We woke up to our last day in Taichung, which means we have reached the half mark of our Taiwan trip. Even though each day were packed with many activities, it has been a wonderful 3 days at Taichung and by far, my favourite destination among all the countries I visited.
First thing we did after freshened up was to head to level 2 for our complimentary breakfast.
We alighted at Taipei Main Station at nearly 2pm, the first thing we did after alighting was to look for food as we were hungry. Taipei Main Station is home to the main transportation hub, shopping facilities, plentiful of food stalls and restaurants. We stopped by at The Eslite Spectrum shopping mall basement for our lunch. I have my favourite Popcorn Chicken Rice at NT$130 (or S$6.02) for lunch while he had Lu Rou Fan and we ordered a chawanmushi at NT$39 (or S$1.81) for sharing.
We then made our way to our hotel which is situated directly at Taipei Main Station, Caesar Park Hotel Taipei. After our lesson learnt in Hong Kong, we decided to book our hotel as close as possible to MRT station. We settled for Caesar Park Hotel Taipei which is the only hotel in Taipei with the direct connection to Exit M6 of MRT station, it's really convenient for us to travel around since MRT will be our main mode of transport.
Upon entering our room, I was awe by how spacious and cozy the room was. Caesar Park Hotel Taipei is a luxury 5 stars hotel and they provide the best hotel room we ever stayed so far. Not only that, staying at the high floor gave us a nice city skyline view.
After a short rest, it's time for us to explore Taipei. The first stop we went was Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall (國父紀念館). The memorial hall is a memorial to the Republic of China's National Father, Dr. Sun Yat Sen.
The park surrounding the hall is named Zhongshan Park, after the well-known Chinese name for Dr. Sun Zhongshan (孫中山). It includes gardens, decorative historical walls, exhibition and performance area. From the building, we can spot Taipei 101.
The main hall contains a statue of Sun Yat-sen. Every hour, there is a formal changing of the guards, which attracted lots of onlookers to gather for the ceremony. We were just in time for the ceremony.
Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall (國父紀念館)
No. 505號, Section 4, Ren'ai Road, Xinyi District, Taipei City, Taiwan 110
Operating hours: 9am to 6pm daily
Nearest MRT: Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall Exit 4 (blue line)
Entrance fee: Free
Our second stop was Ximending, a development center of fashion and subculture in Taiwan. It is also known as "Harajuku" of Taipei. There are plenty of stalls selling fashion stalls and street food, definitely a shopping paradise. The area is very popular among tourists and the local youth.
*got this photo from my bro as I lost my photo.
We tried the famous Ah Zong Mian Xian (阿宗面线) at NT$55 (or S$2.55) which attracted lots of crowds, but luckily the queue moved very fast. The vermicelli was flavoursome with vinegar and pig intestines added, especially good as it kept us warm.
The first thing I have almost daily was bubble tea, it can go up to 2 cups a day. Never in my life did I have so many go of bubble tea.
I purchased a top at NT$190 (or S$8.80) for GF, 2 tops for my dad and bro at NT$198 (or S$9.17) at Ximending. Besides that, I also bought the local delicacy at NTS470 (or S$21.76) to bring back to Singapore. Thankfully, the store provides free delivery if our purchase hit a certain amount. We don't need to carry the bulky bag for the remaining hours spent outside.
Ximending (西门町)
Chengdu Rd., Wanhua Dist., Taipei City 108, Taiwan
Nearest MRT: Ximen Exit 6 (blue and green line)
First thing we did after freshened up was to head to level 2 for our complimentary breakfast.
Though the breakfast spread was the same for the past 3 days, it comes with an extensive spread which I enjoyed having. Unlike the past 2 days which we were rushing for time, I did not fully enjoy the spread of the breakfast offering. Since I have nothing much today, I spent a little more time than usual and tried out more food at different stations.
After the breakfast, we went back to our hotel room and rest a bit before we checked out our hotel at about 10.45am. From Twinstar Hotel to Taichung Station was about 7 minutes walk. We reached Taichung station at about 11am and have half an hour of waiting time as we purchased the Tze-chiang limited express ticket for the train at 11.33am. The 2 hours 17 minutes train ride from Taichung Station to Taipei Main Station cost NT$375 (or S$17.36).
The high speed rail traveled at a fast pace and the passengers can enjoy countryside scenery as the train passed through.
After an hour of journey, my eyes started to feel tired and sleepy, I slowly dozed off into during the ride.
