Here are some useful tips from my recent trip to Taipei the other weekend:
1. How to plan your itinerary. If you don't have time to research online, the easiest way is to list down all the places you want to see and ask the front desk of your hotel which MRT exit is the nearest to each target destination. Get an MRT map from the front desk and encircle all the exits and voila - you instantly know which destinations are located near each other so you can travel more efficiently.
Here's our map - you may use it as a cheat sheet if you could understand my scribbles. Haha...
Btw, while in the subway, be on the look out for interesting art installations. Here are two we spotted:
The Moment We Meet by Huang Hsin-chien. It's a flip clock composed of close-up shots of faces, each one divided into 100 squares that can flip and form different appearances.
There was also a time my friend and I missed one train stop so we got off in the next station and saw this bronze sculpture entitled Small Park made in 1998 by an artist named Kuang-Yu Lee. I read the inscription and it explains that the shape of the sculpture is derived from the hand gesture that is used in meditation to stabilize fluctuating emotions. The sculpture invites tired commuters to take a rest - yes, you can actually sit on it. We weren't really sure if it's used as a bench until we read the inscription. Haha...
3. Places to see and things to do in Taipei. Here are some:
Chiang Kai-Sheik Memorial Hall. This houses a a musuem documenting Chiang Kai-shek's life. Who is Chiang Kai-shek? He's a Chinese political and military leader who served China between 1928 and 1975. Why is Chang Kai-shek highly honored in Taiwan? In 1946, civil war broke out between the KMT (the Chinese Nationalist Party Chang led) and the Communists in China. The Communists won in 1949, establishing the People's Republic of China. Chiang and the remaining KMT forces fled to the island of Taiwan. There Chiang established a government in exile which he led for the next 25 years. This government continued to be recognised by many countries as the legitimate government of China, and Taiwan controlled China's seat in the United Nations until the end of Chiang's life in 1975. (Source)
There are 89 steps leading to the memorial hall - they represent Chiang's age at the time of his death.
Spotted Chiang Kai-shek's black 1955 Cadillac limousine with bullet-proof glass donated by the overseas Chinese from the Philippines. When I read the inscription, sadly, it was only used once by Chiang.
There are lots of memorabilia of Chiang like childhood photos. his calligraphy, books, journals, etc., and there are also exhibits about the war like miniature war planes, tanks, trucks and jeeps.
There are sections of the hall that are used for special exhibits (not related to Chiang). We saw one exhibit featuring beautifully hand-painted ceramics.
If you're interested in learning more about Taiwan's great leader, history and culture, you can visit this place. If not, skip it. My friend and I just love to wander in museums that's why we decided to drop by here.
MRT exit: Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station (green or red line).
Din Tai Fung. If you've ever seen a Din Tai Fung restaurant in any country, you know that the queue is always long. Why is Din Tai Fung so popular? It's because it's been ranked as one of the world’s Top Ten Best Restaurants by The New York Times in 1993. Its HongKong branch has also earned a Michelin star for 5 consecutive years since 2010.
Din Tai Fung's first branch actually originated in Taiwan in 1972. Here it is -
If you zoom in the photo you'll see that the digital counter says "120" which stands for 120 minutes estimated waiting time to get a table. Wahaha.... There's no way we would wait for 2 hours so we just ordered food for take-out which took about 15-20 minutes. We ordered the truffle and pork xiao long bao (soup dumplings), spiced pork chop with fried rice and steamed red bean dumplings.
Din Tai Fung has another branch in Taipei 101 and if you come early on a weekday when the mall opens, waiting time to get a table is only about 10 to 20 minutes. I tried the crab roe xiao long bao, beef noodle soup, cold-dressed ear mushrooms and sesame mochi in sweet rice wine.
See that tiny yellow thing beside the upper left dumpling? That's a marker - shaped like a crab, it means these dumplings are crab roe-stuffed.
