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Ming Qin Minsu

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Hello Everyone,
in this blog post, we are going to share with you about our 1 night stay at the Ming Qin Minsu in Cing Jing.

Background Information:

We initially wanted to stay at the Sunnydale Minsu but because it was fully booked, we have no choice but to seek for other accommodations to stay at. Having spent a lot of time researching for a Minsu to stay at, we chanced upon Ming Qin Minsu and we decided to stay there for a night. Ming Qin Minsu has 4 blocks and in each of this block, there are many different room types and some of their rooms can accommodate up to 5 persons. For us, we chose to stay at Block A, Room 1205 and it was really cosy. For a night’s stay, it cost us $6000 TWD [approx. $254.99 SGD].

A Short Video Introduction to Ming Qin Minsu

Baby posing for a photo right outside Ming Qin Minsu

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

When we arrived at Ming Qin Minsu, the exterior literally looked like this because the weather was extremely cloudy and cool. In fact, the temperature and atmosphere is somewhat similar to what you would experience at Genting Highlands.

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

Here’s the interior/lobby area of Ming Qin Minsu

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]
From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]
From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

Here’s the exterior/outdoor area of Ming Qin Minsu

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]
From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]
From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

As it was really foggy, we didn’t really take much photographs. Also, they have an Alfresco dining area where you can chill and relax. In fact, on the night that we stayed at Ming Qin Minsu, they had a simple concert put up by a two-piece band.

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

And here’s where we stayed at, Room 1205

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

The Interior of Our Room

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]
From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]
From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

Simple Bath Setup

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

The Bath Equipment

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

A Classic Work Desk

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

A Classic Dressing Table

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

Complimentary Pineapple Tarts/Cakes

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

As dinner wasn’t provided, we had to settle our own dinner and because Ming Qin Minsu was situated quite a distance from the main bustling area of Cing Jing, we decided to dine at their in-house restaurant that served Western/Italian/ cuisine.

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]
From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

We had 2 of their set meals and here are what we ordered.

Beverage, some fruit vinegar

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

Starter, Salad

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

Pumpkin Soup

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

Mains, Meatball Bucatini

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

Mains, Creamy Chicken Bucatini

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

Dessert, Yoghurt and Starfruit

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

Honestly, we didn’t really fancy their dinner set meal. Thankfully, we bought some food from the 7-Eleven Store at Carton King and Small Swiss Garden before heading over to Ming Qin Minsu. If you ask me, the food from the 7-Eleven Store taste much better. By the way, the rooms are not equipped with a microwave oven so if you’re planning to buy some food from the 7-Eleven Store, you might want to get them heated up first before heading over to the Minsu. Alternatively, you can get the kitchen staff at the Minsu to heat it up for you.

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]
From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

Stay tuned to more updates from us!

God bless!

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Small Swiss Garden + Green Green Grasslands @ Cing Jing

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Hello Everyone,
we really hope you like our most recent blog post on the Old England Manor and the Carton King. For this particular blog entry, we will be sharing about our experience at the Small Swiss Garden and the Green Green Grasslands with you.

Small Swiss Garden
Because of its Northern European atmosphere, the Small Swiss Garden has been called “Taiwan’s Little Switzerland”. Entrance fees to Small Swiss Garden cost $120 TWD [approx. $5 SGD] and if you’re the sort of person whom don’t fancy flowers and birds, then I would probably recommend you to give the Small Swiss Garden a miss. However, if you’re looking for great photo opportunities, then you must check out this place!

The Small Swiss Garden has some sort of a water show and it is probably better to catch the night show as the whole place would be lighted up with beautiful lights. However, as it was a distance from our accommodation to Small Swiss Garden and the roads were foggy, we gave it a miss for safety reasons.

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

At the entrance of Small Swiss Garden

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

You can purchase some bird food that cost only $10 TWD [approx. $0.42 SGD] to feed the pigeons and ducks. If you’re lucky, some of the birds will perch on your shoulders and provide a good photo opportunity. However, do beware that the birds might just decide to release their poo unto you.

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]
From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

Princess on the Carriage

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

I know its not Christmas yet but since I was there and they had this huge Christmas tree, why not?

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

Baby with the Beautiful Lavender Flowers~!

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

Fooling around in Small Swiss Garden

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]
From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

Some Rather Beautiful Shots of Small Swiss Garden

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]
From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]
From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]
From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]
From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

There is a small cosy cafe in Small Swiss Garden and if you have some spare time, you might want to spend the time sipping some coffee or tea while admiring the peaceful scenery.

