A few days ago I went to the city hall to see an exhibition of Le Corbusier, a giant of 20th century in architecture. He was dedicated to providing living conditions for the residents of crowded sites. His works can be found in a lot of countries, including France, Switzerland, India and Germany. He also had a relationship with the Soviet Union, however his proposal for Palace of the Soviets got rejected. Aside from being an architect, he was also a furniture designer, painter, urban planner and a writer. Here are some photos I have taken during the exhibition:

The fun and fancy part of my visit in Taichung is the day when we visit Cingjing Farm followed by a nice lunch in The Old England Manor. Firstly here's a summary of our 4 days itinerary:

Day 1: Take the flight from Hong Kong to Taichung via Mandarin Airlines, check in at our hotel. Evening well spent in the night market for foodtrip!

Day 2: Drive for an hour to Sun Moon Lake and go on a biking trip around the Lake. Late afternoon, drive for an hour to Nantou.

Day 3: Visit Cinjing Farm followed by a nice lunch in The Old England Manor. Afterwards go for an exhausting yet worth it hike to see the Hehuan Mountain to see the sunset. 

Day 4: Drive back to Taichung for last minute shopping and wonderful lunch in Le Mout, before flying that evening. 

In this post I will focus more on our visit in Cinjing Farm and that lovely lunch in The Old English Manor. Cinjing Farm is a family friendly area where you can see sheep in a beautiful hilly surroundings. The area is quite big and it can take a minimum two hours to explore. One thing is for sure, you can see a lot of sheep and a very active sheepdog. Near the exit, you will also see souvenir shops and small restaurants serving local delicacies. Alas, I have only spent less than three hours here, but if you have children, it will be more relaxing if you spend a whole day here. They even offer rooms starting for TWD 3,000 per night. Anyway, a lot of locals offer their nice homes to tourist as well. We spent two nights in a local's home and the place is not only cozy, the owner was very hospitable too offering us free BBQ the first night we arrived. 

Here I'm glad to present our pictures in Cinjing Farm:

Entrance for adult costs TWD 160 - 200, children's ticket costs TWD 20. For more information, you may visit their very comprehensive website here: http://www.cingjing.gov.tw/en/directions/index.php 

You can imagine how hungry we were after the visit in the farm, so lunch at the Old England Manor was such a great treat! Rating this restaurant a four star! Portions are more than enough (I have not been able to finish it) and unlimited drinks (tea & coffee) are offered for lunch.

The Old England Manor is actually a hotel and a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World. Based on what is mentioned in their website, this hotel is owned by the Lo Family. I can't confirm that, however I can confirm that the rate per night is a bit pricey. We got the chance to roam around the hotel and see the rooms, and we can definitely see the reason why. Every little thing in the accommodation is "luxurious" from the toiletries to the quality of the furnitures in the room, it's just splendid! Their cheapest room costs approximately TWD 15,000 or HKD 4,000 per room per night. They do not have lifts I believe, so if you are going to stay here, try to get the ground floor room. They even have conference rooms so also good for businessmen, haha! 

Anyway, these are two of my recommended sights to visit when you're in Nantou. Nantou is only 2 hrs. by bus from Taichung and it is very worth it if you spend 2 nights here. Catching the sunrise and sunset are other things you can do, being surrounded with mountains, it is just very relaxing! 

ethos comes with a lower case "e", and describes itself as a progressive lifestyle platform that offers seasonal lines of apparel, cuisine, publications, home goods and events, housed within a creative free space. Yesterday, I visited the place with my friend Johna who suggested it. It was raining hard which made it difficult for us to locate the place that we needed to ask one of the MTR staff. It is strategically located in a street next to where the Hong Kong University Campus is. It turns out we went to the wrong MTR exit.

Going back to ethos, their goal is to provide visitors an ultimate destination to put more energy into depth instead of breadth, and place high value on doing more with less, which I think is great. With Hong Kong as a fast paced city where 7 million people live, it surely is not impossible to attain. Hong Kong has a problem with expensive flat rental rates, that the majority opt for a smaller space. For Hong Kong to be able to offer a good quality of life, it needs places like ethos. 

If you will choose to sit by the wall, there is even an outlet where you can charge your mobile/ laptop. There is also a bag hanger under the table which is a necessity nowadays. This is a place where you can work and be productive. However it can be noisy, so if you need a quiet place, this is not the place to go. Johna and I recorded our podcast here, and we had some problem with the very noisy background. Unfortunately, they do no serve green tea latte which I think will be perfect in a place like this.

