Location: Changi Airport

Current location: Singapore Changi Airport
Current time: 11.50am

Waiting to board the plane to Taipei!
Estimated time of arrival: 1655hrs

Packing & Preparing

A list of things to bring is essential in keeping things organised, especially if one's going for an overseas trip. Yet there's also a need to watch and not over-pack, because you know that you will be stocking up on those goodies once you're overseas, bringing back souvenirs and food stuff for family and friends =)

Of course, the most important items would be the passport & money. Once you got enough cash, you can practically leave with an empty suitcase and buy everything over there(the country that you would be going to). But if you're like me, a little kiasu and paranoid, essential items would be vitamins, medication, enough undergarments, water (yes, alkaline water!), toiletries such as facewash and special shampoo & conditioner (which is what happens when you rebond your hair and need special care), dental floss & cotton buds (you wouldn't want to be caught with some unidentifiable left-overs stuck between your teeth or endure itchy ears) and of course many more items.

Part of the excitement building up to the trip's definitely the packing (not the washing to be done when you're back though =P) and everyone got a different way to do it. There's no fixed formula, just pack according to your personal needs and preference and you'll do just fine. Some like to do it just hours before they leave, simply throwing everything they see into the luggage while others like to plan every detail and count every item they put in and perhaps even weigh the luggage to avoid excess weight.
Enough said...pack, pack, pack!

Information Overload-Prelude to Taiwan Trip

Yes, as the official tagline for Taiwan Tourism Website goes: Welcome to Taiwan!

As the search for the interesting places to visit in Taiwan picks up speed, my brain's having info overload due to the amount of websites, forums and details that I have to read before embarking on my trip to Taipei.

Somehow, this reading has been stressing me up and dampening my enthusiasm on the upcoming trip. Nevertheless, I still love travelling and believe that my excitement will pick up as the trip nears =)

Free and easy travel's definitely lots of hard work and organisation as one would have to plan well even before the trip. As one of my friend puts it: "that's why I would rather sit in the bus and hear the tour guide yakking away." Through the various info that I have to sieve through for the trip, I'm very grateful for people who had travelled to Taiwan and put up useful links and comments as well as their experiences in their blogs, which serve as a good guide for interested travellers.

So, stay tuned for my take and update on Taiwan! =)

Tutu Kueh!

Little white rice cakes filled with fragrant filling...

Yes! It's Tutu Kueh =)

There's been this pasar malam at my area recently and these cute little snacks kept calling my name...oh...just reminds me of my childhood when my parents would buy me these little cakes to make me happy (yes, i'm such a greedy litle pig =P)

Don't drink that milk or eat that chocolate!

"Mummy, can I buy this chocolate?"
"No, boy. It is not safe. It could contain milk from China!"

Yes, it has reached that stage...where consumers are fearful of any dairy products, those containing milk, because that product could contain milk from China. Once again, China has made it into the headlines. Yet this time, it is not about the grand performance put up for the Beijing Olympics. It is about one of the biggest scandals of all times. Melamine-tainted milk, which caused the deaths of toddlers and hospitalisation of thousands of children, represented a most socially-irresponsible cover-up and a insidious example of economic profit at the risk of human lives.
Melamine was used to boost protein levels of milk in China as profit-making had prompted manufacturers to dilute milk with water and adding melamine would ensure that the diluted milk would pass protein tests. However, this move proved to be detrimental in the long run, as China milk manufacturers now faced a crisis, of global proportions as countries around the world recalled Chinese milk products and imposed bans on China-imported milk products. This milk scandal has led to people questioning the source of milk products and induced fear in the general public in consuming any dairy products. Snack such as chocolate, ice-cream, biscuits and yoghurt are some of the food that contained milk and been recalled once it has been tested positive for melamine.
Singapore's Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) has taken steps to address this issue of negligence and cover-up in food contaminants by "setting up a 'forensics unit' to proactively manage, and hopefully pre-empt, future food-safety issues...by boosting its 'ground intelligence', and searching out possible sources of risk." (extracted from Today,Oct 2,2008) Such a step is commendable as measures are being taken to ensure that such cases would not happen so easily in future.
It is indeed saddening and disgusting to learn about such disregard for human lives.