Taiwan Trip Day 5: 11th Feb 2015, Wednesday
台湾之旅第五天：2月11日2015年, 星期三
Attractions for the day:
Hello Kitty Kitchen and Dining, Hello Kitty 主题餐厅 [Google Maps Link]
Tamsui Old Street 淡水老街 [Google Maps Link]
Tamsui Lover's Bridge 情人桥 [Google Maps Link]
Fisherman's Wharf 渔人码头 [Google Maps Link]
Shilin Night Market 士林觀光夜市 [Google Maps Link]
Accommodation for the day:
Royal Palace Hotel 豪麗大飯店 [Google Maps Link]
The itinerary for the day was to travel back to Taipei, have lunch at Hello Kitty theme cafe, then go to Fisherman's Wharf and finally visit Shilin Night Market. Sounds too ambitious? Indeed, but we did it anyway!
It was time for breakfast, which was prepared by Greg's mother. Ham and eggs, salad and fruits, as well as something which looks like prata. Very simple yet heartwarming meal. We had our breakfast at the large table at the bottom floor communal area of the B&B. And after breakfast, we took a final tour of the lovely place.
Enjoying our last breakfast in Taichung.
Looks really good for a B&B breakfast.
Some of the messages left behind by past guests.
It's time to go! Noooo!
The little garden that leads to the road where the 7-Eleven is.
This could be a nice "Catbook" profile pic for Guo Jiang.
Guo Jiang knows how to look at the camera.
A grumpy-looking Doris.
Nu Nu, Doris & Guo Jiang (果酱).
Stop staring at my food!
It's time to board our bus back to Taichung HSR Station.
Another set of HSR tickets to return to Taipei.
And here it comes, our HSR bound for Taipei.
Taking this underground passage, part of the East Metro Mall, brings us to our hotel.
Back to the surface, taking in the sights and sounds of Taipei City.
Checking in at Royal Palace Hotel.
A lavish-looking lobby area.
Indeed worthy of the name Royal Palace.
The lobby area at our room's floor.
A room fit for royalties.
The furniture looks pretty antique.
A nice lounger chair and table to relax at a corner.
They even have a standalone bathtub.
Victorian style designs.
And also a huge standing shower area with rain shower.
A look at the exterior of the hotel.
Our next destination was just across the road. Yes, just diagonally opposite Royal Palace Hotel.
Click here for our wonderful dining experience at Hello Kitty Kitchen and Dining, a Hello Kitty theme restaurant.
After the theme restaurant experience and filling our stomachs and cameras with cuteness, we walked to the nearby nearby Zhongxiao Fuxing Station to take a train to Tamsui (淡水). Saw a Sogo right across the main road near our hotel. It has been ages since we last stepped foot into Sogo. Can't recall when they closed their last store in Singapore. We visited this Sogo on our last day of this trip (Day 7).
We haven't seen Sogo since it moved out of Singapore years ago.
After alighting at Tamsui Station, we saw a huge building to the right, with a huge banner saying "discounts of up to 90%". Should have gone in to take a look. We then walked along the coastline and witnessed many interesting things such an artist dressed up like a bronze statue, buskers singing to the latest tunes, and many more.
Wonder what they sold here. Up to 90% discount!
A look at the architecture of Tamsui Station.
A bronze statue artist.
Looking towards the sea, a view of beautiful natural landscape.
Looking away from the sea, a view of man-made beauty.
The last ray of light stars to vanish from the clouds.
There were shops selling souvenirs, street food on the right, with the sea to the left. As we walked along, we reached the wharf where we got tickets for a ferry ride to Fisherman's Wharf. It was NT$60 per pax and we paid in cash. However we later realized we could easily have paid using EasyCard. After boarding the ferry, we sat down and waited for the ferry to move off. Then we noticed a familiar face sitting behind us. It was none other than Wallace Ang, the ex-DJ for 97.2FM. We were not sure whether it was him, but later as we checked his Facebook updates, we were convinced it was him. What coincidence. Looks like he was doing some solo traveling.
Tickets for our ferry ride to Fisherman's Wharf.
Rough waters to navigate through.
As our ferry braved through rough waters and made a right U-turn, I noticed the familiar Lover's Bridge from a distance. I had wanted to bring Momo Dear here to take a look, and of course to take plenty of pictures together. After docking at Fisherman's Wharf, it was time to explore the area. Looked rather different from the last time I was here, but the usual shops that sold Ah Gei (阿給) were still around. And as expected, there were plenty of tourists and locals around, all vying for a good spot to take a picture with their loved ones on Lover's Bridge.
At last, Lover's Bridge in sight.
The last time Orange was here in 2008, there was a very different looking sign.
Looks like a nice place to chill.
The famous Lover's Bridge.
Certainly a romantic place for lovers.
Momorange on Lover's Bridge.
Love is all we need.
