Taiwan Trip －Day 7

18/05(Fri)
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Taipei Main Station/ Hua Xi Street

• We woke up really really late today, as we went to sleep only at about 5am the previous day. At first, we wanted to hike up Yang Min Shan. But as it was really late, and it started to rain, we decided otherwise.

• We checked out the underground shopping malls at Taipei Main Station. It’s like CityLink where there are shops selling clothes, bags, food at the basement. We found the things there to be relatively cheaper compared to the night market! There were a lot of books too. Everything was in Chinese though, but they were relatively cheaper compared to Singapore. We had quite a good time glancing through the books and bought quite a bit. We walked from Taipei Main Station all the way to Zhongshan, and there were a lot of book-stores along the way.

• We went back to our hotel to unload our shopping stuff, and went off to check out HuaXi jie/ Snake Alley. The night market is at Longshan station. It was a huge disappointed. It was very very touristy and things there were targeted at foreigners. There were only 2 restaurants selling snakes, but as it was not the season for eating snakes, we could not see them preparing the snake dishes. We sat down and chatted with an auntie selling desserts at the street opposite Hua Xi street. She told us the “梅雨” is coming soon, and business is not good when it rains. Wow..luckily it only started raining towards the end of our trip.

• After that we went back to XMD and walked around the area again, before heading back to our hotel.

19/05(Sat)
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XMD/Going Home
• Today was spent hanging out at XMD area and preparing to go home. We bought the Free-go bus tickets which brought us all the way to the airport.

• It was a good Taipei trip, and I hope to tour Taiwan again soon! =)

Taiwan Trip －Day 6

17/05(Thu)
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National Palace Museum/Yang Min Shan/ PartyWorld

• Went to National Palace Museum.


National Palace Museum 国立故宫博物院
台北市士林区至善路二段211 号
www.npm.gov.tw
Opening Hours: 9.00am - 5.00pm
NT160

• Really an eye-opener, as there was a lot of national treasures there. A lot of vases, pots, etc. The most famous one was a piece of green jade, but the sculptor turned it into a cabbage! There were even 2 insects on the cabbage. The other one was a piece of 五花肉 ／ fatty meat. It really looked like a piece of meat which can be eaten. Looked so oily too! There were a lot of souvenirs on the cabbage, and it sort of became a mascot for the museum. But there were a lot of tourists and school kids at the museum, making it really really crowded.

• After that, we took the bus outside the souvenir shop that took us to Jian Tan station. Then we took the metro to SYS memorial hall. The SYS memorial hall （国父纪念馆） was already closed, so we just took pictures of the building outside. There were a couple of old folks sitting there chatting, and one guy was flying a kite. The kite flew so high that it went beyond the SYS building! What a good place to fly kites!

• After that, we headed off to Taipei 101 building. It’s easily seen from the SYS memorial hall. We’ve arranged to meet my Taiwanese friend YJ there. It will take NT350 to go up to Taipei 101. As we’ve already taken the Ferris wheel and there was nothing much to see, we decided not to go up 101. Downstairs was a shopping centre with all the branded goods shops. Very expensive. We just waited outside an entrance for my friend to come.

• YJ was really hospitable and friendly. He brought us to this 快抄 place/Quick Stir, where only locals would go there.


放牛班
台北市市民大道四段183 号
www.isfun.com.tw
Opening Hours: 17.30 – 3.00


• The food there is really delicious! Celebrities like SHE, Lin Zhi Ling have also been there. The waiters and waitress were all dressed in school uniforms, and that’s the theme of the restaurant. We really like the salted fried oysters there. Very very yummy!

• After that, he drove us up to YangMingShan. There was a university all the way up the hill! We could see the Taipei night lights from the hill top and it’s really really lovely! It beats the Ferris wheel hands-down. There were a few cafes on the top of the mountain, and people could chat over coffee while admiring the night skyline.

