Home away from Home...

When I was a child traveling with my family, I looked forward to staying in hotels rather than visiting the attractions. Why? Cos I have stayed in 5-star hotels when I was traveling under package tour. I'm quite sure that I have stayed in Holiday Inn before. Maybe even Shangri-la. I was a lucky kid. =P

Now... I have become more cheapo. haha. I look for cheap stays whenever I travel. I feel the joy and victory when I discovered a cheap and good place to stay. Cheap thrill... even the thrill is cheap -_-"

From Aussie trip, Greenhouse Backpacker was a bad choice. Luckily they managed to overlook our booking for the 2nd day and recommend us to Nomads Industry, their competitor. I still remember feeling grumpy while we wheel our heavy luggage to downtown Melbourne. But when we saw our new hostel, there's really nothing to be grumpy about! =)

For Taiwan Trip 2008, we stayed in 2 home-stays with the local Taiwaneses.

First was Stone Minsu which I had read about in many forums online.Coincidentally, there were a few groups of Singaporeans staying there too! According to the owner, Ms Liu, Singaporeans like to stay there for their Hualien trip. Everyone is strongly encouraged to decorate a piece of stone (pebble) and leave them with the minsu. Here is their 'collection' so far.

Can you spot the Singapore flag?

Not losing out, this is our version of Singapore, inspirations from a $2-note. (drawn by Dad cos 弟and I dun have 'art cells')! The LION City! ROARS!

The stairs leading down to the kitchen.

Our small but cosy room.The 'farm' of the homestay. The stupid rooster doesn't only crows during dawn can, he craws the whole morning! Luckily I'm not the mood to laze in bed.

Second home-stay was in Alishan. We stayed at this place called...Compared to Stone House, this minsu rates lower in terms of it's cleanliness. But with such breathtaking views, what more could one asks for, right?

Time for some zen! Happy Daddy!

Our simple, clean but hard bed, luckily the next morning we woke up at about 2am to make our trip to Alishan, I din really sleep at all.
Our surroundings.

How about some Alishan Tea? The owners are also tea-growers!

So... of course, staying in 5-star hotels is more comfortable with nice American-style buffet breakfast to look forward to and luxurious bathroom, but I'll trade that with a budget comfy place with authentic unforgettable experiences too!