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]
From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

Our first time seeing white ducks

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

Parting Shots at Carton King and Small Swiss Garden

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]
From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

Green Green Grasslands
Green Green Grasslands is situated on much higher grounds in Cing Jing as compared to Carton King and Small Swiss Garden. Hence, it is highly recommended that you have your own transportation up to Green Green Grasslands because climbing can be a rather tedious task. The entrance fees to Green Green Grasslands cost $200 TWD [approx. $8.50 SGD] and trust me, it’s really worth the money. There, you can see herds of sheep grazing on the grassy hill and if you would like to feed them, the sheep food will cost you $10 TWD [approx. $0.42 SGD]. Also, if you visit on a weekends, there will be a Sheep Shearing Show which we found pretty amusing.

Having some fun right outside the entrance of Green Green Grasslands

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

Entrance Tickets to Green Green Grasslands

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

Entrance to Green Green Grasslands

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

Our “Couple Stamps” to Green Green Grasslands

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

An Overall Map of Cing Jing

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

Baby having her share of fun at Green Green Grasslands

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]
From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]
From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]
From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

My turn to have some fun at Green Green Grasslands

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]
From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]
From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

While waiting for the Sheep Shearing Show to begin, we decided to have a ride on their incredibly big horse! The ride cost us $150 TWD [approx. $6.37 SGD].

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

A Short 4-Minutes Video on The Sheep Shearing Show.

The Sheep Shearing Show

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

Make sure you get good spots for the Sheep Shearing Show and do not take the seats where the horses were stationed at [for the rides] because the floor is littered with horse pee and poo.

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

At the end of the Sheep Shearing Show, we decided to take a parting shot with this Sheep Shearer cum Shepherd from New Zealand whom spoke really good Mandarin.

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

A rather “interesting” sheep we saw along the way. While the wool of other sheeps were curly, the wool of this particular sheep is rather straight [as if it was straightened using a hair straightener].

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

Parting Shot of Green Green Grasslands

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

Now that you know about the Old England Manor, Carton King, Small Swiss Garden, and Green Green Grasslands in Cing Jing, our next blog entry will be about our accommodation [Ming Qin Minsu] in Cing Jing. So, do look out for it and stay tuned to more updates from us!

God Bless!

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Old England Manor + Carton King @ CingJing

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Hello Everyone,
as mentioned in our last blog post about our Taiwan Holiday 2012, Baby and I have spent two days in Central Taiwan and in order for us to cover as much attractions as possible, we have hired a driver whom brought us around to the different places that we wanted to go.

Getting Around In Central Taiwan:

Though utilising the public transportation is rather direct and straightforward, it is extremely difficult to move around with big luggage and cover a number of attractions in a short period of time. Moreover, travelling time via the public transportation can take extremely long. Hence, we decided to hire a driver that took us around in a Toyota Wish for 2 full days at a price of $7000 TWD [approx. $297.49 SGD].

On the first day of our Taiwan Holiday 2012, we spent the first day in CingJing and we visited several tourist attractions such as the Old England Manor, Carton King, Small Swiss Garden, and Green Green Grassland.

As we have tons of photographs to show, we will be blogging about the Old England Manor and the Carton King in this blog post; and we will be blogging about the Small Swiss Garden and Green Green Grassland in the next blog post.

Old England Manor

The Old England Manor is a really luxurious accommodation and a night’s stay on a weekday would cost you at least $16,500 Taiwan Dollars [TWD] which is equivalent to $701.23 Singapore Dollars* [SGD]. Hundreds of millions Taiwan Dollars have been pumped in to construct this property that took 9 years to complete. Most of the furnishings and constructs are imported from England and if you’re planning to check out the property’s interior, it would not be possible unless you’re a staying guest. Alternatively, if you wish to enter the building, you can pay $450 TWD [approx. $19.12 SGD] for an afternoon tea. Well, since we couldn’t really afford to stay here, we stopped by to take some really beautiful photographs of the place and its surrounding scenery. By the way, its free to enter the exterior of Old England Manor to take photographs.

A Short Video Introduction of the Old England Manor

The Old England Manor at Cing Jing

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

Closed-Up View of the Old England Manor

The Fabulous Mountain View from the Old England Manor

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

The Old England Manor was so WOW!