• We headed off to Partyworld at XMD after that.
Partyworld
www.cashboxparty.com

• Partyworld is big business in Taipei. It is a 10 storey building on its own! We got a room after waiting for 20 minutes. There were a lot of people there, so that’s where all the Taiwanese go at night. It’s really first class karaoke there. There were a total of 4 points of control where you can increase/decrease the volume, stop the songs. There was even an attached toilet in the room. The sound system was really really good. Superb! We paid about S20/pax for 4 hours of singing, after which the system automatically stops (like the PartyWorld in Singapore). We sang till about 3-4am that night.

I really appreciate YJ for taking his time off and accompany us. He has to report to work the next day! Thanks YJ, when you come back to Singapore, I’d treat you to a nice meal! =)

Taiwan Trip －Day 5

16/05(Wed)
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Danshui/Bali/Beitou Hot-Spring

• Today is reserved for DanShui (淡水). We took the metro all the way there. It was a small town close to the Dan Shui River. We headed to 淡水老街, and explored the shops there. We tried the famous 铁蛋。 it cost NT10 for one. Then as we walked down the streets, we chanced by 阿婆铁蛋 and saw 阿婆 there! She was dressed like a rich lady, had a huge purple flower pinned to her top. She had a huge diamond ring on her finger too! Wow…sell 铁蛋 can become so rich! I also wanna go sell.

Then we went into a stall and bought Taiwanese jellies there, those with plums in them. Very yummy! In Singapore, they cost really expensive. In Taiwan, its about NT100 per box. We saw these jellies at one of the shops at the departure area at the airport too. Price is about the same. As we bought quite a bit, the boss was kind enough to tell us that there was a Jay Chou café somewhere. Jay Chou used to study at 淡水, and everyday he would head to this restaurant to eat the same stuff. The boss then named what Jay ate everyday as 周杰伦餐 （Jay Chou meal）. When we finally found the shop, it was closed. It was a restaurant that specialized in 馄饨/Wanton.

We also tried the 阿给 there. It is basically tau kwa filled with dong fen inside. My Taiwanese friend said it was very delicious, and the people there used to eat it when the Japanese took over and people were poor. It was quite filling to eat just one. We walked all the way to Fort San Domingo （淡水红毛城）. It was a fort which was built by the Spanish, and later took over by the Dutch. We paid an entry fee of NT 60 to get in. There was a good view of the Danshui river from there.

• Then we took a ferry to Bali （八里） from the ferry station at Dan Shui. It cost NT$18 per ride. Bali was very very windy, as compared to Dan Shui. There is a long stretch of pavement which leads to a statue along the river. We wanted to walk to the statue. Although we could see it and it appeared near, we could never reach it, so we gave up half-way and backtracked. The shops were mostly closed at the time. It was essentially a continuation of DanShui old streets – Dan Shui Part 2.

We saw an auntie selling fruits, and bought some. I really like the tomatos with plums in them. Basically they cut the tomato into half, and stuff a sweet plum in it. Very yummy, as it’s sour and sweet.

By the time, the sun has set, and we could see the lights of DanShui from Bali. Very nice! =) We missed the sun-set at DanShui Fisherman’s Wharf, as it was pretty cloudy that day. Though that was a popular itinerary, you really need to have luck to see the sunset. Gotta depend on the mood of the sun and clouds. =) Took the ferry back from Bali to Danshui. (Actually, we wanted to hike up GuanyinShan at Bali as we heard the view from there is good too, but decided against it as the sun sets pretty early in Taiwan. As early as 6.30pm. )

• Then we took the metro and stopped at Beitou （北投）station. We wanted to visit a hotspring. There was a public, outdoors hotspring at Beitou, but it was pretty far from the metro station. We were carrying a lot of things and could not walk any further to the public hotspring. So we decided to go to a hotspring resort, where we had to pay more, but it was more convenient to get to, as there were free shuttle van outside the station to bring us there. We decided on Asia Pacific Hotspring Resort.


