2⃣Reflection on One-Child Policy

During class we were told about the one-child policy in China🇨🇳. A couple can only have one child in China; if they have another child, they will need to pay a high fine or be forced to abort it. This was to solve the social, economic and environmental problems in China, due to too many people populating China. In recent years, the China government have relaxed their policy. If a family's first child is a girl, or if both parents are themselves only-children, they could have two children without fine.
In Singapore we used to have the one-child policy to prevent overpopulation. The Singapore government was concerned how given the small land area and the (then) small economy, overpopulation would lead to a lower quality of life across the board for all Singaporeans – more mouths to compete for scarce resources. My grandmother had 3 children, and had to pay a higher fine each time. In the end she was told to go for an operation to be sterilized (to prevent her from giving birth to anymore children).
 I think that at that time the government did not think of the consequences of the policy. In 1977, more than 30 years after the policy was implemented, the government had to battle Singapore’s ever decreasing birth rate. They did not count on the birth rate decreasing so much. Till now, the birth rate in Singapore has not reached the level it once was. Many youngsters nowadays do not wish to marry-whether it is due to to influence of others affected by the policy is unknown. Even when the government has added many benefits to being pregnant, the birth rate has not increase by much. 
According to the government, a significant reason Singapore is opening up to foreign workers and immigrants is because our fertility rate is currently one of the lowest in the world. Singapore is being called an 'aging population' due to there being more adults in Singapore than children. I think we should do our part to increase the birth rate (no sick thoughts please!) to ensure that Singapore does not eventually die off.

Dwindling Population Growth in Singapore

The birth rate is one of the most basic and important measures in demography and it affects public policy and budgeting for education and health systems , and can have major impacts on the well-being of a country's population .

During our CID lesson , we learnt that China is enforcing one child policy due to the fact that too many children were being born every year . However , Singapore has a completely different situation . Singapore has one of the lowest birthrate in the world depite being one of the richest countries . Right now the total fertility rate in Singapore is at about 1.2 and at times it has slipped down as far as 1.16 .

If the dwindling population growth continue to occur , it will results in population ageing which contribute a lot of problems for a society . This can adversely affect the quality of life for the young as an increased social and economic pressure in the sense that they have to increase output in order to support an infrastructure with costly and intensive care for the oldest among their population . A smaller population may also results in less competition for work and resouces . This may not be an advantage because the amount of work for each indivitual will increase and the work quality may also decrease as there is less competiotion thus less stress . 

In order to prevent these situation to occur in our future , we need to prepare for them now . The most common reason for couples that refuse to have children is because they felt that raising children uses up a lot of their energy and money . Singapore government can help by providing more support for health care and school fees for low income families . We can also do our part by behaving and listen to our parents to reduce their stress .

Therefore , I think that in order to maintain our society's balance , everyone must do their part to help each other and encourage more couples to have children when possible .

HAHAHAHAHA OUR AWESOME GROUP PIC

From left to right: Royston, Aloysius, Wen Zhen, Cheryl, Shuang Ching

Shuang Ching: Hi I'm Shuang Ching and I'm from 2F. I'm in Girl Guides and I like baking(I suck at it😅), reading, swimming, archery and any type of music (classical, pop, blues, indies etc.) 

Aloysius: Sup HAHAH Im Aloysius if you still dont know:) My CCA is softball and I like to play or listen to music in my free time HAHAHAHA I usually go to Youtube and watch FIFA videos. My favourite game is FIFA and I LOVE PIZZA

Cheryl: Hello I am Cheryl :) and my CCA is ELDDS Debates. I love drawing and doodling whenever I have time to spare :3

Royston : Hey i'm Royston. I'm from Concert Band . My hobbies are reading, watching TV and playing FIFA. Sometimes, I go to Youtube and watch videos too. My favourite colour is blue and my favourite food are laska, Japanese food( ramen and sushi), and yong tau foo , just to name a few . I love travelling overseas too. 


Wenzhen : Hey Im WenZhen and my CCA is DAnce. I like KPop (especially BIGBANG and G-DRAGON) and my new sport is table tennis ( refer to my first post for more information ) . My favourite food is French Fries and Bubble Tea ( I know it is not fattening ) 

Poverty in Singapore

             Poverty is a state where one individual is unable to cover certain basic necessities , taking into account the circumstances and social requirements of the environment . This includes not having enough food to eat or have no shelter.

