2022 Nov Taiwan, Taipei (Journey to further north…)

Yay! Got my air ticket without any problems. Was a bit worried since I bought my air ticket via a 3rd party website (trip.com) as I couldn’t conclude my purchase of the ticket on the airline website. (And I had already purchased my Taipei-Singapore air ticket.)

Either way, the ticket via trip.com costs me S$160 and the ticket on the airline website costs S$185.

From what I read, buying the main problem when buying from 3rd party websites are that you CANNOT do any changes, amendments or anything. Once bought, that’s it.

Things to note when flying to Taiwan as of 21st November 2022.

At the airline check in counter, I was asked several questions and needed to show certain documentation.
I was first asked how long am I staying in Taiwan.
As my return flight was not via Vietjet(the airline I am flying on to Taiwan.), I was asked if I had a return flight and had to show my return flight details.
Next, I was asked if a hotel was booked. I replied yes, and had to show my hotel booking details. I am not sure what happens if no hotel is booked beforehand though.
My check in was then processed after the above.
I asked the staff and she said these are requirements from Taiwan and such information would be sent to Taiwan.

This should be in all airports. Convenient automatic water bottle filler. It fills up 500ml each time. 🙂

I was in Thailand for 18 days.

Boarding soon. First long flight after 3 years. (Flight to KL does not count.)

Taiwan, Taipei

Given 4 covid test kits to test when needed. Reporting of covid symptoms is only RECOMMENDED.

I am in Taiwan!! Excited!!

Very nice airport to city bus.

This range of drinks was so popular in Singapore at one time.

It is a nice building. Not going there though.

My hotel and room for 7 nights: Ku Shan Yuan Hotel.

Pros to this hotel:

– mins walk away from Long Shan Temple Metro station.

– in the middle of a night market. – lots of local food eateries and convenient stores around.

– very local neighborhood.

– CHEAP – my single room with fan and shared bathroom costs only 500NT/night. The double rooms with attached bathrooms costs 1200NT/night.

Cons about this hotel:

– there is no lift. The single rooms are on the 4th floor. Lots of exercise for me.

– the single room is small, so maybe not suitable for people who are claustrophobic.

– bath towels are not provided. Only a small face towel is provided.

– the rooms would not be made up everyday.

– looks like those haunted buildings in old Chinese movies. 🙂

Sesame paste noodles. 麻将面 50NT.

Braised pork with rice. 卤肉饭 30NT.

Have to eat Taiwanese Sausages when in Taiwan. 台湾香肠 35NT.

The nearby Huaxi Street Night Market from Ku Shan Yuan Hotel.

The nearby Street Night Market from Ku Shan Yuan Hotel.

Wow. Tetris arcade is so popular here. Many uncles playing tetris arcade in this area.

Walking about at night.

There are even buskers on a Monday night.

Nice weather to be walking in.

My room has a view.

Since i am not sure when I would be going to Japan again, decided to have Ichiran ramen in Taipei.

If you are not familiar with Ichiran Ramen, they do not have tables, only counters to eat your ramen. The idea is to focus solely on enjoying the ramen.

There are 60 counters in this outlet.

Ichiran Ramen damage: 384NT, not cheap based on Taiwan’s usual cost of a meal.

When i was staying near Taipei Main Station, this is a regular shop for a go to meal for me. Rice balls. 饭团

Bought the original 原味 and pork floss肉松 rice balls. 30NT each.

Too full now to eat it. Would show the marvelous inside when I eat it later.

People would want to claw for wet tissue?

My pork floss rice ball. Included are different types of salted vegetables, and a crispy dough fritter 油条. Yummy. Good enough as a meal.

Made in Yingge, Taiwan in Aug 2017.

A longtime Taiwanese friend helped to receive it and carefully kept it for me till now. Was able to meet him to catch up and receive the cup from him.

My Taiwanese friend brought me to Nanjichang Night Market. 南机场夜市

It is one of his favourite night markets. Very local with no tourist around.

We had sour spicy soup and dumplings. 酸辣汤与饺子

Learnt that Taiwanese eat their dumplings with a mixture of sesame oil and light soy sauce. Some people even eat a raw clove of garlic before eating the dumplings. The mix of sesame oil and light soy sauce was delicious with the dumplings.

Our drink was a mix of red tea and soya bean drink. 红茶加豆浆

Next order at Nanjichang Night Market. 南机场夜市

A mixture of different items that are boiled with a sweet sauce. The sweet sauce tasted very similar to the Yong Tau Hu sauce that we eat in Singapore.

The soup was fantastic. They only gave the free soup if you order enough.

My friend brought me around on a fun scooter ride on a cooling evening. Thank you for your time and company. It is much appreciated.

