[Travel Log] Day 7: Taichung to Taipei!

Click here to read from the first post of this travel log!😊

Day 7: Taichung to Taipei!

10 October 2023, Tuesday

10.10... Taiwan's National Day, and also the day we head to Taipei! 

Back to the city/Japan vibes (because their underground shopping streets are so similar 😂)!

We were too early for check-in, so we left our baggage with the reception and headed to find lunch. 

Saw the same machine that I tried to get Pawmi from (in Taroko Mall) and decided to try my luck at it again. AND BOOM, Pawmi on the first try! 💕

We saw Katsuya and decided to just go with it - though Japanese cuisine, but they use Taiwanese Pork so... valid choice right?! 😂 If you leave them a google review, they give you a side dish for free! 

After a very fulfilling meal, we headed back to the hotel to rest up a little.

Ximen Le Room Hotel Kai Feng Taipei 綺樂文旅 開封館

Map: No. 35號, Section 1, Kaifeng St, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City, Taiwan 100

Extremely convenient location, but not a place I would stay at again. Self note: Taipei probably requires a higher accommodation budget than the rest of the country.

The room size was fine for me, I just had an issue with the very small toilet where I would bump into the wall or the toilet seat if I was getting dressed and that was dreadful for me 😂.  

After a short break, we headed back out to Ximending, to grab dinner, which was within walkable distance from the hotel. 

Ximending Night Market 

Map: No. 127, Hanzhong St, Wanhua District, Taipei City, Taiwan 108

Bi has an accessory shop located in The Red House (store name: "New Noise") that she would visit every time she came here. So our very first stop was exactly that. 

"New Noise" is an accessories store run by a pair of siblings, selling their own designs which are all related to music. I was drawn to one of the bracelets as I felt the colour blended with my skin very well and I just had to get it. 😂

Wasn't feeling particularly hungry that night (probably because we had quite a filling late lunch), so Bi went ahead to get her staple - Ah Zhong Mian Xian, while I got some snack from adjacent store. Along the way, I saw something similar to 手抓饼 which I really missed (Shanghai OIP memories), and got that too. 

Next post: [Travel Log] Day 8 - Mao Kong & Raohe Night Market

Previous post: [Travel Log] Day 6 - Leisure & Shopping in Taichung

[Travel Log] Day 6 - Leisure & Shopping in Taichung

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Day 6: Leisure & Shopping in Taichung

9 October 2023, Monday

Prior to the trip, Bi & I already decided that we were going to plan KTV sessions into this trip because the industry is much bigger than in Singapore (and pricing was expected to be a lot more affordable). So we did!

We found this KTV chain within walkable distance from our hotel and went with it since we could also walk to Lalaport after that. 

銀櫃ktv一廣店

Map: 400, Taiwan, Taichung City, Central District, Section 1, Taiwan Blvd, 100號A棟11樓

Apart from the fact that the location was very lok (a.k.a. rundown), the place itself looked pretty modern. Perhaps this is just my peeve, but I didn't like the cigarette smoke-smell when I entered the reception of this place. 

It was 460 TWD per person for 3 hours with free-flow buffet (whatever they have available - we went really early before 10:00 so they were still preparing all the finger food and stuff).

The sound/mic quality etc. was so-so, but for the price there is really nothing to complain about. Its a spacious room with the basics. 

Nonetheless, quite a shiok first-KTV session in Taiwan. 

We then headed to Lalaport which was again, within walkable distance from the KTV. The view walking there was so serene and just calming (would be perfect if the weather was just slightly cooler...😂). 

Even though it was a Monday, the place was super crowded because it was their double public holiday!! Every dining place had a queue which instantly brought me back to *SG vibes*.

We decided to treat ourselves with some Gyukaku as we actually saved quite a bit of cash during our Sun Moon Lake leg of the trip. 

Lalaport 台中 天幕空橋

Map: 401, Taiwan, Taichung City, East District, Jinde Rd, 600號二 樓

Were we too hungry? or perhaps just lazy, I realised I don't have much photos of lunch 😂 - but at least I was intrigued enough with the marshmallow beef to take a picture of it (very sweet though, as expected). 

Totoro store!!!

As with any crowded shopping centers, I got tired really quick. So we decided take a slow walk back to the hotel and take a break before we head out to grab dinner while we start to pack (our luggage) since we were leaving Taichung the next day. 

