Tuesday 21 July 2015

Taipei - 27 Aug 2014 to 31 Aug 2014

While packing for our trip, little Snowie wants to come along too.




But dogs are not allowed on flight.
We following the itinerary planned by Larry and proceed to venture.






















27 Aug 2015


We arrive in Taipai Tao Yuan Airport.

We took an airport pickup organized by A Simple Place (ASP).

We stay in this place.  It is not a hotel.  It's like a home.

However, it is cozy and cheap.

Name : A Simple Place Xi Men Ding Taipei (ASP)

Address : No.215 Xining South Rd., Ximending, Taipei, Taiwan 10846
Price : SGD 83
Website : http://www.asptaipei.com/

Highly recommended if you want to get something cheap and cozy.

It's like 5 mins walk to Xi Men Ding Train Station

Since we arrived in the morning, we had breakfast nearby.

Recommended by the owner of ASP.

We ate these:-  Cheap & big burger





























After breakfast, we proceed to Taipei 101.

Taipei 101

We took a train from Xi Men Ding to Taipei 101.
Travelling around in Taipei is so easy as long as you have the map of the train.
I bought a train ticket from the counter and top up the amount as and when it is empty.
The card is call You You card..

Go to this link and you will find all the details on the train.
http://english.metro.taipei/ct.asp?xItem=1056373&CtNode=70241&mp=122036
























We had lunch as Ding Tai Feng.  It is said that this is the first outlet.

















We had these.

Spicy Dumplings

















Beef Noodles - It's super delicious.
















Xiao Long Bao

















You can find Agnes B. cafe in Taipei 101.



















The stuff there are not cheap.  Most of the shops are branded shops.
Therefore. I did not go into any of them.
We took a walk at the basement selling souvenirs.
You can see a lot of pineapple tarts etc.
Those are high end prices so I did not get any...


Taipei Shi Lin Night Market 士林夜市

Night market is really famous in Taiwan.  There are night market in every district but I choose to visit the famous ones due to my limited stay here.

Getting There: Take the Red line to Jiantan station (just 1 stop from Shilin), walk across the street in front of the station and follow the crowds. Shilin market has a main underground section accessed primarily off Jihe Rd.

Night market is all about FOOD ! 

You will see many stalls selling different food.
Due to my limited stomach space, I only tried a few of them.

Mango Ice to beat the heat



















There are also seafood that you can eat at the basement.

Prices are stated there so it is quite safe to eat. 
Those without pricing, please ask before eating.  
If not, you will face with sky high prices when the bill comes.


After shopping, we made our way back to the hotel to rest.

28 Aug 2015

Noodles for Breakfast - Xi Men Noodles Store


















I tried a dry noodles.  Not sure what's the name of the dish.
This is how the noodles look like.





After breakfast, we proceed to Tamsui Fisherman Wharf.
Along the way, we eat,drink at some of the shops.

This is what I bought.
Mask is cheap too, it's half the price compared to Singapore.

















We had coffee at 83 coffee.
They do sell the famous Blue Mountain.























You can also choose to buy the coffee beans home.
 Prices are stated too.

















After having coffee, we proceed to the fisherman's wharf.

On the way, I saw some mini games stall.
I stopped and played some.























And I got this :)


















Tamshui Fisherman's Wharf

There are 2 ways to get there.  It's a little island that was filmed in taiwanese drama.
As filming, this little island became popular.


Getting there : 

By Train or Bus

After arriving at Tamsui Station (淡水), Red Line Two - take bus 26 (Red 26), 836, or 857 towards Fisherman's Wharf (漁人碼頭).

By Boat

The wharf hosts a ferry pier for ferries that operate the route along the Tamsui River. Ferries operate between the wharf and Tamsui Old Street, Bali, and Dadaocheng ferry pier (大稻埕碼頭) in Taipei City (located next to Daqiaotou MRT Station) orZhongxiao Wharf in New Taipei City. Simply swipe an Easycard and board the boat. It's a great way to avoid the crippling traffic of Tamsui during the afternoon rush hour, and a fun and unique way to return to Taipei.

More details:

https://guidetotaipei.com/visit/tamsui-fishermans-wharf-%E6%B7%A1%E6%B0%B4%E6%BC%81%E4%BA%BA%E7%A2%BC%E9%A0%AD

The boat that you will take to the island
















Here we are :-

















You will need to stay for the night.

- Evening -






You can see performers too.



















We had a romantic western dinner at Bali Restaurant.

Pictures of the food :










After that, we took the boat back and proceed to back to Taipei and proceed to a night market.


GuangZhou Street Night Market and WuZhou Street Night Market 廣州街夜市 & 街夜市


Address: 臺北市廣州街or 臺北市梧州街 


Getting There:Take the Blue Line to Long Shan Temple and walk 5 minutes.


As usual, food... Nothing much in this night market.


29 Aug 2015

After breakfast at Feng Da Coffee near to our hotel.

They have good coffee but breakfast selection is limited.
























Sky Lantern

It is a long way to Shifen.  This is where you can put sky lantern up in the sky.

Getting there :



From Taipei Main Station, take a northbound train (except Keelung-bound trains) towards Ruifang Station. Transfer to the Pingxi Line (平溪線) and purchase a One Day Ticket for the Pingxi Line, NT$52.

