Trip Advisor: Eslite Bookstore

The bookstore was very equipped and carries wide genres of books. There were a total of 7 floors and sold other products such as vinyl records, CDs, movies and even had a few stalls selling food. Not only were there Chinese books but also as many English books as well. Due to the wide array of books, I was unable to make my decision on the books I wanted to buy. Furthermore, they were mostly of a more affordable price compared to the price of the same book in Singapore. I purchased the complete Harry Potter series and it only cost around S$60. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute I had shopping there. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Rv Trip Advisor: Shifen Old Street

Shifen old street is definitely a sight for sore eyes. You can walk on the magnificent train track, something that is not common in urban cities. Do not worry much about the train as loud signals will be given when a train approaches. Furthermore, the speed at which the train is traveling is quite slow, so you will have ample time to find a safe spot. There are plenty of shops dominating the sides of the train track, selling souvenirs, bubble teas and snacks at affordable prices. For me, I will never forget the main highlight at Shifen old street—releasing sky lanterns. You can get to write down your wishes on sky lanterns. There is a variety of colours, each having a different meaning. The shop assistants were friendly and skillful, helping us to take photos and lighting up the lantern. Feel the joy as the lantern rise towards the sky, together with your wishes. Release the sky lantern in groups, as it is a great bonding session and everyone will experience the joy. Although I think the act of releasing sky lanterns is not very environmental friendly, it is still a once a lifetime opportunity and you definitely must not miss it!

The sight will be more spectacular if you release them at night. However, I will advise you to visit Shifen during the day so as to escape the crowd. All in all, I would rate this place 4 stars.

Our CID group, preparing to release a gigantic sky lantern.

Chua Kheng Lon(22)

Trip Advisor: Ferrary Hotel

We stayed at Ferrary Hotel, Taipei for 2 nights. And personally i felt that those 2 nights were not enjoyable due to the environment of the hotel. I felt that the hotel was not at a very convenient area but that didn't really bother me as we had transportation, but the exterior of the hotel looks very run down, the paint seemed to be fading and also cracks can be seen on the walls. The hotel was still using keys for the room instead of room cards when most hotels have already swtiched from keys to cards long ago, also the interior of the hotel was dark and eerie and did not provide a comforting ambience. It was at the hotel that we experienced slightly eerie occurrences and i would rate the hotel 2/5 and would not visit the hotel again.

^interior of hotel room + mirror selfie LOL

 Clauds (5)

RV Trip Advisor: Fengjia Night Market

Fengjia Night Market is definitely one of the place not to be missed when you visit TaiChung. It's one of the largest night market in Taiwan and is located beside Feng Chia University. So many of the local cuisines can be found there and you are probably gonna stop at every stall to try all of the snacks. One of my favorite snacks would be the doubled layer roll sausage (大肠包小肠). It's like a griddled and glutinous rice "bun" with a sausage being sliced inside. There are many other must try snacks at the night market like the fried squid, stinky tofu, giant chicken cutlet and many more. The stall holders also give out free samples of food and drink to attract customers to their stall. Their bubble teas are also really good. There are also many stores over there that sell many different clothes and accessories at very cheap prices. You definitely have to go to Fengjia Night market to experience the night market life and also do be aware of vehicles when walking on the road! 

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Kheng Lon's general reflection

The 7 days and 6 nights trip to Taiwan had certainly been an eye opener for me. I got to experience many things I could not in Singapore. For example, while touring Shih-fen Old Street, we were able to write our wishes on enormous lanterns and then releasing them to the sky. It was a beautiful sight as the sky was filled with purple sky lanterns. However, in Singapore we were not allowed to release sky lanterns due to space constraints and the possibility that it might interfere with planes and aircrafts. I also managed to understand how the Taiwan education works after going to the school located in Hsinchu. Although the school rules and behavior of the students were different from our school, the school still seek to develop students holistically. Although the students may be more carefree and relaxed, we can all learn to show more enthusiasm especially during lessons. Their workload is similar to us, but most of them still put on a smile even during long lessons. I think we could all learn to be happy as them so that our learning could be more effective. Another thing I noticed in Taiwan is that receipts can be donated. These receipts can be used to win some money and the money is used to help the poor. I think this is a great idea as the receipts we receive after a purchase can be out into a good use. Most importantly, I got to bond with the class. We had gone through ups and downs together. We enjoyed our free time and got scolded together. I am sad to say this but we all know that we may not be in the same class together next year. This trip has brought us close together, creating amazing and everlasting memories that will live with us. To sum up, I learnt a lot about the Taiwan culture during the trip and learn to not take some things for granted. 

