16 August 2008 ~ My First Day in Taipei

"多了一份亲切感，少了一脸的无助 。这是我喜欢的台北。"

Overheard in Taipei Metro: -

"台北车站。往淡水，新店和南势角的旅客，请在本站换车。"

"Taipei Main Station. Attention, passengers transfering to Danshui, Xindian and Nanshijiao, please alight at this station."

I'm sure Mum would like to stay here too and take the MRT trains often because there were Chinese, English, Hokkien & Hakka announcements. She will have less difficulty finding her way around. And yes, the Priority Seats are seldom taken up.

Coming out of the Airport Arrival Hall @ 6pm, a familiar scene awaited me. It did not took long for me to find and board Bus Service 705 to the Taoyuan High Speed Rail Station. The whole journey took about 15 minutes from the airport.

The Taoyuan High Speed Rail Station is certainly impressive with the glass facade and modern finishes. This was in stark contrast with the Airport Terminal 1 Building which my flight landed an hour earlier. After getting my bearings right, I proceeded to purchase the train ticket to Taipei from the ticket vending machine as there was a snaking queue at the "human counter".

Thinking of getting some loose change from the machine, I decided to insert a NT1,000 bank note for the NT140 train ticket to Taipei. The machine certainly dispense the loose change I needed but it's all in denominations of NT50 and NT10 coins. This certainly helped to increase the weight on my pocket!

This aside, I quickly went to the platform to catch the 6.58pm train to Taipei. By then, I had gotten my camera ready to catch a snapshot of the train as it pulls into the platform. The half empty train itself was comfortable with plenty of leg space. I proceeded to enjoy the next 22 minutes of my train journey to Taipei Main Station.

Navigating my way around Taipei Main Station was a nightmare as it was HUGE by Singapore standards. It is afterall the nerve centre of the High Speed Rail (高铁), the Intercity Rail (台铁) as well as the interchange for the Taipei Metro (台北捷运). My last visit was 3 years ago and finding the correct exit to my hotel was a challenge. By the time I reached the hotel lobby, I was perspiring under the summer heat of Taiwan.

Anyway, it was comforting to be greeted by the infectious smiles of the friendly reception @ City Inn Taipei (新驿旅店). As I opened the door of my bedroom at level 5, I knew that I had made a sane choice. The modern furnishing was worth the money I spent even though the room offered no view from the 2 miserable windows.

After a quick rest and bath, I took the metro line to Gong Guan Night Market for my dinner. As it is located next to the University, there was a sense of vibrancy among the students' crowd. This is certainly a place worth checking out for while in Taipei for some good browsing and food.

After dinner, it was time for me to take the MRT to Chiang Kai Sek Memorial Hall to capture some night shots of the iconic building. A side trip to Ximending was followed which was nearly 11pm by the time I arrived. Needless to day, most shops were about to be closed for the day.

Anyway, it was a nice day 1 experience for me and I would be looking forward for the days ahead in Beautiful Formosa.

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