Taiwan Adventure: Part 2

Good morning Taipei! Woke up with a slight sore throat and colds! but of course I wouldn't let these stop me from having a great day.

I know it shouldn't be and it's crazy but I felt very pressured on this trip. I wanted everyone to have a great time since it was the first time the group will be travelling together. There was also the feeling that everything has to go as planned or maybe more of I wanted everything to go as planned. I did most of the planning and of course prioritized the places and things I want to see and do hehehe. Buuut I made sure to consult my family on what they wanted too and incorporate it in our very tight itinerary. So you can just imagine my frustration whenever there would be delays and all.

For our 2nd day I was very excited to start the day exploring but we were just able to get off the hotel at almost 12 noon! We're kind of a big group - 7 people in total. Since it was a vacation, everyone was just taking their own time, relaxing and etc. I think you can picture what I mean. I was the only one who feels like running after time. Because of this and adding up how I'm not feeling very well, my mood's turning from happy to a little cranky hahaha. 

After a few minutes of deliberation we decided to visit Chang Kai Shiek Memorial Hall first then go shopping afterwards. We took the subway for the first time and it's very convenient. In no time we were able to arrive at our destination. 

CKS Memorial Hall is such a huge quadrant! We're thankful that the weather was great during our visit. It was sunny but windy, perfect for a noon walk in the park. It's like Luneta Park but more spacious I think and the vibe is really different. After some photo ops we took a sit to just marvel at the place while my brother, uncle, aunt and grandmother's aunt went up the memorial hall. I decided to stay and rest with my mom and grandmother since my cold and sore throat started to pull my energy down :(

During the late afternoon we hopped on the subway again to go to Ximending for shopping. It started to drizzle and since it was a Sunday the place was quite crowded. We tried our best to stick together but then realized that it would be better if we just split up and meet after 30 minutes in a certain place. So we did and agreed to meet outside Uniqlo afterwards. As expected, there would be some surprises along the way hahaha. Rain started to pour and we had to buy umbrellas first. When we got outside Uniqlo they weren't there. My mom, brother and I thought that maybe they went back to the hotel already. Nobody was on roaming and I was the only one with internet so we had to scurry ourselves up and look for each other! After about 20 minutes my brother was able to find them at the basement of Uniqlo! Ahhh the feeling of relief haha just in time for everyone to meet and head on to a family dinner reunion with relatives who we bumped into the first day!

This day taught me a number of lessons that I should apply in my everyday life hahaha. First is to just relax and go with the flow. Allow things to take you by surprise. To stop being so stubborn on wanting  things to go my way because somewhere over the rainbow it just won't. And I have to be mature enough to not let it ruin my mood and my day hahaha. Second is if you do number 1 you'll end up happier because having no expectations will make the experience more memorable and worthwhile. :)

Taiwan Adventure: Part 1

Flash back to a year ago, I remembered how I passed going on a trip to Taiwan with my high school best friends. It even caused a friction on our friendship, but thank God all is well now. I'm thankful that this year I had the chance to visit the very beautiful city of Taiwan. It was actually an impulse driven trip, I was just coaxing my aunt who just returned from a Taipei trip to go back again, this time with me. From that "joke" she invited my grandmother and uncle. Little did I notice, we were already researching for visa requirements, airplane fares, hotels, itineraries and etc! By the end of the week, we've got almost everything planned out that even though the fare was not really that cheap, we decided to give it a go since it would be crazy not to book when we already went all out planning.

One of the reasons why I passed last year's invitation aside from having a tight schedule was because I felt there's nothing much to see and do in Taiwan.  I was very wrong! As I've mentioned in previous posts, I appreciate scenery and nature very much. I prefer sightseeing than shopping or going on a food trip though of course I also enjoy the latter two very much. Just from researching, I saw a lot of amazing places to visit! From cultural places, shopping districts, to old cities and awe inspiring nature places. It was difficult to fit everything in our itinerary since we're just staying there for 4 day. Planning stage got a bit crazy but it was fun! I even got partly stressed in the midst of it! hahaha

Our team consisted of 7 family members! Me, my mom, brother, aunt, uncle, grandmother and my grandmother's sister. To make things more convenient, we contacted a driver (a friend's referral) in Taiwan through Line to pick us up from the airport.

Our first encounter with the driver got me almost laughing out loud. Upon reaching Taiwan, I contacted him through Line to no avail. Was about to get paranoid that he might not show up! Good thing we got a sim card at the airport for 250NT (unlimited internet usage for 5 days! and 50NT worth of calls). When we finally got through immigration and claimed our baggage, a man approached us and introduced himself as our driver. Typical paranoid me is a little skeptic since I remembered him telling me he was wearing a white cap. Having also a paranoid aunt, we gave his number a ring. We heard his phone rang but he cancelled the call and continued introducing himself. My funny aunt innocently gave it a call again and he still didn't take the phone out of his pocket. I was already trying not to laugh out loud but deep inside I can feel that he must be thinking we're a crazy group for ringing his phone when he is already in front of us! Well, we're just trying to be sure, he's still a stranger. We got into 2 cars since we wouldn't fit in one. Airport to our hotel took around an hour drive. I wasn't able to relax much since I'm being challenged with my Mandarin skills since the driver we got doesn't speak English that much! I felt like Tarzan uttering Chinese words that I can remember and piecing it together for it to makes sense! 

We stayed at Tango Hotel Xin Yi. The ambiance is cozy and the staffs were very pleasing and nice. Check in was a breeze, we got to our rooms and as expected loved it! We chose the hotel since the bed is really huge! (Can fit up to 4 people). And the bathroom! is just heavenly. It was spacious and it has a jacuzzi with a ceiling shower! I'm not very OC when it comes to bathrooms as long as it's clean and complete with amenities I'm already good. But who would say no to a 5 star bathroom, right? ;D Oh, I almost forgot to mention that our hotel serves free food all day round! From buffet breakfast to pika-pika all day long! It's also just a few minutes walk to/from the subway and Breeze Mall, and a very short taxi ride to Taipei 101 and Sogo.

It was almost 7 in the evening when we finished settling in. Trying to adhere to our jampacked itinerary, we took a taxi to Taipei 101 to have dinner at Din Tai Fung and go up the observatory deck to have an eagle's eye view of the city. As tourist we first took photos of the building and appreciated the chilly weather. We took a number for Din Tai Fung and decided to walk around while waiting. Amazing how we bumped into our Taiwan based relatives in the supermarket! We had a little chat, and asked for local tips. Dinner was great, it got us re-energized :) We didn't get to go up the observatory deck anymore since it was closed by the time we got there haha so we just stayed at the 5th floor where there's a huge screen showing what you'll see in actual.

We called it a night, tomorrow the real adventure starts! Or did it? :P