Taiwan Free &; Easy 10 days 9 nights Trip.
27March to 5April 2014.
*Note: This post is going to be very long as it is a compilation of 10 days activities and details.
*Note: Scroll down to see the important points while travelling in Taiwan.
*Note: 10 days and I spent 700 on accomodation and air tickets, 1.1k on transport, food, shopping
*Note: This is a totally own self guided tour except for certain places and all planned by my friend Jolene with help from Xinyu & Yeehui as well as ME!
*Note: There's quite a lot of grammer/vocab mistakes, I'm too lazy to check them.
*Note: All accommodation and flight tickets are booked at around 2-3 months in advance.
Places/attractions visited:
1. Cinjing Farm (Taichung)
2. Sun Moon Lake (Taichung)
3.Sunrise + Chiang Kai Sek Memorial Hall + Ximending (Taipei)
4. Leofu Village + Shi lin (Taipei)
5. Dan Shui + BeiTou (Taipei)
6. Jay Chou Restaurant + Wu fen pu + Rao he (Taipei)
7. Hualien, Taroko National Park
8. Shi fen + Jiu fen
9. Taipei 101 + Shi Da
10. Tian Wai Tian Hotpot, Ming Quan West Road.
Day 1- Cing Jing Farm (Taichung) 27March 2014.
Boarded Jetstar 3k723 flight to Taiwan, Taoyuan International Airport Terminal 1 and touched down at around 6am local time. (a review on Jetstar flight will be done on another post)
Because it was a midnight flight and Taiwan's sun rise is around 5-6am in the morning therefore the skyline from the plane window is beautiful (provided you sit on the right side of the plane, otherwise it's just pitched black). Other than the skyline, if you're a star lover then look out for them through the window, though I do not know what shape/name it is but it's just too beautiful compared to seeing them on land.
The immigration was smooth, walking distance was normal, waiting for luggage was kind of a little slow (I experienced faster pace at Seoul Incheon International Airport, Korea).
*Note: always prepared for the worst while traveling on budget airline. My luggage was stained by some ink/oil or whatever that seems black on the outside,
Upon reaching the arrival hall, my friends and I were looking for Mac and were real hungry. We too, planned our trip through online research so we though that Mac was just maybe a walking distance away. But that's not the case, most bloggers do not tell you that Mac is at Terminal 2. So we loitered much at Terminal 1 and we almost gave up looking for it until we decided to just ask around.
*Note: people at Taiwan are really friendly.
So we took this sky train from Terminal 1 to 2 for Mac breakfast which is at their basement level.
Taiwan's so call Mc muffin meal with warm milk tea @ 79TWD
Ordering Mac in Chinese was a first-time experience, you need to listen carefully to what the person says because even though you said you wanted a meal they ask you whether you want hash-brown. And no, they do not have a English menu.
After which we decided to get our easy card (mrt/bus card) @ 7-11. The card itself is 100twd and you need to top up the card with money. For us, we topped up around 400twd as suggested by the cashier, so ask them!
*7-11 is also at the basement near the Mac (Terminal 2).
Getting prepaid cards is another troublesome thing to do. You can get them at the arrival hall (available at both terminal 1 and 2). There are multiple plans for you to choose and the cost also depends on how many days you will be at Taiwan. For a 10days unlimited wifi and 500twd call credits cost around 700twd.
*Note: you need to be at least 20 years old to purchase.
Q: Can I buy the card when I'm 20 this year but I haven't had my birthday?
A: No. You have to be officially 20.
Getting to Taoyuan HSR Station
We too, collected our HSR (High-speed-rail) tickets from Taoyuan HSR Station to Taichung HSR Station @ 7-11 and you need to pay around 20twd fee for it otherwise you can collect tickets at the HSR itself.
Before going to Taoyuan HSR, you need to board this shuttle bus from the airport to the station, and this bus fare can be paid via the easy card if you have one, otherwise via cash.
*Each trip = 30twd. (available at both terminal 1 and 2), traveling time 25-30mins
Taoyuan High Speed Rail Station
Taoyuan High Speed Rail Platform and Train itself.
In Taiwan, their queuing area is very clearly distinguished with lines, and yes you queue before you board the train.
Interior of the train
They have this map in front of every seat, a guideline of where certain facilities such as toilets and doors are.
*Note: purchase your HSR tickets in advance (2 weeks) to enjoy early bird discount.
*Travel time from taoyuan HSR to Taichung HSR = 1hour.
*Departing and arrival time are indicated on ticket.
Chicken Cutlet Bento @ Taichung HSR Station @ less than 100twd
I am very surprised that their vegetables are all very nice, the taste sort of tells you it's very organic. Partly because they grow their own crops and etc.
Getting to Cing Jing Farm
1. Hire a private car 2000twd-2300twd (depends on number of passangers), any time depart
2. Take the e-go bus (fixed departing time: 1040 and more) @ 450 each, 2hours.
*You have to place some sort of booking which I forgot how. But you can ask your min su owner to help you arrange for transport.
We actually chose option 2, and the e-go bus is actually a smaller bus, those that you see in hongkong drama. I believe the bus waiting area is via exit 6 (taichung HSR), and the driver goes picking up people at different places before driving up to the mountain. Depending on the driver, our trip up to the mountain was horrible because it was too fast and there's a lot of turning around.
Starry Min su at the peak of the mountain.
Do not judge the exterior of the building until you enter it, this is what I learned there. Though the exterior may seem very dirty and old however, the interior design is really comfy and warm and nice, the contrast is too much.
Up at Cing Jing farm, the attraction you can go is the Small Swiss garden and this sheep farm. The owner of this Min su do drive you down to the attraction or at the bottom of the hill (you have to let him know in advance).
*Booking of room here is done through emailing.
Entrance to where you visit the sheep. Tickets at 160twd each.
View from the top.. You can see sheep walking around freely.
Some of the younger sheep inside the 'cage', they do keep meh-ing. and of course hard to take photos of them when they are always constantly moving.
Other than sheep, you can also take pictures with horses or ride those pony at extra cost. Moving on to Small Swiss Garden which you can get there via their bus and pay by easy card. There's 7-11 there, a small restaurant, ice cream, souvenir shops and this small that sells a lot of paper-made items such as paper made christmas tree model with LED lights.
'
Too much to choose and can't decide huh? Way more cheaper than it is in Singapore.
The 'dong guan zhu', pick whatever you like, though they taste like fish cakes to me, 10twd each.
Starry Minsu Provides free steamboat dinner to all their guest. Of course it isn't free flow.
View outside of our room @ night 8pm.
Did not managed to take a photo of the room but it looks very normal looking and we got free upgrade to a 6 people room. Outside of the room looked like a small cottage house with those french looking chairs and a small table outside for you. There's also a water dispenser just right outside.
Pretty good looking English Breakfast in the morning.
A cup of milk tea, toast with peanut butter + almond, butter + cheese. bacon bread and egg.
*Note: Steamboat dinner and breakfast are free to all guests.
*It can be very cold at night since it is a mountainous area. It was around 15 degree Celsius that day.
A group photo with the Minsu owner before we go.
Accommodation @ Cing Jing Farm: Starry Minsu http://starry.nantou.com.tw/?ptype=hotel
Day 2- SunMoon Lake (TaiChung) 28March 2014.
Likewise, arranged transport via minsu to depart for SunMoonlake which is around 1-2hour ride from Cinjing @ 450twd each.
*Note: Driver stops you in front of your accommodation
Mei Zhen Guan/House @ SunMoon Lake.
Eatery Area
Counters and entrance interior.
There seems to be only one person at the counter, the person in charge Mei Zhen, is very friendly as she introduces us to some nice local food and purchased a one day ticket for the yacht, cable car and theme park at a cheaper price (cheaper than student price), all @ 650twd.
