#Cheap flights to Taipei

[padyakmnl]

24Dec2023

Day 1 of Taiwan trip: Taipei

It was one boring Wednesday afternoon. I just had coffee thinking where to spend the holidays. I fired up the laptop, and checked flights. I just wanted to leave the country to avoid the festive mood. That afternoon, I booked a trip to Taipei, just four days before the actual flight. Talking about randomness.

Yes, I read blogs, and watched vlogs about trips in Taiwan, but I didn't make an actual itinerary, which in the end still turned well. I'd been in this situation many times, so I wasn't really worried.

Oh Taipei, what can I say? Orderly, safe, clean, walkable, bikeable, and with a well-organized public transportation. People are nice, and calm. Everything is relatively cheap. To top it all, it's nice to walk around and take the train carrying your bag on your back.

[anthonyboordain]

osaka

japan. a country of my teenage fascination and obsession. a country of anthony bourdain's constant and continuous visits. a country so familiar and yet new to me.

finally, time has come in my life and i visited japan for the first time (technically third, but all others were short layovers). i spent a year researching, brainstorming, planning, reserving, and dreaming of osaka and kyoto. i was determined to experience japan.

it was a very long way to asia pacific as usual. 1am flight out of houston to taipei is rough - staying awake in the cheap ass lounge in IAH is a pain. but pain worth enduring. eva business class was as wonderful as i remembered it (except for the pre-ordered food, just stick to the normal menu).

after long flights and long immigration line at kix airport, and a train ride and a cab ride, we finally got to W osaka. what a wonderful hotel - upgrade definitely helped.

first meal - okonomiyaki. a classic osaka street food. we ended up waiting at a restaurant thinking that this is the place we wanted to go to. and we eventually realized that this was a different spot - navigating in japan is like working through a maze, you will get lost. we waited 1 hour and the place was uh-mazing. obviously the best okonomiyaki ever. the table side cooking and asking the waitress if okonomiyaki is osakan food and she gave a firm yes. and with beer and yakisoba. amazing start to the trip.

the next day, we got lost once again trying to find a quaint coffee shop. it was struggle - literally we were lost for good 10 minutes. eventually we found this shop tucked away -0.5 level below ground - a small side door as you walk down the stairs into the basement level. there was one owner - an old lady with short hair making every cup of coffee. we had wonderful cups of hot and iced coffee with cheesecake surrounded by classical music and beautiful looking saucers. the only negative was that this place is smoker friendly. but it was worth it.

umeda sky building is an engineering marvel. it has a space ship looking structure on the top connected by two escalator hanging in the air. my fear of height has gotten worse over the years but i bit my lip and went up to the top. and they didn't tell me that the elevator has glass windows lol. scary af but a trip worth making to see the grand view of osaka and the surrounding mountains.

sometimes, it's fun being a tourist. we did the most touristy thing in osaka - riding the overpriced boat by the water to see the night view of glico-san. it was so ... worth it, lol. glico-san looked vibrant and energetic. and it was good to get away from the overcrowded streets.

we wanted to try low-key down to earth japanese sushi place. we went to a casual spot and had lunch. the "normal" sushi still tasted great - tasted "plain" and "clean" in a good way. you taste the fish (the textur) and the rice. the rice isn't over flavored. it's just classic and plain but really good. the variety of sushi available was also wonderful.

osakans love meat too. the culture of yakinuku is apparently a blend of korean and japanese culture as it is served with kimchi. the meat were so fatty and buttery that you definitely need kimchi to cut through the fat. the charcoal grill and the meat quality are certainly top notch. the beef tongue filled with onion and garlic look disgusting and it is taste of heaven.

3 days in osaka was a great start to my first ever trip to japan. w osaka served up delicious breakfast buffet. there was something about japanese rice - it tastes so delicious (later i found out that it's about the water). japanese food was very simple and clean. there aren't too much food with sauce served on top - everything is assembled together and nothing too drenched. japanese people were friendly, except that there are so many rules. they get mean if you don't follow their rules lol. i couldn't believe the rule on how to stand by the takoyaki food stall and getting yelled at for putting their water into our bottle. other than that, osaka was great. city of indulgence. food and drinks were great. touristy as hell but still wonderful.

[umichenginabroad]

Week 0: Hello!

My name is Erin and I am a rising sophomore studying mechanical engineering. This summer through Shanghai Jiao Tong University, I am taking ME 235 (Thermodynamics), ME 250 (Design and Manufacturing) and Psych 360 (Positive Psychology) which is quite nerve racking considering the infamous workload associated with SJTI. Regardless of my impending doom, I am excited to explore China and reconnect with my heritage.

Preparation for my trip largely consisted of picking the cheapest flights available, throwing my summer clothes in a suitcase, and using duolingo to brush up on my limited Chinese. I hope it is enough!

I briefly saw my family and practiced speaking as much as I could before the agonizing layover stuffed travel to Shanghai. It feels like I’ve just barely seen them before I need to leave again for 3 months in a foreign country. While I am excited for the sense of independence of traveling abroad on my own, I am also nervous and a bit sad that my days of spending everyday with my parents are essentially over.

But after 4 layovers and 27 hours in airports/planes, I am too exhausted to overthink and be existential about the passage of time. Barely awake, I am awaiting the last leg of my journey in the waiting room of the Taipei airport enjoying cheap bubble tea (~3 USD).

While my parents are more nervous about me doing something aborantly stupid like losing my passport or getting on the wrong plane, I am most nervous about mundane concerns such as passing my classes and expectations that I can speak Chinese since I look Chinese. Regardless, although I am heading to a foreign country I have no recollection of (my last visit was when I was 5), I have a maybe naive belief I’ll figure it out there. We’ll see if I regret this sentiment in the following weeks.

Erin Xia

Mechanical Engineering

Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institude

[thistransient]

Heyyyy!! I just left Shanghai, moved to Lisbon, but I really am missing Shanghai. It's not a possibility to go back for me, sadly, but how is living in Taiwan? I'm guessing in terms of salary, cost of living, expat community, opportunity to do cool things/hobbies, and travel in and out of Taiwan.

I hope you don't mind if I answer this publicly and in great detail, finally my hour has come, someone wants my extended opinion on this subject! (As opposed to me going on about how I want to stay in Taiwan forever to my slightly baffled Asian classmates, or Taiwanese people dying to move to Europe). I will go down the list (if you want more info on anything let me know):

Salary: if I remember correctly you have a master's in education or TESOL(?) so if you got a job at one of the international schools in Taipei I think you'd be making very good money compared to the local salary. I've actually never worked for money in Taiwan, but as far as I know from friends/job ads, 補習班/cram school salaries start at 600NT/hr for entry level, around 800NT+ with experience, privates may be around 1000+? I am not sure at all about public schools, I've never met anyone working at one. English copy editors seem to do okay. Employers generally don't provide housing or flights like Korea or China.

Cost of living definitely depends on how you live, I had one classmate who was a doctor from Hong Kong renting an apartment in 大安區 near school for 40,000NT/month (outrageous), I live in a tiny 分組套房 in 士林區 for less than a quarter of that. It's gonna be hard to find a completely private living space (not a shared flat) for less than 10,000NT in Taipei, and it's very hard to find a studio with a kitchen. Outside of Taipei costs go down dramatically, I've heard tell you can rent a whole apartment with multiple rooms for 6000NT down south. People complain about inflation but the cost of living is really not bad compared to the US or Australia, if you eat local it can start at 50NT for the cheapest 便當/自助餐 (some people think 50NT 便當 is sketchy tho and a good one starts at 100), you can get "Italian" pasta for 140NT and up. A breakfast sandwich/蛋餅 and milk tea usually runs me 75-95 NT. A Taiwan Beer at 7-11 is around 35NT, drinks at bars are comparatively expensive though, mixed drink is probably minimum 150, if it's a fancy place 300. (I'll be honest I very rarely go to bars though, just too loud). Public transport is very good, a monthly metro pass in Taipei is 1280NT, gives you a discount on the city wide bike share too. Museums are surprisingly cheap, I don't think I've ever paid more than 80NT for a ticket (not counting National Palace Museum). I would say it's a very reasonable cost of living for what you can make as an English teacher.