Is it worth to wait the long queue? I personally don't know because one, we never waited long, and two, I'm not really picky when it comes to food. Any freshly steamed xiao long bao or dumpling is yum to me. That's why I won't line up if the waiting time is beyond reasonable and also because I could get the satisfaction by actually eating any food. I am just grateful if I've any food to eat. :)
Din Tai Fung's first branch actually originated in Taiwan in 1972. Here it is -
If you zoom in the photo you'll see that the digital counter says "120" which stands for 120 minutes estimated waiting time to get a table. Wahaha.... There's no way we would wait for 2 hours so we just ordered food for take-out which took about 15-20 minutes. We ordered the truffle and pork xiao long bao (soup dumplings), spiced pork chop with fried rice and steamed red bean dumplings.
Din Tai Fung has another branch in Taipei 101 and if you come early on a weekday when the mall opens, waiting time to get a table is only about 10 to 20 minutes. I tried the crab roe xiao long bao, beef noodle soup, cold-dressed ear mushrooms and sesame mochi in sweet rice wine.
See that tiny yellow thing beside the upper left dumpling? That's a marker - shaped like a crab, it means these dumplings are crab roe-stuffed.
Is it worth to wait the long queue? I personally don't know because one, we never waited long, and two, I'm not really picky when it comes to food. Any freshly steamed xiao long bao or dumpling is yum to me. That's why I won't line up if the waiting time is beyond reasonable and also because I could get the satisfaction by actually eating any food. I am just grateful if I've any food to eat. :)
MRT Exit leading to Din Tai Fung original branch: Dongmen (yellow or red line)
P.S. Din Tai Fung just opened its first branch in SM Megamall yesterday.
Taipei 101. We booked in a hotel near Taipei 101 because we had no idea which area is a good place to stay in. Here's the view from our hotel. It's like an 8-minute walk to Taipei 101.
But in hindsight, since it's so easy to commute around Taipei, you can book in any hotel near an MRT station. :)
What's there to see in the area? You can go up the Taipei 101 - it used to be the world's tallest since 2004 until Dubai's Burj Khalifa surpassed it in 2010. But we skipped this because again, the queues are usually long and if you've been to viewing decks of tall towers, you know the experience is similar (though I always find the fresh air exhilarating!). In my earlier years of travel, I would always endure long lines to go up the viewing decks - Chicago's Sears Towers, HK's Victoria Peak, KL's Petronas Towers, Macau Tower, Empire State Building, Eiffel Tower... as I get older, I'm realizing that I'm just as happy to see photos of views from the top. Haha... But maybe, just maybe, if I get a chance to visit Dubai, I might line up at Burj Khalifa because it's currently the tallest and because of Furious 7. Haha...
What's there to see in the area? You can go up the Taipei 101 - it used to be the world's tallest since 2004 until Dubai's Burj Khalifa surpassed it in 2010. But we skipped this because again, the queues are usually long and if you've been to viewing decks of tall towers, you know the experience is similar (though I always find the fresh air exhilarating!). In my earlier years of travel, I would always endure long lines to go up the viewing decks - Chicago's Sears Towers, HK's Victoria Peak, KL's Petronas Towers, Macau Tower, Empire State Building, Eiffel Tower... as I get older, I'm realizing that I'm just as happy to see photos of views from the top. Haha... But maybe, just maybe, if I get a chance to visit Dubai, I might line up at Burj Khalifa because it's currently the tallest and because of Furious 7. Haha...
Anyway, within Taipei 101, there's a big branch of Din Tai Fung, a big food court, lots of retail stores and you could also buy pasalubong items like pineapple cakes, caramelized peanuts, nougat, tea, beef jerky, etc. In the office section of Taipei 101, they occasionally have art exhibits too like this -
These are wood carvings by an artist named Kang Muxiang. The sculpture in the foreground is entitled Mother Earth made out of Cypress wood.
These are wood carvings by an artist named Kang Muxiang. The sculpture in the foreground is entitled Mother Earth made out of Cypress wood.
There are other nearby malls surrounding Taipei 101 (all connected by a bridgeway) like ATT 4 Fun and Mitsukoshi (they all offer tax refund so bring your passport if you plan to shop).
But even if you don't have plans to shop, just explore and you might stumble upon interesting things like this Star Wars exhibit at Mitsukoshi. :) Can't wait to watch the movie!