*You can deposit your luggage while you go out and play and go back during check-in time.
The seafront buildings, and the skyline from the yacht.
Their docks were very shaky towards the noon, and me who isn't a fan of all these was super afraid.
There's 2 destinations that you can go via the yacht. You'll be stamped by the helpers over at the docks, and since there's a lot of different companies operating so you have to be careful on which yacht to board, for us we just need to recognize the taiwan flag on it.
The first destination is where you have the tea leaf/herbal egg selling for 3 @ 50twd. Or climb up the flight of stairs to where you take a picture of a big stone with the sunmoon lake carved on it. We did not go through the stairs since there's so many people crowding especially tour groups.
Second destination is where you take cable car ride up to the mountain to this village-museum with all those tribes and theme park!
*Note: Yacht are at 20mins interval
*Every yacht has it's own guide giving introduction and directions to certain attractions.
All these sky, sea and mountain that you do not see them in Singapore. (Non filtered)
From the dock itself, you have to walk towards left for around 15-20mins until you see this building. This is where you get to ride the cable cars. Don't worry, the cable cars here are not crystal clear.
Going upwards.
Another view you get to see from the cable car.
Inside each cable car there is a teddy bear sitting in it that accompany you for the ride. It used to be the anime one-piece, I guess they change it quite often.
*Note: travel time: 15mins
Spent around 400+twd to get 4 of these ducks. You know those games that you have to accumulate points then you get different prizes.... Yeah.
Besides walking around to see animals you can opt to take a 'train' that goes around the herbivore animals zone. The train travels at slow speed with a professional guide to explain the different animals and at the same time take photos!
The garlic bread for you to eat with your soup. Of course you don't get a basket of them but per piece.
I do not know the name of this but surely this is one of the least favourite. Apparently it was some veggie sauce that made it looked not so nice (by its color) however my friend said the bacon/pork over there was good. I do not recommend this.
Next, proceeding to Wu Fen Pu
Generally, this is outsidea long the main road of the shopping district. People walk along the road and likewise for other vechicles.
Alright, I know you've heard many many information about wu fen pu being a very nice shopping place etc. So imagine it like the bugis street, it looked exactly like it, just that they are all on ground level. So you walk along a stretch of road and then turn to another stretch and keep shopping.
There are a lot of stuff here, especially female clothing of all styles. Hipster, feminie and etc, most importantly not every shop is cheap. And if you're thinking of find the same piece of clothing at other shops, chances are very silm, so if you see anything that's nice just buy them. I would say the pricing are like really bugis street style, it can go as cheap as 200twd to .... I don't know where, the most expensive stuff we brought here was like 2 tops for 1000twd, this is kind of expensive.
I have this impression that Wu Fen Pu has a lot of cheap stuff and nice to shop but it doesn't live up to my expectation and that I didn't buy a lot, or not even one.
Getting to Raohe Street Night Market
Walk towards the end of Wu Fen Pu, then you'll see this Song Shan Railway Station/ Shopping Mall, then cross over and walk straight (that's what my memory tells me).
*Note: Better ask people....
The entrance, with very chinese glorious lighting and very chinatown style. At the entrance there's this selling some pepper or bun apparently it's very popular with people but too bad, there's a long queue so decided to just skip it.
*Note: this night market is a straight narrow stretch of food, clothing etc. So you won't get lost with all those turnings.
From Taipei to Hualien was approximately 2hours plus by TRA. For us it
was a morning train so we woke up early with our breakfast and just have
them on the train itself.
For us, it was around 3000twd for 4 people. You pay a deposit first and then the remaining at the end of the trip.
If you've made arrangements with Tiffany, you'll see her carry a board with your name waiting outside at the entrance of the train station. Like those drama where you see people waiting at the airport. Tiffany drives a local cab that she owns together with her husband in this line of business which is to drive tourist around, take photos and etc.
First location, some sea or rather the ocean. Can you see a light blue shade of water?
FYI, this is not sand, these are pebbles.
Another shot...
I picked out these nice pebbles but, too lazy to bring them back. Whoever found this, good luck.
The lighter blue shade is more clearer here.
WOW! If only there's a proper sky, without it looking so gloomy.
Taroko National Park.
What you'll get to see while walking inside the cave (not really a cave though)
Can you see the frog looking thing?
Again dumplings huh? Lunch was fairly simple as introduced by Tiffany where she drove up to this place and bring us in to eat these local food. You order your own base on what you like, and the menu is in Chinese.
Dumplings, cabbage, fried eggs and I forgot what chicken, they were all nice.
Rating
Food: 4/5
Ambiance: 2/5
Cost: 2.8/5
Alright, finally I have the time to kind of introduce their trains.
Finally trying their milk and pokey? (Chocolate sticks)
This is very important, not all the trains has this leg resting thing in front of you, of course with this, it's more comfortable.
These were my loots at the shop itself, kind of wanted to buy more stuff..... but....
Very much like Singapore style with all those tibits and whatever you'll see in a supermarket.
I bought this so called cheesecake from Japan out of impulse which was very normal at almost 300twd.
Outside of their supermarket there are lot of dessert retail like this above.
Check out all these cakes with super cute designs! Most of them are fruit cakes though.
Then the macaroons that you can't resist.
I bought their chocolate one @ 50twd, kind of expensive and it wasn't even half nice.
The KFC that I've been nagging to try before this trip.
Day 8-Jiu Fen + Shi Fen
OR
After getting to the top of the mountain there's this viewing deck where you can see the scenery, but apparently it's too foggy to see anything.
One thing you must not miss when you are here is this poh pia ice cream, roughly around 10-15mins of walk from the entrance and on the right.
The rest of the aunties are scooping ice cream and laying out the poh pia with peanuts, and they use a speaker to communicate so you can hear them properly, it's too noisy over there. Ice cream flavour is one thing you can't choose, vanilla and yam and one more.....
Getting to Rui Fang/Keelung
Their standard menu and you can add 55twd for another side (tofu/dumpling/etc) with water (lemontea/etc)
Getting to Mao Kong
There's this vendor thing that sells a lot of hello kitty products and no they are not cheap at all. There's also a photography area where you can take photo of a cable car decorated with hello kitty and those hello kitty decorated standing board.
*You see lesser tour groups, more of local univeristy students.
Had a tough night packing luggage and originally planned to go KBOX, kind of thankful that we didn't otherwise what happens to those luggage? I myself needed roughly an hours plus just to pack my stuff, just too hard to squeeze them together.
Other things you have to take note while travelling in Taiwan
1. There are bloggers out there saying the Youth Card is available for application at the airport, however they do not have this service anymore. You can head down to those MRT stations that is indicated with an I, with reference to the MRT map. Not only for locals but tourist also, enjoy discounts like Leofoo Village and Taipei 101, free for application. Done within 5mins and remember to have your passports
After alighting the cable car, you can have light refreshments where there's a retail selling drinks etc before you enter the tribal-museum-village (Jiu fu chun?). It's mainly about the 9 tribes in Taiwan, sort of like a introduction and also various activities they used to do like archery.
Archery Game Play @ 100twd, around 10-15 arrows.
I guess there's no talent in me when it regards to archery, just look at number 6. Fear not if you do not know to play, the person in charge will show you how. The bow is not a very modern looking one and the arrows are of plastic so it's easier and safer I guess.
Game facility among nature.
I personally feel that the theme park is quite cool where they have a few ride that was just among the village.
Some random shots about the lushness of this themepark + 'village'
It looked kind of like botanic garden just that it's more spacious and more trees and it does not look like taiwan to me.
Indoor Theme Park
This theme park is actually quite small that it only has a few games like viking ship, roller coaster, space shot etc. And of course shops selling souvenirs, food and drinks.
