Cheating, I know, but the photos would be have been wasted! And I'm too lazy to do a vacation post that would have been exhausting, so this is a nice happy medium, I'd like to think.
Guidelines
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- Post the pictures chronological order
- Indicate the time, location, and a small comment
- Taken from Chad at 12 of 12
| 01. April 8, 02:09pm, Dihua Street So this was a poorly planned trip from my end and I blame this on the fact that there is no Lonely Planet Pocket Series (only to find one in Taipei on my last day -- Amazon said it wouldn't be released until May!). Nevertheless, despite the hellish departure from Singapore (my printer wouldn't print properly so my visa looked like shit) and the arrival that took forever (the lines at the airport were horrendous), it was lovely to find out that the place we happened to stay in had very cool spots around. 02. April 8, 04:00pm, Elephant Trail And as is tradition when my sister  jamypye and I go on a trip (this time without our little monkey), there's always a surprise hike that I'm not prepared for. This time, it was a steep climb to the top even if it wasn't the longest walk. But my best souvenir (not this shot) was some chigger bites! They were not fun but the walk was good.03. April 8, 06:32pm, Raohe St. Night Market So apparently night markets are a thing in Taipei and the big three are Shi Lin, Raohe and Shida. So one day one, we head to Raohe which is near-ish the Elephant trail and we gorged on food. A bit much, I think. We went overboard due to hunger from the hike but it was worth it. Street food is what I'm all about. 04. April 9, 09:49am, Dihua Street So Taipei was difficult for me to place and I didn't know anything about the city so I was trying to compare it to other Asian cities I've been to and I couldn't find a match. Which I guess is a good thing cause it makes it different. I really liked how they would have old buildings like this in the middle of a city. 05. April 9, 11:24am, more Dihua Street So the only reason I chose a hotel in this place is because it looked like it was near the city but not too expensive. And apparently, it turned out to be one of those pre-gentrification parts of town with lots of cool, hip stores and cafes. Score one for lack of research and being cheap! 06. April 9, 10:02pm, R&D Cocktail Lab As I wouldn't be cool enough to know about this place, I decided to hit my friend, Marla up who knows quite a bit about Taipei and she recommended this bar. So me, after saying goodbye to my sister, voyage out at night. I didn't realise this was one of those hidden bars. So despite google maps telling me where to go, I couldn't for the life of me find the door. Lucky me, I did. I also got a free drink from the bartender! Win! |
| 07. April 10, 01:13pm, Fujin Street At this point, I've figured out the bus system and I head to a very hipster part of town called Fujin Street which turned out to be a really nice and quaint street filled with lots of cafes and specialty shops. And lots of bikes. I went into at least three stores with bikes inside. 08. April 10, 01:43pm, Beans & Beats For more, there was a nice coffee shop that had vinyl records you could choose to play. It had a way darker aesthetic than most of the stores on this street (all of them very white and blank space-y) but this was nice and dark and moody. Plus the coffee was really good! 09. April 10, 08:49pm, Shida Night Market And to finish the triumvirate of night markets, this one felt more like a shopping district than anything. So many stores to tempt you with and so many things to see. The food wasn't as great as Raohe or as plenty but the shopping was more than enough. 10. April 11, 01:29pm, Zhongshan District As is tradition when I'm in a new country, I usually send out postcards to a couple of people and lucky me, the Dihua street I was in happened to have a post office where I could buy stamps. So I spent the last day writing about this very unplanned trip. I hope my recipients have received the already. 11. April 11, 04:21pm, Taipei Main Station So here I was thinking I'm on my way to the Coldplay concert at Taoyuan Railway Plaza, when apparently I'm on the MRT line rather than the high speed rail line. Lucky for me, I left with enough time to spare and lots of helpful people along the way to help me back onto the right track (literally). 12. April 11, 06:53pm, Taoyuan Railway Plaza And I made it. The reason for this entire trip (other than the fact that I've never been to Taipei), Coldplay live was pretty amazing. Even if I had my luggage with me (which I was scared wouldn't be let in cause they had a bag size policy), and it rained and I didn't have a rain coat, it was pretty freaking amazing. The lights, the sounds, the stage. It was all pretty much worth it. Until the next one! |
