#shifen station

[meowrara]

[alternativeloser]

shifen, taiwan (november 2022)

[ejamesquijano]

A FARAWAY CITY Hello, Taipei

I would like to believe that life is only worth it if you collect memories that you would carry with you as you leave this world someday. A future nostalgia as you age, and a supercut that will play during your very last breath. Sometimes I think about dying with a smile knowing that I have done it all — but that is still a constant goal right now. And I am really convinced that this memory is one I would remember for always.

I have spent four amazing days in Taiwan with Wence, the boy who’s been pulling my heartstrings for almost a decade now. And oh heavens, it was my first time to travel out of the country and I wouldn’t do it any other way. It was a beautiful core memory to carry with me although at times I still feel like it was only just a dream. It was also an awakening, that life is bigger than you could ever imagine and I am just a dot in this incredible planet.

The Supercut: Hotel overnight. Airport stories. Red-eye flight. Taiwan touchdown. Subway train rides. Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. Bopiliao Historical Block. 7 Eleven snacks. Ximending walks. Red House x DVD stalls. Met Jai Hang. Blue hour mornings. Coaster Bus rides. York as our tour guide. Met our kabayan, Athena. Yehliu Geopark. Shuinandong Smelter x Golden Blue Sea. Golden Waterfalls. The mystic Jiufen Old Street. Shifen Station. Sundown bus ride and realizing I was happy. Shillin Market. Photobooth moments with Wence. Bought charms and crystals. Warm hotel nights with Wence. U-Bike moments. Din Tai Fung x Taipei 101. Fell in love with Da’an District’s Jinhua and Qingtian Streets. Train to Tamsui. Biking x Sunset Watching at Tamsui. Spa night. Biking x midnight snacks at the hotel. Fong Da Coffee. Longshan Temple. Spent the afternoon biking around CKS Park. Luggage shenanigans. Streetside Noodles for dinner. Train ride back to airport. Another red-eye flight, but every little thing was so worth it.

For someone like me who thought his heart was hardened by life’s mishaps and shits, these moments remind me that there are still a lot of things to look forward to, a lot of experiences to warm your core, and that cliché statement is nothing but true: Happiness really starts from within. I have come to realize that I never want to lose that sense of wonder, to discover more and understand life better.

At this moment, I still think about how life isn’t really perfect after all, that I still might duel with sadness in the future. But let me just capture this feeling for a little while. It may be simple for others but let me just dive into this memory a little longer. For one day I’ll get older and I’ll reminisce those days when I felt genuinely happy.

*** 35mm Expired Fuji Superia 200 March, 2023

[siodium]

asdklasjdlsks maximum late trip update post bc i completely forgot about it in my drafts. 💀 i was too occupied with grinding mapes events for cosmetic items aha.

better late than never i guess??

anyway, here's my long-awaited post about my short 5D4N trip in taiwan with luwi and shoron!! i decided to condense all five days into one post this time bc i didn't take a lot of good pics. :/

DAY 1: TAIPEI

nanjichang night market (南機場夜市) - highly recommended!!!

sumikko gurashi themed 7-ELEVEN (角落小夥伴主題商店)

first thing we did when we landed was to run to a 7-ELEVEN to grab a small bite. i got a strawberry cream sandwich with a mixed fruit/vegetable juice and the sandwich was so tasty... nothing special but so homely. we also picked up an easycard so that we could ride the mrt and omg the designs were all so cute?? why can't we have cute transport passes in sg too!!

after checking into our hostel, we went to nanjichang night market for dinner. i was told that this was the night market that locals would go to, and to avoid shilin night market bc it was more of a tourist attraction/trap?? no regrets tho. the food was great and so affordable. i got deep fried squid (coated with some kind of peppery and salty seasoning powder and spoilers: pretty sure all the fried stuff i ate in taiwan had the same seasoning LOL), shrimp dumplings, and a fermented vegetable baked pepper bun. waaa,, even though i ordered a shrimp dumpling, there was meat in it!! and i cannot handle the taste of meat in taiwan. it's too strong...

i also got an osmanthus tea from one of the bbt stalls there and it was the best bbt i had in taiwan?? unfortunately i didn't catch the name of the stall but there was a catto sitting on the counter!!

ended our day with a trip to the sumikko gurashi 7-ELEVEN. the decor was so cute!! i was hoping there'd be some exclusive merch being sold but there weren't any. idk why but i was determined to find some merch and i kept going into every 7-ELEVEN that was in my sights LMAO spoilers i didn't find any exclusive merch in the end. disappoint :-(

thoughts about the accommodation:

we stayed at the beimen wow poshtel for most of the days. it was reasonably close to the taipei main station and super affordable (~$20 per night) but idk it was giving me major School Camp flashbacks. we got the top bunks so every time we forgot something on the bed, we had to climb up the ladder to get it. it was inconvenient and i found out that i'm terrible at going down ladders bc i just jump off from the highest rung of the ladder and i gave myself quite a few bruises from that.

the rooms were also very tiny. we couldn't all have our luggages open at the same time so we'd go down to the communal area in the basement every day just to move things around. i wouldn't say that this was a massive con bc we got used to this arrangement rly fast. the real bAD THING is that we can't leave our things lying around in the room without locking them up in the lockers (also very smol). i have to clean and dry all my toiletries every day before i go to bed and before i leave. one time i accidentally left my clean clothes bag out and i woke up to find a single dirty sock inside. >:/

but other than that it felt pretty safe?? and i did enjoy our nightly hangouts at the communal area for supper or to plan our next-day activities.

would like to try out a capsule hotel next time tho. like one of those space pod thingies.