English house @ Lavender Garden
So not taiwan at all right! As you walk further down, exiting the theme park you will come across this lavender garden and there you see a English house far at the end. I do not know what there is inside, just too tired to explore more. Then it reminded me of the Korean drama 'you are beautiful' where the female lead dreamed of those thomas, david and someone. See it for yourself if you go there!
*Note: You have to pass through the tribal-museum-village before gong to theme park and then this lavender garden. Or you can straight away transfer to another cable car that brings you directly to theme park and lavender garden.
*If you are early and want to leave after visiting the lavender garden you can take the cable car up and transfer to another cable car (the one with teddy bear) then walk back to the dock and take the yacht back to the hotel area.
*If you are late, either wait for the last bus at around 5.45pm that goes back straight to the hotel or take the private car @ 2000twd per car back to hotel.
Random shot of street @ Sunmoon lake
Dinner for 4pax @ around 800twd.
This was introduced by the hotel person in charge where you gotta walk for about 8mins
The exterior of the restaurant where we had dinner.
Rating
Food: 4/5
Ambiance: 3/5
Cost: 4/5
Accommodation of the day: Mei Jen Guan/House @ SunMoon Lake
No 125 Chungshan Rd, Sun Moon Lake, Nantou County
Tel: (049) 2856511
*Booking via agoda
Day 3-Sunrise + Chiang Kai Sek Memorial Hall + Ximending + Taipei Main Station
Woke up before 5am to get ready to watch sunrise.
Not sure for other hotels what schedule activities they have, MeiZhen brings you to the site where you wait for sunrise. As she is very experienced in leading groups and in photography, so she has the know-how of where to get a better view.
Walking distance for around 10-15mins depending on where the person in charge brings you.
*Note: You do not need to pay extra cost for this schedule. You just need to be there and assemble at 5am.
The sky when we first reached. A little foggy and would had be able to see starsky if it wasn't. @5am plus.
When the light starts showing...
More light, clearer sky and calm water.
Was trying to capture a photo of bird flying and I ended up having this image. So tranquil isn't it?
Finally that ray of light that everyone is waiting for.
Together with the hotel person in charge, on the right.
Afterwhich, followed by a slow trekking back to hotel, catch some sleep before having breakfast. I forgotten to take an image of the breakfast but they do have pretty good selection to choose from. You can toast the bread yourself accompanied by strawberry jam/butter, chocolate/peanut jam. Or get the traditional breakfast such as porridge and salted egg with other toppings. Get a cup of milktea or soya bean or tea I guess. Everything is self-service, including of clearing the waste and putting plates back to sink.
Back to room to clear up stuff and bringing the luggage down to the counter area was such a effort thing to do. There is only stairs and it's around 4storey building, so up and down is really troublesome. However, there's lots of small little spaces that the guests can make use of, such as.....
I call this the insane bear area. Though I do not spend any time there but still look very comfy.
There's also an outdoor roof garden where you can sit there I think, but it doesn't really have any scenery to look at.
Getting to Taipei Main Station
Bought tickets a day before with the help of the hotel person in charge, walking time around 5mins and one bus ticket cost you around 300-400twd I think. The bus starts to pick people up at SunMoon Lake then to other places before it ended at the bus terminal which is just beside the Taipei Main Station.
*Note: You may want to purchase tickets earlier to secure seats.
*The bus ride from SunMoon Lake to Taipei Main Station is around 3.5hours
*You have to keep your tickets because they will collect it at the end.
*What is Taipei Main Station?
Imagine it as dhoby ghaut. It has a lot of mrt lines, on top of this, there's the high speed rail (HSR/ Gao tie) track and railway administration (TRA/ Tai Tie). And there is an underground street mall selling clothes, food, necessities, restaurant and fast food (kfc/mac/moss burger/sushi express take-out, starbucks)
After arriving the bus terminal, we got to walk to our next accommodation which is Nihao @Taipei Hostel. It takes less than 10mins to walk and it is very easy to spot, it's just beside the Cosmo Hotel.
Nihao @ Taipei is located at Cosmo Building, their reception is at 11th storey. However they do not own the whole building by themselves, there are other commercial offices and houses at different levels and also a security guard at 1st storey entrance.
This is the family room for 5pax @$158twd per night.
Quality: 4/5
Hygiene: 2.5/5
Interior: 4/5
Cost: 4/5
The actual room looked more cozy and with the help of lighting it looked less than a hostel.
Why do I rate hygiene at only 2.5?
Because through out the 7 nights we were staying there, I've spotted around 5-6 baby cockroaches. You know why cockroaches are found right, because the place is dirty. However, the room looked real clean at a glance and I do not understand why there are these creatures crawling around that made us girls screamed like hell.
*Note: Booking a private room gives you different privilege like cleaning your room everyday and twice to change your bedsheets.
There are also other rooms available if you're travelling alone or couple. Or even opt for the female/male/mixed dormitory that they have, but you only have a bed space, you got to share the toilets and stuff.
Most importantly, ther reception level, was so well decorated that you get to enjoy a little privacy.
And for gamers, there is a section of space dedicated for them, with xbox 360 and PS3 with games like FIFA, street fighters and more to choose from.
*Note: this area is open for guests, I think for 24hours? So long as you have the room card you can get in.
*Check in time is from 4pm onwards.
After depositing luggage, we decided to make a trip to Chiang Kai Sek Memorial Hall or otherwise Zhong Zheng Ji Nian Tang to see pandas! Not live ones though.... Not sure when does this exhibition going to close, better check before you go!
Getting to Zhong Zheng Ji Nian Tang
Take Mrt to their blue line and alight at Chiang Kai Sek Memorial Hall
*Remember to get your easy card by now, available at 7-11.
You can get a copy of this map at google or via the tourism center at Chevron House, Singapapore.
See this sea of pandas, too cute to resist. And that person totally ruined this image, or I'm just too lazy to crop it away.
Some other images...... There's quite a crowd here going on, partly due to weekends.
Decided to just chill by here and ate sushi that cost only 10twd per piece @ Sushi takeout/Sushi express
Getting to Xi Men Ding
Take Mrt blue/light green line and alight at Xi Men, turn right after tapping out.
Had a Japanese meal at this restaurant. By looking at the order paper just made me dizzy, everything is in Chinese. I strongly recommend people not to go this restaurant even if you're craving for Jap food. I can't remember the name but their waiter/waitress are in blue and girls bun up their hair. Their food is too overpricing and not really nice.
*Note: there's a lot of Japanese restaurant along Xi Men ding, so choose wisely! One of the Ramen shop was good (refer to day 9)
First trip to Xi Men Ding and we were just randomly roaming around no idea where to go, just checking out what they sell and etc and I do not really like this place.
1. There are students around at this plaza near a hotpot restaurant trying to sell you pouches, of course trying to aim foreigners. 3 pouches @ 900twd = around $40sgd, to later then we know that those so called pouches were actually portable ash trays. Avoid that area or just ignore them, and yes we were stupid enough to buy.
2. Caps along the street vendors are ridiculously expensive compared to other places.
However there are still nice people around, depends on your luck!
By the way, uniqlo at Taiwan isn't worth to buy, there are more expensive than Singapore.
Back to Taipei Main Station, check in to our room and then decided to play street fighter at their reception level. Then, visited the underground mall to search for food and explore since we had a lot of time. Ended up buying more sushi @10twd per piece, some local food and off we go back to our room to eat.
Much more of a sushi spree for first dinner at Taipei.
Accommodation of the day (for 7 nights): Nihao @ Taipei Hostel.
Check out their websites/facebook by searching the hostel name.
