It had been around 5 months since I came back from my Taiwan trip with two of my friends. It was my first solo overseas trip with friends and definitely an interesting and memorable one. I can’t wait to share my adventures with you guys!
Hmm, as you guys may know, I don’t really blog so I am not really sure how I should go about doing it because there are way too many experiences that cannot be put into words. But I will try my best with all the photographs that I had taken. Yeah so let’s go!
It was initially a 5-day trip but was extended for 4 more days at the very last minute on 8/8 due to Typhoon Soudelor. Well, if you are interested to know more about how we deal with the typhoon, do continue to read! And yes, the saddest part is that we missed SG50…
We originally planned a 4-day itinerary in Taipei and 1 day itinerary in Taichung but we realized that we don’t really have enough time for a 1-day round trip to Taichung. Furthermore, it was not really worth the train ride to and fro Taipei and Taichung so we decided to remove Taichung from our itinerary. It was more of a free and easy trip despite the itinerary we planned beforehand due to many unexpected circumstances.
Nonetheless, if you are wondering how and where to take the train from Taipei to Taichung, I will still tell you about it! From Taipei Main Station (臺北車站), purchase the train ticket for Taiwan High Speed Rail (台灣高鐵). It should cost around TWD675.
Day 1: Singapore > Ximending (西門町) > Tamsui (淡水) > Ximending (西門町)
Airline: Scoot
We took the midnight flight and reached around 6am in the morning at Taiyuan International Airport (臺灣桃園國際機場). The duration of the flight is about 5 hours.
There is a shop that sells data SIM card in the airport but it opens at 8am. Since we reached too early, we decided to get it after that when we reached our hostel instead. (However, I would advise you to get it from the airport, continue reading to find out why.)
Once you arrived, there will be many cabbies asking to give you a ride. Take the cab if you are rushing for time, if you are not, why waste your money on the cab fare when you can take a bus at a much cheaper price. Bus 1819 operates 24 hours a day at an interval of 15 minutes and it gets you from Taoyuan Airport to Taipei Main Station (臺北車站) where you can transfer to other trains to reach your destinations. The ticketing and boarding area is located at the bus terminal. Purchase your ticket at a price of TWD125 and the trip is around 55 minutes.
For more information: http://www.taoyuan-airport.com/english/Buses/
At Taipei Main Station, we carried our luggage and walked through the station to find the Taipei Metro ( 臺北大眾捷運系統). Be careful not to lose your way at Taipei Main Station because it looks like a maze! Taipei Metro works just like the MRT system in Singapore as you can see below.
This is the logo for Taipei Metro. Do follow the signs!
For more convenient transportation, purchase EasyCard (悠遊卡) at MRT stations or 7-11. It works just like our EzLink Card, topped up and scanned. We were advised to purchase it at Ximen Station (西門) because they are able to refund us the remaining money in the card when we leave. So we purchase the 1-way ticket from Taipei Main Station to Ximen Station. It is actually a plastic blue token in which you scan when you enter and drop it into a slot when you exit. Remember to follow the signs to see which platform you should go to! Do take a metro map at the Visitor Counter for your convenience!
Hostel: Ximen Taipei Dreamhouse
Address: No.1, Ln. 25, Kangding Rd, Ximending, Taipei, Taiwan 10843. Nearest MRT: Exit 1, Ximen MRT Station
We reached Ximending at around 8am and we went searching for our hostel. As expected, the streets are very messy there and it is thus important to screenshot your map in your phone beforehand. As you can see below, this is my hostel. You can’t really notice it from the outside so do be careful not to miss it! The hostel is a little too small for my liking but it was clean and neat. We had a big shock when we saw the lift. It was a small rectangular shaped lift, fitting the 3 of us and our luggage just nice. Such a pity I did not take a photo of it due to the limited space. We left our luggage in the hostel since our check in timing was 2pm and decided to walk around Ximending.
