Taipei - 26 - 30 Oct

Finally got myself settled down since I came back from Taiwan and now I'm ready to blog about it!
Been busy out with birthdays and a matrimony last few days after I came back I felt kinda sick today.. Oh well. Here goes. I left for Taiwan last Sunday, 26 October with NT 9600 in my pocket on an SQ flight! *whee

Since nobody bothered to plan the itinerary, I took on the responsibility and came up with a plan supported by several visits to the library over the past months. However, the bulk of my final plan would be based on this book called the Taiwan Metro. Anyway the person planning has its perks, you get to go where you want first, and make sure that your time will be well spent somewhere that is not boring.

DAY 1


So I was there for five days.. First day we reached, I sought Junlong's advice - to visit Shilin Night Market first instead of my initial plan, to stay in Ximending (near my hotel) for dinner. We got there and first thing we saw was this:

See the translation "Admire" = Ai de mei ya

Excited, we went around to find food, but found ourselves swarmed with clothes and clothes and shoes! But our stomachs were determined not to be distracted - I went to find my chicken cutlet. Amidst the crowds and apparel stores, there were some little stores for food, but definitely not enough to fill our hunger.

We walked and walked, finally found the only sit down place we could eat at, Ah Zong Mian Xian. Not that I was complaining, but my dad is a sit down and eat kinda person.
(Only after we left, then would we realise we missed out the main food market.)

And then we shopped and along the way nibbled on other street eats! The shopping part, prices were really cheaper for clothes and shoes - I went crazy. I felt like I was in a shopping haven for Rallen cos I saw many stuff that he would like! There I bought a pair of shorts, leggings for myself and a pair of jeans covered with badges for Ray. I only regretted after I came back to Singapore - that pair of jeans was actually $80! not cheap at all! I just comforted myself it was a Levi's after all.

We shopped and shopped, but my dad started complaining he was tired. So we went back.... and the next day we started the day catered for him.

I ended the day tired, with a bad neckache. However, I couldn't sleep at all the whole night, with all the noises I could hear.

DAY 2

• Sun Yat Sen Memorial
• Metro mall (Underground between Zhongxiao Dunhua and Zhongxiao Fuxing station)
• Ximending

Sun Yat Sen Memorial was kinda boring for me.. and I was really famished since i didn't eat much at breakfast. (The hotel breakfast sucked big time) In the end, we had lunch buffet right at the Memorial museum. The buffet was good, international style.


Next stop was Metro mall at the metro station, just one stop away from Sun Yat Sen Memorial. It was just like shopping at any other heartland mall..

And then, my long awaited destination - Ximending. My sole purpose (literally) was to come here to get Onitsuka Tigers and Vans. I even got down the addresses of the outlets nearer to my hotel. I went online to check out the shoes I wanted weeks before my trip. When I finally got to both the shops (they were nearby), I was darn disappointed. The hi-cut that I wanted from Onitsuka was from past season and they only carry the latest models. Damn. My eyes lit up when I saw Vans the next street down.. they didnt have any of the plaid slip ons!!! MANNN. Isn't plaid in season this Fall/Winter '08??

So I walked away, disappointed, since my "sole" purpose to Taiwan could not be fulfilled.

Why did I take photo of these sanitary pads? Because these were actually marshmallows sold in a candy shop!

That night I knocked out, my sis bought a bottle of Plum wine at only $29, i down it with some Heineken. I went to sleep like a baby.

DAY 3

• Yang Ming Shan
• Shilin Night Market (again)
• Riverside Music Cafe
  

According to the guidebooks, one of the must go places is Yang Ming Shan. In the books, they make the place look so beautiful.....and the waterfall so bigg.... actually it wasn't that big.
Best part about the trip there was waiting for the bus for one hour, and it never came. Thanks to "Wu Lin Mi Ji" from Mervin. It mentioned we could take a bus from XiMenDing, which was where our hotel was... we waited and waited. and decided to take a metro down to the nearest station instead.

Another of my personal agenda for this trip (which also left me disappointed), was to visit a happening nightspot with local bands playing. After getting some tips from Mr Q (Jay Chou's drummer who came to Singapore for Drumfest), I decided to check out Riverside Music Cafe.

I reached the place at 10:30pm - and the set was left with the last song! I went in anyways.
It was a small little place, entrance by an alley, even smaller than Jazz@southbridge.

Guess what, the next morning we walked around Ximending and I found a WAY LARGER version of Riverside music - It was called the live house!
Anyway, thanks to the Vodka Lime that came with cover charge for entrance into Riverside Music Cafe, I slept well again.


DAY 4

• Di Hua Street (Traditional Dried goods)
• Wu Fen Pu
• Rao He Night Market

Breakfast was good! Their version of Cai Tau Kuay

Herb shopping. Look like alien hands!

I was searching for this like crazy! They didn't have it in Shilin Night Market. And then when I finally found it, I came across three stores that have this. But nothing beats the original 216 Fen Yuan Da Wang (at Zhong Xiao area). It was really chewy and sweet!

At the Raohe night market, my brother said those black things were nice and asked if I wanted to eat that. In bewilderment, I looked hard at the "rats" and swallowed a lump in my throat.

Back at the hotel, he offered me some. Those were not rats at all! They were part of the lotus plants and this was how the flesh looked like. They tasted like fried chestnuts, just less sweet.


And check this out! this the cutest thing I've ever seen in my life:

That night I had beer again. Slept like a pig. DAY 5

• Ximending
• Leave for Taoyuan Airport

My sis and I slept till late morning, just enough time to prepare and check out of our hotel rooms. While waiting, there was this IQ programme on MTV Taiwan. Audiences had to count the total number of squares and triangles on the puzzle on screen and call in to give their answers. We tried counting and decided to call in... but the line was so busy we couldn't get through. And the people just couldn't get it right! We were certain our answer was correct since nobody guessed it. Dang, and they increased their prize money every 15 mins.

(Can't flip the image around)

our last meal in Taipei was at this shop. Very nice porkchop & chicken!
It was at the basement of this place called Wan Nian Da Lou (look like Peninsula Plaza)

And then we were headed for Taoyuan airport.. back to Singapore. Taipei has been good. I just wished I had planned my finances better so that I could have spent more on clothes for myself! Would definitely make another trip down in near future.