Taipei Day 9 (30/11/2012)

Final day to do any last minute shopping!  In my original itinerary, I have kept this day as F&E, in case there are last minute places that we have missed visiting / would like to visit again.

When Mr Lee brought us to Dihua Street on our Day 5 guided tour, old Dad fell in love with the ginger sweets that we bought. Also, when we reached Dihua Street the other day, it was close to evening time and we did not really get a good look around.  So this morning, we decided to revisit this place again.

As usual, work up to the sound of rain hitting against the window panes.  Another wet day. Well since it is our last day in Taipei, must not waste anytime.  Armed with our usual gear of umbrellas, raincoat..we set off.

Taipei Day 8 (29/11/2012)

Woke up to a beautiful and cooling day!  We took a more leisurely approach today.  Washed up and after a short discussion on today's itinerary, we set off to look for breakfast nearby.  As we have yet had the chance to walk around our minsu during the day, we did just that this morning.  

Came out of Minsu's lift lobby, took a left turn, pass by 三妈臭臭锅, walked all the way straight down.  Nothing much interesting things to see.  We saw this place that serves breakfast and we stopped by to eat..

The food store looks oldish, but clean.  Similar breakfast items to those that we had at Fu Hang Dou Jiang :)

Taipei Day 7 (28/11/2012)

This morning, first thing I did when I woke up was to peep out of the window.  Yay! Sky is clear and there is a little ray of sunlight!  As we will be visiting Beitou and Tamsui today, having good weather is important. 

Jumped right out of bed, woke everybody up, rushed all the lazy bones to wash up and get ready for a full day of outing.

I am keeping my fingers crossed for good weather, though the weather forecast site that I swear by says that it will rain.  :))

Took a train to Beitou and...

Taipei Day 6 (27/11/2012)

Yesterday was the last of our booked guided tour.  From today, Day 6 onwards, we will be going around Taipei on our own.

This morning, it was drizzling again..but just lightly.  Had a quick breakfast in our room and we were on our way to experience the MaoKong Gondola (or cable cars)!  Since the time we stepped onto the street till we reached the gondola towers, kids kept talking and reminding us that we must take the crystal glass bottom cable car.  Ok..ok...noted.. 

Taipei Day 5 (26/11/2012)

As Mr Lai has to attend to his grandma's funeral, he assigned another guide to drive us around.  I kind of look forward to this day as I have always wanted to visit QingTong, JiuFen and Shifen as well as to enjoy the much heard about scenery along the way.

As usual, the guide picked us up at 8am.  He introduced himself as Mr Lee, who appeared to be in his early 50's.  He seemed more down to earth, introduce places of interests quite like a pro, unlike Mr Lai's style, which is more chatty and jovial.  Mr Lee is definitely a much more organized person.  When we reached Jiufen before he let us alight, he even stopped by the roadside, drew us a map, showing us how we should navigate, where to locate those goodies stall etc..I like this guide!

Well for today, not many words are needed to describe our adventure.  Sit back, relax and scroll through the pics, which speaks a thousand words!

Taipei Day 4 (25/11/2012)

Time flies! It's already our 4th day in Taipei!

We all woke up at 7.30am, ate a very light breakfast and set off to find the famous Fu Hang Dou Jiang阜杭豆漿 @ Huashan Market. Getting there is simple.  You will find directions guide at the end of this post.

Today, the sun was shining brightly and weather feelt kinda warm and cozy.  This is a good sign of a fantastic day ahead.  Kept fingers crossed that the weather will remain same throughout the day.  I think it should, I have been totally dependent on the Weather Forecast Bureau ( I mentioned the link in my earlier posts).  It has proven to be a very dependable source, to the extent of indicating the % chance that rain will fall.

When we arrived at Fu Hang Dou Jiang,

Taipei Day 3 (24/11/2012)

This will be another day with guided tour.  We will be going to a Persimmon Farm, ShengXing Railway Station and Flying Cow Ranch..