Zhongxiao Road Night Market 忠孝路觀光夜市

Map: Zhongxiao Rd, South District, Taichung City, Taiwan 402

I don't remember what we did prior to leaving to grab dinner at the nearby night market, but we did leave really late (like around ~20:30). [Were we watching the TV, I vaguely remember we caught some singing show and were kind of discussing about the techniques and stuff 😂]. 

We really overdid this one - ordered a bunch of stuff, got back to the hotel, and was too full (& tired) to finish everything. I remember I was still finishing the crepe at 12 midnight and by then, Bi was already asleep (she finished the sweet potato balls the next morning & was amazed that they were still crispy despite everything). Taichung Sweet Potato balls...💕 

Next post: [Travel Log] Day 7: Taichung to Taipei!

Previous post: [Travel Log] Day 5: Touring around Taichung town

[Travel Log] Day 5: Touring around Taichung town

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Day 5: Touring around Taichung City

8 October 2023, Sunday

The day I woke up with -rashes-looking- dots on my legs, and wondered if I had some allergy to whatever. So, to be safe, we went to the pharmacy to seek advice and the pharmacist suspected they were sandfly bites. They were itching the hell out of me (and I'm telling you, they were so potent, that till this day, even though the itch was long gone (it took about a full week before it stopped), the marks/dots are still visible 😭).

The hotel served the typical international buffet. 

We headed straight to the Second Market (after I applied the cream & took the oral medication from the pharmacist). 

Taichung Second Market 臺中市公有第二零售市場

Map: No. 87號, Section 2, Sanmin Rd, Central District, Taichung City, Taiwan 400

Exploring the Second Market gave me a bit of the Lao Pa Sat vibes, I think its because of the multi-directional pillar at the center of it, pointing directions to the various lanes. 

Since it was a Sunday, everyone was up and about, so the queues were long (especially for the fried carrot cake & drinks stall that was right at the entrance of the place). 

For efficiency, Bi went to queue for the fried carrot cake stall while I went to settle the drinks. 

Geared with our take-outs (a.k.a. 2nd Breakfast), we headed for our next stop which was the Rainbow Village! 

We had our take-outs at one of the public benches when we reached (while being overly-conscious about my disfigured legs) and the carrot cake was delicious. There is just this difference between the ones sold here compared to the ones back in Singapore? It felt so smooth and light compared to the ones I had back home, and goes great with the sauce. Loved that we could add an egg on top of it as well. 

After a short toilet break at Family Mart, we decided that the sun was too scorching hot to be walking around under it and how convenient that there was a cute little cafe just opposite for us to hide in. 

Moment Cafe

Map: 408, Taiwan, Taichung City, Nantun District, 春社西巷29號

A very chillax place to enjoy the aircon & ice-cream (typical SG cafe pricing, so it's pretty pricey). 

After a good escape from the heat, it was time to visit the main attraction for the day!

Rainbow Village 彩虹眷村

Map: 408, Taiwan, Taichung City, Nantun District, 春安路56巷25號

It was pretty fun taking pictures around this little attraction within a typical neighbourhood.

And the story of how we ended up at the bus depot. 

We boarded the bus headed to Feng Chia Night Market and was immediately chided by the Bus Uncle for flagging him down late (mind you, the bus-stop was after a turn). I was a little annoyed at first, but decided that the Bus Uncle was probably just having a bad day, and he wasn't worth spending my emotional energy on, so I left it at that. 

The next moment, this uncle told everyone on board (apart from us, there were another 2-3 people) that he needed to drive back to the depot because he was mistaken about the set off time for his shift and needs to fix it. He made all of us, tap out and tap back in saying that will reset the ride or something like that. 

We have no other buses, and this very bus was going to be the next bus anyway, so that was how we ended up at the depot, having to ride a longer ride than we originally had to. LOL😂.

Fengchia Night Market 逢甲夜市

Map: Wenhua Rd, Xitun District, Taichung City, Taiwan 407

After so many years, I was so pleased being back in Feng Chia. We had the best potato balls here, airy & crispy. The stalls were just beginning to set up when we arrived so we took our time to explore the street and decide what we wanted to try. 

We even ordered take-outs to bring back to the hotel to continue eating. 😂

Truly an eventful & epic day. 💕

Next post: [Travel Log] Day 6 - Leisure & Shopping in Taichung

Previous post: [Travel Log] Day 4 - From Sun Moon Lake to Taichung

[Travel Log] Day 4 - From Sun Moon Lake to Taichung

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Day 4: From Sun Moon Lake to Taichung

7 October 2023, Saturday

Rise n Shine, stepping out of our hotel, we realised that it was a seemingly special day - because there were so many people at the pier and they were popping those manual fireworks (almost felt like it was CNY). 

