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Thursday, May 16, 2019

DAY ONE: TAIPEI AS A TOURIST DESTINATION WITH ITS OWN CHARM

Location: Taipei, Republic of China (ROC)



The vibrant shopping district of Ximending


As a background, Taiwan which is officially the Republic of China (ROC) is the 11th country I visited. It has an total land area of 35,808 square kilometers (13,826 square miles) with mountain ranges dominating the eastern two thirds and plains in the western third, where it is highly urbanized population is concentrated. (Wikipedia) As far as I knew, Taiwan is not a member of the United Nations because China considers it as a renegade province and it is imposing to the whole world the One-China policy, which means that all countries in the world should only recognize China as a country and Taiwan as one of its provinces and should not be considered a country.

The luxurious duty free shops at the Taoyuan International Airport


This Taiwan trip of mine is actually in Taipei, its capital and has the largest metropolitan area as compared to the country’s other cities like Kaohsiung, Taichung, Tainan and Taoyuan. Now, I knew why its international airport is called Taoyuan because it is located in this city. From Manila where I came from, it took my flight via Air Asia for 2 hours and 15 minutes to Taoyuan International Airport of Taiwan. The cost of my round trip airfare was P5,243.

The spacious and modern Taoyuan International Airport of Taiwan


Setting foot in Taiwan had impressed me so much for it is so modern like Japan where I already visited twice. I am so excited to visit China also, since it is one of my dreams to travel to this emerging world superpower. If Taiwan is just a province of the mighty China, then I would be expecting more from the latter.

Taiwan's attraction starts from its international airport


Visiting tourists like me were alternating to take photos on this part of the airport. This part is before you reach its Immigration Checkpoint. Just from this point, I already expected something in store for me when I reach my destination in Taipei. While there, we had changed our peso currency to Taiwan Dollars. Peso to Taiwan Dollar (NT$) is 0.49 while US$100 was exchanged to NT$3,084. So US Dollar is equivalent to NT$30.82. I was forced to exchange my Peso currency because I was thirsty then and I wanted to buy a bottled water from the Vendo machine where I bought one bottle for NT$28 or P57.14. Just to discover later that their was a drinking fountain as I explored the airport, but I do not have glass and bottle and, so I was obliged to buy bottled water.

Airports' Drinking Water Dispenser


The drinking water dispensers as you see above provide the guests with drinking water where it can be found in some strategic locations at the airport. If you are travelling to Taiwan (just for backpackers like me), bring with you an empty glass of water or a refillable empty bottle of water, so that you can conveniently drink cold water or even make a hot coffee or hot chocolate most particularly if your arrival is at dawn where you have to wait for the morning in leaving the airport.

Buses with respective destinations await outside the international airport


Our flight arrived Taoyuan Airport at 1:30 A.M. and since it was on unholy hours, we decided to sleep on some comfortable benches at the airport. It was so clean with free drinking water. Besides, the airport has a free WiFi connection. We stayed there till 5:00 A.M.

Shuttle bus from the airport to Taipei Main Station for a 42.6 kilometer drive


It is advisable that the tourists if nobody will pick-up them from the airport should book through Klook where ours was done like that. It was Kuo-Kuang (Taipei Main Station) Round Trip bus ticket for a cost of P200.50 single journey for one person. The bus was just accessible outside the airport. We just claimed our tickets at the airport from its company office based there. Another thing, it would be difficult to travel around Taipei without an internet connection. With this, we also booked online from the Klook and claimed it from the airport for a 4G WiFi good for 4 days for four persons for a total amount of P336.

Taipei Main Station



The facade of Taipei Main Station


Taipei Main Station is a major transport hub located in Taipei, Taiwan. It is served by Taiwan High Speed Rail, the Taiwan Railways Administration, and the Taipei Metro. It is also connected through underground passageways to the terminal station of Taoyuan Airport MRT and the Taipei Bus Station. In 2017, it was the busiest station on all three rail systems, with a total of 190 million entries and exits. (Wikipedia)

The interior of Taipei Main Station


Still at the interior of Taipei Main Station


The other side of Taipei Main Station


Locating our accommodation in Ximending Shopping District



While on board a taxi cab going from the Main Station to Ximending


Our arrival in Taipei was very early because our check-in time was at 3:00 P.M. Actually, our package provided us a free shuttle bus ride from Taipei Main Station to Ximending but we cannot find our bus, so we decided to take a taxi which it cost us NT$ (Taiwan Dollar) 100 per taxi cab and each taxi cab accommodates three persons only and so being in a group of five, we took to two taxi cabs going to Ximending. Being three in the taxi cab, I shared NT$35 or P71.43. From Taipei Main Station to Ximending is only 2.7 kilometers or 10 minutes taxi drive. By the way, the flag down taxi rate NT$70.

The place we temporarily stayed while waiting for 3:00 P.M. Check in


While in Ximending, we looked for benches along the busy road near Emei Street and rested. It was just a walking distance from our accommodation but we were told with the strict policy of 3:00 P.M. check-in. After all, it was only around 8:00 A.M. then.

