This was during my “rebel” days. I told my parents that I went to Taiwan alone. I was scared of their reaction if I told them that I was going with Iking. You know, typical strict Filipino parents…
Funny (and probably stupid) idea why we decided to visit Taiwan was only because we wanted to try Modern Toilet Restaurant, a bizarre (cute) poop-themed restaurant.
We have already booked our tickets and everything before we learned that the restaurant was closed for renovations during our time there. So we ended up researching other themed restaurants which are very popular in Taipei, and doing other stuff.
Among other themed restaurants we found were about ninjas, hospitals and nurses featuring drinks in syringes, pets and cartoon cafes. Yeah, crazy stuff.
But Taipei is a lot more than themed cafes. Street food, bubble tea, architecture, and temples are also huge players for tourism in Taiwan.
Taoyuan International Airport is already an eye candy to visitors. There are a lot of adorable wall art just right after you exit the plane.
Ni hao 👋😌
We went straight to our cutesy colorful hostel, Colormix Hostel. Our room was a small loft-style room. It is located in an alley close to Ximending.
On our first night, we went street food eating and window-shopping along the streets of Ximending. The place was crowded during the late afternoon to midnight. Local people like to hang out in the place and stroll with their pets.
The next day, we took the train going to Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall. It was about a 10-min travel from our hotel.
The National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall is a famous landmark and tourist attraction erected in memory of the former President of the Republic of China.
magic to disappear.
All you need is
a destination and
a great hostel! "
- Unknown
From there, we walked our way to Peace Memorial Park, which is a historic site and municipal park. It was literally peaceful there.
On our way to Hello Kitty Sweets Cafe, we took Zhongzian Fuxing MRT Station, the most adorbs MRT station you might probably see your entire life!
I was a big fan of Hello Kitty growing up.
I used to wake up at 7 o’clock in the morning to watch Sanrio and Friends on TV.
My parents once took me to a Hello Kitty Cafe on my birthday when I was a kid, despite it being far from our place and considering it was incredibly expensive back then. Oh, good times.
Excuse me for being such a girly-girl here 😋
Ambience was terrific, but the food was meh.
Before capping the night off, we dropped by Taipei 101, the tallest building in Taipei that is a 101–story architecture. It has two high-speed observatory elevators which only takes 37 seconds to travel from the 5th floor to the 89th floor of the skyscraper.
This was the time we realized that observatory decks are never worth it. It’s always better to find a different location to appreciate any overlooking place than to pay for the deck. That’s why we never did it in Tokyo.
To end the day, we went to Shilin Night Market for a food trip and a little souvenir shopping.
On the following day, we visited Sacred Heart Catholic Church, to fulfill our vow. The church is kinda wildly unique.
From there, we traveled our way to Yeh Liu Geopark, a popular photo stop with scenic rock formations and fossils.
Yes naman... #FollowMeTo
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From there, we tried to make our way to go to Pingxi for the flying lanterns. Unfortunately, we failed. We bought our tickets and took the train. We were lost.
I don’t think it was because of a lack of research. I the blame language barrier! Lol
We spent a total of 3 hours on the train and the train station in Sandiaoling Railway Station BY OURSELVES. It was creepy and dark. There was no way out from the station – it was empty. One officer was manning it but he can’t understand and speak English. Behind the station was just an empty and dark horizon.
Until suddenly, out of nowhere, a monk appeared. We asked instructions and he accompanied us back to where we should be.
Until suddenly, out of nowhere, a monk appeared. We asked instructions and he accompanied us back to where we should be.
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Something like in the movies
Finally, we managed to get back to the city and had a late-night dinner in a local food stall in Ximen.
The next morning, we toured Yangminshan National Park where we tried our luck to see cherry blossoms and Beitou Thermal Valley aka Hell Valley where it smells mildly like a fart! Haha
The next morning, we toured Yangminshan National Park where we tried our luck to see cherry blossoms and Beitou Thermal Valley aka Hell Valley where it smells mildly like a fart! Haha
Cherry blossoms?
What cherry blossoms?
We dipped into a public hot spring pool, but we only managed to stay for 15mins. The temperature was intense!
Before dark, we went back to the city for dinner.
This time, we ended up trying Barbie Cafe.
Sorry ka, B… birthday ko eh 😂
Sorry ka, B… birthday ko eh 😂
Food was still a meh. But we enjoyed here better; we had fun playing/posing Barbie and Ken!