             During our second CID lesson  , we were shown two pictures on poverty : a man sitting on the floor holding a cardboard that states that he lost his belongings thus need money and a lady carrying a baby begging for money . I was asked who would I help if I had only a dollar ? I chose to help the lady as she was carrying a child and would definitely need more money to support themselves as compared to the single man . However , I was shocked to be  informed that the man in the first picture was a handicap while the  was part of a syndicate organisation which earns money by taking advantage of the sympathy of others . I feel cheated by the lady but I understand that she was also trying to earn a livingby working for the organisation , so I tried to understand her by stepping in her shoes . 

            From this lesson , I learnt that we should not judge a book by its cover as not everything we see is true , thus we should get more information about the certain subject before trusting its content and information .

            Singapore is one of the world's richest countries but I believe that there is still a lot of poverty existing . But unlike those begging money on the street in other countries such as China , people who are poor in Singapore either sell tissue or perform by playing musical instrument to earn money . Even through these actions seems useless and not essential for us , but I think those poor people must have gathered a lot of courage to do this kind of thing to earn money . However , there is more campaign nowadays to raise awareness for the poverty in Singapore , such as the " ONES SIGAPORE " campaign and the " Singapore against poverty " caimpaign which aim to raise awareness on how the poor lives in Singapore . As we know more about the living conditions of these people who are poor , we will appreciate more of their effort put in to earn money , and more of us will be willing to donate a dollar or two .

           With the help of government and campaigns , I believe that poverty in Singapore will be greatly reduced and their living condition will improve gradually . However , I think we should not only depend on them to help the poor , we should also do our part by being more concerned about their life and also donate when possible . Because as all our donation add up together , the poor families might finally have a delicious meal to reward them for their hardwork .

December Holiday 2014

                During the December Holiday , I spend most of my time staying at home and going for CCA trainings . However as time passes , I started to get bored and spend the precious time aimlessly , watching dramas or just lie on the bed for the whole day .
                Finally , I decided to make this holiday more meaningful than just slacking off . I recalled how the teachers advised us to use the time during the holiday wisely , trying out new things that cannot be accomplished in school . After much thought and consideration , I informed my parents that I would like to take up table tennis as a new hobby .
                Due to my passion in table tennis , my father found me a coach from the Singapore Table Tennis Team . With his help , I managed to get hold on the correct pose and the right rhythm when hitting the ping pong . He also advised me not to be so tense in my shoulder or use my waist too much . Instead I should try to be flexible when changing positions and relax when playing . After less than five lessons with the coach , I  could actually hit several ping pong without a flinch !
               Even through my skill now is still not enough to play a proper table tennis game , but I'm still glad that I have made the decision to take up table tennis as a hobby . While learning table tennis , my consentration skills and agility was greatly improved . I learnt the importance of co-ordination ，especially after messing up the rhythm and the speed of hitting the ping pong when I loss the co-ordination of my legs and arms . I really gained a lot while learning table tennis and I enjoyed the experience very much .
               I will continue to learn from my fabulous coach and improve my table tennis skills untill I reach the point where I can actually play a game with those who really are good at table tennis . After my experience with table tennis lessons , I would also like to try out hip-pop during June Holiday and contine to develope my holistic developement .

Birthday present from my parents to encourage my learning for table tennis 

 

1⃣Reflection on Poverty

.In class we were given two pictures, a handicapped man on the street asking people for money, and a lady carrying a baby asking for money. We were asked who we would donate to if we had a dollar. I chose to donate to neither as I was not sure if they truly needed the money or were faking it. Truthfully, I thought the lady needed the money, and that the man was just faking an injury and using other's sympathy to get extra cash, as I have had a personal experience like that. In the end, we were able to know their backgrounds, and I realized that the handicapped man truly needed the money, and that the lady was part of a syndicate, who tricked people into giving her money.

This shows that you should not judge others until you know more about them. Maybe there are people out there who actually need the money, but others who would lie just to get money cause us to distrust these people, thus less people actually help them. However, I find the lady almost pitiful. She has to lie to others just to get money, yet in the end she only receives a small bit of what she has "earned", the rest going to the syndicate. She should try to find a job, and make honest money instead. 

