Taipei 101 Observatory Deck

After 3 years I've been in Taiwan, just several weeks ago I can go to Taipei 101 Observatory Deck. haha It's kinda weird because it's already 3 years and Taipei 101 is near with my campus. But, at the same time I know why I didn't go there in my 2 years of master degree and the first one year of my PhD. It's because... it's expensive.

You have to pay NT$450 if you show your Taiwan Student ID or International Student ID. And if you're only tourist or employee, you have to pay NT$500. If you have child, I think the price should be NT$450, it's a concession ticket for child, student, elderly, and disable.

It's an expensive ticket for my student pocket, don't you think? haha
But I'm lucky that my husband wants to go there "suddenly" and pay the ticket for me. (Yaaayyy!!)

So, the opening time of Taipei 101 Observatory Deck is at 9am to 10pm, but the ticketing counter will be closed at 9.15pm. My suggestion for you, go there before sunset, maybe around 4 or 5 pm. Because you will get beautiful landscape of Taipei when it's still light, between sunset, and after dark. I believe it's amazing. Because I've been there only at night and I couldn't see the bright landscape when sun still on the top of our head.

The transportation to Taipei 101 is quite easy start this year, because Taipei Government built another MRT line directly to Taipei 101. So, you can easily get there.

You have to aware, that you have to wait for around 15-30 minutes for the elevator. It's the fastest elevator in the world (they say), but they only have 1 elevator for go up and 1 for go down, Bt don't worry, it takes approx less than 1 minute to reach 87th floor (yes you can only go to 87th, not 101th) with the speed of 1010 m / min. Crazy huh?

When I was inside the "capsule" or elevator, I could sense my ear disrupted by the speed. Just like when I'm on airplane. Sudden change in the elevation can make your ears have a bit of discomfort.

Don't throw your ticket away because sometimes (I think seasonal) they will give you some coupons that can be used for shopping on the observatory deck. However, the items are still expensive even we had the coupons already. haha I used my coupon to buy Mango Ice Cream, worth money because it's very delicious. I'm not kidding. It's the best Mango Ice Cream that I've ever taste in my life. haha

Stores inside the observatory deck are a lot, including :

• Mango Ice Cream
• Souvenir shop
• Unique stamp shop
• Taiwan delicacies
• Gold (yes, it's gold) and many other jewelries.

If you buy postcards from the souvenir shop, you can send it to your home. Just buy the stamp in the cashier and they will give you explanation where to put your postcard after you finish write something on it. Basically they will ask you to put it on the big post office box in front of the shop.

While I eat my mango ice cream, I can see beautiful night landscapes from above. The walls are made from glasses. So, you can see 360 degree panorama from above.

 

Taipei Night Landscape from Taipei 101 Observatory Deck

Souvenir Shop on Taipei 101 Observatory Deck

Wind Damper of Taipei 101 (It's HUGE) 

Another Taipei Night Landscape from Taipei 101 Observatory Deck

Kaohsiung Weekend Getaway Part 5 : Lotus Pond and Dragon Tiger Pagodas

When think about Pagoda, what I remember is a movie called "Kera Sakti" or "Magic Monkey". An old Chinese movie which aired on Indonesian TV when I was in elementary school. It has a story when the monkey is naughty, the monk will put him inside the 7 floor of Pagoda. hahaha

The pagoda in here is most likely similar with the one in the movie. But the difference lays in the height. Most of the pagodas only have 5 floors. In front of the pagodas, there are statue of budhism gods, dragon, and tiger.

How to get there?

If you don't have your personal transportation like car or scooter, you can go there by MRT. The place is near Zuoying MRT Station and need to walk for 20 minutes to go there. If you don't want to walk, you can go by bus 紅35 from bus stop in front Zuoying HSR Station.

The lake is huge. I said it's lake, not pond because it's huge. Even you can ind many lotus flowers on this area. You have to walk a little bit far from one pagoda to another and if you come her in summer, bring your hat or umbrella. Very hot outside especially when you go near the pagodas, no trees around. There are several stores and a market near the lake, so if you thirsty you can find something to drink. The vending machine is not working, just wanna remind you that. hahaha

What's in there?

Basically I'm not really sure why there are so many statues of tiger and dragon, also with pagodas and statue of budhism gods there. However, I think it's the center of people who follow Budhism as religion pray there and the lake is one of the scared place for them.

Because the place is in the beautiful lake, no wonder many tourists come here only for relaxation, travel around, or just take a picture. The statues are huge and somewhat beautiful, even at the same time strange. Maybe that's another reason why many people come here.

There are several pagodas which separated into several places.

The first one is the one with a very huge statue of budhism god. I don't know the name of it by the way. In here we parked our scooter because in other places no place for parking.

The second one is the one with big dragon which you can go inside and see the wall sculptures about the story behind the pagodas (if you understand haha). On the top of the dragon, there are three god and goddess of Budhism. In front of it there is a pond that actually make the hot weather seems calm a while.

