awwsnapz | jaslyn: culture

Toronto is probably one of the most multicultural and diverse city in the world, with plenty of arts, theatre, nightlife and hipstery things to do.

I visited Toronto on a conference during the academic term, so I didn't manage to take enough days off to explore as many places as I would have liked to, but this list covers pretty much most of the highlights in Toronto.

As a tourist trying to get around Toronto, I would say that their public transport is rather decent, with a basic underground subway system and above ground streetcars that arrive at frequent timing. However, fare payment is troublesome. If you are only in Toronto for a few days and you're not going to use a weekly/monthly metropass, then you should simply pay by cash ($3 per ride), or by tokens ($2.65 per ride), purchasable at subway stations. Transfers between routes are free, but you will require a new fare for return trips or if you need a stopover. It's always a good idea to request for a transfer ticket from the streetcar driver or retrieve one from the subway station for there will be fare inspectors roving the streetcars, most commonly along the 501 Queen and 510 Spadina streetcar lines. Another alternative to explore the city is by foot. Since the city is laid out in a simple grid, it is convenient to navigate and walk around if you have Googlemaps in hand.

Note that Toronto is COLD, especially in its autumn and winter months. When I say cold, I don't just refer to its temperature. It may read 16 degrees on the forecast but in actuality, it feels like 8 degrees Celsius. The winds are merciless. I lost count of how many times my umbrella flipped inside-out when the winds wrecked me in the freezing rain.

Just remember to layer, and hopefully you'll have a great time exploring this beautiful city!

Visit: Nathan Phillips Square

Location: 100 Queen St W

A visit to Toronto would warrant a photo in front of its iconic glowing "Toronto" sign at Nathan Phillips Square. During winter, the water fountain would turn into an outdoor skating rink. Its proximity to Dundas Square (the Toronto version of Times Square) and Eaton Centre Shopping Centre makes it a great places to visit when you're taking a break from shopping.

Visit: Chinatown

Location: Spadina Avenue and Dundas Street West

A walk around Chinatown and you would feel as if you're in the middle of Hong Kong. The crowds of people, bustling activity, Chinese characters at store fronts, and wide variety of Asian shops give Toronto's downtown Chinatown a captivating charm. For the best Chinese restaurants and a great dim sum fix, Chinatown is the place to visit. Dumpling House and King's Noodle would be two highly recommended places. If you are looking for cheap souvenirs, get them at Chinatown. It doesn't get any cheaper elsewhere.

Visit: Graffiti Alley

Location: Around the corner from Kensington Market and Chinatown

Street art fans would definitely want to visit this hidden gem, a hidden long alley where you can take various #ootds with beautiful murals as background.

Visit: Flatiron Building (Gooderham Building)

Location: 49 Wellington Street East

Having been to NYC's Flatiron Building, it would be interesting to take a look at Toronto's own Flatiron Building. I wouldn't recommend going specifically just to visit the building, but since it's along the way to St Lawrence's Market, might as well.

Visit: St Lawrence Market

Location: 93 Front Street East

Hailed as the world's best food market by National Geographic in April 2012, the St. Lawrence Market is the mecca for all foodies and a culinary must-see with 2 storeys of restaurants, indoor Farmer's market, boutique grocery stores and food stalls to grab a snack or a small meal from the juice bars, fish markets, sandwich joints or brunch spots and more.

Visit: Art Gallery of Ontario

Location: 317 Dundas Street West

As one of Canada's most prominent art museums, the AGO has more than 80,000 collections of European and contemporary pieces. There's even Picasso!

When I visited, there was a special exhibition, "Guillermo del Toro: At Home with Monsters", which gave us a glimpse into the creative process of famed filmmaker Guillermo del Toro (director of Hell Boy, Pan's Labyrinth and etc) and explored his fundamental philosophies about art and the human connection.

If you're a student, remember to show your student pass at the ticket counter for concession prices. I paid $16.50 for both the special exhibition and the normal ones.

