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Taiwan High Speed Rail & Tai Chung City

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Hello Everyone,
in our blog entry today, we will be covering the Taiwan High Speed Rail and also a little bit about Tai Chung City.

So, we were on the last day of our trip in the central region of Taiwan and we were leaving for the Taiwan High Speed Rail to board the High Speed Train from Tai Chung City to Taipei City.

As promised, here are pictures of the sumptuous breakfast that we had at Skylight B&B. There are two types of breakfast choices that you can choose from, either the Oriental or the Western. Being typical Singaporeans, we chose the Western.

A photo of the two different breakfast types that are available at Skylight B&B.

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

The Western breakfast type comes with a main dish consisting of hashbrown, mushrooms, bacon, sausage, and scrambled eggs.

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

There’s also 2 pieces of toast bread, a glass of orange juice, and a cup of tea!

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]
From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]
From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

Oh, I almost miss out this one. There is also a fruit platter that consist of passionfruit, watermelon, grapes, pear, mango, and guava!

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

So, as you can see from the pictures above, the breakfast was a rather filling and appetising affair. Anyways, the breakfast was situated on the 8th level of the property and there is both an indoor and an outdoor dining area; both of which offers you stunning views of Sun Moon Lake.

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

Here are some photographs that we took whilst having breakfast.

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]
From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

After our breakfast, we hurried back to our room, packed up everything, and boarded our vehicle to Tai Chung High Speed Rail Station.

A snapshot of Tai Chung City from our vehicle.

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

As we had quite a fair bit of time, we told our driver to bring us to the place that sells the best Tai Yang Bing in Tai Chung City because my mum wanted some Tai Yang Bing. And so, our driver brought us to Yi Fu Tang.

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

There are quite a lot of goodies and snacks for us to choose from and we were so spoilt for choices. However, besides the usual Tai Yang Bing, one other thing you must buy at Yi Fu Tang is their Lemon Cake! It’s really delicious and honestly, I regretted not buying a few more boxes to bring home.

Knowing that I was a car enthusiast and since we had some more time, our driver brought us to one of Tai Chung’s largest car mart [similar to our local Autobacs]. There, I went crazy because I bought so much car accessories to zhng my Picanto. Seriously, the car accessories are freaking cheap! There, I bought a new JVC head unit, a car freshener, car mats, a car decal, and an aluminium alloy car pedal kit which in total cost about $4000 TWD [approx. $170 SGD]. If only I could lug back car rims and tyres, I would have done so!

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]
From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

After the mini shopping spree, we left for Tai Chung High Speed Rail Station and bade farewell to our driver. Honestly, it was quite an emotional moment because after having spent 3 days in the central region of Taiwan, we really do miss the fresh mountain air, the cute little sheeps, and the beautiful scenery. We will definitely be back if we have the time!

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

So while we were at Tai Chung High Speed Rail Station, we took the liberty to take photographs after photographs.

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

I know in Singapore, we so often see vending machines selling can drinks, but how often do you see vending machines selling cosmetic products and souvenirs?

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]
From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]
From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]
From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

Anyways, for those of you whom are planning a free and easy trip to Taiwan, there are a few types of transportation that you can utilise to get to different regions of Taiwan. The Taiwan High Speed Rail is one such transportation but it only runs along the western coast of Taiwan; hence, for journeys to the eastern cost of Taiwan, you can consider taking the Taiwan Railway which is slower than the High Speed Rail.

You can purchase the High Speed Train tickets on the actual day of departure using these automated machines but we will highly recommend that you book them in advance on Taiwan High Speed Rail’s Website as you get to enjoy early bird discounts if you book your High Speed Train tickets early.

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

Prior to boarding the High Speed Train, Baby and I bought a Pork Ribs Cutlet Bento Set from the Railway Souvenir Shop for $80 TWD [$3.40 SGD] and it was damn good! The portion size of the Pork Ribs Cutlet Bento Set was just right for 2 persons.

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]
From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]
From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

For both Baby and I, we chose the Business Class Seats because we had lots of heavy baggage.

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

The Business Class Seats were extremely spacious and comfortable.

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

Business Class Guests are entitled to a set of complimentary snack and drink.

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

And Business Class Guests are also entitled to a copy of the local newspaper.

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

The journey from Tai Chung High Speed Rail Station to Taipei High Speed Rail Station took less than an hour and it was extremely fast! The train was travelling at a top speed of 300 KM/Hour! Here are some photos of Tai Chung High Speed Rail Station and the scenery taken from the High Speed Train.

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]
From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]
From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

Parting Shot at Tai Chung High Speed Rail Station

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

In our next upcoming blog entries, we will be blogging about Leofoo Village, Beitou Hot Spring, Mulan Motel, and a few other interesting sights in Taipei.

Stay tuned to more updates from us.

God bless!

