09:30
We woke up and found a tray neatly placed outside our room. Charline had prepared breakfast for us before she left for work. How sweet is that? She also left us SMSes, telling us to enjoy ourselves as if it was our own home. We logged on to our emails and Facebook for a short update, and enjoyed our breakfast in a well-decorated living room. We had the whole house to ourselves! This really amazed me because in Malaysia we are taught not to entertain strangers, let alone inviting strangers into our homes and leaving them alone at home like that.
Breakfast: Soy milk 豆奶, 肉棕, 地瓜煎饼, hamburger 汉堡, and coffee.
11:45
Charline took us to a famous place for breakfast - 财伯米糕. The rule of thumb is, when you see a line building up at the store, the food is usually good. They are used to queuing for food, for trains, for everything :)
FOOD: 米糕 3 份，汤 3 份，抄手 dumpling，腊肠 sausage，卤蛋 egg (NT240)
13:00
Again, the kind Charline sent us to a bus station near 东海大学, and we caught a free shuttle to the train station. We took the 3pm High Speed Railway (HSR) from 台中 to 台北。It only took 1 hour. Pleasant ride. (NT700 x 2 pax)
16:00
The hotel we booked seemed near to the Taipei train station on the map, but it is actually a good 15 minute walk. We had to drag our luggages all the way up and down staircases of the overhead bridges, ask for direction, and cross many roads. All of that done with the compliment of the chilly outdoor wind.
We finally checked into our hotel - 银宝旅店. Due to the holiday season, the rate was NT1580 for that day (normal rate should be around NT1300). We had to get the biggest room they have. Imagine a queen size bed, with about 2 feet from 3 sides of the bed of walking space, and 1 6ft x 6ft bathroom. Adventurous eh? It was clean, so we did not complaint. Time to wash up for the 2009 final countdown!!!
17:30
Depart for the countdown concert at 市政府 (next to 101 tower).
It was still early when we reached the destination, so we visited the 101 Tower (NT 400 x 2 pax). The 'fastest elevator on Earth' took 30 seconds to reach the 89th floor, where the indoor observatory was. I had to pop my ears twice in 30 secs to equalize. The 91st floor is an outdoor observatory, but too bad it was closed that day. The lady at the sales counter told us that it was closed due to the slight rain and wind, but I think it is just because they are preparing for the new year fireworks. It would be cool to feel the wind at the height of 91st floor though. The visit also included the 88th floor, where the tuned mass damper was located. It is also the largest damper in the world, for now.
The night view of Taipei was ok. It looks exactly like the view when you look out the window from a plane before landing. Well, I did learn a thing or two from the visit. I learned that a damper is a structure used to offset movements in the building caused by wind or earthquake. They come in different shapes and sizes. The damper for KLCC is actually the bridge connecting both towers! Cool isn't it?
19:15
Dinner at the food court in 101 Tower shopping mall.
FOOD: Rice cake 米糕 (NT45), Korean noodle set (NT130), red bean + bean curt desert 豆花+红豆 (NT45)
Souvenir: 101 Tower magnet (NT150)
20:30
The crowd was building up fast at the city square by then. We found a spot about 50 meters from the stage. Everybody either stood facing the stage or sat on the floor facing a giant screen at the back. I did both, but looked at the screen most of the time. The audience was really well-trained. The whole concert was broadcasted live to all over the world, including Malaysia. So, during commercial break on TV, artists and singers just chatted and interacted a little with the crowd. When the cue (an intro music) came up, the audience would get themselves ready to cheer as soon as they go on live TV again. Lol.
Among the artists are: 胡瓜，蓝心梅，莎莎，小鬼，叮当，林志玲，S.H.E，五月天，王力宏 (Lee Hom)。The mayor of Taipei city and the President of Chinese Taipei 马英九 were there for the countdown too! 林志玲 perform her new song from the Jay Chou movie. Not too bad actually. Lee Hom was the finale of the show. He basically had a small concert from 12 midnight to 1am. Great voice he has.
