What we did last summer: Part III

We stayed at Eastin Taipei Hotel which is about a 5 minute walk from ZhongXiao Dunhua MRT station and 3 km from the iconic 101. we were satisfied with our choice as the location was convenient and the room was comfortable. The room rate comes with breakfast. You need to inform the reception the breakfast set of your choice the day before which will be delivered to your room between a certain time period in the morning. Self service laundry is available and you can work out at the gym while you wait for your laundry to be done. Or just lounge round and surf the internet in the communal area.

 

Our breakfast.

 We had a pretty easy morning and after taking our time we set out to 101 and to have lunch at Ding Tai Fung.

Here we are. We decided to have an early lunch before exploring 101 as not to spend too much time queuing up for a table.

Ding Tai Fung uses a ticketing system and the tickets issued are based on 4 group numbers. 1-2, 3-4, 5-6 and groups of 7 and above.

Instructions on how to enjoy your xiao long bao.

For the 4 dishes that we ordered it came to a total of roughly 3,300 Japanese yen.

We set out to Shilin station and after getting there we took a shuttle bus to the National Palace Museum.

After our stint at the National Palace Museum we headed out to NanBeitou station to visit a hot spring pool.

 This is a mixed pool and swimsuits are available for purchase if you don't have proper ones with you. There are lockers, hair dryers and shower rooms available for you need to pay for those facilities. You can use the shower rooms as a changing room even if you are not going to use the shower.  The hot spring pools are located on three levels, with temperatures rising as you ascend. Photography is prohibited.

After our dip in the hot springs we went to a night market nearby to have something sweet and, you guessed it. A foot massage.

I had my share of mangoes during this trip. I love mangoes but hardly eat them in Japan as they are very dear.

To end the day we had dinner at an all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant close to our hotel. The restaurant only accepts cash payment and there is also an additional cleaning charge at the end of your meal.

The dessert station.

I had lots of lamb! my favourite meat.

The perfect end to our scrumptious dinner.

 That concluded the third day of our trip and it's back home the next morning.

It's been a great trip but there is still so much more to do. We will be back!

What we did last summer: Part II

After a good night's sleep, we woke up to this magificient view!

The room had a huge window that looked out to the sea and that view would propel you to get out of bed so that you can receive as much as what the beautiful day has to offer.

The room was clean, spacious and comfortable.

I was pretty impressed with the bathroom. You can see the towels but the rest of the amenities were places on the shelves on the right hand side of the bathroom.

That huge window that looks out to the sea.

 Time to take that long walk out of the commercial street of Jiufen and have breakfast before making our way back to Taipei.

There weren't many places open early in the morning so we went for this shop that served "Jiufen breakfast"

I had an onion pancake with my favourite hot drink, soybean milk.

H went for the egg and bacon sandwich.

Then we took a bus that would take us on a scenic route round the back of Jiufen before getting off at a bus stop and wait for the bus that would take us to Taipei.

The bus stop

On e more look at the view of the sea before getting on the bus.

Hopped off the bus and took a walk along the seaside before heading to take the bus that the hotel owner told us to get on.

 We waited for over an hour but the bus never came.

Fortunately a local came to the bus stop and advised us to take one of the buses to Keelung instead as there are bus terminals there which have direct buses to Taipei. And so we did.

How thoughtful. Just so that we know for sure that we are in Keelung. Hehehe.

And it is time to look for lunch noms. After walking around for a fair bit we decided on having noodles and oyster omelette.

With a happy tummy we then made our way back to Taipei. One of the places we went to that day was the Chiang Kai Shek National Memorial Hall.

As for the evening we decided to visit a night market but there were so many to choose from. After looking at the map, Raohe night market it is.

We had grilled scallops

And assorted deep fried seafood. Delicious!

 The whole trip wouldn't be complete without a foot massage session, according to H, who is a foot massage fanatic. Foot massage prices in here are half of that in Japan so H was on a mission to get his feet massaged everyday.

We came across a stall selling cakes with a local taste add perhaps bought a little too much cake. We were so full that even after going back to the hotel we couldn't have any of it until the next morning.

It was a well paced and enjoyable second day. I fell asleep as soon as I laid my head on the pillow.