C'est Jeune Hotel

The train to Hualien turned out to be just a regular train and not a high speed train as I had originally thought it would be. It didn't matter, though, as the trip itself was fairly quick and on-time as stated on the ticket. It was yet another rainy day. So, some of the views of the countryside were fantastic; low mountains in the near distance with clouds and mist sitting on them and some with highly ornamental and well maintained temples. Such lovely sights to behold. Unfortunately, the train would not stop for pix. Meh!

The hotel that I booked turned out to be a great little hotel. Much better than the one I'm staying at in Taipei. From some of the reviews I read before booking it, there is something a bit different about it that I have never seen before; there's an artists flavor to it with distinctive pieces of artwork scattered throughout the hotel. It was also clean and contemporary. Just the way I like things. As you can see from the pix, it's quite a bit more unique than most hotels I've stayed at. I would definitely stay there again next time. I liked the place. Although, the bed was a bit too soft to my liking. I'm used to hard beds now.

Mirror, Mirror.......

Mirror Lake on the road to Milford Sound, South Island, New Zealand. Taken by taylorphotgraphy

Country Crossing Hurts...

Remember the bet I once made with Roann about the Cross Country race? Click here for the story.


Well... I lost T.T


BUT! That's because halfway during the race, as I was running along the grassy area rather than the concrete pavements because there were too many people, I fell over a ditch and twisted my ankle.


It was kinda embarrassing to cry in front of the teachers and other students, but it wasn't the pain that I was crying about. It was more of the feeling of defeat and helplessness as I couldn't get up and finish the race.


But its kinda upsetting to see that though there were some that saw me trip and fall, they didn't even bother to tell the teacher who is just a 5 minute walk away. The only people who ever stopped to see if I was OK was two girls who was running behind me. But after a few seconds, they had to go.


So I sat on the grassy side for a bit. My pants were torn and my knees were scratched but I could hardly move my ankle. In the end, I had to drag myself to the nearest tree to pull myself up. Even then, there were some scouts in front giving out check points and all they did was just give me a friggin rubber band as I was wincing in pain trying to walk on one leg.


Hello? Do I LOOK like I care about the race anymore? I could barely walk, let alone run!


Its sad to see how apathetic our youths are today; they can't even open their mouths to tell a teacher despite their concerned faces. Either they're too shy to do so or all they care about is the race.


In the end, Roann got the 10th place in the cross country race. I think its a great achievement for her and I'm happy for Roann :D


Oh yeah! I just discovered that my leg looks like this now...

*brace yourselves as this is not for the weak hearted*

And that's just the beginning...