Travel Taiwan: The Beginning
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We arrived at NAIA Terminal 3 at 6:30pm, 5-hours before our flight. It was a good thing that we did, because when we weighed our luggage again, we were over 5 kilos. We had to move things around to make sure we don’t have to pay extra. Our weighing scale at home needs to be re-calibrated!
After fixing our luggage issue, we queued up for the bag drop at the Cebu Pacific counter. Since our trip isn’t covered by the visa-free entry to Taiwan, we had to get a travel certificate. This certificate is for travelers that have been to certain countries, like South Korea, Japan, USA, etc. At the counter, we provided our passports and the travel certificates. Unfortunately, my brother-in-law forgot to bring his old passport that has the same visa number on the certificate. OH NO! But we stayed calm. The lady at the counter gave us an option to get another travel certificate, send it via email, and she offered to print it for us. We calmly went to the side and filled out another travel certificate with the updated visa number. Problem solved. It pays to be early!
For dinner we ate at Wendy’s and stayed there for about an hour. We video-called my father and brother who were left at home, and my sister also joined us from the UK. It’s always fun when we do video calls. See snaps below! 😁
The Flight
Our flight was boarded 10-mins earlier than scheduled and arrived at 2:05am at Taoyuan Airport Terminal 1, but we had to stay until 5:30am to pick up our 4G Wi-Fi from Klook. We only paid Php800 for our 7-day Wi-Fi! No downtime at all, which is why I highly recommend it. Taoyuan Airport Terminal 1 looked really empty, but there’s free Wi-Fi and it allows streaming!
Book 4G Unlimited Wi-Fi from Klook
Taoyuan to Wanhua District
We arranged a pickup service from our Airbnb host. We paid NTD1200 for the pickup service. Our driver, Mr. Han, was a really good driver and we arrived safe and sound at our Airbnb. After settling in our Airbnb, we decided to sleep until noon. A separate review of our accommodation will be posted soon!
Airport Pickup Service:
Kenly +886-937-801-222 (via WhatsApp)
Taipei – Day 1
First things first, get an Easy Card. Not just a regular one, but get a Taipei Pass! We bought the 5-Day Taipei Pass for unlimited MRT rides, Taipei City/New Taipei City bus rides in Taipei.
Note: Inform the MRT staff if you will just be riding the MRT, and they will lower the price.
What is TaipeiPass?
TaipeiPass is a “touch-and-go ” IC ticket for transport in Taipei. During the period of its validity, visitors can use it for unlimited rides on Taipei Metro and on Taipei City and New Taipei City buses.
Dadaocheng – Dihua St, Xia Hai
Dadaocheng is considered The Old Taipei. The main reason why we went to this area is because of tea! I love tea. The street is also photogenic, just look at my mom’s photo below. It was drizzling that day, so we had our umbrellas out.
Also, the Xiahai City God Temple (霞海城隍廟) is located in Dihua St. It is a small temple built in 1856. According to my research, a lot of people come here to wish for a happy love life and a good job.
How to get here:
Ride the MRT and alight at Beimen Station (Green Line)., Exit 3. Follow this Google Maps route.
Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall
Chiang Kai-shek was the former President of the Republic of China, and this memorial hall was erected in honor and memory of him. It was quite cloudy during that day, but the atmosphere was quite nice. It was also very cold.
How to get there:
Ride the MRT and alight at Chiang Kai-Shek Station (Red/Green Line), Exit 5.
Taipei 101
Taipei 101 is Taipei’s tallest building. It is a skyscraper with 101 floors. The observatory is on the 89th floor and we took a 35-second ride in the elevator. Yes, 35 seconds! I had a bad cold during our trip, so it was so hard to pop my ears. I ended up with a deaf right ear and a slightly working left ear. But it was beautiful up there. If you love seeing night lights, you’d love it there. Also, I usually send a postcard to myself during my travels. If you’re interested in that, postcards are NTD100/ea, but they are hologram postcards, so why not? A stamp is NTD12/ea.
Book a Taipei 101 Observatory E-Ticket
Din Tai Fung
Din Tai Fung originated from Taiwan. A branch is located at B1 of the building, so we decided to eat there instead of on their first branch because we were so hungry and we had to eat our fill. We ordered 4 kinds of xiao long bao, but we were so hungry we took a photo after we devoured some.
If you are really interested to eat at their first branch, here’s the info:
Address: Din Tai Fung, Xinyi Store, No194, Sec 2, Xinyi Road, Taipei City
MRT: Alight at Dongmen Station, Exit 5
How to get there:
Ride the MRT and alight at Taipei 101/World Trade Center Station (Red Line), Exit 5.
Taiwanventure Series
Things to Do:
Where to Go:
Where to Eat:
We spent 6 full days in Taiwan, so stay tuned for my next post!
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