Book their rooms @ http://www.agoda.com/asia/taiwan/taipei/nihao_taipei_hostel.html
Day 4- Leofoo Village + Shi Lin Night Market
Getting to Leofoo Village
Take train to Jing an (orange line), exit the train station and look for the bus waiting area.
*Note: it does not matter that you do not have the ticket, the driver will drive you to their ticketing office and you purchase tickets there, then to Leofoo village.
*Traveling time from Jing an to Leofoo Village, 1.5-2hours
Leofoo Village offers special discount when you wear the correct color shirt for that month, for march it was green. I think the following months will be yellow and red. Take time to google and find out, because you can get 50% discount from it, and if you have the youth card* you are also entitled to discounts.
*What is youth card?
In taiwan, they have this special privilege for local and foreign students when you get to travel around enjoying discounts. So if you apply them you're entitled to their discounts and applying the card is free of charge.
*Note: many bloggers out there have mentioned applying youth card at the Taoyuan airport BUT this service is no longer available. You can apply them at mrt stations especially with the ones that are marked with an 'i' on the mrt map.
*You need your passports with you, and fill in an application form and you get the card in like 5mins.
At the Aladdin Theme, dare to sit?
I think is the most thrilling ride in this theme park.
*Note: Leofoo Village is a mixture of zoo and theme park of different themes. Personally I am more interested in those animals than these rides. Cause I simply don't have the courage to ride them.
Nuggets meal @ Aladdin Theme Restaurant @179twd
Since there are many themes going on, thus all the meals/food are all different. There's more western style and also desserts like waffles going on.
*Note: if you spent more than 200twd in a single receipt you can purchase a giraffe drawstring bag at additional 35twd.
*Take the pamphlets, read through and you will see a lot exciting stuff.
Besides walking around to see animals you can opt to take a 'train' that goes around the herbivore animals zone. The train travels at slow speed with a professional guide to explain the different animals and at the same time take photos!
See that slacking under the shelter? Bet it's too fat to get up.
Fan of santa claus? Seeing the reindeer with your eyes will mindblown you because of their actual size.
That mighty peacock, you saw?
Wondering where are the tigers and lions? Exit the train later and board this bus that travels around the carnivore zone which is at 15mins interval.
See the crowd queuing for the bus to see lions/tigers/taiwan bears?
Meanwhile, I'm looking at this porcupine...
See this taiwan black bear under the tree.
Better get away unless you want to be bitten.
So many monkeys around, with closer look you can see baby monkeys clinging onto their mum.
See that cage looking thing at far end? That is actually a more closer way to interact with animals, people and the tour guide were only bounded by a metal structure, sometimes monkeys attempt to climb onto it. And they using a tiger head to try and scare them off, which is really funny. Don't be envy of them yet, because it cost 1000twd per person and you have to book in advance.
No, this is not from discovery channel/Africa.
They like to have their ass facing us...
So many of them....
Like a boss.
For those who are a fan of Taiwan Drama, I believe you guys have watch 'Inborn pair'.
If you didn't.....
This drama talks about how the two of them get married just to grant the granny's promise. The male lead owns this Leofoo Village inside the drama (ofcourse a different name inside the drama). They used this theme park + zoo for many of their scenes, including the office.
Outside their office, if you remember this scene from the drama....
See, they still retain their office, still the same, just that more animals.
Some really cute candies I saw inside the souvenir shop.
Generally, Leofoo Village is rather moderate. I think the zoo part is really fun because afterall the zoo in Singapore, you got to pay for the train and bus to get closer to those animals. Didn't have the time to explore every inch of it. But still an enjoyable experience.
Rating
Food: 3/5
Excitement: 4/5
Cost: 4/5
Pretty reasonable price for both zoo and theme park, and the food there are generally more expensive after all it's still a theme park. Excitement given because of the animals.
Leaving Leofoo Village
You can board the same bus back to Jing an MRT station. Again, it does not matter if you do not have the tickets, because the driver will drive to their ticketing office.
*Note: Get to and fro tickets, so it saves you trouble.
Travelling time back to Jing an MRT 1.5hours
Getting to Shi Lin Night Market
Board MRT and alight at Shi Lin or Jian Tan MRT Station (red line). Exit the MRT station, walk straight and cross over at the traffic light then you will see a street of vendors and people.
*Be careful when crossing traffic and walking along the night market, only a barrier is blocking you and the cars.
Try their fried milk that is along the street, it's worth of a try, it looked like golden ball and you get three of them in a stick. 3 sticks @ 50twd.
We went down to the basement to eat more local food.
Yes, a lot of people.
Generally this is how much the local food will cost you. Do not waste the effort to look for cheaper ones or which one is nicer. It looked and tasted the same even though it's different store. If you see any empty spaces, just sit and order!
*Note: it is not hot inside, more of like a bit cooling.
Some of the local food in cooking. Everything just looked so nice to eat. I would suggest you try this and that, it's worth trying. Especially if you travel in group, do not try not order the same food of 2 plates, you won't finish. So save that money and try something different!
Fried milk ball, sausage, taiwan chicken cutlet, veggie bun, smelly tofu, meatball soup, fried oyster, mango shaved ice all at around 920twd.
Exit the basement to go on street level and start your shopping spree. Many said that this night market is boring but I felt that it isn't bad. You see people selling apparel, bags, food and more food, most importantly the price is rather reasonable.
Day 5- DanShui + Beitou
Getting to Beitou
Alight at Beitou MRT station (red line) and transfer to Xin Bei Tou MRT Station (pink line)
*Note: you have to take escalator down @ Beitou MRT and transfer train.
Walk straight when you exit Xin Bei Tou MRT station.
Train towards Xin Bei Tou, kind of a bit different
Attractions in Xin Bei Tou:
1. Outdoor hotspring
2. Hotspring Museum
3. Thermal Valley
4. Other hotspring hotspots
5. Ramen Restaurants
To get to these spaces, there's actually a overview map showing their location, otherwise walk straight, cross the road when you exit the train station. Follow the signs, if you're heading to the Hotspring Museum, walk straight, up the slope, approximately 500m.
If you're heading to the outdoor hotspring, walk straight up, pass by the hotspring museum, you'll see this place selling water and swimming costume, you can have a public hotspring there. (But we did not try, I think you need to pay)
If you're heading to the thermal Valley, it is approximately 900m away from the train station. walk further up from the public hotspring, cross the road over at the left and walk inwards.
*Note: the museum, thermal valley and other public attractions are not open on Monday(s) as they are having their own maintenance.
There's actually a lake stretching along the slope that you're walking, people do take off their shoes and put their feet in the water.
Be careful of all those rocks, it can be quite slippery.
Actually it was a Monday when we went there, so there's nothing much for us to explore which lead us to the Ramen Restaurant earlier than expected. This Ramen restaurant is located just across the street near the MRT station, and you will see a lot of people waiting for seats outside.
Their exterior of restaurant
Their signboard...
The interior.
'Xiang Wei Ramen', multiple charsiew and you can choose how spicy you want it to be.
I chose the least spicy one, because.... well, you will always have the tendency that too spicy gives stomach pains. But I recommend trying medium spicy, because least spicy was really... no taste other than miso soup.
Their noodle are really kind of ramen style and more chewy compared to Singapore, generally ramen in Taiwan are really nice.
Their fried muah chee. Worth a try, 7/5 for this dish.
Other side dishes that's worth trying are their hotspring egg and fried tofu. I suggest not to share the egg, and they are in liquid form so it's quite easy to swallow. Perhaps want to try sharing the fried tofu. If you have more budget then get more of those fried muah chee! You won't see them again in Singapore.
Rating
Food: 5/5
Ambiance 3/5
Cost: 4/5
*Note: Ramen Restaurant is roughly 5mins walk from the MRT Station.