Maybe this is because Singapore is prosperous in our generation, and we do not have experience with poverty, but I think that most people who beg for money have the ability to earn honest money by getting a job. There have been news of some handicapped people who can earn money by relaying on their own abilities.

However, there are still people in Singapore who ask others for money. The shopping center near my house is often frequented by elderly people(some handicapped) selling tissue packets or performing for people. I wished it was because they have financial problems, but I think it is just their job, as they have a license, and they only accept $1 and above. Once, my sister went to donate all her pocket money to a handicapped man. Since she only gets $1 a day, and she had used some of it, she donate $0.70 to the man. Instead of thanking her, he glared at her and demanded her to give more money. If they really needed the money, they would understand that every cent makes a difference. It is good that the government is helping them, but I hope that they appreciate what the government is doing for them.

Poverty

 During this CID lesson,we were shown two pictures, a picture that depicts a man sitting on the floor holding a cardboard that states that he needs money. In the second picture, there is a lady carrying a baby while talking to a man who is sitting and reading a newspaper. There comes the question... who would i help if i had only a dollar. I chose to help the lady as she was carrying a child and would definitely need more money as compared to a single man. However, i was shocked to learn that the man in the first picture was a handicap while the lady was part of a syndicate organisation which earns money by taking advantage of the sympathy of others.Thus, we should not judge a book by its cover and get more information before trusting anybody.

   However, I would see poverty in a different way. Few can actually understand the meaning of poverty. This is because Singapore is such a prosperous country and the younger generation have never gone through poverty before. They are privileged to have such good parents who give them smartphones at ages of ten! Therefore, they should cherish this privilege and not take it for granted.  Instead of splurging their parents' money on anything they like, which is not necessary ,they could save it up for their education in the future ,if they need to go overseas etc.

  Unfortunately, there are still people in Singapore who need help financially , for example the older generation . I still see them around hawker centres, selling tissue paper or collecting tin cans . I don't know if thats their job or they do that just to earn more money. I wish its the latter but its usually the former. Thus it is good that the government has came up with new schemes like the Pioneer Generation Package to help them financially so they can have a better life .

December Holidays 2014

   The December holidays passed in a blink of an eye for me. It was great fun during the holidays, when i could wake up at 9am and trudge down with my grandma and my brother to eat our breakfast together. it just feels good to live life slower , when u always live in a fast paced society and miss out on the little other things.

  Anyway, one of my highlights in my December holidays has to be my family trip to Japan, particularly Osaka and Namba. It was a ' free and easy' trip , which meant that we did everything ourselves , including transport, booking of hotels and choosing the places that we wanted to go. I can't really remember all the places that we went to but most of them were castles, shrines and lastly Universal Studios of Osaka! That place is just unbelievable, with attractions like THE WIZARDING WORLD OF HARRY POTTER, THE AMZING SPIDER-MAN, JURASSIC PARK etc.
If anyone of you who reads this is a potterhead( a diehard harry potter fan) , then u should DEFINITELY go to Universal Studious of Osaka . There is a smaller scale of Hogwarts and Hogsmeade that looks very majestic when night falls. There are two rides in THE WIZARDING WORLD OF HOGWARTS too. The first one isnt really a rollercoaster but more of a '3D moving ride' when you seat in fours and take a journey with Harry throughout Hogwarts. The ride twists and turns and goes up and down but is not really fast so it isnt really that scary. Yeah so we toured the whole themepark and went back satisfied and tired. To conclude, the trip to Japan was fulfilling and I learnt alot of Japan's culture and traditions. I guess i learnt how to speak some basic Japanese words too.  Nevertheless, i had fun during the trip and can't wait to go back to Japan again... hehehe partly because of their sushi too ! HAHA!

Well, after the holiday, in Singapore, i finished up my homework and got ready to go back to school with a fresh mind, to a fresh start.
 

