Happy Weekend, people~!
Finally starting with blogging about Taipei! So much to say, so many pictures to share I don't know where to start. I actually thought of doing it in non-chronological order and get to my favorite parts of the trip but then thought I probably will get lazy/uninterested to blog the other parts after that (O____O)
So I'm just gonna post in chronological order LOL
Day 1 was pretty much flying from KLIA2 to Taoyuan International Airport then taking the Kuo-Kuang bus no 1819 to Taipei Main Station (TMS). It took us about 40 minutes to get there.
Before heading to Taipei, right after we got through immigration it was about 3PM so we decided to catch lunch.
We had this at the airport food court. The portion is very generous.
Once we reached TMS, we checked around for a bit and found a Shan Mai branch. I recommended my friends to try out so that if they like it they might want to get some on our last day as souvenirs and we got just a few stuff for ourself to try.
Sorry pic isn't clear...
~♥~
And then we head straight to Jiantan Station where our hostel, Fun Taipei Backpackers is at a few minutes walking distance from the station.
We had trouble contacting the person in charge because we decided against getting a SIM card to save cost. It didn't help Fun Taipei Backpackers hostel does not own like an entire building on its own so no reception. Finding a working telephone booth was a pain and you can imagine how annoyed I was especially after a whole day of traveling including a sleepless and relatively hot (Tips: Do not choose the window seat for any day flight people!) 4-hour flight and lugging our suitcases and backpacks.
Finally, we decided to lend a phone from a taxi driver, saying we'll pay him no matter how much he wants. He was very kind to let us use the phone without charging and brought us back to our hostel cause we were tired from looking for a phone booth.
We called the hostel employee who told her friend was already there waiting for us. I was like "yeah, just great". Nope, I was very impatient and definitely didn't mean it well. So yeah, finally we got the keys and good thing the room turn out well except that the toilet got stuck on the morning we were checking out.
Our rooms have 2 huge king size beds with a sofa bed which we took turns sleeping because there is a guy in the team LOL. So yeah, pretty appreciate the extra bed.
Then it was time to have dinner and explore Shilin Night Market!
Actually I have tons of photos from Shilin and other places in Taipei/Taiwan to share, but then decided it's better if you people go explore the place yourselves. IMO it's funner that way.
I'm still introducing some of the must try there LOL. You're welcome.
#1 Cubed BBQ beef steak - Super good! Hot but good.
#2 Stinky Tofu - Our first challenge here. But boy, it's good! I'm a stinky tofu convert now.
#3 Fried milk! Taste so yummeh! We missed out the buy 3 for 50NTD part, so I was sorta regretting. Don't know how my friends can missed it when they are the ones who speaks Chinese wth HAHAHHA
#4 Grilled squid - We had the original flavor one with sauce that tasted like teriyaki sauce. I likey~ Portion is amazing! It was a good thing to travel in group. We can just try a bit of everything and a bit of everything we did!
#5 Ai Yu Ping - No pic but here is me holding it LOLOL
#6 Local fruits - This one cost us a lot. We spents like 500TWD for some mangoes, cherries and pink guava. AND I LOVE THEM! Especially the super juicy & fleshy mangoes and sponge-y soft pink guavas. The next few days whenever I saw mangoes and guavas, I just need to buy them. They are that good!
Though eating fruits before we explore the Shilin (we were still hanging around the road side) wasn't a good idea. There were so much more to see and eat. Which brings me to one of the must try in Shilin, or so the internet says
#7 Oh-Chien or fried oyster omelette - this we were super eager to try and we spotted a number of stalls at the lower ground floor of Shilin selling. We simply went to a random stall to try.
Behold the mass of goo!
Wasn't so impressed by this oyster omelette... The put so much starch we can barely taste the egg... Sorry, but Penang one is still the winner.
#8 Large Sea snails - Another dish we ordered is this large sea snail. I'm no fan of snails but this one is super good. I LOVE IT! We wanted to order more but were too stuffed to eat unfortunately. Definitely try this!
#9 Taiwan Beer - A few friends/colleagues suggested trying Taiwan beer so I did ordered cause I thought it will go well with the food. But nah, found out I still don't like beer.
Kampai!
There were a whole lot more of interesting food at lower ground like this snail though we were too full by then to try LOL
After that we explores a bit and bought some souvenirs (me, got my magnets there).
Check this animal/cartoon character shaped cotton candy. (Woops didn't notice the no photo sign there..)
#10 Bitter guard juice - I didn't bought but my friend did and let us try. This is one of the must try listed online so I suggested it to her. Tho it was too bitter to our liking...
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Summary: KLIA2 ⇒ Taoyuan International Airport then take Kuo Kuang 1819 Bus to Taiwan Main Station ⇒ MRT to Fun Taipei Backpackers near Jiantan Station ⇒ Shilin Night Market
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Read my other posts here!
Day 4: Jiufen ⇒ Shifen ⇒ (Attractions along the Pingxi Line) ⇒ Miaokou Night Market & Part 2
Day 8: National Palace Museum ⇒ Taipei 101 ⇒ Raohe Night Market
