Taipei (finally)

After 4 years in the company, I finally made my first work trip to Taipei last November.
All these years, everyone around me has always talked about how much they like Taipei and in fact, more than Hong Kong and being the cheapskate me, I refused to see it for myself until the company sends me over. And so it did. Right after Hong Kong.

It turned chilly in Hong Kong and I was totally unprepared. Luckily shopping is easy in Hong Kong so I kinda changed my wardrobe a little.

We took Eva Air from HK to Taipei and got "upgraded" to the premium economy class. The leg room was so great we thought Eva's economy class is worth considering for future personal trips. Until my boss went to the toilet and realised the difference that is.

Checked in to Landis Hotel and fell in love with the bed and pillows. One of the best I would say.

And then it was work.

Pampered ourselves with steamboat dinner after the event with our PR agency. Presentation of food was fantastic.

 My first night market - Shi Lin Ye Shi.

Ate a lot at dinner and more at the market, ha. 

Second night was steamboat again with a local friend. Nothing fanciful about the restaurant and the presentation but food was great! Preferred this to first night's in fact.

Ended the night with drinks at a 'Spanish bar' and work discussion.

Day 3 was the day we checked out of Landis and continued with our trip on our own.

Lunched at this vegeterian restaurant beside the hotel. It was awesome!

Checked in to Go Sleep (budget) Hotel at Ximending. The room is decent but the location rather sleazy. We didn't bother to take any pics.

On our way to Wu Fen Pu.

Bought NOTHING. Bummer. The brother managed to shop instead.

 Back to Ximending.

Day 4:

Spend it like a tourist

 Honestly, the view from Taipei 101 didn't impress me. The number of China tourists certainly didn't help with the experience. 

Day 5:

Time to venture out of the city

 May our wishes come true...

Day 6:

Back in the city and up the mountain we went

 First the famous mee sua at Ximending.

 And we were at Yang Ming Shan.

It was so cold (about 15 degrees) and the wait for the bus was so long we were standing under the sun and bought the piping hot sweet potatoes fritters to keep us warm. They were the best fritters we've ever had! We are still missing them now.

 We had limited time so we only made one stop.

 The journey down was like a rollar coaster ride! I puked the minute we alighted the bus.

The thing is, the frequency of each bus is longer on weekdays. Because it was cold and we waited way too long, we boarded the bus although it was full. Having to stand on such a rough ride was no joke. I was feeling giddy in no time and luckily I was near the door and couldn't care less but to sit on the steps. Leaving the bus was not an option because it was getting late, we didn't know how long we had to wait before the next bus under such weather and also, the next bus might still be full. 

Thankfully, we survived the ride. 

 Back at main station, I found my favourite pancake.

We bought their famous pineapple tarts and headed back to Ximending for steamboat dinner which was disappointing.

Day 7:

Home sweet home after my kind of breakfast.

Taipei trip was good and there was decent bonding with the brother but I still prefer Hong Kong :)

I actually met more rude people in Taipei as compared to Hong Kong and the amount of junk food was too much for my own good. I must have gained more weight from that trip, damn. 

Well at least I can finally say I've been to Taipei.