We bought the tickets for SGD 128 (Promotion every Tuesday from 7am to 9am) and had an enjoyable flight with amicable staff and PLENTY of leg space.
As it was a midnight flight, we reached the airport at 5:40am. It was just too early and we had around 2 hours to spare before the telecom booth opens. We took our time to wash up then dragged our ultra heavy luggage around to hunt for food. Food options in the airport were limited and we could only choose from bread or porridge.
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| 100% Fresh after washing up |
From prior research, we got to know that EasyCard is commonly used in Taipei for traveling on buses and metro. The card was sold at all convenience stores and the metro stations. It was a big, BIG mistake for we purchased the cards from a convenience store in the airport which cost us NTD 100, (without including the card value) each. It turns out that the metro stations sell student EasyCards which would give us more discounts on transportation as compared to the adult card that we bought. :(
Under the guidance of friendly airport staff, we bought tickets for 國光 bus 1819 (NTD 125 each) and arrived at the Taipei Main Station 40 minutes later. I personally prefer 國光 buses as it allows us to charge our phones on the bus, indirectly equating to longer POKEMON GO sessions. XD
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| New Stay Inn II - Nanxi |
New Stay Inn II - Nanxi
Address: 6F-12F., No.151, Nanjing W. Rd, Taipei Main Station, Taipei, Taiwan
南京西路151號6樓至12樓, 台北車站, 台北市, 台灣Price: SGD 86 per night for 3 (4 nights)
The hotel was relatively near the metro stations, 中山站 and 台北車站 while 寧夏夜市 (Ning Xia Night Market) is just downstairs.
Next, we went to 迪化街 (Di Hua Street). The place was disappointing as all we saw were shops selling traditional medicine and herbs. Lunch was good though, 民樂旗魚米粉湯 (Sailfish vermicelli soup) and 炸紅燒肉 (Fried pork) was AWESOME. <3
西門町 (Xi Men Ding) was our next spot. It is a lively place with bustling crowd and colourful graffiti, I really enjoyed window shopping there.
As we were on a budget tour, we chose the more affordable 三兄妹芒果冰 (Mango ice) for NTD 120. I must say that it is really delicious and would totally go back for more if I'm back in Taipei.
We also found a cute shop in 西門町 that sells nicely packaged candies. ^^ Dear friends, don't be surprised if we send you this as a gift hehe.
In general, 西門町's shops are more expensive than other places in Taipei as it largely caters to tourists. Tired of walking for the whole day, we settled down at a small random 木瓜牛奶 (Papaya milk) shop to chill and drink some papaya milk. Right in front of the shop, there were some people filming music videos.
AND. GUESS. WHAT.
We saw 王大陸 (aka Xu Tai Yu) who appeared for a split second. That made our day (sort of), even though we were all not really fans haha.
Under pressure from dear Jia Jing and side kick Xin Yi, I decided to learn how to ride a bike and overcome the phobia >.<. Erm, in front of Taipei City Hospital... And I succeeded!!! With help from 師傅 XY and Photographer JJ. Thanks girls <3333
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| The start of my horror |
I rented the Taipei's uBike using EasyCard to learn biking. It is really cheap and the bike seat is very comfortable. A point to note is that the bike is rather heavy and it is a little difficult to cycle with.
Starving, we went to 寧夏夜市 (變肥#1) for dinner~ We ate 鴻記鐵板燒蔥餅捲 (Fried noodles wrap) and Peanut ice cream. (Food is nice x10)
Finally, we went back to our room to rest for the day. The room was pretty and I'm satisfied with the King-sized double bed. Too bad I lost oya-peya-som (i actually googled this) and didn't get my single bed. :(
