In a Nutshell
Took a morning flight and arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (台湾桃园国际机场), 1 in the afternoon. After immigration clearance, got my prepaid card – unlimited 3G data usage for 10 days – at Chunghwa Telecom (中华电信), before heading to Taipei City via bus 1819. After checking in into my Airbnb apartment located at Ximending (西门町), I headed off to Taipei City Mall (台北地下街) – the first underground mall of Taipei, and then back to Ximending.
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport
台湾桃园国际机场
No. 9, Hangzhan South Road, Dayuan District, Taoyuan City
桃园市大园区航站南路9号
After a short 4hrs flight, finally arrived at Taoyuan Airport (台湾桃园国际机场)! Gosh, freaking queued like 1hr for immigration clearance! Taiwan sure is popular! Little would I expect to have this much of people since holidays are over. After grabbing my baggage, my SIM card and my bus ticket to Taipei, WTS another round of queuing!! And this time round, about 20-30mins under the hot sun! (While not really. It’s sheltered but the heat and sun was shining in.)
Chunghwa Telecom 中华电信
No. 15, Airport Terminal 1, Hangzhan South Road, Dayuan District, Taoyuan City
桃园市大园区航站南路15号(机场第一航厦)
Opening hrs: 10am-8pm
#1: Got my pre-paid data SIM card from Chunghwa Telecom, NTD500 = SGD22.70.
#2: Take Bus 1819 to Taipei Main Station, NTD125 = SGD5.65.
#3: Bus Ticket for Bus 1819.
It was about an hour’s drive to Taipei Main Station (台北车站). This station is huge and I’m like where am I supposed to go? It’s like Singapore’s Dhoby Ghuat Station. Took me quite some time to figure out how to get to the metro as this station serves high speed rail and train services as well.
To get around in Taipei using their public transport, you will need to get an EasyCard (悠游卡), it works like Singapore’s EZ-link card. The card would cost you NTD100 and you can get it at train stations or convenience stores like 7-11.
#4: Taipei Main Station.
My accommodation is located at Ximending (西门町), about a 500m walk from Ximen Station. Since I went to Seoul on my previous trip, I feel Taipei is rather similar to Korea, just that everything here is in Chinese instead of Korean. The streets, the style, the culture… Pretty everything is quite similar to how it is like if you are in Korea. Ximending reminds me of Myeongdong, where you can find street food and fashion at the same place, and is a place where young ones hang out.
#5: Ximending.
#6: Grab a sushi from 7-11, freaking hungry! It’s like 4pm and I last ate at 6:30am? NTD39 = SGD1.75.
Airbnb Accommodation
No.108, Chengdu Road, Wanhua District, Taipei City
台北市万华区成都路108号
Subway: Ximen Station Exit 1 (line 5 blue)
After checking in, I headed to Taipei City Mall (台北地下街). Located at the intersection of Da’an and Zhongzheng districts, under civic boulevard, Taipei City Mall is the first underground markets in Taipei. It is built to accommodate tenants from Chunghwa Market, demolished by the government in 1992. There are a lot to buy here!! But since this place is pretty old, you can’t really get much trendy stuff here, and the place is pretty quiet. Nonetheless, I still got myself a really pretty and affordable dream catcher, and a pair of Timberland-inspired baby boots for my nephew. Always wanted to get him a pair of Timberland’s signature yellow boots, but it’s way too expensive to get him a real one since kids feet grow so fast. Glad that I finally found one good enough to pose off as the real one! Alright, nothing much here so I headed back to Ximending.
Taipei City Mall 台北地下街
No. 100, Section 1, Civic Boulevard, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City
台北市中正区市民大道1段100号
Opening hrs: 11am-9:30pm (Mon-Fri), 11am-10pm (Sat-Sun)
Subway: Taipei Main Station (line 2 red, line 5 blue)
#7: Taipei City Mall.
#8: Taipei City Mall.
#9: Timberland-inspired Baby Boots, NTD390 = SGD17.70. So cute right?
Just outside where Hot Star Large Fried Chicken (豪大大鸡排) is located, there were some dope performances going on! Like street performance? And the stunts were amazing! You literally go ‘wow’. Got myself a chicken cutlet and a cup of lemon ai-yu (jelly) from Hot Star, before heading back. Gosh, the chicken is huge! I couldn’t even finish it! It’s huge, thick and it’s chicken thigh. Unlike the ones in Singapore, which are huge, but rather thin and dry, and it’s breast meat, which is less tender. You can find Hot Star in Singapore as well, but this one over here in Taipei is soooo much better.
Ximending 西门町
Chengdu Road, Wanhua District, Taipei City
台北市万华区成都路
Opening hrs: 24hrs
Subway: Ximen Station Exit 6 (line 5 blue)
#10: Hot Star Large Fried Chicken.
#11: Hot Star Signature Large Fried Chicken, NTD70 = SGD3.15.
Pre-trip Expenses
Scoot (FlyBag): SGD335.68
> Departure SGD141
> Return SGD108.67
> Fees and Taxes SGD56.01
> Additional 5kg Baggage (total check-in 25kg) SGD10
> Credit Card Processing Fee SGD20
Airbnb: SGD502
> SGD48 x 9 nights = SGD429
> Cleaning Fee SGD19
> Service Fee SGD54
Travel Insurance: SGD33.85
Currency Exchange: SGD800 (excluded in total expenses)
Current Total Expenses: SGD871.53
Expenses for the Day
3G Data Sim Card for 10-days: NTD500
Bus 1819 to Taipei: NTD125
Easy Card: NTD100
Top-up Card Value: NTD400
7-11 Sushi Roll: NTD39
Dream Catcher: NTD300
Timberland-inspired Baby Boots: NTD390
Lemon Ai-yu: NTD70
Chicken Cutlet: NTD70
Total Expenses for Day 1: NTD1,994 = SGD90.64
Previous Total Expenses: SGD871.53
Current Total Expense: SGD962.17