12th Apr

Started day with colours. Then the divers started diving. Went for a hospital visit to the nearby army hospital, then to their City's General hospital. The facilities were very extensive. Their big hospital was like CGH, but their main hal lwas kinda quiet.

Went back at 1340, just in time for the opening Ceremony.

15+ people from each ship went. We walked to a nearby building, and sat down in a hall, where they introduced all the big shots in the navy involved in this exercise. They made their opening speeches, we made ours, then all that's left was some 'light' refreshments, which consisted of 18+ types of finger food and a few varieties of drinks.

Some of them chatted us up. Mainly talked a bit with a 'Corporal' and a lot with a 'LTC' 2 stars. Basically learnt that their NSFs term is only for 1year 2months, but their average pay is 5-6K NT, which is around 250-300 bucks. I then commented that stuff was generally more expensive here. Hah.

(AN: it was hard trying to hold a converstation with them. You know how Singaporeans like to put in english words even when we're speaking in chinese. And there's alot of things i don't know how to speak in chinese. Phew.)

Shore leave was at 1530.

I walked with Kf and the doctor to various places to shop.
The places we went do for that day was:-
A 3-storey stationery shop
yes, they had a lot of things to sell apparantly. Unlike our popular which spans lengthwise, their buildings tend to go up~
12 Level Isetan
Just one of their many multi-level departmental stores.. they really have alot of stuff in there.
Night Markets
I went to quite a lot of these. Basically its like a giant pasar malam. Alot of stalls on either side, and we just keep walking straight. Some of the night markets focus were on food, some on clothes, and some a mix of both.
Dinner at a 'Huo Guo' restaurant.
It wasn't too bad, initially there were quite a lot of people inside, but they slowly trickled out until only the 3 of us were left. Even the music stopped, so it was really peaceful. The surroundings were pretty mild and made you relaxed enough to enjoy your meal in peace.
Smelly Toufu
Yes, i tried it together with my friend. The smell is bad enough, but the taste of it is overwhelming... its like a horrible stink in your mouth, and you just want to puke it out. Nope, smelly toufu is not for me~