The third one is the one with dragon and tiger statues in front of the biggest pagoda there. Because too many people there, I couldn't take a great picture of it in front of the statues. Moreover, the weather is very hot and I want to go to our next destination.

So, where is the lotus? You see the green plants in the picture above which seems like a field? It's actually a water and there are many lotus plants. Unfortunately, the lotus is not blossom yet, might because it's summer time. I bet it will be more beautiful in the spring time.

From our experience, you only need to be here for 2 hours. Especially when you come here only for travel and experience something new. So, better have plan to go after this place. Just like us, to Cijing Island. ^^

Kaohsiung Weekend Getaway Part 4 : Love River 'Cruise'

Cruise is one of the best place to spend your wedding anniversary, isn't it? Especially when the name of the river is "Love River". However, that's not what we seen and experienced. haha

The Love River (爱河 or Ai He) is one of the must-to-go destination on Kaohsiung said the travel information brochure we had from information center on Zuoying HSR Station. I agree with that because the riverside is beautiful and there are several cafes there for you to spend your afternoon time with your love ones.

Source : wikimedia.org

The interesting thing is that you can go on a tour (with ticket of course) using a green-boat. Not boat with green painting, but it's a green technology boat. No sound and it uses several solar panel on top of it. So, it's not causing pollution to the air, water, and sound. We've never tried this kind of boat before so it's interesting for us especially for my husband who is solar-tech freak a little bit. hahaha

You can buy the ticket in the ticket booth near one of the cafe and "Love River" sign. The price is also vary, just like another places in Taiwan based on your age and need. You can see on this picture about the price. We paid for NT$120 per person for it. You can check on the information board in front of the ticket counter if you want to see the prices.

However, it's not like what we expect to have. We expect to have a nice trip with romantic view at night, but it's wrong hahaha. Because there were a lot of people go inside the boat and there's a lady who act as a tourist guide and explain in chinese (of course) about the Love River and the history of it. Make us confuse because we didn't understand at all about what she said. But even we're like a "lost" couple, we still can enjoy the night view and relax after rain.

The night view is very beautiful and the smell is actually the smell of ocean. Because what we've seen is that there is a border between river and ocean, and it's near Kaohsiung Harbor.

We also can see the big 85 Sky Tower from our boat and it's beautiful. However, we couldn't see much because it's too late and maybe many buildings already shut down their lamps.

Here several photos we took from the boat.

Kaohsiung Weekend Getaway Part 3 : Escape 41 Restaurant

If you're looking a good restaurant on the seashore where you can find sunset in Taiwan's coast, this is the right place to go. We found this place from Lonely Planet Taiwan edition book that I have, and we absolutely wanted to try because it's in that book, right? It has to be a very good place to go. However, we had to prepare because the book stated that the location is tricky and need to go there by scooter or car. Even better if using scooter.

How to get there?

As I mentioned before, you have to go there by car or scooter because no public transportation to go there. Nearest MRT station is Sizihwan MRT Station and need 5.7 km from there if you want to walk. hahaha If you don't have both,you can use taxi, but the road is a bit tricky there. I will show you why. Please look at this map below.

So, as you can see, you will go through the west coast side of Taiwan in Kaohsiung after pass The Official Residence of British Consulate. These road is going uphill. So on your right side, you will see a forest and on your left side there's ocean.

Then, after you turn left to a housing residence, you will feel the feeling of "you're lost" but believe me that you're not. From our experience, we went there too late so that the sun already set when we're still on our way. Plus it was raining so hard. We can see there's a small storm on the ocean and we're totally wet even we already use our raincoat. Because it's in the small village near ocean, the road was so dark and creepy. My suggestion is, go there before sunset and check on weather forecast before going.

Even in google maps the road looks like big enough, no it's not. The road is typical village road. It's small and only can afford one small car like sedan. It was surprising me a lot when I found a SUV in front of the restaurant because we knew that there's only one way out there and it's a small road. haha

When we arrived, we actually felt confuse because the place is nowhere can be found. But suddenly, my husband found an "Escape 41" sign near a fence which bordering with a cliff and ocean underneath it. The sign is directing to a small path to a narrow stairs that end up in a white building with closed door. I'm terrified with the fact that it's not like a restaurant at all. But when I opened the door, I realized it's true because I saw a red carpet and signs of people talking inside. hahaha

You can see on a picture above, there's a sign in the fence. On the left, there's a small path to narrow stairs. The white sign which look like a lamp is actually the sign of the restaurant. Because my camera is not good enough, the sign is unreadable in the picture. Below is the photo of the small path and the "lamp-like" sign.

See the red door? that's the door of the restaurant. Not like a restaurant, isn't it? But believe me it's a restaurant inside. Below is the photo I got from Escape 41 Facebook Page about the inside of the restaurant. I don't have a good picture of it, sorry about that.

What's Inside?

