Taiwan

Above is a snapshot of Jiu Fen 九份. Some termed it the Santorini of Asia.

Taipei is a great place for female solo travellers – I have done solo travelling to Taipei in February 2014 and the experience was great! Have visited this warm and friendly place again recently in November 2015. Spent a good few days in Taipei in November in which a day trip was made to Ye Liu, Jiu Fen 九份 and Shi Fen 十分. For those who are visiting Taipei this holiday season, you may refer to my itinerary below for your reference.

Day 1

Here’s a pic of Ximending entrance area.

We begun our day with a solid breakfast nearby.

Ximending offers a lot of snacks and is populated with eateriers at every corner. This chicken chop stall offers bite-size spicy chicken, something like KFS popcorn chicken.

For the second half of the day, we headed to Yong Kang Street, similar to Singapore’s Haji Lane. There, you can find many quaint cafes and boutique stalls. It is easily accessible via MRT at Dongmen Station.

We settled this cafe Petit Doux which has a lovely ambience for chilling and resting our poor feet from all the walking. Their Yuzu tea is da bomb.

Shortly after, we headed to Taipei 101! Looking back, I am amazed we have so much energy to go so many places within a day.

The lovely view at night.

Day 1:

1. You can either take their coach/buses from Taoyuan International Airport to your hotel or just simply take a cab which cost around NT$1000, approx. SGD$40.

2. There have been a recent sprout of high end and boutique hotels in Ximending area. I have chosen Hotel Midtown Richardson which is very new, and it is conveniently located just outside Ximen station.

3. You may want to start off by exploring Ximending area, which can be done within half a day. It offers alot of shopping stuff

4. Visit Yong Kang Street. Take MRT Bannan Line and switch at Zhongxiao Xinsheng station. Take Zhonghe line and alight at Dongmen station. The duration is approxi. 20 mins.

5. Visit Taipei 101. You may alight at Taipei City Hall Station via Bannan Line and take a long stroll through 新光三越. Alternatively, take Danshui Line and slight at Taipei 101 Station.

Day 2

We started the second day with a visit to Longshan Temple. it is just right outside Longshan station. Thereafter, we went to Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall. We decided to take it slow today.

We then went on to Wu Fen Pu. It is similar to that of our Bugis Street and they offers warehouse price. Busy shopping thus no photos haha.

Day 2:

1. Visit Longshan Temple. Take Bannan Line and alight at Longshan Temple.

2. Visit Chaing Kai-Shek Memorial Hall. If you are taking Bannan Line, switch at Taipei Main Station and take Danshui Line and alight at Chaing Kai-Shek Memorial Hall station.

3. For shopaholics, it is a must-go to Wu Fen Pu. Take Bannan Line and alight at Houshanpi station. The duration is approx. 40 mins.

Day 3

We took a half day tour which can be easily found in most of the Ximending hotels. It cost around SGD$60 which is worth it. The tour includes a trip to Martyr’s Shrine, Ye Liu Geo Park 野柳地質公園, Jiu Fen 九份, Shi Fen 十分, and it ends off at Shilin Night Market.

Thereafter we headed to Ye Liu Geo Park 野柳地質公園. The journey took around 40 mins. The main attractive is the Queen’s Head… did you see it in my picture?

Next stop, we headed to Jiu Fen 九份. It was raining heavily and was super cold. The temperature was 15-20 Degree Celsius.

You have to try the yam taro soup and all sorts of snacks there. However, due to the high humidity, it is usually not advisable to buy yam snacks to bring it back home as it may turn mouldy fast.

We settle at a hotpot restaurant and enjoy the scenery while enjoying hot tea and hotpot.Our satisfied faces after lunch! 🙂

Next stop was Shi Fen 十分. This is the famous place where the movie “You are the Apple of my Eye” 那些年，我们一起追的女孩 was shot. Despite the constant drizzling throughout the entire journey, it does not dampen the mood of tourists.

Thereafter, the tour dropped us off at Shilin night market and we chanced upon the underground market to settle our dinner. For those who want a hassle-free journey and still get some beauty rest, I would highly recommend to take up a half-day tour where you can relax in the tour coach.

Day 3:
1. Take a day tour to visit places of interest: Ye Liu Geo Park 野柳地質公園, Jiu Fen 九份, Shi Fen 十分, and Shilin Night Market.

Day 4

Day 4 was relaxing for us. We reserved this day for the famous Dan Shui Street and Fisherman’s Wharf.

We then took in the scenery at the Starbucks and nua there.

Day 4:

1. Visit Dan Shui Old Street. Take the Dan Shui line and alight at Dan Shui station.

2. Take a ferry to Fisherman Wharf’s or take a bus.

Day 5

Last day was spent shopping around Ximending and went to this place named Feng Da cafe… it has a constant queue from morning till night and their coffee is authentic.

Check out tripadvisor review here.

Can go along the stretch of road as shown in picture below and the cafe is located first on the left hand side.

Next was hunting down this place named Yong He Dou Jiang. It’s really good, though super sinful.

Another reason that I love shopping at Sogo in Taiwan is Jill Stuart makeup. Generally the prices are cheaper in Japan but since I’m there, the shopaholic is at work again! Happy to get my kitty paws on the limited edition set. Doesn’t it look fabulous? 🙂