Expat community, I'm not sure what your optimal situation is, in the short term, there are a lot of international students, and long term, white guys with Asian partners (of all genders) here for life. My one friend who teaches falls into the latter, my social life is kind of split between him and his friends & their better halves, other Mandarin students, and local queer people/language exchange friends. I find Taiwanese people on the whole to be quite friendly, I don't think it's an issue to socialize, especially if you already speak some Chinese (not to mention a lot of people speak decent English, and sometimes take it upon themselves to come up and try to help you if you stand around looking confused for long enough, or if they think you can't read a menu).

Cool things/hobbies/traveling: I'm a little biased because I love Chinese so I'm easily amused just reading the signs on the metro buuut… There's a lot of accessible hiking, bike trails, beaches, festivals, temples, night markets, museums, art spaces + classes, neat cafes, music venues…I have a list of things I intend to do and I never get through it. Definitely moreso in Taipei than elsewhere though. You can do anything with a scooter but traveling is very easy with just public transport, train and bus connections are great, you can use the Easycard on pretty much everything, people will happily pick up hitchhikers too. There are several small islands you can visit by ferry or plane, international connections are/were great (at least pre-pandemic there were cheap flights to all surrounding areas, I got a $28USD one-way ticket from Taoyuan to Cebu once).

In general, living in Taiwan is very convenient. I have never had such a smooth time at an immigration office. You can do a myriad of things at 7-11, get mail, pay bills, print and copy, buy train tickets, whatever else that Ibon machine does, etc. There is not even a fraction of the hassle of China and the 沒辦法 attitude over there. Of course white/western privilege does come into play, it's not a utopia for everyone, to my knowledge wages are kinda stagnant for locals, and some people move on from dead-end teaching jobs to opening a business (bar or something food related seems popular) once they get permanent residency.

The main downside is probably the weather. I have fond memories of a beautiful September day in Shanghai that I cannot picture ever manifesting in the subtropics. It's really unpleasantly hot in the summer, and in Taipei in the winter it's damp and cold but there's no indoor heating so everyone is bundled up in coats indoors while it rains and rains and you forget what the sun looked like and the laundry never dries (there are laundromats with dryers for the desperate times at least) and…I'll stop there. It even snows in the mountains sometimes! If you have a real grudge against earthquakes, cockroaches, rain, or scooters on sidewalks, I'd think twice. Otherwise Taiwan is definitely my favourite place I've lived in Asia so far, but keep in mind though that a) I'm obsessed with Mandarin and 繁體字 and b) I've only ever lived here as a student (and done workstay in a hostel), never had a proper job. I hope this helped! 過來吧！

[robbiemd]

When the pandemic struck in 2020, I was supposed to treat my parents to a trip to Kyoto-Osaka just in time for the Cherry Blossoms Festival. Everything's set. Visas, roundtrip tickets with ANA, accommodations c/o a very hospitable Japanese host, an itinerary and food crawl plan that I did and finalised for two damn weeks. Everything. We just had to wait for another week for our flight when the lockdowns started.

My parents have been to Japan a couple of times. My father has been in and out of it, with the most recent during a cruise in the Kaohsiung-Taipei-Okinawa regions in 2015. But Osaka fully blooming with Sakura is a totally different story. Besides, it's also a realization of my dream to fly with ANA's new Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Truly one of the million dreams deferred by the pandemic.

Now that Japan is about to open their borders to tourists again, I immediately relayed the news to them.

"Kyoto in Spring 2023. Let's go. Plane tickets c/o me." I excitedly said.

"Wowwww. Let's go!" Mom replied.

Okay. Everything's set. The waiting game for cheap ANA fares and accommodation search is about to commence.

Puerto Princesa City, Philippines 19-May 2022

[dem-khuya]

probably because right now i’m feeling the worst i’ve felt since university, i’m remembering all the foods i ate in taiwan, specifically in 2019, because i think everything i ate there at basically the worst year of my entire life made me feel like life was worth living when i had it. i remember the vietnamese lunch box i bought from yue lian the day after my flight for 4$ including delivery. egg roll, rice, egg, pickled carrots and radish. i remember the rice ball stuffed with egg and chinese sausage. i ate those in my humid apartment in da’an park i think. garlic chive dumplings, pot stickers, spicy ban mian. once i got homesick for shitty pizza, and i ordered a small bit of pizza crust pie that i ate while calling my academic adviser. ugh the spicy ban mian though, i had that every day for breakfast, usually with a side of something that i don’t remember anymore... i liked getting it vegan but ordered pork slices when i felt really thrifty. i know that was gross but that’s what it was! my 3$ meal from that sushi to-go place in guting. so much salmon nigiri and miso soup there. mimi’s cafe, rooibos tea and apple pie while looking out at gongguan. soy milk, youtiao. i ate out almost all the time there because i couldn’t stand the kitchen lol. salmon onigiri from seven eleven, instant ramen, dorayaki snacks. scrambled eggs and rice too. garlic bread for 25 cents. gongguan too of course. then spicy pasta from kafka’s, god, almost every day because i loved that place. bibimbap from the korean restaurant near prince dorms. the noodles i bought when i went out with sylvia i think, the girl i’d met at the convention in university, and boba tea on top of it all too. the bougie vietnamese restaurant i had lemongrass tofu at too… that was also guting i think. god… everything tasted so good, i never felt like i ate something that tasted bad in taipei, really. at home these days i’m spoiled by my mother’s cooking. i remember when i first got home from taiwan, i had her food and i felt filled with so much happiness, because for all of the food i had in taiwan nothing tasted like the way she’d made tofu. i have rice and pork cutlet with spicy peppers and pickled carrots and radish and for a second all my worries are gone. i could never go vegan with the way my mother prepares meats. thit bo luc lac, cubed beef sauted and seared, rice, a bed of salad. of course too, with rhys, i have rice and tomatoes and eggs, spicy and tossed together. when i was looking for a job winter of 2020 and visiting my grandmother earlier in the year and we ordered cheap italian food from stella’s. god i wish i could have the discipline to make a food blog. the food i have when my mood is bad… it’s gourmet baby i eat like a king.

[depatos]

Cheap flight bookings with Depatos it is Your gateway to affordable air travel and online cheap flight bookings. It's Easy

[worldadsnet]

Cheap Flights To Taipei

Bok cheap flights to Taipei 

[withabackpackandcamera]

February 15th, 2020

Day 1: The Minimally Productive First Day in Singapore

The last 24+ hours of flights were very long. And restless. It all started with a last minute flight change to Asia because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) that has the whole world in an uproar and panicking. Because of the situation in Wuhan, China and nearby areas, EVA Air couldn’t fly me through Taipei to get to the Philippines due to travel bans and restrictions. I didn’t get the notice until right before boarding my flight since I didn’t recognize the way they were calling out my name on the intercom… and because of that, I missed my chance for a direct flight to the Philippines via Philippines Airlines. After the desk people figured some things out, I ended up getting added on to the boarding list for Asiana Airlines, a Korean airline, that would fly me into Seoul, where I would transfer to a flight to Manila. 

The airlines and flight weren’t too bad. But it wasn’t perfect. On EVA Airlines, I had picked a window seat and there were very few people flying out as well, which would’ve given me plenty of space for sleeping. Instead, I was in a middle seat in the middle aisle. Luckily, I had one empty seat next to me which gave me a little more space for stretching out. But because I couldn’t get a window seat, I found it hard to fall asleep on the flight. I ended up passing many, many hours watching three movies (the new Charlie’s Angels remake, Ad Astra (a really bad movie), and Angel Has Fallen), playing games on my phone, doing MKSAP questions, and trying to sleep. 