Trains depart from Ruifang daily at the following times:
04:39, 05:27, 06:43, 07:24, 08:46, 09:30, 10:22, 11:16, 12:13, 13:15, 14:15, 15:10, 16:09, 17:08, 18:26, 19:06, 21:09, 22:27


From MRT Muzha Station (木柵, Brown Line 1), take bus 1076 towards Pingxi (平溪).

More details :

https://guidetotaipei.com/visit/pingxi-%E5%B9%B3%E6%BA%AA

























This is my sky lantern.
You will need to write your wishes so that it can be delivered to heaven.
After writing, the local people will guide you on how to put your lantern up to the sky.























Different colors of the lanterns represent different meaning.
Look at the colors of the words, It mean:-

Red - Health
Yellow - Money
Blue - Career
Purple - Study
White - Future
Orange - Love
Green - Luck
Peach - Love opportunity
Pink - Happy

There are combination colors too.

Red + Blue + Yellow + Orange = Health
Red + Blue + Yellow + Pink = All the best in everything you do
Red + Purple + Peach + Yellow = Improvement in whatever you do
White + Red + Orange + Green = May your wishes come true

Price :
Single color lantern = TWD 150
Multiple color lantern = TWD 200

It is more worth it to take combination colors and it has more meanings in one lantern.

After that, we proceed to one of the biggest and famous Raohe Night Market.

There are signs to guide you there as well.












Here we are, at the entrance of Raohe Night Market.


The Famous Pepper Bun
When you enter the Rou He Night Market, you will see a queue.
It is the famous pepper bun.

A MUST TRY !!!

This is the shop !





This is how the packaging looks like...




There are many snacks in Raohe night market.  If you have a big tummy, you can try it all :)


30 Aug 2015

M boyfriend knows that I am a animal lover and brought me to Taipei Zoo.

Getting there :


Travel by Train:
MRT Wenshan-Neihu Line: Get off at Taipei Zoo Station.

MRT Nangang/Banqiao/Tucheng Line: Get off at Taipei City Hall Station, and then take bus route G1, BR18 or BR21 to Taipei Zoo.

Travel by Bus:


Get off at Taipei Zoo Stop by: 236, 237, 282, 294, 295, 611, 676, 679, 793, 933, S12, BR3, BR6, BR11, BR15, BR18, BR21, G1, 1501, 1503 or 1558. (for bus route information, visit Taipei e-bus System or Taipei Bus Information and Transit System)

More details:
http://english.zoo.gov.taipei/

Taipei Zoo
They are the same as Singapore.
All animals are in the enclosure.
The weather is really hot so you need to bring an umbrella.
Shelters are limited too.







After the zoo, you can also visit Maokong Cable car.
It is very near to Taipei zoo.

More detail:
http://english.gondola.taipei/ct.asp?xItem=42047496&CtNode=57348&mp=122034

Getting there:

1. By Taipei MRT
Take the Wenshan-Neihu line of Taipei Metro to the Taipei zoo station and then walk to the Maokong Gondola Taipei zoo station (About 350m)

2. By Bus
Take Bus 236, 237, 282, 294, 295, 611, 676, 679, S12, Brown 3, Brown 6, Brown 11, Brown 15, Brown 18, Green 1, 1501, 1073, 1558, 1503 (except holidays) or Maokong Tour Bus Left Line to the Maokong Gondola Taipei Zoo Station or Metro Taipei Zoo Station and then walk to the Maokong Gondola Taipei Zoo Station.
3. By Car
When you arrive at Taipei Zoo Station, please park your car at MRT Taipei Zoo Station underground parking lot, riverside parking lot, or Muzha Depot Parking Lot, and then walk to the Maokong Gondola Taipei Zoo Station.

I took Option 1 since I am already at Taipei Zoo.

Hello Kitty Cable Car.

















You can see nice view from the top.


















When you arrive, you will see this little area selling food.
We had our lunch here.

















We walked around and found this cat cafe.
They serve very beautiful drinks.
We order these and it is so refreshing.

More details:
http://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g293913-d662649-i79844457-Maokong_Gondola-Taipei.html


















After taking the cable car down,  It's about time to search for our dinner place.
And again, we visited another night market.

Huaxi Night Market, a.k.a. Snake Alley 華西街夜市
Address: 臺北市華西街
Getting There:Take the Blue Line to Long Shan Temple and walk 5 minutes.

Huaxi Night Market has nothing much to buy.
Just food.  So I saw my favorite seafood and sat down to have some.
They are tasty & delicious.






































After that, we are so tired and went back to rest.

Right downstairs of ASP, there is shop selling some marinated food. 
Chinese call it "Lu Wei ".  
On the way back, I bought some and brought back to the hotel to munch.
I like it spicy so I ask for more chili.  But if you are not someone who likes spicy, you can ask them not to add chili. 

31 Aug 2015

Early morning, we visited the Taipei Expo.


Taipei Expo


We walk around the place.
















There is a food center here.
















We happen to walk into a bread shop called Good Cho.
The bread are freshly made and sold.  
The special part is that there are ovens to heat up your bread.  
It's self service.
















Shopping at Xi Men Ding

We did some last minutes shopping at Xi Men Ding.
Things are slightly more expensive as it is like town in Taipei.  
Same as our Orchard road.

After that, we took a airport pick up from Xi Men Ding to the Airport.

Home Sweet Home !!!