I’d have to say that, out of all my travels, my trip to Taipei has been the most gastronomical of all. About 80% of our trip comprised of visits to famous night markets, restaurants, etc., and that all just literally translates into food, food, and even more food!
Aside from famous night markets, Taiwan also has so much more to offer. We also got the chance to visit some prominent landmarks like the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, the famous Taipei 101, and much more.
For this trip, it was just my sister, my mom, and I. Pretty much a good combination of persons who are very interested in Taipei’s food experience (lol!).
Flying to Taipei~
We booked a nice cozy apartment again via AirBnB. I’ve mentioned it in my Japan Guide post, but I definitely think booking AirBnB’s provide us with a more realistic experience of what it’s like to live in a certain country. I think I was able to snap some photos and video clips of our place (I’ve just yet to search for the files), and I’ll hopefully be able to share it once I edit the vlog entry.
For a brief description, we rented a loft type of apartment with a single bathroom, small living area, and a nice kitchenette–just perfect for three people to fit in. If you’re interested in booking an AirBnB for future travels, you can get some free travel credits from me right over HERE. ♥
For day one, we had Taipei 101 lined up as our activity for the morning, Hot Pot lunch for the late afternoon, and then the Ximending for the late evening.
On the way to Taipei 101
View of Taipei 101 at a distance
Exterior view of Taipei 101 from the base of the mall
A Final Fantasy XIII Louis Vuitton I spotted near the Taipei 101 Mall entrance. ♥
At the top floor of the Taipei 101 Mall–most of the high-end brands are here.
Buying tickets for the Taipei 101 observatory.
A poster of the massive wind damper inside Taipei 101–something I’ve been wanting to see since I’ve learned about it during my Architecture college days. 😀
Taipei 101 observatory floor plan. I just had to take a picture of it cause my inner architect was calling. haha!
The view from the observation deck!
Damper Baby! The massive wind damper at the floor above the observation deck.
Some more views from other angles from the observation deck. I get fascinated with macro views of city planning.
There was a small outdoor observation deck so you could view the city without the glass barriers. For safety reasons though, the outdoor observation deck had tall railings to protect users from any kind of accident. The railings practically looked like tall walls anyway with just a small gap for viewing space.
We went down a floor to view the wind damper from the same level.
There was an exhibit space adjacent to the wind damper, so we took some time to take a look. Most of the displays were of decorative pieces.
I really wanted this red globe. haha! It’s very pretty, but very expensive!
Back at the base of the Taipei 101 Mall
The cafe near the entrance of Taipei 101 Mall. They had an interesting display of all kinds of coffee equipment!
Since the trip was meant to be a double birthday celebration between me and my sister, we wanted to have at least one special lunch out together. She reserved us some seats at this hot pot restaurant where it was “all-you-can-eat” servings–from the starters, main course, drinks, and dessert. ♥
Our hot pot for lunch! yumm ♥
Unlimited Haagen Dazs ice cream! ♥
Pudding! ♥
For the evening, we headed for Ximending, a popular shopping district in Taipei. Compared to Taipei’s night markets, Ximending is more of a shopping area rather than a food market.
Waiting for the bus to Ximending
Transportation is fairly easy in Taipei, since you can go by bus or by subway. Although, if you plan to ride the buses, I advice you to take note of which door to enter and exit, since some require you to enter through the middle door, and then some through the front door. Also, you will need to be fast when riding the bus, since they pretty much only stop for a few seconds. We had to half-jog/half-brisk walk to our bus, even if we’d been consistently checking on the time schedule for its arrival and departure.
This place has a bunch of street performers, street art merchant, and much more!
I can’t read the name of the place, but I took a picture of it since a lot of people seem to eat there! (For future reference. lol!)
View from one of the main intersections of Ximending
Went to buy some street food to deserve as our dinner (since we had a very lunch back at the hot pot restaurant).
This super yummy mashed potato soaked in cheese and topped with corn and bacon bits! ♥ ughh
Tried this sausage combined with a rice-filled sausage (not sure if that’s what it is, but it looked like it..)
Took a picture of this cause it reminded me of some of my friends. lol!
Strolled around Ximending some more~
Some other food stalls we spotted around the area.
We spotted Modern Toilet at one of the intersections of Ximending! We didn’t get to try it here, but if you guys a looking to try this out, you can find it here in Ximending!
Tried out this UFO Catcher cause I really wanted the Gudetama plushies! :))
Saw this street performer on our way back to the bus stop!
Luckily, most of these shopping districts close late, so there’s a lot of room for different kinds of activities in the evening! We didn’t really get to shop much though, since we were more focused on buying food. But generally, Ximending has a mix of cl0thing stores, makeup/beauty stores, street food stalls, and much mroe!
We did a lot of walking, so we headed back to rest up for the next day (stay tuned for the next blog post!).