next time we return to Taipei (which will most likely be with my baby girl and mum-in-law), we're going to stay in one of the rooms here so that we can soak in the hot springs in the comfort of our own room.

After a really relaxing soak, we took the resort's shuttle bus back to Xin Beitou Station where we took a train back to our hotel. After enjoying a nice Japanese dinner, we made a final stop at Ximending again to do more shopping.

Ximending at night

I also stopped by the famous Red House Theatre for a quick snapshot. I must admit, the theatre looked really creepy at night so needless to say we didn't stay too long!

Overall, today was hands down the best day of the whole trip =)


Continue to >> Taipei Day 5: Back To The Future

<< Back to Taipei Day 3: Ximending & Shilin

P.S: Visit my travel page for more of our travel itineraries! =)

Taipei Day 3: Ximending & Shilin

After breakfast in the morning, we headed off to the famous Xi Men Ding 西门町, which has also been commonly described as the 'Orchard Road' of Taipei (Orchard Road is Singapore's most popular shopping district). To get there, we took a train from Taipei Main Station to Ximen Station 西门站 (bound for Yongning).

Welcome to Ximending!

It was bustling with the hippest and coolest Taiwanese on a Sunday afternoon. The temperature was 12 degrees celcius and we were freezing! You would think that it's winter and we would be buying thicker clothing but no, we were on the hunt for summer clothes! And I know what you are thinking, "that is impossible during winter!" and well, it did seem that way till we stumbled upon this huge shop selling all sorts of clothes after just one hour into our exploration. The clothes sold there were cheaper, more suitable for our tropical climate and had better material than those at Wufenpu. We had finally found shopping heaven =)

After many happy finds and lots of shopping done, we had our lunch at a stall selling beef noodles and rice.

Shopping.. check.

Food.. check.

I know that the famous Toilet Restaurant 便所 is located here but somehow I couldn't find it. Hopefully you will have better luck.

We then made a quick stop at our hotel to drop off all our things (and for me to pump) before heading out to the famous Shilin Night Market 士林夜市. To get there, take the MRT bound for Danshui on the Danshui (red) line to Jiantan Station 剑潭站 (take note it's not Shilin Station!).

This way to Shilin Night Market, where the hubby tried to blow mist out of his mouth

It was not my first time there but it is the first time that I'm there in the winter. According to many travel bloggers, one of the things that you must try at this night market is the 大肠包小肠, which roughly translated means "big sausage wrap small sausage".

Signboards that advertise the sale of these sausages

It wasn't too bad although not fantastic. I preferred the mee sua..

Sis eating the delicious mee sua

Did more shopping but we had to leave as we just couldn't stand the cold any longer (the temperature dipped to 8 degree celcius). Freezing cold! I was glad to be back in our warm beds..


Continue to >> Taipei Day 4: Danshui & Beitou Hot Springs
<< Back to Taipei Day 2: Ferris Wheel, Taipei 101, Wufenpu & Raohe

P.S: Visit my travel page for more of our travel itineraries! =)

Taipei Day 2: Ferris Wheel, Taipei 101, Wufenpu & Raohe

We agreed to wake up at 7am and meet at 8am for breakfast at the hotel, which was nothing special.

Later we set off to explore the city of Taipei and the best way to get around is by MRT (refer to this Taipei MRT Map).

Gantries at Taipei Main Station

As Taipei Main Station is an interchange station, crowds of people were seen walking in and out of the gantries. I was really impressed by the efficiency of the MRT system, especially their willingness to cater to the needs of nursing mothers.

Availability of nursing rooms at MRT stations

I was really impressed that nursing rooms are readily made available in MRT stations in Taipei, something which you don't see in Singapore.

Our first destination was the Ferris Wheel at the Miramar Shopping Mall 美丽华. To get there, take the MRT from Taipei Main Station to Zhongxiao Fuxing Station 忠孝复兴站 (bound for Nangang) on the Bennan (blue) line. Then transfer to the Wenhu (brown) line and board the train heading towards Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center and alight at the Jiannan Road Station 剑南路站.

MRT ride to Jiannan Station

As we were early, we couldn't get on the ferris wheel till 11am when all the shops will open. This is the largest ferris wheel in Taiwan and also the eighteenth largest in the world

Entrance of Miramar Shopping Mall

We took a long escalator to the 5th floor of the main building and bought tickets to ride the ferris wheel.

At the foot of the Ferris Wheel

You can choose to ride the regular or the transparent cabin for the same price. As we were very early and there was no queue, we had the luxury of choice. If you were to come during the peak period, you might need to wait for five times as long for the transparent cabin as there are only two. We decided to stick with the regular cabin just in case the transparent one was too scary.