Getting to Danshui
Alight at Danshui MRT station (red line)
Places to visit:
1. Shopping Mall
2. Danshui Street
3. Fisherman wharf
Once you exit the train station, walk through the underpass if you want to go to their shopping mall of roughly 6 storeys high. (with food, coach outlet, body shop, cosmetics, watches, bedsheets...)
*walking time of around 5mins.
*you can go for tax refund at the last storey when they issue you with necessary paperwork that you can go to airport and get tax refund back of 5%
OR
Turn left when you exit the station, you will see cafe and sea. then turn right again til you see this sign...
Entrance to this shopping district
The first few things you will see.... See the size of the squid?
Fried squid.....
When you walk inwards, you will find a lot of shops selling the local street food and their local products like the tai yuan bing and feng li shu. It is famous for their quail eggs and so on.
Quail eggs are selling @ 50twd per packet
Pork slices @ 180twd per packet (the people selling this are really nice, slow down to know why)
Other than food, there are also apparels, more of like bugis street style, caps, hair accessories, bags(male & female), cartoon paper clips and so on. It started with a long straight path where later you can turn around and explore on your own.
OR
You can choose to walk along the harbor, there are also shops selling food, clothing, souvenirs etc, just that they are facing the sea. If you walk towards the end, you will find this shop selling this vanilla/chocolate ice-cream puff @ 35twd per puff.
With one scope of vanilla ice cream inside. The puff itself is crispy and you can choose chocolate ice cream as well. When I was there, there's only 3 puff left, so faster get yours!
The exterior of the street. If you have no intention to dine in like me, you can purchase just the puff at the small little window with yellow wall. The prices are listed above, get your puff and sit along the harbor and enjoy the breeze.
Rating
Food:3.5/5
Cost: 3.5/5
Just beside the icecream puff shop is this small retail selling your childhood candies! Take some time and walk around the shop. Beware of fake cockroaches at the counter!
This shop that sells the pork slices @ 180twd each... They have multiple flavours to choose from and you can get each packet @150twd if you buy a lot from them. The best thing bout` this owner (auntie & daughter I guess) is their hospitality, because we were travelling with a lot of bags (loots from danshui) that we want to go to the fisherman wharf for dinner, the auntie gladly offered us space to put our things and drop by later to collect them. How nice of them! Of course, we kind of felt 'guilty' that we bought extra two packets from them.
*Note: you get to try all the food before buying. But don't try too much and end up not getting any.
Missing the Singapore KOI? Fear not, turn right when you exit the MRT station and grab them. The price is around the same I would say. One thing bout` bubble tea in Taiwan is that, there's a lot to choose from, and not necessary all of their milktea and other drinks are nice. Yes, I've a lot of people saying taiwan's milktea/bubble tea are nice but that's not true to all brands. Some just taste the same as Singapore's.
*Note: their milktea is very common, it's just like our milo in Singapore and they have it for breakfast too.
Our loots for today was insane (4pax)
I am sure that you've heard of the mask called 'wo de mei ren re ji', everyone said it is nice, and likewise for me my friend asked me to help her get them. They are selling 2 boxes @419twd (you can mix them). There's also a mixed version (I only see them in Taichung) of different ingredient @ 499twd, 16pieces. 1 box generally has 10 pieces. However if you get them in danshui (cosmed/watsons) you can get 2 boxes of 10 pieces @ 399twd which is 20twd cheaper.
Notice those brikenstock lying in front of the picture?
Per pair of slippers are less than 2000twd = $89sgd and they are authentic, even I myself felt that I saved so much. The second pair from the right is mine and only @ 1580twd which is around $70sgd, see how much I've saved.
*Note: Their outlet is along the straight street that I mentioned, less than 8mins work from the entrance, on the left.
*Their prices ranges with different colors I guess.
Decided to just have cup noodles for dinner cause we kind of spent over budget @ Danshui.
Miso beef noodle
The portion was really big and there's two seasoning to put in. I would recommend not to add in so much, a teaspoon size would be just fine. If you're wondering, yes there's beef inside the seasoning and yes it tasted alright, still acceptable. 55twd for this big bowl of cupnoodle.
I've tasted other brand of cupnoodle (from my friend), and I actually prefer hers. FYI, it's a orange packaging, just that I forgot the brand and it has x2 noodles, pretty much insane right? All less than 50twd.
Day6- Jay Chou Restaurant + wu fen pu + rao he
Getting to Jay Chou Restaurant
Alight at Taipei City Hall, exit 2.
Then you have to take this shuttle bus to 'Taipei Yi Xue Yuan' (Taipei Medical University, direct translate). From where you alight, turn left and walk straight to the road and then turn right. You'll come across this building (forgot whether it's a library), then continue to walk straight until you see the university.
Walk into the university entrance, into the building and exit turn right.
Jay Chou's restaurant, Mr J French-Italian Restaurant is located at first storey.
*Note: There's 3 restaurants that he own, and this that we went is 'secret themed' (his movie).
This is what you will see when you walk along the boulevard and this glass circular thing is the restaurant
First thing you go in, you'll see a lot of decorations from the secret movie.
*Note: It's better if you make reservations I think, cause the capacity is quite limited.
There are lots of awards, albums, etc displayed at the entrance, be sure to take photos with them!
Generally you can top up money to get a full set meal from appetizer to dessert with any main course chosen.
The menu....
I purposely took this screen shot is because... The restaurant itself provides free wifi for users and the password can be found on the table itself.
Here comes the appetizer salad and soup.
Don't really like their salad because the veggie really tasted super raw but the sauce (do you call it sauce?) was really awesome, it kinds of tasted like strawberry with something else but then again not quite like, a little sour and sweet. The soup was kind of like your normal campbell soup just that it's very thick, I think it was some cream of ..... mushroom or chicken I really forgot.
Shrimp with orange cream sauce.
Alright, it may not look impressive from the image but it really tasted good. You know how cream based make you feel so sick after a few mouthful of them? No it does not make you feel so sick with the orange in it, to me it tasted the best out of all the spaghetti we ordered. Anyway, a mouth of those spaghetti together with the prawn and the sauce was really marvelous.
Squid Ink Spaghetti
This tasted great also, in fact better than shrimp with orange cream sauce (but I prefer orange cream sauce), obviously you will look like you're poisoned, with all those squid ink it's hard to avoid getting your lips black.
It was some king prawn garlic spaghetti with tomato based.
Of course the prawn looked giantic (not by the photo), and I would say this was the most boring maincourse among all four. Not only it looked normal, it tasted normal, only the prawn awed us. Apparently, this was the most expensive one that cost 480twd.
Just a summary of all....
Followed by a small piece of chocolate cake as dessert.
You know this? That piano that transported Jay Chou back to 20years ago.
Oh! That scene from the movie! Yes the actual table was there but in front of a toilet....
Overall look of the restaurant itself.....
Mr J French Italian Restaurant @ Taipei Medical University 2
250 Wuxing Street
+886-2-2778-7833
Rating
Food: 3.8/5
Ambiance: 3/5
Cost: 3.5/5
Next, proceeding to Wu Fen Pu
Getting to Wu Fen Pu
Alight at Hou Shan Pi MRT Station, exit 1.
*Note there are a lot of streets within wu fen pu and be careful of motorcycles.
Alright, I know you've heard many many information about wu fen pu being a very nice shopping place etc. So imagine it like the bugis street, it looked exactly like it, just that they are all on ground level. So you walk along a stretch of road and then turn to another stretch and keep shopping.
