Off to Taiwan (Part 2) - Taipei!
Continuing on our trip from Hualien, we then headed off to Taipei to embark on another adventure.
At Xiangshan and Taipei 101:
Xiangshan hiking trail is another trail I won't forget due to the steepness of the stairs but also the scenic view of Taipei city. There are many ways to get there but the nearest train station is probably from Xiangshan station. Upon arriving at the entrance of the trail, I felt slightly threatened by the steepness of the steps. Though it is just a short 20 minutes hike, do not underestimate the height of this mountain. After some gruelling 20 minutes, I was left breathless, but was instantly rewarded by the beautiful landscape of the city. What more, we also managed to catch the sunset just in time, leaving us feeling stoked as we climbed up onto the boulders for a better view. It's definitely a place to visit while you're exploring Taipei. Oh, and I forgot to mention! Taipei 101 constituted part of the city landscape too!
Afterwards, we headed off to Taipei 101 Observatory. It was worth the visit because we had a bird's eye view of the city lights. On top of that, we got to learn about the structure of Taipei 101 which was really interesting. The only disappointing factor was that the sky was quite foggy (i.e. probably air pollution) and hence, our night view was slightly blurred.
At Tamsui Fisherman's Wharf:
It takes approximately an hour to get from Taipei Main Station to Danshui district via the subway, but what's better than to take a day trip out of the city, and enjoy the scenery near the coastal area? Not only did we visit Tamsui Fisherman's Wharf, there are other attraction/activities to engage in such as the Lover's Bridge and Tamsui Old Street. From what I remembered, there were attractions in Beitou (near Danshui district) too, but we were kinda lazy so we decided to give Beitou district a miss. Nevertheless, the Fisherman's Wharf is a good place to catch the sunset and enjoy the sea breeze, an escape from the bustling city life.
The Night Markets in Taipei:
Here comes the exciting night life when visiting Taiwan. One can definitely not leave out visiting the night markets as part of his/her trip. I have visited about 3 night markets in Taipei, and the best in my opinion, is Raohe Night Market, in contrast to the all-time-favourite Shilin Night Market.
Raohe Night Market is located slightly off the Taipei City, but it was suitable for us since we wanted to get away from the crowd and enjoy the atmosphere silently. Not only is it quiet, the street snacks were delicious too, and also less pricey. Here are some of the mouth-watering snacks that we have tried.
At Danshui, there is also another night market (Tamsui Old Street) that is famous for its ice cream and iron quail eggs. Like the area, it is quite peaceful and we could enjoy the night market thoroughly.
On the other hand, Shilin Night Market did not leave a good impression on me as it was very crowded and touristy. We could barely walk through the crowd and decided to buy the snacks back to our lodging instead.
As my friend is a Muslim, it was also rather difficult for us to find halal food around. Thankfully, we found 2 halal beef noodles shops (called Chang's Beef Noodles Shop and Muslim Beef Noodles Restaurant) that sells rather delicious beef noodles, representative of Taiwanese food. Thanks to that, we went back to the same area three times since it was cheap and tasty. Note that the 2 shops are 1 unit away from each other.
There goes some of the highlights of my trip in Taipei city. Taipei is definitely a place to visit, but not many might like it, especially if one is trying to escape the city life. I'm definitely looking forward to my next travel adventures in Taiwan!!!
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| Off to Taipei!!! |
This post will only mention some of our highlights during the trip, while a separate post will be dedicated to our 1-day trip to Jiufen and Shifen.
My friend and I spent most of our time walking around the streets and taking the public bus in Taipei, while soaking up the local atmosphere. From grocery shopping to exploring the neighbourhood, we walked non stop. Some of our highlights in Taipei City included our experiences at Ximending, having delicious bowls of beef noodles, Xiangshan, Taipei 101, Night Markets and visiting Tamsui Fisherman's Wharf.
At Ximending:
In contrast to the many shopping malls near Taipei 101, we decided to explore Ximending (~3 times) where the vibes of youthfulness can be felt. Noted that it is crowded with many youngsters, there is also a cinema, arcade and a baseball batting cage where we were keen on visiting. Additionally, there were many drugstores that we could explore around as I wanted to buy back some of Taiwan's facial products to try.
Some street snacks that we ate
At Showtime Cinema...
Xiangshan hiking trail is another trail I won't forget due to the steepness of the stairs but also the scenic view of Taipei city. There are many ways to get there but the nearest train station is probably from Xiangshan station. Upon arriving at the entrance of the trail, I felt slightly threatened by the steepness of the steps. Though it is just a short 20 minutes hike, do not underestimate the height of this mountain. After some gruelling 20 minutes, I was left breathless, but was instantly rewarded by the beautiful landscape of the city. What more, we also managed to catch the sunset just in time, leaving us feeling stoked as we climbed up onto the boulders for a better view. It's definitely a place to visit while you're exploring Taipei. Oh, and I forgot to mention! Taipei 101 constituted part of the city landscape too!
It takes approximately an hour to get from Taipei Main Station to Danshui district via the subway, but what's better than to take a day trip out of the city, and enjoy the scenery near the coastal area? Not only did we visit Tamsui Fisherman's Wharf, there are other attraction/activities to engage in such as the Lover's Bridge and Tamsui Old Street. From what I remembered, there were attractions in Beitou (near Danshui district) too, but we were kinda lazy so we decided to give Beitou district a miss. Nevertheless, the Fisherman's Wharf is a good place to catch the sunset and enjoy the sea breeze, an escape from the bustling city life.
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| Lover's Bridge (as the sun sets) |
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| Lover's Bridge (after sunset) |
The Night Markets in Taipei:
Here comes the exciting night life when visiting Taiwan. One can definitely not leave out visiting the night markets as part of his/her trip. I have visited about 3 night markets in Taipei, and the best in my opinion, is Raohe Night Market, in contrast to the all-time-favourite Shilin Night Market.
Raohe Night Market is located slightly off the Taipei City, but it was suitable for us since we wanted to get away from the crowd and enjoy the atmosphere silently. Not only is it quiet, the street snacks were delicious too, and also less pricey. Here are some of the mouth-watering snacks that we have tried.
At Danshui, there is also another night market (Tamsui Old Street) that is famous for its ice cream and iron quail eggs. Like the area, it is quite peaceful and we could enjoy the night market thoroughly.
On the other hand, Shilin Night Market did not leave a good impression on me as it was very crowded and touristy. We could barely walk through the crowd and decided to buy the snacks back to our lodging instead.
Beef Noodles:
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| From Chang's Beef Noodles Shop |
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| From Muslim Beef Noodles Restaurant |
There goes some of the highlights of my trip in Taipei city. Taipei is definitely a place to visit, but not many might like it, especially if one is trying to escape the city life. I'm definitely looking forward to my next travel adventures in Taiwan!!!
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