Also spotted this Alice in Wonderland-themed restaurant at ATT 4 Fun. See the Alice hologram in the photo? I actually enjoyed watching (not Alice but) the kids trying to catch her hologram. Haha...
I peeked into one of the old military houses and saw desks and artworks. This particular one must have been converted into a pre-school. :)
But even if you don't have plans to shop, just explore and you might stumble upon interesting things like this Star Wars exhibit at Mitsukoshi. :) Can't wait to watch the movie!
Also spotted this Alice in Wonderland-themed restaurant at ATT 4 Fun. See the Alice hologram in the photo? I actually enjoyed watching (not Alice but) the kids trying to catch her hologram. Haha...
Walking distance from Taipei 101 (maybe about 300 meters from the Din Tai Fung exit) is 44 South Village - it's a village of old military houses. Remember my story about Chiang above? When Chiang and the Chinese Nationalist Army fled to Taiwan, about one million soldiers had to be re-housed and 44 South Village was the first military village of the Nationalists in Taiwan.
Check out the old houses against the tall and modern Taipei 101.
The village is just small so you can easily wander around within 15 to 20 minutes.
I peeked into one of the old military houses and saw desks and artworks. This particular one must have been converted into a pre-school. :)
You may also opt to hang out in one of the old military houses turned into a cafe and shop. It serves and sells organic products. There are occasional art exhibits too like this Princess Sarah exhibit I chanced upon. Ultra cute artworks.
MRT Exit: Taipei 101/World Trade Centre (red line)
Songshan Creative and Cultural Park. This place used to be an industrial village with a tobacco plant dating back in the 1930s. In 2011, it was opened as a cultural park. Old warehouses and housing blocks were converted to hold exhibits, classes, workshops and events.
Within the compound, there's a modern-looking structure - that's Eslite Spectrum Shopping Mall. A bookstore occupies an entire floor and there are a number of coffee shops and tea places in the same floor if you want to take a short rest. There are a lot of activities also scattered throughout the bookstore like art workshops, demos, leather crafting, etc.
Pingxi District - The Sky Lantern Capital. If you've seen beautiful photos where sky lanterns are floating in the sky like the postcard below, it may have been taken during Pingxi's annual lantern festival.
4. Where to go shopping. Taipei boasts of a lot of night markets (Ximending, Shilin, Wufenpu) but when we went there, since the weather was getting colder, clothes were mostly for winter which means nothing too useful for us who live in the tropical climate. Haha...
But if you were to go to one shopping district, go to Ximending - also referred to as Taipei's version of Shibuya.
Shopping in Ximending is a combination of branded stores and generic stalls so you get the best of both worlds.
At the main intersection, you'll notice this red structure called the Red House. It's a performing arts theatre and what makes the structure interesting is it's in the shape of an octagonal bagua.
MRT Exit: Taipei 101/World Trade Centre (red line)
Songshan Creative and Cultural Park. This place used to be an industrial village with a tobacco plant dating back in the 1930s. In 2011, it was opened as a cultural park. Old warehouses and housing blocks were converted to hold exhibits, classes, workshops and events.
We chanced upon an exhibit mounted by GQ. Check these out -
Within the GQ exhibit, there was also a Star Wars exhibit. Check out Luke Skywalker's Lightsaber -
Han Solo frozen in carbonite, a scene from The Empire Strikes Back.
The cutest Darth Vader ever -
Within the compound, there's a modern-looking structure - that's Eslite Spectrum Shopping Mall. A bookstore occupies an entire floor and there are a number of coffee shops and tea places in the same floor if you want to take a short rest. There are a lot of activities also scattered throughout the bookstore like art workshops, demos, leather crafting, etc.
MRT Exit leading to Songshan Creative and Cultural Park: Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall (blue line). It's a long walk though - about 500m from the MRT exit.
Pingxi District - The Sky Lantern Capital. If you've seen beautiful photos where sky lanterns are floating in the sky like the postcard below, it may have been taken during Pingxi's annual lantern festival.