Visit: CN Tower

Location: 301 Front Street West

An iconic tower that makes up Toronto's skyline, CN Tower is the tallest free-standing structure in the Western Hemisphere at 554m. For a breathtaking view of Toronto, you can head up to the tower. Adventurous souls can even try EdgeWalk, a daredevil feat of walk around the circumference of the tower at 116 floors up.

Visit: Harbourfront

Toronto's stunning waterfront stretches for 28 miles along the shore of Lake Ontario and if you've got enough time to spare, try to visit the Toronto and Centre Islands for a day of outdoor adventure cycling, kayaking, or picnicking by the beaches with a great skyline view of Toronto.

Visit: Air Canada Centre

Sports enthusiasts should definitely catch an Ice Hockey game at the Air Canada Centre if the Toronto Maple Leafs are playing between October and April. Then you'll understand the Canadian national hype surrounding ice hockey.

If you are visiting at other times, you can try catching the Toronto Blue Jays play baseball at the Rogers Centre from April to October.

Visit: Kensington Market

An eclectic neighbourhood with hipster shops (think Tarot card readers and tie-dye beach dresses), restaurants offering unique foods and narrow streets, it's the most unique area in Toronto. A walk around Kensington Market will probably bring you expected finds.

Eat: Seven Lives

Location: 69 Kensington Avenue

Tacos elsewhere would never match up to the Gobernador at Seven Lives. Tucked in a tiny corner in Kensington Market, Seven Lives is the place to visit if you are up for amazing Baja-style tacos. With a generous portion of fresh house-smoked tuna, grilled shrimp and cheese, the Gobernador was definitely the best Mexican food I've ever had.

Eat: Toronto Popcorn Company

Location: 147 Baldwin St

When plain old popcorn gets too boring for you, you should visit this popcorn specialty shop. I promise you'll be blown away by the plethora of unique flavours offered at the Toronto Popcorn Company. Who knew popcorn could be this interesting? Green apple, dill, garlic and cheese, caramel bacon, pizza... The list goes on. I couldn't resist getting a few huge packs.

Eat: Tim Hortons

If you've never had Tim Hortons, you've never completed your Canadian experience. Like a true local, I walked around the city with Tim Horton's hot cuppa in my hands (perfect for defrosting my fingers on a cold autumn morning).

I swear that their pastries are the best breakfast comfort food ever! I am totally in love with their donuts, especially the maple-glazed ones. Where else can you get such a decently priced breakfast?

Eat: BQM Ossington

Location: 210 Ossington Ave

One perfectly Canadian thing is to eat Poutine, an interesting take on fries, topped with a generous dollop of cheese curds (with or without bacon bits) and gravy. Having had poutines from different places in Toronto, I would agree wholeheartedly that BQM serves one of the best poutines around. If you are up for a few drinks, the atmosphere in the bar is great too.

Visit: Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake

While visiting Toronto, it's totally worthwhile to go on a day trip to Niagara Falls just to witness the majestic falls, take picturesque photos and immerse yourself in the wonder of the American, Horseshoe and Bridal Vein Falls.

I booked a tour with CitySightseeing Toronto at a discounted student price of around $60, with stops along the way like Niagara-on-the-Lake, Souvenir City and the Niagara Falls winery.

The quaint town of Niagara-on-the-Lake was a nice pitstop, with picture-perfect cafes and eateries selling amazing desserts and food. I had a lake-side picnic with a great view of Fort Gorge, beside the gazebo from Stephen King's movie, The Dead Zone. I loved the cottage-like atmosphere of the town and it would be a perfect place for retirement, far away from the buzz of the hectic city life.

If you are trying to buy souvenirs or Canada-specific maple syrup-flavoured snacks, I would recommend buying them from the town instead of at Souvenir City for they jack up the prices there.