There are a lot of stuff here, especially female clothing of all styles. Hipster, feminie and etc, most importantly not every shop is cheap. And if you're thinking of find the same piece of clothing at other shops, chances are very silm, so if you see anything that's nice just buy them. I would say the pricing are like really bugis street style, it can go as cheap as 200twd to .... I don't know where, the most expensive stuff we brought here was like 2 tops for 1000twd, this is kind of expensive.
I have this impression that Wu Fen Pu has a lot of cheap stuff and nice to shop but it doesn't live up to my expectation and that I didn't buy a lot, or not even one.
Getting to Raohe Street Night Market
Walk towards the end of Wu Fen Pu, then you'll see this Song Shan Railway Station/ Shopping Mall, then cross over and walk straight (that's what my memory tells me).
*Note: Better ask people....
Dumping in mouthbite size.
This is really nice. You pay around 35twd for 8-9piecs. And 50twd for 12 pieces, super worth it. Rating for this will be 5/5, the best dumplings I've tried in Taiwan, be sure to buy them. It's rather close to the entrance, around 3mins walk only.
*Note: this night market is a straight narrow stretch of food, clothing etc. So you won't get lost with all those turnings.
Herbal soup? With ..... 'pai gu'. Good for health I would say, and it doesn't really have those thick herbal smell/taste
Again, the mango shaved ice. However I do not like this version simply because it was too sweet, it's as if the condensed milk doesn't need money. I recoomend those at Shi Lin Night Market.
So we kind of walk along this long stretch of happening stuff, stopping by to see items to buy. Of course there are also a lot of other food like chicken cutlet, sausages, fried egg yolk, dumplings, mainly all those night market food.
There's this small retail selling socks, 6 pairs for 100twd, which I think is worth a buy especially if you like those very cute and cartoon socks! Of course there's like plain basic ones.
Took a cab back to Taipei Main Station as we want to try their cab. It cost around 200twd plus from Rao he back to Taipei Main Station. Many have said that their cab is expensive which I totally do not agree, I would say it's still a little cheaper than Singapore and the charges work the same as Singapore, by meters and duration.
Back to room early that night because tomorrow will be a long day............
Day 7-Hualien, Taroko National Park + Shopping around Taipei Main Station/ Shing Guang Shopping Centre
Hualien is not at Taipei people...
Getting to Hualien
Board the TRA at Taipei Main Station to Hualien TRA Station.
I think you can board at Songshan (not too sure)
TRA = Taiwan Railways Administration which is different from THSR= Taiwan High Speed Railway
Although I do not get the differences.... Get your tickets earlier through webstie by simply just googling them, and enjoy early bird discounts or buy them at full price at any railway stations.
To get to Taroko National Park you have to hire a private car/cab through online.
What
we did was get in contact with Tiffany from facebook (just google
tiffany taiwan facebook), from there you can send them a private chat or
emailing them that you're interested in this particular private tour
and select the activities/venues you wish to visit. Of course with more
venues come with higher price.
For us, it was around 3000twd for 4 people. You pay a deposit first and then the remaining at the end of the trip.
What we chose was to go to the beach (I fogot the name) then to Taroko National Park which was around a 5-6 hours activity.
If you've made arrangements with Tiffany, you'll see her carry a board with your name waiting outside at the entrance of the train station. Like those drama where you see people waiting at the airport. Tiffany drives a local cab that she owns together with her husband in this line of business which is to drive tourist around, take photos and etc.
Alright, she is a very friendly person and in real she does not look anything like the display picture of her facebook, she looked much more younger and prettier I think she was 48 or 50 something but she doesn't look so old to her actual age.
Why is there two shades of blue in this ocean? Because there's water coming from two different places, one from the Japan and the other from China. I think.Or somewhere nearby and because of the difference in temperature. Tiffany will explain this!
Tiffany helped us to take photos whenever we stopped and get out of car to view the scenery. She also gave us free time to take photos on our own while she waited for us inside her cab. You can really depend on her to take nice photos as she finds very good angle and I think her photography skills are good.
There was once where we tried a jumpshot in front of a bridge, across the road. As you all should know, jump shots ain't easy to take and it's hard for us to be all in the air at once. So we kind of took around 10 times or more, just to get a perfect one.
*Note: All these photograph taking etc does not comes with extra charges.
Funny how I show you a cave right. Tiffany will drive up to this mountain and also loan the helmets for us, helmets as in those construction style helmets but in nicer color. Reason being is to protect yourself from those falling rocks. And this cave is the start of an adventure where you walk along this area and get to see the different landforms of this National Park etc.
Rating
Food: 4/5
Ambiance: 2/5
Cost: 2.8/5
Food was really nice but the interior wasn't really nice though and the cost was kinda a bit expensive at around almost 1000twd for all.
Because we spent quite fast walking on our own, and eventually we were early. We actually planned to visit the night market over here but Tiffany told us that there's nothing much here and is very small. So if you plan to vist the night market, I suggest you don't either.
By the time we ended it was around 3pm plus where Tiffany brought us to a smaller train station to help us change tickets with earlier timing to go back Taipei earlier. During the ride inside the car, she told us a lot of hilarious stuff like other tourists that she brought before and discussing about SK ll products. And finally drove us back to Hualien Railway Station.
I personally, really like her services, no wonder it is highly recommended at other blogs also. If you happen to visit Hualien do contact her! And you can see all those photos about Taroko National Park at her facebook page, probably you will see our jumpshots also.
Most of their trains comes with 7-8 cabins with all them looking like this. And between cabins itself there are toilets for you to do your business and so on.... And since there are a lot of these trains in Taiwan, so not all of them are the same looking, some looked more newer and some were just ...looked a bit old but still comfortable.
How your seats will look like with the tables all laid out. There's a thing beside the window where you can just push it down and put your bags there. You'll know when you're there.
Some a random ticket on that day back to Taipei. Generally all their tickets looked different which I don't know why. And all of their timing of arrival and departing are very accurately, so you must be on time so as not to miss a train!
Upon reaching Taipei Main Station, we went to find this 'wei feng guang chang' to buy the taiyang bing and others....
*Note: Do not buy too early during your trip cause you won't be eating them yet!
*Note: Do not buy too early during your trip cause you won't be eating them yet!
Apparently Taipei Main Station does not only have an underground street with retails, it also has this upper levels with restaurants, more retails and local products.
What is so nice about this brand?
The packaging itself is very nice and no doubt their pastries are so nice. It was recommended by the Taiwan's president or something I guess.
The packaging itself is very nice and no doubt their pastries are so nice. It was recommended by the Taiwan's president or something I guess.
*Note: There are a lot of brands selling feng li shu and tai yang bin, so you really got to do some research about which ones are nice. Because their prices can ranges a lot.
Samples from the internet.
I bought another box which is red bean filling, it was kind of nice, away from the classics, suitable for those who do not like milk-related pastries. One box of them generally cost around 310twd to 360twd. They are also selling mixed ones which cost around 700twd, I think. And if your total cost exceeds 3000twd, they can help you to do tax refund immediately. They also offer help by putting them in a box so that it's easier at the immigration and lighten your luggage. Not sure if they do these services for you at other outlets.
You can check out their website @ http://www.vigorkobo.com/front/bin/home.phtml
To our surprise, there's MUJI in Taiwan which was cheaper than Singapore. So, I myself decided to splurge since I didn't spend much through out the trip. It is located a storey above the level selling the taiyang bing
Then we went to this shopping mall, Shing Guan Shopping Mall (or whatever) which is directly opposite the Taipei Main Station. You can get access from the underground street of the station itself, follow the signs or go to street level and cross over the road.
But to our surprise, the shopping mall wasn't what we expected it to be, it has a lot of brands but more of Taiwan brands that we do not know much of. As expected, the first storey are all the cosmetics brand and upper levels are more of apparels and restaurant. We went up to the 7th storey and came down like lightning and went down to their basement. Like a typical basement, there are a lot of food and of course a super market! Like finally, 7 days in taiwan we went to a supermarket. By the way their biggest supermarket chain is carrefour but I don't think this is.....
