This
trip was a stressful trip for me as I went there to compete in duo hoop of the
Airstar 2017, aerial and pole competition. We had to submit our video clip to
the organizer and Sheila and I were chosen as the finalists. So, we had
approximately 1 month to prepare a brand new routine, order our costumes
online, edit our music and to book our flight tickets and accommodation.
We
were fortunate enough that we managed to get a good deal on Air Asia for a
return ticket, 20 kg luggage both ways and 1 meal onboard, for only RM724 per
person. The accommodation we booked was a small studio apartment to be shared
among 3 of us and it only cost RM1,200.00 for 7 nights via Air Bnb. The
accommodation was paid for us courtesy of Viva Vertical Malaysia.
Our
flight on 26 October 2017 was 7.40am and the journey from KL to Taipei took
approximately 4 ½ hours. We arrived at the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport
at 12.30pm and we had to queue for about 1 1/2 hours to reach the immigration
counter! After that, we collected our luggage, which was already going round
and round the conveyor belt. We bought our Airport train ticket to the Taipei
Main Station which cost us 160TWD (100 TWD = RM14.00). If you take the slow
airport train (that stops at every station), it will take you approximately 1
hour to arrive but if you take the fast track train (that stops at 4 stations),
it will only take you 30 minutes.
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| Check out the queue at the airport |
So
this was my itinerary during our stay in Taipei:-
Day 1- 26 October
2017
Upon
arrival at the airport, we took the airport train and underground to Taipei 101
station. That’s where Noah met us and brought us to our accommodation. After
leaving our luggage, we walked around the area and bought snacks at the nearby
7-11 stores. Thereafter, we headed to the competition venue where Noah needed to
do his rehearsal.
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| Inside the train from the airport |
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| Inside the underground |
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| Taipei 101 station |
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| Taipei 101 |
Day 2 – 27 October
2017
We
went to the competition venue early morning and waited for our turn to rehearse
in the afternoon. We ate our brunch nearby the venue and went to the nearby morning market.
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| Noodle soup. Very thick soup and very nice |
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| Check out the super thin vermicelli |
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| Making friends with the owner |
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| Morning market |
We competed at night. After competition, we felt relief because we were done.
After the competition, we packed our belongings and went back to our accommodation. Thereafter, we headed to our 1st night market – Ningxia. I was told that Ningxia is famous for its street food and games.
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| Famous dumplings |
Day 3 – 28 October
2017
Chilling out around Taipei 101 in the morning.
The
organiser announced the results of the competition in the afternoon after all
competitors competed in their respective categories. We were placed 4th
in the Open Category and were invited to compete again for the ultimate Air
Star 2017 title.
So
for the 2nd round of competition, again we were placed 4th
but a trophy was only given to the champion.
Day 4 – 29 October
2017
After
sending Sheila off and a short walkabout at the shops, we went to Beitou Hot
Springs and walked around the area, which covers the park and hot springs. Noah
wanted to go and dip himself inside the hot springs but after he saw so many
senior citizens, he decided not to. We were pretty disappointed as there were
not many things to see and we were kind of bored after walking for a while. We
headed to the train station and wanted to go home. But since we were so nearby
Tamsui, we decided to go there instead.
Tamsui
Old Street is boardwalks full of shops, carnival games, restaurants, cafes,
toys and street food. It’s also a nice place for you to watch the sunset over
the Tamsui river. We hired a bicycle and cycled around and later we realized
that it was impossible to cycle as there were so many people walking around. We
decided to return the bicycle earlier than our 1 hour given time. We walked
around and ate non-stop.
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| Tamsui city |
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| Lots of street entertainment |
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| Decided to rent a duo bike |
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| Fried squid, octopus, etc |
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| Not so happy with his fried abalone. Had to queue for very long just for 1 stick |
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| The local loves dogs and will bring them everywhere |
After
Tamsui, we decided to have a look at Shilin night market. Shilin is super busy
with humans and it was so difficult to walk around. Of course, there are a lot
of things you can buy here, clothes for teenagers, snacks, Taiwanese famous
pineapple cakes and mochi. I liked shopping at Shilin as you can find anything
and everything there. Although this night market is pretty commercialized, the
price is still competitive with other night markets.
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| Shilin night market |
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| Got toys for my kiddo |
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| Local product which i enjoyed the most |
Day 5 – 30 October
2017
We
went to the Taipei Main Station to take the train to the outskirts of Taipei,
i.e. Shifen and Houtong (Cat station). Originally we thought we could as many
places as Ruifang, Jiufen and Pingxi but we were wrong.
From
Taipei Main Station, we boarded the train to another train station. The journey
took us about 45 minutes. At this station, we had to interchange to another
train that will bring us to Pingxi. To our surprise, the train was not regular
and we had to wait for 30 minutes at this station. Do check the time table and
plan ahead.
By
the time the train arrived, there were so many people already on board the
train and many more people boarded. We were shocked that this train was super
slow! It took so long for us to arrive to Shifen, an old railroad town. This
was the place where people can buy their very own lantern, write a message on
it and send it up to the sky. There were shops as well on the sides of the
railway.
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| Shifen station |
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| People buying lanterns |
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| Those who buys lanterns mostly foreigners |
After
spending quite some time at Shifen, walking around the shops, trying the
braised pork rice, we walked to the nearby bridge to take photos.
After
Shifen, we went to Houtong as we wanted to see the beautiful cats at the
Houtong station. As the weather was pretty cold that day, we only saw a few
cats hidden. It was a waste of time to stop here and we had to wait again for
our train.
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| Houtong |
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| We found only 1 cat |
Basically,
you can’t cover a lot of towns along the Pingxi line, as the train was slow and
waiting for the train to bring you to one town to the other is a pain.
After
Houtong, we took the train to Taipei Main Station and took the underground to Ximending
night market again where we were meeting our local Taiwanese friends. They
decided to bring us around Ximending for me to try out the smelly toufu and
fried chickens.
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| I could take the smell |
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| It's actually quite delicious |
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| Obviously, I'm unable to finish it and needed my local friends to help me |
After
Ximending, our friends drove us to the peak, to view the city of Taipei as we
did not go up to Taipei 101. Once we reached the peak, parked the car and we
had to hike up another 15 minutes to have a beautiful view of Taipei.
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| Taipei at night |
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| I'm touching Taipei 101 |
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| Our lovely Taiwanese friends that showed us around |
Then,
our friends brought us for some desserts nearby our accommodation. I must say
even the local food (after conversion), it’s still expensive.
Day 6 – 31 October
2017
Since
our flight was at 3.50pm, we managed to visit the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall. The
place is huge. The entrance of the hall contains the huge statue of Chiang Kai-Shek (very similar to Abraham Lincoln’s statute in Washington DC). There is a
formal changing of the guards but we did not wait for it (please refer to the
timetable publish at the building site). Apart from the memorial hall, there
are performance hall and exhibition center.
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| Back entrance of the building |
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| Check out the large area |
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| Exhibition hall |
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| Main entrance to the compund |
After
the memorial, we went back to our accommodation, took our luggage and it was
time to say goodbye Taipei. Till next time.
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