The owner of this restaurant is Australian, so that's why the menu in here is kinda like pasta, pizza, and other western food. I got a review from WikiTravel that the best food in here is the pizza, so we order one of them, and it's actually delicious. But unfortunately, most of the waitress can't speak english very well and sometimes they're confuse with what we order even we already used body language, so be prepared for it. haha But don't worry too much because as our experience, the owner who is the Australian guy will go to your table and help you with your order. If you prefer vegetarian food, don't worry there're several options for you including Pizza full of four variety of cheese and tomato sauce.

Lonely Planet mentions that this place is one of the best place to see beautiful scenery of ocean in Taiwan and I'm agree with that, even it's already night when we arrived. You actually can choose want to sit inside or outside. These are several pictures that I got from their Facebook Page and on of them is mine (the night view).

Source : Escape 41 Facebook Page 

Source : Escape 41 Facebook Page  

Source : Escape 41 Facebook Page 

The food and scenery are kinda contrast with the service they gave to us. I don't know because they're busy or what but somehow they're not really good at giving the service. Strange looking also come toward us, might because that's the first time two muslim people came to their restaurant. hahaha

So, my suggestion for you, go here before sunset. Better on afternoon because you will arrive there maybe 1 hour later. haha And you can enjoy the sunset there. Don't forget to check on weather forecast and bring map.

We're definitely will come back because we want to enjoy the sunset while eating our dinner.

Kaohsiung Weekend Getaway Part 2 : E-DA Theme Park

Taiwan has several theme parks, one of them is in Kaohsiung which is E-DA Theme Park inside E-DA World. Actually I don't really have too much interest in going to theme park, but my husband asked me to go there because it has unique designs. They have a lot of greek architecture on the buildings in the E-DA World. The website mentioned that it's the only place in Taiwan that has that kind of architecture. So, my husband wants to go there so badly because he wants to capture many beautiful things there using his camera, especially from the height of E-DA Ferris Wheel.

Source : edaworld.com.tw

How to Go There?

If you have car or scooter is easier for you because no MRT to go there. If you want to use public transportation like us, you have to check on E-DA World website because they have shuttle bus schedule from different locations throughout Kaohsiung. However, unfortunately they don't have information in english, so you have to turn on the automatic translation in your browser. This is the website http://www.edaworld.com.tw/en/bus_info.aspx

I have suggestion for you if you want to make it easier. Just go to Zuoying HSR Station in Kaohsiung and head toward exit 3 near information center. If you confuse, just look up on the guidance there and try to find guide to Bus Stop. Take the shuttle bus number 8501 which is a shuttle bus to E-DA World. Before hop to the bus, you have to buy ticket to a lady who stand near the bus. The price is around NT$ 35 per person and it takes only around 20 minutes to go there.

When the bus arrives in E-DA World, it will stop several times in hotels, university, and other places. Your destination is on E-DA Station. If you confuse, just ask the bus driver and use your body language and tell him you want to go to E-DA Theme Park. haha

E-DA Station is in front of a shop called Taiwan Tea House Shop and you have to go across the shop to a big building which is a shopping mall. The ticket booth for the theme park is on the B1 Floor. So, you have to go upstairs 2 floors more. There, you can find Ticket Box and buy your ticket there.

Ticket Prices

In the E-DA Theme Park, you actually can buy the ticket online via http://www.edathemepark.com.tw/Website/index.aspx. But they only offer package. Normally it's cheaper on special occasion. But you have to wait for the ticket arrival on your e-mail at least 3 days of work days because the theme park has to confirm your payment first, For me, it's not work even my Taiwanese friend wanted to help me call the theme park so that my ticket can be proceed faster. It makes me afraid that our ticket couldn't be done before arrival in Kaohsiung. So, we decided to just buy the ticket on the spot.

You can check the ticket price in here http://www.edathemepark.com.tw/Website/info_Price.aspx or you can refer to this table.

Regular price is NT$ 899. If you are student or children, the price is NT$799. For children less than 12 years old, pregnant woman, and elder, they can get NT$ 580 ticket price. For disable person can get NT$450. And for NT$ 650, I'm no sure what's that mean. haha

With that ticket, you can go inside the theme park and play, plus free ride on E-DA Ferris Wheel. You have to ask for theme park's map in english. If not, you will get the chinese version of it.

What's Inside E-DA Theme Park?

Source : qiito.com

Just like another theme park, many attractions there, especially for children. They have a building of 5 floors and most of the attractions inside are for children, not adult. Several attractions that make me impressed are :

1. Haunted House

It's on the B2 Floor of Trojan Castle. The ghost are actually real human. Make some surprising movement especially to woman and children. They will hide on corner so that we can't see them.

2. Taiwan Formosa

It's on the 3rd Floor of Trojan Castle. You will sit on a row of chairs which similar with the one for roller coaster, then suddenly the light will off and the chairs are moving towards a very big screen. That screen will play video about Taiwan panorama from the sky. The chairs will move towards the video, and make you feel like you're flying above Taiwan. I like this so much.

3. Flume Ride

You have to use a rain coat if you don't want to be wet all over. You can buy a raincoat for NT$ 40 there. It's just like a roller coaster but you will go down to a pool and water will splash all over your body. It's fun though.

