It was only a 10 minutes' walk from the hotel to the train station but we left half an hour earlier before the departure time to avoid any rush. I was excited to take the train!
Inside 7-Eleven :O
Going up to board the train.
Our train!
I thought the train would take us directly to Taipei but apparently we would be alighting at Su'aoxin station (蘇澳新站).
After we reached Su'aoxin station, we waited for about 20 minutes for our tour bus to arrive. The bus actually left our hotel super early in the morning to catch up with us at the station.
Then it was another one-hour ride to Taipei.
Our first stop was the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall (中正纪念堂). It was built in memory of the late Chiang Kai-shek, former president of the Republic of China aka Taiwan.
We spent about 45 minutes here. As I stepped down from the bus, I was immediately greeted with a strong gush of chilly wind. It was the coldest weather that I have ever experienced in Taiwan - I was shivering uncontrollably, my teeth were chattering so much, I could hardly walk and talk. So yes, the photos were taken with much effort! :P
The entrance.
As you can see, the words 自由广场 are inscribed on the arch, which means "Liberty Square". The name came about because as soon as the square opened in 1980, it became a place for mass gatherings that led to the development of Taiwan's modern democracy.
This is the National Concert Hall. Directly opposite is another building that looks almost the same, known as the National Theater. Those elements of traditional Chinese architecture made me feel like I was in China instead! Haha.
The main monument, the Memorial Hall. Notice the blue and white colours of the building together with the red flowerbeds (which you can only see a little bit on the right) are the colours of the Taiwan flag. The octagonal shape symbolises the number 8, which is associated with good fortune among the Chinese.
I felt like giving up while walking towards the building because it. was. so. coldddddd!!! Why is the square so freaking huge -.- I just wanted to go sit in a corner and cover myself up with thick blankets D: But thanks to my determination, I managed to go all the way.
The two sets of stairs that lead to the main entrance of the hall consist of 89 steps each, to represent Chiang Kai-shek's age when he died.
I purposely ran up those flight of stairs to give my body some warmth.
Overlooking the square.
We went down to the ground floor via the stairs at the side. Information about Chiang Kai-shek's life and career is available in the library and museum here, besides the history and development of Taiwan in the exhibition area.
We got lost trying to find our way out. Actually, there are doors on every side of the building that will lead you to the garden so technically.. you won't get lost no matter how hard you try :P
While we were waiting for the rest of the group...
We went to Ximending (西门町) at noon. The shopping district is the main source of Taiwan's fashion, subculture, and Japanese culture (that explains the anime character on the signboard). It is also the first pedestrian zone in Taiwan.
Our tour guides first took us around so that we would not get lost later, before leaving us on our own. The local tour guide pointed out this famous mee sua stall called Ay-Chung Flour-Rice Noodle (阿宗面线) along Emei Street (峨眉街). Tables and chairs are not available in the shop, so customers would stand outside and eat.
Red seems to be the colour here.
We bought a few snacks from those stalls.
And came to this really tiny shop with only a narrow table lined along the wall.
We had minced pork rice (卤肉饭), a famous Taiwanese dish.
Noodles in sesame oil (I didn't dare to try this lol).
Red bean tang yuan (红豆汤圆).
We came to one of the centers and saw a shoot going on! Unfortunately, I do not know if the actor and actress are famous, and even if they are, I wouldn't have a clue on who they are anyway because I don't watch Taiwanese dramas, heh (but it's not like I don't know those super famous ones).
My uncle told us that artistes/celebrities will come to Ximending every weekend for an autograph or a photo session with fans! OMG we totally came during the wrong time D: That day was a Wednesday.
My sister got herself a pair of flats, and both of us got some cute bags - all for a reasonable price. Some of the stuff here are really cheap, while some items have almost the same price as what I would find in Malaysia. But the thing is, I'll not find the same design back home so why not buy it while I'm here, right? :P And Ximending is truly a shopping haven with so many choices of clothes, shoes, bags etc!
As I didn't really eat at the shop, I bought a packet of XXL crispy chicken and a cup of pearl fresh milk tea (because they gave me a voucher for drinks). The chicken meat was so juicy unlike the ones in Malaysia - yum! It was the first time I drank a warm pearl milk tea (because really, I need to inject some warmth into my body) and it did not taste as bad as I thought!