Along the way, we visited a winery for wine-tasting, and I couldn't resist buying 2 bottles of ice wine (I am a major fan of dessert wine) and another bottle of white wine. Hopefully their ice wines, named the "Dean's List" wines, can rub off some of the Dean's List luck on me. 😄

At Niagara Falls, we purchased tickets for the Hornblower cruise and despite the ponchos, we still got drenched by the Falls. Thank goodness I didn't catch a cold that day from drying myself off in the cold winds.

Final Thoughts

If you have a bit more time in Toronto, there are many other wonderful places to explore and activities to engage in. If I could, I would love to visit Casa Loma, the Royal Gallery of Ontario, or even stay overnight at Niagara Falls to witness the colourful lights along the Falls at night. I guess that will be for future visits.

Shanghai is simply an hour's ride away from Hangzhou, so it was the perfect city for a short weekend roadtrip. It is probably most known for its iconic skyline with the Oriental Pearl Tower in the background, relics of its ancient past, and the European-styled buildings at The Bund.

We took the Maglev train from Hangzhou to Shanghai and spent around 140 RMB on the round trip. Transportation and fares within Shanghai is pretty similar to Hangzhou, with taxis, trains and buses available. However, hailing a taxi from busy areas like Nanjing Road/ The Bund/ Old City at peak traffic hours (around 6pm) can be a nightmare. We almost missed our train back to Hangzhou as we had trouble hailing cabs from The Bund. Also, keep an eye on your valuables, especially among crowds, for touristy areas are notorious for pickpockets.

Visit: Old City (Shanghai)

Old City has been known as many names. Some call it the Yu Gardens, Yuyuan Bazaar, Nan Shi, or even Old Town, but all would name it as the most famous place in the whole of Shanghai where you can bask in culture and traditions. Surrounding the Yu Garden, the bazaar is a maze of old laneways with stalls selling delicious street food and curious little trinkets. You may even get to see craftsman at work doing 剪纸 (Chinese Paper Cutting) or forging silver jewelry. As you wander further in, you will chance upon the famed Bridge of Nine Turnings, which brings us to our next point.

Eat: Nan Xiang Steamed Bun Restaurant 南翔馒头店

Shanghai's most raved-about Xiao Long Bao is found here (beside the Bridge of Nine Turnings), where locals and tourists alike flock over to queue for a taste of the dimsum. You don't really need any directions to find the place as the lengthy queues would be an immediate giveaway.

There are 3 different levels of service:

1) Level 1 take-away, where you buy 10 xiao long baos for 20 RMB (if you made the purchase before 11am, you can get 2 extra xlbs). An average queue time was at least an hour, unless you start queuing early at around 9.30am, like us.

2) Level 2 seated dining: Queues are slightly shorter with a wait time of around 30 minutes but the service leaves much to be desired.

3) Level 3 seated VIP dining: With a minimum spending of 150 RMB, you would be guaranteed a seat on the third floor.

As college students on a relatively budget trip, we chose to takeaway the xiao long baos and King Size Nanxiang Crab Roe Steam Soup Bun at level 1. To be honest, having visited Nan Xiang with my family in 2010, I found that the standards have deteriorated this visit (2017). Though their broth is still thick and tasty, the dumpling skin was not as thin as before. Still, it's one of the more authentic places around. However, I would suggest you give the King Size Crab Roe Steam Soup Bun a miss. It was just a soup-filled dumpling with a paltry amount of crab meat, and most definitely not worth the price.

Visit: Yu Garden

A true architectural wonder, Yu Yuan is a classical Ming garden that was built originally in the 16th century. Its shaded alcoves, glittering pools, blossoming flora and winding pathways would bring you back in time. We went during the peak period, so tickets were priced at 40 RMB each and we could not get good photos amidst the hordes of other visitors. (Off peak ticket prices cost 30 RMB). I'm sure the garden would exude tranquility if we had visited at a better time.

