#jygoessolo - Taipei (Day 18, 19, 20, 21)
Finally on the last page of my solo trip! (after a good 6 months..oops)
(Cont'd from Day 18)
It was almost 3.30pm when I reached Taipei (the first thing I did was to purchase the easy-go card from the metro station) and checked in at the hostel immediately (haven't had lunch yet and was dying of hunger...)
Taipei Metro has a comprehensive website.
Taipei Metro has a comprehensive website.
Mr Lobster’s Secret Den design hostel (龍蝦先生的秘密巢穴設計青旅 )
Booking.com
Rate for 3 nights: $90
Single bed in female dorm (up to 8 pax)
- - About 10 minutes walk from Taipei Main Station (this means Railway, Metro and Bus station altogether at one place!)
- - Since there are a lot of exits from the station, the one nearest to the hostel is about 3minutes walk. But the walk from the exit/entrance to the main interchange/station (underpass - avoid the sun!) is quite a long walk! BUT, there's PLENTY of shops underground (it's like a mega underground shopping area) so I usually take a long time to walk because I will be shopping and walking at the same time!
- - The hostel is located on and takes up the whole of 9th floor of a residential building. There's security guard post by the lift so this means safety when you get back late at night.
- - When I checked in, I was allocated a bed on the upper deck. Thankfully, I could change to the bottom deck (thanks to the staff!). Most importantly, the beds aren't the metal bunks (yay!) - alike to the one at Taichung - fixed to the wall.
- - Comfy beds, pillow and blanket
- - Each room is equipped with hangers and hair dryer (!)
- - Room is pretty spacious so naturally the common area (in the middle of the room) is spacious too.
- - Only downside: there's limited bathrooms (only 3) for the dorm stayers (outside the rooms). And since the bathrooms are directly beside the room, I could hear the water faucet on and off. Bathrooms are pretty small too. But overall, I didn't have a problem with long waiting time for a bathroom as I was back pretty late every day. Haha...
- - Mr Lobster's Secret Den offers private rooms too! And the last I saw the reviews, they were gooood.
After settling in (mainly to get rid of my backpack), I went out to get my (very late!) lunch. Having tried Formosa Chang (鬍鬚張魯肉飯) the previous time, how could I miss it this time round? Visited the Nanmen Branch (Xiaonanmen metro station nearest) as it's nearer to the next place I wanted to visit.
This time round - Braised pork rice with bitter gourd soup, tofu and (missing from this picture) delicious pork trotters. I was super full after this!
After the really satisfying dinner, I walked over to Bo Pi Liao old street 剥皮寮老街 (廣州街和康定街) which is a street running along in Wanhua district. It's one of the few streets being preserved since the Qing dynasty (the street was formed then). Wanhua district was known as Mengjia (艋舺) then, and including Tainan and Lugang, these 3 were the most bustling towns. And yes, this area is also where the famous Taiwan movie, Manga, was partially filmed at.
The stretch of street is probably 300m long. Not really a must see, but it definitely is a good place for OOTDs (haha). Of course, not forgetting the traces of history that the place have gone through.
Since the night was still young, I went over to Ximending (西门町).
Ximen Red House. It was a Saturday so there were activities going on around - including a flea market! There's few shops on the second level of the red house as well.
How can one not have a bowl of hot oyster meesua/ thick vermicelli (阿宗面线) when in XMD? Might be over-hyped but it's still shiok (awesome)!
Bought myself a movie ticket to X-men and it's a check on my usual to-do list. Plus, it's actually my first time catching a movie alone! #definitelynotloner #dontevenfeellonely I've actually been to XMD many times so there's really nothing much for me to explore (though there's a new daiso on the Eslite bookstore building) and I even had time to stand by a busking couple on the harp - beautiful melody. Not forgetting getting Hebe's concert album from Jiajia (佳佳唱片行). Prices of albums definitely cheaper than buying in Singapore (like duh, hahaha)
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DAY 19
Set out in the morning to Houtong (猴硐), the land of cats or some call it the cat village (猴硐猫村). Well before the trip I've heard quite a bit of the place where there's a lot of cats roaming around the station and the residential area/village beside.
From Taipei Main Station, take the Railway train to Houtong station (侯硐). The journey takes probably 40minutes (?). I suggest going earlier in the morning as there'll be lesser crowd. Once it hits noon, there'll be more people. Well, maybe partly because I was there on a Sunday.
Once you get out of the station, there're clear directions to lead you to the "village". There're already a few cats I spotted sleeping along the bridge towards the village!