Asia Pacific Resort 亚太温泉生活馆
北投温泉路银光巷21 – 6 号
www.apresort.com.tw


• It was the best choice ever made. I felt like I was in Japan there, as that was the theme of the resort. Highly recommended, as it was at the top most of the hill. We got a private hotspring for NT1,000 for an hour (as it was off-peak season for hotspring, usually people do it during winter), after that, we could use the public hotsprings for 2 hours. It was really worth it, as they gave us all the things we needed – towels, water. The changing rooms reminded me of country clubs, there was hairdryer, combs there too. Definitely beats a public one- where you have to bring towels, combs, etc there. There were a few hotspring rules, I’ve translated them here. Very useful, as I made all the mistakes. Read them and remember them before you jump into a hotspring the next time. (Btw, don’t jump into it! You’d scald yourself. )

1. Do some warm up before dipping into the hot-spring.

2. Wet the body with the hot-spring water, starting from the feet all the way up to the head.

3. Ensure the temperature is between 38 – 42 degree Celsius.

4. Do not soak in the hot-spring for too long. Do not exceed 30 minutes. The best is soak for 15 minutes, rest for 5 minutes.

5. Drink more water. Before showering and after showering, drink lots of water to replenish water.

6. Do not use clean water to wash away the hot-spring water after you’re done. This will ensure that the hot-spring nutrients stick to your body, and maintain the temperature of your body.

7. Get enough rest after a hot-spring to speed up the renewal process.

Taiwan Trip －Day 4

15/05(Tue)
------------

Wu Fen Pu/Raohe NM/EZ5

• We had to check into TaShun Hotel today.


TS Hotel 大顺大饭店
台北市汉中街 170 - 172 号
www.tshotel.com.tw

• It was very near to 寒舍. We just need to walk past 2 intersections and we reached. It was a simple functional hotel. As the cheapest room was fully booked we went for the deluxe suit which costs about S104/night. The shower facilities were very good. There were 3 kinds of shower head you can choose from. The beds are very very comfortable.

So much so that we cannot wake up in time for the next few mornings as it was simply too comfortable (or coz we were getting increasingly tired from our travel). In fact, out of the 4 breakfasts we were entitled to, we only had 1. The small restaurant had about 10 tables and it was filled with mostly Singaporeans on the only morning we had breakfast. I guess it’s just as popular with Singaporeans as Rainbow Hotel is.

• The counter staff told us we could only check in at 2pm, so we deposited our luggage and ate at the 麻辣 Steamboat near the hotel. In addition to the steamboat, we had this charcoal grill in front of us. The soup based ranged from 麻辣, to clear soup, kimchi and even soya bean! The buffet had a huge selection of food, compared to Singapore’s. Other than the usual meat and veg, there were also a variety of ice-cream, salads, soft-drinks (those in bottles! Not cans), coffee/tea, etc. We were almost the only customers in the shop, I guess most people eat this at night? Anyway, we filled our stomachs with a lot of food. It cost about S28/pax. Not exactly as cheap as I would have thought.

• Then we returned to the hotel. After putting our luggage in the room, we headed off to Wu Fen Pu. We took the metro to Houshanpi station. Wu Fen Pu is about 10 mins walk from the station. The place is basically filled with shops who are into 批发/distribution. They also sell clothes in single piece, but too bad, you cant try the clothes. It was not as cheap as I would have thought. Maybe coz I’ve been to Bangkok and it was really cheap there.

One spagetti top can cost easily S20. they claimed that the materials are from Korea/Japan, that’s why they are more expensive. I only bought a casual top that cost about S30 and I thought I could probably get better stuff in Singapore for the same price. After shopping for a while, we realized that the shops are selling more or less the same stuff. Slightly disappointed as we thought we could really find bargains there.

• Then we headed to Songshan train station. After crossing the orange bridge, we reached Raohe Night Market （饶河 夜市）. Cant really remember anything special at this NM. It reminded me of Singapore Pasa Malam though, with those stalls selling alarm clocks, wallets, bags. As we were quite tired from walking at Wu Fen Pu, we sat down at a stall selling beancurd. ( I thought the beancurd in Taiwan is really yummy. Those in Singapore has got too much “flour”. In Taiwan, the beancurd is more dense, and got more soyabean.)