Visit: Tian Zi Fang

Tian Zi Fang is a maze that reminded me of Diagon Alley, with craft shops, bars, cafes, and trinket stalls spilling out from the winding alleys. You can easily get lost among the turns and corners that will lead you to find unexpected discoveries. Items on sale range from kitschy to unique, from handmade goods to personalised products. I even spotted Overwatch figurines, DIY perfume scents and old classical movie posters! If you are fluent in Chinese, you may try bargaining with the storeowners to land a good deal (most owners are open to bargaining unless explicitly stated in signs around the store.)

Visit: The Bund

All movies or dramas based in Shanghai will at least show a scene with the Pudong Financial District, an iconic feature of Shanghai. When night falls, the famous cluster of skyscrapers will come to life with glittering neon lights. The Bund is a perfect location for you to take in the majestic Pudong Financial District skyline in its entirety. Besides being a good Instagram spot, the Bund has its own charm, with an impressive display of European architecture ranging from Gothic to Baroque styles.

Visit: Nanjing Road Shopping District

Nanjing Road is the Times Square of Shanghai, one of the longest and busiest shopping districts in the world. The streets are lined with luxury labels, glitzy neon lights, and trendy boutiques, with most of the high-end goods at Nanjing West Road. Fashion enthusiasts and shopaholics will rejoice at the multi-storey flagship stores, and wide offering of products ranging from luxury brands to domestic brands.

Of course Shanghai has much more to offer but in our short day trip, that was about everything that we managed to cover. It was a pretty impressive feat, I would say.

Till next time then, Shanghai!

Taiwan - the land of never-ending night revelry, delectable street food and gorgeous scenery. In June, her weather was almost comparable to Singapore's, with sweltering heat and stifling humidity. Probably most well-known for her night markets, a trip to Taiwan will not be complete without a visit to the famed foodie havens. Impossible to conquer 5 night markets, 12 sights in 8 days in Taiwan? Read on!

Visit & Eat: Shilin Night Market

Shilin Night Market is THE place you always see on travel variety shows and it's definitely full of amazing street food.

Hot Star Crispy Chicken (70 NTD) is a must-try. Now this is when we relegate the calorie-counting to the back of our minds.

The queue for 大肠包小肠 (pork sausage wrapped in glutinous rice) was rather impressive, so being typical kiasu Singaporeans who believe that long queues = good stuff, we joined the queue. It was decent, but not really impressionable enough to warrant a second try.

The Mee Sua (30NTD) stall nearby sells a pretty mean bowl of budget mee sua.

Cheesy potato with ham was one of the recommended foods by other travellers. For 50NTD, you get a deep fried potato drenched in a generous serving of nachos cheese, topped with ham, pineapples and corn. The first few bites were decent but after a while, the sweetness of the cheese and mushiness of the potato put me off.

Fried ice cream was was definitely a novel treat - I loved the strawberry-flavoured deep-frozen ice cream wrapped in deep fried pastry puff.

Besides the open air night market, Shilin has an underground basement food street. The stinky tofu (45 NTD) was mild, as compared to what I've had in China. While it looked pretty in photos, what with the golden brown crisp, fillings and colourful toppings, it didn't pack much of a punch.

Taiwan's version of the oyster omelette (60NTD) was totally different from Singapore's Orh Luah. The omelette is more "egg-y" and it was drizzled with a sweet sauce. Though an interesting take on the oyster omelette, I would very much prefer the Singaporean version.

Eat: Dongdaemun Night Market (Hualien)

It is a mega-night market formed by linking 3 night markets together. I loved how the place was so spacious and non-crowded, unlike that of the other night markets, where you'll be jostling against waves of bodies. One must-try would be the deep friend squid.