4. Ship of Soul

It's on the 2nd Floor of Santorini. It's like a haunted house but the difference lays on the layout. The layout is about pirate ship. So the ghost haunted a pirate ship and make a shocking movement to make us scared.

Other than those attractions, there are many things other. But, we didn't really like it. They actually has a performance on a E-DA Royal Theater inside the theme park. But, the performance start only two times at 11.30 and 18.30. We just knew that when we're on the way outside. So, we missed the first performance.

The theme park actually very small. They have small land, that's why they built a big building of 5 floors only for children's attractions. But it has usefulness when it came to summer like this month, so that parents and children will not going to be burnt. haha

Other thing that I felt very surprisingly beautiful is how they make the theme park looks like in Greek. They even have Trojan Horse, the replica of Santorini city, and etc. I like the way it looks. Just beautiful as it is. hahaha However, if you're a theme park addict, it's not a best place to go. Just my opinion.

After you play, you can go outside the theme park to the Ferris Wheel. However, you have to ask a stamp on your hand to lady on the exit, so that you can go inside Ferris Wheel for free.

To go there, you have to follow direction there and need to go through a very big mall. It's kinda weird actually, just follow the direction. hahaha It's on the Roof Floor of A section of the mall. When you arrive there, just show the stamp on your hand and they will let you on queue before enter the Ferris Wheel. Remember, no food, no drink, and no pet allowed inside.

Source : wantchinatimes.com

From the top of the Ferris Wheel, you can see beautiful scenery of Kaohsiung City and E-DA World. If you're lucky you also can see ocean.

Wanna go back home or hotel? Just go towards the B1 Floor in the same building as Ferris Wheel. There's a door in front of Information Center. Turn right and you will find many queue lines with bus number in front of each queue. If you want to go back to your arrival destination, go to queue for bus number 8501 and wait for the bus. Once the bus come, hope and don't forget to pay to the bus driver.

Hope it will be useful and have a nice trip!^^

Kaohsiung Taiwan Weekend Getaway (Part 1)

"What will you do in your 1st Wedding Anniversary?"

Sometimes... I will have this kind of question before the date arrived. Maybe I want a nice dinner in a romantic restaurant? Surprise cake and flower? Or... what?

But, we're not that kind of couple. we love travel so much that we will spend our 1st Wedding Anniversary by travelling around. Being in the places we've never been there before, Kaohsiung City. The second largest city and south of Taiwan.

We only plan this trip days before because we're too busy and we think that it doesn't need too much preparation because we have internet access on our phones. haha We just need to book a hotel via Booking.com, find out scooter rental service there, book HSR round trip ticket, and print out MRT map. We're glad we have internet banking because we can buy tickets in front of laptop.

Usually I will make a proper plan before we travel to somewhere, especially when we've never been there before. But this time, no. I don't have much time to do that and that's why we call it Weekend Getaway. As our experience in Taiwan, it's also easier for us to find travel information in HSR or MRT Station because there are many brochures in English for us to read and can be the best source there. Another reason is that I have Lonely Planet Taiwan edition book since 3 years ago and we had plan to use it when we're in Kaohsiung.


So, How to get there?

There are several options you can choose.

1. By car if you have one and need at least 4 hours via highway (Taiwan has long highway from north to south) from Taipei.
2. By Scooter maybe 6-7 hours because you can't use highway
3. By local train called TRA, you can buy the ticket on Taipei Main Station or many other local train station. There are several trains you can choose, express or not. The prices and time also vary. If you have Easy Card (I think it's only for iPass), you can use it before enter the train. You can check on their website in here http://www.railway.gov.tw/en/
4. By HSR (In Japan it called Shinkanshen), the fast train. Only took around 2 hours from Taipei but it's very expensive. You can buy it online if you want to or in the HSR station. The destination is not Kaohsiung Station, but Zuoying Station, the last station in HSR line. You can check the price on their website at http://www5.thsrc.com.tw/en/

After you arrived, you can check on Tourist Information Center to find English brochure that can tell you places to go in Kaohsiung and map. You absolutely need MRT map if you want to take public transportation.

Transportation there is convenient, but not as convenient as in Taipei. Because the MRT only has 2 lines which are Red and Orange. You cannot use your Easy Card because the operator of MRT in Taipei and Kaohsiung is different. But if you have iPass, you can use it. So, if you don't have iPass, you can simply go to the information area and buy a new card using your passport or 1Day / 2Day access (cheaper for backpacker), or buy a single journey coin in the station.

If you want to rent a scooter, you can find it on internet actually. There are several options and one of them is the one that we went, which is Louis Shop (http://www.scooters-kaohsiung.tw/), and you can check on prices they offer there, but we have to pay 200 NTD more on the shop (I think the website is not updated). The nearest MRT is Weiwuying MRT Station but you have to walk almost 1.5 km to there (and we did this =.="). My suggestion is that you can go by taxi from Zuoying Station and pay around 120 NTD.

