Taipei Day 1 + 2

 I have returned from my first ever Overseas Solo Trip and I will say, it was a huge success!

My flight was on Sunday at 3.10pm, initially my plan was to just take a Grab over to the airport on my own, but my sister was kind enough to rent a car and drive me there, so I reached the airport at around 1.45pm-ish and went to check in straight after, had Pret-A-Manger in the Departure Hall because I really liked the food that was sold at the outlets in New York when I visited there back in 2019, unfortunately, the items sold at the Singapore outlet is fucking expensive, a small fruit bowl was already $10. 

So instead, I got myself a Fruit Smoothie and a Popcorn Rocky Road, the Smoothie was very sour and the Popcorn Rocky Road was very meh. I think this was about $12 in total if I'm not wrong. 

About an hour later, the boarding gate opened up, so I headed over and since I had gotten a Premium Economy ticket, I didn't have to go too far to find my seat with all the other peasants, I was a semi-peasant sandwiched between the Business Class and Economy Class.

Premium Economy Seats are like proper armchair seats whereas Economy Seats look like seats that were taken out from a bus and just installed directly onto the plane, there was enough leg room and it felt quite spacious. 

I was very lucky because the Premium Economy zone was quite empty and I almost had a whole back row to myself. It felt like such a steal to have that much space for my other stuff, like I didn't have to squeeze all my belongings within my own zone, I literally had another seat next to me that I could fully utilize.  That being said, I couldn't fully enjoy the space because I was also quite busy getting worried about how to navigate Taoyuan Airport once I landed and then was contemplating if I should take a cab or just take the Metro to the hotel right after that.

Anyways, here is a shot of the airport baggage claim area after I arrived in Taipei for the first time in my life, thankfully the signs are done really well in Taiwan, so navigating through the airport was a breeze, the Metro itself was also really easy to navigate, I would go so far as to say that the navigation within the Metro is done much better than here in Singapore, the signs that they plaster telling you which exit goes where is informative enough for a noob like me to not get lost, the moment you exit the train, they literally have a standee to point out where the exits are, and then telling you the Exit leads to where.

Also, Taiwanese people in general are just so much more well mannered, they are not rushing into the train the moment the door opens, they will stand one side to wait until everyone that is stepping out steps out before they go in, but here in Singapore, the moment the door opens, you will have a bunch of Aunties just pushing their way though, and the moment 1 Aunty starts doing that, everyone else will follow suit. 

I successfully navigated through the Metro, took the Express Train all the way to Taipei Main Station, from Taipei Main Station, transfer to the Bannan Line and took 1 stop to my hotel, which is literally just across one of the MRT Exit. It was so fucking convenient, and this convenience was what made the rest of my trip in Taipei such a breeze for exploration.

The main downside for day 1 is the fact that the flight was actually slightly delayed back in Singapore, so I only touchdown in Taipei at around 8.30pm, by the time I reached the Hotel once I was done with all the Immigration and Baggage collection, it was already 10pm, there really weren't much I could do after that, so I had my first meal in Taipei from 7-11.

It was honestly not a bad meal, the Malt Milk was pretty nice as well, but little would I know, this would be the only 7-11 meal I would eat for the entire trip because that's how successful this trip was, I didn't give in to laziness and just decide to stay in the hotel, I actually went out as much as I could for the 4 full days I was there.

Oh, the hotel room was also pretty great, I was given a room on the 13th floor...

I'm literally facing a school, so it is interesting to see students filling up the classroom in the morning at around 8am...

.... and at night, the students are literally in class until 9.30pm. It's insane, I would usually be back from my exploring at 6pm- 7pm, by which time it would already be dark because Taiwan is like that, I mean the Sun is usually already up at 5.30am, so it will look like the day time photo of the school, my body clock was very confused.

Also, it was cold during my visit there, so that was a very very pleasant surprise, it feels like I am walking in an air conditioned space, it was very comfortable, I had thought the weather would be warm, so I brought more shorts than long pants and I wore short shorts for the first 2 days while the locals were covered in sweaters and long pants, someone was clearly underdressed for the weather, but it was nice.

