2006-10-24 – Day 1 – Singapore – Taipei
It’s time for our honeymoon! Our parents picked us up to head to Changi T2 very early in the morning. (tip: next time we’re going to do internet check-in!) After a quick 4 hour flight from Singapore, we were picked up by Sam from Polo Travels at Taoyuan Airport. All thoughts of it being a cosy tour were vaporised when we realised we were travelling with 7 other groups on the 40-seater coach. Well, this was going to be interesting…
Xi Men Ding (西门町)
Since we had some free time and I was pretty familiar with Xi Men Ding, we headed out as soon as we got our room at Kilin Hotel (definitely not our first choice of a 3-star hotel). Our first stop for food was of course Ah Zong Mian Xian. Definitely worth a visit if you’re in Xi Men Ding. Also note the push carts full of food. (they mysteriously vanish into small alleys once the cops arrive)
Taipei 101 (å°åŒ— 101)
Not wanting to waste any time, we took the Metro (Taipei’s MRT) to Taipei City Hall Station. Was pleasantly surprised to see they had implemented and ezy-link type system and even had barriers for safety at the open tracks (wonder when we’ll get this?). After walking out of the station, there was a free shuttle service (Shuttle 101) to Taipei 101 to catch the night sights. We spent 350 NTD each to take the lift up one of the world’s tallest building (My last time was in Shanghai and I must say lift technology is amazing… very quick rides both ways!).
Wufenpu Fashion Area (五分埔)
A quick 2 stops away to Houshanpi Station and 5 minutes of walking later, we were at Wufenpu Fashion Area.. There were streets and streets of different apparels for bulk purchase (or the occasional shopper). Scooters and staff weaved through the small roads to deliver goods. Definitely interesting place visit if you’re into shopping for clothes! (We saw so many types and variations it was hard to know where to start).
Raohe Night Market (绕河夜市)
Further down from Houshanpi was a night market I had visited 3 years ago, Rao He Night Market.. This time round I entered from another entrance since we crossed Songshan Station (Railway). Yh and myself had a nice dinner of Lu Rou Fan (é²è‚‰é¥) and also ice topped with mango, strawberries and kiwi. Packed ourselves a nice bowl of almond jelly back to hotel for supper. Pretty eventful first day for us and we were quite tired since we walked to most of the spots but definitely more fun to walk around and see the sights 