Thoughts on Poverty (REFLECTION FOR 12 JAN 2015) -- Aloysius

In the 2nd Lesson of the CID module, I learnt that we should not judge a book by its cover and that there is more than meets the eye. During the lesson, our teacher showed us two pictures- one with a man sitting down on the ground with a sign that explains why he needs money and the other depicting a woman holding a baby asking for money and my teacher ask us who would we donate the money to? Then, she said that those who would donate to the man go to the left side of the class while those who would donate to the man move to the right side of the class and those who would not donate move to the middle of the class. I moved to the middle of the class as I felt that both of them may be scammers. Who would know if they really needed the money or if they are faking it? Furthermore, in the movie slumdog, there are syndicates which kidnap children or bought children to make them ask money from people. The syndicates also purposely make the children handicap so that the people would sympathize with them and give them some money. It is also said that the money collected from the beggars would proceed to the syndicate and a small percentage of it would be given to the beggars. Some of the money collected would be used to buy volka in order for the babies that the girls/women hold to be asleep and not affect the money collected. Thus i would not donate money to both of them.

Singapore is one of the worlds richest countries and the irony is that Singapore still has poor people given its developing status.In the developing country such as Singapore, the rich gets richer and the poor gets poorer despite charitable organisations taking steps to improve their lives. Poor people can be seen sleeping along the corridors of the HDB blocks or staying in the one room HDB flat. I feel that we should be grateful for the lives that we are having now thanks to our parents, we should treasure money and not waste it on useless stuff. I also feel that the government should give much more priorities to improve the lives of the poorer people such as giving them an monthly salary that can sustain them for their basic necessities, that way everyone can progress and the society can be a better place for us to live in.

Poverty

Poverty is the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support, in other words, the condition of being poor.

Absolute poverty is something the people in Singapore cannot understand because our standard of living is too high. It is said that the people who are suffering from absolute poverty depend on only $2.50 US dollars to survive their day. However, in Singapore, we tend to splurge and spend money unnecessarily without thinking twice, while the people in third world countries can only think about ways to survive the next day.

Because most of us live in at least average households, we seldom hold a thought for the people who are in relative poverty and are unable to keep up with the standards of living that the society determines. However, it does change over time. As the wealth of a society increases, so does the amount of income and resources that the society deems necessary for proper conditions of living. I am well aware that there are people like this in Singapore, but I never really harped on it. Now that I think of it, I realised that when the term "society" is mentioned, it can also be related to individuals. This means that the standards of living the society sets is really down to us. I may have told myself to go with some of the current trends and in turn, others may follow. During so, the people who are already facing relative poverty may need to force themselves to adapt to such situations and thus shift the standards of living up again. I noticed that such situations can happen and are happening; people are trying to change themselves to either become better or to suit others and in turn may affect those who are already affected. 

Generally, in Singapore, the people suffering from such poverty is declining, at least those in our generation, because they have begun to adapt to the kind of living. Not given the adequate amount of education and health care, etc. can definitely lead to a lot of problems. Our world is filled with words and politics. Without the education needed, these people will find it hard to survive in our fast-changing country. Not only that, with the lack of healthcare, diseases and other illnesses may spread and cause even greater harm than before if not properly treated and tended to. I find this kind of living very scary because I am someone who is very particular about hygiene and I find it hard to believe that there are still people in this world who are illiterate and have problems coping with their lives.

Poverty may also be understood as an aspect of unequal social status and inequitable social relationships, experienced as social exclusion, dependency, and diminished capacity to participate, or to develop meaningful connections with other people in society. Such social exclusion can be minimized through strengthened connections with the mainstream, such as through the provision of relational care to those who are experiencing poverty.

Most of the people who are suffering from poverty can be found in third world countries. However, that does not mean that there are no such people in our more developed countries. Sometimes, the amount of money for living in a first world country may be appropriate for third world countries, it may still not be enough for the more developed countries because the amount required to meet these basic needs will naturally be much higher due to the increase in prices.

After School HOLIDAYS 2014 (OCT-DEC) --- Aloysius

My holidays last year was surprisingly different from the previous years as this time, my holidays was preoccupied with way more stuff to complete such as homework from RVHS as well as training schedules but luckily, my family decided to go on the trip to the US in order to relieve the pressures from schools as well as work for everyone.