Anyways, on the first official day of my trip, I had Starbucks at the hotel, this was honestly one of the main reason why I chose the hotel, because of the Starbucks, the hotel will give all hotel guest credit that they can spend at Starbucks, and the Starbucks will be opened only for the hotel guest from 7.30am - 9.30am, which is really nice. 

It's a really nice Starbucks and is allegedly one of the nicest Starbucks in Taipei based on some articles I read online, it gets packed when it officially opens to the public after 9.30am, so it's really nice to have that peace and quiet in the morning.

Here is my first Breakfast at Taiwan. 

Something simple and accessible because it's literally in the hotel. I wanted to get Fu Huang Soy Milk at first, which is essentially Soy Milk and Fried Dough Fritters, but they were closed on Mondays, so I ended up settling for Starbucks instead, which isn't too bad because I have points I needed to utilize anyway.

After breakfast, I went back to rest a bit, a bit undecided on where to go, I had an itinerary and I was supposed to go visit Taipei 101 that day, but after my initial breakfast plan messed up, I contemplated for a while and decided I was going to go the Songshan instead to see visit their Cultural Centre and also take a look at their stores that sells little trinkets, which would make for perfect souvenirs. 

I took more videos than photos during this trip, so I will only post the photos here, but this is the fountain that is in the area.

It's a very nice place to visit, nice and quiet, a bit artsy. I really like the overall vibe of the space, got myself a hand cream at one of the stores there and the sales lady was really nice, I wanted to get this hand cream in a particular scent that they carried for their essential oils, perfume and candles, but unfortunately, because the hand cream doesn't come in that particular scent, I ended up going for a different scent, the sales lady then proceeded to hand me a small little stone that she had spritzed with the perfume of the scent that I liked and gave it to me for free because she felt bad that the hand cream I wanted didn't have the scent I wanted it in.

And this is the service standard there in Taipei, the service staff are just super nice and friendly, I mean people there in general are nice and friendly, after I got the hand cream and went out the store, this Taiwanese Aunty asked me what I had gotten, I told her I got a hand cream and she thought I was Japanese for some reason, so she commented that my Mandarin was really good for a Japanese person. 

I had to tell her I was in fact Singaporean, that's why I could speak Mandarin, we had a very short exchange and before she left, she welcomed me to Taiwan and went on her way. 

Small gestures like this just really made my day.

Anyways, I travelled around the area a bit more and came across this mall that was just across from the Cultural Centre I was in, took a look at the restaurant and they had a Chun Shui Tang outlet in there, this restaurants is on my list of places to visit and I was suppose to visit it near a departmental store near Taipei 101, so what are the odds?

It was such a nice place, it was quiet, I was really early as well so I was one of the first few customer that day who visited the restaurant. I just felt really satisfied as I was sitting in the restaurant and have the solo trip be going so perfectly, enjoying my nice cup of bubble tea, the weather is amazing, there was a light drizzle but that meant it was cooling and everything just felt perfect in that moment. 

After that meal, I went back to the hotel to take a short break.

 

Me lepaking on the bed, streaming Disney+ from my iPad. 

I just found out my style of travelling alone, so what I would do is I would visit Location A for breakfast, take a short walk around the area and then return back to the hotel to rest for 1 - 2 hours before heading to Location B for lunch, take a short walk before returning back to the hotel and repeating the same for Location C for dinner. That was my routine and I liked that routine, I made a lot of trips so it really familiarized me with the Metro. And the fact that the Metro is literally just across my hotel is just the cherry on top of this whole experience.

Next stop was the Raohe Night Market, it was the first of 3 Night Markets I had planned to visit during this trip and I will say this is when things started to not become so perfect anymore, it was still great, but not as amazing as lunch.

It was relatively easy to get to Raohe Night Market...