After a long flight across the Pacific, a quick layover in Incheon Airport in Seoul (with signs everywhere regarding COVID-19), and another 5-6 hr flight to Manila, I was finally in the Philippines. Getting through immigrations took forever, but I eventually made it through to the exit, where I took a shuttle to one of the other terminals for the very last leg of the trip to Singapore, the first real destination on my vacation. But I still had several hours to wait at the Manila Airport. Fortunately enough, I was able to find a Priority Pass lounge that was open 24/7 and hung out there, where I tried to nap and ate some good food before boarding my Cebu Pacific flight to Singapore. 

I finally made it to Singapore after my 4 hour flight! And surprisingly, I had more energy than I thought I’d have when I arrived. Once through immigration, I sat at the airport for a bit to figure out where I needed to go and what I needed to do to get to my hostel appropriately. After searching for a bit, I finally decided to buy a three-day unlimited rail pass to use in my three days in Singapore. Like all other major metropolitan train systems around the world, Singapore’s MRT was pretty easy to navigate. After taking the Green East-West Line out to Outram Park, I walked about 1km to get to my hostel, Thad’s Boutique Hostel. I was pretty early for my check-in time but was hoping they’d let me in early so I could take a much-needed nap before beginning the day’s explorations. But unfortunately, they did not. As a result, I ended up having to kill some time around the area before coming back to check in.

At this point, the energy I obtained from all of the food I had consumed on my many flights to get to Singapore started to wear off. I took this opportunity to find some lunch for the day. It didn’t take long for me to decide on and walk to Loo’s Hainanese Curry Rice, a hole-in-the-wall-type, local food stall that was recommended to me by some ex-pats who lived or were living in Singapore. And luckily for me, the food stall was a short walking distance from my hostel. 

Because it was lunch hour, I ended up getting to Loo’s and waiting in line for about 30-40 minutes before I could order and receive my Pork Cutlet with Curry over Rice with Cabbage/Veggies (chap chye). For only 3.50 Singapore Dollars (which is about $2.50)! What a steal! And it was delicious! The curry was so flavorful with just a hint of spiciness to it. The pork cutlet was not too thick and not too thin with just the right crispness. And it was nice to have some veggies on the side to complement everything. The dish itself reminded me a little of Japanese katsu curry but with just a tad more flavor and kick to it and just a little heartier and homey-er. But man, what a cheap meal to start my trip with! 

With some more time to kill, I sat and digested my food for a short bit in the shade of the sidewalk before making moves. I walked through the Tiong Bahru neighborhood on my way to Robertson Quay, an area next to the river where Julia Namgoong, one of my old friends from GHP, used to live with her partner. I walked through the area and walked along the walkway that ran right next to the river as I explored the area in the heat and humidity. I made some turns here and there and slowly started to trek back to the hostel to check in. My last stop on my time-killing stroll was the Alkaff Bridge, a colorful little bridge that crossed the same river I was walking along earlier. 

After enduring the heat and humidity for what felt like way too long (especially given my sleep deprivation), I finally made my way back to my hostel where I checked in and showered off all of the grossness that I had accumulated over the last 1.5 days of travel. The plan after showering and cleaning up was to do some research to plan my 3-day Singapore trip and take a short nap to recuperate before going out to catch the sunset at Marina Bay. I did a little planning but once I closed my eyes for a short bit, it was game over. I didn’t wake up afterward and ended up sleeping through the evening and night (with my little personal light still on and my backpack on my bed) until the wee hours of the morning. Well... that was productive...

5 Things I Learned Today:

1. People drive on the left side of the road in Singapore. I totally forgot that it was one of the countries that did that.

2. Hainanese Curry Rice is a Chinese-Singaporean dish, not a Hainanese/Chinese dish. It was started by Hainanese immigrants who had moved to Singapore. And Loo’s is a locally famous food corner that has specialized in Hainanese curry rice since 1946. Supposedly, the curry here is unique and unbeatable because of the unique way it is cooked (as in, it usually takes around three days to prepare this delicious curry). 

3. The roads here in Singapore Proper are very flowy and turny with few stoppable intersections and traffic lights (compared to typical street situations in other cities). This type of design actually makes it quite difficult to cross the road in a convenient and straightforward manner (i.e. you can’t just cross the road with lights and yield signs but sometimes have to use crossing bridges and walk down inconvenient paths to get to your destination across the street). 

4. A hawker center is an open air complex housing lots of vendors and stalls that sell cheap foods, i.e. street foods. These types of establishments are often seen in Southeast Asia. The term hawker center is primarily used in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Hong Kong. Essentially, it’s like a food court.

5. Because it is so small, Singapore has very limited space to grow and expand. However, there seems to be lots of construction going on around the center of Singapore. And buildings here are primarily built upwards instead of outwards because of space limitations. There are tons and tons of high-rise buildings here, with many of those buildings probably used for housing.

[lantur]

Ughhh

I got lucky and found a cheap flight to Taipei in November. I was hoping to go for a few days, solo, since November will be my 27th birthday. I chose Taipei because it’s known to be a very safe destination for women traveling solo. I haven’t booked my tickets yet though. 

I told my parents as a courtesy, as one does when one is considering leaving the country (stupid). They FLIPPED out and are catastrophizing at a million miles a minute about how I could die (I pointed out that I am at more risk driving around my state for work due to the high risk of car accidents), be arrested on a false offense and thrown into jail, be victimized by gangs... they told me not to go, that solo travel was unwise and a trend pushed by social media, and that I should listen to them and not go :(

I have a fairly severe anxiety disorder and I already live my life with a lot of fear and anxiety. I am constantly afraid of something happening to Derek, my cat Wes, my friends, or myself. My parents trigger my anxiety even worse every time I want to do something outside of the normal going to work, by catastrophizing and telling me the worst case scenario of what would happen if I did something. If I listened to my fears and anxieties, I would never do anything outside of go to work. I went to Oregon solo in summer and had the best time of my life despite my parents telling me it was unwise, I was at risk of being abducted, raped, murdered, etc. 

I plan on doing research about safety for women traveling alone. I’m reaching out because... just for reassurance, I guess? Validation? It is okay for a woman to do things alone, right? Like travel? If I am smart and keep my wits around me? 

[pokemagines]

JAPAN TRIP 2k19 with Mod Elesa (1/?)

hey n’yall it’s mod elesa, lemme tell u bout my japan trip! u can find some of the photos of these events on my instagram @atel2er! i didn’t want to flood this post with pictures hehe ,,

GENERAL STUFF

went for school, study abroad trip to study visualization and simulation of “serious games” that businesses buy and use (but i dont feel like talking abt it since this is the FUN POST

may 10-26

the flight was 11 hours, p easy, i didn’t know anybody going into the trip because i didn’t go to any of the meetings HAHhaHEHA

whatever. everyone on the trip initially came off as if they had yellow fever and i was like ... i’m really not trying to interact with FETISHIZERS

turns out they were all really cool! only this one kid was a real weeaboo who was greasy and tall and a neckbeard who kept talking about being “culturally insensitive” and speaking japanese constantly to the teacher and the TA like ... ok patrick we get it you flex

i stayed in a hotel in shinjuku! everything is so small and i used the bidets for the first time and WOO chile that shit feels FUNKY on your asshole

i visited shinjuku major (kabukicho aka red light district, couple other places!), ikebukuro (THE MEGA POKEMON CENTER), mt fuji, fuji q highland, akihabara, hamamatsucho (area where tokyo tower is), HARAJUKU, and the emperor’s palace! i’m probably forgetting some places since we went to a lot of temples and shrines that were cool ...

the public transportation in japan is scarily on time.. like, by the second. they apologize if they’re one minute early and will wait until the scheduled time before they move omg

the subway stations have their own jingles! they kind of act as an alarm system because a lot of people sleep on the subway (which is why people generally don’t talk on it) and will recognize the jingle for their stop!

the crowded hours on the subway are noon and 6-8pm... like, its insane. it’s actually packed like sardines in there. 