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

Baby posing for some photos with the England-Style Street Lamps

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

Baby standing in front of one of the guestrooms in Old England Manor

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

High-Tea at Old England Manor cost $450 NT [approx. $19.12 SGD]. Pretty worth it if you’re looking to relax and just chill out.

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

Parting Shot at Old England Manor

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

Carton King

Carton King is a small retail shop that sells a wide variety of souvenirs made from paper and everything in Carton King [such as ceilings, tables, chairs] is made by corrugated paper. A souvenir which we found really unique is the leather-like paper bag that can be washed using machine!

Carton King Post Shop is where you can find tons of postcards to purchase as souvenirs. In fact, you can mail a postcard back to your home country too.

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

Some rather unique postcards that we saw.

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

DIY Cardboard Souvenirs

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

A rather fascinating Cardboard Structure

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

The Big Fat Me was able to go into the Cardboard Structure

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

Some other rather fascinating paper souvenirs that are lighted up with LED bulbs. We bought one of these to bring home to decorate my new room.

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]
From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

and yes, they have larger ones as well. Pretty cool to have it as a form of decoration at home.

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]
From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

DIY Paper Train

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

DIY Cardboard Plane

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

This is too kiddy for me but I just couldn’t resist sitting on it. In fact, this cardboard horse can take weights up to 100+ KG!

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

There are some really interesting cards that are being sold at Carton King and we bought some of them at a really good price. So, if you’re a pretty close friend of ours and your birthday falls in the remaining months of this year, expect to receive an interesting and unique birthday card from us.

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

Some Parting Shots at Carton King

From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]
From Day 1 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

*Assuming exchange rate of $1 SGD = $23.53 TWD

So that’s all for the Old England Manor and the Carton King. Check out our next upcoming blog post on the Small Swiss Garden and Green Green Grasslands!

Stay tuned to more updates from us!

God Bless!

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Taiwan Holiday 2012

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Hello Everyone,
we truly apologise for not blogging over the last few days as we are currently in Taiwan for a holiday and we will only be back this Sunday evening.

As we just managed to get a stable wifi network, we are going to put up a rather short blog entry about our Taiwan trip thus far.

Background of Our Trip:

Baby and I have planned for this trip to Taiwan since a year ago and ever since our first trip to Taiwan together, we have made it a point to visit Taiwan every year.

For this year’s trip, it would be for 9 days 8 nights and we will be staying at 5 different properties. So far in our trip, we have put up at Ming Qin Min Su, Skylight BB and the Golden Spring Hotel. For the rest of our trip [that is tomorrow and the remaining days], we will be staying at Shui Wu and Vogue Star Serviced Apartment.

So far, the main attractions that we have visited thus far are Carton King, Swiss Garden, Green Green Grasslands, Guanyin Waterfall, 18 Degree C, Puli Winery, Guangxin Paper Mill, Liao Mayor Black Tea Shop, Sun Moon Lake, Ci En Pagoda, Car Accessories Shop in Taichung, Yi Fu Tang, Taiwan High Speed Rail, and Beitou Hot Spring. As for the rest of our trip, our itinerary is unconfirmed but tentatively, we would be visiting the Leofoo Village, Maokong Gondola, Shifen, Raohe Night Market, Shilin Night Market, Xi Men Ding, and Taipei Zoo.

Photography:

For this year’s trip, Baby and I are using two types of cameras to take photographs of our trip. One is the Canon Powershot S100 which I am personally using and the other is the Olympus EPL-3 which Baby is using. Because we take tons of photographs [up to more than 2 GB per day] everyday, we will put up two different links [one which has access to the photos that I take with the Canon Powershot S100 and the other which has access to the photos that Baby takes with the Olympus EPL-3]. Due to the huge volume of photographs taken each day, we will not carry out any image editing until we are back in Singapore. So meanwhile, all the photos that you see in the upcoming blog entries about our trip are all unedited.

+For a start, here are two links to the photographs that we have taken duing our first day in Taiwan this year.+

Melvin’s Perspective of Day 1 in Taiwan 2012 Using the Canon Powershot S100

https://picasaweb.google.com/110215472288411100692/Day1Taiwan2012MelvinSPerspective?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCMiI6pXyo9KCxwE&feat=directlink

Jacqueline’s Perspective of Day 1 in Taiwan 2012 Using the Olympus EPL 3

https://picasaweb.google.com/110215472288411100692/Day1Taiwan2012JacquelineSPerspective?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCIS3iYG_4ZeeNw&feat=directlink

Stay tuned to more updates from us!

God bless!

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