It was still very early and most of the shops are not opened yet. I remembered walking aimlessly along the streets, totally unsure of what to do next and we saw the popular Yong He Dou Jiang Da Wang (永和豆漿大王). It sells traditional Taiwanese breakfast such as soymilk, pancakes, eggrolls etc. So far, their soymilk are the best out of the various stalls I have tried. Despite the long queues, waiting time is actually quite short. Highly recommended!
Yong He Dou Jiang Da Wang (永和豆漿大王) (Many outlets)
Address: No. 30 Hankou Street Zhongzheng District, Taipei. Nearest MRT: Exit 6, Ximen MRT Station
So after our breakfast, we walked around aimlessly again. This was the bad part about taking midnight flight because all the shops are not opened yet. Luckily, we chanced upon a cinema and we decided to catch Mission Impossible 5 at TWD200. I can’t remember the name of the cinema but there is quite a lot of cinemas in Ximending so you will definitely find one when you walk around. We feel bad for all the Mission Impossible lovers out there because we actually fell asleep while watching the movie. The movie is nice but we were really super tired from our midnight flight.
We spent about 2 hours watching the movie and then went for our lunch at Ya Rou Bian (鸭肉扁). They have very good reviews online, however, I personally think that it was overrated. The food are too oily and we had a hard time chewing the goose. Do give it a try if you want!
Ya Rou Bian (鸭肉扁)
Address: Section 1, Zhonghua Rd Wanhua District, Taipei, Taiwan 108. Nearest MRT: Exit 1, Ximen MRT Station
Next, we had our afternoon ‘dessert’ at Ximen Mango Shaved Ice (西門町芒菓冰). It is a lovely 2-storey place with both indoor and outdoor tables. I would definitely love to sit at the balcony if the weather was not hot that day. The shaved ice is also the best out of those I have eaten. Miss it so much!
Ximen Mango Shaved Ice (西門町芒菓冰)
Address: No. 17, Hanzhong St Wanhua District, Taipei, Taiwan 108. Nearest MRT: Exit 1, Ximen MRT Station
After checking in, we went to 7-11 to purchase our data SIM card but it was sold out. We went to a few other 7-11 and we got so worried when all of them said that it was sold out. (I do not know why.) Luckily one of them introduced us to FarEast Tone (遠傳). It is a shop like Singtel in Singapore. Do remember to bring your passport, IC, driving license to purchase the data SIM card as they require us to produce at least 2 of them.
We then made our way to Tamsui Station (淡水) via Taipei Metro. Take the red line all the way to Tamsui Station. There is a bus you have to take to 淡水漁人碼頭 . You will be greeted by a scent of sea smell when you alight!
We took the bus back to 淡水老街 shop and have our dinner. (It was a few stop before Tamsui station if I’m not wrong.) We also bought Taiwanese Ginger Tea (姜母茶) over there. The shop owners are very friendly. Since all 3 of us bought, they gave us discounts and free packets!
Day 2: Ximending (西門町) > Taipei Main Station (臺北車站) > Hello Kitty Cafe (凱蒂貓餐廳) > Wu Fen Pu (五分埔) > Ximending (西門町)
We started our day with the traditional breakfast again at Mai Er Mei Breakfast House (麥而美漢堡店)! Not as good as Yong He though!
Mai Er Mei Breakfast House (麥而美漢堡店)
Address: Along Cheng Du Street. Nearest MRT: Exit 1, Ximen MRT Station.
After that, we went to Taipei Main Station for some shopping crave! There are some shopping malls outside and at the basements that sells local products and cheap clothing, shoes, accessories etc. Do spend some time walking around to find more cheap stuffs for your souvenirs! I remembered buying lots of shoes and cute socks here!
For our lunch, we went to Hello Kitty Kitchen and Dining (凱蒂貓餐廳) located at 忠孝復興 (Zhong Xiao Fu Xing Station). It was a short walk from the station. The prices are slightly more expensive since it is a cafe. However, the portion are considered quite big for the prices. It is also another popular cafe that I find it rather overrated because the food are not really very nice.