EVERYONE THERE IS SO SHORT.... i was taller than a lot of the grown men there (i’m 5′4″ or 162 cm for reference) and most people were around 5 feet tall... the only people taller than me were some kids around my age and this gaggle of japanese schoolgirls who were like 5′7+ and i was like. sis you’re 13, why are you that tall

pokemon is EXTREMELY prevalent in japan wherever you go. there’s pikachu stickers on taxis, pikachu is on ads on the subway and at the AIRPORT, pokemon go is widely played by a lot of people and so many of the people in my group played it so i got conned into playing again. i leveled up 5 times within 3 days and honestly? i’m god

anime is very normal there... i know that sounds all “weeby” but a lot of normal shops had animated mascots and there were ads for anime all over the place. 

literally gacha machines everywhere i spent a lot of coins on gacha machines plz kill me

the homies in japan loooove crepes. they sold so many crepes. everywhere. just crepes. also spaghetti carbonara! and corndogs HAHAHA

the food there is so cheap but SOOO GOOD. sushi isn’t all that expensive at all?? like a set of 16 pieces is 1080Y... meanwhile that cost in america is like. $6000 HAHAHAHAH. 

very humid? at all times? also the RAIN is debilitating if u make one wrong step you will slip and die (like i did! i stepped on a tile and fucking fell into a puddle! i have bruises still!)

SHINJUKU (detective pikachu day, may 10)

i went to go see detective pikachu on its release day in shinjuku! before that, i went to a couple sega buildings--

the sega buildings are 4 story buildings FILLED with claw machines holding stuffed animals, figurines, candy, all kinds of stuff. when i went, there was a lot of detective pikachu-related stuff. i saw this detective pikachu hat in one of the machines and spent 1000Y (about $10) or 10 attempts at the claw machine ... i still can’t believe i got it ... nobody was there to see it besides me and i YELLED when it dropped 

i wore the hat that entire day around shinjuku because i honestly felt like god. people would point at me and go like “ah! meitantei pikachu!” and smile at me. i was a celebrity. i wore the hat into the movie theatre, i wore it through the entire movie, and when i was walking out, someone tapped on my shoulder and asked for my picture. she was all nervous about her english and was like “i love your hat. may i take a picture?” and i was like omG YES U CAN... sweet bab... so that’s the first photo of me that ended up on some random person’s phone

we waited around for the mass of people to exit the theatre and then left, and we ran into her again! she asked me more questions about the hat: “did you make it?” “no, i got it in a claw machine in the sega building.” she looked dumbfounded. “in shinjuku?” “yes.” “in the sega building? over there?” “yeees.” “in a claw machine?!” “yes!” “ah! i thought you made it! it’s so cute! i’m going to get one for myself.” “lol ok have fun”

i learned that its customary to stay until the very end of the credits before leaving a movie out of respect for the people who made it! meanwhile in america we walk out when the credits roll FHDSKFJS OOPIES

SHINJUKU (visit #2)

we went in the night time to go see the red light district aka kabuki-cho because thats where a lot of the bars are

i don’t drink so i didn’t join the people who went to the bars to get CRUNK, so i dragged two other guys with me and we walked around the red light district

I SAW SO MANY HOST CLUBS. so many maid cafes. so many bars. i saw a love hotel too... i was like... i wanna go inside... Blease... and my friends were like “you’re so weird KHEDJFSk” and im like “I WAS GOOGLING THESE IN CLASS TODAY, I DIDN’T THINK THEY WERE REAL”

my friend sean (he’s from taipei, cool guy, could read a lot of the kanji so we used him to navigate the subway HAHA) was walking with me that night and we saw this hole in the wall that had stairs going down to a peep show ... homegirl had her whole ass out on the sign... tiddies covered with caution tape ... i said MAAM?

one of the signs in kabuki-cho had a woman doing straight up ahegao with (what i’m pretty sure was) nut on her face. it was a small sign and i was the only one who saw it. i lost my shit. it was the funniest thing ever

kabuki-cho is really really dirty... like people straight up litter all the time bc there’s no trashcans around? so people throw their shit on the ground? and everyone steps on it... very seedy area, very gross, but i was absolutely enthralled with the nightlife and the blatant sexual vibes half the places had!

some dude stopped me and started speaking english saying “do you like karaoke? you should come drink with me for two hours, it’s a great price if you drink a lot” and i was like “no... i have to go home” and he’s like “come onnnn it’s a good price” and i was like. i’m not very assertive with men so i started panicking and my friend sean (A GOD AMONG MEN) started speaking chinese to him and he backed off ... i love you sean you’re so fucking COOL

IKEBUKURO (pokemon mega center)

so there’s this huge mall. i forgot the name, but it’s got like a lot of floors and they’re MASSIVE

on the 2rd floor is the MEGA POKEMON CENTER!!! i was so HYPED to go in there!!! it was teeming with people but there was just... so much stuff. all kinds of merch. they had plushies of the original 151, a shitton of really cool tshirts, a whole block for detective pikachu-themed merch (pins, socks, canvas bags, shirts, patches, hats, etc), and sooo much more. there’s a giant charizard statue when you walk in, as well as a statue of a pokestop HAHA. i was so excited and i wanted to buy so many things when i was in there bc they had stuff for all the legendaries (LATIOS AND LATIAS STUFF WERE THERE I WAS SO HAPPY)!!! literally anything you can think of, they had in some kind of pokemon print. including underwear. yeah i said it. here’s a really good article that showcases some of the stuff they sold there!

for reference, 100 yen is about 1 usd. a lot of things there were 480 yen ($4.80) or 3000Y ($30) and it was just... beautiful. 

when i was there, yen didn’t feel like it had monetary value since it’s not the currency i’m used to, so i sPENT WAY TOO MUCH AHFJKDFD

they had themed cash registers with each of the starters... i cried :’)

i actually went there a second time but it was packed for a different reason. some idol group was performing on the ground floor and a shitton of girls were screaming fanchants while their jpop boys danced LOLLL. now i know how people see kpop stans ...

AKIHABARA (i went like 8 times)

this is what i like to call my birthplace

we went to the maid cafe. of course we fucking did. i got a dreamland passport and some cat ears. THE MAIDS ALL LOVED HATSUNE MIKU

SPEAKING OF HATSUNE MIKU AKA MY GODDESS, she was pretty popular in akihabara! she was also on some posters in the subway stations (across tokyo, not just in akihabara) and was apparently having some magical mirai concert???

there’s this giant tower called radio kaikan thats right outside the akihabara station that’s filled with all sorts of anime shit. i spent so much money in there. Good God. there was a furret plush for 5400Y and i was so STINGY that day i shouldve BOUGHT IT....  it was a longboi and i was like... sis!!!!

remember how i said my brain didn’t register that yen had monetary value? yeah i spent hundreds of dollars here no cap ...

i went to a kaguya-sama cafe as well on another day bc my friend joe (one of the figureine-collecting weebs) wanted to go and get a chika coaster

i went into a three floor sex shop and gave no fucks, the bottom floor was filled with bdsm shit and LEATHER SCHOOLGIRL OUTFITS and it was WILD. and these two old men were just casually browsing this shit like we weren’t both looking at whips and buttplugs in Public you know

i wasn’t fazed by a lot of the stuff there bc i read Funky fanfiction but the people i went in there with were major uncomfy ... i was like PRUDES HAJKFDAHDS i almost bought something don’t tell anybody

OKAY SO. there’s this place called super potato that has a floor dedicated to old games and consoles. they had so many gameboy advances and gamecubes and old consoles (famicom, dreamcast etc) for CHEAP. they had a gameboy color for 4900Y and a gamecube for 5600Y. a bitch almost cried. they had every old pokemon game under the sun (the original red, blue, yellow, gold and silver) and i ,,, they were 480Y. they were 480Y. that’s five fucking dollars. do you know how much collectors pay for that shit on ebay? HUNDREDS. i could’ve mass bought those and sold them and made so much cash but I DIDN’T.

that store had an original unopened copy of super smash bros melee and pokemon colosseum and i was like... wait if i cop a gamecube i could play pokemon collosseum like a true g... ((i didn’t cop))

but anyways there were a lot of games that didn’t make it to america (including mother 3! which my friend connor bought! as well as the console to play it!) and just... so many old things i grew up with ... 

whenever i walked out of the super potato we’d end up in an alley where all the girls who work at cafes were advertising their stuff

i always took the flyers from the girls bc they spoke their cute english to me and i was like... i’d die for you, yknow that?

