Dad has always wanted to visit Taiwan, so he decided to take his parents to Taipei this Spring Festival. I have been listening to the songs of Taiwanese stars since I was a student, and it has accompanied me in my high school life. I started to watch Taiwanese idol dramas in college, and followed them until I failed the exams. This time I can finally see the beauty of Baodao.
For a Taiwan visa, a passport and a Taiwan entry permit are required. The pass is processed at the Exit-Entry Administration Bureau, and the endorsement is completed at the same time. Generally, the pass can be obtained within five to seven working days. I obtained the Taiwan Entry Permit from a travel agency on a certain treasure. One of the immediate family members can travel together as the main applicant and provide proof of financial resources. Others only need to follow the main applicant to enter and exit Taiwan at the same time. The main applicant should choose one of the three financial certificates, 50,000 deposit certificate or employment certificate (required for annual salary) or credit card gold card or platinum card. Proof of relationship is required for immediate family members.
In terms of accommodation, I chose to live near Taipei Main Station. It is very convenient to go everywhere, and there are many places to eat around. I can walk to Ximending, Ningxia Night Market, Presidential Palace and Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store.
In terms of transportation, the MRT in Taipei is as convenient as the subway in mainland China. I bought an Easy Card in advance before going there. The Easy Card can be used on MRT, buses, taxis with signs, and some Taiwan Railways, and can also be spent at convenience stores such as 711 and Family Mart.
DAY1
Today’s itinerary: Taipei Main Station — Shilin Official Residence — Longshan Temple (Mangka Night Market) — Ningxia Night Market
Get up at 4:30 in the morning, the driver will pick you up at 5:00, arrive at the airport at 5:30, and the plane takes off at 7:30. Basically, except to catch a plane, there is no chance to get up so early.
Arrive at Taipei Taoyuan International Airport in two hours. During that time, I was very sensitive to meat products, and it was strictly forbidden to bring meat products into the country.
The staff speaks really softly, whimpering, with a unique Wanwan accent. The airport signs are obvious, and it is very convenient to find the MRT station.
From Taoyuan Airport to Taipei Main Station, one-way TWD 150 per person. MRT is divided into express trains and ordinary trains. Express trains have fewer stops, while ordinary trains have more stops, and the price is the same.
The compartment is very spacious, and there is a special place for storing large luggage, so that you don't have to carry the suitcase all the way.
Eating and drinking are not allowed in the car, and no one makes loud noises. Sometimes you can look at the scenery on both sides through the glass windows, which is particularly pleasing to the eye.
Arrive at Taipei Main Station in about 50 minutes, first go to Caesar Hotel to store luggage.
Caesar Hotel is a hotel with an excellent location. It is just outside the M6 exit, and opposite to Taipei Main Station. It is very convenient to go to Taoyuan Airport, next to Shin Kong Mitsukoshi, and within walking distance to Ximending, Presidential Palace, and Ningxia Night Market. The hotel service is very warm and proactive, and the five-star praise gives people a very warm feeling. The bed in the room is slightly small, and the door of the bathroom creaks when it is opened and closed in the middle of the night, but the daily cleaning work is well done.
Go to Taipei Main Station for lunch. Taipei Main Station is a large transit hub, where MRT, Taiwan Railway, High Speed Rail, and Airport MRT all sit there.
The station is not magnificently decorated, but it is very clean and simple, with an old and retro feel. There are no seats in the lobby, and people waiting for the train sit on the floor, very casual.
There is a large square on the ground floor, with various snack bars, gift shops, convenience stores, and Internet celebrity Taiwan Railway bento shops. It is hard to find the north when you come here for the first time.
Hao Da Chicken Chop
cute donuts
711 bought a cup of pearl milk, especially hot milk is very fragrant.
We found a store in Breeze Square, and each person set a minimum consumption, and the taste was okay.
After dinner, I took the MRT to the Shilin Mansion. The Taipei Main Station is so big that it was a bit of a detour to find the MRT at first.
The waiting line here is inclined to facilitate getting on and off the bus.
There are special places for bags and items on the MRT.
