Taipei Day 5
Woke up at 430 am in the early morning. Felt really tired & sleepy. We took our luggage down to the hotel lobby to checked out. Was glad that our driver was already waiting for us with his mini-van outside the hotel. We loaded our luggage & were soon on a long journey to CKS airport. As it was early morning, there was little traffic & our van cruised along the expressway smoothly. We reached the airport rather early & checked in without a hitch. Soon, we were on EVA Air Flight BR225 back to S'pore.
Overall, we had an enjoyable & memorable stay in Taipei. The weather was cooling, the people friendly & the food was great! And of coz, how can we forget to mention that it was a shopping paradise (Rain would most likely agree wholeheartedly). There are many places of interest that we did not go, either due to time constraint or becoz the place was too far away. It would have been perfect if we had more time there. For example, we could have visited more night markets or have a try at the famous hot springs in Beitou. We also did not sample most of the famous food there. However, we were glad that we 'conquered' most of the muz go places in Taipei & we really hope to visit Taipei again. Till then, we beta start saving for our next overseas trip!!
Taipei Day 4
It was our last full day at Taipei & we coudn't help but feel a bit sad. After breakfast (I was starting to get a bit sick of the same buffet breakfast..haha), we went back to Taipei 101 coz we didnt really toured ard the place on our 1st day & we also wanted to go to the viewing tower there. To our disappointment, the viewing tower was closed on Monday!! Wad man! Well, looked like we were not fated to see the whole Taipei cityscape from Taipei 101. We did some shopping there took the mrt to Taipei Main Station. From there, we went to BookStore Street & later came across a building called Muo Tian Lou with a viewing tower too! We quickly bought the tickets & took the express lift to the top floor. Although the Muo Tian Lou was not as tall as Taipei 101, we still had a breathtaking & clear view of the whole of Taipei City. Most of the landmarks like the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall & even Danshui was visible. We took a couple of photos & then set off to Ximenting again coz Rain wanted to do some more shopping(wad a shopping queen!)
We returned to the hotel to rest for a while & then went abck to Pacific Sogo for our dinner & some more shopping. After that, it was back to hotel to start packing our luggage for our departure the next morning.
Taipei Day 3
The weather was perfect & sunny in the morning & we decided to do some serious sightseeing. We set off to Yang Ming Shan which is a muz go for tourists visiting Taipei. We dropped off at Shilin station & took our 1st bus in Taipei to Yang Ming Shan. The bus journey took abt half an hour to reach the terminal. From the bus terminal, we had to walk a fair bit to Yang Ming Shan Garden. There was quite a crowd probably becasue it was a sunday & the weather was excellent. The view there was breathtaking & the air was very fresh. Although the afternoon sun was shining, we did not feel hot at all from all the climbing & walking. We took many pictures & felt adventurous enough to walk further into the hills. We soon came across a nice water fall with a number of locals soaking their feet in the cooling water. Seeing such a gd opportunity to soothe our tired feet, we wasted no time in taking off our shoes & socks & joining them!! We left Yang Ming Shan ard mid-noon & took the same bus back to Jiantan station. From there, we took a long train ride to Danshui.
Danshui is a coastal town with a spectacular view of the ocean. We strolled along Danshui Old Street which was filled with many shops & kiosks selling food & souvenirs. We bought some local foodstuffs & souvenirs to bring back to S'pore. Rain suggested we should take a ferry to Yu Ren Ma Tou (fisherman's harbour) which was quite near to Danshui & I agreed. We bought the ferry tickets but had to wait quite a while due to long queues of ppl taking the ferry. Yu Ren Ma Tou, as the name suggests, is a small harbour with many small boats & sampans. There is also a nice bridge called the Lover's Bridge which connects a small island to the main isalnd. The place was exceptionally windy & cold & we were almost freezing. Had a quick dinner there & took the return ferry back to Danshui Old Street. We stepped into the nigth market again & had more food & shopping.
We returned to the hotel late at night, feeling tired & sleepy. However, we feel that it was the best day of our stay in Taipei coz we really enjoyed the sightseeing at Yang Ming Shan & Danshui. Really glad that we had a eventful & memorable trip today with lots of photos to bring back.