We alighted at Taipei Main Station at nearly 2pm, the first thing we did after alighting was to look for food as we were hungry. Taipei Main Station is home to the main transportation hub, shopping facilities, plentiful of food stalls and restaurants. We stopped by at The Eslite Spectrum shopping mall basement for our lunch. I have my favourite Popcorn Chicken Rice at NT$130 (or S$6.02) for lunch while he had Lu Rou Fan and we ordered a chawanmushi at NT$39 (or S$1.81) for sharing.
We then made our way to our hotel which is situated directly at Taipei Main Station, Caesar Park Hotel Taipei. After our lesson learnt in Hong Kong, we decided to book our hotel as close as possible to MRT station. We settled for Caesar Park Hotel Taipei which is the only hotel in Taipei with the direct connection to Exit M6 of MRT station, it's really convenient for us to travel around since MRT will be our main mode of transport.
Upon entering our room, I was awe by how spacious and cozy the room was. Caesar Park Hotel Taipei is a luxury 5 stars hotel and they provide the best hotel room we ever stayed so far. Not only that, staying at the high floor gave us a nice city skyline view.
After a short rest, it's time for us to explore Taipei. The first stop we went was Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall (國父紀念館). The memorial hall is a memorial to the Republic of China's National Father, Dr. Sun Yat Sen.
The park surrounding the hall is named Zhongshan Park, after the well-known Chinese name for Dr. Sun Zhongshan (孫中山). It includes gardens, decorative historical walls, exhibition and performance area. From the building, we can spot Taipei 101.
The guard changing ceremony was impressive as the guards displayed their professionalism. They have to stand on guard for an hour without fidgeting.
Pay a visit to this memorial hall and learn about Taiwan's history as some of the exhibition will provide us a depth of the past history.
No. 505號, Section 4, Ren'ai Road, Xinyi District, Taipei City, Taiwan 110
Operating hours: 9am to 6pm daily
Nearest MRT: Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall Exit 4 (blue line)
Entrance fee: Free
Our second stop was Ximending, a development center of fashion and subculture in Taiwan. It is also known as "Harajuku" of Taipei. There are plenty of stalls selling fashion stalls and street food, definitely a shopping paradise. The area is very popular among tourists and the local youth.
We tried the famous Ah Zong Mian Xian (阿宗面线) at NT$55 (or S$2.55) which attracted lots of crowds, but luckily the queue moved very fast. The vermicelli was flavoursome with vinegar and pig intestines added, especially good as it kept us warm.
The first thing I have almost daily was bubble tea, it can go up to 2 cups a day. Never in my life did I have so many go of bubble tea.
I purchased a top at NT$190 (or S$8.80) for GF, 2 tops for my dad and bro at NT$198 (or S$9.17) at Ximending. Besides that, I also bought the local delicacy at NTS470 (or S$21.76) to bring back to Singapore. Thankfully, the store provides free delivery if our purchase hit a certain amount. We don't need to carry the bulky bag for the remaining hours spent outside.
Ximending (西门町)
Chengdu Rd., Wanhua Dist., Taipei City 108, Taiwan
Nearest MRT: Ximen Exit 6 (blue and green line)
Our next stop was Shida Night Market which is a small scale night market popular among university students as the night market is near National Taiwan Normal University. It focuses more on fashion boutiques, bars, cafés, and restaurant. I don't really recommend coming here as the variety is lesser compared to other night markets. We didn't purchase anything or street food over here as my stomach was feeling unwell.
Shida Night Market (师大夜市)
Lane 39, Shida Road, Da’an District, Taipei City, Taiwan 106
Nearest MRT: Taipower Building Exit 3 (green line)
Shida Night Market (师大夜市)
Lane 39, Shida Road, Da’an District, Taipei City, Taiwan 106
Nearest MRT: Taipower Building Exit 3 (green line)
After I was back to normal, we went to Burger King at Shida Store for dinner since we were lazy to walk back to Shida Night Market. It was nearly 8pm. I tried on their Pork Burger Meal at NT$79 (or S$3.66). We then went back to Taipei Main Station to explore K Underground Mall in our area.
Since our bathing supply was running low, we stopped by at their health care and beauty care store to purchase Ma Cherie travel size bathing cum shampoo kit.
Before we went back to our hotel, we bought 2 donuts from Mister Donut at NT$80 (or S$3.70) to snack in hotel room. It was one of the earliest timing that we reached our hotel at about 9pm. Since we were still early, we went up to the rooftop garden at our hotel to check out the night view of the surrounding.
Good to reach home early because we need to wake up early the next day for a joint excursion with his friends.
I love Ma Cherie Moisture Shampoo which is formulated with Rich Pearl Aesthetic and Honey Jelly Unique Ingredients to achieve moisturized hair with shine-enhancing benefits, love the scent especially.
That's all for my day 4. Good night.
No comments:
Post a Comment