Rainy day in Taipei. Decided to just buy a hot Ovaltine drink and chill for the day.

Been raining the whole of these few days. Had pork ribs soup 80NT and braised meat rice 30NT.

Added a bowl of bamboo shoots and vegetables as I haven’t had much vegetables intake.

Since I stayed so near Long Shan Temple, I should visit it again even though I have visited it many times during earlier trips.

Huge divinity sticks

The man-made waterfall at Long Shan Temple is very impressive.

Decided to nearby old Qing Dynasty streets of Bopiliao Historical Block (again) It seemed to have been upgraded and done up better.

A childhood game at the Bopiliao Historical Block where you can only hold the stick with a string and metal ring, to make the bottle upright.

I played this at a Taiwan night market before, where you get a prize if you succeed. It is free to play but need to pay a small fee if the bottle drops to the ground during the attempt.

So, there were many people trying to pick up the bottle at each failed attempt. The store owner would even come to demonstrate how to succeed. So, it was possible to do it.

Mock up of old classroom in Taiwan.

Wow. AM/FM radios. Haven’t seen these in a long time.

Local breakfast.

Ice milk tea 25NT – tastes lighter than commercial milk tea.

Carrot cake 萝卜糕 30NT – the yummy soft carrot cake was pan fried to give a crisp outer.

Pork chop wrapped in an egg Taiwanese pancake 猪排蛋饼 40NT – the pork chop was very delicious as well as the egg Taiwanese pancake.

The daring bushy-tailed squirrels in the parks. Some would come very close, I think expecting to be fed.

Wa. Donation shaped. Must eat!!

Taiwan polling day.

Breakfast from a road side stall with lots of people.

Pork ribs soup 排骨汤70NT, vegetables 25NT, shredded chicken on rice 25NT, and braised egg 15NT.

Local Taiwanese market.

I didn’t know that Motorola still exists.

Don Don Donki in Ximending. It is a trap!!! Go at your own risk.

Thought I would check it out but there were so many people, so I decided to just head out but you cannot “directly” head out.

They have created a one way street where after you enter, you are directed to escalators that brings you directly to the 3rd floor of Don Don Donki.

The path then leads you around the whole floor, meandering through everything, before reaching the downwards escalator.

When you descend to the 2nd floor, the one way maze resumes around the whole of the 2nd floor till you reach the downwards escalator to the first floor before you are allow to exit directly if you aren’t purchasing anything.

I did not even bother to see the queue at the cashier, and left. I can imagine a long queue there.

It took me at least 10-15mins just going in and out, trying to make my way through the throngs of people who were walking slowly, looking around, stopping here and there to put stuff into their trolleys.

I can imagine a major fire hazard and great catastrophe if there really was a fire. (Touch wood.) You have been warned!!

It is beginning to look a bit like Christmas. At Ximending.

Eating Taiwanese pan fired dumplings or gyoza. 6NT/piece.

Didn’t know which sauces are there. So I asked and also find out how do the locals eat their gyoza.

The sauces from left to right are, sweet sauce (a bit like BBQ sauce), white vinegar, chilli and the lady called the last fragrant oil (香油), but I couldn’t smell anything from it. I was thinking it might be sesame oil, but it didn’t seem so.

So, the locals would usually eat their gyoza with a mixture of the sweet sauce and white vinegar. I did various combinations and yes, I think the sweet sauce and white vinegar is the best choice.

Different Taiwanese Sausages. And possible sauces to put on it. I asked for a recommendation and was told to add the garlic sauce.

Nope, I didn’t think the garlic sauce went that well with the Taiwanese sausage.

A big python at Huaxi Night Market where you can literally “eat snake”.

Second last day in Taiwan as well as to my overall long holiday. Decided to eat at the nearby stall again. Braised meat with rice 卤肉饭25NT, cabbage 30NT, braised egg 卤蛋 15NT.

A door to a double room at Ku Shan Yuan Hotel 古山园旅社 was open so, I took some pictures for reference.

1200NT for a night or 400NT for a “rest 休息”.

Cheap accommodations and convenient location but I DO NOT recommend ladies to stay in this area of Wanhua 万华 district.

It is a red light district where you see ladies in their 40s and 50s standing around. Was called out by them a few times.

Enjoyed dinner and a cup of starfruit juice with my Taiwanese friend before my flight back to Singapore the next day.

Last breakfast in Taiwan as well as to my long holiday.

Tried the beef burger with egg 40NT, the yummy pan-fried carrot cake 30 NT again with ice milk tea 25NT. The beef burger was delicious, tasting a bit like ramly burger.

Bought a takeaway of black pepper pork chop burger 45NT with egg to munch in the airport later.