Boarded the ordinary cabin (left) and had a great view from the top (right)

Although it was quite high up, I must say that it wasn't as exciting or scary as I expected (but then again I don't have a fear of heights). On hindsight, we totally should have gone on the transparent cabin.

Other than the ferris wheel, Miramar Shopping Mall is also famous for their 3D IMAX shows, which we didn't watch as it was time for me to pump. The nursing room of the mall was located on the 4th floor (kid's department) next to a hair salon for kids.

This kid's salon has cars instead of chairs! Baby girl would've loved it!

The nursing room was pretty cramped, with 3 cubicles side by side and separated only by flimsy curtains that didn't really cover very well. It was also very crowded as every single cubicle was fully utilised when I was using it.

Chinese words on the tag said "Currently In Use"

The only good thing about the nursing room was the tag that was hanging on the curtain that told people that the tiny cubicle was being used. They should totally have this in Singapore too!

Once I was done, we headed to our next destination, Taipei 101 台北一〇一.

To get there, take the train back to Zhongxiao Fuxing Station and transfer to the blue line. Take the train heading towards Nangang and alight at Taipei City Hall Station 市政府站.

Exit here to take the free shuttle bus

You can choose to take the free shuttle service at the exit or take a cab. If you want to walk, head towards the W hotel and Shin Kong Mitsukoshi shopping centre. You'll see Taipei 101 once you are walking in the right direction. Obviously you can't miss it as it is the tallest building in Taiwan. It takes only 15 minutes by walking and 5 minutes by cab. We went with the latter of course.. my old man didn't want to walk -_-

Taipei 101

Taipei 101 Mall houses many luxury brands such as LV and Gucci. If you'd like to visit Taipei 101 Observatory, you may buy the tickets (costing NT400) at level 5 of the mall. As it was winter and we weren't allowed in the outdoor viewing gallery, our family decided not to purchase the tickets as we felt that it wasn't worth it. We had our lunch at their food court at Basement 1 instead and discovered the best bubble milk tea in Taiwan (in our opinion).

CoCo Bubble Tea

The milk tea was rich and the bubbles (or tapioca balls) were chewy, which was a perfect combination. Yummy!

After lunch, I decided that I should go pump (yes again!) as it may not be as easy to find a place to do so at our next destination. I headed to the nursing room of the Taipei 101 mall, which was located at level 4.

One of the cubicles of the nursing room at Taipei 101 mall

It was much bigger than the previous nursing room and had an accompanying changing table, electrical sockets as well a child toilet attached to it. A very nice and clean place indeed.

Later we proceeded on to the wholesale center Wufenpu 五分埔 Fashion Area by cab (NT120).

Wufenpu

[Note: If you want to take the MRT, head back to Taipei City Hall Station and take the train bound for Nangang to Houshanpi Station 后山埤站, Exit 1. Walk along Zhongpo North Road 中坡北路 to Yongji Road 永吉路, cross the road and turn left. Continue walking until you reach Wufenpu.]

Although famous for great stuff and cheap bargains, we found ourselves getting lost in the many little lanes of stuff. Some stalls also did not sell items individually. The material of the some of the clothes was not as good as Korea (according to the sister) and it wasn't even that cheap. Perhaps it will be better in the summer but as we've been to the wholesale area at Shenzhen (China) during the winter as well and we all agreed that Shenzhen was much better. We were very disappointed and it is unlikely that we'll be back.

The night dipped to a chilling 12 degrees celcius. We almost gave up on going to the Raohe Night Market 饒河街夜市, which was just a short distance away from the wholesale area.

Entrance to Raohe Night Market

To get there by foot, locate the Song Shan Train Station 松山火车站 and cut through it to Ba De Road 八德路 behind it. From there look out for a lane that leads to a temple, where the entrance of the night market is (you may need to ask for directions).

We were exhausted and hungry from all the walking so we stopped for dinner at a street stall.

It was super cold! *Brrrr*

Dry beef noodles for the hubby, beef noodle soup for me

The beef noodle soup was nice but the bowl of dry noodles was better. We also tried the famous pepper bun 胡教饼 located near the entrance of the night market.

Pepper Bun

There was a long queue despite the icy cold weather. The meat inside the pepper bun was really good but the bun was too starchy for our taste. We decided to buy supper back to our hotel as it got too cold to stay there any longer. We took a cab back but you can also take a train at the Song Shan Train Station (Railway not MRT) to the Taipei Train Station.

Tiring day!

