Trip to Taiwan - Days 1 & 2
"Honey, I'm Home!"
Ok, so I'm back from my vacation. I went to Taipei, Taiwan. For some of you, this is not a big shocker because I've been wanting to go there for awhile. It was a bit last minute, so I ended up going alone, but I still had fun.
Where do I begin? I guess from the top.
DAY 1 (February 11) : Taipei 101 & Shilin Station
I arrived in Taipei on the 11th. I basically checked into the hostel, dropped my bags and went sightseeing. First impression- WOW THERE ARE SOOOO MANY SCOOTERS! Yes, they are everywhere and you have to be carefully when crossing the streets. lol.
First Sightseeing Trip -- I caught the subway (MRT) and went towards the City Hall Station. From there, I walked to Taipei 101 , which was the tallest building in the world until this year. This is a good place to begin because you get great views of Taipei on all sides. On the base of Taipei 101, there is also a shopping center with many popular & expensive stores, such as Dior and Tiffany's.
At night, I went on the subway again. I got off at Shilin station, thinking that the Shilin night market was there. Sadly, the night market was at the stop right before it, Jiantan . Actually, when you arrive at Jiantan Station, the signs in the subway tell you to get off and walk towards Exit 1 in order to go to Shilin night market. I should have been more attentive. However, not all was lost. I walked around the area and took in Taipei city life.
Day 2 (February 12) Ximending, Quick stop at Danshui & Night Markets
Day 1 was sunny and warm. Day 2, however, was cloudy and chilly. It looked like it could rain at any moment. I ended up taking the MRT to Ximending, which is the place to go if you want to buy some cute clothes or accessories. It's also the perfect place to check out the latest trends. Ximending is like the Harajuku of Taiwan. It's full of young people hanging out and shopping. I arrived there early, so only a few stores were open at the time. However, after like half an hour, everything started opening and the crowds began arriving. I ended up buying 3 pairs of earrings, YES 3 Pairs of Earrings, and a Hello Kitty bracelet. Don't ask me why. I was on a shopping high. I also had a girl who was selling me one of the pairs of earrings who was so sweet and bubbly that I couldn't say no. Since it was chilly and I didn't have proper clothing for the weather, I also bought a sweater that I used for my entire trip. Oh and I bought headphones and cute stickers for myself and my friends. Stickers? I know it sounds strange, but just look at how adorable they are:
I almost forgot the idol shop. Let me type that one more time: IDOL SHOP. There are shops full of posters, pillows, mugs, key chains, phone straps, etc with faces of idols on them. I kid you not. I also won't lie when I tell you that I must have spent almost an hour in that shop and I felt like an old lady because I was surrounded by teenage girls screeching "SHINEEEEEEEEEE" or "SUPER JUNIOR". Yes, k-pop is big there. I want to tell you that I walked away empty handed. That I didn't give in to the idol shop and buy goodies, but that just wouldn't be me. I ended up buying a Big Bang poster and pins with the faces of Taiwanese idols Rainie Yang and Jiro Wang. Hangs head down in shame. (o^_^o)
After spending a big chunk of my day in Ximending, I decided to go to Danshui. Truthfully, it was getting dark and drizzly, so it wasn't the best time to go. I wanted to see the sunset in the Taiwan Strait, but it was cloudy and the weather was just uggghhh. I did walk around and I realized that the shops there were full of cute things. Since I came at a bad time, I decided to go back on a better day. I went back on Day 4, so stay tuned to read about my return to Danshui.
Anyway, I ended the night by going to different night markets. I went to the Ningxia Road Night Market and the DiHua Chinese New Year Market (Chinese New Year was February 14). It was crowded, lively, crazy and really interesting.
This is a video of Dihua Market that I took.
If you want to see more pictures of my trip to Taiwan, you can go to my Flickr.
Ok, so I'm back from my vacation. I went to Taipei, Taiwan. For some of you, this is not a big shocker because I've been wanting to go there for awhile. It was a bit last minute, so I ended up going alone, but I still had fun.
Where do I begin? I guess from the top.
DAY 1 (February 11) : Taipei 101 & Shilin Station
I arrived in Taipei on the 11th. I basically checked into the hostel, dropped my bags and went sightseeing. First impression- WOW THERE ARE SOOOO MANY SCOOTERS! Yes, they are everywhere and you have to be carefully when crossing the streets. lol.
First Sightseeing Trip -- I caught the subway (MRT) and went towards the City Hall Station. From there, I walked to Taipei 101 , which was the tallest building in the world until this year. This is a good place to begin because you get great views of Taipei on all sides. On the base of Taipei 101, there is also a shopping center with many popular & expensive stores, such as Dior and Tiffany's.
At night, I went on the subway again. I got off at Shilin station, thinking that the Shilin night market was there. Sadly, the night market was at the stop right before it, Jiantan . Actually, when you arrive at Jiantan Station, the signs in the subway tell you to get off and walk towards Exit 1 in order to go to Shilin night market. I should have been more attentive. However, not all was lost. I walked around the area and took in Taipei city life.
Day 2 (February 12) Ximending, Quick stop at Danshui & Night Markets
Day 1 was sunny and warm. Day 2, however, was cloudy and chilly. It looked like it could rain at any moment. I ended up taking the MRT to Ximending, which is the place to go if you want to buy some cute clothes or accessories. It's also the perfect place to check out the latest trends. Ximending is like the Harajuku of Taiwan. It's full of young people hanging out and shopping. I arrived there early, so only a few stores were open at the time. However, after like half an hour, everything started opening and the crowds began arriving. I ended up buying 3 pairs of earrings, YES 3 Pairs of Earrings, and a Hello Kitty bracelet. Don't ask me why. I was on a shopping high. I also had a girl who was selling me one of the pairs of earrings who was so sweet and bubbly that I couldn't say no. Since it was chilly and I didn't have proper clothing for the weather, I also bought a sweater that I used for my entire trip. Oh and I bought headphones and cute stickers for myself and my friends. Stickers? I know it sounds strange, but just look at how adorable they are:
I almost forgot the idol shop. Let me type that one more time: IDOL SHOP. There are shops full of posters, pillows, mugs, key chains, phone straps, etc with faces of idols on them. I kid you not. I also won't lie when I tell you that I must have spent almost an hour in that shop and I felt like an old lady because I was surrounded by teenage girls screeching "SHINEEEEEEEEEE" or "SUPER JUNIOR". Yes, k-pop is big there. I want to tell you that I walked away empty handed. That I didn't give in to the idol shop and buy goodies, but that just wouldn't be me. I ended up buying a Big Bang poster and pins with the faces of Taiwanese idols Rainie Yang and Jiro Wang. Hangs head down in shame. (o^_^o)
After spending a big chunk of my day in Ximending, I decided to go to Danshui. Truthfully, it was getting dark and drizzly, so it wasn't the best time to go. I wanted to see the sunset in the Taiwan Strait, but it was cloudy and the weather was just uggghhh. I did walk around and I realized that the shops there were full of cute things. Since I came at a bad time, I decided to go back on a better day. I went back on Day 4, so stay tuned to read about my return to Danshui.
Anyway, I ended the night by going to different night markets. I went to the Ningxia Road Night Market and the DiHua Chinese New Year Market (Chinese New Year was February 14). It was crowded, lively, crazy and really interesting.
This is a video of Dihua Market that I took.
If you want to see more pictures of my trip to Taiwan, you can go to my Flickr.