On the weekends, the hotel served breakfast in the typical buffet style, super happy because we could have combinations of what we had before. 龙须菜 is the best vegetable ever. Loved it. 

It was nice seeing such a big group of people, gathering early in the morning, for their religious cause. Tried to find related news regarding this particular event, but couldn't get much insights. 😅

Ferried ourselves off to the opposite pier and made our way (by bus) to Taichung. 

It was too early for check-in so we had time to burn at the Taroko Mall. 

Spotted McDonald's so why not since the same brand has so many variations in different countries - Bi wanted to try the 大紅袍香麻炸鷄腿 which was just glazed chicken in some fiery hot sauce, while I went for the 蕈菇安格斯牛肉堡 (pretty much the same Angus Beef Burger available in SG). 

The mall was huge (12 floors incl. of basement) and had so many different attractions at different levels within it? - there was like roller-blading rink, a batting field, arcade, etc., all in one mall. 😶

In-house Taichung 

Map: No. 203號, Taichung Rd, East District, Taichung City, Taiwan 40146

Back at the hotel to check-in, we were wow-ed by the room - speechless at how atas it felt. It was incredible (the bathroom was fricking awesome). 

Just check out how luxurious the whole vibe was.

Miyahara 宮原眼科

Map: No. 20號, Zhongshan Rd, Central District, Taichung City, Taiwan 400

We had planned a light itinerary for this particular day as we were transitioning between places. So we decided to do a quick stop at Miyahara (an ice-cream/chocolate place) before grabbing dinner. 

I would recommend this place for its 'Harry Potter' vibes and for people who has a sweet tooth. In all honesty, the level of sweetness in their cookies and chocolates weren't really for me, but it was nice nonetheless. 

[We had an interesting encounter with one of the staff at this place, she had this RBF look to her and sounded like she couldn't be bothered when we were selecting our cookies from the cookie counter, but after our full shopping experience, she was actually pretty nice towards the end, even giving us the plastic bag to cover the Miyahara bags because it was raining lol]

Since it was raining, we thought perhaps it was a good idea to call it a day and get take-out from one of the bento place we passed by earlier. 

We didn't forget to get the waffles too (which became the saving grace of dinner because the bento was actually pretty average). 😂

Next post: [Travel Log] Day 5: Touring around Taichung town

Previous post: [Travel Log] Day 3: In the vicinity of Sun Moon Lake

Travel Log - Taiwan Day 6

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Day 6: Taichung -> Taipei

After a fulfilling time in Taichung, it was finally time to head back to Taipei. 🙌

Breakfast at Day+ before setting off

By courtesy of Mr Lin - he helped us to arrange for a female colleague to pick us from Day+ Hotel to the HSR station so that we didn't have to go in 2 separate cabs (her details are at the end of this post). Of course, she preferred to send us directly to Taipei from our hotel, but as we had the flexible HSR pass which was non-refundable, it wasn't a viable option and she understood. 

Just like the previous HSR rides, we booked the timeslots for the HSR and headed for Taipei. 

We arrived at Taipei Main Station just slightly pass the lunch hour, and since our hotel rooms weren't ready, we decided to grab lunch! 

While the rest of the family stayed near the hotel for lunch, my 2nd sister and I decided to go explore the station since it was huge. We found this steamboat restaurant which said 'pay 188 NTD to satisfy your tummy'. 8.50 SGD for steamboat?! - we were in disbelief so we hesitated for quite a while (in SG, steamboat generally costs around 20 SGD or more person, though they tend to be all-you-can-eat kind-of buffet).

There's a conveyor belt of additional ingredients that you could add to your steamboat at varying prices

We weren't big eaters, so it worked out really well for us (only added a pack of maggi mee for 19 NTD).

By end of meal, the rooms were ready, so we headed back to the hotel (Cosmos Hotel Taipei).

This hotel is definitely the oldest hotel among the three hotels we had selected, so there wasn't much to expect. The location, however, is perfect - just opposite Taipei Main Station and a transfer station. 

Anpanman store at 信義a8 (inside the departmental store) near Taipei City Hall Station

Christmas decor just outside Taipei City Hall Station

Dinner @ Pasta Bar in Ximending

Third time being here, & never sick of this place, ever. 

Massive CD shopping spree

Contact details: 張翠屏 +886 982 339 399
(Pronounced: Zhang1 Cui4 Ping2)

Next post: Day 7: Taipei Day Trip

Previous post: Day 5: Taichung Day Trip 2