Beautiful Formosa (Day 2)


Advertisement
Taiwan's flag
Asia » Taiwan » Taipei
December 11th 2005
Published: December 21st 2005
Edit Blog Post

Fun in Taipei


The MRT (Jie Yun) could only bring us as far as to Yuanshan in the North on our way to Martyr’s Shrine (Zhong Lie Ci) in Northern Taipei. From there, it was a short taxi ride to our destination as we did not wish to miss the infamous hourly changing of guards. 7 times daily, 365 days a year performing the same routines, the Military Policemen had promised to deliver in front of hoards of the locals and foreigners.

Hiking up the Grand Hotel (Yuanshan Da Fan Dian) was an enjoyable experience under the cold winter. It was nevertheless worth the effort as the building itself was a joy to the eyes. A free shuttle bus brought us back to the MRT Station.

I had always love the way commuters kept right at the escalators to allow people in the rush to use the left lanes. And yes, people queue up for their trains in a tidy fashion. No pushing; no unpleasant experiences so commonly elsewhere. My only complain is that the MRT System does not serve the airport to Taipei city.

Within 25 minutes, the train passes through central Taipei on our way to Sogo in the East. Zhongxiao East Road is Taipei’s answer to Orchard Road. Of course, things are horribly expensive along this stretch of golden mile.

We quicken our pace to Wu Fen Pu wholesale market. But sadly, only winter clothes are on display that will be of no use to us once we return back home. On a brighter note, the soya bean curd tastes great and we demolished 3 bowls out of it.

We crossed over to Songshan Railway Station on our way to Raohe Night Market. Perhaps we were there too early and many of the stalls were not ready for business. Nevertheless, we tasted the XL fried chicken at one of the roadside stalls. Needless to say, it was unforgettable for our taste buds.

Back in the city, we had time to hit the Shin Kong Observatory located in front of Taipei Main Station. Standing 46 storeys above ground, this was by far an ideal spot for us to enjoy the night scene that the city has to offer and to call it a day.

An amazing day for us thanks to the decade old MRT System that makes travelling a breeze.




Additional photos below
Photos: 16, Displayed: 16


Advertisement

MRT train MRT train
MRT train

The MRT system started serving the city since 1994


Tot: 0.443s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 13; qc: 84; dbt: 0.3298s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.3mb