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Skylight B&B @ Sun Moon Lake, Taiwan

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Hello Everyone,
in our blog entry today, we will be covering the Skylight B&B, a luxurious chic and contemporary boutique accommodation that we stayed in for a night at Sun Moon Lake, Taiwan.

The best room available in Skylight B&B is situated on the 7th floor and it has a magnificent view of the Sun Moon Lake. Here are some photographs of the views from our room.

From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]
From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

They even have a digital panel/console for controlling the room’s lighting and television.

From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

We’re pretty sure many of you are curious about how the room looks like, so here are just some photographs that we took of the room. If you look closely, the curtains in the room can all be drawn and that actually allows you to have an all-rounded view of the surrounding areas.

From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]
From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

The room was definitely cosy and spacious enough for us.

From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

Here are just some of the amenities that we found in the room.

We found the cupboard slightly too small but well, it didn’t matter to us because we were staying only for a night.

From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

Some spare pillow and mattress we found in the cupboard.

From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

Some Biscuits, Bottled Mineral Water, and Tea-Making Facility in the Room

From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

Toiletries Kit we found in the Bathroom

From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

So now, let us show you how the bathroom looks like.

From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

Yes, it’s a see-thru glass panel that allows you to look into the bathroom from the room. A lot of hotels are now adopting a concept like this.

From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

You can have a standing rain-shower too.

From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

From the bathroom, you can actually look outside and that also means people from the outside can look in as well. So, if you’re planning to book this hotel room, make sure you put down all the curtains before you shower.

From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

This is what I personally like best about our room! There is a bath tub [zen-style] to soak in while listening to some soft classical music.

From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]
From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

Well, since we wanted to explore more of the surrounding area of Sun Moon Lake, Baby and I decided to check out the shops and night market which were extremely near to our accommodation.

From Day 2 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

A rather entertaining performance that we caught while walking around the area.

From Day 2 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

We tried some of the food that were sold at the street stalls.

From Day 2 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]
From Day 2 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

And we chanced upon these rather interesting flowers! I am pretty sure some of you might have seen photos of these flowers posted on Facebook. These are real flowers and not fake! In fact, the flower petals close when they come into contact with water and the flower petals open when they come into contact with light. The best thing is, the flowers will never die with proper handling and care; thus it makes a perfect souvenir to get for someone who loves flowers.

From Day 2 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

They are really so beautiful that I bought 1 for myself to display on my working desk. A small jar like this cost $380 TWD [approx. $16.15 SGD]

From Day 2 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

We also happened to pass by one desserts store that sold crepes. Since we had a craving for something chocolatey and sweet, we ordered a chocolate ice-cream crepe.

From Day 2 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

While waiting for our crepe to be ready, we took some photos of the shop.

From Day 2 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]
From Day 2 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

And when our crepe was ready, it looked and tasted really delicious!

From Day 2 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]
From Day 2 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

Anyway, as we were in Sun Moon Lake on the actual day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, there were mini fireworks that were launched by the people residing at Sun Moon Lake. We didn’t manage to take any photographs of the fireworks but we sure heard them loud and clear. Since it was Mid-Autumn Festival, the shops closed rather early and we went to the nearby 7-Eleven Store to buy our dinner.

This was our dinner for the night. Boy, we sure love the 7-Eleven Store in Taiwan a lot!

From Day 2 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

If you’re wondering how dinner tasted and looked like. Here you go!

From Day 2 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]
From Day 2 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]
From Day 2 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

So, this was how we spent the night in Sun Moon Lake. If you’re wondering how much it cost us to stay at Skylight B&B, you will be quite surprised to find out that we only paid $4200 TWD [approx. $178.50]  for a night’s stay in the best room available at Skylight B&B [inclusive of a really sumptuous breakfast which we will blog about in our next blog entry]. If you’re planning to book a room at Skylight B&B, be sure to book it fast because their rooms are selling like hotcakes!

In our next blog entry, we will be covering about the Taiwan High Speed Rail and of course, many other attractions that we went to during our 9 Days 8 Nights trip in Taiwan.

Stay tuned to more updates from us!

God bless!

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Ci En Pagoda @ Sun Moon Lake 2012

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Hello Everyone,
in this blog entry, we will be covering solely on the Ci En Pagoda.

The word “Ci En” in Mandarin means kindness, grace and mercy. Located about 954 metres above sea level, Ci En Pagoda is 46 metres high and is the highest structure in Sun Moon Lake. Built by Chiang Kai-Shek in memory of his mother in 1971, the construction was very difficult because the materials had to be shipped over the lake and moved up the mountain.

Getting Ready to Hike Up To Ci En Pagoda

The distance to Ci En Pagoda is approximately 700 metres from where Baby was standing.

From Day 2 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

From the carpark to Ci En Pagoda, it is about 570 metres away.

From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

The hiking trail is surrounded by beautiful plants and trees, and the air was superbly fresh!

From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

And so, the countdown begins. We were 400 metres away from reaching the Ci En Pagoda.