First Stop was the famous Pepper Buns. The moment I started eating this, I knew for sure I was not going to be able to eat a lot of what the Night Market had to offer because of how small my appetite is. I walked the entire stretch of Raohe before I was even close to finishing this and when I was done, I was already half full.

Next thing I needed was a drink, so I got myself a Mung Bean slushie. I like Green Bean soup, so this was not really not bad, the staff was quite generous as well when she was scooping the slushie into the cup, it's literally filled all the way to the brim and sealed.

Walked a little more and I come across this stall selling this herbal soup, I had watched a Youtube video when I was in the hotel talking  about this specific store, the Youtuber claimed that this store is what the locals would go for when they visit Roahe, and I was still thinking to myself when I saw that video that I was most probably not going to eat at this store because it looked really popular and crowded in the video.

Well, when I walked past it, I decided I needed to try it, I needed to make an effort for this trip to be memorable, so I  made a U-Turn, went up to the store, and told the staff there that I wanted to get 1 set, the staff ushered me to the nearest available seat and this ended up being my last meal of the day. It's not my style of food, but I was so happy I made the effort to at least give it a try. 

I didn't stay long in the Night Market, I was there for maybe an hour, so it wasn't at it's peak yet, a lot of stores were still preparing but I really couldn't handle anymore food after that, so I headed back to the hotel, but before that, I decided to take a walk around Taipei Main Station because it is almost like a mall on it's own.

Well, I got lost as I was navigating through the space, I saw this sign that led to the "Zhongshan Metro Mall", so I followed it thinking it would just lead me to some kind of shopping zone where I could potentially get some cake or dessert back for supper in my hotel room.

Following the sign led me to this long path of what I assumed used to be an underground mall, I didn't realize it at that time and kept assuming the Zhongshan Metro Mall was up ahead.

Well, there was no mall, this is the mall and I ended up walking all the way to Zhongshan, which is the station right after Taipei Main Station, it was where I had transferred from to get the Taipei Main Station and I was back there again. Figured since I was there, I will just go up and take a look at the place, it was mainly departmental stores that I had no interest in visiting at that time, so I walked back to Taipei Main Station and on the way, came across an actual mall called Q-Square.

It feels so random to find the underground entrance to the mall in the Taipei Main Station, but it was a pleasant surprise.

 I was literally just thinking about getting a Bath Bomb that day just to take full advantage of the bathtub in the hotel room, and I manage to find LUSH there, so I got the cheapest bubble both bomb I could find, it was still pretty expensive at around $14 SGD, but the sales person who assisted me was really friendly and also threw in a sample face mask for me because she saw my face was not exactly in a good condition. Taiwan service staff is really next level, you actually feel good shopping with them.

There was also a food court / food area at the lowest level of Q-Square, so I got myself a  Black Forest cake, this was also not cheap, it was about $11 SGD. It looked so light and fluffy in picture but unfortunately, the cake sponge felt a bit dry and not as soft as I would have liked it, the cream was on the stiffer side as well, not very light and airy, it was not very good, I have quite high expectations when it comes to cake, so it just didn't live up to my standard. It looks cute though.

So that concluded Day 1 of the trip, it was super fruitful, I visited quite a few locations and I was very proud of myself for making the effort to actually visit those places. The fact that the MRT is so close to the hotel definitely helped as well, so I was very happy with the location of the hotel.  

Second Day -

Fu Huang was finally opened on the second day of my trip, so that was where I headed after I woke up from bed...

... this was the queue at around 7.45am in the morning and it continues all the way up to the second level where the shop is located. 

The line moved quite quickly though, I was able to get my stuff within 10 minutes of queuing, the staff were very efficient.  

I got a few items, a Cold bowl of Soya Milk, a savory Salted Soya Milk that looks like bean curd because it is literally curded by the vinegar they pour on it and is essentially a savory item and this bread wrap with a dough fritter in it.  It was so filling, the Soya Milk was really good but I was so full after this.

When I was finally done with the meal, I went back to Starbucks to get a Pink Drink, just to relax at the Starbucks while it's still only open for the hotel guest.