If you want to rent a car, you can simply rent it on HSR Station. We've never rent a car before so we don't know the prices. But I think it's more than 1000 NTD per day.

What are the best places to go?

I'm not really sure how to answer that because it depends on personal taste. Some people like to go to nature area, some like museums, some like shopping, etc. But, if you want to know where we go, this is our itinerary for 2 days. I change a little bit in the timing of HSR because we didn't start from Taipei but Hsinchu City and the times are not exactly as it is, it's just estimation.

Day 1 : 15 August 2016

07.00 - 08.30 : HSR from Hsinchu to Zuoying (Kaohsiung)
08.30 - 09.30 : Put our backpack on locker area in Zuoying Station because our hotel check-in is at 2 PM and find the way to bus stop
09.30 - 10.15 : On the way to E-DA Theme Park, approx. 30 minutes. But the bus will depart after 15 minutes we're inside.
10.15 - 14.00 : Play in E-DA Theme Park
14.00 - 14.30 : Back to Zuoying (the same bus)
14.30 - 15.00 : Get our backpack and go to MRT Station
15.00 - 16.00 : On the way to hotel
16.00 - 17.00 : Rest
17.00 - 18.00 : Go to Louis Shop (take the scooter)
18.00 - 19.30 : Find a restaurant called Escape 41 (mentioned in Lonely Planet Taiwan Edition as one of the best place to see ocean in Taiwan)
19.30 - 20.30 : Eat dinner
20.30 - 21.00 : On the way to Love River
21.00 - 21.30 : Take a romantic boat on Love River
21.30 - 22.00 : Go back to hotel
22.00 - ...       : Rest

Day 2 : 16 August 2016

09.00 - 09.30 : Check out from hote
09.30 - 10.30 : Put our backpack in Zuoying Station (again)
10.30 - 11.30 : On the way to Lotus Pond
11.30 - 12.30 : Take a walk and pictures on Lotus Pond
12.30 - 13.00 : On the way to Cijin Island via Strait Tunnel
13.00 - 13.15 : Windmill Park on Cijin Island
13.15 - 14.30 : Eat Seafood in Cijin Main Street
14.30 - 15.00 : Go back to Kaohsiung City via Ferry Boat
15.00 - 15.30 : On the way to Takao Railway Museum
15.30 - 16.30 : Back to Louis Shop
16.30 - 17.30 : On the way to Zuoying Station by taxi
17.30 - 18.00 : Buy some dinner and heading to HSR platform

Okay.. that's our itinerary but actually there are still many things can be done in Kaohsiung. But because we have limited time, we just choose the best places for us. I will give you detail information about each places later on different part of our Weekend Getaway. ^^

Nature Loving Wonderland : The Biggest Budha Maitreya Statue in the World

Source : naturelovingwonderland.org

You didn't see it wrong. It's a very big budha maitreya statue. When I asked the guide, he said its height is equal with 40 floors building and made of bronze.

What I've been thinking is "How they make it? O.o"

This article is about my experience as a Muslim inside the world center of budha maitreya studies.

Me and my husband were looking a place to travel around Hsinchu, Taiwan when my husband discovered there's a place in the middle of mountain that has a very big Budha statue, because one of his friend ever went to this place and post his photo in facebook.

At first, we didn't know anything about this place. We didn't know that this is a place to study about budha maitreya. We only want to travel around and find something different. We think this place is some kind of a place for family recreation. Because it's in the middle of mountain and surrounded by lake. This statue is in the middle of little island in the Golden Lake (I think it's the name refer to the board near the entrance). The pictures he found in google also beautiful because it's surrounded by beautiful scenery.

When we arrived, we already prepared to find "NO English information" and not many people will come around due to the fact that not many cars and scooters passed the road to go there.

But, I was wrong.

We're really shocked when we found out there're a lot of people in the entrance, which are help people to cross the street like police man. But they're not police. I know they're volunteer from the vest they wear. But, how come? It's in the middle of mountain. No public transportation there. No housing, even.

And then... they have Indonesian translator!!!

Really...make me shocked.

At first, someone in the entrance asked me "Are you speaking english?" and we said yes, so that he asked someone who can be our translator. Then, one of the grandpa who also visitor like us asked me "where are you come from?" in chinese of course, and my husband said that we are from Indonesia. And the man in the entrance asked another person, who is Indonesian, named Ferry, to help us.

Ferry came to us and told us about the "rule" that need to be followed inside. Several rules that I remember are:

• No high heels (they have a very expensive wooden floor and carpet)
• Shoes need to be covered by somekind of socks (we're given the socks before go to the main hall)
• No eating and drinking inside the main hall
• No photos inside
• etc. (I forgot what other things hehe

He told us about why he came to this place. We didn't know anything about this place until he said to us that this place actually a place to study about Budha Maitreya religion. He said it's not a religion but it's like a .... I don't know what to say. Sect? Not like that also... but something like that. They believe in Universal Family. Whatever your religion, race, culture... we're family. That's what he said to us.