The origin of the name of Hou Tong (猴硐)
There's a cave in that area which resided lots of monkeys and it was given the name of Monkey Hole/Cave (猴洞). During the Japanese occupation, the locals residing in this area depend on mining for a living (since this area is rich in coal). They didn't like minefields with water (which the chinese word for cave 洞 has a water part to the word), hence they changed the name to a similar pronunciation but different chinese writing - 猴硐. In 1962, as people felt that the word 猴 or literally means monkey (in chinese) didn't look/sound nice, it was changed to 侯硐 (same pronunciation) and the train station took after this revised name. After which, again, the locals suggested the change to 猴硐 in 2005.
I went around snapping almost all the cats I see! There are quite a few shops which the locals were selling cat related items like mini figurines, postcards, and even a compilation of cat-meows (as songs) in a cd album! Of course, you can try getting a can of wet food or a small pack of kibble from them but chances of the cats eating is pretty low because they're really well-fed (by tourists lol). And there's also the other side of the station with more souvenir stores and food stalls.
(WARNING: SPAM OF KITTY PHOTOS COMING UP)
I know you can't resist their sleeping faces and poses tooooo! These kitties can really sleep anywhere and everywhere!
And my two favourite shots of sleeping cats gotta be this:
This kitty was lying on the merchandises her owner was selling. And on it was a post-it that reads: I'm not for sale!
I'm impressed by her sleeping position!
I like this shot! But not the ugly bites and scars on my leg :( Those are the battle scars with the mosquitoes during my Miaoli farmstay and the little hill climb at Taichung. And yes, I was super tanned.
This kitty's real smart. Knew this hose is a water source and was trying to lick around it. I decided to be helpful and turn on the water faucet for him, and he just drank from the hose like this - while balancing well on the sink!
And the really obscene cat who knows nothing about manners and decency.
Emo kitty by the window
AND THE CUTEST THING EVER: Mummy kitty and her 6-day old kittens!
Okay enough of kitties!
Since I was in the Houtong area, it was also near to Jiufen, Shifen and Pingxi. I decided to head to Jiufen to get my all-time favourite Huang Mama Jelly (黄妈妈莒蒻) and of course for lunch.
From Houtong to Jiufen: it seems like Jilong Bus No. 826 goes up to Jiufen from Houtong on Weekends and PHs. However I couldn't find the bus stop so I decided to take a train back to Ruifang Station.
The bus stop to board the bus to Jiufen used to be directly opposite the station. However it has moved further up, so walk up the street (come out of station, cross opposite and walk towards your left, up the main road) till you see a bus stop in front of a (police?) station. Always double check with the driver before boarding the bus.
Again, there's plenty of food to try at Jiufen and it's famous for the Glutinous balls (阿嬤芋圆). This time round I had a bowl of fishball soup, ice-cream peanut roll and Gonggong.
Cloudy Jiufen
Finally tried the ice-cream peanut roll.
"Gong gong"!
There used to be a lot of miners and soldiers residing at Jiufen and this is the theatre/cinema they frequent.
Started to pour when I left Jiufen. Thankfully managed to get up the bus that goes down to Taipei.
Next stop: Maji Market
Nearest Metro: Yuanshan Station
In fact, this was just behind the farmer's market Fish and I were at during my previous trip in 2013. As it was already 7, the stalls at the flea market were more or less packed up. A pity I missed the flea market.
Maji Market is more of a permanent structure/ section of the convention hall (beside). It's very much like Pasarbella - the stores very western style, fusion-ed with art elements. Food wise, nothing interest me since I'm a budget traveller haha..Would have sat down if I was with friends and have a drink or two!
Headed to Ningxia Night Market (寧夏夜市) instead. Nearest Metro station: Shuanglian Station (雙連站) Unfortunately, I was just 200m away from the market when I couldn't take the hunger and decided to go for teppanyaki. Just right along the street leading to Ningxia Night Market. Good stuff!
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DAY 20
1) Yong Kang Street (永康街)
Nearest Metro Station: Dongmen
A pretty hipster dining area with many nice cafes and local delights. A pity I was there too early for breakfast, most of the shops weren't open when I was there at about 9am. The alleys and streets only started to get busy at around 11am!
I referred to LadyIronChef's comprehensive guide on Guide to Yong Kang Street, which is really good! He has drawn out a map of cafes in the area and it's really helpful.
The first cafe I chanced upon (and was open for breakfast) was Eating Time, so I didn't really go around shopping for cafes.
The interior's stylish - sorry no photos of interior!
I know this looks a little pathetic. Haha...But taste wise, it's not too bad.
大雨前的大街，遥望着台北101. Peace before the storm.