Hello Kitty Kitchen and Dining (凱蒂貓餐廳)
Address: No. 90, Section 1, Da’an Rd, Da’an District, Taipei City, Taiwan 106. Nearest MRT: Exit 3, Zhong Xiao Fu Xing MRT Station
We headed to Wu Fen Pu (五分埔) for some shopping spree again! It is located at Hou Shan Pi Station (後山埤) and it is about 5 minutes walk from there. It basically looks like the bigger size of Bugis Street, just that there is only the ground floor and it totally looks like a big maze to me. There is a lot of warehouse shops and the clothes they sell are really very cheap and affordable. But I find their clothes different from the styles we usually wear in Singapore, thus I didn’t really buy a lot from there. Other than that, feel your feet gets numb and your eyes get blur as you walk through the maze!
We headed down to Rao He St. Night Market (饒河街觀光夜市) which was just further down the road for our dinner. We ate street food and continued buying more cheap stuffs! You can also alight at Song Shan Station (松山).
Day 3: Ximending (西門町) > Leefoo Village Theme Park (六福村) > Shi Lin Night Market (士林夜市) > Ximending (西門町)
So the next day we dedicated the whole day for Leefoo Village Theme Park (六福村), which is located super far away from the city area. There is a e-go bus outside Jing An Station (景安) that takes you to the theme park. But do check and purchase the ticket beforehand as the bus schedule is quite messy. For us, we panicked as we did not buy any ticket beforehand. Luckily, a cabbie proposed to send us there with the other passengers and they helped us to purchase the theme park tickets too. They even provide return trip back, thus we went ahead with it. It was a 1.5 hour ride and we slept in the cab. Quite a fun day despite having rained the whole afternoon and got us drenched.
Took a train ride to see these animals!
Look out for the bus to take in order to see these animals! Located near the train ride. Disappointed because it was raining since typhoon was coming~
We took the cab back to the city and headed to Shi Lin Night Market (士林夜市), which was at Jian Tan Station (劍潭). There are super lots of shops for clothing and stuffs too. Be careful not to get lost in there!
Photos credited to 抖后 who helped me with all the food photos!
Went back to Ximending for supper at Ah Zhong Main Xian (阿宗麵線).
Ah Zhong Main Xian (阿宗麵線)
Address: No. 8-1, Emei St, Wanhua District, Taipei City, Taiwan. Nearest MRT: Exit 1, Ximen MRT Station
Day 4: Ximending (西門町) > Jiu Fen (九份) > Shi Fen (十份) > Ximending (西門町)
We took a cab to Jiu Fen (九份) since it was a little far away from the city. It was a little boring there though the nature view is nice.
So we decided to take a bus down the mountains to Ying Yang Hai (陰陽海). It is also known as Bay of 2 Colours because of the 2 distinctive colours of yellowish brown and ocean blue as copper and iron deposit. However, I would recommend not to go to this place as it is highly inaccessible. There is only 1 bus that goes there and the highway runs just beside the sea. There is no way you can go down and touch the water at all. You will realize that all you see will just be the sea and heavy vehicles travelling along the highway. The bus schedule is also screwed up as we waited almost an hour yet the bus did not come at all. Finally when a bus arrived, we realized that the driver was actually going to take a break instead. We ended up trying to knock on the bus window and asked if he could send us back to the mountain top. Definitely a NO NO next time i visit Taiwan.
This is the legendary Jiu Fen Old Street (九份老街) that everyone goes. Nothing much except for a lot of delicious food and local products.
