Even though this was not our first time to Taipei, we were still very excited to visit the wonderful place where the food are fantastic, the people are polite and friendly and most importantly, the beautiful scenery surrounding it.
As it was late afternoon when we arrived at Taipei, the main station was crowded with working personnel who just knocked off from work. I believe most of them were like us. feeling hungry and tired and we couldn't wait to check in to our hotel.
With the size of our luggage, we had to fetch a MPV cab to In House Hotel in Ximending. While on our way, he offered a one day tour Taipei to us. However, his kind effort was turned down as we already booked a driver whom was highly recommended. His name is Meeky.
Ximending is a populous place for entertaining street performers and young people to hang around, be it a small gathering or shopping. I can see that they really love the place. Besides, it is a place where the most famous Mee Sua outlet called Ah Zhong Mee Sua is located. Everyone who came to Taipei must at least try once. It is made up of flour vermicelli and pork intestines. Though pork intestines are quite unhealthy, but havin come all the way to Taipei, it's just worthwhile.
The hotel we were staying in is located right at the entrance of Ximending and is relatively new. By just turning left twice, we will find ourselves in Ximending. Its lobby is pretty posh and looked like it will turn into a crowded nightclub with beautiful bar girls serving you ice cold beer at night. The room is incredible! I think at SGD110 per night, it's a bargain! The bed is comfortable and the bathroom which provides Loccintane products. The hotel service was excellent except for some receptionists who just give you a cold shoulder.
Shilin Night Market is different. There used to be a food center and a shopping district. During this visit, we were told that the food center had been torn down and all the food stalls were moved to the new food district in the basement of the shopping district. The new food center was very stuffy and it was not as enjoyable as before. To make things worse, it was overcrowded. The new Shilin Night Market is not as fun as before. Some interesting places like the pets' corner was no longer there.
The most memorable part of this trip was the one day tour to Yeliu, Jiufen and Shifen with Meeky. Meeky is highly recommended by people in the forums and I'm not surprise about that as he is very friendly and sincere when driving us around unlike the driver in Taichung. Besides he has alot of Singapore souvenirs from returning customers in his car. Even the cap he wore is from Singapore. Upon hearing we were interested to get sun cakes, he drove us to the most popular sun cakes shop, Chia Te, in Taipei. It was not included in the itinerary he usually provides. As he was afraid we had too many stuffs with us, he drove us back to our hotel to offload the things before driving us to our final stop, Shilin Night Market. We were so grateful with his outstanding service and a tip for him is inevitable.
The trip to Yeliu was specially catered for Elmo and Mich who had never been there before. I thought the trip to see the "Empress' Head" would be worthwhile but everything seemed spoiled when it was too crowded with mainland Chinese. Similar to those in Singapore, the mainlanders talked loudly, made security guards work their heads off and took so much time to take pictures with the "Empress' Head". Luckily the weather was fine and not as hot as in September. Jiufen is the same as usual. Nothing changed much. Scenery at the end of Jiufen Street is beautiful still. The famous braised pork rice is delicious just like the past. 'Lai Ah Po' glutinous yam balls are so fantastic that one is never enough.
Along our way to Shifen, Meeky brought us to a few scenery places where tour company might not even bring you there. They are the "Golden Waterfall', 'Yin Yang' sea and Shi yan. Those places were amazing and we took lots of beautiful yet epic photos as remembrance. Shifen was never famous in Taipei until the movie, 那些年, was filmed there and broke lots of records in Taiwan. Ever since that, a lot of locals and tourists are attracted to Shifen for the sending of the 'Kong Ming' lantern or the sky lantern to the sky. It was said that in the past, the commoners send these lanterns to the sky towards heaven to wish and pray for good luck and blessings. We went to the shop as recommended by Meeky and made our very first sky lantern and released it to the sky while on the railway track as we prayed for good health, good luck and wonderful marriage for ourselves and our loved ones. Shifen is a decent place for couples who wanted to have their wedding photos taken and tourists must go there even if it is pretty far from Taipei.
Wu Fen Pu shopping district is definitely a must-go place in Taipei for shopaholics. There were so many shops there that make it looked like heaven to the ladies. Unfortunately for Juliana, most of the items on sale were for the autumn and winter season. Very few clothes were available for Singapore's hot weather. I would prefer to shop in Bangkok where the things are way cheaper. Usually after Wu Fen Pu, most people would plan like us by going to Raohe Street Night Market for dinner. It was a little crowded as most people were going for dinner. We settled our dinner at some western-local mix cafe and their beef were delicious. Other than the main course, they provided free flow of soup and drinks with the price at approximately NT450. After dinner, we spent some time walking along the street and had some snacks along the way. With Juliana around, you just couldn't stop eating.
Tamsui was our last stop in Taipei. There isn't many attractions and interesting sites to visit there. One of the reason for the trip was to buy the famous fish crackers called 'Xu Yi' which is a century old stall selling fish crackers. Other than fish crackers, another popular snacks you can get there is 'Ah Po' braised eggs. These braised eggs are different as they were boiled for very long in braised sauce that it became solid black and hard. Another reason for making the thirty minutes long trip was the famous 'Ake' in Tamsui old street. It is made up of beancurd and fish paste with fillings like abalone and other ingredients based on which flavor you ordered. The Lovers' Pier shouldn't be missed since we were already there. However, the trip was pretty wasted as the weather was cold and windy over there.
Taiwanese artiste are well-known in Singapore. Artiste like Jay Chou, Show Lo, Jolin Tsai, Rainie Yang and lots more if you name them, have huge fan base in Singapore. Their songs, film and drama are not new to us. Therefore, upon hearing that Jay Chou owned a few restaurants in Taipei, we planned to pay a visit to the one in ZhongXiao. Even though the restaurant was opened by a well-known artiste but it was located away from the Metro station. We had a hard time finding it and thanks to modern technologies, the smart phone and friendly passer-by. The food in Mr J was mediocre and not exactly worth the price and effort to get there. As it was Mich's birthday, we decided to celebrate for her at Mr J.
Juliana and I really enjoyed this holiday even though it was just a week long. It is not about the duration of trip but the person you're with that make it worthwhile. Those quality time spent are priceless and we wished we could just stay there a little longer or maybe away from work. Even when we're heading to the airport, the journey was amazing as Juliana and Mich enjoyed the karaoke system on board the cab. The holiday was unforgettable with so much sweet memories left behind. The smiles in all our pictures explained it all.