Visit: Shifen Old Street

With an old railroad track running through this quaint town, Shifen Old Street exuded rustic vibes and looked like someplace straight out of a movie set in the 60s. The railway track is still in use, so once in a while, you'll see trains chugging along, with tourists dashing off the tracks to make way. It's a perfect spot to take #ootds, I would say. I spotted quite a few cats milling around the area, and one particularly bold one promptly sat itself next to where we were taking photos, and started preening itself. Shifen is famous for their Sky Lanterns, where visitors could write their wishes on these lanterns and send them off into the sky. Health, happiness, luck, love and maybe fortune. They had mini sky lanterns as souvenirs, which I bought. After my purchase did I realise that such trinkets were sold at a cheaper price in a restaurant just a little way down the road, near the entrance to Shifen Waterfall.

Visit: Shifen Waterfall

We were supposed to follow the winding path staircase and bridges to reach Shifen waterfall but it was a terribly long walk under the blazing sun, so we gave up once we reached the bridge. The riverbed was rather dry at the time when we visited, so we figured it wouldn't be as magnificent. If you visit Taiwan at a better season, perhaps it would be worth it to view the waterfall.

Visit & Eat: Jiu Fen Old Street

Jiu Fen, a mountain town accessible only by narrow winding steep roads, was made famous by the films, "A City of Sadness - 悲情城市", and Spirited Away.

The old street has quite a few famous street food stalls. We ordered beef noodles at 100 NTD and dumplings in beef soup for 50 NTD from the shop near the street's entrance. The noodles were incredibly Q and the beef was juicy and tender. I would have ordered more if not for the fact that I was once again, saving tummy-space for more food. Their yam balls in shaved ice (50NTD per bowl) was amazing!

We went on to have a taste of Taiwan's famous 卤肉饭 (braised meat rice at 30NTD)， 醉鸡 (drunken chicken at 160NTD) & 综合鱼丸汤 (mixed fishballs soup at 45NTD) at the 九份传统鱼丸 (Jiu Fen Traditional Fishballs) stall. At our time of visit, this stall was ranked as the top 3 stalls for its braised meat rice in Taiwan. True enough, it was delicious, with its rich gravy and tender pork with just the slightest bit of fatty layers melting in your mouth. The traditional fishball, fuzhou fishball and meatball soup fell short of expectations though.

While strolling along the streets, we came across an ocarina shop and I was so intrigued by the instrument that I bought a mini ocarina at 150NTD. It was a curious little trinket for sure.

Visit: Pebble Beach

Pebble Beach (七星潭) is a splendid beauty, with vast expansive views of the sea, sky and mountains. True to its name, the beach is filled with pebbles instead of sand. It would definitely be a novel experience to build pebble towers in place of sandcastles here.

Visit: Taroko Gorge National Park and Swallow's Grotto

Hualien is one of the biggest marble producers in the world, and Taroko Gorge is literally filled with deep marble canyons. The suspension bridges, marbled canyon walls and cyan waters looked like it came straight out of a Nat Geo postcard. We entered the Swallow's Grotto to get to viewing platforms with better vantage points but we had to wear helmets during the trail as mini pebbles might fall from the mountain tops. It was said that a small pebble falling from the top would have the same acceleration and force as a bullet. As you drive along the road, you'll see the Eternal Spring Shrine. 長春祠 (Eternal Spring Shrine) was built in the Tang Dynasty's architectural style. Perched right above the spot where natural spring water flows down to the Liwu River, everything about it is picture-perfect.

Visit: Rui Shuei JJ Valley Farm

Kids will love the up-close interaction with the animals. You can feed donkeys, goats, and ponies. At the farm, they have cows, chickens, peacocks, and even an emu! Their souvenir shop sells some pretty nice milk candy made from freshly-produced milk in various flavours. If you're a major fan of Hokkaido fresh milk, you'll probably appreciate their fresh milk ice cream too.

Visit: Taipei 101

This majestic structure towering above Taipei used to be the world's tallest building. For a bird's eye view of the entire city from Taipei 101, you can choose to dine at Shinyeh Restaurant on the 85th floor. I would have to admit that the chefs certainly did impress with their culinary prowess.