There're many people not only Taiwanese, but also Chinese, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Thai, India, and even Americans...came to this place as volunteers to study about this religion. And they live in the dorm inside the main building.

We're very worried at that time because we're Muslim. But then, because we didn't want to make him sad if we didn't go inside, so we just went inside. Because he said to us that in this place they didn't give us explanation about specific religion, but culture. We're trying to keep open mind when he gave us many information but not too open. 

Ok let me give you what we found inside this place.

Source : naturelovingwonderland.com

First, after Ferry gave us explanation what Dos and Don'ts inside this place, we went to a Gate. The picture is in above. You see there are three doors and each of them has its own meaning which is written above each doors. The first word means Joyfulness, Good Fortune, and Cheerfulness. Ferry told us that sometimes people will go through not only 1 door but 3 of them and make S turn in this gate. So they will get 3 of those positive things in life. But, because we're Muslim, we didn't believe that Gate will give us those 3 things. But, Allah will give us that. So, we decided to go only 1 door, not because we want to get that specific word written in that door but because we want to go inside. haha But Ferry asked us to go through 3 doors because he wants to give explanation. Ok then, because that's the reason, we went through those 3 doors without expect anything.

Second, we saw a very big clock. But the interesting thing is that they change the hour number using 12 positive words. Like for example they change number 1 with Joyful. So, when we feel sad in 1 AM or PM, and then we see the clock, we will remember about Joyful that happened in our life. This clock helps us to always be Grateful and Happy whatever situation happened in our life. I like this clock because it helps me to always Thanks to Allah who gave me such a beautiful life. Time cannot be repeat and has to be filled with beautiful things, right? Great culture and we can accept that theory. Because that's also what Islam taught us.

Third, we entered a main building which has many specific rooms to learn.  Before went inside, we were given a socks, but it's not for feet but for shoes. Yes of course we were using our shoes, but we also used this specially made socks' shoes. So, if you want to go here, don't forget to not use high heels. Better use sport shoes or sandals. In the entrance of the main building, there's a big budha maitreya statue and a small one. They are very heavy, the guide said. Almost 4 tons or something and made of ... i forgot.. something like gold or somekind of that things. Above those statues, there is a dome and the guide (not Ferry, but a woman, who is Indonesian also) said that the dome's shape is the combination of the shape of mosque, church, and temple architecture. It means whatever the religion, human are from one source. As a Muslim, I believe that we're from one source, Allah. But I can't accept the fact that they believe whatever the religion human are one. I know it's logic because if no religion, no hate between religion. But, I believe what Allah said in Al-Qur'an that :

قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا الْكَافِرُ‌ونَ ﴿١﴾ لَا أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ ﴿٢﴾ وَلَا أَنتُمْ عَابِدُونَ مَا أَعْبُدُ ﴿٣﴾ وَلَا أَنَا عَابِدٌ مَّا عَبَدتُّمْ ﴿٤﴾ وَلَا أَنتُمْ عَابِدُونَ مَا أَعْبُدُ ﴿٥﴾ لَكُمْ دِينُكُمْ وَلِيَ دِينِ ﴿ ٦﴾

Say, "O disbelievers. I do not worship what you worship. Nor are you worshippers of what I worship. Nor will I be a worshipper of what you worship. Nor will you be worshippers of what I worship. For you is your religion, and for me is my religion." (Al Kafirun: 1-6)

And also not because we have different religion than we can't respect each other right? (just my opinion, no offense)

Ok so... another thing about this place, they provide information about good culture. Respect each other as society, self introspection, love humanity, no hates, etc. I agree about what they told us. Because that what Islam told us also. About peace, love, respect, good to people. humanity, and many other good things.

But you know... what I don't like the most in this place is that when we went to some place like a shrine, they told us to "pray" to their god, which is budha maitreya. And I really don't like it. Politely I told them "I'm sorry, we're Muslim and we're not going to do that". Even I'm little bit pissed, because they knew I'm Muslim from my hijab, but they still told me to "pray" to their god, I have to be still polite to them without making them uneasy or even mad at us. Alhamdulillah it worked out. They okay with my faith.

I stand in my believe that "For you is your religion, and for me is my religion"

Go to this place is good for people who want to learn something from other people's religion and want to open their mind. If you are Muslim, before go here, pray to Allah to protect you from all information they gave to you. Because maybe shaitaan will go inside your brain and make your faith shaken. So, better to filter all of those information, ok?

This place is good for culture learning and make you think more about your own faith, Islam.

Back to Al-Qur'an... every information about good behavior and culture they mentioned, are mentioned in Al-Qur'an.

After we went to this place, we kept thinking about what we have learnt in Al Qur'an and Hadist and what information we got from this place.

It makes us realize that the more I think about it, the more I fall in love my religion, Islam.

If you read this blog, I remind you that this article is about my experience as a Muslim in a non-Muslim country and have a lot of information about other religion. So, there are many things I have to share about my opinion about what I've experienced to my brothers and sisters in Islam.

If you're non-Muslim reading this article, I'm sorry if this article is not the same with your opinion.