To be honest, I was shocked to find out that my family was going to the US the day before the trip as I was already very tired from training and still had to wake up at 12am to arrive at the airport. The trip duration is from the 24th of October to the 9th of November.
Day 1

Firstly we went to Los Angeles. After settling down at the Desert Palms Hotel and renting a car, we drove through Hollywood Boulevard, Sunset Boulevard and Beverly Hills, as well as saw the Mann’s Chinese Theatre, the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the Hollywood Sign. At the end of the day we get to rest in the hotel with one of the best pepperoni pizzas that i have ever eaten my entire life HAHAHHA

Day 2
The next day, we went to Universal Studio Hollywood. I personally feel that some of the rides are too kiddy but for the sake of my sisters and my 'childish' mother LOL we had to go for those rides. The rides that i personally enjoyed most are the roller coasters HAHAHA. The sad thing is that i had to go on it alone as my parents and sisters were scared of the 'drop' that happens frequently in most roller coasters. Besides it was a fruitful experience as I can experience some of the rides that are not available in Singapore yet such as the Simpsons 3D experience.

Day 3
We went to the Anaheim Disney Land. Despite being forced to try the rides in Disney Land because of my sisters, I feel that it was still a fun experience as the last time i visited disney land was when i was 5 and after this holiday i may not have the chance to visit Disney land so for anyone who reads this blog - TREASURE THE TIME WHEN YOU VISIT DISNEYLAND 
Day 4
We drove toward Las Vegas and stopped over at the Barstow Station. The fish and chips there is HEAVEN its so good that i ate it on the way towards Las Vegas as well as on the way back to Los Angeles. At Las Vegas, we were appalled to see that there were many themes that it has, such as the Paris theme with the "mini" eiffel tower as well as the US theme with the mini "statue of liberty" to allow tourist from other countries to fit in. We also saw the Worth catching volcanic eruptions at the Mirage Hotel as well as the choreographed water-fountain ballet at the Bellagio Hotel. Las Vegas, being famous for its gambling dens, my parents went to gambled while my sisters and i were asleep and my father won a huge sum of money!! HAAHAHAH I seriously feel that i should spend it all for myself but it is best to scrimp and save for future generations.
Day 5
From Las Vegas, we drove towards Hoover Dam and afterwards towards the Grand Canyon. The view was very sceneric from Hoover Dam as well as the Grand Canyon. It was very cold at the Grand Canyon but it was still worth it to experience the beautiful sunset making its way downwards and into the night.
Day 6-7
From the Grand Canyon, we travelled back to Las Vegas and then towards the Famous DESERT HILLS PREMIUM OUTLETS. Over there, there were many shops for my sisters and my mum to shop. My father and I are not too fond of shopping so we decided to sit on a nearby bench and then buy a huge pizza for us to eat while waiting for my sisters and mum to finish shopping.After a long day of just eating pizza with my father as well as waiting for my mum and sisters to finish shopping, we headed toward the Palm Springs Hotel to rest for the night.
Day 8
Personally, I feel that this day is the best day of the Holidays as I CAN FINALLY REST without following my mum's schedule of the holidays. That day I just swam in the swimming pool and ate huge chunks of pizza after taking the Aerial Tram of the Palm Springs.
Day 9
From Los Angeles, we arrived at Santa Monica Pier where we see all the fishes as well as the fishermans. After Santa Monica Pier, we headed on to Santa Babara and then towards Solvang. At Solvang, we went to the towards the Han Christian Andersen Museum where we learnt so much about the history of it as well as the teachings of the Bible. Afterwards, we drove towards Pismo Beach Hotel.
Day 10
From the Pismo Beach hotel, we arrived at the Hearst Castle and then went for whale watching at Monterey. After the long day, we finally drove to San Francisco where it will be our final destination for our holidays and stopped at the Beresford Arms Hotel.
Day 11-14
At San Francisco, we returned the rented car and took the famous San Francisco Cable Car Tram to the places that we wanted to go. We took the Tram to the Union Square, where all the famous shopping malls are situated at as well as went to the Fisherman's Wharf, visited the most infamous Alcatraz island,visited China Town as there is a shop called the Golden Gate Bakery which is famous for its egg tarts and saw the Golden Gate Bridge.
Day 15-16
We departed San Francisco and arrived at Singapore at 12.30am.

Overall, the trip to the US was a very fruitful trip despite the tight and busy schedule as i get to experience many of the world's famous places at such a young age and I am proud to have parents who scrimp and save in order for this trip to happen.

