Making Each Day Count

One of the highlights of this month was our trip to Taipei, Taiwan. I came across a seat sale and instantly booked plane tickets for me and D. Taipei, after all, was less than two hours’ flight from Manila – shorter than the wait time at the airport. It was high time for a proper visit to Taipei. The first time we went there was in June 2014. At the time, the monsoon season was too overwhelming that we did not do much in that trip. Furthermore, our hotel was located quite a few train stops away from the city center, so though we attempted to explore the surrounding areas, we were forced back to the hotel to keep dry. Fortunately there was that one day when there was no rain, which gave us the chance to check out the Taipei 101 (which was the world’s tallest building for a few years until Dubai’s Burj Khalifa surpassed it in 2010), and the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. Though these places were impressive, they were pretty much the only locations we visited during that trip.

Planning for this trip was a breeze thanks to blogs, vlogs and social media. I booked our three-night stay at a hotel in Ximending, a vibrant shopping area near the Taipei Central Station. My excitement built up as the day we flew out to Taipei drew nearer. Klook was an app that I used to purchase our high-speed train tickets from the Taoyuan Airport to our hotel and our 4G sim for our pocket Wi-Fi.

We arrived at the Taoyuan Airport at noon and grabbed a quick bite at the airport food court. The Taoyuan High Speed Rail station was a couple of train stops away from the airport, and when we got there I was pleasantly surprised to find that the Gloria Outlets was just next door. Luckily the train tickets could be rebooked at a later time, so D and I were able to check out the shops at the Gloria Outlets. I was tempted to shop because there were lots of good deals, and had to remind myself that we only had 7kg hand carry luggage because our trip to Taipei was primarily meant to explore and eat local food. I made a mental note to go back next year, with a much bigger suitcase.

A few hours later we arrived at our hotel. After settling in, we headed out to the Ximending Walking District. Near our hotel was the Rainbow Road, where we watched a group of dancers perform and stalls for the night market started to be put up.

The Red House, a historic building built in 1908 during the Japanese period, was a few meters away from the Rainbow Road and could not be missed. We entered the charming octagonal-structured building and delighted ourselves with cute finds from the shops. Now this is where I indulged myself with a Taiwanese souvenir – a small bottle of perfume from Yuyu Tea Daily.

When it was time for dinner, D and I tried to walk in a few highly rated restaurants in the Ximending area, but due to the long queues we decided to try our luck with other options in our list. Finally, we were able to secure seats at the New Mala Hot Pot. It turned out to be the best hot pot I have ever tried so far, and having that awesome dinner was the perfect way to wrap up our first day in Taipei.