What I've learnt during my visit to this place are...

Be open minded with other religion's culture and information. Because it can help you learn to respect other people and know their opinion about something. Accept the positive culture which are related with Islam's taught us in Qur'an and Hadist. But, don't follow what other religion's do which are not in Qur'an and Hadist. Stand on your faith with respect to others. 

Leofoo Village : not like a village

So what do you think when you first heard word "Leofoo Village" ? rice field ? villagers ? hmm... no that's not Leofoo Village looks like. The first time i heard that, i thought it was some kind of nature attraction in Taiwan. haha But actually it's a Theme Park. Yes just like Disney Land but it's in Taiwan and short version of it.

I went there with my friends and husband...in the end of november. But i just had the opportunity to write things up in here just today. Busy weeks to the end of december. I know i know it's not an excuse to not write. But, what can i do? i have a lot of things to do and several weeks ago I was sick and I just want to lazy around in my room. haha
Okay back to topic...

This "village" is in Hsinchu County (near my home, so it's fortunate for me to go there by our old scooter). Form Taipei, you can go there by bus (i forgot the number haha) because if you use bus, you can buy the Leofoo entry ticket almost 60% off. As far as I remember, my friends got only 500 NTD. The original ticket price is around 900 NTD, expensive right? Lucky for me, my friends bought the tickets for me and my husband in the bus so I didn't need to buy with original ticket price.

There are four kinds of areas there, such as Wild West, Arabian Kingdom, South Pacific, and African Safari. A looottt of attraction inside. If you want to go around, start from morning. Because in my experience, we can't try all attractions. We missed the African Safari. -_________-"

These are the photos that you might be interested with. Especially, the "danger" attractions... :p

 

Touring in Taiwan : Hsinchu County, Lavender Cottage

Motor adalah transportasi paling nyaman untuk berkeliling dari satu tempat ke tempat yang lain, terutama di luar negeri. Sebagus apapun public transportation yang negara itu miliki, motor tetap nomor satu bagiku dan suami. Kami adalah sepasang traveler yang selalu menyempatkan sedikit waktu dari kesibukan kami bekerja dan sekolah, sekadar untuk menikmati kehidupan kami di Taiwan. Sebuah bangsa yang sarat akan kehidupan etnis cina nya namun ingin melepaskan diri dari Republic of China dan memiliki kehidupan liberal dalam masyarakatnya alias berkiblat ke barat terutama Amerika Serikat. Tak heran banyak muda-mudi nya yang rupawan itu menggunakan baju minim dan tak segan untuk mengumbar kemesraan di publik. Namun, walau begitu masyarakat Taiwan luar biasa ramah dan sangat menjunjung tinggi rasa hormat terhadap orang lain serta disiplin. Maka, jangan heran jika ketika tersesat atau butuh bantuan, banyak yang akan membantu sampai benar-benar terselaikan masalah kita, ataupun budaya mengantri dan membuang sampah di tempatnya membuat Taiwan menjadi salah satu destinasi wisata yang patut dipertimbangkan bagi kita orang Indonesia yang masih harus belajar bagaimana cara hidup disiplin dan menghargai orang lain.

Kami tinggal di sebuah kota industri yang jaraknya satu jam dari ibu kota Taipei, yaitu Hsinchu CIty. Suami ku bekerja di kota yang menjadi pusat teknologi di Taiwan ini, namun aku tetap bersekolah di Taipei yang menuntutku untuk melakukan perjalanan lintas kota minimal dua kali seminggu jika ada kelas atau pun harus bertemu dengan advisor tercinta.

Touring pertama kami putuskan untuk mencoba jarak dekat. Kami ingin tau keramahan jalanan di Taiwan terhadap pengendara sepeda motor untuk lintas kota sebelum bersiap ke perjalanan yang lebih jauh, dengan motor bobrok kami tentunya. Motor yang kami gunakan berjenis scooter dan merupakan motor second keluaran 1991. Usianya setahun lebih muda dari umurku tapi kondisinya masih sangat prima karena suamiku yang gemar kendaraan ini sangat perhatian dengan kondisinya.

Kami memutuskan untuk pergi ke kota sebelah yang bernama Hsinchu County, sebuah kabupaten. Berbeda dengan kota tempat tinggal kami yang namanya juga Hsinchu namun City. Jika diumpamakan seperti Malang di Jawa Timur. Memiliki kota dan kabupaten. Hsinchu County sangat luas dan sebagian besar daerahnya diisi oleh gunung, bukit, dan sawah. Kami mencoba untuk pergi ke sebuah lokasi kebun lavender bernama Lavender Cottage.

Sehari sebelumnya kami mencoba mencari lokasinya di Google Maps dan ternyata jarak yang ditempuh lumayan jauh dan menantang adrenalin. 45 menit menggunakan motor dan melewati gunung. Berbekal GPS di handphone suamiku, kami siap menjelajah.