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DAY 2: SHIFEN AND JIUFEN

shifen old streets

shifen waterfall

jiufen old streets

zhang ji traditional fishballs

a gan yi taro ball - it's nice but nothing special?? if the queue is too long then don't bother with it

jioufen teahouse - the queue for the famous a-mei teahouse was insane so we decided to try another teahouse

we spent the second day at shifen and jiufen!! took a train to shifen in the morning. walked along the streets and got some street food for lunch. i got brown sugar mochi paw-shaped pancake pops from a stall and i personally wouldn't recommend that flavour bc it was so dry. we also ate some taiwanese-style takoyaki. i watched luwi and shoron make their sky lantern (i couldn't do it bc it's ghost month and my mum said no :/) and release it into the sky. luwi added some good wishes for chi. stay 白 uwu

after walking around for a bit, we ran out of things to do and still had plenty of time to spare so we decided to rent electric scooters to see the shifen waterfall. i was shooketh that they didn't require any license?? and the shop didn't provide any helmets or safety gear?? so sus... i didn't dare to ride one of my own so i pillion'ed behind luwi.

the waterfall was a distance away from the parking lot and so the rest of our journey had to be on foot. i was sweating so much and thought i was gonna hallucinate from the heat and strong sun rays. somehow we made it to the viewing deck. i was expecting to be a lot closer to the waterfall but eh the view was pretty nonetheless. got chi and cha out so they could take in the sights too!!

we went through another round of suffering to get back to the parking lot and i, after seeing shoron ride the scooter so breezily on the way there from the old streets, decided to try riding one for the funsies. despite having barely any bicycle experience. as you would expect, that was Not A Good Idea bc i didn't even move 3 metres when i lost control, panicked, revved the accelerator thinking it was the brake (both were on the handles so idk i'm not a driver), went up the curb and fell over. ok but i fell off on purpose bc i thought the scooter was moving on its own (and not bc i mixed up the brake and accelerator) and my only way of survival was to just get off the bike before i crash into something or something crashed into me. surprisingly the only injuries i sustained were some bruises on my upper thigh that i landed on, and pinpoint scratches on my hand that i got from breaking my fall. i was very lucky that nothing was broken or bleeding. well, that was An Experience...... that i wouldn't want to go through again. anyway i'm banned from driving after this~~~

↓ btw this photo was taken moments before the disaster. apparently a lot of foreigners who rented scooters there also crashed their bikes. now that i look at it, our scooter had a chunk of it broken off at the front. ummm,,, what is safety

our next stop was jiufen!! jiufen was sooo scenic and beautiful with all the lanterns and slopes but climbing up and down all those narrow and steep stairs just to get to the main street was just deaTH. 💀 i have no idea how the elderly can do it.

had an early dinner at the zhang ji traditional fishballs. got a mixed fishballs noodle soup and it was so tasty!! i actually like the handmade fishballs with meat inside. they were sweet.

when it got dark, we visited one of the teahouses there to have a tea experience. the staff taught us how to brew the tea and we did the rest ourselves after that. it was fun!! we also ordered an oolong tea cheesecake to share and it was definitely more cheesecake than oolong but i'm not complaining.

we stayed at the jiufen kite museum for a night and i was so glad to finally have a room to ourselves. it was a good thing we didn't bring our luggages with us bc there were no elevators there!! it was all just stairs.

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DAY 3: JIUFEN AND BACK TO TAIPEI

jioufen breakfast restaurant

D+AF女鞋 南西旗艦店 - super nice and trendy shoes!!

kura sushi

ximending

the nighttime view in jiufen was amazing with all the lanterns lit up but bc it was so crowded and you absolutely could not get a shot without someone blocking the view, we decided to come back the next day at 6 am just to take pics. and also to eat a traditional taiwanese breakfast!! i love the soy milk and youtiao combination. 💕

when we were back at the taipei main station, i chanced upon this bakery (semeur 聖娜) that was holding a kanahei's small animals collab?? if you spend a certain amount, you can buy merch at a cheaper price. so ofc i picked out four breads just so i could get a cute cooler bag with usagi and piske on it~ kinda regretted not getting the handheld fan too. it would've been so useful bc it was sO HOT. btw i ended up bringing one bread back to singapore (take note of this info for later) bc i couldn't finish all of them LMAO. the breads were all tasty but i particularly liked the melon bun.

day 3 was our Buy The Things We Have To Buy day. luwi went to check out a motorcycle gear shop by herself while shoron and i explored the zhongshan area. i got the $370 wall clock that my colleague rly wanted from a department store there. we also went to this shoe shop that shoron wanted to check out and like,, i wasn't planning on buying any shoes but man,,, they were all so nice. you can call them clown shoes for all you like but i just rly like the wide, squarish toe box designs. i only bought a pair in the end but aaa i would've liked to get more if i didn't have space/weight concerns.

bought osmanthus oolong tea from yi pin tea (一品茶苑) and it was mid. very strong tea flavour tho.

we had kura sushi for lunch and it was amazing. the gacha system was fun and the food was great and i got to eat my beloved taiyaki for dessert. it was cheaper than any sushi place in sg too.

my stomach was acting up when we went to ximending in the evening so i didn't get anything to eat or drink there but i did try a bit of the vermicelli noodles from ay-chung flour-rice noodle and it was pretty good. peppery and kinda tastes like shark fin soup. aside from food, we didn't rly check out any of the shops there. i did go to a stationary store on my own and it was a feast for the eyes!!

