Years before, I was already considering going to Taiwan. I always told others to travel to there but they were not that enthusiastic as I was. So when I heard about the Taiwan’s announcement of Visa Free, I immediate grabbed the chance. Basically the Visa Free program of Taiwan is a 6 month trial to see the effect to its tourism of Filipinos going there. I’m not sure if it went great for them to completely implement the No Visa policy. Anyway, last March I went on a solo 4 day trip to Taipei. I was also looking forward the cold weather and the events since the Chinese New Year started a week ago. I was a bit nervous since I would be alone and get lost. I wasn’t sure if there would be language barrier, but thankfully a lot of them know how to speak English especially the young ones. I was a bit disappointed that my flight from Manila to Taipei via China Airlines was delayed. Nonetheless, the ride went pretty smooth and the airline was huge.
I landed at Taoyuan International Airport around past 2pm. There was a long queue of tourists which didn’t surprise me. The airport was big and stunning. As much as I wanted to tour around the area, I really wanted to go to my hotel and start roaming around the city. I bought a sim card from Klook that helped me in navigating my way and also to search the best spots in the area. It was a pretty good deal for the whole trip. Then, I took a bus going to Taipei. I think there was some problem that I didn’t get because I was supposed to be dropped off at Taipei Central Station. But instead, the driver dropped the passengers off at a certain bus stop in Zhongzheng District. I thought it would be a 14 minute walk going to the hotel in Ximending, but into my surprise, it took me like an hour walking. I even got to pass the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall while walking. Plus, I was walking with my huge backpack and my messenger bag. I didn’t have yet my easy card and I wish I had it bought at the airport. So I ended up walking. When I got to the area, I even got lost because I couldn’t find my hotel on google map. I was so close in getting a cab but it stopped me when I realized that I needed to save my money. I eventually found my hotel and directed me to my room which was like 1 block away. I was so relieved to finally get into my bed that I laid there to rest.
The hotel was pretty cute and simple, plus cheaper compared to the other hotels that I searched for. It was something that I just needed for this trip. The bathroom might be too small, but overall it was pretty okay with me. Probably my only concern with this hotel was that I could easily hear someone from outside the door and outside the building from the street. Nevertheless, the hotel was good. There’s a kitchen outside so if you wanted to cook or use hot water, there’s something that you would need.
I loved how my hotel was just less than 5 minutes from Ximending. If you get hungry, you can just walk and buy a food. That’s how near my place is to this food haven. No wonder why I kept going to the area every now and then.
Because it was almost 6pm when I finally got to go outside and didn’t have time to go to tourist spots. I just decided to find something to eat. I went for a walk until I ended up at Mcdonalds. There menu was pretty interesting. I’m a chicken lover so I bought the 2 piece spicy chicken with fries and softdrinks. I also noticed that the people there, mostly teenagers, would clean up their tables after eating. Which impressed me a lot and wish my that my country was doing the same thing too. After my dinner, I went to walk around the Ximending area to buy an easy card and looked for something to buy. Obviously, Milk Tea was in my list and thought of buying it the first time I saw CoCo.
I felt so happy when I got to buy this. I’m a Milk Tea lover so for me, this was an achievement that time. Milk Teas actually originated from Taiwan so every corner, you would see Milk Tea stores that sell one and even in convenience stores like 711 or Family Mart, you can grab yours. You will never get thirsty of Milk Tea because they are everywhere in the area.
The Ximending area is a lively city from, food heaven to merchandise to accessories. It’s a big place to eat and shop. I honestly wanted to go shopping and buy new clothes and even shoes. I was so amazed that the famous brands are in the same area and you will never get tired of walking. Because you could also eat when you get hungry from walking and shopping.
The place never sleeps, like New York. There would always people around the area walking, especially that it was Chinese New Year. There events being held at the plaza, even parades and floats on the streets. It was a very festive time when I went there. The place could certainly get crowded because of the holiday, however, it was still an enjoying experience to walk around and take pictures.
The place was a prefect spot for families, friends or even couples. I truly enjoyed waling around Ximending and seeing different kinds of people having a great time. It was so peaceful and laid back. I wanted to take pictures from this and there but because there were so many people, I couldn’t get as many shots as I wanted to. I probably spend almost almost 5 hours walking around the area and going to different stores. I didn’t feel so much pain in my feet apart from my stomach. I thought I got dehydrated and over fatigued from the whole walking that I did going to my hotel. Because that night, I felt so bad that I had to take some medicine that I brought with me and my head started to hurt and even my stomach. Probably because I only had chicken and fries for dinner. Which was my mistake in the first place. I had to rest well because the next day was the start of my real trip.
TW Hostel 橙舍青年旅舍
Website: http://www.taipeibackpackers.com/
No.41, Sec. 2, Hankou Street, Taipei 108, Taiwan
mrjeymsss.wordpress.com 