ALL KINDS OF CAFES. regular maid cafe, pirate cafe, ninja cafe (you could do that thing where you karate chop a wooden block in half), sailor cafe (as in actual ship captains), shrine maiden cafe, vampire cafe, prince cafe (for the ladies ;3), catgirl cafe, bunny girl cafe... i took all of the goddamn flYERS THEY WERE ALL SO CUTE :( i wanted to go so bad...

FUJI Q HIGHLAND (also known as the time i flipped my shit and went on rollercoasters)

when i found out about fuji-q, i told my group that we HAD to go. i didn’t want to go to an onsen. i wanted to go to fuji-q. i had to. i love rollercoasters, it’s my passion, my driving fORCE IN LIFE

so fuji-q is home to 4 record-breaking rollercoasters! u got fast boi aka jojo reference do-dodonpa; EXTREME TALL BOI fujiyama; superior to x2 at six flags eejanaika; and the steepest rollercoaster in the world TAKABISHA ... i got to ride fujiyama, eejanaika, and takabisha! the scariest one was probably fujiyama despite it being very cut and dry up for... ever ... 79 meters ... oh god ... i lost my shit on the way down ladies let me TELL YOU

FUJIYAMA ALSO HAS A VIEW OF MT FUJI AND I WAS LIK E”YO GUYS ITS MT FUJI” and then we went down and i screamed

please watch the pov videos for these rides they’re very good but they don’t convey the absurd amount of excitement i had going on these rides

anyways the fuji-q park was having a sword art online collaboration when i visited, so they played SAO music and had cardboard cutouts for them across the park... kirito’s ride was fujiyama (aka the king of them all). i forgot the other ones but those alicization kiddos were there but ion care about ALICE OR EUGEO

the first ride i went on was eejanaika which is a 4d rollercoaster, pretty epic, total Baby Ride though

i went on as a single rider so i ended up getting put in this group with these college kids! the guy i was sitting next to spoke to me in english and asked basic questions: “where are you from?”, “is this [ride] easy for you?”, “how old are you?”, basic stuff. he asked why i was in japan and i told him i was studying at waseda university, and he immediately perked up and went “I GO TO WASEDA!!! WASEDA YEAH!!!” and fist bumped me ... his friends were giggling and kept asking him to ask me questions and it was just. so wholesome.

when we were abt to get on the ride he looks at me and says “my name is soichiro. call me so-chan ok??” and i was like... “so-chan” and his friENDS ALL STARTED GIGGLIGN AND I WAS LIKE U///W///U

while we were going up on the ride, he kept yelling “JESUS FUCK YOU JESUS CHRIST” and my favorite: “JESUS CHRIST WHAT THE FUCK YOU” because apparently fuck cannot be standalone! “what the fuck you” is my new fave insult (i miss you so-chan)

afterwards he kept coughing and was like. dead. his soul left his body. so i asked in him japanese like,,, “daijobu ka?” and he was like “nai.” and i just laughed at him bc BA B Y SO-CHAN CANT HANDLE SOME SPINS 

i bought a corndog at fuji-q at this place called arirang hotdog which is a korean style hotdog place??? BRUH that shit is so good but i shat myself for a good minute afterwards ... damn i want those corndogs

sadly i did not get to go on do-dodonpa because nobody wanted to ride with me and i didn’t want to go by myself >:/// still mad abt that bc that was the FAST BOI ...

also. takabisha. the guiness world record with the 121 degree drop. not even scary. BUT they do hang you there for like 3 seconds before making you go down and i was like “YALL FUCKIN WITH ME” really loud when they hung us there ... PLS watch a pov video you’ll see what i mean ...

HARAJUKU (i totally forgot abt this place OH lord)

i bought ... clothes here ...

they have all those clothes with the random english words on them so OF COURSE i had to buy one AS WELL AS a hat to match!

i also bought one of those ear hats where u press the paws and the ears move ... bts inspired that one

so many people in harajuku absolutely DECKED OUT in fashion. what a bunch of legends.

apparently wearing shirts that say “babygirl” are popular here i have no clue why ,,,, also im pretty sure i remember seeing a shirt that said “call me daddy” and i’m like. Ok Japan

half the shit in english made ZERO SENSE or was SPELLED WRONG and that was common all across japan, not just on harajuku fashion pieces LMAOOOO

deadass i went to a couple businesses (fuji xerox, nissan factory, etc) and they had spelling errors all over the place... nissan really had a placard that said “Prease do not touch” AND I CACKLED hfDSKLJF ilove u nissan

[crimsonblackrose]

2019 is over and seeing 2020 on my calendar is strange. I had planned to go to bed early and get a lot of things done today, but instead I’ve found myself just wanting to spend my day resting.

My mindset this year was, it’s my last year in Korea so if there’s something I want to do, do it.

January

In January I was teaching my final camp (a cooking camp) for my country school and saying goodbye to friends who were going home.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

February

In February I was desperate to make up for 2018. I wanted to go back to the states and try to have a time that didn’t…emotionally scar me and the results were…better? I got to spend my 27th birthday with my family. I got to play with my baby cousins and eat delicious cake (I’ve missed American cake) and I got to visit LA for the first time and see friends and it was both too short and at times too long. My phone, which I dropped at Monkey Mountain during the previous summer in Japan, also finally died from water damage. And I awkwardly ran into Target to get a prepaid phone to survive on for the rest of my trip and when they asked if I wanted insurance I laughed and said “No, I’m leaving the country.” And then belatedly realized how creepy that sounded, like I was on the run and I’ve never sped walked out of a Target so fast and so embarrassed, which I’m sure didn’t help.

Before I moved out of Gapyeong I  also made sure I did everything I wanted, which meant taking myself to see le Petite France before I moved. And I did and then I moved to Gunpo. A friend helped me find someone to help me move which was essentially a guy with a truck.  It was a long journey with lots of traffic and I was worried about being late to meet my new coteacher, but it turned out it was all fine because my room wasn’t ready yet. My driver even fell asleep while we stopped at rest stop so I could use the bathroom. One of the reasons I’m always glad I always have a book with me. It was not a fun move, I forgot my coat in the back of his truck since he took it from me and threw it in the backseat when I got in, and I was so stressed with getting everything out of the truck and into the hallway that it slipped my mind. I had to pay him to come and bring my coat back to me. And then I spent several hours sitting in the hallway waiting for my room to be ready.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

March

This brought on the spring of flowers. I’ve never spent so much of my spring immersed in flowers and I kind of loved it. I started my March off with adjusting to my new town and my new job. I got to meet other teachers in the area, I enjoyed life in a city which was insanely lovely in comparison to my old tiny town and the going away gifts my coworkers had given me from homemade candles to Gong Cha free drink coupons. I even met up with new friends I’d made. The adjustment to my new job was rough, there was so much to learn and there were so many more students and classes and coworkers than I had ever had in my 4 years at my old school.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

April

April found me on a bus to Jinhae to follow the Cherry Blossoms and back to Gunpo to enjoy the Royal Azalea festival. It also had maybe one of my busiest days, which was Nathalie’s birthday and Mika’s wedding party.  I also stayed at a jimjilbang for the first time.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

May

In May I was in Singapore surrounded by Orchids and heat, humidity, and rain. I also went to Goyang for one of the most beautiful and intense flower festivals I’ve ever seen. It was also when we threw my friend Esme her Alice in Wonderland themed tea party bridal party and when I went to a lot of festivals and took the start of my tea classes with Kew and Leaves.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

June

June brought Esme’s wedding and it was fun to help out and be part of the behind the scenes of a wedding in Korea. I also went to a popular Korean hair style chain where I got a cute short expensive hair cut that I loved but when I got home I realized they’d completely missed a chunk of my hair which greatly disillusioned me with the chain. And in an effort to deal with some stress I tried learning traditional Korean wrapping and making an embroidery project as well as taking some a matcha course. Which I needed because I was in pain, it was vague and eventually turned into chest pains as the months progressed.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