Then we continued exploring the place. After eating some street-snacks, we sat down again at a stall seeing Ai Yu/Ice-Jelly and just listened to the hawkers chatting. They were talking in Hokkien and I’m glad we could understand. They were gossiping about a guy marrying a not so good-looking girl, and their kids also ended up not good looking. These sort of things. It was quite amusing. I thought the way they speak Hokkein is more refined than Singaporeans.

• Then we headed off to EZ5. We took a bus which brought us to a metro station and alighted at Liuzhangli station. We walked about 10 mins to get to AnHe road. It was a pub, decorated with lightbulbs on the outside. I did my research early and planned for this day to coincide with a singer that we know to perform there. The entry fee was NT600/pax but you can order 2 things from the menu. We ordered 1 food and 1 drink each, as we did not eat much at Raohe NM. The food came in quite huge portions, so I thought it was worth it. It would cost more in Singapore pubs. There were a lot of people there already. It was not just a place for young people, but there were a lot of families too!

There was a very cute but blur waiter. He mistook my order of tomato juice for beer. He probably couldn’t believe that anyone would wanna drink fruit juice at a place like that. As he was quite cute, and I just kept quiet and took the beer.

The first singer was a Taiwanese but seemed to have been educated in the states, he’s good at singing David Tao and Wang Li Hong’s songs.

The second singer, which most people came for, is Pen Jia Hui. She looked slightly older than what I remembered, wore a pretty short dress, but wow..her singing is really really good. She has a strong stage presence, took care of the band that was playing for her, and she sang the 经典/ classic – 旧梦. My NT 600 is really worth it. After her performance, almost half the people at the pub left. We were hovering between staying and leaving too, as if we leave then, we could catch the last metro back to XMD. Then we decided to stay for the last round of performance, as we could not get this back in Singapore and as we had already paid to get in.

The last singer was a guy who was dolled up like a lady. His voice is good for singing Power Station’s songs, and I guess he hated that (coz he got a lot of requests to sing their songs) . I thought his performance was quite boring, as he talked way too much. He talked about his singing career, how his work recently got appreciated by Ah-Xin, a member of May Day, and asked people to join his singing school he just set up. I go there to hear people sing, not talk about life stories k. Oh well, but I thought the people there enjoyed it.

After his performance, we left the place and took one of the cabs that was lined up outside the pub. The taxi-driver was pleasantly surprised that tourists like us came to know about the place. We chatted with him for a while on the way back. We realized that he used to be a boss, owning a travel agency, and has been to 30 over countries. He got married and had a baby boy recently, so he quitted being boss, and became a taxi-driver so that he could spend more time with his kid. (We thought something must have gone wrong with his business, which is why he ‘downgraded’ to a cab-driver, but he didn’t go into the details.) We were surprised that the place is quite close to XMD, only about 10-15 minutes cab ride.

Taiwan Trip －Day 3

14/05(Mon)
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Yehliu/Shifen Pu Bu/Jiufen Village/Ji Long

• Booked Mr Meeky Yang's cab for the whole day for this tour.

• At first I was worried and unsure if Mr Yang is as depicted, but it turned out that my worries were unnecessary. Mr Yang turned out to be a safe driver, polite, down-to-earth and reliable cab driver. As we could converse in Chinese pretty fluently, we talked to him a lot during the trip. On the way, he brought us 槟榔 just for us to try. Costs about NT 100 in total, he’s really generous to treat us to it. On top of our itinerary, he even brought us to Nanya and 2-colour bay after Jiu Fen (九份), as it was on the way to Ji Long, and let us stop to take pictures, even though we did not ask for it. He said that he was from Mei Nong village, a hakka village south of Taiwan. Perhaps that’s the reason why one of the first questions he asked us was if we’re Hakka. We learnt much about him during the trip, so much so that at the end of it, I look upon him more as an uncle rather than a cab driver, and we gave him our contacts and told him to visit us should he come to Singapore. His contacts can be found here:

Name: Mr Meeky Yang
Contact No: 09-2191-5586
Cab Licence Plate: 589NT
Cost: NT2500


• We met Mr Yang at 7.30am downstairs at our hotel and he drove us to Yehliu (野柳). Saw the “Queen’s head” there, and other rocks. It was drizzling slightly when we arrived, but luckily the rain stopped after a while. After exploring the place for 1.5hours, a lot of tourists suddenly flocked in.