From Day 2 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

And we stopped for another photo shoot.

From Day 2 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

And we were 300 metres away…

From Day 2 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

200 metres away…

From Day 2 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

and finally, 100 metres away!

From Day 2 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

We finally made it after the tiring hike up to Ci En Pagoda! Just look at our exhausted faces!

From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

So since we were there already, we made use of all the time we had by snapping lots of photographs!

Here’s Baby and I trying out some jump shots.

From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]
From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

Then I decided to do a Kung Fu Kick.

From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

and Baby tried to do the same.

From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

I like this shot of Baby. So comical!

From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

So after much fooling around, we decided to conquer Ci En Pagoda. Just look at all those long, winding, and never-ending steps! It certainly reminded me of the SAFTI Tower Run that I did during my CLM Term in OCS.

From Day 2 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

After the long and arduous stairs-climbing, we finally reached the top and can’t stop admiring the beautiful scenery. It’s a real pity the weather was too foggy for us to have good photographs.

From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]
From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]
From Day 2 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]
From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

Having shot enough photographs, there was just one last thing left to be done; that is, ringing the bell!

From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]
From Day 2 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

Well, we certainly had lots of fun hiking up to Ci En Pagoda and in our next blog entry, we will be covering about our stay at Skylight BB in Sun Moon Lake!

Stay tuned to more updates from us!

God bless!

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Liao Mayor Black Tea Store + Sun Moon Lake Boat Ride @ Sun Moon Lake, Taiwan

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Hello Everyone,
Today, we are going to cover the Liao Mayor Black Tea Store and the Sun Moon Lake Boat Ride that we went to when we were at Sun Moon Lake in Taiwan.

Sun Moon Lake is extremely popular for its Black Tea. In fact, if you have family members, relatives, or friends who loves drinking tea, then you must buy Sun Moon Lake‘s Black Tea for them. I was told by our driver that Alishan is famous for its Oolong Tea, Sun Moon Lake for its Black Tea, and Cing Jing for its Green Tea. Well, since my dad is a fan of black tea, Baby and I decided to check out Liao Mayor Black Tea Store in Sun Moon Lake.

The entrance to Liao Mayor Black Tea Store.

From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

With decades of experiences in making the finest black tea, you can be rest assured that the tea you purchase from Liao Mayor is of the finest standard and quality.

From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

Here’s where the tea leaves are being processed.

From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

Parting shot at Liao Mayor Black Tea Store.

From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

Anyways, if you are not sure what kind of tea to purchase, you can take your time and sample the tea leaves they are selling. There are no obligations for you to make any purchase to try their tea and that is a plus point.

This was what we eventually got for my dad.

So after checking out the Liao Mayor Black Tea Store, we journeyed by car for about 20 minutes to Sun Moon Lake.

When we reached the vicinity of Sun Moon Lake, we had lunch at one of the restaurants that our driver recommended.

From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

Baby fooling around while waiting for our dishes to arrive.

From Day 2 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

Here are the dishes that we ordered. In fact, we ordered the smallest portion but its still quite a lot!

Some Vegetable Soup [you see the white thingy and the yellow thingy? they’re a type of edible vegetable and flower respectively that is unique to Sun Moon Lake].

From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]
From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

Fried Tofu with Vegetables

From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

Dragon Beard Vegetable [we’ve heard of Dragon Beard Candy but not Dragon Beard Vegetable. Since it was something new to us, we decided to give it a try].

From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

Steamed White Chicken

From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

Fried Rice

From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

After the rather filling meal, we then went to purchase our tickets for the Sun Moon Lake Boat Ride which cost us $300 TWD [approx. $12.75 SGD] per person. If you’re planning to have a meal before the boat ride, it is highly recommended that you don’t eat so much because Baby and I almost “merlioned”/puked.

From Day 2 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

Onboard The Ship!

From Day 2 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

There are many different boat companies that operate the boat ride. So, choose one which has lesser people so that you can take all the pictures that you want with no obstruction.

From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

Baby look like a model hor?!

From Day 2 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

Some photographs taken during the boat ride.

From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]
From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]
From Day 2 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

That’s Ci En Pagoda from afar! We will be covering Ci En Pagoda in our next blog entry.

From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

And we finally arrived at Ita Zhao.

From Day 2 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]
From Day 2 Taiwan 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]
From Day 2 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

While waiting for our driver to fetch us to Ci En Pagoda, we took the liberty to walk around the night market and bought some Muah Chee to satisfy our cravings.

From Day 2 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]
From Day 2 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

And guess what, we found out that our accommodation for the night was just around the area. How perfect!

So anyways, because there are just so much things to cover about our trip to Taiwan; in our next blog entry, we will be covering the Ci En Pagoda and also the Ita Zhao night market. Thereafter, we will be blogging about our stay at Skylight BB, a rather chic and contemporary boutique accommodation!

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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