Playing with the selfie statue


Still with the Selfie statue


To make use of our time, we have been roaming around Ximending. We were exploring the area to look for toilet and something to eat for our breakfast. We were able to find the KFC but it was still closed. Since I was thirsty again, I bought another bottled water which was NT$28 or P57.14. Mind you, it is so difficult to ask the locals because they do not speak English.

Drinking fountain near The Red House


Good that KFC was closed by that time because I was able to explore and see the drinking fountain as shown above. It helped saved me 6 bottles of bottled water at NT$28 per bottle in a daily basis.

We found this delicious street food (Model: Teresa S. Corpuz)


In search for breakfast where establishments were still closed, we found a street food vendor where it has a bacon and egg wrapped with a local sandwich, I suppose. It cost us NT$40 or P81.63. In fairness, it was yummy!

The gateway to Ximending shopping district


My shoppaholic companions were very insistent to have a shopping in Daiso and through asking where we had it in a very difficult way, we were able to locate the place. Daiso is a cheap network of stores originated from Japan where we have been shopping a variety of items in our two visits in Japan. It was honestly a very long walk going there.

The Red House: Taiwan's Cultural and Creative Industry


It was almost lunch time and walking still clad with our travelling bags, we've found a restaurant in the name of Yoshinoya and we rested there for almost two hours.

Yoshinoya Restaurant for lunch


Yoshinoya is a Japanese multinational fast food chain, and the second-largest chain of gyūdon restaurants. The chain was established in Japan in 1899. Its motto is "Tasty, low-priced, and quick".(Wikipedia)

My lunch meal for NT$164 or P334.69


After settling in our Ximending accommodation



By the way, we had an apartment-type accommodation good for five persons along the busy street of Emei booked through Agoda amounting to P11,425.11 for 3 nights with my share amounting to P2,285.02. I have been asking the administrator of its address or name of the building but I do not know if he understood me because he was just smiling and shaking his head.

Just one of the places I saw in going to Ximending


The blockbuster Ay-Chung Flour-Rice Noodle House


Ay-Chang Flour-Rice Noodle House is the busiest food establishment in Ximending where lots and lots of customers fall in line the whole day with the customers only eating while standing in the middle of the street and within the vicinity.

















Busy nightscape of Ximending

















Family Mart Ximending Branch


There are also Family Mart branches in Japan and they gave me convenience when I wanted to buy food when I have no enough local currency on hand and I made use of my credit card. In Ximending in particular, Family Mart does not accept credit card.

One of the 7-Eleven Branches in Ximending


The same is true with 7-Eleven in Ximending, it does not accept Visa and Mastercard though there were around three local cards they accept. However in Japan, 7-Eleven branches accept Visa and Mastercard.

I had my dinner alone at KFC Ximending just a block away from our accommodation amounting to NT$175 or P357.14. You see! Taiwan's cost of living is just almost the same with Japan.

To summarize my expenses for the first day with accrued expenses on accommodation and WiFi rentals:

SN Particulars Amount
1. Round trip airfare thru Air Asia
P5,243.00
2. Bottled Drinking Water (4 bottles @P57.14)
228.57
3. Share in WiFi Rental for the first day
22.40
4. Meals and snacks (Yoshinoya and KFC for lunch and dinner)
742.85
5. Share in 5-pax room accommodation for the first day
761.67
6. Bus fare from the airport to Taipei Central Station booked thru Klook
200.50
7. Share in taxi cab from Taipei Central Station to Ximending
71.43
TOTAL
P7,270.42


The expenses above do not include items bought for "pasalubong" or giveaways for family, friends and relatives back home. As you see, costs are less when booked with Klook and Agoda. It is also an advantage if you travel in group because shared costs makes it less.

Other Concerns



In my experience, no forex outlets provide currency exchange but only at the airport and thru the banks. The problem is its time is fixed during banking hours from 9:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M.

The 7 kilogram baggage allowance in the airplane is inclusive of the airfare ticket that you pay and it is only hand carry. If you want to avail of the check-in baggage, then you should purchase online a baggage allowance along with your airfare which is cheaper than when you pay for baggage during check-in. The minimum baggage allowance that one can buy is 20 kilos.

There are some important things that you should remember when you hand carry a 7-kg bag, You are allowed to bring a quart-sized bag of liquids, aerosols, gels, creams and pastes in your carry-on bag and through the checkpoint. These are limited to travel-sized containers that are 3.4 ounces (100 milliliters) or less per item. A bigger capacity container with less content of 100 ML will still be confiscated. Sharp objects and portable fans should not be placed on a handcarry bag because they will be confiscated by the airport's checkpoint.

Follow my posts as I continue to share my Taipei trip.

8 comments:

  1. Such an amazing place. Quite modern. Hoping to visit it in thr future.

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  2. These Taipei pictures in this blog remind me of the beautiful Japan. This is also worth visiting for. I had changed my impression of Taiwan.

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  3. Thank you sir for sharing these pictures. Amazing shots! These pictures showed the real beauty of Taiwan. Looking forward for more pictures of your adventures. ��

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you. I have so many travels but being busy in my work prevents me to post all my travels since it is time consuming. I was not even able to post yet my second trip to Japan.

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  4. Indeed, Taiwan is a vibrant and progressive country.

    ReplyDelete