Jing Yan's Reflection :')

This Taiwan trip taught me lots about the Taiwanese culture such as their way of life, certain behaviors we had to abide by. It also allowed me to compare the differences between Taiwan and Singapore, perhaps also learning to appreciate what we have in Singapore which the Taiwanese do not have. One example is the traffic in Taiwan, comparing to the traffic in Singapore, is much more dangerous and the drivers are less wary of their surroundings. In Singapore, we have to appreciate the fact that the drivers all abide by the traffic rules and allowing the Singapore roads to be much safer for us pedestrians.

However, one thing Singapore has to learn from Taiwan is the rich culture and heritage Taiwan has preserved. In Singapore everyone has become very modernised due to the advancement in technology, often forgetting our forefathers who have worked hard to build Singapore to where it is now. We should also learn to have these history preserved and educate the future generation about this. We should also learn from their eco-friendly system where they practice recycling more actively, such as throwing their waste food separately before recycling their containers. They also charge for every plastic bag you use after purchasing an item from their stall. We should learn from them and start saving the earth as well.

This trip has really influenced me to start using recycled bags when shopping to reduce the amount of plastic bags we use despite the convenience. Through this trip, we have bonded a lot with not only our classmates but also with our teachers. We have been through 7 days together, having fun together, some of us also sleeping in the same room (roomates) and most importantly, we have also learnt many things together.

Ending off with a class selfie + Uncle Jeff!

Claudia's Reflection ^_^

I've been looking forward to this trip since i was in y1 and now that its over, i really feel like it has surpassed my expectations of fun and also learning :D Before the trip, all i was looking forward to was to have fun and i didn't really think much about the educational component of this trip but i am very glad to say that, putting fun aside, i have learnt a lot through this 7 days, experiencing life in another country with the company of my fellow classmates!
One of the highlights of this trip would definitely have to be the visit to NEHS, it was where i got to experience Taiwan's education. After the brief 2 days there, i could make comparisons between Singapore and Taiwan's education system. I feel that Singapore is much stricter and we have a lot more rules to adhere to than in Taiwanese schools, the Taiwanese students need not wear uniforms on most of the days and they do not have many rules regarding attire. Also, they do not have a heavy workload and they do not have tests regularly, unlike Singapore where we have our CAs and SAs. But they do not have a CCA system where students are able to engage in other activities outside classs, unlike in Singapore where CCAs are mandatory and we can spend time outside of class to do things that we enjoy. But generally i feel that both education systems has its flaws and merits.
In Taiwan, people discourage the use of plastic bags in shops by charging them, food containers in schools are not dumped but instead routinely taken to recycling bins. This isn't anything spectacular to the Taiwanese as it is part of their lifestyle but yet as Singaporeans we do not see this happening often in Singapore, so upon seeing these practices we would take such good habits back to Singapore and practice eco-friendliness here.
The trip to the aboriginal culture village allowed me to witness the aborigines of Taiwan(which are the minority of Taiwan) and also learn more about the Taiwanese culture. I think that the existence of such places is crucial to a country so that culture and tradition won't be lost with time but instead will be preserved and passed on to the younger generation. The visits to the museums and memorial halls have greatly increased my knowledge of Taiwan in many aspects. From fine art, to history, the lives of revolutionaries such as Chiang Kai-Shek and Sun Yat sen and also being able to view artifacts from the ancient Chinese dynasties. Upon gaining knowledge from these places, i understood the importance of preserving culture and artifacts from the past as it is able to educate people or even the younger generation about a particular place or person and not let them be forgotten with time. In conclusion, the culture, traditions and history of a country or place is extremely important as it gives a sense of identity.
Straying away from culture and tradition, we also got to experience what life is like in Taiwan in the present 21st century, where high speed trains are the common mode of transport and shopping streets such as Ximending are regularly frequented.
Through this trip i could see the similarities between Singapore and Taiwan, both being developed nations, but i could also see the differences in the lifestyles in both countries and i also appreciate Singapore for its merits and am proud to be a Singaporean.

That aside, 2L truly bonded a lot as a class in the past 7 days. Spending time together allowed us to know more about each other and understand each other more. We had fun together, got scolded together but most importantly we spent time together and nothing could ever be exchanged for that. We will definitely miss the times we spent together and the memories would remain with us for as long as we can possibly remember :')

p/s: it was fun being one of the photographers of the trip photographing everyone and also taking selfies and stuff ^_^ in case you didn't know, heres the link to the photos i took >> https://www.facebook.com/claudia.chua.7/media_set?set=a.10201038708928524.1073741826.1791733512&type=3