Woke up at 6.30am, and yes, it was raining.  By this 3rd day, we have gotten use to the wet weather and everyone of us will automatically check and make sure we have our umbrellas, raincoat, scarfs etc in our bags.

Mr Lai was already waiting for us when we went down from the minsu.  Ever cheerful with a ready sunny smile, he greeted us, sheltered us to the car and we set off for another wonderful day of fun! Heck the rain !

As the journey to the Persimmon Farm will take almost 2 hours, we chat, joke and take little naps in the car.  Mr Lai has never been to this farm that I have chosen, but he has done his homework by calling them and asking them about opening hours, entrance fees etc. This farm has done advert on a few Taiwan tourist websites and I thought it will be a good experience to harvest permissons and other fruits as well.

Well, when we reached there,

Taipei Day 2 (23/11/2012)

Today at 8am, Mr Lai will be bringing us out to Wulai, Strawberry farm and some old streets for sightseeing.

Woke up at 6.30am, heard pitter patter on the window....oh no....RAIN !!!! Well, since we are already here in Taipei, shall let nothing dampen our mood.

After a quick breakfast, we were soon ready to set off, armed with umbrellas and scarfs.  Our guide, Mr Lai was already waiting for us.  How shall I describe him...hmmm...when he first get out of his 7 seater Toyota Wish, I stared.  Haahahaa! He has golden mixed with slight white hair, wore a white shirt and a light purple tie.  For one moment I thought..  Taiwan Da Ge Da Mafia! Wahaahaa! But he turned out to be the nicest person, chatty and ever so considerate in looking after his clients! My initial wild imagination over, packed my family into the car.  In high spirits, we enjoyed the car ride as well as the scenery along the way, listening to Mr Lai introducing Taipei to us.  Looks like it will be a long-life rain...

The first thing Mt Lai told us : something very unique about Taipei -

Taipei Day 1 (22/11/2012)

Finally D day!

The maxi cab we booked arrived on time and viola! at exactly 5.40am, we set off for the airport!

Since we are taking budget airline, need to make sure tummy is full before boarding the plane.  All of us had a heavy breakfast at McDonalds and checked through immigration at 7.40am.  Hearing scary tales about how Tiger Airways always have flights delayed, I was expecting the worse..but hey, not too bad, plane took off on time lei! Oh one little tip..bring an empty water bottle in your bag with you if you are traveling on budget airlines.  Once you check in and waiting in the holding room just before boarding the plane, you can then take out your empty water bottle and fill it up with water from the water cooler in the holding room.  Haahaaa...cheapo because a small tiny weeny cup of kopi costs SGD4/- on board the plane.

Reached Taoyuan Airport at 1.15pm

As Mr Lai (our pre-arranged driver cum guide) has earlier mentioned in our email correspondence that he will not be able to pick us up at the airport, a Mr Deng was waiting for us when we arrived, holding a plycard with my chinese name on it. I told him we need to get SIM cards for our phones and he kindly brought us to the telco counters.

To get to the telco counters,

Preparing for Taiwan Trip 22/11/12 - 1/12/12 Part 6/6

Counting down! 5 more days before our trip! Yay!!

Work is so darn busy that there's simply no time to do anything else. Old folks went for a tour in Cambodia last week and I was running around like a lunatic, shuffling between work, meetings, fetching kids for tuition, picking them up from school, preparing their meals etc. Not a schedule for the faint hearted! Colleagues around me are most wonderful.. Keeping track of my time and literally nag till I cheong out of office to pick kids. Hahaha..in case you are wondering still ... Yes I am a super lousy time keeper !

Finally finally found sometime today, sat down and calculated the luggage weightage that we will

Preparing for Taiwan Trip 22/11/12 - 1/12/12 Part 5/6

Old folks and kids made a trip to the Taiwan Visitors Association Singapore Office today finally. :). It is located 30 Raffles Place #10-01, Chevron House..