Taipei Day 2
Had breakfast buffet at the hotel. It was raining outside & we decided to do some 'major' shopping so that we can stay indoors to avoid the rain.
We went to the famous Ximenting area which was a bit like our Orchard Rd. Feels like in Japan with all the colourful signboards & fashion shops. Was surprised that a number of artistes like Cocco Lee & 5566 would be performing there & many fans were already waiting in the rain. However, we did not stay long enough in Ximenting to see them. We walked around Ximenting & managed to buy some clothings at quite resonable prices. Our next stop was the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall. The place was really hugh & we managed to take a few photos despite the rain & having to balance our umbrellas, bags & cameras!!
In the evening, we went to Pacific Sogo which is a 12 storey shopping paradise! However, most of the stuffs were branded & we didnt spend much of our time there. We proceeded to Shilin food ctr & night market next. The food ctr was really crowded & filled with all kinds of delicacies at very affordable prices. We wasted no time in sampling the food as we were very hungry. Had the famous super big & crispy fried chicken cutlet, fried egg wif oyster & mixed fruit juice. After satisfying our stomach, we went to the night market which was juz nearby. The place was really filled with shoppers & tourists. Shops & make-shift stalls lined the alley & there were many interesting food & articles on sale. The atmosphere was really buzzy & noisy & we had a great & memorable time there.
We went back to our hotel with tired legs but was glad that we had an interesting & fruitful day in Taipei. After a hot shower to soothe my aching body, its bedtime & sweet dreams.
Taipei Day 1
It's my birthday today & Im on my way to Taipei!! Reach Changi Airport at ard 11am & cleared immigration by noon.. Our flight, EVA Air BR 226 took off at 130pm - a slight delay which means we would reach taipei at ard 6pm. The flight was smooth & we were like excited kids on excursion, waiting eagerly to reach our destination.
We finally reached Taipei CKS Airport at ard 6pm. Clearing immigration was a breeze but we realized it was almost dark & weather was windy & cold. We bought our bus tickets at e airbus service counter & was informed that our bus would not be going to our hotel!! Wad e heck man! Well.. tats something unexpected but not really a prob as we could still dropped by near e hotel & take a cab. Waiting 4 e bus took another 20 mins due to traffic jams & we were left waiting at e bus stop, smelling fumes fr e other buses..Haha.
We boarded e bus at ard 645pm & were soon on a long journey fr CKS Airport at Taoyuan County to Taipei City. Traffic was really busy & e bus almost came to a crawl in certain parts of e expressway. We finally reach taipei city at ard 8pm. Alighted fr e bus & soon hailed a cab to United Hotel. Coudnt believe cabs were everywhere in sight & it was very easy to get 1. We reached our hotel, checked in, unpacked & were all ready to GO!! Really hungry & we made our way to e Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall (SYS) mrt station which was juz a 5 mins walk fr our hotel. We bought our single trip train tickets & arrived at Taipei City Hall Station. It was really chilly & hazy in e streets & I actually feel a bit disappointed tat e city looked dull & smoky, wif lots of cars, scooters & fumes. We ask ard & made our move towards Taipei 101. On e way, we saw a nice shoppin ctr named New York New York wif a minature Statue of Liberty in front. We took some fotos & had our dinner at e food court. We also saw e Taipei 101 building & we coudnt believe tat e top of e building was shrouded by clouds!! Really amazing. However, e building was not well lit & we coudnt get a gd pic of it. We also visited e Warner Bro's cinema & passed by a beautiful street wif blue-lit trees. A foto moment not to be missed & our cameras started clicking away.
Time really flies & most shops were closing. We took a slow walk back to e mrt station reluctantly. When we emerged fr SYS stat, we realized tat we had forgotten how to get back to e hotel!! Our hotel was not veri tall & prominent & we had some difficulties in finding it. Well, not big prob again & we managed to find e place after some 'trial & error'. We were really tired fr all e travelling & walking but glad tat we would have 3 days ahead of us to explore Taipei.