I just needed something light after that heavy meal at Fu Huang, and I also needed to use the Starbucks credit as much as I possibly could. I notice that Starbucks served all their drinks in this paper cup, they don't serve in those transparent plastic cup, so I have no pretty pictures to take of the pink drink.

Took a quick 2 hour break in the hotel and was contemplating where to go next, decided that I will follow the Itinerary I had originally planned for the previous day and headed to Taipei 101 for lunch.

My colleague who had visited Taipei 101 before told me that there really was nothing much to see at the top and that I shouldn't waste my money going up there, so I contemplated if I should while having a very light meal at the foodcourt. 

Got a bubble tea and a small Katsu Sandwich because I was still full from Breakfast, it was meh, the bubble tea wasn't very nice, it had floral notes to it that I really did not like and I couldn't enjoy the Katsu Sandwich because I was essentially just forcing myself to eat it for the sake of eating it.

After the meal, I took a walk around the mall a bit....

... the stores were all mainly luxury brands, so I was definitely not their target demographic. When I reached their upper level, I was presented with this concourse where  Burberry or Chanel was having some sort of pop up exhibition, then I saw right behind those display was the entrance to the Taipei 101 observatory. 

I know it's a waste of money, at $30 SGD per entry just to get up there, it's a tourist trap for sure, but then I knew that even if it was a tourist trap, it was still an experience I had to try, I am a tourist in Taipei for the first time on my first ever solo trip, if there is an experience worth trying, then I am going to go for it. 

So I did, paid for the entry fee, and headed to the elevator that will shoot me up all the way to the 98th floor or something, but before that they had this little photo booth section where you can have your picture taken, I thought it was like a free service they offered, but apparently if you want your photos, you need to pay for it at the top floor, so I took an awkward photo where I didn't know what to do with my hands and then just headed to the lift.

My ears popped as we blasted up to the 98th storey and this was one the views up there...

.. it's really high, not worth $30SGD but definitely an experience worth trying out as a first time visitor to Taipei.

They also had a small cafe up there, so I got myself a coffee and cake...

... total was like $20SGD, but the entry ticket to the observatory came with a discount coupon, so I made use of it and this was still overpriced. I didn't know the coffee I ordered would be serve the way it did, I just wanted a light roast Americano, but that's what I got, and the cake is mainly mousse, which is not the type of cake that I like, I want my cakes to have sponge cake base, not just mousse.

The food and drink wasn't bad, it's just not my style, but I am glad I had that experience up there, also got a bunch of souvenirs from there. which I later find out are just souvenirs I can get literally at any other gift shop scattered around Taipei.

On the way back, I also got Mister Donut...

.. I only know about Mister Donut because I read that they had a pop up store in Singapore a few years back that had people queuing for hours, so I wanted to understand what the hype was about and so I got 3 to try, there was no queue, so it was very quick.

Mister Donut specializes in Mochi Donuts. 

I do not like Mochi Donuts. 

I didn't like Mister Donut, in fact I only ate 2 and threw the last one away days later because it got hard from just sitting on the table for 2 days. 

Luckily I never had to queue for it, would have been so disappointed if I gotten this after queuing for hours in Singapore. 

After this, I went back to the hotel for a rest again before heading out to Ximending for their Night Market.

I guess it's not so much a Night Market, but they do have quite a few food options there and the best way to describe the place for me would be Bugis Street on steroids.

First stop was to try the famous Ah Zhong Mian Xian....

... got myself a small bowl because I knew I would get full very easily. Honestly speaking, it's nothing too special, taste like any regular Mee Sua dish I could get from a Taiwanese food store in Singapore, like Shihlin Taiwan Street Snacks.

After that, I went to look for this place called Snow King that sells really weird ice cream flavours. It's not located within the main shopping area of Ximending, so I had to walk a bit to get there... 