Collected loads of brochures. Kids are sure of great help, grabbing whatever that is within reach!

Show your flight tickets and hotel confirmation slip ..and for this period of time, you will get TWD100 worth of night market vouchers each pax as well as some discount coupons booklets. Ok, so I flipped the discount booklet and out of the whole booklet I guess I will only be using the buy two get one free tickets to Yeliu Ocean Park! Haiz..


Discount Voucher Booklets and the tickets which I will likely be using...complimentary $$ to spend at designated night markets...brochures and more brochures !

Preparing for Taiwan Trip 22/11/12 - 1/12/12 Part 4/6

Ohhhh! This is cool !

A new discovery as I was surfing the net! When we go to Taiwan, must remember to ask for receipts for all your purchases. That is because the tax authority in Taiwan will conduct bi-monthly draw (or quarterly maybe?) On each and every receipt that we collect, there is always a receipt / tax no. printed on it. When you are back from your trip, just go this this website to check all your receipts against the numbers published.

http://www.etax.nat.gov.tw/etwmain/front/ETW183W1

Looking at the website info as to how much was spent and what kind of items the receipts were for..wow! even buying a bottle of water at 7-11 qualifies too!  Or at night markets food stalls if they do  issue one.  Must grab !

If your receipt(s) matches one whole complete string, like our Big Sweep, really HUAT BIG BIG AH! If it matches last few numbers, the prize money varies from I think NT 200 to NT 1000? I am not too sure as I have only found this out. Of course if we are back in Singapore and strike only NT200, don't waste money on another air ticket to fly back to collect the prize money. Just donate to charity and earn some good karma ! kekeke!

 This thread on Trip Advisor will help you to understand better.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g293910-i9303-k4561587-o20-Keep_your_receipts_for_purchases_made_in_Taiwan-Taiwan.html

Go on and read the thread ! Anything that is free and on lucky draw basis, kia-su-ism may not be a bad thing ! Lol...

Now I know :) My friend who came back from Taipei could not understand why some locals ask if she needs the receipts / fa-piao (发票）or else can they (the locals) have it.

Everybody also want to HUAT 365 days !

Preparing for Taiwan Trip 22/11/12 - 1/12/12 Part 3/6

After a day of solid work in the office..finally reach home at about 8pm.  Wonder how I managed to survive all the madness the world has been leashing out for so many years! TTA?  Yucks!

Anyway after a quick dinner, I sat down to purchase a travel insurance cover for the 5 of us.  Citibank was having a good promo with 30% discount if we sign up from now till 31 Dec 2012.  Being true-bred Singapore lang, hurry hurry signed up and no lose out. paid S$138 for the whole trip & family.   Underwritten by ACE.   :))

Just like our past trip, we always book our hotel here.  Rates are good and there are $$ given for the next booking.  Worth!

For our accommodation in Taipei, I originally checked out Rainbow Hotel, located at Ximending.  They have a room that can accommodate up to 5 persons!  Only disadvantage is that there is only one bathroom and my worry of mad rush in the morning.  From the reviews I gathered from other travelers, this 5 pax room seems to be somehwhat comfy and spacious, no frills.  The cost per night at that time I enquired was NT4480 per night.  Not too bad a deal.  Hot favorite with Singaporeans and Malaysians because of its excellent location.  Step out of hotel only can shop till dropped and it is very near MRT.  Wonstar is another really popular hotel.

I almost nearly made a booking with Rainbow Hotel, and by fate / chance, I happened to chat with an old friend, who has visited Taipei last December with his family.  He did not stay at a hotel, but went for minsu (民宿).  He strongly recommended Taipei York, which is located in Ximending too.