Next, we went to Vigor Kobo (维格饼家), a somewhat famous bakery in Taipei that sells all kinds of pastries and cakes such as black sesame and almond cookies, honey cheese cakes, nougats in different flavours, and almond pork crisps.
I was surprised to see a halal sticker on the window pane.
Their best-seller is the pineapple cakes (凤梨酥), but personally I prefer the ones from RT Pastry (a Japanese and Taiwanese concept bakery shop in Malaysia). The pineapple cakes in Vigor Kobo are mass-produced unlike in RT Pastry, so perhaps the taste and quality are paid less detailed attention to. Anyway, this is solely based on personal opinion.
Rows of samples are laid out in the middle of the shop for customers to try. How nice is that!
Wow, electric cable boxes here are beautifully painted :O
We proceeded to Tianlu Art Center (天禄展示馆), where we had to listen to a feng shui master explain feng shui-related stuff - sigh, so fed up with all these commercial places. After the talk, he asked us to stay back and write our Chinese names down so his helpers could "predict our future" (算命) based on our names. Well, I bet after all those nonsense, they will persuade you to buy some jade and whatnot for good fortune.
My family and one other family went outside the building to wait for the rest. We waited for quite some time..... Finally, we were off to Taipei 101!
We were only given half an hour to take photos. WOOOOH getting to stand below and gaze up to the fifth tallest building in the world is phenomenal!
Half an hour is not enough to venture far, so we just walked around the vicinity. The chilly wind was blowing especially strong that night, I had to swap jackets with my mom (who was wearing a thicker one) since she could stand the cold much better than me.
Camouflaged.
This figurine looks like a foetus. Lol.
The meeting point was right at this place, inside the multi-level shopping mall that adjoins the office tower.
When everyone had gathered there, we went outside to wait for our bus. These colourful blocks are so pretty when lighted up!
We had Mongolian BBQ-steamboat-buffet for dinner. I think dinner was served at 5pm, so the place was already packed when we arrived at 6pm. We had to wait for a while before we were seated. I thought we were eating Mongolian food, but little did I know - as I found out later from the Internet - that Mongolian BBQ is NOT Mongolian cuisine and only has little to do with barbeque.
So why do they call it Mongolian BBQ then? I have no idea. But it originated from Taiwan in the 1970s, and not Mongolia as I thought - weird right? Anyway, the special feature about it is that customers will firstly choose from a variety of thinly sliced raw meats (beef, lamb, chicken, pork) and vegetables (cabbage, mushrooms, broccoli). The chosen ingredients are then given to the chefs who will cook the food on an enormous, round, iron griddle at a temperature of up to 300°C!
Many customers' food can be cooked at any one time as the griddle is large enough to accommodate, thus saving time. The chefs stirred the dishes really fast and the food was cooked in a matter of seconds. Well I guess it is mostly because of the super high temperature. After that, the food will be scooped into a bowl and handed back to the customers.
Interesting! It was something new to experience - although I did not like the taste of it as it was too bland. Besides the BBQ, there were noodles, fishballs, tofu etc arranged neatly in chilled selves for the steamboat, while the buffet had choices of fried rice, noodles, porridge, kim chi etc. The food was meh. I was only thrilled at the free flow of soft drinks and the DIY dessert - you scoop the desired amount of shaved ice, syrup, and ingredients like pearls, jelly and so on into your bowl :D
We went back to our hotel at around 9pm. Initially we were arranged to stay at New World Hotel, but our tour guide changed to Ximen Citizen Hotel on that day itself, after one of our tour members suggested staying at a hotel located within walking distance to Ximending (because the next day is free-and-easy so it would be convenient to do some shopping or take the MRT).
The hotel is the smallest that we have stayed in so far, but hey - the room looks cosy :3
Furthermore, we just have to walk straight from our hotel for less than 5 minutes and we'd reach Ximending! So I definitely wasn't complaining. We went to Ximending again and walked around for about an hour. There wasn't much wind so the weather was bearable. I love night walks in the cool air! :)
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