Visit & Eat: Ximending

Ximending, the Dongdaemun of Taiwan, is a pedestrian shopping haven with a plethora of fashion shops, food stalls, restaurants and bars. Home to the highly raved about Ah Zong Mee Sua, most visitors would never leave Ximending without trying the authentic Ah Zong Mee Sua right at its place of origin. It was rich, thick, and full of ingredients. The thin mee sua was so smooth, the bowl of piping hot goodness so fragrant, and the pork intestines so chewy i would gladly brave the hot sun to queue for another bowl of this amazing creation. Another notable recommendation at Ximending would be their Mango shaved ice. While the clothes and shoes there are unbelievably gorgeous, shopping at Ximending wasn't as cheap as I would have expected it to be. If you happen to be tall and non-petite like me, the dresses on sale there would end up being too short for you. However, if you are a user of cosmetic or contact lens, these are sold in Taiwan at only around SGD 10 per pair.

Visit: Sun Moon Lake

Named one of the eight wonders of Taiwan, Sun Moon Lake rightly deserves the title. The shimmering turquoise waters are simply splendid. Taking a cruise around the lake took around 20 minutes, and you'll be able to see the mini island in the centre of the lake that divided the lake into the shape of a sun and a moon (hence the name). The island was named Lalu Island in honour of the Thao tribe. There used to be a pavilion on the island, where marriages were held but the 921 earthquake diminished the size of the island such that no one ever steps foot on it these days.

Visit: Wen Wu Temple

The Wen Wu Temple is a grand temple located right beside the lake. It was said that in the 1999 921 quake, more than half of the temple was destroyed but the people in the living quarters were spared when a crack went on a sharp 90 degree to avoid that particular building. It has gorgeous architecture and intricate craftsmanship, with fully hand-carved figurines of deities afixed to the ceilings.

Visit: Chung Tai Chan Monastery

We dropped by Chung Tai Chan Monastery for a quick look at the cool architecture and giant sculptures of guardians and deities. The monastery was designed by the chief architect for Taipei 101 and it is definitely a majestic building. It is a 43-storey temple with a 7-storey indoor pagoda built without using a single metal screw or nail. Their outdoor garden was also rather picturesque. Out of respect, I didn't take any photos within the monastery buildings.

Visit: Rainbow Village

Located in Taichung, Rainbow Village is a vibrantly coloured attraction, with all paintings hand drawn by Mr Huang, a veteran of the KMT. The Taiwan government originally wanted to demolish the village but petitions from the public made them preserve it as a tourist attraction. Now that's a good place to take step #ootds.

Visit & Eat: Fengjia Night Market

Fengjia Night Market is so HUGE you can never finish walking through all the alleys within 3 hours. It was bustling with people and the fragrances coming from the various food stalls lured out my inner glutton.

Visit: E-Da Theme Park

E-Da Theme Park is one of Kaohsiung's main attractions. It's the only Greek Aegean Sea styled theme park in Taiwan. The park's divided into three major regions: Acropolis, Mountain City and Trojan Castle, with rides that range from indoor kid-friendly to outdoor adrenaline-rush-inducing ones. There was even a mini Santorini perfect for photo shoots.

Visit & Eat: Liu He Night Market

Almost every city in Taiwan has their signature night market and in Kaohsiung, it would be Liu He Night Market. Though there were rows upon rows of street side food stalls, i didn't find the prices here as budget-friendly as the night markets in Shilin or Fengjia. However, you should try their fresh seafood for those are live catches from the sea. One of the must-try at Liu He would be the papaya milkshake from the stall frequented by even celebrities and politicians. Just walk till the end of the street and queue up behind the longest queue present there and you won't go wrong. Also, if you still have extra stomach space, you should get the pan-fried xiaolongbaos from the couple-run stall in the pics above, for they have amazingly crisp skins and tender pork fillings.

Taiwan, I'll be back :)

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