Taipei, Taiwan
"The wind so strong, my umbrella was spoilt...."
Day 16 (16 August '07)
Well, this day was spent on the plane and crossing the International Date Line...
Our flight was at 1.15am, 16 August, and after 13 hours of flight, we were at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (also known formerly as Chiang Kai-shek International Airport)
Then it was 5.30am, 17 August already...
Day 17 (17 August '07)
At Taipei, YL continued her flight back to Singapore while the remaining 3 of us stepped out of the airport for a 2 nights stay. Ha.
When at the airport, after claiming our luggages, we were slacking on the sofa at the arrival hall. Not only we were tired, but it was still very early. So basically, we spent 2 hours sitting/sleeping while also checking out on how to go to our hotel.
Arrived at Taipei!::Waiting for bus
Thankfully there was free wireless internet, so i checked on the maps. We didnt really plan much for Taipei trip so we had that 2 hours to do some readings...
Proceeded on for a coach bus that would bring us to somewhere near our hotel. When we were told to alight, it felt like a nightmare, because we didnt know where we were and shortly after, it began to drizzle.
But still, with a map, we began a long walk through the streets with our luggages. The worst part - carrying luggages down and up long flight of stairs of the underpass several times! Why don't they have escalator or pedestrian crossing??!
Our hotel::The spacious room
Finally reached our hotel at around 11am. Rested, washed-up, changed and we were out in less than 2 hours.
It was 1pm already and the first thing to do was lunch. We didnt search for long and settled on a nice looking restaurant.
The streets::Countdown timer starts at 99!
After lunch, we took their Metro (捷运) to Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall station (中正纪念堂) where we viewed the National Theater which was under renovation, National Concert Hall and National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall (中正纪念堂, also known as Chiang Kai-Shek (CKS) Memorial Hall).
Token as ticket::Taking the train
The memorial hall::大中至正
CKS portrait:: His 6.3m long car and office
In the memorial hall, there was some exhibition about the historic movements that happened in Taiwan or China. The struggles and such. Also, there were some display of CKS, the former president's office and things he used.
From there, we took the train to Ximen (西门) station where Ximending (西门町)is. Ximending is a very big place with many trendy shops for the youngsters. Very crowded and very confusing for us. The clothes there also didn't quite appeal to us. Or partly also we didn't have much time to really shop.
And i tried their bubble tea, but it didnt come with pearls
After some time, we managed to find Holiday KTV (好乐迪) and hence tried some Taiwan's KTV. Haha.
Even though there were only 3 of us, but the staff gave us a room that could easily fit 12 to 15 people. There was even an attached bathroom and the songs were chosen from a touch-screen and not from remote control. The remote control was used to create lots of sound effects (for eg, singing in space, concert hall and add-in cheers and applauses). Very cool.
Our food, too much::Choosing songs from touch-screen
But one thing, it didnt allow the option of having the singer's voice. When asked, the staff politely said they will improve next time and such feature will be added in the future. So funny.
Price wise, it was probably a bit expensive, about S$20 for 3 hours but it came with many food that we could order. Couldn't finish in the end, and even if we didnt order, they still charged the same price.
The safety barrier at station::The above-ground station of Jiantan
After KTV, we left shortly and took the train to Jiantan (剑潭) station where Shilin Night Market (士林夜市) is.
Famous for the local food, we walked through the stalls for the shelter market but didnt have the appetite to try. Kinda of wasted but somehow, the food just didn't quite appeal to me. Then we left to the street markets...
The outdoor market::Selling 'flying Prata'?
Didn't really shop as the clothes seemed expensive (maybe due to the cheap stuffs in the USA) but still bought quite some snacks to bring back to Singapore.
Left the place in less than 2 hours and then it was almost 11pm. Back to hotel after that...
And the bad news of the day was that a typhoon was approaching Taiwan the following day and heard that it would be quite strong.
That could really potentially spoil our trip....
Day 18 (18 August '07)
The typhoon really did spoil our day.
Waking up to see that it was raining, i went back to sleep. In the end, we only get out of the hotel at 12pm. Then, it was still raining and the rain would come periodically heavy to light to heavy again.
When we thought the rain had stopped, another wave would come shortly.
But still managed to take the train to Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall (国父纪念馆) station. Armed with an umbrella, we walked to the memorial hall but unfortunately it was closed due to typhoon warning. And we were stuck outside the entrance for 30 minutes because of the heavy rain.
Viewing the statue through the glass::Sun Yat Sen
But good thing was, we could see Taipei 101 from there, so we just took pictures until we got enough of it....
Walked to Taipei 101 when the rain seemed lighter and along the way, we saw fallen trees and experienced strong wind. That was when my umbrella was spoilt!
City Hall
Taipei 101 was like a haven to us as it sheltered us from the rain, but it wasn't a shopping haven. Things were expensive, food included. But still, we had to eat our lunch. So we went to the food court...
The stall that i went::My lunch that cost about S$5.50
And also in the area there are other shopping malls such as New York New York, Shin-Kong Mitshukoshi Dept. Stores (新光三月) and Vieshow Cinemas (维秀影城).
Huge varieties of drinks::The cheapest drink with Wu Zun, lol
Floss bread::Sogo in Taipei 101
And thanks to the rain, we spent like 7 hours walking around in the malls and having dinner in Taipei 101's KFC before heading back to the hotel again...
We couldnt go to another night market as they should be closed due to typhoon.
So that's how our Taipei city tour ended up. Didn't really have the time to explore much and there should be much more exciting and interesting stuffs...
Day 19 (19 August '07)
It was time to leave Taiwan.
Our flight was at 9.15am, so we checked out from the hotel early in the morning at 6.30am. And again, i believed the cab driver probably overcharged us a little for the journey from the hotel to the airport. Well, no choice again since the hotel called the cab for us and it was difficult to negotiate the rate before we hopped onto the cab.
The dark sky
So after the standard procedures at the airport, it was time to board the 4+ hours flight back to Singapore.
Checking in::Before entering the departure gate
Taking off::Meal on board
Touching down at Singapore was definitely a very mixed feeling. But it was still good to be home after 15 weeks....
Finally i've come to an end of my Work & Travel posts. Even though im 4+ months late, it was still necessary to complete it and not leave them hanging....
Previously:
Los Angeles, California
Las Vegas, Nevada
Grand Canyon (Arizona)
In transition
Orlando, Florida
New York, New York
The Very Last Week
Reminiscing Cedar Point...
Niagara Falls Trip
Cincinnatti + shopping Trip
Trip to Aurora, Ohio
No comments:
Post a Comment