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DAY 4:

wei chuan pushin ranch - there were capybaras and alpacas!! first time seeing them in person

mazesoba restaurant (東京油組總本店 台北華山組)

1789 café pâtisserie

zhongxiao dunhua shopping district (Air Space, Le Gusta, The Ladywore)

kanahei's small animals themed 7-ELEVEN (卡娜赫拉主題商店)

li yuan dumpling restaurant

braved the scorching heat for the alpacas and sheep and capybaras!! i touched an alpaca and a capybara for the first time and i can confirm that the former was floofy like a cloud while the latter felt like bristles of a broom.

the pig race and sheep race were being held when we were there so we got to watch. the ones that i bet on didn't win.

bc the ranch was located in a more rural part of taipei and buses were infrequent, we only had two?? hours to look around. so we rented some kind of a buggy. shoron was the designated driver for this bUT i felt like i could drive it too cuz it was kinda slow yknow.

for lunch we had mazesoba!! super good but could do with less salt.

afterwards we went on a hunt for a cafe to chill at bc it was raining so hard. had to give matcha one a miss bc we didn't have a reservation and there were no tables for us (except the VIP rooms which were $$$). eventually we found this cafe called 1789 café pâtisserie that was relatively empty and hid there until the rain subsided. we shared two eclairs (salted caramel and mango passionfruit) and a raspberry rose st. honore (crispy mille feuille pastry topped with whipped cream and raspberry jam??). they gave us two macarons on the house, and one of them was wasabi-flavoured. the taste was... interesting.

when the rain stopped, we went to shop for clothes around the zhongxiao dunhua shopping district. there were a lot of blogshop-like clothing stores in that area. i got clothes from le gusta and the ladywore~

our last dinner was at a xiaolongbao restaurant. i was glad that they had prawn xiaolongbaos!! that didn't have surprise meat in them. they were not bad. also got a custard panda bun for dessert~

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DAY 5:

luwi and shoron went out to dabao breakfast at yong he soy milk (永和豆漿) in ximending while i continued to laze around in bed~~~ they brought soy milk and youtiao back for me!! i miss the combination. the youtiao from yong he was so light and airy on the inside and so crisp on the outside aaaa the doughy and oily ones in sg can't compare.

after breakfast we packed up and left for the airport. i wanted to try the oden at 7-ELEVEN before i leave but we couldn't find one at the departure hall. maximum sadge. in the end, we settled for a fast-food chicken place after we checked in and i got a yoghurt green tea (which tasted like yakult btw) and sweet potato fries.

i wanted to be productive on the flight back home (and i wasn't rly that sleepy anyway) so i played 999 on my 3ds and watched a 2-hour movie. finally watched maquia and it made me cry lmao. tearjerkers are the best kinds of movies for a flight imo!!

oh oh i sat next to an elderly couple on the plane and they were so nice and friendly. the lady kept checking to see if i needed to use the toilet bc i got the window seat. 🥺 we also chatted a bit while waiting to get off the plane.

we were planning to have dinner at mos burg after we landed in sg but there was a luggage delay and by the time we all got our luggages, it was almost time for mos burg to close. aha but fortunately i still had one bread left. so that was my dinner, along with the milo and oreos that the staffs were handing out to apologise for the delay.

[thepennytraveller]

Taiwan trip - Third day. We visited the towns of Shifen and Jiufen. We took the railway train from Taipei Main Station (8:15am) to Ruifang Station. We reached Ruifang at 9:30am. Waited for another train from Ruifang (10:15am) to Shifen (10:45am). Had an early lunch at a resto near the train station at 11am. Walked to the old streets and railway of Shifen then went straight to the famous Shifen waterfall. We crossed a hanging bridge to get good photos of the waterfalls. On the way back, hubby bought a locally made bread. Hurried back to the train station and took a train back to Ruifang at 12: 40pm. From Ruifang Station (1:15pm) we walked a few meters to the waiting shed for the bus going to Jiufen. The waiting shed is beside the police station. After waiting for 15 minutes, the bus arrived and we were in Jiufen by 2pm. It was raining hard. We entered the narrow old street and there were many stalls at both sides selling all kinds of local delicacies, tea, wine, street food, bowl of soup and other pasalubongs. We continued walking until we reached the end of the street. We turned left and bought 3 paper cups of boiled pistacchios which we thought were roasted. To our dismay, we later found out that it was boiled and was bitter. We entered a cafe and ordered ginger tea (for myself) and longgan tea (for hubby). Longgan tea tasted like mild tamarind. We chose to seat at the rear balcony with a view of the mountainside of Jiufen. After finishing our drink, we went back to the narrow old street and ordered the stinking tofu. We then hurried back to the waiting shed and was able to ride a bus at 3:30pm. We arrived at Fungxi MRT station at 5:30pm. We rode the MRT back to Taipei Main Station and had dinner at a resto near our hotel. The resto looked like it is frequented by ordinary Taiwanese. The kitchen does not look clean and the pots and plates and plastic bags were just piled up or placed in the corner. Hubby ordered beef noodle soup while I ordered noodles with pechay and fried pork chop. The servings were huge and there were more noodles in the bowl. The pork chop was also good.