July

July brought my first camp at my new school which was very different from my old camps on almost every way and more stress. It also brought new waves of goodbyes of friends heading home. My chest pains got worse in July and of course I googled them which sent me into a panic so I went to several doctors and there’s a good chance it’s from stress, so that’s fun.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 August

August found me in Japan again. This time my big trip with a plan of visiting Hokkaido and the hopes to finish everything I wanted to do in Japan. It was full of misadventures and very hot but it was also fun. I also finally made it to Seoul Comic Con. It also found me with ear infections and what probably was/is tendinitis.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

September

In September I returned to Taiwan to visit Taipei on my own. It was very hot and during a holiday that meant a lot of places were closed so I went out of my way for places that were closed. It also found me with visitors to show around and a rather scary fever where the doctors told me either I had a cold or my liver was failing and that was not fun to hear. It was just a cold.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

October

In October I decided to start Adventuring Bibliophile as a Instagram and I tried several ways to make it it’s own blog only to get very frustrated.  My school had it’s school festival and I went on an insane flight to get home for a wedding. I was in the states for a day. I’ve never cried so much during a wedding. But I also never ever want to do such an insane trip where I spend more time in the air then on the ground ever again, especially not on an airline that’s so cheap. My school also took us to see the musical Marie Antoinette and I hosted a Halloween Party.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

November

November found me wedding crashing an old coworkers wedding. (Not wedding crashing in Korean culture, but definitely in American culture) It was so weird to see my old coworkers and I didn’t get to chat with a lot of the ones I wanted to and just found myself awkwardly not sure what to do, having not expected showing up late or staying. Then I went to the silver grass festival which was not something to do on a poor air quality day since it requires a lot of hiking and not something I particularly enjoyed to do in my dress. I made kimchi, I celebrated Thanksgiving with friends and tried an escape room for the first time.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

December

In December I was pretty bummed. The air quality was bad, classes were ending and I didn’t get an opportunity to really say goodbye to my students and tell them that no one would be replacing me. My job is gone and I’m the last teacher to have this position. I got to tell one class and we had a mini party which was delightful and touching. I also learned that the teacher who replaced me at my old school have also found their contract without a chance for renewal due to similar budget cuts. My friends are mostly all moving or also leaving and I spent much of December sort of frozen in fear. Where do I send all my stuff? Who do I give it to? None of it can stay and I don’t know where to send it. It’s overwhelming. My school had ceramic teachers come and teach us how to make traditional ceramic pieces in Korean style. But I found the process stressful. I made a mug but despite liking how it turned out, a bit like a tree stump, they told me it required too much work to fix to show me how to do the Korean style bits. So a coworker rushed to help me make a plate in the hopes that I could do the Korean aspect with it, only to be told again that it would take too long to fix. In the end when I got back my mug they hadn’t done the the thing I requested and the mug looks nothing like what I gave them. I was not happy. The plate didn’t come back. I tried to watch my students graduate only to learn that the space was too small and cramped to actually watch the graduation and then I was whisked off into a meeting so I couldn’t say goodbye to any of them afterwards. My Christmas traditions didn’t happen and it made me feel so much worse. All I wanted was to be home. And I ended the year feeling nervous, winter in 2018 was a wreck with family emergencies and pain and every small thing makes me so much more twisted up about being away.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I don’t feel like I had a busy 2019 but when I look at everything I did it really was busy. I get why my coworkers and even one friend told me you’re always so busy. But it’s my last year in Korea and I’m trying to do everything I want to. I also am also trying to be more social and get out more now that I have the opportunity. I didn’t try as hard after my mother died and so I tried really really hard this year to push forward and I don’t know whether I did it in a healing way or in a way that burnt me out by the time I reached the end of the year. I also spent a lot of time this year going to the hospital, usually only to find out it was due to stress. It seems I react to stress physically so I don’t always noticed how stressed I am, unless I’m unable to sleep. And I had a lot of difficulty throughout this year sleeping.

A Review of last years Resolutions

Last year I tried my hand at resolutions.

I wanted to cook and bake more. I did do some before I left and this winter, but my new place didn’t come with an oven or a rice cooker, so baking didn’t happen. I did cook more but I also got sick of the things I made for myself fairly quickly. But I do think overall my diet has been healthier than it was in the country side. But it helps that the grocery store has lots of different types of things and is open past 6pm.

I did catch up with my podcasts but then with my reoccurring ear infections I stopped listening for awhile in a try to figure out what was causing it, even though my headphones were suppose to be fine. So I’m behind again.

I moved. And well, I’m moving again. Fun.

I didn’t want to regret moving. And that’s a toss up. I love where I live now. I love living in the city and I like my coworkers and my students but I taught at my old school for 4 years. I miss my coworkers, I miss our lunches, I miss all the big open spaces and the quiet and the stars and I do occasionally regret leaving my kids because I get messages of “Teacher when are you coming back?” and it breaks my heart.

Travel to: Singapore √,  Hong Kong x, Taipei √ , Japan ��  (Okinawa x), home for wedding √, home for funeral X

Finish all the physical books I have (working on it, but I did finish the books I listed)

Go out more √ , spend more time in nature √ , spend time with friends √ , call home once a week √ , yoga and mediate x, learn something new √

The end of a decade

It’s really weird to realize it’s 2020. I graduated high school in 2010. Which means the majority of my life alone has been within this last decade, my time as a young adult. I don’t think high school me or even kid me would have guessed what I did. But maybe I would’ve. I always knew I wanted to leave the states and travel. But I was a huge scardy cat. I think though I would’ve expected to have gone to Japan though rather then South Korea. I graduated high school, went to college, lived in Chicago, wrote a lot, was an RA, met some amazing people, explored the city, started a blog, became a tutor, studied abroad in Prague, spent a spring break in London, organized and  hosted a ridiculous amount of events, graduated college with a BFA and after studying from some really cool writers and artists, moved across the globe to RURAL South Korea, made new friends, taught elementary school kids, explored, traveled with friends, traveled on my own, visited 8 different countries, wrote A LOT.  While I don’t feel like I’m where I wanted to be, I still have to be proud of the things I have accomplished.

The Future

I’m not going to do resolutions this year. I’m going to go back to doing gentle goals. Because I know this new year is going to be rough and I need to be gentle with myself. I’m at a crossroads that every friend before me who has taken has spoken to me with warnings and a tinge of regret. Moving back home is difficult. My aunt did it and said she felt like she left part of her soul somewhere over the ocean. I don’t know what I’m going to do. But I know there are some things I Have to do. Some are difficult and others less so.

Finish sending gifts home. (So late on holiday gifts. December caught me like a deer in headlights and I’ve been feeling stuck)

Start giving things away or selling them. My school isn’t keeping my apartment so everything that is mine must go. That’s 5 years worth of my life on my own. 5 years worth of memories I have to go through and make drastic decisions on.

Whatever I want to keep must fit in my suitcases or be shipped home.

Eat as much of my food as possible.

Drink as much of my tea as possible. (As much as I love the idea of coming home with tea from all sorts of different countries it also means less space for things like clothes)

Finish all the books on my bookcase

Buy my ticket home.

Close up accounts, do paperwork.

Have mothers funeral

Deal with mother’s things

Family vacation?

Go through all my stuff that my aunt has been watching

Figure out my life

Okay so that last one isn’t some gentle thing. I honestly don’t have an answer for it. I have half baked plans, but none of them are long term. Which kind of stresses me out. And really that’s all stuff I have to do like a to-do list not really goals. Okay, let me try that again.

Rest

write more and edit

spend time with family and friends

travel when possible.

Current planned trips, later this month:

Paris, France

Okinawa, Japan

Go to more bookish places in Korea

eat delicious foods I’ve missed

enjoy a bath

enjoy a dryer

Cook, bake, exercise, spend time in nature and with animals

Not sure if that’s better but it feels better. I feel like there’s so much that has to get done that the thought of what I’m doing after is too difficult to fathom. So I’m doing my best putting one foot in front of the other at the moment.

How was your decade? What do you hope to do in this new one?