There are six stops from Taipei Main Station to Shilin Mansion, and it is only an 800-meter walk from the MRT exit. When I was standing at the door looking at the map on the wall and talking to myself, the people in Wanwan behind heard me and took the initiative to guide us, so enthusiastic.
Shilin Mansion is a large park, where ordinary people can go to relax on weekdays, no tickets are required. To visit the residences of Chiang Kai-shek and Song Meiling inside, you need to buy tickets, and they are not open during the Spring Festival.
The park is very big and beautiful, and it is very comfortable to walk around in good weather.
Back at the hotel, my parents took a lunch break, and I went to the nearby Longshan Temple. Longshan Temple is two stops away from Taipei Main Station, just outside the MRT exit. The temple does not charge tickets, and you can also receive a stick of incense for free. No matter when it is crowded, the incense is always very prosperous.
The table is full of all kinds of tributes, men, women and children will come to worship with pious hearts, hoping that everyone can get what they want, as they wish.
Across the road next to Longshan Temple is the Mengka Night Market.
There are also many people. In addition to snacks, they also sell some other small commodities.
It is said that the movie "Monga" was filmed here, and I really feel that the surrounding residents are a bit unusual, with a murderous look in their eyes? Haha, maybe I was thinking too much.
Made in Taiwan 85°C
Go back to the hotel, and go to the nearby Shin Kong Mitsukoshi department store for dinner with my parents. Shin Kong Mitsukoshi is a well-known department store chain in Taiwan, and there are a lot of food on the basement floor.
I found a dumpling shop in Osaka. The chicken nuggets and pan-fried dumplings were very popular with my father.
Many desserts in Taiwan will add brown sugar, so I chose brown sugar sesame and peanut glutinous rice balls.
I deliberately saved my stomach to go to Ningxia Night Market to fill up. Ningxia Night Market is 1.3 kilometers away from Taipei Main Station, so we walked there. The streets during the Chinese New Year are a bit deserted, many people have gone back, and the shops on the roadside are not open.
Ubike is their shared bicycle.
After more than 20 minutes, we arrived at Ningxia Night Market.
There is a queue in front of each stall, the flow of people is too heavy, and sometimes it is almost impossible to walk. There are signs in the night market to remind people to be more careful about their belongings.
I didn’t step on any of the stalls I chose at random. The sweet potato balls are crunchy on the outside, very fragrant and glutinous on the inside, and they are great value.
Cheese sausage, freshly fried, can be brushed, with a sausage wrapped underneath.
I bought the smallest portion of char-grilled beef and it was still too much to finish.
Although it took a long time to eat this pearl taro ball ice, the taro balls, balls, coconut and sugar water are all matched just right.
There is a long queue in front of the oyster fried rice.
At some stalls, Alipay offers a preferential payment of 9 yuan, up to 3 times a day, and you can enjoy a delicious meal for a few dollars. After a round of eating, my stomach was full and I went back to the hotel happily.
DAY2
Today’s itinerary: Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall—Yongkang Street—Shin Kong Mitsukoshi—Ximending
Looking for a place to have breakfast in the morning, except for the convenience store, basically all of them are closed. I finally found one, and the business is very good. I bought rice balls and rice milk, it’s nothing but rice milk. It’s the first time I drink rice milk, and it has a strong smell of coarse grains.
I bought another finger cake. The owner is an old couple who are still working hard during the Chinese New Year.
After breakfast, head to Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, two stops away from Taipei Main Station. This seat is very creative, the shape of two hands.
The MRT Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall is right there, very convenient.
If you go there early, there are very few people, the square is very empty, and you can take pictures with a selfie stick.
After getting late, there will be more people, and the tour groups are dispatched.
There is a small bridge and flowing water in the park next to it, the scenery is beautiful, and there are little squirrels climbing on the trees, which shows that the ecology is good.
After climbing up the N steps of the memorial hall, you can see the handover ceremony, but you have to occupy a seat long in advance, otherwise you can only see the heads of tourists.
Aunts who exercised early in front of Liberty Square.
