Taiwan:
January 28, 2015 to February 7, 2015
Day -1: Leaving Home
Day 0: Arriving in Taipei
Day 1: Meeting up Friends and Exploring
Our first full day in Taiwan happened to be my sister Green After the Rain’s friends last day in Taiwan. We met up with Sebas (we met up with him in South Korea a few times too) to explore before he headed off to the airport. Because of that, it was a little tricky. I needed to find things that were interesting to see as our first day but still good for Sebas as his last day in Taiwan. We ended up getting brunch at a traditional Taiwanese breakfast place Yong He DouJiang 永和豆漿大王, quick subway ride to LongShan Temple 龍山寺, then walked to Bo Pi Liao Historical Old Street for a stroll and pictures.
After exploring, we went to Taipei Main Station where Sebas headed to the airport and then waited for our friend Tracy to arrive from China. After meeting up with her he, we grabbed dinner at the Taipei Main Station Underground Mall, dropped off her stuff at our apartment, then headed to the Miramar Entertainment Park Ferris Wheel.
- Xi Men Red House 西門紅樓
- Tian Hou Temple 台北天后宮
- Lunch: Yong He DouJiang 永和豆漿大王
- LongShan Temple 龍山寺
- Bo Pi Liao Historial Street District
- Taipei Main Station Underground Malls
- Dinner: Sushi Take-Out
- Dinner: MeiGuanYuan
- Miramar Entertainment Park Ferris Wheel
Day 2: Tradition and History
We started the day by getting in a long line at Fu Hang DouJiang 阜杭豆漿 for another traditional Taiwanese breakfast then walked all the way to the back entrance of the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial. After exploring the memorial we figured out our way to the National Palace Museum (via MRT and Bus) where we ended up braving our way through the crowded museum. After a day of Taiwanese history, we hit the Shilin Night Market for dinner, street food, and shopping.
- Breakfast: Fu Hang DouJiang 阜杭豆漿
- Chiang Kai Shek Memorial
- National Palace Museum
- Shilin Night Market
Day 3: Our Only Sunny Day in Taiwan
We took the red line on the MRT to the last stop, Danshui where we were finally greeted by the sun. We spent a lot more time there then expected because we were so excited to be in the sun.
When we finally arrived to Beitou from Danshui, it was already kind of late in the day. Most attractions were already closed but the area was still nice to just explore and walk around.
Day 4: Just Outside of Taipei
We started our day early in the morning to catch the bus to YehLiu GeoPark, known for their rock formations. The crowded GeoPark is a major attraction and was pretty crowded even though it was a weekday. We then hopped on another bus and headed to Jiufen where we ate lunch and enjoyed our own little Asian tea party at famous Ah Mei Teahouse. And finally before heading back to Taipei we released sky lantern in Shifen.
- YehLiu GeoPark
- Jiufen 九份
- Ah Mei Teahouse in Jiufen
- Shifen Sky Lantern
Day 5: The First Things I Think of When I Think of Taiwan
Now that we’re back in Taipei, we went to the famous Din Tai Fung. We arrived right before the crowd and didn’t even have to wait. Although it was raining, we still headed over to Taipei 101 and went up to the observatory. And ended the day by heading back to our apartment then went shopping nearby.
- Original Din Tai Fung
- Taipei 101
- Shopping in Xi Men Ding
Day 6: A Day of Exploring (and getting lost)
We caught the Hello Kitty Maokong Gondola (it won’t be Hello Kitty themed for long), to go to the top of the Maokong mountain. In good weather you would get some amazing views of Taipei, but it was another rainy day for us. We just wandered around, explored, and ate.
After heading down from the mountain we went all the way to the National Revolutionary Martyr’s Shrine. By the time we got there (after a long MRT ride and approximately 1-mile walk) the buildings were already closed, but we did get a glimpse of the last change of guards of the day. Since it was already such a long walk to get to the Shrine, we decided to walk to a different stop (kind of hoping that it may be closer…it was not). We happened up on the Grand Hotel; a famous landmark in Taipei. Tired and tired, we somehow made it to the NingXia Night Market to grab some food before calling it a day.
- MaoKong Gondola
- National Revolutionary Martyrs’ Shrine
- Grand Hotel
- NingXia Night Market
Day 7: Checking Off Our List Of Things To-Do and See
The Sun Yat-Sen Memorial in Taipei is another unique building to visit in Taipei. We stuck around to see the change of guards, explored the Memorial, and then walked to the Taipei City Hall area. We pretty much spent the rest of the afternoon wandering the streets of Taipei and various malls in the area. You would think we had enough shopping but we then headed to WuFenPu for some bargain shopping.
- Sun Yat-Sen Memorial
- Taipei City Hall
- WuFenPu
Day 8: Shopping, Shopping, and Shopping
Our final full day in Taipei and we decided to finish shopping in the Xinyi District then some shopping at the Taipei Main Station Underground Mall, and lastly finished our shopping in Xi Men Ding. My friend and I have birthdays a week apart from each other, and decided to celebrate with sushi feast.
- Xinyi District Shopping
- Taipei Main Station Underground Mall Shopping
- Xi Men Ding Shopping
- Birthday Dinner
Green After the Rain 
Looks wonderful again. I really wonder whether I will be able to record our holidays in China this time well enough for some blog posts…
I’m looking forward to reading your posts about China. 🙂
Reblogged this on YunTiHa's Blog.