I've been wanting to do this for a very long time. So I just decided to do it our of souvenir sake @150twd, it's at the underground street of Taipei Main Station. Just walk along until you find a lot of stickers there.
Family meal at around 200-300twd for 4 people. You can choose 2 sides (fries/popcorn chicken/pepsi/etc), I would say it's very money-worth however there's no chilli!
*Note: there's no chilli sauce in Taiwan, only tomato and whatever sweet&sour.
Their chicken does not comes with two flavours, cripsy or original, no none of these. I would say the taste is really different, more of like a little spicy and cripsy at the same time but tasted none like original. Their fries are the Mac's CNY twister fries, their popcorn chicken was better than Singapore and I've no comments for the nuggets.
Another round of dumplings, looked and tasted like some Japanese's restaurant, nice but not better than the ones at Raohe. (this was bought from a shop downstairs of the hostel that sells breakfast in the morning and dumplings/chong you bing/etc from afternoon)
Day 8-Jiu Fen + Shi Fen
Getting to Jiu Fen.
Purchase your tickets at the railway station and board the train then alight at RuiFang
*Note: this is not via the MRT/THSR/TRA, it really is a local train.
It works the same way as MRT, just that you can board it at TRA and the tickets are lot cheaper, similar to MRT pricing.
Time travel=50-60mins, trains at around 1hour interval.
The arrival/departure area.
After alighting at RuiFang, exit the station and buy the Pingxi one day ticket at the counter.
The one day Pingxi Tickets.
You can check the arrival/departure time of various stations at the visitor centre which is just beside the seating area. With an indicated I.
Interior of their local train....
They like to make their trains colorful and very cute, which I don't know why.
Arriving at Shi Fen Station after 40-50mins from Rui Fang.
The street along Railway track.
There are some shops selling food and water, souvenirs along the way but the most common ones will be people along the street asking you whether you want to lit up a 'tian deng'.
So, we did ours at 200twd and we missed the opportunity to let go of it at the same time due to a sudden wind that made us all panic. The person in charge will give you the 'tian deng', clipped properly and you write down whatever at a corner, when you're done they will bring it to the track itself, and help you take photos of it (all sides) when you're carrying it at different corners. Together, everyone will let go of it after lighting the fire, just too bad for us. There will also be another person to help you take photos before and when it's flying.
Then it just flew somewhere over the mountain.
Fried Rice Chiken @ 50twd
At first we bought one of this fried rice chicken to share among us but it was too nice that we bought another one and was almost late for our train. What a panic attack.
Getting to Jiu Fen
Board train at Shi Fen back to Rui Fang (for us), exit the train station and cross over the road to take a bus ride up to Jiu Fen.
Straight away cross the road after exiting train station and take bus ride up to Jiu Fen.
Time travelling on bus: 20mins plus.
*Note: Jiu Fen is located on a mountain itself, not directly beside Shi Fen.
Tried their 'Ji Dan Gao' @ 20/35twd.
I bought this from a person whom had hearing problems, yea.... This is different from Singapore where ours is more of fried version and Taiwan's is more of steamed version, so generally more healthy and is not as sweet.
How their bus looked like, and no you can't eat inside.
Then this bus stop where we alighted.
The entrance to the old street.
It was really crowded.
I do not recall any apparels shop here but more of those snacks, their local food, and then those night market food. There's a lot of tourist groups along the way, and it is quite narrow so normally you got to walk in a single line.
This bubble tea shop on the left tasted almost the same as gongcha which is just near the viewing deck. One big cup @ 75twd (we brought twice cause it's too nice to resist) The fried chicken, more of popcorn style is selling at 65twd for a smaller portion, not too bad but one very irritating thing is that there's bones inside.
4/5 for bubble tea and 3.5/5 for fried popcorn chicken.
If you walk further, you'll start to see more of restaurants with double storey 'house-looking building', all of them are well decorated, I noticed they really like wood flooring a lot. However, you have to spend a minimum of 110twd per person otherwise they are not doing your business. So we gave it a miss, almost all restaurants over here has this minimum spending policy.
So decided to just crash at some .... under the tent with all those night market food. I would say.... the night market food ain't as nice as those at Shi Lin Night Market. Though it cost almost the same price. There's also a visitor centre nearby where you can charge your phone and rest for free. Of course, not for over night stays but for those short breaks.
This uncle doing his job ..... How do you call this making those peanuts?
This plate just for photographer's sake.
The end product wrapped with a plastic.
Mouthful of peanuts and ice cream whenever you bite it.
Rating
Food: 4/5
Cost: 3.8/5
I kind of forgotten the cost, but it was rather cheap and you pay and collect the change yourself.
When you exit the street, turn right and you will see this slope going upwards with a 7-11. Cross over to the left and walk straight up until you see a bus stop.
Getting to Rui Fang/Keelung
Board the bus over at the bus stop, apparently there's an uncle shouting where does the bus go, so you just follow the uncle up the bus.
Travel time to Rui Fang: 20-30mins
Travel time to Keelung: 60mins
We intend to visit Keelung but the weather wasn't good so we just went straight to the train station.
Getting to Keelung Train Station
When you alight, walk straight under the shelter and cross over to train station via overhead bridge.
Getting to Taipei via Keelung
Buy your tickets at railway station (better if you buy to and fro tickets)
*Note: the tickets do not indicate the arrival time of your train so you can take whichever at different timing
Always check with the customer service centre for the correct train code.
Travel time: 60mins
We went to Xi Men Ding again, this time to get nails done (my friend) and buy Kanken.
Getting to Xi Men Ding
Board MRT and alight at Xi Men MRT STation.
The Kanken in Taiwan is selling 2000 per classic bag, all too cheap to resist.
While my friend is getting her nails done.... we went to have dinner and followed and satisfy our starbucks cravings.
2nd storey @ Starbucks
The starbucks at Xi Men Ding is like 3Storey high, so we wne to the most upper level with cushion seats.
All of these that cost less than SGD$15.
Followed by an impromtu dinner with Ramen
The display outside of the store.
The interior, it is kind of a small restaurant and again there's a minimum spending policy here.
Alright it doesn't look as attractive as the one I had in BeiTou and 1 set of this cost around SGD$12.
Rating
Food: 3.5/5
Ambiance: 3/5
Cost: 4/5
Decided to try this when I saw it at 7-11, it's 55twd.
However, this taste really tasty nothing like a real tequila shot, with an intense burning that followed which kind of help me sleep that day.
Day 9-MaoKong + Taipei 101 + Shi Da
Board MRT make transfer to brown line and alight at Taipei Zoo MRT Station.
The taipei zoo and MaoKong is totally separated. One towards the left and the other to the right when you exit the train station.
We reached there at around 12noon and we skipped the cable car ride with the crystal clear 'floor' because there's too many people and we decided to take the normal one but the queue was just too crazy. In the end we missed all the cable car rides.
MaoKong Cable Car
Neoprints with hello kitty decorated! One of these cost 100twd, expensive right, we took 4 of them.
There's a table of different designs that you can choose from. After you choose they will lead you to the machine and you just have to pay via cash and take it like a neoprint machine.
Getting to Taipei 101
Board and make transfer to red line and alight at Taipei 101 MRT Station (or something, )
Taipei 101
Interior, the higher the shops, the more expensive it is.
Ding Tai Fung
As expected, there's too many people and we just get a queue number and had 1hour of shopping time.
Fried Rice, more oily than Singapore's.
Pork Cutlet
Xiao Long Bao
Siew Mai? I forgot what this is.