• Next stop is Shi Fen Pu Bu (十分大瀑布）. We gotta drive quite a long way to reach there. But seriously it was no big deal. We had to pay NT180 to get in, and it was pretty X. They claimed that part of it went to preservation of nature, but Yehliu doesn’t charge that! It was only about NT50 for Yehliu. Anyway the waterfall was quite small, in my opinion, can give it a miss. But it was on the way so I planned in into my itinerary. There were a family singing karaoke (apparently they brought the whole system there) and bbq-ing. The area around the waterfall was very slippery and you really gotta have shoes with good soles, otherwise you’d risk falling on the hard stones. I kept holding onto the handrails they had along the way. My sense of balance is not very good, I suppose.

• Then we went to JiuFen Village （九份）. It used to be a gold-mining town, but now it’s filled with colourful stalls. We spent quite a decent amount of time here. We had the taro balls at 赖阿后婆 , bought the 太阳饼 (buttery and yummy) and 凤梨酥 from 九仪. Had the 阿兰草仔果. A bit like our soon keuh but with different type of fillings. Then we chilled out at Jiu Fen teahouse （九份茶坊）, and just soak in the atmosphere. There was a mini museum displaying things related to tea downstairs and there was a nice koi pond too. Ordered tea and they boiled the hot water using charcoal! We ordered small side dishes also and ended up paying about S60 for the whole affair. But we could bring back our tea leaves, and according to my sis, good tea leaves cost a lot, a small bunch can cost as much as S30, so I guess the other S30 for some snacks and lazing at the teahouse after our tired excursion was worth it. We were given an indoor seat and it was a gui fei bed converted into seats. Very cosy and even ancient. Some people chose to sit outdoors, and they could get the mountain views. I thought that was pretty cool too, as it was quite chilly outdoors but you get to savour a pot of good hot tea and enjoy the mountain view. I like Jiufen village.

• Next as mentioned earlier, Mr Yang took us to Nanya to see some rock formations and the two colour bay – to me it’s essentially polluted water. Sulphur from land got into the sea created a yellowish colour and the original sea was greenish-blue. But the distinction was so clear that it became a popular tourist spot.

• We headed to Ji Long Zhong Zheng Gong Yuan （基隆中正公园）. There was a huge Guan Yin statue there guarded by two gigantic Qi lin. I could see the 基隆 harbour and cranes there. There was even KeeLung sign (like the Hollywood sign) from the temple.

• We headed to Miao Kou Night Market （庙口夜市） at 基隆 after that for dinner. As 基隆 is near the harbour, they are famous for seafood. In fact, anywhere near the sea, you’d find plenty of seafood at the place. There were a lot of stalls selling crabs soup, and butter crabs. We tried thea butter crabs, and thought it was ok only. Basically they just grill the crabs and season it with butter on a piece of aluminium foil. Looks quite easily done at any BBQ. There was this stall that sells ping tang hu lu, except it was not hu lu but an assorted type of fruits including pineapple, kiwi, strawberry, apple. Quite nice. Then it's all the way back to Taipei, and chatting with Mr Yang along the way. Found out alot about Taiwan from a local within this day! =)

Taiwan Trip －Day 2

13/05(Sun)
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LongShan Temple/CKS Memorial Hall/Yong Kang Street/ Mei Li Hua Shopping Centre – Ferris Wheel/ Shilin Night Market


• Bought the You You card（悠游卡） for NT 500 at XMD station. There’s a NT 100 deposit, so the value is only NT 400, but NT 400 is enough for our one week stay. At the end of our trip, we refunded the card (退卡), and got back the remaining value and deposit.