That’s all for my trip to Jiu Fen…
Next up, we took a bus to Rui Fang Station (瑞芳) for our trip to Shi Fen (十份). We purchased the ticket for our train. Take note that this is the Taiwan Railway Administration (台灣鐵路) also known as TRA. I dislike taking this train because it was really squeezy and bumpy. The train ride was super long even though it was only a few stations away. I think it took about 1 hour to reach Shi Fen. I remembered the sky was very gloomy and it looked like it was going to rain. We were so worried that we may not be able to 放天燈 when we reached. 😡
This is the logo for TRA.
At Shi Fen! TADDAAAA 放天燈 time!~ It rained then stop, rained then stop so many times that day. -.-
We waited for our train back to Rui Fang Station. From there we had to take another train to Taipei Main Station. It was a better train ride but the journey was about 1 hour.
For the rest of the night, we went to Shi Da Night Market (師大夜市) for dinner and some shopping. It is located near Taipower Building Station (台電大樓), exit 3. Most of the cafes are quite expensive so we make do with this ‘ramen’ shop! The food are cheap and nice! I can’t remember which restaurant is this but it is located at one of the alley near the night market. As usual, due to the typhoon approaching, there were strong winds and rain. This hot bowl of noodle soup surprisingly gave me much comfort for the night. 🙂
That night we watched the weather forecast and they mentioned that a Category 5 Typhoon Soudelor will arrived in Taiwan on the next day at 4pm. We were super worried that we could not return home as our flight happened to be on the next day.
Day 5: Ximending (西門町) > Taipei Main Station (臺北車站) > Ximending (西門町)
So it was supposed to be the day when we left Taiwan and we decided to go to Taipei Main Station (臺北車站) to buy some local products at 李儀餅店. It is one of the most popular shop for local products. We decided to have our lunch at one of the shopping centre there. We went to the food court and I bought the baked rice below. It is really cheap and yummy and it came with soup and drink. We got a shock when we went outdoor because the wind was so strong. As typical Singaporeans, we went crazy taking snapchats of the strong winds. Yes, without knowing that we are in danger…
So we even went to have our afternoon ‘dessert’ as usual at Ximending Shaved Ice Desserts (幸春三兄妹冰品店). This is just a few shops away from Ximen Mango Shaved Ice.
Shaved Ice Desserts (幸春三兄妹冰品店)
Address: No 23, Hanzhong Street, Taipei City. Nearest MRT: Exit 1, Ximen MRT Station
After that we proceeded to check out and took a cab at Taipei Main Station. I’m too lazy to explain what happened here, but we basically dragged our luggage from Ximending to Taipei Main Station, climbed bridges etc in order to get to the station which has the bus to Taoyuan Airport. It was a really painful process because we do not know the way and the signs are super messy. My advice is JUST TAKE THE CAB. So we eventually took a cab. I remembered we were on some highway on the way to the airport when we received an email that said that our flight had been cancelled. Wow, after so much of dragging luggage… and we asked the cabbie to U-turn back to our hostel. So we informed the receptionist that we need to have a room for the night while we checked our flight but they said that it was full house. YES SUEY. But they eventually gave us a room at the other outlet which was a few streets away. But the room was horrible because of the bad sewage system in the toilet. It STINKS like mad. We got no choice but to make do with it for a night. They advised us to stay indoors when the typhoon arrived and we decided to grab some food, necessities and withdrew some cash at 7-11. And we spent the night watching TV and dramas from our phones while the rain poured outside.
Yes , we spent the start of SG50 in our hostel, 9/8/15. But we have fun lip-syncing and videoing our National Day Songs! (Not going to post it though haha)
Day 6: Ximending (西門町)
Yeap so we spent day 6 in our hostel because of the typhoon. MEH.
Day 7: Ximending (西門町) > Taipei101 (臺北101) > Tong Hua Night Market (通化夜市) > Ximending (西門町)
The next day, sometime in the afternoon, we went out. Winds are still strong but the rain had stopped. Ohya, I forgot to mention that our flight had been changed to 12/8/15. No more earlier flight. SUEY. So 4 more days in Taipei… Outside was a big mess, with rubbish flying everywhere and trees being uprooted. The scene was shocking to me because I have never experienced that in Singapore.