Well, I dropped the minsu owner, Mr Liu,  an email out of curiosity, googled around for more info and hey! this minsu is indeed a popular choice with travelers from Asia!  Staying in a minsu is generally cheaper than staying in hotel.  Reason being : there is no full housekeeping other than someone coming in to clear your rubbish for you.  Plus point is that there is a kitchen where you can cook, a washing machine and a dryer.

Preparing for Taiwan Trip 22/11/12 - 1/12/12 Part 2/6

Finally..completed planning itinerary for our Taipei Trip!  Not the best, but good for a start.  Will make adjustment when we are in there.

  

Taiwan Trip (22/11/2012 - 1/12/2012)
Day 1	22/11/2012	Arrive in Taipei
	(Thursday)	Miramar Entertainment Park
		Ximending
Day 2	23/11/2012	Wulai SkyWalk
	(Friday)	Wulai Old Street
		Persimmon Farm
		Beipu Old Street
		Neiwan Old Street
Day 3	24/11/2012	Flying Cow Ranch
	(Saturday)	Shang Tian Coffee House
		Sheng Xing Railway Station
		Strawbery Farm / Winery
		Shokolake Choc Factory
		Salt Factory
		Nanzhuang Old Street
Day 4	25/11/2012	Breakfast at Fu Hang Dou Jiang
	(Sunday)	Longshan Temple
		Taipei Main Station
		Lunch at Ding Tai Fung - ZhongXiao FuXing
		Wu Fen Pu
		Raohe Night Market, Songshan Ciyou Temple
Day 5	26/11/2012	JiuFen
	(Monday)	Jin Gua Shi (Museum, YingYang Hai, Huangjing Waterfall)
		Shi Fen Waterfall
		Shi Fen Old Street - Sky Lantern
		Qingtong / Pingxi
		Toufu Street ( depends if have time)
Day 6	27/11/2012	MaoKong Gondola
	(Tuesday)	Taipei Zoo
		Taipei 101
		Keelung - Miaokou Night Market
Day 7	28/11/2012	Beitou
	(Wednesday)	Danshui
		Fisherman Wharf
		Shilin Night Market
Day 8	29/11/2012	Yeliu
	(Thursday)	Ocean Park
		Dihua Street
		Ximending
Day 9	30/11/2012	F&E
	(Friday)

For Day 2, 3 and 5, I have engaged a guide cum driver, Mr Lai.  Got his contact through...

Preparing for Taiwan Trip 22/11/12 - 1/12/12 Part 1

After rounds of "family conference", our next travel destination would be Taiwan ! :))  Old folks wanted to go to Korea and kids - to Hongkong again, to eat fishballs! *FAINT*

I have just started to blog about me and my travels..hopefully this will bring back sweet memories should mine fail one day.  LOL! I have just uploaded some pics that I took when we were in Hongkong last year.  Instead of putting up pics which most bloggers would have already done, I have chosen to put up pics which we took when we were in Cheung Chau and Tai O.  Not much narration since the trip was one year back.  However, for those of you who are reading and has any questions, just roll me an email..

For the coming Taiwan trip, I will try to blog in as many info and details as possible. With my Iphone 4S, this should make blogging more fun ! :)  I was scribbling an itinerary one fine day in my office and my colleague teased and say that I should have it properly documented.  Hmmmm..I saw that cheeky look on her face and asked : you intend to go har"?  Bingo ! Answer is ya lor! She was hoping for me to do all the "homework" and she piggy back. 

As of now, I have already booked the air tickets.  We are going via Tiger Airways.  This is the first time we are traveling via budget airline and I find the booking online kind of confusing.  Besides booking the flights, we will also have to estimate the weight of baggage and purchase the needed weight package.  This is to avoid paying high charges at the airport should we exceed to baggage allowance.  As for meals, we have decided not to make prior purchase. Rather, we will buy on board as and when we feel like eating.  My mum always have problems with airline food.  Says that it is full of "rubber" texture and taste.

Going out now.  Will talk more about my hotel booking and tour guide arrangement in my next post!

Lovely weekend!