Have you ever - been to Taipei, Taiwan

We visited Taipei end of the year in December when the weather was fairly cold and wet most of the days when we were there. There are lots to see in the city and we spent a full one week in just Taipei city itself. The city is clean and super friendly, easy to get around with Easycard (悠游卡) and if you are a food lover, you will definitely love this place. 

Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall (中正纪念堂)

The memorial hall is the must visit tourist spot located at the liberty square and you can also find National Concert Hall and National Theatre here within stone throw distance. There will be hourly changing of guards within the memorial hall from 9.00am to 5.00pm every day. Honestly, it is nothing extraordinary but if you have extra time to spare, it is still worth catching it. 

HuaShan 1914 Creative Arts Park (华山1914文化创意产业园区）

This is my favourite place among all and it gathers all the hipsters in town. It is a cultural centre refurbished from purpose-built old buildings/factories and turned it into an attraction. This place housed plenty of cafes/shops selling unique stuffs and it is popular for exhibitions and events, particularly during weekends. During my time of visit, I was lucky enough to catch the Le Rouge Chanel pop up store@Taipei. The entry was free and made for instagram (spotted many local bloggers there as well!). I obviously had fun there looking for the perfect shades of red for myself and taking pictures with all different exclusive set-ups. 

Cafe wise, you will definitely be spoiled with choices but this one caught my attention the most among others - Blue and Book (青鸟书店). I stumbled upon this cafe at second floor when I was wandering around simply. It is cosy, warmly decorated and most importantly full of books! Books are for sales and you just need to purchase something on the menu and you can rest your feet away as long as you wish. 

Ximending (西门町）

Ximending is the most popular neighbourhood with massive variety of fashion shops, drugstores, restaurants and cafes where people come here to shop, to eat, to drink and to take pictures. It is the centre district located at Xinyi district accessible by the MRT. Famous food to try here like bubbles teas (my heart goes to XinFuTang@Taiwan), Ah Chung Mee Sua, Hot-Star Fried chicken etc. There are also plenty of bars in the neighbourhood where people come around to chill and mingle.

Night Market (夜市）

Night market is a Taiwanese thing and there are many night markets in Taipei but Shilin night market (士林夜市) is one of the biggest and most popular night markets. Although Shilin is the most visited night market among all the tourists but I personally recommend other night markets like Shi-Da night market (师大夜市) and Raohe night market (饶河夜市) for relatively less mainstream and friendlier experience (cheaper price as well for the same food). 

I have a list of recommended food you must try:

- Pineapples cakes - Chia Te Bakery (佳德糕饼);

- Pineapples bun with better - Hao Hao Wei Shi Da (好好味师大);

- Beef noodles and grilled beef - Niu Lao Da Beef Noodles (牛老大面馆);

- Pork pepper buns - Shilin night market (士林夜市);

- Scallion pancakes - Yong Kang Street (天津葱抓饼); 

- Braised porks rice - Sanchong District (今大卤肉饭);

- Shaved ice - Smoothie House Yong Kang Street (思慕昔)

You can find unique local food almost everywhere in Taipei but the best one is for you to judge. 

Taipei 101 (台北 101）

Taipei 101, once the tallest building in the world with the fastest lift (less than a minute to go up to the observation deck at 88th and 89th floors) located at the centre of financial hub. It is designed to be earthquake and typhoon proof which Taiwan is prone to all these disaster. The tower is adjoined with few levels of shopping mall at the lower levels. There is also an outdoor deck at 91st floor but it was closed due to bad weather during our visit so be sure to visit when the weather is good and preferably mid-afternoon or at night for the best view. You can purchase the tickets online at least a day before to dodge the queue for a guaranteed experience or you can also walk in to purchase tickets at 5th floor. 

If you are a Starbucks fan, there is actually a Starbucks outlet at level 35 with promising view which you can visit by reservation only. Sadly, I didn't manage to catch it as well although I have been calling them everyday when I was there hoping that I would score a chance but it was always full! Looking at the bright side, it gives me an excuse to come back for another visit. Here is the hotline for reservation (Tel: +8862 8101 0701) and good luck trying! 

Elephant Mountain (象山）

Another way to have a good view of Taipei 101 and the city is from the Elephant Mountain. We took a hike up to the mountain at night after dinner for a little bit of exercise and it was about 10 minutes walk from the MRT station and another 20-30 minutes hike up the trail. There are a few viewing platforms where you can stop and take pictures as you are going up. The hike was not difficult even at night and for the kind of view that you can get from the top, it is totally worth the hike.

Jiufen Old Street (九分老街)

I guess this place has been made famous because of the movie "Spirited Away" by Hayao Miyazaki with similar village liked in the movie. It is a small village on top of the mountain, approximately 1 hour away from Taipei by bus. You will find lots of food stalls and souvenir shops around the alleys. We were caught on a bad rainy days so we decided to visit the famous tea house - A Mei Tea house (阿妹茶楼) to chill while waiting for the rain to subside. It turned out to be a very worthy visit for the beautiful view from the balcony, although slightly pricey for the experience. It was charged seperately per head count for the water (100 per person) and the tea itself with price as per engraved on the bamboo menu. The lady there also gave us Tea-Brewing 101 to show us how to properly brew a nice cup of hot Chinese tea. Scroll down for the short clip of how it was done!

Shifen Old Street (十分老街）

Shifen is often visited alongside Jiufen. It is a place with a train track in the middle of sidewalks lined up with restaurants and souvenir shops. It is an actual train track with running train passing by daily and slowly. When the train is not sight, you can cross the track freely and the most happening activity here is to fly a lantern. The most exciting part is that you get to write down your wishes on the lantern. Different colours lantern represent different meanings such as health, wealth, studies, work and etc and of course it comes with different price. There are a few lantern shops around and if you are lucky you get to have complimentary photography session from the vendor to capture the moment while you fly the lantern!

Tam Sui Old Street (淡水老街)

Tams Sui is slightly further away from the main district of Taipei but you can easily reach here by the MRT. This is another place to explore unique local food and the must try Tam Sui street food are "A Gei" - fried tofu stuffed with glass noodles, fish balls with fillings (鱼丸) and braised eggs （铁蛋) We have also tried the Gu Zhao Wei Sponge cake (古早味蛋糕) where you can find halfway through the old street. The sponge cake is baked and sold on the spot and it only comes with two flavours - Original and Cheese. I personally prefer the cheese flavours over the original one because the cheese fillings is just too generous! Behind the old street is the Tam Sui river where you can take a cruise over to Fisherman's Wharf and this is where you can find the renowned Lover's Bridge. You can catch perfect sunsets here if you stick around till evening. 

Bei Tou Hot Spring (北投地热谷）

The main attraction here in Bei Tou is the hot spring and many tourists or even locals come here to bathe in the hot spring during winter. There is a public hot spring located just walking distance away from the MRT station and there are also many private hot spring offered by hotels and resorts within the vicinity. If you are not into hot spring, other attractions here include Thermal Valley, Beitou Library, Hot Spring Museum and Plum Garden.

We love Taipei so much and can't wait to pay another visit soon! See you again Taipei!