Thank you for reading! See you on our next destination 👋😎
Jo Alix
I have proof of how much he loves me lol
After dinner, we quickly visited a Michael Jordan store (to give back the masculinity 😂)
We were surprised how big the market is for basketball in Taiwan. Nike stores are everywhere, basketball shoes for sale here and there, unlike in Singapore.
We flew back to Singapore the following day. It was tiring but definitely a 5-day fun-filled trip. Lots of food and lots of walking!
We flew back to Singapore the following day. It was tiring but definitely a 5-day fun-filled trip. Lots of food and lots of walking!
Thank you for reading! See you on our next destination 👋😎
Duplicate post on paulajogalix.wordpress.com.
Jo Alix
A Filipino currently living and working as a corporate warrior in Singapore, aiming to share experiences with the people who have the same interests. The goal is to be traveling one country at a time while keeping sustainability in mind, so hoping to inspire other travel junkies too!
Don't forget to vote, comment and follow!
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wow you made some beautiful memories which will stay with you forever. How do you manage to travel ? for me i can't even travel to the opposite side of my country.
Its good to find that you have instagram too. It will be fun
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Great post. I loved my visit to Taiwan and you did a lot of the things we didn't get a chance to in Taipei as we were in the Alishan Mountains mostly. Enjoyed this. Great photos also
Ganda naman ng weather ng punta niyo.
Natawa ako don sa food sa Hello Kitty Cafe. Super relate ganyan yang ibang themed cafe, ganda ng dekorasyon tapos pagtikim mo.... Ay! Di masarap.
Galing galing ng Marekoy ❤
Hanga talaga ako sa you! ❤❤❤
Awesome article!
Hiya, @choogirl here, just swinging by to let you know that this post made it into our Honorable Mentions in Daily Travel Digest #891.
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Woow Taipei is very beautiful. A historical city.
Muy interesante tu post, me agrado las fotografias, gracias por compartir.
Hola @paulajogalix… He elegido tu post para mi iniciativa diaria de reblogear. Este es mi aporte para Hive…
Sigamos trabajando y aportando ideas para crecer en Hive!...
Hello @paulajogalix... I have chosen your post for my daily reblogging initiative. This is my contribution to Hive...
Let's keep working and giving ideas to grow in Hive!
Oh wow! Thank you, @elmundodexao! Happy to share and to inspire!
Amazing post and awesome formatting. You really did a wide range of activities there @paulajogalix.
⋆ ᴀ ʜɪᴠᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴛʏ ғᴏʀ sᴏᴜᴛʜᴇᴀsᴛ ᴀsɪᴀɴ ᴄᴏɴᴛᴇɴᴛ
⋆ ғᴏᴏᴅ, ᴛʀᴀᴠᴇʟ, ᴘʜᴏᴛᴏɢʀᴀᴘʜʏ, ᴘᴏʟɪᴛɪᴄs, ᴀʀᴛ, ᴍᴏᴠɪᴇ ʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡs & ᴍᴏʀᴇ
⋆ sᴜʙsᴄʀɪʙᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴀsᴇᴀɴ ʜɪᴠᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴛʏ ʜᴇʀᴇ
⋆ ғᴏʟʟᴏᴡ ᴏᴜʀ ᴀsᴇᴀɴ ʜɪᴠᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴛʏ ᴠᴏᴛɪɴɢ ᴛʀᴀɪʟ
Thank you, @asean.hive! I hope you enjoyed reading my post 😄
Wow! What an interesting travel! 😍 I'd like to see Taipei because of this! Hahaha! 😂
But urgghhhh! When will that be with this virus? Huhuhu!😭
Really, thank you for showing us around. Ang cute ng themed cafe din, but with your description of their food, wag nalang! Hahaha! 😂
Thank you, Ms @gingbabida! Happy to share and happy to inspire!
Hopefully soon, we can be virus-free na! Huhu
Stay sane, safe and happy 🌻
Hahaha! 😂 Natawa ako sa "stay sane." 😂😂
Hahaha! Hirap na, baka mauna pa tayo mabaliw kesa mahawa ✌️😂
Hahaha! Natawa ako doon ah! Hahaha! 😂😂 Onga naman. Di ko naisip yon. 🤪