Then walk to Yongkang Street. Yongkang Street is 1.3 kilometers away from the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. It is a relatively small business circle.
There are hairy red balls growing on the roadside trees. I have never seen this kind of plant.
The 50 Lan Milk Tea on Yongkang Street is open as usual during the Spring Festival, and the business is super good. There didn't seem to be many people in front, but someone bought a lot of cups at once, so I waited for half an hour to get them... I was bored during the period, and I even googled the difference between pearls and boba. The service is five-star, although there are many people, it is orderly. The waiters have been very busy, but they are very enthusiastic and do not neglect the guests.
It's a pity that half of the shops are closed during the Spring Festival, and the business of the snack bars that are open is super good.
Sophisticated postcards in the gift shop.
There is a garden in the center of the street, where many old people are basking in the sun. Dad chatted with an old Taiwanese couple for a long time. When they saw you, they would say sister, you are so beautiful~ I didn’t eat at a popular noodle restaurant, and I didn’t have to wait in line when I found a place The small restaurant, this meal is relatively healthy.
The weather started to heat up in the afternoon, so my parents went back to the hotel for a lunch break, and I went to Shin Kong Mitsukoshi to buy souvenirs.
Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Taipei Station Store, the second basement floor is a souvenir counter, with various brands of pineapple cakes, sun cakes and nougat.
In the famous Tang Village, the waitress girl is very enthusiastic, her voice is sweet and sweet, and the price of the products is not cheap, but the taste is really good. There are pineapple granules in the pineapple cake, and the nougat is indeed better than many brands. I bought three flavors, strawberry, original and coffee, and I like coffee the most. The shelf life is very short, so eat it as soon as possible. I bought a lot of boxes and went back. Fortunately, it was close to the hotel, otherwise I couldn't carry it by myself.
There is a supermarket with many small snacks that are not common in mainland China. Glico's giant cone is like a room temperature ice cream.
This matcha-flavored nougat sandwich is particularly sticky, and it tastes very exciting.
There is a tax refund point on the second basement floor, and you can get a tax refund if you spend more than 2,000 Taiwan dollars. You must bring your Taiwan entry permit. Back to the hotel with big bags and small bags, we plan to go to Ximending at night, about 1 km walk from the hotel. The eye-catching huge advertising wall on the road.
During the Spring Festival, there are so many people in Ximending that it is very lively.
There are street performers performing, which is quite novel, and young people show off their hip-hop skills. It doesn't matter whether there are audiences or not, it is an opportunity to show their talents.
The surrounding snack street.
Bought a peanut pie and it was delicious.
There were too many people around Ximending, so we found Wenzhou wonton for dinner on the way back to the hotel. It was full of people after nine o'clock in the evening, but the tables were turned over quickly. There are a total of 3 waiters in the store, all the work is covered, and they are so busy that they have to lift their feet. The wontons are all current, but they are actually wontons, which are quite big. Side dishes are delicious and cheap. It is very comfortable to eat a bowl of hot wonton at night, and this shop is open late, which is suitable for supper.
Back at the hotel, I checked the weather in Shanghai, and it was snowing. Traveling to Taiwan in winter is definitely a good place to avoid the cold.
DAY3
Today's itinerary: 228 Peace Memorial Park - Taipei 101 Shopping Center - Xinyi Xintiandi Shin Kong Mitsukoshi - Zhongxiao East Road
I went to the Family Mart to buy breakfast today. The FamilyMart convenience stores on the streets of Taipei are as dense as those in mainland China, and every kind of bread looks good.
I chose chocolate sandwich toast and mentaiko cheese bread. The sandwich toast had chunks of chocolate, which I thought was Nutella. Mentaiko cheese bread tastes unexpectedly good. The combination of salty mentaiko sauce and sweet cheese is not at all inconsistent.
The store also sells baked yams.
I can't eat ice cream in the morning, I've been addicted to watching it.
On the way, I met an old woman making omelets, and I bought one. It was super delicious, much better than yesterday's hand pancakes.