They have a sign by the side of the building "雪王“

Here is the interior of the place, so they have regular flavours, but also really weird ones like Pork Floss and Kidney Bean, 

...they also have much weirder ones like Seasame Oil Chicken, Bitter Gourd, Wasabi, Curry, but those are seasonal so they weren't available that day, not that I would have ordered them because it sounded too weird for me.

I should have gotten just 1 flavor, but I decided to get 2 just to try out a regular flavor and one of their weird flavors ....

... the ladyboss recommended I try the savory one first, so she brought out the Pork Floss for me. It's actually not bad, all the locals that came into the store whilst I was there ordered the Pork Floss Ice Cream as well.

The weather was actually cold that day, so having Ice Cream was probably not the best idea, which is why as I was eating this Pork Floss Ice Cream, I was heavily regretting getting their Mango as well...

... I thought it was going to be like Mango sorbet, so when I was presented with Mango Ice Cream, I was a bit disappointed. I do not like Mango Ice Cream, Mango is always better as a sorbet than an Ice Cream in my opinion, so I didn't really enjoy this just from a personal preference. 

2 cups of Ice Cream was definitely a mistake, and also, I probably should have had dessert last, like I didn't properly plan what to actually eat first and what to have last, I just made poor decisions on the fly that day. 

After that, I went back to the main area of Ximending and saw this store, seeing how they had a dine-in option, I decided to just give it a shot, I also read on an article online that you should try out the Onden from Ximen, so that's how I ended up in this store...

... it's a very old school set up, there were a few patrons in here and also this lingering smell of piss in the air, it smells like the streets of New York City. Like it's there, but it's not bad enough to  really affect your appetite.

I got myself their Onden, Braised Pork Rice and a cup of Watermelon Juice. It was okay, like nothing particularly outstanding about the meal, it's a good place for you to just go and get a meal to fill yourself up. 

This was the limit for that day for me, after this I really couldn't down anymore food, so I headed back to the hotel, but before that, I wanted to get some souvenirs back first, so I found this one store that was close to the train station entrance and got this...

... it's for my colleague at work. I'm actually not very close with him, but when he was in Melbourne visiting his friend earlier this year, he was super nice and got me a bunch of candies from there for my birthday , so I told him that I will definitely get him something when I am in Taiwan and I found the perfect gag gift for him.

... and the shopkeeper there managed to convince me to get all this as well before I left. They have a buy 5 get 1 free promotion happening, so in the end, I got a total of 7 items because the penis cake wasn't part of the promotional items. 

It is great though, I will be bringing half of those items to share with my colleagues at work.

When I got back to the hotel, it was only around 7.30pm, it literally took me less than 15 minutes to travel from Ximen to my hotel because that's how conveniently located my hotel is. I knew I wasn't going to go out anymore because I was already quite tired, it was a very fruitful day, I will admit I was quite disappointed with myself when it came to trying out food at Ximending though because the only main item I had there was the Ah Zhong Mian Xian, the ice cream and the final meal weren't really what you would think of when you think of Ximending, so in terms of my eating experience there, it was definitely a fail, which is the same as my eating experience as Raohe night market, both were big fail on my part because I just didn't have the appetite to try a lot of the food they offered.

After like an hour of just sitting in the hotel and streaming Netflix and Youtube on the TV,  I decided to head over to the closest bubble tea shop, which is literally a walking distance from my hotel, and just get a cup.

... this is KOI in Taiwan, it's called 50 Lan and it's freaking cheap compared to KOI in Singapore, their largest drink cost as much as the cheapest smallest drink in KOI.

It was a chilly night, so even the store kept their air-con turned off.

I got a cup of Ovaltine Latte because I didn't want anything with caffeine in it, this was about $3.50SGD, if I got this in Singapore, it would be about $7.00. I also had my second Mister Donut for supper and was just watching Youtube as I just sat back and recharged for the next day. 

Second day was also super fruitful, so I was very happy with myself. The only regret I had about the last 2 days was my experience with the night market, I just really didn't enjoy the Night Market as much as I thought I would.

Shall continue day 3 +4 in the next post because it's getting way too long.