What we know of sky lanterns is you write your wishes, prayers and dreams and release them to fly in the sky so that your prayers will be heard. But did you know that the original purpose of sky lanterns was as means of communicating military intelligence? And in Pingxi, in the early days, it is said that bandits would raid the villages and so the villagers would hide in the mountains. After the bandits leave, the villagers who were left behind would fly sky lanterns as a signal (to those who fled) that the bandits are gone and it's safe to return. Interesting, huh?
As soon as you get off the Pingxi Station, you'll see lots of Sky Lantern stores. There are single and multiple-colored lanterns. Each color represents something like fortune, health, career, etc. But the more colors a sky lantern has, the more expensive it is.
Before going to Pingxi, I thought that sky lanterns were small. They are actually more than 3 feet long! So if you plan to fly one, think about what you'll write or how you'll design it in advance. My friend and I didn't know what to write so we just had 1-liners on each side and filled it up with symbols and drawings. Haha...
And because I don't want to post our sky lantern's photo here (hahaha...), here are some photos of other Pingxi visitors releasing their sky lanterns -
Did you notice that they are at the railroad tracks? Yes, the lanterns are being released right in the middle of the railroad tracks. Haha... Everyone just moves to the side when a train is coming.
Have you ever wondered how sky lanterns fly? It uses the same principle as hot air balloons. The fire heats up the air inside the lantern, making it expand. As the density of the air inside reduces, the cold air moves in and makes the lantern rise to the sky. To fuel the fire inside the sky lantern, they use 12 pcs of ghost money (representing 12 months of the year) soaked in 50% kerosene and 50% salad oil so that it burns slowly. I read somewhere that a sky lantern could fly up to 24 hours with 12 pcs of ghost money.
BTW, while at Pingxi, we were also able to try Taiwan's popular delicacy - stinky tofu!
If you want to go to Pingxi, you have to dedicate 1 day because it takes about 2 hours (3 train rides) to commute one-way. That means a 4-hour travel period for 2-way (total of 6 train rides).
MRT Exit: Taipei Main Station but after getting off there, you need to take another train going to Ruifang Station, then transfer to another train going to Pingxi Station.
4. Where to go shopping. Taipei boasts of a lot of night markets (Ximending, Shilin, Wufenpu) but when we went there, since the weather was getting colder, clothes were mostly for winter which means nothing too useful for us who live in the tropical climate. Haha...
But if you were to go to one shopping district, go to Ximending - also referred to as Taipei's version of Shibuya.
 |
| Ximending by day |
This is the first pedestrian area built in Taipei and is the largest in Taiwan.
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| Ximending by night |
At the main intersection, you'll notice this red structure called the Red House. It's a performing arts theatre and what makes the structure interesting is it's in the shape of an octagonal bagua.
MRT Exit to go to the Ximending Pedestrian Zone: Ximen station (blue or green line)
MRT Exit to go to Shilin Night Market: Jiantan station (red line)
MRT Exit to go to Wufenpu Market: Houshanpi station (blue line)
5. 24/7 Eslite Bookstore. Eslite is Taiwan's leading bookstore and they have a branch that is open 24/7. This branch is not really the biggest among all its bookstores but it's the only one that is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and management doesn't mind that people stay to read books from cover to cover.
MRT Exit to go to Wufenpu Market: Houshanpi station (blue line)
5. 24/7 Eslite Bookstore. Eslite is Taiwan's leading bookstore and they have a branch that is open 24/7. This branch is not really the biggest among all its bookstores but it's the only one that is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and management doesn't mind that people stay to read books from cover to cover.
I wouldn't have really gone to this branch because we've been to the Eslite Spectrum at the Songshan Cultural Park already but I was ready to explore at 9am on my last day (museums are closed on Mondays and malls open at 11am). Since I couldn't think of anything else to do, I decided to go. And yes, I finished 1 book while in the store!:)
But I did buy a book also - I am Malala by Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai - which I was trying to buy on Amazon kindle the previous night but unfortunately, there were copyright restrictions for purchases in the Philippines. Good thing they have it on stock. :)
MRT Exit to go to the Eslite Bookstore 24/7: Zhongxiao Dunhua (blue line), take Exit 6
That's Taipei in 3 full days (technically my stay was 5D4N but the first and fifth days were dead days because of the late arrival and early departure).