We decided to head over to Taipei 101 which was initially not in our itinerary. Take the Metro to Taipei City Hall Station (市政府). This place looks just like City Hall and Orchard in Singapore. Just outside the station are big atas shopping malls like Shin Kong Mitsukoshi (新光三越) complex.
We then went to McDonald to eat ice cream! We laughed damn hard at the Chinese translation of McFlurry…. 冰炫風!! WHAT??!!
Next, we went to Tong Hua Night Market (通化夜市), also known as Linjiang Night Market (臨江夜市), which was around 20 minutes walk from Taipei101. You can also alight at Xinyi Anhe Station (信義安和), exit 3.
Saw a very pretty night view of Taipei101 on our way back! It seems more pretty at night compared to the day.
Headed back to Ximending for some supper.
At night, we went out around Ximending in search for our next hostel as our current one is also full house. SO POOR THING. But we found a hotel called Kingshi Hotel. Super big and nice with breakfast provided but the wifi kind of sucks..
Kingshi Hotel
Address: 108, Taiwan, Taipei City, Wanhua District, Kunming St, 142號7樓. Nearest MRT: Exit 1, Ximen MRT Station
Day 8: Ximending (西門町) > Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall (中正紀念堂) > Long Shan Temple ((龍山寺) > Ximending (西門町)
Next day, we decided to explore the opposite side of Ximen Station. It should be exit 3. There is a shopping centre there. As we walked further down, we chanced upon the Presidential Office Building (总统府), which is basically the ISTANA and the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall (中正紀念堂)
We headed to Longshan Temple (龍山寺) after that. Alight at Longshan Temple Station (龍山寺).
There is a night market nearby called Feng Jia Night Market (逢甲夜市). There is actually nothing much to eat there for us but they are famous for their seafood, snake products etc. It was really a disgusting scene as we looked at the snakes wriggling in the tanks. NOPE NOT GOING THERE AGAIN.
We headed back to Ximending and tadaaaa we had MACS for dinner! I think it was some pork burger which was very unique because we do not have it in Singapore. JJANG!
Day 9: Ximending (西門町)
Today is NUAAA day! We decided to just explore Ximending. We went 85 °C Bakery Cafe (85度C) to have milk tea and cakes after our breakfast in the hotel. Their cakes and milk teas are super niceeeeee!
85 °C Bakery Cafe (85度C)
Address: Along Hanzhong St. Nearest MRT: Exit 6, Ximen MRT Station
Ate KFC for lunch. Well they had really different menu from us. YUMMMS.
After lunch, we went Carrefour to kill time. It is located along Guilin Road. Few minutes walk from Ximen Station. We bought bread and chips etc.
Day 9: Ximending (西門町) > Singapore YAYYYYY!
We took the Metro to Taipei Main Station but decided to take a cab instead when we reached. With the limited amount of money left, we then asked the cabbies whether we could take their cab with our remaining money. But most of them rejected us. Until we met one kind uncle who rejected us at first, but decided to help us when we told him that we had to leave some money to eat lunch at the airport later. While on his cab, he drove to a bento stall and asked us what we want to eat. He then proceeded to buy 3 bento sets for us even though we rejected his offer. At that moment, we were actually very scared due to his over-friendliness. After that, he even stopped by 7-11 to buy us 3 bottles of drink and then sent us to the airport. It was really kind of him to charge us discounted price for the cab fare and also buy us bento sets and drinks. I couldn’t tell you how I feel that day because you would most likely won’t be able to experience such things in Singapore. He left us name cards after that and I think I need to help him. So here’s the details! Do call him if you need a cab in Taipei!
党明道
Tel: 0922-666-917
Car no: 099-L8
Hope you enjoy this post!
Cheers,
Sunflower
Be My Sunflower 