It was long weekend in HK this past week because of the anniversary of the British Handover of HK to China and as with most foreigners living in HK, it's a good excuse to get out of the country. So I found myself (along with Stephanie who works in China so didn't have any holidays but took some days off to travel with me, I am flattered) on the first flight, literally as our flight with China Airlines is at 12.15 am (midnight!), to Taipei.
Our friends in Taipei advised us that arriving at 2:50 am in Chang Kai Shek international airport will leave us with no choice but take the cab into the city that needless to say costs an arm and a leg (which is roughly 1600 New Taiwan dollar = 400 HKD) so that wasn't an option (Haha!). We were determined to wait for the first bus at around 5 am but a very nice Thai flight attendant with China Airlines informed us that we weren't completely doomed to sleep in the airport (yet again?! Some people wait and get upgraded to business class, I have had no such luck.. I just wait and well, board the late plane) because one bus company operates 24 hours to Taipei City Main Station where we can take a cab (this, we can afford) to our friend's apartment.
First Impressions: Before anything else, I think it's quite unfair to a city for a foreigner to arrive early morning (read: 3 am) when everything seems to be at rest and draw an impression right there. Chang Kai Shek Int'l Airport wasn't quite as impressive as HKIA but I guess, that's my first mistake I compare everything to HK. Well, it wasn't bad either, just empty. Thankfully my dearest Stephanie is a native speaker so we found our way to the bus and on to Taipei City. Oh, that first bus in Taipei is business class-- we were joking about it since the entire bus could probably only seat 20 people because the seats were all couch-like and the leg room is ahhhh.. you frequent (economy) flyers know what I mean. Haha. We pretty much spent the rest of the morning sleeping in Elvina's very spacious apartment. As with everything in Taipei, from streets to apartments, everything is more "normal" than HK.
Day 1: National Palace Museum
Our first day in very sunny Taipei was for "culture". The city looks so much like Jakarta (and Manila) in the daylight except that well, it's cleaner and more organized and the transport system is quite good-- save for the fact that bus routes were in Chinese (Steph was more help than the Lonely Planet =P) and MRT stations are miles apart (as should be but the amazing transport system in HK spoils its inhabitants that we become used to MTR signs every 5 minutes and convince ourselves this should be the norm). We hopped on a bus to see 15,000 (rotated for viewing every 3 months) of the massive collection of 720,000 Chinese historical artifacts on display in this museum thus, making this the center of the study of Chinese Art. As I was looking around, I can't quite imagine how they managed to transport all these priceless & fragile pieces out of China in the time of communism.
The Palace grounds is also home to the Chih Shan Garden (after all, what palace doesn't have a garden) with a little pond where black and white swans swim around. It was quaint and tranquil. A nice place to catch your breath and thoughts away from the scorching heat of the Taipei sun.
As most of you girls in Asia, the Meteor Garden craze would be quite a familiar point in time. My sister is crazy about them and I tell you, she isn't the type so I was quite astounded at what these Taiwanese cuties can do. Anyway, I heard (as I never got to watch the show-- I was in Jakarta then and was too busy being homesick) of a scene where the 2 main characters had a date over ice cream in this funky resto where the tables are in real cars so you basically eat inside the car (I don't know how to fully explain so refer to the photo). We searched high and low for the bus that goes there and believe me, it was no easy feat! When we got there, the place is called PS Bu Bu (yes, I have no idea why?!), it was all worth the trouble. Really cute place and the Oreo (I buy our own products eh?) milkshake was beyond words, with a piece of cheesecake smothered in choco syrup to boot. My day was made. :)
Day 2: Yangming Shan (which translates Mt. Yangming)
This was a day for the outskirts of Taipei City. A bit of greenery to rest our eyes from the skyscrapers of HK. I'd say, after Guilin & Yangshuo (I know, I shouldn't compare but I can't help it!), it's quite a task to impress me in terms of mountainous views. So Yangming Shan was okay, not particularly impressive and I'm sure not representative of the many beautiful places of Taiwan.
But this day was very special. More than the place, it was the time I spent with Steph, laughing about the most obscure things and tragedies (she broke her sandals as soon as we hopped down the bus so she was dragging her feet for most of the mountain!) to finishing each others' thoughts to "un"-bore ourselves in the lengthy bus rides that seem to be headed nowhere. It was a great day with a great friend. A very big hug to you, Steph. You are one of my best travel buddies (along with my sis).
That night we had dinner with some friends from AIESEC Taipei and we girls, along with our hosts, headed for central Taipei to get some drinks and listen to some Chinese street music around Taipei 101 area. We got home beat but happy.
Day 3: Jiu Fang (old town Taipei) & Danshui (town by the harbor) - both may be mispelled but even the Chinese don't know how to Romanize-- all this pinyin is driving travelers crazy!
Steph was quite determined to see a bit of the old Taipei so we headed to yet another day of hopping on buses with very uncertain destinations. Haha! Indeed part of the fun is getting there. We took a long bus ride to Kee Long and took another bus from there to Jiu Fang. When we arrived, the place reminded me so much of Stanley Market back in HK. The long narrow alleys lined with shops but Jiu Fang was unique in the way that half of the shops are street foods in hawker stalls.
I have heard quite a rave on how good street food in Taipei is so we went on a gastronomic adventure. I loved the hallow fish balls with meat fillings and this sweet, flakey cake. I am impressed at the variety from glazed strawberries to egg boiled in tea to chicken claws and God-knows-what on sticks-- not for the faint hearted. Quite a treat, something for everyone indeed.
The old tea houses in Jiu Fang were also very reminiscent of old Chinese movies. The view was good but the heat was unbearable. I was telling Steph that traveling in winter might be a better idea. So the Great Wall is scheduled on winter time-- I've heard stories on how it can go down to -10 degrees but I wouldn't know my temperature preference unless I've tried both right?
Night fell upon the city and we found ourselves in Shilin Night market (pretty much like Mongkok in Kowloon) and it's both a treat for the eyes and the stomach. Yummy street food & nice shoes all in one alley-- quite close to a little heaven. Prices are about similar to stuffs in Mongkok but the quality and designs are better. It's my official favorite shopping place in Taipei City. I got perfectly fitting shorts for 100 NT (roughly $25 -- not bad and quite a few more (was cheap so impulse buying wasn't risky).
Day 4: Taipei 101
Our flight back to HK was after lunch so we couldn't really wander far off the city especially since the way to the international airport is no breezy bus ride (takes almost an hour from Shongshan domestic airport to Chang Kai Shek Int'l) so we decided to just have an easy morning look around the city. Taipei 101 is prided to be Taipei's tallest building and like Petronas is to KL, it has easily become one of the must-sees. Of course, it is nothing but a skyscraper with an array of expensive brand names in the lower floors and big multinationals on the upper floors (over 98 floors if I'm not mistaken)but it's worth a peek. And it looks quite good from afar so it wouldn't hurt to check it out. We wandered around, took photos and was, of course, not willing to pay 350 NT to go up to the observatory deck (been there, done that, not doing it again-- everything looks the same from up there).
Before we knew it (as cliched as it may sound), it was over. We were on board China Airlines (food was good, in fairness, and the plane back had a personal entertainment system per seat, even economy class!) back to HK. It was a good trip, a few lessons here and there and a great time with a great friend (who made thing so much easier by speaking the language perfectly).:)
The most important lesson-- regardless of the spelling (or mis-spelling for that matter) of the street sign against what you see on the map-- if it sounds the same, you're not lost. Haha!