Happy New year! May your 2020 bring you wonderful things.

  Year in Review- 2019 2019 is over and seeing 2020 on my calendar is strange. I had planned to go to bed early and get a lot of things done today, but instead I've found myself just wanting to spend my day resting.

[furesemide]

My last trip for 2019 :)

Taiwan 101

Taiwan! The land of milkteas as they say.

Last November 10-14,2019, me and my two bestfriends went to Taiwan to have some fun. I guess aside from that I have my reasons why I push through this decision to have this journey. Our flight was 7 am in the morning from Manila to Taipei, Taiwan. The travel time was less likely two hours because we have arrived earlier than we have expected.

Arriving there at Taiwan was like Philippines on the first day. The weather was humid and hot. From the airport, we started our journey again to Taipei Main station and the we travelled again to Hualien City. It is a city on the East side of Taiwan. We went there because of their famous Starbucks container building. As Jessa is a fan of starbucks, while Erika is a fan of architecture and me is fan of nature and culture, we decided head there. Going to Hualien is more than two hours. The train ride was nice because passing by the mountains and ocean was quite a pleasure to look at. I like it because being away from the city is much soothing. The nature was great and the people are simple.

We arrived at Hualien around 3 pm or 5 pm. We’ve checked in ourselves at Arsma, Hotel. Its an old hotel along the city proper.

We rested for an hour, groom ourselves and decided to have our first decent meal in Dongdaenem. Sounds like Korean right?hahah. Its like our Roxas here in Davao,its just like more stalls with it. Arriving there kinda reminds me of Japan but less crowded. At first we decide to eat shabu- shabu because we are craving for a soup however, we ended up with a sushi store that serves all kinds of sushi you wish for. The price was cheap and the food was great! If you could imagine our happiness in eating that food. Since we are not satisfied with the meal because we are still starving, we’ve continued our hunt for another delicious food. We ended up with a bbq store. Where the queue line fascinates us. It was long and a lot of people are waiting with their orders. We immediately lined up ourselves and order. I picked an onion leaves wrapped in piece of meat, a chicken heart and a chicken skin. Also I’ve ordered a bbq corn from another store. Where many people also lineup. We ate our food up to our own hearts content.

We didn’t stayed long at the market. Since we were tired and will have a long day ahead the next day we decided to go back to our hotel. Nevertheless, I was craving for a dessert. Erika searched online where is the nearest convenience store, so we can buy sweets and it was 7Eleven. I bought a weird tasting chip, an egg pudding and a apple milk drink, while Erika and Jessa ordered ice-cream, if I can recall. We’ve walked ourselves back to our hotel happily and pleased . At the end of the day I realized that how much exhausted you maybe but being with the people you care and understand you the most was kinda cool and a blessing. I thank the Lord for that.

[logancai]

I’m alive

Humm, I have written in a while. So hello. How have you been? My tonsils are a little enlarged, but I don’t feel sick. Isn’t this better than me saying I’m good?

Anyways, if you follow me on Instagram, @lzcai, you will have known that I went on yet another Asia trip. I took EVA Air from San Francisco to Taipei. The round-trip ticket cost $1,646.62. It’s a rather expensive flight, but I flew out during the American holiday season. I was thinking, for that price, I’m actually not too far away from premium economy. The flight was nice with decent food in economy. I watched Crazy Rich Asian on the flight. It was my first time watching Crazy Rich Asian and I thought it was pretty good. I was crying in the flight while watching that movie. I probably spent more time watching movies than I should have when flying. Usually I like to shift my internal clock immediately to my destination’s time, so I won't be a mess when I land. 

I landed at Taipei at night. My friend who I was traveling with was flying standby. He didn’t make it to any of the flights to Taipei that night, so I had to travers through Taiwan with just my English knowledge to go to the hotel. First issue was, which type of reloadable subway card to buy? I was confused that there are 4 different types of cards in the vending machine. I had no fucking clue what to buy for which company. So I just bought a single fare ticket for NT$150. Then transferred in the Taipei main station to reach my final destination. Again I had difficulty understanding the subway signs even though it is not in Chinese. It was raining that day. So I had to roll my luggage in the rain. Did I mention that I was staying at a gay hotel? I was staying at Gs Hotel. The front desk was already aware of my late arrival because my friend told him I was coming. 

Anyways, I’m sure you don’t care about every small detail. So about the gay hotel. The rooms are small. Each floor has a bathroom, but the 2nd floor has a bigger common bathroom. The place is clean and decently modern. It’s pretty cheap at ~$60/night for 2 beds. The goal of the place is to play with other guest within the hotel. If you want to invite outside people, it cost NT$200. It’s not a bad place to stay. I would recommend this place if you don’t have much luggage and you’re okay with small rooms. I probably would not have chosen to stay 3 nights like I did. 3 nights felt a little too long. Maybe 1-2 nights is good enough. 

Generally, I like Taiwan. Taiwan has some good food, has plenty to explore and I felt safe. My initial impression of Taipei was, it looks like a typical Chinese city sort of like Hong Kong but with no English and less high-rises. 

When I left Taiwan, I felt like I left a boyfriend there - that I have no idea how to communicate with since I don’t speak Chinese. So I was a little sad leaving, but oh well. And here’s one of my more liked photos on Instagram.

The next place I went to was Kuala Lumpur. I know I have some Malaysian followers, so it was interesting seeing Malaysia and the mix of Muslim and Asian culture. Kuala Lumpur has it’s urban high-rise part near KLCC and Petronas Tower, but I was staying with my friend in the suburbs of Kuala Lumpur. I’ve never seen suburban South East Asia, so that was cool. I’ll describe it similar to Japanese anime of suburban homes, but with a more run-down Chinese look. 

Here’s where I was when I was in Kuala Lumpur for a day - kind of everywhere. Even though Malaysia sort of officially uses English, not everyone knows English but kind of does at the same time. 

Mosquitos loves me when I was in Kuala Lumpur. I got so many bites. Here’s a selfie of me at a hawker food court area with an iced Milo drink. 

Next stop was Singapore. We actually went to Singapore by bus - I never thought that would happen, but hey, I was in for an adventure. After leaving Malaysia and past Singapore’s customs, I was quite surprised that it looks almost like California in their “industrial area”. 

Long story short about Singapore, Singapore is pretty, clean, has a bunch of weird rules, most English friendly, people doesn’t like Little India - that’s where our hotel was, and food was okay. We spent New Years at Singapore and an additional night. I’m sure there’s more to see, but that’s all I had time for. 

Here’s a picture of me in the rain at Sentosa Island. Oh and I turned blond, but I’m sure you knew that if you’re following me here already. 

[kikaykim]

Taiwan Trip 2018

I’ve always been curious about what the heart of Asia can offer and by taking advantage of its government’s initiative for Free Visa to attract more tourists, it’s time to get to know this neighboring country.

I turned to AirAsia for cheap flights and got a good deal for Taiwan from Dec. 17-21. The dates are the best as they’re literally 1 week before the holiday break kicks off so I don’t need to worry about the “back to reality” dillemma that we get right after spending a holiday away from home then going back straight to work.

I did a lot of research by reading blogs and watching vlogs on Youtube. The information I got from the two mediums really helped me out in planning my 4 days trip. AirAsia flights to Taiwan from Clark are always at night so I only have 4 days instead of 5.

The next thing I did after securing my flight tickets, I looked for discounted hotels/hostels. I always turn to Agoda because they have the cheapest accommodation deals. Been booking hotels with them since 2016. I never had an issue and their customer service, although the queue is too long, you’ll spend a tantamount of time waiting on the line for a rep to attend to your concerns, is superb. Agoda also have the options for “pay nothing until” or “pay at the property”. I also considered looking through Airbnb but in the end, I found myself booking two accommodations via Agoda. Mind you, always read the reviews of people for that hotel you want to book. It will definitely help you decide if it’s the right one for you.

I also thought of booking activities, buy tickets and rentals online (aside from flight tickets) when planning my trip. I turned to two travel applications: Klook and KKday.