Dec Holidays Relflection: Brrr....Taiwan's cold!⛄️

My holidays was mainly going for tuition and staying at home doing stuff. However, my family did go to Taiwan this year from 19-27 December. As we do not often go overseas, and it is our first time going to Taiwan, plus we spent a lot of time preparing beforehand for the trip, I think I will remember this trip for a long time to come.

Day 1(19 Dec 2014)
My family (my younger sister, mum, dad, and aunt) reached Changi Airport at 6am and took the 7.10am Jetstar flight T1 3K721 to Taipei(台北). It was supposed to be a 4h 30min trip, but due to some delays, we reached the Taoyuan Airport(桃园机场) at 12.40pm instead of 12pm as planned. There we met up with our guide cum driver,(小曾) where he drove us 1h to Yilan(宜兰).
On the way,we stopped at a highway rest stop to eat lunch at the food court. The first place we went to was the Lanyang Museum(兰阳博物馆).

The exhibits were about different parts of Yilan, and were phrased in different time periods. It was interesting to see how Yilan was in the past. Afterwards, our guide brought us to "Jun" to eat dinner. 

[The sun sets SUPER early there! I thought it was 8pm when it was actually 5.30pm!😦] The food there was delicious. The theme of the shop was in the 90s. There were old movie posters all over the walls, and souvenirs of the past were all over the place. 

After dinner at 9pm we headed to "Jane's Castle", the theme which is based on Disney castles.

After we got settled in [actually the kids watched television while the adults got things settled😅], my mother asked me to check the fridge downstairs. I was surprised to find a chocolate cake in the fridge. My mother told me that the cake was pre-ordered by the owner of the home stay/motel, and it was to celebrate my 13th birthday. Since we couldn't finish the cake, we gave some to the people running the motel, to say thanks.

Day 2(20 Dec 2014)
After breakfast, we departed at 9am for Toucheng Farm(头城休闲农场). On the way, we visited the National Center for Traditional Arts(传统艺术中心). We watched a Chinese Orchestra performance, a street show and a Chinese Opera. 

We also went to the closed-down Jhulin Station(竹林车站). It has become a tourist attraction. We ate at some shops nearby.

At 3pm, we reached the farm. The farm was packed with many families and some under-grads.  There is a lake with a small raft for people to paddle on, hammocks strung across trees for rest, and a bubble basin with many handmade bubble wands for children. Me and my sister played with the bubble basin while the adults went to register us in.

Once we were registered, we had to lug our luggages up 5 flights of stairs, as there was no elevator in the farm. My aunt nearly twisted her wrist, trying to carry a heavy luggage all by herself. The room was very cramped; we barely had space to put the luggages, and the beds were rock-hard. The floor was actually more comfortable to sleep on. I had cramps in my back the next day from sleeping in the "beds", while my aunt was full of energy from sleeping on the floor.[She insisted on sleeping on the floor. UNFAIR!😤] 

There were many activities organized for the guests. We made our own pizzas that were baked in clay ovens

and made a BIG paper sky lantern, which we let loose. We put down our wishes on the sky lantern.

Also, for dinner we had a Korean-styled BBQ buffet, in honor of some Korean students on a school overseas trip.[Can't say I liked it😑]

Day 3(21 Dec 2014)
After breakfast the next day, with all the food made from poultry and vegetables grown in their farm, we went to see the farm's gardens and animals.

After that, we tried making our own rice cake using a traditional stone mill. It was my first time using it, so I had trouble using it. [Watching an elderly man do it with ease while I struggled is really embarrassing!😓]

We ate lunch, then learnt how to make fruit vinegar using fruits we plucked from the farm. We brought some back for our extended family.  It was 3pm by the time we left Toucheng Farm.

We reached the Hotel Bayview(七星潭渡假饭店) at around 6.45pm[I thought it was 9pm by then😦] Once we were settled in, our guide brought us to the Zhi Qiang market(自强夜市) to eat dinner, 

and to Hualien(石艺大街)to watch a free cultural performance, which lasted from 7.30pm-8.30pm. It was enriching to learn about the different tribes in Taiwan.[My sister fell asleep during the performance. LOL😋]

Day 4(22 Dec 2014)
We had an early breakfast, then went to the beach next to the hotel. The beach was filled with stones of different shapes, colors, and sizes.

