Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan - November 2019
Mar 30, 2020, 12:58 pm
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Join Date: May 2016
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Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan - November 2019
Seeing as there are probably going to be fewer trip reports for the foreseeable future, I thought I'd give posting a trip report a shot.
I don't travel often for work (maybe 1-2 times a year all with WN inside California), so when I am able to carve out time from work, I try to fly overseas. I try to travel twice a year for about 3 weeks at a time (I've accrued about 900 hours of vacation and the higher ups are not too happy that I've been hoarding so much). So, this past May, I planned a trip to Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan in November. I've been to all three a few times in the past, but my SO had only been to Taiwan (back in 2015...I'm Taiwanese American so I had to show her around the country that I've visited many times before).
When I started planning the trip, the protests in Hong Kong had just started and I figured that, like the Umbrella Protests in 2014, they would fizzle out. They did not. I was somewhat concerned about our safety; however, once we got to Hong Kong and figure out how to navigate the streets and what to avoid, the protests were not really noticeable. The streets were relatively empty and there were no queues for restaurants/Peak Tram/etc. When we did happen to walk into the middle of a protest, we never felt in danger and the protesters were all nice enough to help us navigate out of the crowds when the police started its advances. Without further ado, here are some photos with minimal narration (cheap point-and-shoot camera; I just take pictures of what I think is interesting without much planning).
Singapore
Obligatory shot of the waterfall at Jewel Changi Airport.
Apparently this is popular photo spot right by Fort Canning Park. As we walked past, there was a line of people queuing up to take photos while posing on the stairs. I don't do that sort of thing.
Fort Canning Park. I really enjoy the green spaces in Singapore. Western urban planners, take note.
Haji Lane. Lots of cool little shops. Probably spent an hour walking down the street as the SO ducked in and out of stores.
Marina Bay at night.
Singapore is all about the food. I hit up quite a few hawker stalls, and here a few of my favorites.
There's no signboard for this one, but it's located in a coffee shop right outside the Golden Mile Food Center; it's known as Koothurar Nasi Briyani or Beach Road Briyani. Just look for the long queue at lunchtime.
Original Katong Laksa has few locations; this one is the one located on Upper Paya Lebar Road. They add a lot of mince dried shrimp to their laksa broth - really packs a lot of flavor.
Lian He Ben Ji Claypot Rice in the Chinatown Complex. There's a minimum 25 minute wait (how long it takes to make the dish from scratch) and can stretch to 1.5 hours if there are people queuing (or so I've read). Probably the single favorite thing I ate in Singapore.
Hong Kong
High density living.
Yik Cheong Building. This complex was made famous by...Transformers? We came in through the north side entrance and saw a guard and didn't think much of it. Took some photos and left via the south side entrance, where we saw signs not take photos. Whoops. But the guard didn't seem to mind...
Choi Hung Estate
As you see by the two previous photos, I'm not the best about fiddling with my camera settings. I just leave it on "Auto" and it does what it does.
View from the top of Victoria Peak. Pretty clear day and the weather was fantastic (Bay Area spring weather). My SO wanted to walk up to the top of Victoria Peak, but I compromised and we took the Peak Tram up and walked down instead.
Back home, I'm not a much of a meat eater, but when away from home, it's a little harder to plan meals that suit my diet. So when in Hong Kong, I had to have roast goose, which is something I really liked back in my meat-eating days but is hard to find back home.
Kam's Roast Goose. We had this and Yat Lok; Kam's has better meat and Yat Lok has better skin. If only they could work together.
Lau Sum Kee. I really love the dried shrimp roe that they (and many other restaurants) put on their noodles. Lau Sum Kee was by far the most generous (I'm looking at you, Mak's Noodle. What a rip-off.).
Some protest photos. We stayed near the Mong Kok MTR station so this was the scene every night a few blocks from our hotel off of Nathan Road. The police would announce themselves before firing off tear gas canisters; we got hit with tear gas one night as the wind picked it up from about a block away; felt like snorting pepper.
Taiwan
So the main reason for the trip was to visit a friend who had just moved to Taipei. She married a Taiwanese expat and together, they moved to Taipei in May.
Elephant Mountain. Despite having visited Taiwan ~8-10 times, I've never bothered making this short "hike" (really just stairs).
Ximending, Taipei's Shibuya (or so I've been told).
We took a quick trip to Tainan and walked around Anping Old Street and checked out Hayashi. The public transportation in Tainan is quite lacking (their public buses are re-purposed tour buses so they have inefficient seating arrangements and there really isn't any room to stand). Save yourself the hassle and just take a cab everywhere.
Anping Tree House, which reminded me of a miniature Ta Prohm.
Hayashi, a vestige of Japanese colonialism.
Back in Taipei, we took a quick trip to Houtong Cat Village. It was drizzling that day, so I think most of the cats opted to stay indoors.
And we made a trip out to Juifen. Like Elephant Mountain, despite having visited Taiwan many times, this was my first time here.
And another first (that I can recall): Taiwanese breakfast. I'm sure I've had this when I was younger and all my decisions were made by my parents, but this is the first time I've actively sought it out. We went to Fuhang Soy Milk. The queue wasn't too bad as we waited just 10 minutes to get our food.
Thought I'd share my favorite snack...stall?...with everyone here. Tian Jin Flakey Scallion Pancake, located around the corner and a few blocks down from the original Din Tai Fung. Get it with egg and Chinese basil, skip the sauce.