• Woke up at about 730am and first stop we went to is Long Shan Si (龙山寺). It’s just one stop away from XMD station, and right at the Longshan station. People say it’s quite a 灵 temple, something like our Guanyin temple at Bugis. Saw a lot of people there in the morning. There were people dressed in black robes and singing the prayers and kept kowtowing at every stop of the prayer. Very religious and pious. I saw a lady who brought her son’s student pass and prayed to Wen Chang Deity, I think she wanted Wen Chang Deity to bless her son with good grades.

• Next stop is the CKS memorial hall (中正纪念堂). Again easily reached by metro. The day we went happened to be Fa Lun Gong (法轮功) day, and people from all over the world would celebrate this day. It was a big thing in Taipei. There were a lot of people dressed in yellow and white tee-shirts, and they formed a 法轮功 formation at the open area of the CKS memorial hall. The scale was aka to our NDP, and there were TV stations there to film the event.

• Every hour (正点), there is a change of guards at CKS memorial hall. We managed to catch one shift. 3 guards dressed in white uniforms were marching up the staircase, and I think they had bells on them, so when they march there is a jingling sound. They marched up the staircase to reach the CKS memorial hall and performed their routine to take over from the 2 guards who were stationed on the left and right of CKS’ statue. After that, the 2 guards on the earlier shift would be brought back by one of the 3 guards who came up, and replaced by the remaining 2 guards who came up.

• After that, we were hungry, so we decided to check out Ding Tai Feng and see what’s the difference between Taiwan’s and Singapore’s. we took a bus to Yongkang street. As it was mother’s day, DTF was really really crowded. It looked like a very popular restaurant in Taiwan and we had to wait for about 45 mins to get our seats. The menu is about the same as Singapore. The xiao long bao tasted about the same, but I thought the la mian at taiwan is better than Singapore.


鼎泰丰
台北市信仪路二段194号
Opening Hours: Mon – Fri 10.00 – 21.00
Sat and Public Holidays 9.00 – 21.00


• After that, we hang around yong kang street and explore the shops. It looks like a peaceful town. Had the ‘monster ice’ there. It’s just fresh sweet fruits on a pile of ice. I thought the price was quite steep. We ordered the combination ( 综合 ) one, and there’s mango, strawberry and kiwi on it. Similar to our mango ice-kachang..you get the idea. But it cost freaking S 8..a tad too X. but there were long Qs for it.


Ice Monster 冰馆
台北市大安区永康街15 号
Opening Hours: Summer – 10.30 –24.00
Winter – 11.30 – 23.00


• After that we took a bus back to XMD to check out SHE’s 签唱会, but it was quite late already, and we couldn’t find the place, so we decided to leave for Shilin Night Market.

• I read that the Mirama ferris wheel (美丽华摩天轮) is near to Shilin NM (士林夜市), so we decided to pop by there before going to the NM. We alighted at Jian Tan metro station. Surprisingly, Shilin NM is not at Shilin metro station but at Jian Tan.

• We took a free shuttle bus outside Jian Tan metro station to bring us to 美丽华, a shopping mall with cinemas and the ferris wheel. The bus journey took about 20 minutes. The mall was really at a 鸟不生蛋 place, that’s why they needed a free shuttle bus to bring people there.

• We got to 美丽华 shopping mall, and were told to go up to the 5th level to buy tickets for the ferris wheel. It was at the same booth that they sell cinema tickets. I thought S 10 per pax was also a tad too X for a 20 minutes ferries wheel ride. We were rather disappointed with the ride, as Taipei does not have a pretty skyline. All we could see was Taipei 101. And we still need to take a 20 minutes ride back to Jian Tan station to reach Shilin NM.

• When we arrive at Shilin NM (士林夜市), we were greeted by a few game stalls with people fishing for terrapins, prawns and fishes. My sis tried to fish for a prawn but the line broke shortly. Then we saw more game stalls and food stalls. Tried the 豪大大鸡排—it’s really big and they don’t cut it into smaller pieces for you. Very delicious! Yummy. Tried the hao jian （蚝煎）there too, a lot of 蚝 compared to singapore’s. then we crossed a traffic light to reach a street of yet more food and clothing stores. We were told by the stall owners at other Night Markets that Shilin sells relatively more X goods as it was a tourist spot. You can probably get the same thing for much cheaper at other night markets which are not so touristy or at those underground shopping centers, as we later discovered.