[yeshanee]

Shifen Waterfall (十分大瀑布) and Jiufen Old Street (九份老街)

Summer vacation is here! Who is excited for summer vacation?! I bet everyone is!

This semester had been tough. I took 4 classes (3 main courses from the department and 1 Chinese class) and had a new experience as a teaching assistant. It really was draining my energy. LOL. However, the result was not bad and I successfully managed to *cough* have good grades. 葉婷婷你幸苦了!

Since we all had worked hard this semester, we should give ourselves a little reward! So.. my friends and I went to Shifen Waterfall (十分大瀑布) and Jiufen Old Street (九份老街) last month as our *little reward*.

To get to Shifen Waterfall (十分大瀑布) we had to go to Ruifang Station (瑞芳站). It was a 2-hour train ride from Neili Station (內壢站). Once we arrived at Ruifang Station (瑞芳站), we had to transfer to Pingxi Line (平溪支線). Took that small train and stopped at Shifen Station (十分站).

We arrived at Shifen Station (十分站) at around 11.30 a.m. and since a walk from Shifen Station (十分站) to Shifen Waterfall (十分大瀑布) is a long walk we decided to have our lunch first. We ate 滷肉麵 (read: lu-rou-mian) at one of the store in 十分老街 (read: shi-fen-lao-jie) which costs NT$ 55. It was okay considering that we had no much choice at that moment. Here is the picture of the noodle.

To get to Shifen Waterfall (十分大瀑布) we needed to cross 2 different bridges. While crossing the bridge, we also took some pictures just because the bridge is too nice to be missed🥺

Once we crossed them, we got into an area with few food stalls and places to sit. Next to the food stall there is a small trail to the observation area. We walked along the trail and voila! We got the beautiful view of the Shifen Waterfall (十分大瀑布)🥺 here is the picture of it!

We then moved to our next location which was Jiufen Old Street (九份老街). We had to go back to Ruifang Station (瑞芳站) and took bus #788 or #965 to Jiufen Street (九份街). Jiufen Old Street (九份老街) has a lot of souvenir shops and you can find a lot of Kaonashi (one of the Spirited Away animation characters) there! For you guys Ghibli fans, you may want to visit A-Mei Tea House (阿妹���樓). From what I know, the Spirited Away movie got its inspiration from this place (please correct me if I am wrong). Anyway, though I did not enter A-Mei Tea House, I managed to take a side picture of it. LOL.

We tried two kinds of food in Jiufen Old Street (九份老街) which are (taro balls) and 乾冬粉 (read: gan-dong-fen; mung bean vermicelli). The taro balls come with other kinds of balls, such as red bean and green bean. There are two types of soup you can order, 熱 (read: re means hot) and 冰 (read: bing means cold). The store we visited was 赖阿婆芋圆 (read: lai-ah-po-yu-yuan). The store was quite big because it occupies three stores, one for making and two for diners to eat. One bowl of Taro balls costs NT$ 50.

We then tried 乾冬粉 (read: gan-dong-fen) with fish balls at 魚丸伯仔. Here is the picture of the front side of the shop:

When we first arrived at the shop we were confused because we thought there was no menu or picture of the food! [I mean the paper menu. Because most restaurants in Taiwan use paper menus to have their customers order]. But to my surprise, they have it! It is hanging on the wall. LOL. The menu looks like this:

So basically the restaurant only have 3 menus, which are: 乾冬粉 (read: gan-dong-fen), 魚丸湯 (read: yu-wan-tang), and 豆乾包 (read: dou-gan-bao). But you can order them in package NT$60 (乾冬��� and 魚丸湯)  or NT$90 (all the three menus combined). In my opinion, the food was good! Though they may want to add a little more salt to the fish ball soup..

To end our trip, we stopped by a souvenir shop to buy (unnecessary) cute things. I bought a bracelet (NT$190), a postcard (NT$25) and a puzzle (NT$180)

[carleencl]

Taiwan Travel Guide 2019 (Itinerary + Expenses)

Took so long but here’s the summary of our trip last year to Taiwan with the itinerary and expenses we had. At the end of the post are the links to my individual blogs per day that contains my detailed trip and experiences around Taiwan. 

For the expenses, there are computations that were divided by 2 or 4, that results to the expense of just one person.

If you have any questions about my travel to Taiwan last 2019, you may comment down or message me through my social networking sites.

DAY 1

DAY 1 Part 1: May 22-23, 2019 (Wed/Thurs) 07:00 pm - Meet-up at NAIA Terminal 3 10:35 pm - ETD from Manila 12:55 am - ETA to Taipei (Taoyuan International Airport, Terminal 1) 01:00 am - Immigration, Get Luggage & Sim Card 02:00 am - Go to the hotel 03:00 am - Check-in at Diary of Ximen Hotel

DAY 1 Part 2: May 23, 2019 (Thursday) 07:00 am - Wake-Up 08:00 am - BREAKFAST 09:00 am - Leave for Taichung 09:15 am - ETD:  MRT Ximen Station to Taipei Main Station 09:20 am - ETA:  MRT Taipei Main Station 09:30 am - Taipei to Taichung via High Speed Rail 10:30 am - Arrival Taichung Station 10:45 am - To Rainbow Village 11:15 pm - ETA:  Rainbow Village (Caihongjuan Village) 12:15 pm - Leave for Zhongshe Flower Market 12:30 pm - Zhongshe Flower Market 02:00 pm - LUNCH 04:00 pm - Fengjia Night Market 06:00 pm - Go back to Taipei Main Station 07:30 pm - Ximending Night Market 08:30 pm - Back to hotel

