18 hours @ CityInn Plus Ximending 新驛旅店-西門捷運店 @ Taipei (12th April 2014)

---

Saturday, 12th April 2014

I was happy to land myself in Taiwan for my 7th time after enduring the 4hrs 30 mins red-eye flight from Singapore. However silly it sounds, the red-eye flight was most useful for time-strapped holiday makers like us since we wasted no time on the boring commute. Getting from the airport to our hotel was a familiar affair involving transfers on the bus and the metro systems. After leaving our luggage at CityInn Plus Ximending, we headed separate ways after breakfast. The plan was to converge again at the hotel lobby at 3 in the afternoon, ready for check-in and of course some decent rest.

I made my first stop at the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall in the morning to witness the hourly changing of guards. The situation was quite unlike 9 years back when I could easily grab hold of a feng shui spot. This time round, I was pushed to the far corner by this huge mob of overseas visitors. With the flawless drill from the Military Policemen, I was impressed with the whole experience!

From here, I moved on to Yuanshan Station where the Taipei Story House was located. I always wanted to have my picture taken at this cutesy European house and this was my little wish come true. This was one of the last few surviving colonial houses in Taipei City. After a quick lunch, I still had sometime for a visit to the Postal Museum before ending the afternoon with a nice Ramen meal at Far Eastern Departmental Store.

Back at the hotel at 3pm, I was happy to grab a moment of shut-eye within our comfortable room. By 5pm, our well-rested bodies were ready for the uphill climb to Xiangshan (Elephant Mountain) where paranomic views of the Taipei Basin was evident from the summit. We ended our evening at Yong Kang Street where the opening of Dongmen Station made access to the area a simpler affair.

I'm always happy to be back in Taiwan for my vacation, happy that there were always hidden places to uncover on this beautiful island.

---