How do you know that a city is really serious about something? When they build an entire palace just for it.
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Our expiring Krisflyer miles just got a new lease of life
30 April 2022 was supposed to be D-Day, marking the start of a tsunami of expiring Krisflyer miles. Surprisingly (and thankfully), Singapore Airlines decided to extend the expiry of our miles again, giving them a new lease of life. Here’s how I plan to redeem all of them before they expire.
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Enjoying a lazy afternoon in Singapore as local tourists
Theoretically, it’s now possible to fly again. But with all the uncertainties and inconsistencies in travel policies, we’ve decided to remain grounded for at least another year. While we wait for skies to clear, we wanted to enjoy the experience of being local tourists and spent a lazy, boozy weekend afternoon with old friends.
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Head up to Wulai for a break from the bustle of Taipei city
The first time we visited Wulai (烏來) was in the winter of 2005. We were on vacation in Taipei and wanted a change of scenery from the tall buildings and crowded streets of the city but didn’t want to travel too far. So we booked a night at 美人湯溫泉會館, a hotspring hotel up in the Wulai mountains.
We enjoyed the stay and told ourselves that we would visit Wulai again. But we got distracted by the central, eastern and southern Taiwan and didn’t manage to return until the spring of 2019.
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Surfer dudes make the best seafood BBQ
We were glad that the walk back to the hotel was relatively long, as it gave us time to slowly digest the huge meal. The next time we’re back in Kaohsiung, we will definitely return.
Until then, at least we can enjoy the livestreams that they put out regularly on Facebook. Nothing much happens during those sessions, but it’s strangely calming to watch a surfer dude patiently cook seafood over red hot coals for one and a half hours.
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Running down our expiring Krisflyer miles
Our next few flights will be within the region, starting with Japan in 2023 Q1, followed by South Korea in 2023 Q4 and Taiwan in 2024 Q2. Based on current redemption rates for Business class tickets, this will be enough to wipe out our expiring Krisflyer miles.
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Visiting the Kavalan distillery in Yilan
Yilan (宜蘭) is most famous for its hotsprings, innovative cuisine and 三星 spring onion, but it also happens to be the home of the Kavalan whisky distillery.
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Visiting the Nikka Yoichi distillery in Hokkaido
The highlight of the visit was finding out that there was a small bar in the museum, where we could sample the Yoichi 15y and 20y. Yes, actually get to taste them.
It wasn’t cheap, but the fact that they were even available to drink was amazing. We sent a photo to some friends who are big whisky fans and they were suitably impressed, and I assume, also very envious.
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Godfather, Part 1
“Have you ever tried a Godfather?” asked Shimura-san.
No, I had not, and with a name like that, there was no way I was not having one.
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Three days in the mountains of Cingjing
Since 2005, Taiwan has been a regular holiday spot that we return to every few years. Our initial trips were restricted to only Taipei, but over time, we’ve been going further out to explore the other counties. During the summer of 2012, we decided to head up the mountains of Cingjing (清境) in Nantou (南投) county and spend three days there.
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