Monday, April 02, 2007

taipei lowdown

A summary of what I did in Taipei.

First day

Dinner at ximending then went to Huaxi night market. I was quite disappointed with Huaxi as it had some raving good reviews but it turned out to be, well, nothing spectacular. Totally pales next to Shilin or Raohe. The usual foodfare lined the street but the actual Huaxi was just a quiet row of massaging stalls and some small little touristy shops. But I managed to get a pair of red heels for NT$133 (approx S$6). Now that was quite a steal.

Second day

Jiufen! Just had to bring my mom there although I was quite lazy...taking into account the travelling time. Decided not to take the train cos the rails are confusing. Took the Keelung bus and it took about 1.5 hours before we reached lovely Jiufen. Bought snacks and stuff, yeah the usual and I realise that the pineapple tart thingy (feng li su) is cheaper in Jiufen than outside. After Jiufen, it was the Keelung bus back to the East District. Combed the 2 Sogos. Gorgeous shoes and clothes they have in Sogo...but the price tags are in thousands of NT$ so erm, well....ate the egg omelette at the dan dan wu along the stretch of underground mall that links Zhongxiao Fuxing and Zhongxiao Dunhua stations. And of course once I reached ZXDH station, I couldn't resist not popping by Jay's Omni! Ha.....so walked past that 4 alleys again till I reached Lane 161, turned left...was abit disappointed though that his pink antique car wasn't parked outside anymore. It was just some regular white vehicle that I didn't pay much attention to. After East District, I decided to check out Gongguan night market which was just opposite the prestigious Taipei National University (known as NTU too). It was already nightfall when I reached Gongguan and the NTU campus just looked old and small, well maybe I couldn't see clearly in the dark. Gongguan was slightly better than Huaxi but it was just one line of shops selling accessories and stuff with some food in between the alleys. It still is nothing compared to Shilin.

Third day

Yangmingshan!!!! Never been there before, was quite excited till it started pouring halfway during the bus ride up the mountain. The bus did not bring us all the way up and we had to trek quite a journey up to the Yangmingshan park where the flower festival was supposedly to be at. And the rain never subsided. Lousy weather to attempt Yangmingshan but what to do? I was already there. Almost wanted to give up while seeking refuge at some shelter with 3 nice taiwanese aunties (they were sisters!) who were warming themselves with wine and they told us that Yangmingshan park was just 5 minutes away. Great we can't just walk back all the way so might as well proceed on and we were rewarded with the sight of pink sakura, yes, despite the rain. So braving the cold, the rain and an empty stomach, we posed with our umbrellas with the Sakura trees. It was my first time seeing sakura in 20 over years. Haha. Fortunately there was a shuttle bus to ferry us directly out to Shipai MRT from the park's carpark cos I seriously can't imagine walking all the way back. After which it was Shilin food market for some hot porridge and hao da ji pai. Not many stalls were open as it was still in the afternoon. Took shuttle bus to Miramar and mom refused to get on the ferris wheel, lol. Well anyway, my main purpose was to visit Carrefour (across the road) for my supply of chocolates. Back to Shilin for oyster meesua, oyster omelette and then Shilin night market! Went to the pets section first to ooh and ahh at the cute doggies and then window shopped, surprisingly didn't get anything except for a necklace. Although I still loved Shilin compared to other night markets.

Fourth day

Went Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall so mom could take some pictures. Then it was on to my favourite Danshui. It was at Danshui's yu ren ma tou that I saw Li Wei (taiwanese actor aka the late xu weilun's ex-boyfriend) filming. I think he looked damn dao loh so after a short while, we got tired of looking at him and continued to cam whore along yu ren ma tou. After Danshui, we were off to Wufenpu. Right season to be at wufenpu cos they have the nicest dresses at dirt cheap prices and I ended up buying 3. Went Raohe night market next to eat the delicious chou tou fu and mango ice! This time I opt for the mango+strawberry combination. Simply sumptious. It was also at Raohe that I discovered there was a special breed of tiny chicks referred to as 'mini ji'O. They were so cute!

Fifth day

Considered going to Wulai but I didn't do any research so abandoned the idea for....Taipei Zoo instead! Haha. The admission fee was only NT$60 (approx S$2.80), *coughs* singapore zoo *coughs* is so *coughs* expensive and bleah do I need to mention fewer animals? It took me almost 3.5 hours to finish walking around Taipei Zoo. Didn't regret it.....gosh I love the monkeys and the bears! After the zoo excursion, we adjourned to City hall area, walked around the malls and ended with dinner at Taipei 101. Bought another 2 pairs of shoes at the shinkong mall..can't help it. They are so princessy! Mom wanted to return early to pack but I left her in the hotel room to join my friend (who happened to be at Taipei too) and we went Shida night market. Not too bad but didn't buy anything as I was more or less broke by then and I still wanted to go get this bling bling tee from XMD the next day.

Sixth day

Spent whatever that was left of the day at XMD and splurged on earrings, a cap and of course that bling bling tee I was eyeing at chengpin 116.

Okay I meant for it to be a summary. Maybe pictures another time...I'm tired and I still have to think about my crisis.

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