We departed for Hualien, Taroko Gorge at 10am in the morning. On the way, we visited some tourist sites (清水断崖，长春祠，燕子口，九曲洞，慈母桥，天祥，碧绿神木，大禹岭，合欢山，武岭)

At about 4pm, we reached the Star Villa(清境民宿), and said goodbye to Xiao Zhen(小曾).  His trip with us ended here.  We were at 3000 feet above sea level which means it was really cold especially in winter. First time experiencing beds equipped with a built-in heater. We rested for a while before catching the sunset. Unfortunately, we were too late and only saw the orange sky. We had a steamboat dinner with the people running the villa, and went to explore the surroundings.

At 9pm in the night, we went to the upper deck to glaze the stars. The person running the program showed us the different constellations in the sky, and told us all about the different stars which appeared in different seasons. It was the first time I had seen so many stars as Singapore's sky is always very cloudy, and we were so much closer to the sky in the mountain. We also caught 3 shooting stars. The person told us we were very lucky to have caught so many shooting stars. [I only saw one of them,SO SAD!😂 ]

Day 5(23 Dec 2014) 
After breakfast, we took the hotel's shuttle bus to the CingJing Grassland.

We watched the Horse Show which was at 10.45am. After that we had lunch at a local eatery which sold good roasted chicken, and then we visited the Swiss Garden.

Once we got back to the villa, we packed our bags while my mum booked a taxi to Taichung train station. At 3pm we said our goodbyes to the friends we made there, and got into the taxi. It took us about 2h to get to Taichung HSR, and another 1h to get to Taipei via the speed train HSR 716.

By the time we got to "Cosmo Hotel" in Taipei, it was 7pm. We ate dinner at a Sichuan restaurant in Ximending before heading back to the hotel.

[Cosmo Hotel is my favourite hotel, because we FINALLY get to settle down in one nice hotel without moving from one to the next. YAHOO!😆]

Day 6(24 Dec 2014)
After breakfast[The FIRST WESTERN BUFFET BREAKFAST I HAVE HAD IN TAIWAN😝], we took the train to Jingnan Station, and a shuttle bus to Liu Fu Chun,(六福村) which took about 1h 30min. Maybe because the only theme parks I have ever been to is USS and HK Disneyland, but it was SO FUN! I had a blast riding the thrill rides there[The rest of my family were too chicken to try, and my dad was bored after a while, so I rode them myself😕]. A parade started at 1.30pm in the Wild West Zone.

At 4pm the rides started to close, so we took the train to Zhong Xiao Fu Xing Station, and had dinner at a Hello Kitty-themed restaurant. [All the food were Hello Kitty-shaped] I liked this day the best.

Day 7(25 Dec 2014)
After breakfast, we took a taxi to Yehliu, Jiufen and Shi Fen, which is in the outskirt of Taipei. 

Day 8(26 Dec 2014)
After breakfast, we went to the Taipei Historical Museum. We were able to learn about a lot of ancient artifacts.[Seriously, it was awesome😄]  My dad rented an audio tour headset for me and my sister, we both enjoyed the entire tour and were sorry when we were told it was time to head to our next destination.

At 3pm, we went to the newly-opened theme park. It was not as big as Liu Fu Chun, but it was still fun.

At 5pm, we took the free shuttle bus to Shilin MRT for dinner in a nearby shophouse. After that, we went to the Taipei Eye to watch a Chinese Opera show, "Journey to the West:The Gold-Coin Leapord"(西游记:金钱豹). The stunts performed by the actors were really cool, as they did not use stun wires.  

Day 9(27 Dec 2014)
After breakfast, we went to Xinmending City Mall. My mum and aunt went to the clothes department, while me, my father and my sister went to the toy department[That's the only interesting place in the mall😕]. After purchases, we ate lunch in a nearby restaurant and went back to the hotel to get ready to depart for the airport. At 2.30pm, we reached the Taoyuan Airport. We board the Scoot flight TZ201 at 3.45pm, but due to delays we only took off at 5.30pm and reached home at about 10pm.

All in all, this trip was very educational and amazingly fun. I'm glad that I was able to spend it with my family. I hope that there'll be more trips like this.