2) Together.@ 永康街
Address：No 25, Lane 7, Yong Kang Street, Da An District (台北市大安區永康街7巷25號)
Tel：(02)2393-3628
Operating hours：
Monday - Thursday 11:30-21:00
Friday - Sunday 10:00-22:00
Tucked in a corner at the edge of the Yong Kang area, Together is a little cafe that I got to know through Facebook, because I saw yummy pictures of the Ice-cream (shibuya) toast. It was packed due to limited seats when I went in, so I left my name down and was asked to be back half an hour later.
I badly wanted to try the shibuya toast, but was told its pretty huge and usually it takes 3-4 pax to finish one! (that means I will be pretty stuffed.) So I settled for an ice-cream with an interesting name that suggested it as a plant.
THIS IS THE TOAST. AND NO I DIDN'T EAT THIS. (Credits)
Love the wooden exterior - which already gives of a cosy feel.
Because ice-cream in a cup is too mainstream. So I got my ice-cream in a pot! The 'soil' is actually oreo and the base was vanilla ice-cream (with strawberry syrup?).
3) Huashan 1914 Creative Park (华山1914文创园区)
Nearest Metro station: Shandao Temple or Zhongxiao Xinsheng
As the name suggests, this area is a creative park that brings light and life to Taipei's art scene with a strong look and character. It used to be a brewery during the Japanese colonial period. It houses a couple of stores, art installation area, theater, cinema, musical performances and a gallery - of which I happen to visit a photography exhibition that was on its last day, on the theme of Nude. It was a pretty good one and showed me art in a different form, albeit the stigma of distasteful/cheap.
As it was a weekday, there weren't much going on either. And I having no plans next, I walked down to Zhong Xiao Dong Lu
4) Zhongxiao Donglu (忠孝东路)
Visited here on my previous trip with fish but this time round, I took my time to walk through the lanes, though it was a little mood dampening thanks to the constant drizzle.
This is another hipster/trendy area for shopping. The area across the main street has lots of food.
5) The Coffee Alley (咖啡弄)
Heard about this from Wubby (my new HK friend) and apparently this Taiwanese cafe has a branch and is very popular in Hong Kong. And well, she recommended me to try. Since it wasn't time for dinner, I ordered desserts.
The waffles were a little too thick but it was sinful and good overall. I should have ordered the other one with loads of strawberries (which the couple next to me ordered and they were in shock that I ordered this plate to have by myself).
6) Ningxia Night Market (寧夏夜市)
Made the decision to head to Ningxia Night Market (even though it meant I had to travel another direction) since I didn't have the chance to try the food there the previous night. I must say, I got sick of night market food at this point because everything just smells greasy and not appetizing. So I settled for a plate of simple fried beef hor fun. Reminds me very much of zichar in Singapore.
I wanted to try this but looks and smells too oily! Very long queue for their Yam Balls!
7) Eslite bookstore (誠品)
Last but not least, I'll never forget dropping by the bookstore every trip! I was finding some books for my mum had in the end, went to both branches and ended up reaching the hostel at 1am!
Flagship Store
- - 誠品信義旗艦店 / 台北市信義區松高路11號
- - Nearest MTR: Taipei City Hall Station - Exit 2 (市政府站 - 出口2)
- - Opening Hours: (daily) 11:00~22:00 / (Sat-Sun) 11:00~23:00
- - 誠品敦南店 / 台北市敦化南路一段245號
- - Nearest MTR: Zhongxiao dunhua Station - Exit 6 (忠孝敦化站 - 出口6)
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DAY 21
Time always fly by quickly when you're having fun. It's the last day of the trip and I couldn't believe I actually survived 20 days just like that.
Decided to head back to 好。丘 (@四四南村 - a military village that's partly conserved) for breakfast (avoid Mondays!) and it's like a mini pasarbella - a mini zakka store with a simple restaurant layout. Their breakfast menus were mainly bagels so I got a duck bagel for myself.
The grilled duck tasted good, but the bagel was a little too hard for my old teeth.
Left: 2013 June. Right: 2012 August.
Same spot, but a different weather.
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Alright that's the end (finally) of my solo trip. It took me really long to churn out all these, plus it wasn't easy for me to remember the last part of the trip since it's 6 months (?!) since I came back. It definitely brought back lots of wonderful memories as I reminiscence (to blog about them!). I might have regretted (well, a little) quitting my job on (sort of) an impulse, but this first solo trip? Never a regret. It was in fact the best leap of faith I've ever made. It might not be an exciting destination (since it's not new to me), but the experience of living with myself for 21 days can never be replicated. I would love to date myself soon. Again.
All good things come to an end, and I can't wait to experience good things again. Second solo trip soon, I hope!
PS: I can finally move on to my Siem Reap & Bangkok post!!!!