01:00 (01012010)
55,000 people headed to the MRT station.It was crazy!! The MRT operated 24 hours that day, catering for people like us. Workers are stationed at every corner of the streets and train station to control the crowd. They had to stop the crowd at the entrance of the MRT station, and only let a small group of people in at a time. Old folks, families with children and pregnant ladies are given priority. With the size of the crowd, I'd say they did a pretty good job. We reached our hotel at 02:30 am.
Breakfast: Soy milk 豆奶, 肉棕, 地瓜煎饼, hamburger 汉堡, and coffee.
11:45
Charline took us to a famous place for breakfast - 财伯米糕. The rule of thumb is, when you see a line building up at the store, the food is usually good. They are used to queuing for food, for trains, for everything :)
FOOD: 米糕 3 份，汤 3 份，抄手 dumpling，腊肠 sausage，卤蛋 egg (NT240)
13:00
Again, the kind Charline sent us to a bus station near 东海大学, and we caught a free shuttle to the train station. We took the 3pm High Speed Railway (HSR) from 台中 to 台北。It only took 1 hour. Pleasant ride. (NT700 x 2 pax)
16:00
The hotel we booked seemed near to the Taipei train station on the map, but it is actually a good 15 minute walk. We had to drag our luggages all the way up and down staircases of the overhead bridges, ask for direction, and cross many roads. All of that done with the compliment of the chilly outdoor wind.
We finally checked into our hotel - 银宝旅店. Due to the holiday season, the rate was NT1580 for that day (normal rate should be around NT1300). We had to get the biggest room they have. Imagine a queen size bed, with about 2 feet from 3 sides of the bed of walking space, and 1 6ft x 6ft bathroom. Adventurous eh? It was clean, so we did not complaint. Time to wash up for the 2009 final countdown!!!
17:30
Depart for the countdown concert at 市政府 (next to 101 tower).
It was still early when we reached the destination, so we visited the 101 Tower (NT 400 x 2 pax). The 'fastest elevator on Earth' took 30 seconds to reach the 89th floor, where the indoor observatory was. I had to pop my ears twice in 30 secs to equalize. The 91st floor is an outdoor observatory, but too bad it was closed that day. The lady at the sales counter told us that it was closed due to the slight rain and wind, but I think it is just because they are preparing for the new year fireworks. It would be cool to feel the wind at the height of 91st floor though. The visit also included the 88th floor, where the tuned mass damper was located. It is also the largest damper in the world, for now.
The night view of Taipei was ok. It looks exactly like the view when you look out the window from a plane before landing. Well, I did learn a thing or two from the visit. I learned that a damper is a structure used to offset movements in the building caused by wind or earthquake. They come in different shapes and sizes. The damper for KLCC is actually the bridge connecting both towers! Cool isn't it?
19:15Dinner at the food court in 101 Tower shopping mall.
FOOD: Rice cake 米糕 (NT45), Korean noodle set (NT130), red bean + bean curt desert 豆花+红豆 (NT45)
Souvenir: 101 Tower magnet (NT150)
20:30
The crowd was building up fast at the city square by then. We found a spot about 50 meters from the stage. Everybody either stood facing the stage or sat on the floor facing a giant screen at the back. I did both, but looked at the screen most of the time. The audience was really well-trained. The whole concert was broadcasted live to all over the world, including Malaysia. So, during commercial break on TV, artists and singers just chatted and interacted a little with the crowd. When the cue (an intro music) came up, the audience would get themselves ready to cheer as soon as they go on live TV again. Lol.
Among the artists are: 胡瓜，蓝心梅，莎莎，小鬼，叮当，林志玲，S.H.E，五月天，王力宏 (Lee Hom)。The mayor of Taipei city and the President of Chinese Taipei 马英九 were there for the countdown too! 林志玲 perform her new song from the Jay Chou movie. Not too bad actually. Lee Hom was the finale of the show. He basically had a small concert from 12 midnight to 1am. Great voice he has.
01:00 (01012010)
55,000 people headed to the MRT station.It was crazy!! The MRT operated 24 hours that day, catering for people like us. Workers are stationed at every corner of the streets and train station to control the crowd. They had to stop the crowd at the entrance of the MRT station, and only let a small group of people in at a time. Old folks, families with children and pregnant ladies are given priority. With the size of the crowd, I'd say they did a pretty good job. We reached our hotel at 02:30 am.
Happy 2010!
