我们的距离 到这刚刚好
不够我们拥抱 就挽回不了
用力爱过的人 不该计较   我们的流浪到这刚刚好 趁我们还没到 天涯海角 我也不是非要去那座城堡   天空有些暗了暗的刚刚好 我难过的样子就没人看到

有人说爱情是一种冒险，赢了相守一生，输了连朋友都没得做。我觉得爱情很难，时间错了也只能擦肩而过，时间对了也要遇到对的人。

我想每个人心里，最不下的人就是那个命中注定偏偏只能插肩而过、忘不了却求不得、有缘无份、最热售的陌生人。

那晚只能望着你，提醒自己， 这虽然是我曾握过的手，但他不是一辈子会牵着我的伴。

"Returning to where dreams began"

Caught Take Me to The Moon a few days ago, on my birthday. It's obvious by now that I love everything Taiwanese so watching Take Me to The Moon was naturally a requisite on my birthday. If I can't travel to Taiwan, then I'll bring Taiwan to me. I won't drieve too much into the movie yet because I want to keep the movie review for another day but Take Me to The Moon spoke to me.


For those unaware, my decision to quit my job and go back to studying for a degree full-time was heavily influenced by my love for Taiwan. I wanted to work in Taiwan but in a country with more than 5 million degree holders, it was difficult to secure an interview with just a diploma. Without a degree, even when I got a job offer, it was near to impossible to negotiate for better pay.

I used to be an advocate of following your dreams. I was so sure that I could do anything as long as I put my heart into it. I believed unless your dreams scare you, they're not considered dreams. I didn't care if relearning Chinese was going to be tough or that chances are slim, I was bent on furthering my studies for a remote possibility of working in Taiwan after graduation.

As I worked towards relocation, I met many obstacles that eventually waned my enthusiasm. People constantly told me to be realistic. The salary in Taiwan will never be comparable to Singapore's. I won't be able to send money home or live comfortably. I have family and friends in Singapore who love me, I shouldn't leave them behind.

I ended up in the paper chase. I forgot what was I working for. I accepted that my dreams were unrealistic, and I should stay in Singapore to be a filial daughter, a good friend. I stopped speaking of my dreams to move to Taiwan.

Take Me to The Moon reminded me that dreams were never about money — it's about your happiness, and nothing makes me happier than Taiwan. It's not about leaving the people I love behind to start anew. It's about forced independence, getting out of my comfort zone, and me growing as a person. Most importantly, it is about being in a place that comforts me.

Watching Take Me to The Moon felt like I was returning to where my dreams began. I still can be that wide-eyed girl who believes dreams do come true.

I always try to time my travels with colder seasons because I hate summer with a venegence. It's a known fact that I'm terribly afraid of the heat. I even suffered heat strokes a few times in Singapore! But as with every other vain girl in Singapore, I crave for the chance to layer up. I've already long established that wearing outerwears in Singapore is practically impossible, which is why I was super excited when Uniqlo sent me their AIRism camisole.

Everyone knows Uniqlo for their winter clothing and HEATTECH thermal wear (which I vehemently recommend to anyone travelling to colder climate), but Uniqlo's lesser known AIRism technology is truly godsent for Singaporeans.

What is AIRism?

Took Uniqlo's AIRism camisole out for the ultimate test — a day at the Marina Bay carnival, which is known to be humid, especially when the crowd surges. To top things off, I wore a parka I previously purchased in Hong Kong when it was chilly but never got a chance to wear in Singapore.

You know how Singapore's horribly humid climate makes you sticky, sweaty, and disgusting after a while? Uniqlo's AIRism technology releases heat, and prevents odours caused by sweat. Uniqlo's AIRism innerwear are, in simple terms, wearable deodorant.


Watch this video to fully understand how AIRism works. I'm beyond amazed because Uniqlo comes up with crazy technology all the time. I relied heavily on their HEATTECH when I travelled to Japan but AIRism blows me away!




I'm looking forward to less sweaty days and finally wearing my outerwears in Singapore. Yay to techology making our lives better!

Wearing Uniqlo MEN AIRism Crew Neck T-Shirt (Short Sleeve) in grey

Shop at Uniqlo's AIRism collection today
AIRism Women: http://www.uniqlo.com/sg/store/women/collections/airism.html
AIRism Men: http://www.uniqlo.com/sg/store/men/collections/airism.html

Me, an adult? I never imagined myself saying this, until the day I stepped into adulthood. Whatever fantasies I had about having my shit together the moment I turned into an adult proved themselves to be futile. I spent the bulk of my first year at adulthood — trial period, I like to call it — feeling isolated and forsakened, but I soon learned the most comforting fact ever presented to me: most adults don't have their shit together.