Remember when I won a trip to Guilin last year during one of our company trip? Well, I decided to use it last week and so I went to travel to Guilin with my travel buddies: Ate Carla and Ate Doris. We started our trip Wednesday evening, taking the train from Hong Kong to Shenzhen and staying in Century Plaza Hotel, a four star hotel 10 mins. walking distance from the train station.

The trip started Thursday morning, taking the earliest train from Shenzhen North Station (Shenzhen Bei) to Guilin. The train ride took 3 hrs. running around 300 kms. per hour. The first class seat is very comfortable with the seating arrangement 2 - 2. We got free snacks as well, some nuts and biscuits and orange juice. There's never a dull scenery, we passed by beautiful and peaceful fields and mountains along the way. Three hours just passed by. 

We then met our guide named Johnny and he brought us to this restaurant where we met the tour operator's owner, Christine. She was the one sponsoring the trip and then she treated us to this wonderful lunch, where they served the spicy local stuff. Oh we all love it!

After the heavy lunch, we drove for 2 hrs. to Longsheng, famous for its rice terraces and its ethnic group called Yao and Juang Tribe. After two hours drive, we stopped by first in the entrance where Johnny brought our tickets. We also need to repack our stuff because we will need to leave the things that are not needed. And boy, Johnny was so right. When we reached the parking area where we started walking up, I can't imagine bringing our big luggages here because it will be very tiring. Porters are available, however they are mostly women so you wouldn't want that. There are sedan chairs available too where two men will carry you to your accommodation. The hike will take 30 mins. and all uphill with lots of stairs. I was only bringing my bag for the night and I was exhausted.

One of the highlights with this trip is meeting the local tribes living in the area. We have encountered Yao women, who are known for their long hair (they never cut their hair, if they do, they will make a wig out of it and still put it in their head - imagine the heaviness!), and the reason they said is for longevity and love. They are also known for being aggressive in business, which I think is true because they will ask to have a picture with you, then you will need to pay them of RMB 20. Then they will start selling you stuff, not very expensive but really nice tribe stuff reasonably priced, oh how I love their scarves! I wish I brought more!

It was a fantastic trip, truly! I will soon write a part two which will be about our accommodation and other alternative. Stay tuned! :)

Last week my colleague came up to me and asked if I was free that evening, she was inviting me to this horse show called Cavalia. I have seen ads about this show in the newspaper, but I have never really thought of going. Finally, I said yes, I can come with her and use her extra ticket. Her extra ticket was due to her husband not being able to come, while I do need some time off from both home and work, so off we went!

What's interesting with Cavalia is that you will not just see people perform, the horses are the absolute star of the night. They claimed that they Cavalia have 40 horses in total. Oh you just won't believe what you'll see, they are well trained, smart, funny and cute, all at the same time! The dancers were very energetic and very passionate, seeing those acrobats are just unbelievable! And the music being sang by the band at the back of the stage is so superb. There's nothing like it! They also used technology to create a horse illusion in some parts of the show. There's also the combination of colored light and water poured from the top was amazing!

We were forbidden to take photos so unfortunately, I cannot show the performance to you guys, however they have this Youtube video that brings justice. Here's the link: Cavalia Youtube. They will be in Hong Kong until May 10, and ticket price starts from HK$395 - HK$1,895 (VIP) seats. I think the seats we got are not so bad - the yellow seats. Seat map here! Sorry, my photos are really bad, time to buy a new camera! :(

The show's duration is 2 hrs. with a 30 minute intermission. Watch this in the evening so you will feel comfortable, I heard it can be hot during the day in the tents. 

I am giving this show a 4.5 stars!  I recommend this to everyone especially for families, I'm sure whether you're a kid or a kid at heart, you will love this. 

It's definitely worth the time, c'mon give these horses a chance! You won't be sorry. :)

Two months ago, I had a lucky opportunity to savor a wonderful lunch in a Relais and Chateaux restaurant in Taichung, called Le Mout, top 26 of Asia's 50 best Restaurant of 2015. The word Le Mout means, a process of fermentation of grape juice into fine wine. From the name itself, they serve French cuisine but another factor to look at that makes this restaurant special, is the elegant environment the building portrays and the truly exceptional service of the staff around you from the moment they open the door until you bid farewell. I hope the below photos bring justice to describe my exceptional experience here. 

Overall, it was a superb experience, with each dish bursting a flavorful sensational feeling in my mouth. I absolutely love every meal they served us. I could not speak Mandarin, but the staff thoroughly explained what they were serving me with a sincere smile on their faces. With the price we paid in the restaurant, I can't argue at all. I am giving this restaurant a FIVE out of FIVE.