There were plenty of spots in the area for nice photos. And after crossing the bridge, there was a spot where people could buy cards and write messages on them to be tied to ropes. There was a bell which you could ring to be blessed with eternal love with your loved ones. There was also the Tamsui Fish Market with quite a few restaurants.
As it was getting dark, this was also the perfect time for more pictures. The colours at dusk were magnificent, against the background of the lights in the distance across the sea. Of course, once the lights were up at the bridge and all around the area, there was a more romantic mood to the whole setting.
Tamsui Fish Market
Leave a romantic message behind for your significant other.
Ring this bell and you'll be bestowed with love.
The lights are out, making the place look much livelier.
An attempt at an artistic shot.
The pink lights makes it an even more romantic bridge.
As we were exhausted from the picture-taking, we proceeded to take a bus outside Tamsui Fish Market, no. R26, back to Tamsui Station. It was certainly a good idea to take a ferry to Fisherman's Wharf and then a bus back to Tamsui as this would allow us to experience both types of transport and looking at different scenery along the way.
We took this bus back to Tamsui Station.
We alighted just before reaching Tamsui Station and walked to Tamsui Old Street. It was also one of the recommended old streets to explore in Taipei. Plenty of shops selling all kinds of street food and souvenirs. We even saw a Naraya shop there. After the short exploration of Tamsui Old Street, we returned to Tamsui Station, where we took the train to Jiantan Station.
An old train on display outside the station.
Lots of delicious snacks could be found at Tamsui Old Street.
Staff making some local snacks on the spot.
Wow they even have a Naraya store here. No need to go to Bangkok.
Plenty of such souvenir stores for you to shop till you drop.
It seemed the whole world was alighting at Jiantan Station. And everyone had the same target destination - Shilin Night Market. You would be missing out if you choose not to visit this famous night market in Taipei. Even getting out of the station proved to be quite a problem, since everyone was jostling their way out of the station, trying to cross the road to get the Shilin Night Market. The term "packed like sardines" really fits the situation at the night market. The throngs of tourists and locals jamming up the road could be a deterrent to anyone who hates crowds. That aside, the tons of shops selling all kinds of stuff was quite an eye-opener. The variety of street food was amazing. The creative Taiwanese were always coming up with new street foods. A trip to Shilin Night Market would not be complete without trying out some of these popular snacks.
Arrived at Jiantan Station.
It is hard to navigate through this massive crowd.
Bingtanghulu. Looks too sweet for our teeth.
And that was what we did. We had Taiwan sausage, pepper pork bun, mian xian, "big sausage wrap small sausage", and many other snacks. Most of these snacks were pretty good except for a few. The stalls with the longest queues were almost always the ones selling the best snacks. We loved Ay-Chung Rice-Flour Noodle, however we were curious about the taste of other stalls. Therefore we tried one called Ah Liang Mian Xian. Unfortunately it was a bad move, as the mian xian tasted horrible. A far cry from Ay-Chung's. Luckily the "big sausage wrap small sausage" did not disappoint. We had to queue for quite a long time to get it. The stall right in front of a temple was supposedly the authentic stall who created this highly popular snack.
Taiwan sausage. Who can resist the aroma and taste?
Pepper pork bun. Momo thinks it's not nice.
Ah Liang Mian Xian (阿亮面线).
We think it's a pale comparison to the famous Ay-Chung Flour-Rice Noodle.
We think it's a pale comparison to the famous Ay-Chung Flour-Rice Noodle.
Sorry but won't recommend this.
Okonomiyaki for Japanese food lovers.
The authentic "Big Sausage Wrap Small Sausage".
The store is right outside a temple.
Be sure to get from the right stall.
Momo thinks it's not as nice as the one she had in Pingxi though.
Momo thinks it's not as nice as the one she had in Pingxi though.
After eating all the very heaty stuff, we found a stall selling taro ball with ice dessert and got a bowl to cool down our temperatures. Next we bought some colourful pins from an auntie who was selling them pinned to an umbrella. Unwilling to leave Shilin Night Market without having tried the Shengjianbao (生煎包) and Congyoubing (葱油饼), we bought one of each to bring back to our hotels to eat, since we were already quite full by that time. Words of advice: Eat them on the spot! When back in our hotel rooms, they had already gone cold and therefore did not taste good at all!
Taro ball dessert to cool off your body from all the heaty food.
How can one resist not getting some of these beautiful pins?
A crowded intersection packed with stalls selling all kinds of street food.
A stall selling Congyoubing, or scallion pancake (葱油饼).
A stall selling Shengjianbao, or pan-fried pork buns (生煎包).
Congyoubing (葱油饼)
Shengjianbao (生煎包)
There were certainly plenty of other interesting and delicious snacks in Shilin Night Market. But there was only so much space in our stomachs! Never mind, we will be back again!
For a list of the hotels available for booking in Taipei City, Taiwan via Agoda.com, click here.
To make a hotel booking at Royal Palace Hotel, click here.
Links to our Taiwan Trip 2015
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