Some soup...
Rating
Food: 4/5
Ambiance: 3/5
Food: 4/5
For four person we spent around 1600twd, which I felt that was alright, at least cheaper than Singapore I felt.
Left at around 5pm plus for Shi Da
Getting to Shi Da
Board and alight at Taipower Building Station, exit 3.
We were kind of confused because we did not see any night market style after exiting the train station, it was more of alleys and we decided to just randomly ask strangers. The whole area is the night market itself, so we decided just to follow the crowd, through alleys and then we see what seems to be like a shopping district rather than a night market.
Honestly, they are more apparels shops than those food vendors and I really like this place! Especially their bags, majority of them are really nice and I don't think you can find them in Singapore. Their clothes are also cheap but there are repeating ones and the prices do differ a bit.
*Note: Since this area are more of like shopping within alleys so just keep turning and walking straight to explore!
Day 10- Tian Wai Tian Steamboat + Goodbye Taiwan!
This is where we normally have our breakfast, just downstairs of the hostel, too convenient. The auntie even gave us discount for our last two breakfast meal there, so kind of her.
Taiwan's carrot cake with sauce @35twd.
Normally I ate this for breakfast and carrot cake with eggs are really nice, not only it's cripsy at the same time you get the real carrot cake taste.
Chicken Toast @50twd
All of these with another cup of milk tea is like a perfect breakfast in Taiwan. I did not get to eat those 'you tiao' cause I don't see them around actually.
Went to Tian Wai Tian Steamboat Restaurant
I forgot which station we went and my friend found this via internet.
Their Haagen Dazs ice cream are free flow!
Chocolate + vanilla + cookie & cream
Their wide selection of steamboat food.
Don't forget about those dessert!
Looked kinda alright but is really good.
You can choose 2/3 soup base and being the first customer and it's quite empty therefore the service is quite fast. However you have to approach the waiter/waitress to get pork/chicken/beef. I do not whether there's a time limit or not but we spend roughly an hour plus there.
Tian Wai Tian Steamboat Restaurant
Weekdays lunch: 400twd plus
Weekend lunch: 570twd after gst/service charge.
The Haagen Dazs ice cream has already won my heart.
Rating
Food: 4/5
Ambiance: 3.5/5
Cost:4/5
*Note: From here taking a cab back to Taipei Main Station cost around 150twd.
Last walking around at Taipei Main Station, buying all the things that we want to eat etc and went back to hostel to rest before we leave for the airport.
Does it looked like they belong to 4 people?
Getting to Taoyuan Airport Terminal 1
Purchase bus tickets from Guo Kuang.
From Cosmo Hotel, turn right walk along the street until you see the bus terminal there and buy their tickets, roughly 8-10mins of walking
Traveling time to airport: 60mins
OR
Purchase THSR tickets at Taipei Main Station, at their HSR counters and take HSR to Taoyuan Railway Station.
Travelling time: 20mins
After tapping out, turn left (you'll see the China Airlines Shuttle Bus service counter), head to that direction and exit, walk straight, you will see buses waiting there.
Go to the first counter and buy bus tickets from them or you can just use the MRT card.
Travelling time: 20-30mins, 15twd.
*Note: the buses goes to both terminals, so do not worry.
Departure Hall
Counter 6 to check in
Were there an hour before check in time and we just stood there and queue, we were quite in front so we didn't need to wait too long for check in. Meanwhile we went to weigh our luggage/do tax refund in pairs. We were super worried that the luggage will exceed the limit and guess what, 4 people with 79kg worth of items. I was kind of surprised that mine is only 16kg, which I expected around 18kg.
We had some problems during our check in but not a major one (I will elaborate in another post: Jetstar budget airline review)
Then to exchange our left over taiwan cash and get some more starbucks and off we enter the immigration. I was there worrying that they wouldn't allow me to pass through because of the 6breads in my bag. I will elaborate why I like them so much, scroll down for more details.
On the way to the departure waiting area was a killer, there was nothing much to look at, nothing much to eat. Don't even mention having starbucks or other fast food after immigration. There's only a small pathetic looking taiwan not so restaurant where you can get noodles/sandwhiches.
Then we had some problems flying Jetstar Airlines again (I will elaborate in another post: Jetstar budget airline review)
Chicken Rice with Miso flavour @ SGD$12
The result for being too hungry and wanting to try the airplane food. Be careful when flying Jetstar and always expect the worse (I will elaborate in another post: Jetstar budget airline review)
And zoooooooooooooooom, goodbye Taiwan!
*
Why I love their bread so much?
Check out GaKuDen Bakery @ Taipei Main Station near exit 3.
I'm sure they have other outlets out there but I'm not sure where. All of their breads looked super awesome and some of them are super nice.
That one on the left is their No1 Cheesy Bread, yes it's really nice.
This chocolate bread is the one I love the most, with a chocolate cream inside, wow too nice. 45twd
They also have the vanilla version.
Cheese sticks at Ding Gua Gua @50twd. Similar of KFC outlet, they sell chicken etc.
Sushi Express-Take out. 10twd per piece
The sushi that I definitely missed, too cheap, very nice, so worth it, won't this cheap in Singapore. Highly reccommend to everyone to get their sushi. We almost have it everyday.
*
2. Always stand on the right on the escalators or staircases.
3. If there's elderly on the trains, it is a good habit to offer them your seats.
It's not like in Singapore, where in Taiwan, you seldom see elderlies standing, that is their way of culture. And they do have piority seats like in Singapore.
4. When walking around night markets/wu fen pu/ etc
Beware of vehicles driving around, the road is not just for humans but also the motors.
5. Beware and be careful while crossing road
They have a timer for green light too, however their roads ain't as simple as ours. Some drivers still drive during green light and do look out while you're crossing.
Those who likes to jay walk right, you should not do this in Taiwan because their traffic is very messy, even I who passed my driving license don't understand how their roads work
6. Always ask if you're lost or etc.
The people there are very friendly, don't be afraid to ask for directions.
7. DO NOT WASTE FOOD.
Taiwan is a country that values resources and their recycle work is very impressive. You'll be asked to finish the food, I get it once.
So, do not order too much in case you can't finish. Always share with your friends.
8. Their food portion is very big.
You see their chicken cutlet in televisions/online? It's as big as a person's face! Two of us can't even finish them, just share with your friends and get the taste of it first.
9. It's hard to find dustbin in nightmarkets
You hardly see any rubbish bin around in nightmarkets, what you can do is ask whether they can help you to throw. Yes they do help you, PROVIDED YOU FINISH YOUR FOOD.
10. They do not like China-Chinese.
Well.... I shall not elaborate, you should know the reason why.
11. There are a lot of staircases especially MRT exits
Be prepared to climb stairs even if you're unwilling. You have to climb up the stairs at Xi Men Station to get to Xi Men Ding. And a lot of Taichung's Min su doesn't have lifts. So you have to climb up and down, it becomes worse with your luggage with you.
12. Always be punctual when you're taking HSR/TRA/Local trains
Their trains in generally only stop for roughly a minute or two. Usually they will arrive 5mins before departure time and they really do leave the station on time and get to the destination on time too.
13. Do not anyhow flush down toilet papers or pads into the toilet bowl
Places in Taichung does not really allow you to do these, they are more of lacking behind when compared to Taiwan. You do this and good luck to you, no toilet for you to use. Usually there will be a sign telling whether you can do so or not.
14. Do not visit zoo or other tourist attraction on a Monday
Most likely it will be closed.
*
Lastly I will be doing on a review on flying with Jetstar Airlines, and talk about some of the problems we met. This will be on another post, as soon as I'm done with this, I'll post a link over here.
1. Baggage problems
2. Flight Delays
3. Airplane food
A.
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