EXPENSES

SIM Card (Klook) - PHP 377 Taxi (Airport to Hotel) - NT$1, 100 (PHP 1, 870; PHP467.50/ea) Breakfast at 7/11

Chicken Teriyaki Rice Meal - NT$89 (PHP 151.30)

HSR Taipei to Taichung (Klook) - PHP 945 (Buy one get one; PHP 472.50/ea) HSR Taichung to Taipei (Klook) - PHP 886/ea Taxi in Taichung (8 hours) - NT$3, 500 (PHP 5, 950; PHP1, 487.50/ea) - For 4 pax Rainbow Village: Free Flower Market: - NT$120 (PHP 204) LUNCH

Pork Noodle Soup - NT$100 (PHP 170)

Milk Tea at Chun Shui Tang (PHP106.25/ea) - shared by 4 people

Original Pearl Milk Tea (Medium) - NT$130 (PHP221)

Oreo Milk Tea (Medium) - NT$120 (PHP204)

Fengjia Night Market: Chicken - NT$70 (PHP119)

Ximending Night Market

Fried Chicken - NT$120 (PHP204; PHP51/ea) - shared by 4 people

Family Mart (Bulgogi) - NT$65 (PHP 110.50)

Family Mart (Milk tea) - NT$28 (PHP47.60)

Total: PHP4, 650.15

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DAY 2

DAY 2: May 24, 2019 (Friday) 06:30 am - Wake Up 07:30 am - Breakfast 08:00 am - MRT Ximen to Xiangshan Station 09:00 am - Arrived at MRT Xiangshan Station 09:30 am - Elephant Mountain 11:00 am - MRT Xiangshan Station to Taipei Zoo Station 12:00 nn - Taipei Zoo 05:30 pm - Leave Taipei Zoo 06:00 pm - MRT Taipei Zoo Station to Songshan Station 07:00 pm - Raohe Night Market 09:00 pm - Back to hotel

EXPENSES

Breakfast (We ate the food left from last night)

MRT Ximen to Xiangshan Station - NT$20 (PHP 34)

Elephant Mountain Entrance fee: Free

Sunshine Cafe (For 2: PHP 416.50/each)

Brown Sugar Milk Tea - NT$180 (PHP306)

Earl Grey Milk Tea - NT$160 (PHP272)

New York Style Cheesecake - NT$150 (PHP255)

MRT Xiangshan to Taipei Zoo Station - NT$24 (PHP40.80)

Taipei Zoo Entrance Fee: NT$60 (PHP102)

Lunch: Braised Sirloin Rice - NT$ 129 (PHP219.30)

Shuttle: 2 way - NT$10 (PHP17); NT$5/way

MRT Taipei Zoo to Songshan Station - NT$28 (PHP47.60)

Raohe Night Market (For 2: PHP391)

Pork Bun - NT$55 (PHP93.50)

Bacon & Egg - NT$50 (PHP85)

Raspberry Juice - NT$40 (PHP68)

Strawberry Coated Candy - NT$50 (PHP85)

Takoyaki Cheese Flavor - NT$60 (PHP102)

Potato Twirl - NT$60 (PHP102)

Caramel Waffle - NT$50 (PHP85)

Egg Pudding Shaved Ice - NT$95 (PHP161.5)

MRT Songshan to Ximen Station - NT$20 (PHP 34)

Total: PHP1,302.20

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DAY 3

DAY 3: May 25, 2019 (Saturday) 06:00 am - Wake Up 07:00 am - Breakffast 08:20 am - MRT Ximen Station to Taipei  Main Station 08:30 am - Arrive at MRT Taipei Main Station 08:50 am - Meet up at Taipei Station (East Gate No.3) 08:55 am - Depart from Taipei Station 10:00 am - Yehliu Geopark 12:00 nn - Jiufen Old Street 03:00 pm - Shifen Sky Lanterns 04:30 pm - Shu Shin Bou Wagashi Museum 06:00 pm - Arrive at Taipei Station 06:30 pm - MRT Taipei Station to Jiantan Station  (Shilin Night Market) 06:45 pm - Arrive at Jiantan Station (Shilin Night Market) 08:30 pm - MRT Jiantan Station to Ximen Station 09:00 pm - Back to hotel

EXPENSES

Breakfast (We ate the food left bought from last night’s night market)

2 pc. 7/11 Sushi - NT$20/ea (PHP 68 for 2 pc.)

