Escaping the Heat (Part III)

I went to the National Palace Museum on the third day by MRT/bus. I first arrived at the Dazhi MRT Station (大直) which is on the Wenshan-Neihu Line (文山内湖線). It means that i won't have to change train. I then took the B13 bus from a bus station which is a short walk away from Dazhi MRT Station (大直) which will take me directly to the National Palace Museum.

The National Palace Museum of The Republic of China. It houses hundreds of thousands of Chinese artifacts, artworks, personal items once belonged to the Chinese royalties and many other rare/historical items that were all brought to here from the Mainland China before the Nationalist Party of China (Kuomintang - 國民黨) retreated to Taiwan.

There were nearly a thousand people inside the museum when i got there. Anyway, It was already passed lunch time after spending close to 2 hours in there. I then made my way to the bus station located right outside the museum. I wanted to go to Ximending (西門町) and i waited about 15 minutes before the bus numbered 931 arrived that will take me to Ximending (西門町). There are like 3 buses that can take me to Ximending (西門町) but bus numbered 931 has the least stop. While on the way to Ximending (西門町), i realized just how different the road planning in Taiwan is. All the bus stations are all basically located in the middle of the road. No joke !

It took about half an hour to get here from the National Palace Museum

Ximending made me wonder if i'm in Taiwan or Japan as most restaurants here are Japanese restaurants. I walked through the whole Ximending area and there were like only 2 - 3 joints serving Chinese foods. Anyway, i decided to eat at a Japanese restaurant. Rumor has it that everything served there is fresh and reasonably priced.

This is the Japanese restaurant i am talking about. It is like a traditional Japanese restaurant and there is no menu card available. You have to order from the manila cards pasted to the wall.

Some of the foods displayed on the sushi belt. Mind you 90% of the foods on display are meant for display only. You have to tell the sushi chef which one you'd like to order and they will make a fresh one for you. There is no price written anywhere for the foods displayed on the sushi belt. Therefore, you won't know the price until you ask for the bill.

This is the Japanese bento box i ordered. I think it was Japanese stir-fried pork or something and it was so delicious. The miso soup is also very different from the one served in Malaysia and their version of miso soup is so nice unlike ours.

The Japanese scallops imported from Hokkaido. I ordered this because the guy seated next to me was eating it :D. Do not be duped by the picture. The scallops are the biggest i've ever seen.

So, guess how much did i pay for all the foods ? I paid TW$470 (RM50.53). It was my third day in Taipei and i did not have much cash left as i brought only US$150 (RM459). I was like what the @#$% when i saw the receipt. The Japanese bento box was very cheap. It is the Hokkaido scallop that was so expensive.

• Japanese bento box (Japanese stir-fried pork) - TW$120 (RM12.90)
• Hokkaido scallops - TW$350 (RM37.63)

Mind you that was the price for just two scallops. Luckily it was delicious or else i'd had to bang my head to the wall already.

By the way, when i arrived in Taiwan, i had only US$ and our own MYR. I was advised by a friend not to exchange TW$ in Malaysia as i will get a better rate in Taoyuan Airport, Taipei. So i bought US$150 at the Wawasan Sentosa Money Changer in Mid-Valley Megamall just 2 days before going to Taipei. I bought the US$ at the rate of US$1 = RM3.06 which was a catch.

Anyway, i bought the TW$ at the Mega International Commercial Bank money changer counter before clearing immigration in Taoyuan Airport Terminal 2. A decision i would soon regret. This was because Bank of Taiwan is offering a higher US$ rate and their counter is located on the departure floor. But still, the rate i got from Mega International Commercial Bank is still better than those i found in Malaysia.

TO BE CONTINUED ...

Escaping the Heat (Part II)

These pictures were taken during the evening rush hour at one of Taipei's MRT stations. It is like this every working days between 4.30pm - 8.30pm.

Shilin Night Market. I came here every night to hunt for dinner.

Some of the foods i bought at Shilin Night Market. The cheese potato is so freaking nice (third picture).