Perjalanan kali ini cukup membuat badan menggigil karena suhu sudah mulai turun walaupun kami berangkat dari rumah menjelang siang, maklum sudah di musim Fall akhir dan mendekati Winter, sehingga memaksa kami untuk menggunakan jaket winter, apalagi nama lain Hsinchu adalah Windy City karena hembusan angin yang cukup kencang. Persawahan kami lewati, indah tentu saja. Cukup mengherankan  ketika kami menemui sejumlah perusahaan teknologi terkenal bermarkas di tengah persawahan dan jauh dari kota. Tapi kami maklum karena Hsinchu memang merupakan pusat teknologi mutakhir Taiwan terutama di bidang semi-conductor.

Lavender Cottage bukanlah sebuah cottage atau motel atau hostel atau hotel, tempat ini sebenarnya adalah kebun lavender yang memiliki restoran di dalamnya. Terletak di salah satu lereng gunung yang ketika memandang ke bawah, pemandangan sungai dan pegunungan sungguh menakjubkan, ditambah dengan aroma lavender yang begitu menenangkan. Kami belum pernah ke lokasi ini sebelumnya, Neiwan district, yang ternyata memang merupakan salah satu lokasi wisata di Hsinchu County.

Sebelum menuju ke lavender cottage, ada banyak lokasi wisata keluarga yang dikunjungi, seperti comic museum, go-cart race, Neiwan night market, dan lain sebagainya. Mungkin lain kali kami akan mencoba bermain go-kart di lokasi ini. Pasti menyenangkan.

Tarif masuk ke Lavender Cottage per orang adalah 100 NTD atau sekitar Rp 40.000. Tiketnya cukup unik karena ternyata terdapat dua voucher masing-masing 50 NTD di tiket itu yang bisa digunakan untuk membeli makanan atau souvenir di dalam. Intinya, jika tidak ingin rugi, gunakan voucher itu maka tiket masuk akan menjadi gratis.

Sebenarnya tempat ini kecil, tidak besar. Namun, dia menawarkan sesuatu yang unik.

Taman Lavender, pertama kali ini aku menemukan sebuah taman yang berisikan banyak lavender yang aroma nya sungguh semerbak dan menenangkan, seperti ketika membeli lilin aromaterapi lavender. Kami datang terlalu awal karena tidak semua tanaman lavender mekar bunga nya. Aku mendapatkan informasi di internet jika waktu yang tepat ketika semua bunga mekar adalah di bulan Desember.

Restoran, tidak seperti kebanyakan restoran fine-dining. Restoran ini menawarkan aneka menu berbahan dasar lavender. Seperti Ice-cream lavender, tilapia lavender, lavender plum tea, lavender milk-tea, dsb. Jangan berpikir makanan atau minuman nya akan aneh, tapi tidak. Rasanya… unik. Enak. Tapi ada aroma lavender yang begitu kental. Sungguh membuat selera makan kami bertambah. Tips dari kami, jika ingin makan di sini, lebih baik membeli porsi couple (jika berdua) karena porsi ini bukan makanan berat tapi ringan dan manis, seperti wafel, eskrim, cupcake, serta 2 jenis minuman yang bisa dipilih sendiri. Harga nya juga relative lebih murah dibandingkan jika membeli menu lainnya. Namun, karena kami tau tentang menu ini terlambat, kami terlanjur memilih menu yang lebih mahal. Baiklah, mungkin lain kali kami bisa mencoba paket couple ini.

Pemandangan, lokasinya yang terletak di lereng gunung dan tepat di antara belahan sungai, membuat kami terkisap. Sangat indah. Mungkin jika ada yang pernah ke Taroko di Taiwan lokasi ini seperti Taroko nya Hsinchu. Banyak kursi yang disediakan di lokasi ini sehingga kami bisa bersantai dimanapun kami mau.

Souvenir, jangan lupa membeli souvenir di sini untuk oleh-oleh. Ada banyak souvenir unik yang bisa ditemukan. Kami memutuskan untuk membeli DIY Soap dan kartu pos. DIY Soap ini memiliki banyak jenis warna dari berbagai jenis bunga yang ada di Levender Cottage. Dengan berbekal 180 NTD, kami bisa mendesign sendiri sabun kami yang dimasukkan ke dalam tabung kaca, nantinya sabun ini tidak kami gunakan untuk mandi namun sebagai pengharum ruangan dan hiasan karena warna nya yang cantik. Mereka juga menyediakan berbagai jenis kartu pos. Jika mau, mereka juga bisa mengirimkan kartu pos yang dibeli ke alamat yang diinginkan. Tinggal masukkan saja kartu pos nya ke dalam kotak-kotak yang disediakan sepenjuru lokasi. Jangan lupa juga untuk membawa notebook atau scrapbook karena di sini banyak sekali stempel lucu yang bisa dijadikan kenang-kenangan.

Memory, uniknya mereka juga menyediakan dedaunan kertas yang bisa digantung di pohon atau di pagar lokasi. Di kertas itu kami menuliskan semoga kami bisa ke lokasi ini lagi suatu saat nanti.