Klook Activity - PHP 1,056; The Klook activity we bought has the following inclusions:

Yehliu Geopark entrance

Shifen lantern

Pineapple Cake Making

English speaking tour guide

Insurance

Transportation from Taipei Main Station to the activities and back to the Taipei Main Station

MRT Ximen to Taipei Main Station - NT$16 (PHP 27.20)

Lunch (For 4: NT$70/PHP119 each)

Minced Pork Rice at NT$50 (PHP85)

Xiao Long Bao at NT$80 (PHP136)

Milk Tea - NT$60 (PHP102)

MRT Taipei Station to Jiantan Station - NT$16 (PHP 27.20)

Shilin Night Market (For 2: PHP280.5)

Sweet Potato Cheese Balls (NT$80/PHP136)

Burned Eight Claw Octopus (NT$100/PHP170)

Tteokbokki (NT$80/PHP136)

Seaweed fries (NT$70/PHP119)

MRT Taipei Main Station to Ximen Station - NT$16 (PHP 27.20)

Total: PHP 1,707.1

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DAY 4

DAY 4: May 26, 2019 (Sunday) 07:30 am - Wake Up 08:30 am - Breakfast 09:30 am - ETD from Diary of Ximen Hotel 10:00 am - Arrive at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall 11:00 am - ETD from CKS Memorial Hall 11:30 am - Arrive at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall 12:30 pm - Back to Ximen and Hotel 02:30 pm - Leave Hotel to explore Hotel then go to Taipei 101 03:30 pm - Arrive at Taipei 101 04:00 pm - Lunch 04:45 pm - Claim tickets via Klook 05:00 pm - Explore Taipei 101 Observatory 07:00 pm - Leave Taipei 101 07:30 pm - Arrive at Ximending Night Market/Dinner 11:30 pm - Back to Hotel

DAY 5: May 27, 2019 05:00 am - Wake Up 07:00 am - Check-out/Leave for Airport 07:45 am - Arrive at Airport 10:40 am - ETD Taipei to Manila 01:15 pm - ETA in Manila

EXPENSES

Breakfast: Buffet Breakfast in Hotel - NT$100 (PHP170)

MRT Ximen to CKS Station - NT$16 (PHP 27.20)

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall: Free

MRT CKS to SYS Station - NT$20 (PHP 34.00)

Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall: Free

MRT SYS to Ximen Station - NT$20 (PHP 34.00)

MRT Ximen to Taipei 101 Station - NT$20 (PHP 34.00)

Taipei 101 Ticket: PHP859 (via Klook)

Lunch

Fried Chicken at NT$95 (PHP 161.50)

Plain Rice at NT$30 (PHP 51)

MRT Taipei 101 to Ximen Station - NT$20 (PHP 34.00)

Ximending Night Market

Fried Chicken (NT$90/PHP153)

Mashed Potato with Cheese (NT$85/PHP144.50)

Lychee Apple Juice (NT$75/PHP127.50)

Pearl Milk Tea (NT$85/PHP144.50)

Total: PHP 1,974.20

-----

TOTAL EXPENSES:

Plane Tickets - PHP 10,291.43 / each with 20kg checked baggage + in-flight food Diary of Ximen Hotel - PHP 18,837.47 for 4 persons, 5 nights (PHP 4,709.37/ea)

Day 1 -  PHP 4, 650.15 Day 2 - PHP 1,302.20 Day 3 - PHP 1,707.1 Day 4 - PHP 1,974.20

Total: PHP 24,634.45

TAIWAN DAILY BLOG POST: 🔗 TAIWAN DAY 1 BLOG 🔗 TAIWAN DAY 2 BLOG  🔗 TAIWAN DAY 3 BLOG  🔗 TAIWAN DAY 4 BLOG 

[wheresanne]

10 Things to do in Jiufen Old Street: A Day Trip from Taipei

Jiufen Old Street (九份老街) in Taipei

An hour bus ride outside of Tawan’s capital city, this famous village shows a glimpse of northern Taiwan and Taiwanese life outside of the city. Beautiful tea houses, alleys full of food, interesting gift shops, hundreds and hundreds of red lanterns, you could experience how the Jiufen Old Street is always packed with visitors and locals.

About Jiufen Old Street (九份老街)

Jiufen is a small village in the mountains and next to the water, located an hour's drive from Taipei. Rumor has it that Jiufen is actually the village inspired in the “Spirited Away” Hayao Miyazaki movie (2001). True or not, the village does look similar to it! 

How to get to Jiufen from Taipei

Since Jiufen Old Street is a popular tourist place, you can use a public shuttle bus or by taxi or even signing up with a tour.  Remember to always use Google Maps for navigating in Taiwan!

By Train and Bus 

Take the MRT blue line to Zhongxiao Fuxing Station Exit 1, then take bus #1062 to Jiufen Old Street Station. Check the bus 1062 timetable here. 

Use Google Maps for navigating in Taiwan!

(Bus 1062 goes directly from Taipei’s Zhongsxiao Fuxing MTR all the way to the entrance of Jiufen Old Street. If you are taking the train, please note that the station is Ruifang.)

Or you could take a taxi.

How to go back to Taipei (from Jiufen Old Street)

You can take the Keelung bus 1062 back to Taipei for about a 1hr15min ride. The bus stops in front of Zhong Xiao Fuxing MRT or just take the bus to Rui Fang Station. 

Things to do in Jiufen Old Street

1.) See the water and Keelung Mountain

When you first arrive at the “Jiufen Old Street” destination, the bus or taxi will likely be on a sharp-cornered hill. You will need to walk up the hill, where you’ll see many other visitors and locals with market stands or gift shops. 

That is the green Keelung Mountain, the huge orange-roofed Hà Hải Thành Hoàng Miếu Temple, and as you walk up the hill, you can see the Shen’ao Elephant-Trunk-shaped peninsula out in the sea.

2.) Walk through Jiufen Old Street “Dark Alley” Markets and Gift Shops

As mentioned above, when you first arrive, you will have to walk up a hill lined with markets. The alleys will be jam-packed with people (or it was during the Chinese New Year when I went!) since it is the main thing to see in Jiufen. Walking through the food and gift shops in the “Dark Alley” is how to get to the famous Jiufen Teahouse!    