And speaking of which...I've been to quite a few of their locations around the world, but the original location is always the best.
I don't travel often for work (maybe 1-2 times a year all with WN inside California), so when I am able to carve out time from work, I try to fly overseas. I try to travel twice a year for about 3 weeks at a time (I've accrued about 900 hours of vacation and the higher ups are not too happy that I've been hoarding so much). So, this past May, I planned a trip to Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan in November. I've been to all three a few times in the past, but my SO had only been to Taiwan (back in 2015...I'm Taiwanese American so I had to show her around the country that I've visited many times before).
When I started planning the trip, the protests in Hong Kong had just started and I figured that, like the Umbrella Protests in 2014, they would fizzle out. They did not. I was somewhat concerned about our safety; however, once we got to Hong Kong and figure out how to navigate the streets and what to avoid, the protests were not really noticeable. The streets were relatively empty and there were no queues for restaurants/Peak Tram/etc. When we did happen to walk into the middle of a protest, we never felt in danger and the protesters were all nice enough to help us navigate out of the crowds when the police started its advances. Without further ado, here are some photos with minimal narration (cheap point-and-shoot camera; I just take pictures of what I think is interesting without much planning).
Singapore
Obligatory shot of the waterfall at Jewel Changi Airport.
Apparently this is popular photo spot right by Fort Canning Park. As we walked past, there was a line of people queuing up to take photos while posing on the stairs. I don't do that sort of thing.
Fort Canning Park. I really enjoy the green spaces in Singapore. Western urban planners, take note.
Haji Lane. Lots of cool little shops. Probably spent an hour walking down the street as the SO ducked in and out of stores.
Marina Bay at night.
Singapore is all about the food. I hit up quite a few hawker stalls, and here a few of my favorites.
There's no signboard for this one, but it's located in a coffee shop right outside the Golden Mile Food Center; it's known as Koothurar Nasi Briyani or Beach Road Briyani. Just look for the long queue at lunchtime.
Original Katong Laksa has few locations; this one is the one located on Upper Paya Lebar Road. They add a lot of mince dried shrimp to their laksa broth - really packs a lot of flavor.
Lian He Ben Ji Claypot Rice in the Chinatown Complex. There's a minimum 25 minute wait (how long it takes to make the dish from scratch) and can stretch to 1.5 hours if there are people queuing (or so I've read). Probably the single favorite thing I ate in Singapore.
Hong Kong
High density living.
Yik Cheong Building. This complex was made famous by...Transformers? We came in through the north side entrance and saw a guard and didn't think much of it. Took some photos and left via the south side entrance, where we saw signs not take photos. Whoops. But the guard didn't seem to mind...
Choi Hung Estate
As you see by the two previous photos, I'm not the best about fiddling with my camera settings. I just leave it on "Auto" and it does what it does.
View from the top of Victoria Peak. Pretty clear day and the weather was fantastic (Bay Area spring weather). My SO wanted to walk up to the top of Victoria Peak, but I compromised and we took the Peak Tram up and walked down instead.
Back home, I'm not a much of a meat eater, but when away from home, it's a little harder to plan meals that suit my diet. So when in Hong Kong, I had to have roast goose, which is something I really liked back in my meat-eating days but is hard to find back home.
Kam's Roast Goose. We had this and Yat Lok; Kam's has better meat and Yat Lok has better skin. If only they could work together.
Lau Sum Kee. I really love the dried shrimp roe that they (and many other restaurants) put on their noodles. Lau Sum Kee was by far the most generous (I'm looking at you, Mak's Noodle. What a rip-off.).
Some protest photos. We stayed near the Mong Kok MTR station so this was the scene every night a few blocks from our hotel off of Nathan Road. The police would announce themselves before firing off tear gas canisters; we got hit with tear gas one night as the wind picked it up from about a block away; felt like snorting pepper.
Taiwan
So the main reason for the trip was to visit a friend who had just moved to Taipei. She married a Taiwanese expat and together, they moved to Taipei in May.
Elephant Mountain. Despite having visited Taiwan ~8-10 times, I've never bothered making this short "hike" (really just stairs).
Ximending, Taipei's Shibuya (or so I've been told).
We took a quick trip to Tainan and walked around Anping Old Street and checked out Hayashi. The public transportation in Tainan is quite lacking (their public buses are re-purposed tour buses so they have inefficient seating arrangements and there really isn't any room to stand). Save yourself the hassle and just take a cab everywhere.
Anping Tree House, which reminded me of a miniature Ta Prohm.
Hayashi, a vestige of Japanese colonialism.
Back in Taipei, we took a quick trip to Houtong Cat Village. It was drizzling that day, so I think most of the cats opted to stay indoors.
And we made a trip out to Juifen. Like Elephant Mountain, despite having visited Taiwan many times, this was my first time here.
And another first (that I can recall): Taiwanese breakfast. I'm sure I've had this when I was younger and all my decisions were made by my parents, but this is the first time I've actively sought it out. We went to Fuhang Soy Milk. The queue wasn't too bad as we waited just 10 minutes to get our food.
Thought I'd share my favorite snack...stall?...with everyone here. Tian Jin Flakey Scallion Pancake, located around the corner and a few blocks down from the original Din Tai Fung. Get it with egg and Chinese basil, skip the sauce.
And speaking of which...I've been to quite a few of their locations around the world, but the original location is always the best.
Last edited by calbear2005; Sep 10, 2021 at 5:55 pm Reason: typos