Continue to >> Taipei Day 3: Ximending & Shilin
<< Back to Taipei Day 1: Arrival At Taipei Main

P.S: Visit my travel page for more of our travel itineraries! =)

Taipei Day 1: Arrival At Taipei Main

It was the morning of our trip to Taipei, Taiwan.

We had packed all our stuff and I got my shopping list ready on the jotlist app on my iPad (great app to download for organizing neat freaks like me). I got my passport in one hand and our itinerary in the other. I had worked on the itinerary for about 3 weeks in November of last year, researching and reading different websites and travel blogs. I had actually packed the trip to the brim with all my favourite must-haves of any vacation: food, excitement, shopping and sight-seeing. However, the idea of a packed itinerary did not sit very well with my half-a-century-old parents, so we had to remove some of the 'excitement' out of our plans (bummer -_-). Anyway, for those of you wondering, I'll be sharing it here with you =)

Since our flight on China Airlines was scheduled to depart at 10.25am at Changi Airport Terminal 1, the hubby, mother, sister and I left our house at 8am and reached the airport 30 minutes later.

Hubby & I just before boarding

We arrived at Taipei (Tao Yuan) International Airport at around 3.45pm.

Welcome to Taiwan!

Since my Dad (who was travelling there from China) only arrives at 8pm, we decided to head on down to our hotel first. From the recommendations that I had read on various travel blogs, the best way out of the airport is by taking an express airport bus (NT120-150) or the regular cabs. We decided to go with the latter as it was much easier but more expensive. The cab fare from the airport to Taipei main city was NT1200 (approximately S$54). The good thing was that it doesn't matter which type of cab you take. The 4- or 6-seater cabs both cost the same, so if you're in a big group or bringing a lot of luggage, I'll advise you to take the 6-seater cab.

Our hotel was the Caesar Park Hotel Taipei 台北凱撒大飯店, which was located next to the Taipei Main Station 台北火车站.

Caesar Park Hotel

As we were staying in the Executive Suite (the 2nd largest room of the hotel), we were taken to the 9th floor to check in instead of the usual ground lobby.

Checking in

We were told that we had access to their business center where we could have free drinks and light snacks. And they had the best pineapple biscuits I have ever eaten! Delicious! After we have had our fill, we checked out our hotel room.

The TV board can turn 360 degrees to face both ways!

Huge toilet with both the bathtub and shower

Large enough space for two people to put on their makeup

It was a really large room with great facilities, although it lacked a nice view. The twin bed executive suite my parents booked comes with two queen-sized beds so this room type is perfect for families with children. At $204 per night (we booked via Agoda), it is definitely value for money if you're travelling with children.

We then explored the surrounding malls and street stalls next to our hotel. The popular Shin Kong Mitsukoshi 新光三越 shopping centre was also just a stone throw away.

Shin Kong Mitsukoshi

The streets were also lit up with neon shop signs beckoning us to patronise them. We stopped by one, whose scent caught our nostrils.

Fried Sotong Stall

The fried sotong was really crispy and fresh as they were fried 'on demand'. Real nice for a cool 21-degree night. Next, we tried the fermented tofu 臭豆腐 (or smelly tofu), which is famous in Taiwan.

My expression says it all!

This particular stall was very popular with many people queuing to buy it. The tofu was crispy and the sauce was really nice, but unfortunately, we couldn't stand the smell! According to the hubby, it was like stuffing a used sock down your throat. I guess if we didn't smell anything we might have liked it.

Next, we explored the Underground Shopping Street 台北地下街, which stretches from Taipei Main Station to Taipei Railway Station.

The Chinese words say, "Welcome to the Underground Shopping Street"

The stuff here are pretty cheap and nice. We bought some nice shoes from here for about S$20 and face masks cost NT368 for 2 boxes. We bought like a dozen boxes due to special orders from my friends. Got all of you the exact flavour you wanted by memory k. Good eh =)

Here you go peeps, you're welcome!

Later that night we met up with my dad at the hotel. As it was late and he was tired, we decided not to visit Shida Night Market 师大路夜市, which comes highly recommended by my friend L. According to travel blogs, this night market is more commonly patronised by locals unlike the tourist-y Shilin Night Market.

[Note: In case you would like to go there, you can take the MRT bound for Xindian on the Danshui (red) line to Taipower Building Station 台电大楼站 and exit at Exit 3. Turn right on exit and walk along Shida Road towards National Taiwan Normal University. The night market is at the right side once a park is spotted on the left]

We ended the day sipping wine and catching up with our dad. So far so good =)

Continue to >> Taipei Day 2: Ferris Wheel, Taipei 101, Wufenpu & Raohe

P.S: Visit my travel page for more of our travel itineraries! =)