3.) See the famous Lantern Tea House

After you walk through the alley of markets, you’ll find the famous Jiufen Tea house! 

4.) Drink Tea, Coffee, or Eat Snacks in a Tea House

From the tea house windows or balcony (on Shuqi Road) of the tea house, you can enjoy the tall views of Keelung Mountain, the sea, or Jiufen village. A-Mei Teahouse is pictured above. I heard that you have to make a reservation online since it is one of the most famous tea houses. I just went to another tea house on this road.

5.)  Look at All the Masks and Other Interesting Shops!

6.) See the Taipei Sweet Potato & Mining Tunnels

7.) Buy some gifts or snacks in the shops! 

While I was walking through the alley and gift shops, I saw a variety of bags, magnets, key chains, pens, wooden-carved Taiwanese souvenirs, everything Taiwanese you could ever imagine. Since I didn’t have much room in my backpack for souvenirs, I only bought the Taiwanese pineapple cakes.  

Jiufen Old Street can be explored in two or three hours, here are a few other destinations you can visit nearby Jiufen! Personally, I did not visit these places below, but I wish to visit them in the future:

 8.) Send Your Wishes in Lanterns to the Skies in Pingxi

Probably crowded all the time, locals and tourists can stand on the village train tracks to release their sky lanterns, filled with their wishes. Pingxi is mainly popular for the sky lantern festival, where you can see hundreds of lanterns lit in the sky; and it’s becoming more eco-friendly or eco-conscious. (Sources: Taiwan News 2018 and Taiwan-Scene 2019)

9.) Find the Shen’ao Elephant Trunk Rock in Keelung City

I didn’t visit Keelung, yet, but I wish to find the Shen’ao Elephant Trunk Rock, and go into the small city to see the Shiqiuling Pingan Temple, Shiqiuling Fort, Fo Guang Shan Ji Le Temple, Maritime Plaza, and Wangyougu. (Source: Google Maps)

10.) Shifen Waterfall

I didn’t visit Shifen Waterfall, yet, but I wish to see the waterfalls and green scenery here!  (Source: Google Maps)

Want more Taiwan? You can read my full “15 Things to do in Taipei, Taiwan”  post or see more Taiwan photography #Taiwan on my site.

If you have any questions or recommendations, please contact me or leave a comment below! Thanks for reading! 

[kl-foodie]

RM2 Taiwanese Bubble Milk Tea Coming to KL?! This is a Dream!

RM2 Taiwanese Bubble Milk Tea Coming to KL?! This is a Dream!

Calling all bubble milk tea lovers, editor is one of them lol. Love milk tea so much that you’re willing to pay over RM10 for a cup of bubble milk tea which costs more than your meal? Well, you no longer have to at Shifen Station Malaysia!

So What is Shifen Station? Photo by E都市

If you’ve been to Taiwan, you’ve probably visited the ever famous tourist spot “Shifen.” With Shifen Station being a…

[stephanocardona]

Faces Of Taipei: Lost in Translation by budgebatalla

[stumbleimg]

Faces Of Taipei: Lost in Translation

[travelless]

Faces Of Taipei: Lost in Translation

[bloodelves88]

Trip to Taipei/Hualien/Taichung/Puli, Taiwan (Part 3)

Part 1 here (Hualien). Part 2 here (Taipei). Part 4 here (Taichung/Puli). Part 5 here (Puli). Part 6 here (Puli/Taichung/Taipei).

Day 4

Woke up around 9:30am today. One of my friends wanted to go somewhere to buy tea leaves and left earlier to buy it while we waited in the hotel room. That friend came back around 10:15am, and we left to find breakfast. We went to a bread shop and I bought a baguette sandwich and some other thing I don’t remember. 

We ate while walking, and we headed off to Pingxi/Shifen. It takes a little less than two hours to get there, so it’s a pretty long journey.

Anyway, Shifen is known for two things. Its street food and releasing sky lanterns. You’re supposed to write your wishes on the lantern, then a fire is lit under it and you release it. It floats off into the sky... never to be seen again.

We didn’t release any lanterns. 

I only bought one street food item, and it was some ice cream with peanuts wrapped in a pancake. It’s pretty nice. The ice cream isn’t really ice cream though, it’s more like some sort of sorbet. I have no idea. 

We managed to see someone’s lantern (and wishes) burn to ashes. All these lanterns are being released in between two rows of two storey buildings (photo below), so there’s always a risk of the lanterns hitting the buildings. The typhoon was also due to hit today, so it’s particularly windy. 

Anyway, for some reason we decided to go to the Pingxi waterfall first instead of having lunch. It’s 2pm now. For this whole trip, our meal times are all messed up 😅

My friend’s cap got blown away and off the bridge that goes across this lake, never to be seen again 😩. Ah well.

Another suspension bridge. This one swayed from side to side rather much. 

A small waterfall on the way to the main one.

The swing on the left oh the above photo works, so we sat on it. It’s been a while since I sat on a swing. This one isn’t as nice though. I think the single person ones are nicer.

There’s a mini street food area just before the waterfall here. 

I bought a frozen dragon fruit. I thought it was ice cream but it just turned out to literally be a frozen dragon fruit.

Papaya on the tree. People actually wrapped it up already. Lol.