Birthdays have always meant a huge deal to me. I cared about who texted first, who sent the longest message, who took the day off for me, who celebrated it with me. Cared, as in, past tense. As if not celebrating my 21st birthday wasn’t a big enough sin, I didn’t even want to do anything for my birthday this year. At least I wanted to club last year. This year, I told my friends let’s just catch up over dinner.

Something about growing up shifts your priority. I realised its not who wanted to spend my birthday with me, but who wants to spend their lives with me. I’m not solely talking about love — I plan to stay single for the rest of 2018 anyway — but the people in my life in general.

My birthday is quickly becoming something I dread. I hate the thought of someone spending a bulk of that day pretending that they care about my life. My birthday is just one day. 24 hours. When my birthday is over, what happens? In reality, the people who fuss over making the day perfect for me are usually not around when I had bad days during any other 364 days of the year.

Watch who’s really there instead of listening to those who claimed they will be because words mean nothing when not accompanied my actions — I guess that’s one of the many things I learned the year I turned 21. For memory’s sake, I compiled a list of 21 hardest lesson I learned during my first year as an adult. Hopefully, they will remain reminders to myself.

Pop songs describe December as the most beautiful time of the year — I guess it would have been, if we had white Christmases in Singapore. Instead of snow, we celebrate December with an onslaught of new year's resolutions we never intended to keep and promises that the new year will bring a brand new, improved version of yourself.

I only had one resolution for 2017: to overcome my avalanche of worries and love fearlessly.

Like a textbook millennial, I carved my new year's resolution in stone, on social media. As if declaring my new year's resolution on Instagram will motivate me to work harder for the fear of disappointing someone. Who? In reality, nobody cares enough to commit your dumbass resolutions to mind. Not even yourself.

2017 — love more, worry less. x

A post shared by Yi Tsing 怡靜 (@pekyj) on Dec 30, 2016 at 5:11am PST

Nine insignificant months flew by; we're more than three quarters into 2017 and I'm plunged with the sudden realisation that I'm closer to turning 30 than being a credulous 10-year-old.

The year of Trump's inauguration, North Korea's most powerful nuclear test, iPhone's 10th anniversary and Singapore's eighth presidential elections (marking the first time I should've casted a vote), I've done nothing but love less and worry more.

How contradicting, and very typical of me.

Is it a little too late to revise my decisions and restart on my new year resolution?

In a blink of an eye, I've been a fan of Rainie Yang for over ten years. I liked her when I was a malleable preteen at 11 because I thought she was pretty and she had some catchy songs. Now, I applaud Rainie Yang for her personality, her grace, her courage to love and mostly, her work ethics.

Did you know that Rainie Yang entered Taiwan's entertainment industry in 2000, when she was only 14? For five straight years, she never had a day off because she worked so hard to pay off her dad's debt. Her story makes her relatable and admirable, at least to me.


Rainie Yang's newest single, Youth Lies Within, spoke a lot to me, especially as I'm currently penning my Hong Kong trip which happened two years ago, in 2016.

Looking back, 2016 will always be the most life-changing year for me. I graduated, walked out of a toxic relationship I was in, and started working full time. I stopped relying on other people's opinion on me. 2016 was the year I grew up, because circumstances forced me to.

2016 was learning to love myself.
2017 saw me grow independent.
2018 will be dedicated to improving myself, and working on a better me.

—

雏鸟站在悬崖 将翅膀晒开
Nestlings stand at the edge of the cliff, fledging open their wings

光沾着雾水 反射一些不安
Light straining to shine through the fog, reflecting some uneasiness

有过伤 有期待 累积几次挫败
There's past hurt, expectations, accumulated frustration

勇气还在 等待风吹来
Courage still exists (and it's) waiting for the wind to blow over


曾经为了小事 让世界毁坏
(My) world once collapsed over a minor happening

也曾为了爱 整天傻笑发呆
And (I was) once in a goony daze because of love

想起来 真奇怪 彷佛跟自己无关
It's odd thinking back, as if it's got nothing to do with me

天大地大的闹 已笑着缅怀
Now I reminiscence my volatile past with a grin


我爱 是因为我存在
I love because of my existence

我们认真感慨 是因为
We feel such serious emotions because of

青春住了谁 改变我的姿态
That person who exist(ed) in my youth, changing my attitude


我爱 我爱着你盛开
I love (you) until your bloom

就算泥泞走来 一路上 我们多了些能耐
Even if the sludge fills our journey, we (learned) to be patient