Klook:

-Rental of 4G Wifi Mobile Broadband I got on Sale. My usage is 5 days. The pickup location is right at the Arrival Area of Taoyuan Airport T1. It was an easy transaction, instructions on the Klook voucher is accurate. I presented the QR code on the voucher on my phone, my passport and Debit card (credit card can be used too). The card is required so when you loose or damage the device, they’ll charge you. Signed the receipt and that’s it! The device was low on power charge though, so I got to use it the next day but boy, it’s so fast! No lagging anywhere I go in Taiwan. The price shown below is for 1 day use only. So the price will multiply depending on how many days you’re going to use it.

-Taichung World Flora Expo Ticket. This ticket is for the entrance fee of the three world flora expo sites. I’ll go into detail of the itinerary later on.

KKDAY:

-booked a Day Tour Package for three tourist spots: Yehliu Geopark, Shifen and Jiufen.

What you need to know for first time travelers in Taiwan like me:

1. If your arrival time and immigration process allows it, catch the airport MRT going to Taipei or any other places in Taiwan. Otherwise, take a bus or Uber or Taxi. I was lucky to catch the MRT. MRT Airport Operating hours: 6am - 12am only.

2. Purchase the Easycard. It’s going to be your bestfriend in going around the city and neighboring states/provinces. It costs NTD$500 - there is a NTD$100 fee so your balance on the card will be NTD$400. The Easycard can be used both in MRT and Bus. This is available to purchase at any Information booth in MRT stations. Taiwan has a very systematic and easy to understand transportation system so I’m really happy about it. It’s so easy going up and down stations to your destinations.

3. It’s December, it’s Winter. Do you need to wear a jacket? I would suggest to search for the weather forecast from the duration of your stay. In my case, it never rained. It was sunny. The lowest temperature I experienced was just 17degrees Celcius -at night. Temperatures tend to get low at sun down. During the day, while wearing a fleece jacket, puffer jacket and a sweater, met with humidity and highest temp of 28degress Celcius, I got too sweaty!! So on my last day in Taiwan, I was wearing a sando and shorts. No sweat, no cold feeling though I attracted attention for wearing differently. I can’t help it, I’m a tropical island girl so 17, 20, or 28 degress are not cold enough for me except when I’m about to have my period, my body temps get low, I’m shivering at 20 degress at the office aircon. Lol. But you will notice the Taiwanese people are still wearing layered jackets I think it’s because they just got used to wearing those clothing during Winter months. And anyway, most of the year, it’s raining in Taiwan and the rain adds to the cold temperature so yeah, maybe that’s the reason. I was just lucky I guess that the duration of my visit was sunny, no rains at all.

4. Taiwanese are very friendly, accommodating and helpful that in spite of language barrier, they will proactively help you out when they see you confused or trying to figure out which way to go. That alone made my journey very easy and I really felt safe there.

5. Speaking of language barrier, taxi drivers speak little to no English and they’re having a hard time understanding what you’re trying to say. So I suggest that you prepare an address of your destination that’s written in Chinese. When I was going to the hostel from Taipei Main Station, the taxi driver was clever enough to call the hostel to get the address in Mandarin.

6. There’s plenty of climbing and walking from stations to stations and hiking trails. So you must wear comfortable shoes, and you should be an active person to prevent yourself from suffering painful legs and knees.

7. Get a copy of the Taipei Metro Guide pamphlet. It will help you navigate which train line to take to get to your destinations. You can get it from the Information booth or train officers around the stations. You can also get a soft copy online at english.metro.taipei -just type it as it is on your web browser.

Here’s my detailed itinerary..

Day 1. A DIY trip I planned:

Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial

Elephant Mountain

Mala YuanYang Hotpot

Chun Shui Tang Milk Tea

Maokong Gondola

Longshan Temple

Taipei 101

Ximending

Shilin Night Market

What I actually able to fulfill: all of the above except the ones written on RED. Yes. I ran out of time, I wasn’t able to squeeze them to the schedule.

Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial - this is just a walking distance from the hostel I stayed in. No entrance fee as it is a public place. I was in awe at how huge those traditional structures are and how spacious the whole park is. It’s magnificent! Also, the Exit 5 of the Chiang Kai-Shek MRT station is right in the compound.

Elephant Mountain - it’s a hiking trail where you can get a great view of Taipei 101 and the city from afar. It is a popular destination for both locals and tourists alike. This is where my knees got in real trouble, I could use a wheelchair! The steps are too steep going up, I was not able to finish the trail and get to the boulders because my legs, specially my knees were giving up. This is the price to pay for not being an active person. Though, there is a spot, a balcony where you can already take a photo and see the city from there without going up to the boulders. That’s where I stopped and got the below 2nd photo.

How to get here: from any MRT station in my case, Chiang Kai-Shek Exit 4 station, take the RED line to Xiangshan station and go to Exit 2. From Exit 2, go straight to the park then turn left at the end of the park, go straight then turn right. Continue walking straight until you see the sign on the above photo on the left side of the street. When in doubt, just Google then look for the result from “Guide to Taipei”. Tried pasting the link here but this silly tumblr can’t save it, the app crashes.

Mala YuanYang Hotpot at Ximending - took a lunch at this unlimited hotpot that is popular to tourists. This place gets really crowded mostly by Korean tourists. The lunch costs NTD$545 and dinner is NTD$635. You can have unlimited premium meats, seafood and other hotpot essentials, unlimited drinks with plenty of varieties and this is the most exciting part: unlimited Häagen-Dazs and Movenpick ice cream!!! Aside from other desserts like fruits, puddings and egg tart. The only limited though, is time. Your lunch and dinner is limited to only 2 hours. It is located in Ximending which is also happens to be Taipei’s shopping district. So in this stop, I was able to hit two places in one go. And I think Ximending is livelier at night. So if you want to get dinner instead of lunch at Mala Hotpot, then I think that’s a better idea.

How to get here: Ximen station is your drop point station. It is in the Blue and Green lines as it also serves as the transfer station for Green line. Blue line has transfer stations from Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center station and Zhongxiao Fuxing station from the Brown line, Taipei Main Station from the Red line, Zhongxiao Xinsheng from the Orange line, and Ximen station from the Green line. From where I was at Xiongshan station of the Red line, I dropped off the Chiang Kai-Shek station then transferred to the Green line and stopped at Ximen station.

Taipie 101 - the most famous landmark of Taiwan. It’s astonishing! Since it’s sunny on the day I went up the Taipei 101 Observatory, I was able to see the whole city, crystal clear! What I forgot to do though is to get to the 91st floor observatory. The main observatory is at the 89th floor and it took us 37seconds to get there from the 5th floor where the ticket for the observatory is being sold at NTD$600 per person. It is indeed the fastest lift!

How to get here: Take the RED line going to Taipei 101/World Trade Center station.

Maokong Gondola - it’s a gondola ride with three mountain stops. The last stop is the Maokong village where there are a bunch of tea shops. It is better to get there before sunset to see the city sunset while enjoying a tea. Unfortunately in my case, I got to ride the gondola past 5pm. Night time comes early at 5pm. But I get to see the city at night while riding the gondola and enjoying the cold breeze.

How to get here: from Taipei 101 station which is in the RED line, take the same line to Daan Park station which is the transfer station for the Brown line. Take the Brown line going to Taipei Zoo station. From Taipei Zoo staition, just follow the signs that leads to the Maokong Gondola. It will cost you a total of NTD$200 for a round trip from the gondola.

Chun Sui Tang Cultural Tea House - based on Google search, it is the one that started the Milk Tea craze! They also have the Taiwanese Beef Noodle soup which is also a famous Taiwanese dish. Hitting two birds with one stone. This is where I had my dinner. The milk tea tastes bittersweet which I really like. The beef noodle soup tastes good too! The servings are huge!

How to get here: Take the Red line going to Chiang Kai-shek station. Go to Exit 5. The restaurant is located just under the stairs of the Chaing Kai-Shek Concert Hall.

And that’s a wrap for my first day in Taiwan. My next posts will detail my journey for the rest of my 4 days in the country.