Doggies! Animals are very prevalent in Taiwan. They roam around freely, and owners bring them around freely. It’s great. It’s particularly cute when their owners put their pets in their bags and carry them around. They also sit in the bags while on motorbikes. 

First glimpse of the Pingxi Waterfall. It’s really wide and majestic.

And then the typhoon hit(?) I’m not really sure if it’s the typhoon, but the rain was going sideways and the winds were really strong. Fortunately there was shelter nearby and it only lasted 10 minutes or so. 

The above waterfall photo is from above Waterfall Obeservation Area 4. We decided to go to the Natural Experience Area to see what it’s about.

It turned out to be a hut, and a pathway with named plants.

Anyway, down to the Observation Area 1.

And then Observation Area 2.

Then Observation Area 4.

You can get really close here. I love the first drop of the waterfall. It’s so neat and calm and pretty. 

Anyway, that’s pretty much it for the waterfall. It’s now 4pm and we still haven’t had lunch 😅

We went through the mini street food area and my friend suggested to eat there. I didn’t really want to, since the street food didn’t look to my liking. It was mainly fried stuff.

We continued back to Shifen. We saw a cafe and just decided to enter.

We decided to sit all the way inside the cafe... and what’s this?

A cat corner!

I was pretty amused by this cat. He kept trying to stick his paw out to grab food. I think he somehow threw some food out of his cage. Later he sticks his paw out to touch the corner of the walls. Really cute and amusing.

We ordered waffles to share, and a rice dish to eat. 

The waffles are not bad. Could have been crispier though.

A fat cat suddenly walked in o.o. I think he followed the shopkeeper in. He came out and chased the cat out.

I ordered braised pork with rice. It’s pretty good, but really filling because there’s a lot of rice.

Random cats hiding under an umbrella on our way back. There were also people releasing fireworks nearby. Didn’t manage to get a picture or video of that though.

Anyway, back to the train station, back to Taipei. We decided to change our tickets to Taichung today, since the tickets we bought weren’t actually fixed yet. It’s paid for, but you still need to go to the counter and decide on a time for the tickets you want. We decided to get the tickets for 12:31pm. And since we were back at Taipei Main Station again, we decided to walk down Taipei City Mall again. This time, the other side of it (it has 2 lanes).

Sumikko Gurashi is really popular in Taiwan. They’re everywhere. Stickers, bags, plushies, gachapon, claw machines, motorbike helmets... Understandable, since they’re so cute.

Custom skinned consoles are always a joy to look at. And look at that copper controller, it’s really sexy.

Then we came across someone dancing. He was playing Just Dance using the Kinect. The Kinect is really a wonderful piece of equipment, too bad it kind fizzed out and died. There were people behind him following the dance as well. He danced really well, he’s not some amateur.

Then we came across a retro shop. Oh boy I’ve never seen most of these before.

Ancient Relics, these things.

They also sell the games to go along with the consoles. So if you want to access some of the past, I don’t think you’ll have any issues here (I’m assuming the consoles work).

I also bought a White Blood Cell. Not an actual one, but the guy from Hataraku Saibou. 

Then, we came across an Indonesian section. I was kind of perplexed by this. Hmmm.

Interesting.

Then I saw some people carry really huge ice creams, and I tried to look for the shop. NT$35 for a double scoop at that size?! A must buy. There were three shops side by side, and one of them had a queue of over ten people, so nope.

 I forgot to take a picture before eating it, so here’s a smaller half licked one. It’s matcha on top and chocolate at the bottom.

Dinner time! We walked back to Ximending and went into one random shop.

I ate the chicken noodles, and my friends ate the other two. 

I also ordered some milk tea with pearls. I mean it’s Taiwan, the origin of milk tea. How could you not order it?

It was much later than we thought, as we spent too much time walking around in Taipei City Mall. We planned to go to the arcade at night and it closes at 11pm. It’s now 9:30pm. Yup, a messed up meal time again.

My friend left an umbrella in the shop we had dinner at, so we had to go back to find it. Fortunately, the umbrella was still there. 

Anyway, arcade time!

The unique thing about this arcade is that it has a batting cage, and a BB gun shooting range. 

My friend who’s interested in baseball went to play in the batting cages, and I went with my other friend to explore the arcade. The arcade wasn’t really interesting, the games aren’t that fun. We played the taiko drums, which wasn’t fun because it was too easy. Then my friend decided to play this game where you guide a ball through a course and try not to let the ball fall off. It’s a scam! It falls off at totally unexpected places. There’s already obvious places it could fall off from, and they aren’t easy to avoid. But they just had to make it harder with unexpected traps.

After that, we wanted to try the guns, but it was too close to 11pm and they weren’t accepting anymore players. We went down to the arcade just one level below, which wasn’t very interesting either. The doors closed to leave a small gap by then. Getting chased out.

Anyway, back to the hotel, and the end of day 4.

Part 1 here (Hualien). Part 2 here (Taipei). Part 4 here (Taichung/Puli). Part 5 here (Puli). Part 6 here (Puli/Taichung/Taipei).

[hilarytravels]

Bridges; their either connect us, or separate us. . . . . . 📱: iphone 8 📸 Credit: @hilarytravels (at Shifen Station) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3ukTNFgYUx/?igshid=1b7mu3jtsbggb

[filmnegativity]

Train Station in Shifen, Taiwan

📷: Olympus Mju II

🎞️: Superia 200

[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.