After breakfast, I went to visit the office of the leader of the Taiwan authorities. There were soldiers pacing back and forth in front of the door, revealing a solemn atmosphere. You must make an appointment in advance to go in and visit. During the Spring Festival, you cannot enter, nor can you stay in front of the office.
On the way to 101, I happened to pass by a park. It was the 228 Peace Memorial Park, which was established to commemorate the 228 incident.
There are not many people, it is very quiet, the road is covered with fallen leaves, and the garden workers are working tirelessly to clean it.
There is also an emergency charging device for mobile phones in the park, which is very considerate and provides convenience for mobile phone owners.
Taking the MRT to Taipei 101, there are many barrier-free passages designed and very user-friendly.
Taipei 101 Shopping Center is just outside the MRT station, and the ground floor is a food court, which is dazzling. The part of the mall does not officially open until after 11 o'clock. It was too late. We arrived early, so we didn't go shopping much. The eyes are all big-name luxury goods. The things here are probably more expensive and the price is high.
Looking up outside the mall, you can see the towering 101 building.
Walk from the 101 Shopping Center to the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store in Xinyi Xintiandi, and there are various shopping malls and high-rise buildings along the way.
Shin Kong Mitsukoshi has many buildings, and it takes half a day to visit a building. Tax refunds are available for purchases over 2,000 Taiwan dollars, but only things bought in this building can be refunded together.
When the door first opens, all the salespersons will stand at the door and bow to you one by one, feeling like a VIP.
It is very suitable to come here for shopping, as long as you can move around, you can go shopping for a long time. There are street performers performing in the square, attracting passers-by to stop and watch.
Food center on the ground floor.
I chose a buffet-style 40 per person to eat very full, and the variety is also rich.
A popular Japanese snack in 711, I bought a box of chocolate biscuits.
I picked a piece of Kinder Colorful Sandwich white chocolate that I hadn't eaten before.
Freshly made red bean cakes with thin skin and lots of stuffing.
Brown sugar condensed milk jelly jelly, sweet but not greasy.
After lunch, my parents and I split up. They went back to the hotel to rest, and I went to Zhongxiao East Road.
A large road that can be crossed diagonally.
When the green light is on here, there will be a villain walking. If there is enough time, the villain will walk at a constant speed. If the countdown is within ten seconds, the villain will walk quickly.
In a small boutique shop, I bought two postcards, which were cheap and beautiful, and then handed them over to the hotel for mailing. During the Spring Festival, the post offices in Taipei were closed.
Power Train has a song called Zhongxiao East Road Nine Times.
Department store down the street.
Tempting dim sum shop.
Super cute Pikachu.
There are MRT stations along the way, and you can take the MRT home at any time when you are tired from shopping.
In the evening, we still went to Shin Kong Mitsukoshi's Osaka dumpling shop, and recommended bonito flake salad egg roll noodles.
On the last night in Taipei, I went to see the night view of Longshan Temple.
The lights are beautiful at night, which is completely different from the daytime feeling.
The nearby Mengka Night Market is still in full swing.
Take the MRT back to the hotel, and the Taipei Main Station area is already familiar.
Taiwan's cash drawer KTV used to have chain stores in mainland China, and I even sang there when I was in junior high school.
DAY4
I have no schedule today, so I will finally take a picture of the street scene in Taipei.
There are always crowds of people in front of the milk tea shop.
Almost all of them are advertisements for training and self-examination.
Take the Airport MRT to Taoyuan International Airport, very comfortable car.
However, I made a low-level mistake when I checked in. I only memorized the check-in counter number, but I was queued at the counter of Philippine Airlines, surrounded by Filipinos flying to Manila. It took more than ten minutes for the team to react. Fortunately, there was time.
Airport toilets have an evaluation system, the same as Singapore Changi Airport.
The plane took off shortly after arriving at the terminal.
The short and beautiful trip to Taipei is over. Seeing the people of Wanwan always feels very kind. Their voices, smiles, polite speech, and sincerity have left a deep impression on me. The humanistic feelings of this land are worth experiencing, learning and inheriting. We look forward to the next opportunity to visit Baodao more deeply and discover more different stories.