Taiwan Trip －Day 1

Taiwan Trip (12/05/07 – 19/05/07)

12/05(Sat)
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Free Go Airport Bus/Han She Hotel/XMD

• My sis and I toured Taipei in a week. Briefly, here’s what we did.

• On Sat, we took Jetstar Asia flight to reach Taipei’s Taoyuan International Airport Terminal 1. We headed for the “Buses” booths. There is a Free Go Airport Bus (飞狗机场巴士) booth that sells bus tickets and bring you direct to all hotels in XiMenDing(西门丁). The bus ticket is NT 135. There were a lot of Singaporeans on the JetStar flight, and most of us took the Free Go bus. Guess XMD is a popular choice to stay at. These are the hotels in XMD which the bus would bring people to:


喜来登 ** 天成 ** 凯撒 ** 华华 ** 城美 ** 东龙 ** 长虹 ** 万事达 ** 寒舍 ** 金帅 ** 成都 ** 富园 ** 麒麟 ** 一乐园 ** 豪景 ** 大顺 ** 内江 ** 明日 ** 国光 ** 华丽 ** 新仕界 ** 农美 ** 家美 ** 四季 ** 富妆 ** 丽来 ** 金财神 ** 金国际

• Check into Han She Hotel. We wanted to stay at TS Hotel but it was fully booked for the first 3 nights, and we wanted to stay at XMD. After much research, we finally found this hotel. Quite a decent place, with good location, near to XMD metro (捷运), and decent price, about S 94/night.


Han She Business Hotel 函舍商务旅店
台北市成都路68 号4 楼
www.handsomehotel.com.tw


• They tied in with the 台湾牛乳大王restaurant downstairs, and we got our daily breakfast from the restaurant. The hotel staff will issue you breakfast coupon every morning. At first we thought we could choose from their menu, but the food was already pre-determined by the hotel. A modest meal of toast, ham, egg, and coffee/tea. This hotel is not bad, considering most XMD hotels we tried to be fully booked. They really tidy up the rooms very well. By the way, we need to deposit the keys at the hotel counter everytime we go out, and they’d tidy up the room for us while we are away. When we come back, we just told the hotel staff the room number and they’d return us the key. There’s a difference from 酒店and 饭店 in Taiwan, as we learnt later. 酒店 refers to mostly sleezy hotels, while 饭店 are the decent types. No wonder people gave us strange stares when we asked for directions to get to 函舍酒店. Should be 函舍饭店. The hotel is quite safe, they’ve a lot of cameras at the various exits/entrance. It serves its purpose as a decent hotel I would say. But they do rent out rooms to people for just a couple of hours for them to 休息. As we were checking in, a couple came and requested for a room for 2 hours to 休息. Well, I realize that this is pretty common in Taiwan.

• Decided to just stay and explore XMD area since it’s already quite late in the evening already. XMD is like our Far East, a lot of teenagers there, dressed very fashionably and guys are really cute with stylish Japanese haircuts.

• Tried the 阿宗面线 finally. You can get them in 2 sizes, big or small. Me and my sis bought a big one and shared. They just give you a bowl and spoon and you just eat them while standing. I thought the Mian Xian is very well cooked, the soup is not too thick nor too diluted. But I don’t like the 猪肠 in the 面线 . Tot the one we had in Singapore with the oyster is better.

• Clothes and accessories in XMD are really X. In fact, clothes in Taipei are very X. One dress in a small shop can cost easily S 100 – S 200! It’s ridiculous. The people claimed coz the materials are from Korea/Japan, that’s why it’s X. I think we can get the same things in Singapore for cheaper. In general, we were quite disappointed with shopping at Taipei. Singapore really wins hands down, in terms of style and price.