过往值得了现在
My present situation was worth the (ardous) past


像是一条河川 转过几个弯
Like a river turning a few bends

也有好几段 特别湍急困难
I had a few (relationships/friendships/kinships) that were especially turbulent

会不会 山之外 交会不同的船帆
Is it true that other than the mountains, there are a few intersections for sails

乘载更多重量 却才不孤单
To bring on more passengers so it doesn't feel lonely


我爱 不管好与坏
I love, no matter good or bad

我爱 过去变成了未来
I love, let my past become my present

—

Translation done by me. Feel free to let me know if you have better translations or leave a comment to request for other Chinese lyrics translation.

I stayed in Plan A Hostel in Taichung, located a convenient 15-minute walk from Taichung Train Station. Since I was heavily reliant on public transport in Taichung, staying near the train station — thus, also the bus interchange — made it easier to get around Taichung. Plan A Hostel is near lots of suncake (taiyangbing) shops, a Taiwanese specialty that originated from Taichung, making it easy to stock up on souvenirs!

Room

I stayed in Plan A Hostel's 'Standard 12 Bed Female Dorm' for two nights. Upon entering, I was immediately impressed by how clean the rooms were. Because it was Taiwan's low travel season, I was allowed to pick any bed I like.


Each bed comes with its own nightlight (in the shape of a macaron, how adorable!), mini platform for you to put your belongings, 2 USB cable points, a Type B power socket, and a Type G power socket.


Guests are requested to keep quiet and off the lights from 11pm onwards, which made the hostel a condusive place for resting after exploring Taichung for a day.

I had to go through the 'Standard 8 Bed Female Dorm' to get to my room. While slightly inconvenient, I prefer my 12-bed to the 8-bed dorm — I can only imagine how annoying it must be for doors to swing open every now and then, and having random people walk through your room. The 12-bed dorm was also more spacious.

Toilet

A peek at the male bathroom

Of all the hostels I've been to around Taiwan, Plan A Hostel has the cleanest toilet.


Not to mention, they have a stash of toiletries for all ladies, ranging from oil-based make up removal to facial cleanser. They even have nail polish removals, different sizes of pads and tampons, and cotton wool. Talk about impressive hospitality!


Toilet cover sheets if you're that anal about hygiene. As someone who's extremely icky about using public toilets, I love it! Plus, look at their puns :')


There are four shower cubicals, and Plan A Hostel provides different scented shower gel and shampoos for each cubical. What?! It made showering so fun!

Common Area

Plan A Hostel plastered directions to popular Taichung tourist spots around the walls. They even included a short description and opening hours! Should you need further information, Plan A Hostel also had two desk tops for guests to utlitise during their stay.


I did my laundry here for NT50 (SGD $2.30). Plan A Hostel has two washing machines but there weren't anyone else using the washing machines.


However, Plan A Hostel doesn't have a dryer so I had to hang my laundry to dry. It wasn't an issue for me but if there were others doing their laundry, the laundry line might get filled up pretty quickly.


Plan A Hostel provides free breakfast every morning up to 11am. Yay, who doesn't love free breakfasts?

Atmosphere

I shared the room with one other female traveller my first night there; the second night, we have around five girls in the room, and it was quite entertaining trying to communicate in our different languages and accents! Times like this I realise how important bilingualism is.


The first night I was there, Plan A Hostel was had a gathering. Guests and staff were mingling over some games and drinks, and I later learned that it's a common occurence.

Service

A lot of staff were on working holidays when I was there. Meaning, you'll enjoy exchanging travel stories and they probably have a lot to share. But they weren't that knowledgable when it comes to best places to buy souvenirs or getting around Taichung. Nonetheless, it didn't hinder me much because the information is easily Googleable.

The boss, upon seeing that I was checking out Taichung guidebooks one night, offered me some tourist spots he thought I might enjoy. Most of the staff could speak English.

Will I return to Plan A Hostel?

I don't see why not.

Plan A Hostel

Address

No. 201, Section 1, Taiwan Boulevard, Central District, Taichung City, Taiwan 400

Phone Number

+886-933728625

Email

aforangeltw@gmail.com

Price

SGD $21.15 per night on average

Booking

I made my booking through Hostelworld.

Disclaimer
I paid for my stay in Plan A Hostel and none of the staff knew I was a blogger so I didn't receive any preferential treatment. Everything written in this review is based on my own opinions and expectations after staying in different hostels in Taiwan.