TO BE CONTINUED ...

Escaping the Heat (Part I)

I booked a ticket to Taipei last month and this is my first time going so far away from home alone. I was a bit sceptical to do this on my own at first but there is a first for everything and you are never going to know whether you like it or not until you've done it and boy, was i glad i did this.

Traveling alone in my opinion, can be so much fun. This is because you are responsible for yourself and you can do whatever you want, whenever you like. You can go out and come back to the hotel room anytime and go anywhere you want. It's like a total freedom and all focus on you.

Anyway, i am flying Air Asia directly from Kota Kinabalu. There are another two carriers you can choose to fly from Kota Kinabalu to Taipei namely Malaysia Airlines and Dragonair (via Hong Kong). Of all these three carriers, Malaysia Airlines is the most expensive and Dragonair is in the second spot. However, the timing of Dragonair's flights kind of suck and Air Asia is a few hundred bucks cheaper. Of course the sane choice would be to fly Air Asia. Besides, the timing of their flight suits me the best. It arrives into Taipei Taoyuan Airport at 9.30am and comes back to Kota Kinabalu at 9.55am. This gives me plenty of extra time to check out the city and to familiarize myself with their public transportation system.

So, i checked-in online for my flight the night before and went to the airport at 5am. I've pre-booked my seat when i purchased the ticket which is in the overwing emergency row that gives me plenty of extra legroom which i will definitely find very useful for the 3 hours 20 minutes flight to/from Taipei. Our flight departed on-time and we actually arrived at Taipei Taoyuan Airport at 9.05am, 25 minutes ahead of schedule which is great !

I took the Evergreen bus (part of the Eva Air Group) to Zhongxiao Fuxing MRT Station (忠孝復興) which cost me TWD150 (RM16.125). After that, i took the Metro Taipei MRT at Zhongxiao Fuxing MRT Station (忠孝復興) to Daan MRT Station (大安) which is on the Wenshan-Neihu Line (文山内湖線) and if you have the Easycard (Taipei's version of Touch n Go), you will have to pay only TWD12 (RM1.29). Otherwise, a single normal pay per ride ticket will cost you TWD20 (RM2.15). Knowing that i will depend a lot on Taipei's MRT and buses for the next couple of days, i decided to buy the Easycard. If you buy the Easycard at any Metro Taipei MRT Service counter, you will have to pay TWD500 (RM53.75). TWD100 (RM10.75) for card deposit and the other TWD400 (RM43) will be deducted accordingly as you use their services. The card deposit can be refunded to you if you return the card to them in good condition. However, they will charge you TWD20 (RM2.15) as processing fee which is a non-issue as the savings i will get from using this card is greater.

There was no problem finding my hotel. In fact, it is only 2 minutes walk away and one only needs to walk straight when coming out from the Daan MRT Station. Weather in Taipei is kind of bad now. Umbrella is a must whenever one goes outside as it has been raining day and night since i arrived here on Monday morning. The average temperature is only 9°C in these few days and there is a strong wind which makes it very cold. I did not bring any umbrella. So i had to buy one from a convenient store and i paid TWD200 (RM21.50) which in my opinion is way overpriced. The quality of the umbrella is just so-so. I later learned that the hotel will lend an umbrella to in-house guest upon request. So, there you go my TWD200 ...

The hotel i am staying at is called Park Taipei Hotel. This is a very new hotel and everything inside the room is flawless and all the staffs are sincere, friendly and polite. They are very prompt to attending your request too which is yet another extra point for this hotel.

This is my room. They provide a complimentary broadband service in all rooms. No wifi is available though. One must connect to the internet via ADSL and this ADSL wire is provided too in the room. Though is it not a high speed broadband runs on fibre optic, the download speed is like 10x faster than our Streamyx 1mbps package.

The sockets and ADSL are actually built into the desk ... how high-tech of them. Every new hotels should do the same. Exposed sockets are so last decade.

The clean and spacious bathroom

TO BE CONTINUED ...